| Author | Message | ||
| effclef
Intermediate Member Username: effclef Post Number: 102 Registered: 1-2004 |
Here's a wild custom idea. I guess it would only be Ron who could decide if it could even be possible. Here is my laundry list of features: Essence body size and shape Series pickups and humcanceller pickup preamp and humcancelling portion of Series electronics only internal 9V batteries to run the above side mounted 1/4" stereo output jack ships with SF-2, into which you plug this bass and which functions as the filter and volume controls. What do you think? My vision would be a bass on which ALL the top wood would be visible, except for the pickup routs. I've never owned or heard an SF-2, but it seems to me that the lowpass/bandpass/highpass controls of the SF-2 surpass even the Series II controls actually mounted in the bass. So my idea is to run the pickups straight without coloration into an SF-2. Powering only the canceller and preamp, I would think the 9V batteries would not run down too quickly. I'd skip even the pickup selector and volume controls, and do that on the SF-2. It would not be a handy stage bass if you were into quick tone changes but for sit-down and studio use I bet it would be phenomenal. You'd need the Series humcanceller and preamp, and I am not sure if that could be stuffed into an Essence body. But my dream would be to have something the size, shape, and weight of an Essence and yet capture the Series sound. Oh yeah, and some ebony in the neck. :-) EffClef | ||
| keavin
Intermediate Member Username: keavin Post Number: 161 Registered: 12-2002 |
brilliant!!!!,i think ill have one of those for christmas! | ||
| effclef
Intermediate Member Username: effclef Post Number: 103 Registered: 1-2004 |
Well Keavin, have you been REALLY REALLY GOOD so far this year? Better start knitting a five foot long Christmas stocking, heh heh. (BTW I still laugh at your "night after night" Freudian slip photo posting!) EffClef | ||
| dela217
Advanced Member Username: dela217 Post Number: 323 Registered: 6-2002 |
Andy - That is a GREAT idea! I can tell you, I have a bass that is similar to what you are describing. My 1972 Alembic is set up that way. It has the single coil pickups, hum canceller, but passive controls, and no filters. It sounds fantastic by itself. When I plug that bass in direct, it needs no eq. Good stuff. | ||
| keavin
Advanced Member Username: keavin Post Number: 202 Registered: 12-2002 |
ive seen that bass on the site,so when you say it has passive guts,do you mean vol ,vol,tone,tone?is there a Q? or is it absent? whats the set up? | ||
| dela217
Advanced Member Username: dela217 Post Number: 324 Registered: 6-2002 |
Keavin - Yes, it is set up as vol,vol and tone, tone. There is no Q at all. Of course it has 2 on board pre amps, one for each pickup. Each pickup has it's own hum canceller inside the body. The preamps are powered through the 5-pin, and is split stereo with a stero/mono switch. That's it! Very simple, yet VERY effective. What a tone this bass has. | ||
| lembic76450
Member Username: lembic76450 Post Number: 52 Registered: 5-2002 |
Michael, Nice score on the preamp, great price. Kenn | ||
| keavin
Advanced Member Username: keavin Post Number: 203 Registered: 12-2002 |
wouldnt not having a "Q" as opposed to a tone pot,lessen some of your pureness? i mean the Q gives you more out of your sound,plus also having those single coils on board,my bass is just like yours with the hum cancellers glued to the inside of the body,in other words your bass is like a epic setup but w/single coils, but is there some differince not having a Q ? | ||
| dela217
Advanced Member Username: dela217 Post Number: 325 Registered: 6-2002 |
For some reason, I do not miss the low pass filter on that bass. I have owned basses with massive filtering capabilities, so I know what I am missing. That bass just sounds great on it's own. It's sound can be described as one that has it's mids scooped out. Lots of bottom end, and single coil highs. Kenn - I thought that was a good price too. I was looking for an early F2B for a while. I was searching for one with a Fender type jewel on the face instead of an LED. The LED started with serial number 143. This one is 102. I usually don't like the auction game. But when I saw it was a Buy It Now, I couldn't pass it up. | ||
| effclef
Intermediate Member Username: effclef Post Number: 108 Registered: 1-2004 |
Glad you liked it, Michael! I wonder how feasible it would be. If Ron would have to make a new circuit board I would guess the answer would be "no," but if it just meant not populating all of the Series I components on the existing board, and possibly cutting down the size of it, I wonder. Maybe Mica will spot the thread and comment. I think it would be HUGELY popular, yet be at a lower cost than a "real" Series bass. I read somewhere that on special order, you could get SF-2 electronics installed in your Series. Is that true? EffClef | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 1562 Registered: 6-2000 |
Sounds neat. We've made something sort of similar to this for a dear friend of mine, but the goal wasn't to make a less expensinve Series II. His Series II has no controls at all on it, everything is rackmounted, except the master volume which is a pedal. Wish I had a photo of it, but that was back in the dark ages when we needed silver to develop pictures. At this time, we're probably not going to be looking at developing a lower cost Series as a new model, I've got other plans for my dad's engineering schedule. Any dreaming about this exact design becoming a reality will have to wait until at least next February - doesn't that sound far away? It will creep up on us faster than any of us think. Superfilters were originally only installed on instruments. Fitting all that stuff in there is grossly expensive, and many of the components had to be handmade by my dad. We figured a rackmounted unit would be more flexible, and we could use mostly off the shelf parts to cut the price by 2/3 what it runs to get it in a bass or guitar. We would still do it if someone really wanted it, but it's soooooo much cheaper to get the rackmounted unti, plus you can use it with all your instruments. (Message edited by mica on April 06, 2004) | ||
| effclef
Intermediate Member Username: effclef Post Number: 112 Registered: 1-2004 |
Mica, thanks so much for the reply and thoughts. My primary reason for the suggestion was for a custom, not necessarily a new model, but I do think this would be something others would like. I'll keep saving bottle deposits and may revisit this next year, just to see if this could be possible. By the way, if someone has/wants to make MP3s of SF-2 sounds, I'd love to hear them, especially at settings not available to Series basses (bandpass and highpass). EffClef | ||
| goatfoot
Junior Username: goatfoot Post Number: 33 Registered: 12-2003 |
I found a couple of pictures of Alembics sans-controls. The two owners belong's to an Internet-group to which I belong called "Churchbass." One of them (the bass with the ribbon)is in CA and I know for a fact that the only effect he uses is a volume pedal. I wonder, Mica, if this is your "dear friend." Really cool, down-to-earth, guy. But I don't want to spill the beans. The Omega cut bass was described as "factory reconditioned" so it may not have started out as control-less. Kevin   | ||
| keavin
Advanced Member Username: keavin Post Number: 218 Registered: 12-2002 |
geeeeewwwwiiiiiizzzzzz!!! | ||
| effclef
Intermediate Member Username: effclef Post Number: 116 Registered: 1-2004 |
WOW! Now the top one is interesting: note the two stripes either side of the neck. Wonder what's up with that. Almost like new (koa?) wings were put on - but if they were, the match is super. OK, precedence has been set. ;-) EffClef | ||
| adriaan
Intermediate Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 183 Registered: 6-2002 |
Could be they didn't have flame koa wide enough for a true bookmatch-to-center, and came up with this double bookmatch. But as Kevin said, it may have had controls on it before, and perhaps they replaced only the part of the top that had the holes, and mirrored that to the top half for the sake of balance. In that case it's a very elegant solution, and you don't get to lose that nice bookmatch-to-center effect that is so yummy with flame koa. | ||
| keavin
Advanced Member Username: keavin Post Number: 221 Registered: 12-2002 |
thats very unique in its own. not having your controls rite there at your side, but what i see is full throttle series settings (everything open ) (but) depending on were you set your tones prior to each song,or in between songs etc.... because i always had a problem messing with knobs during the song,which alot of us are in habit of.... ive been told often to find (one)sound on 'that' bass & lets go!!!..... but thats the life in world of series electronics. | ||
| basstard
Member Username: basstard Post Number: 88 Registered: 3-2003 |
That's pretty interesting! I'd miss a pan-pot though (especially on the fretless - I use the bridge pick-up most of the time, with just a bit of the neck p-up). | ||
| effclef
Intermediate Member Username: effclef Post Number: 125 Registered: 1-2004 |
Basstard, well my point was more from a sit-at-home or studio standpoint. Even with an SF-2 I would think it wouldn't make things that much more complicated, unless you were a long way away from the rack onstage. As I think more and more about this I wonder what it would cost in an actual quote! Maybe next year. EffClef | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 256 Registered: 1-2004 |
OK, Mica, Susan, Val or whoever at the factory who sees this message: can this be done? Actually I'd change my idea to the following: 1) Series pickups and hum pickup 2) Humcanceller and preamp electronics only 3) No controls 4) side mounted 5 pin jack (I thought I saw a bass with that here) 5) Essence, or perhaps Balance-K body size/shape. 6) No batteries - power from DS-5 7) Ebony neck laminates 8) Elan headstock So that's the idea. Beyond that, I am thinking only of an otherwise stock Essence with the usual choices for woods and laminates. The BIG BIG question here, is if Ron Wickersham would be willing to do this. I am guessing that the current Series electronics are all on one circuit board, and not separated with preamp and filters on separate ones. But my idea involves having the Series hum cancelling circuitry and just the preamp, feeding out to the 5 pin cable which also supplies the only power, and thence into the DS-5 and SF-2 for tone shaping. If the board would fit into an Essence body, great. Otherwise Balance-K, I guess. Not having any controls does give some room. Price wise I would guess these custom electronics would fall at somewhere less than full blown Series I. If the price would be 75% or more of that, I might as well junk this idea and go with an actual Series design. But my intent here is to make a light(er) weight bass which still has the wonderful hum cancelling and single coil pickups of a Series, and I wouldn't mind having to use the 5 pin cable full time. If Ron says no, then I think I might modify my pipe dream quite a bit, and do a balance-K with FatBoys to get close to Series pickup sound in a small body. Like it says..."Dreaming...for now!" But if someone at the factory tells me this is possible, I would love to start this custom! EffClef | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 257 Registered: 1-2004 |
Whoops, in rereading the thread I see Mica predicts February - but all I am looking for here is a guesstimate if it's possible. The actual build is probably more like 2006, if I go for this. Sorry, Mica - I didn't mean to sound pushy. EffClef | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 510 Registered: 9-2003 |
The "Almost Twins" Custom O' Month Series II basses had the recessed side-mounted five-pin jack (as well as the recessed side-mounted 1/4' phone jack) that looks phenomenal! |
