the more precise precision!

just finished it and i must say, a job well done. this thing plays beautifly and the electronics sound real good. i like this bass better than anything i've seen for sale at any music shop lately. that and the personal satisfaction that i built it.

i still have to do ... peg head veneer (black annodized brass), machine heads (black), graphite nut and knobs (black fender standard u.f.o. knobs with blue MOP centers).





the high output passive set up with the dimarzio split p double humbucker and an economy double pole humbucker sounds great and super warm. the pan knob between pickups gives me 2 different warm sounds, one accenting the lower tones (dimarzio) and the other the mids and highs.

again, i'm very happy with the warmoth neck and the stainless steel frets as well ... bend like butter. sure the tone is different ... a bit "attackier" (for lack of a better real word) but the sustain and real warm pickups make it just right.

after another cabinet rebuild ..........

http://cgi.ebay.com/115-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet-EMPTY-PA-DJ-1x15-Cab_W0QQitemZ370224512215QQcategoryZ23794QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m183QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%252BS%252BIA%26itu%3DSI%252BUS-BWR%252BUCI%252BIA%252BUCC%252BPSS%252BCRS%252BIT%252BUA%26otn%3D12%26ps%3D33

i'm gonna start with learning to re fret. the shot ibanez will be first (already routed for a kahler!)

I'm speechless. That is one of the most awesome Ps I've ever seen. I can't explain why, it just... is

I agree....it's hard to believe my eyes. That looks fantastic.

And if you wanted to make it a little more high-end or name brand in the future, you could stick two DiMarzio Jazz pickups together like that, perhaps? That would probably be sick!

That thing looks really spiffy. I really like the headstock. Can't wait to see it with the black covering and black tuners.

i was thinking of trying some different pickup configurations. i'de bounce my ideas off of eric first seing as he's already routered out pickup cavities on many a bass. putting two jazz pickups together? why not???

i didnt know what kinda sound i was gonna get, so i went low budget with the economy pickup. it sounds great. the pickup i cheaped out on was the semour duncan passive humbucker. someday, when i actually have some money, i think i wanna go high end on a project and get q tuners.

glad you guys dig it.

madmike wrote:

putting two jazz pickups together? why not???

I've actually done this a few times, you'd be suprised how it can work, or what options you have.

Oh yeah, man it looks righteous! So shiny...

The color scheme makes me think of the P bass that Billy Sheehan has with a Kahler on it.

And when you get that done, you should post it up onto the Warmoth website gallyer, dude!

i wanna get the peghead veneer done so i can put the warmoth logo on the face. i may need to copy it and make up something with my own graphix processes. the logo engraved on the black annodized brass would be nice.

That would be sweet, dude...you have the tools and know how for that, that'd be sick!

That would be sweet, dude...you have the tools and know how for that, that'd be sick!

Warmoth does make metallic decals in chrome, gold, and black that you can stick on or put under a coat of finish. Would one of those work?

Awesome job, MadMike! That is one really gorgeous bass you've built!

I have also stuck two DiMarzio Jazz pickups together, so it gets my vote. And there are pickup makers that produce such a dual J design, so maybe you could get one of those instead of going through the work of putting two J's together.

warmoth gave me two peghead stickers with the neck (and an 8" bumper sticker for my case!) in black and white. funny thing is ... it doesnt fit on this face with the tuning pegs.

EricHaven wrote:

I have also stuck two DiMarzio Jazz pickups together, so it gets my vote. And there are pickup makers that produce such a dual J design, so maybe you could get one of those instead of going through the work of putting two J's together.

How'd you like your DiMarzio Jazzbucker? That would be a cool thing to make one day, I think.

Rio Grande makes a cool one. I'd love a Rio Grande Powerbucker. MEC does...I think Bartolini. Possibly Duncan or Fralin?

Duncan makes one, but its in a normal humbucker housing, and they only make a 5er version, and its near impossible to find.

Rabid might make one too...

Oh yeah...I hear Rabid Design are pretty badass...never talked to anyone who's used one, though...

You can find the Roscoe Beck ones places too, and they are sex in pickup form.

Hahaha dude you love those things!!

Chowderboots wrote:

Hahaha dude you love those things!!

Well, yeah, because they're ****in' awesome, so much tone, so many options.....

Hehehe sweet...

the rio grandes are sweet.

i've gotten different information about the duncans ... the humbucker is a 5 string model but its built like a soapbar (no poles) so you can use it for a 4 string as well ... so isnt it a soapbar and not a humbucker? then, i've seen ones with poles ... and they are for a 5 string ... why not a 4 model?

it is one of the finest customs I ever saw also MM...WHY?

cause you decided NOT use a standard fenderhead neck. You went all the way and made it truly creative and unique

( and BLUE!!! )

amimbari wrote:

it is one of the finest customs I ever saw also MM...WHY?

cause you decided NOT use a standard fenderhead neck. You went all the way and made it truly creative and unique

( and BLUE!!! )

2 reasons why ......

#1

i got this bass back from frank (good friend and old drummer). he was gonna use it to build a whamola for me. he never got around to it but did get around to ripping the thing apart and spreading said parts around. thanx dude! other people get to use my bass for their experiments. turns out that said parts didnt even go to bassists! i asked for what was left back ... body, pickguard and bridge. ha!

i wanted to build a warmoth from scratch but was curious about their products and my own bass building abilities. this was a cheaper test run for things i would like to do in the future with warmoth. i'm more than happy with their work. my work aint too bad either!

building a whamola is in the plans for me in the future.

then its onto an explorer project from warmoth.

then ... i always wanted something that resembled john paul jonses triple omega (and now i'm just talking about breaking the budget on a custom body!).

#2

this bass, my jazz bass, my cort, my 2 ibanezes, my eb, my carvin and my peavey all have suffered from overplaying with roundwound strings. the frets would wear so bumpy, lumpy and vallied after about 5 or 6 years that most of them ... i just ended up throwing out or giving away. fret jobs cost $300 and none of these basses were worth it. they were some nice basses ... but they were done. the only bass that didnt go beat from fretwear was my guild lsII ... stainless frets! theres gotta be another way besides a fretjob!

warmoth makes necks with ss frets for about $300. a whole new neck of my own design and specs that i want and not just frets for $300!

was talking with eric and i tried a few out and found it to be reasonably true, 4 in a row tuners dont stay in tune as well as 2x2 tuners do with a trem. i need a neck for this bass. warmoth makes necks with ss frets. warmoth offers choices of headstocks (2x2 13 degree) ... so 6 to 8 weeks later ... there it was.

i just finished this bass and my 15" cab was pretty inexpensive and easy. next is saving up for tools and educating myself how to do my own fretjobs. my last ibanez is sitting ready for a kahler and a rebuild ... it just needs frets. thats the next project.

and by the way, i'm thinking of starting to do some custom work for customers as well. if any of you guys have some interesting ideas and cant find someone to build it, i'de love to help and to get the experience. plus, ittl keep me busy and outta trouble.

How can you describe the sound out of the Split P, madmike? I've been curious about one of those for a long while and it'sjust a matter of time before I buy one...

of course, the overall sound depends on the bass you put it on. i've found that the split p has output with a bass response thats pretty accurate with the ratings that they post on the dimarzio website. this is a more low - end pickup.

my washburn b - 10 is a twangey high end kinda bass with one split humbucker position on it. i put the dimarzio split p in it and it warmed up the sound a lot. it still has that sharp attack but it has a lot more low end now. mission accomplished!

with the pseudo p bass project, i was mixing it with the bridge position humbucker with a blend. with the lows from the split p and the mids from the humbucker, it has a lot of headroom, tone, range and its real loud. just the split p, it sounds boomey and big. just the humbucker, it cuts thru with mids and highs. of course with the blend, i can do either or anywhere inbetween. with the low end response of the split p it is a very drastic change between the two sounds ... and thats what i wanted. mission accomplished!

if you were looking for more versatility fro one pickup with mids and highs (for soloing or pop and slap) i would go with the other split humbucker dimarzio offers. the model p.

Yeah I have a Model P in my Hamer Blitz and I love it, especially with the Dual Sound switch. I'm just looking for another pickup that will blow me away and compliment the Model P well. The stock Jazz pickup is okay, but that's all it is, you know?

What looks promising is a Carvin humbucker. As I may have raved about before, a friend of mine has a Carvin V220 guitar and it is one of the best sounding instruments I've ever played. The pickups are sizzly and they make it come alive. According to the Carvin Museum, it's got an M22SD pickup in the bridge, which Carvin still makes, apparently. The M22SD appears to be to Carvin as the Super Distortion is to DiMarzio. So it has high output, a wide magnetic field, and it's cheap ($50). I think I'm going to give one a try soon. Plus, they come in pretty much every combination of cream and black you can think of.

My other idea is to get a Sustainiac, but that'd take a bit more money and whatnot.

i'de recommend putting the split p with any bridge position, high output humbucker. the highs and mids compliment the split p nicely.

i looked at the carvin pickups. i think what i was looking at was more high end. i will try something from their pickup line in the future ... they seem to make real nice products.

Yeah their bass pickups look kinda low end and Eric has said that they have had relatively low output and are kinda stock sounding, if I remember correctly. But their guitar humbuckers are pretty nice. They also make a neat-looking high output 7 string humbucker...

Well, just to clarify, the Carvins are good pickups. It's just that they didn't/don't have enough "smoke factor" for what I want them for. But as far as replacement pickups go, they are really well-made, and they do sound good.

Mkay. That was just the impression I got from what you were saying. Maybe their guitar pickups will do something for me. I'll have to see.

Thus far, I am loving the Model P more than I thought I could like a pickup. Tasty wasty.

eric,

please define ........

"smoke factor" -

ok, this bass is going for its first test drive today, along with the newly rebuilt 15" cabinet in my rig.

i am praying to the gods of bass that nothing breaks, shorts out or catches fire.

i'm feeling pretty confident, but untill i get it in a full band, cranked up situation i really cant be sure.

i'll report back my results.

wish me luck .............

luck?...

ok...good luck, best of wishes, show the gang what you made for them ( and you ), break a leg, don't pop a speaker cone

Cool beans!! Have a blast! What all are you going to be running in your rig?


Yesterday I put all of my favorite gear I own to the test together, all at once. Holy **** it's loud. I was playing my Hamer. The P pickup (series) went to my 400+ which went into the 4 Ohm (into the 18s and the 10s) inputs on the Peavey 1810 cabinets. The J pickup went to the Tube Works head which went into my Ampeg 4x10 and the Mesa 4x10/1x15, both at 8 Ohms. One word. Tasty. Never thought I could sound so huge. Of course, when the cabinets fill up an entire wall of a small room, then yeah I guess it's going to be kinda loud...but I was lovin' it!

What was nice was if the dude I was jammin' with wanted to play guitar, I just unhook half my rig, keep myself plugged into the 400+, and hand another lead to him and he can have the TW amp and it's a killer sounding guitar amp. He wants to play drums? I just hook into what he was using to play guitar as well as the "bass side" and with a couple of tweaks, I get the sounds to blend. It's so sweet...

I'll have to make a video of it some time. It's awesome!

madmike wrote:

eric,

please define ........

"smoke factor" -

"Smoke Factor: As defined by bassist Eric Haven, the ability of a bass pickup to produce extreme output and power capable of introducing such extremely high surges of current into an amplifier so as to reduce said amplifier to a pile of smoldering parts."

thanx for the def eric.

reporting back ...........

this bass has a smoke factor of 9.8.

with the new cabinet working nicely (i can actually hear the bottom end rumble now), except for some tweaking on the effects banks on my processor board (i had to turn the preamp settings down and a bit of eq nudging with the high output) this whole outfit finally sounds great, the way i want it and that it can handle anything i can throw at it.

i'm very happy!

also good because now i'm finished with the bass and rig for a while ... i gotta buy a car.

with the cruddy sound i was getting from the ibanez with the kahler, i never recorded playing our songs with the trem parts i wanted the darn thing for. i did that yesterday. aside from us, being a bit rusty from all the vacation we've been taking and having a new drummer, these tracks sound better than anything we've ever recorded before. when i get around to it, i'm gonna overwrite the songs on the myspace .... when i post the new songs i'll post the link so you guys can chek it oot.

oh now I just HAVE to re-define the smoke factor.....

the smoke factor tone of 9.8 comes to me when I smoke, THEN play , so YES the smoke factor is a very important part of my tone as it should be....

I can't wait to hear your tunes, MM!


Yarr.

Chowderboots wrote:

I can't wait to hear your tunes, MM!


Yarr.

I can't wait to hear your tunes, CB!


Yarr.

Aah soon enough, Cap'n.