The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Other Bass Brands => Topic started by: Freuds_Cat on December 17, 2008, 09:34:50 PM
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Has anyone seen or owned a Pearl Export Bass?
I have a student with one. It looks like it has been made very much in the spirit of a Gibson bass. unusual 3 point bridge, humbuckers, Gibson feel to the neck and made from wood that looks like a blonde version of Mahogany.
It has a pretty good sound and the neck feels lovely but if it were mine I would be throwing the bridge in a drawer and putting a BadAss 1 bridge on it.
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Rob (basvarken) has one. Or had one. See this thread (http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=921.msg11450#msg11450).
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Yes, Rob has one. It's just a Epiphone Genesis with another name.
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Thanks guys, knew I'd seen one somewhere.
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Yep I have one. It's the Deluxe version of an Epiphone Genesis. With white bindings round the fretboard.
I've had it for sale since this summer. I've had some offers, but none of them made sense to me.
But by coincidence last night I cut the knot to use this little beast as a hobby bass.
It just does not get enough playing time the way it is now. It's a fine bass, but it's just not in my top five list.
I have some pickups in my parts drawer that I'd love to use in different configurations...
Unless I find a parted out Epiphone Les Paul -or something similar- soon, I am going to route this Pearl Export and make it a Frankenstein bass 8)
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check out how it turned out:
here (http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=1687.msg20937#msg20937)
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I've had an morris bass and it was exactly te same. Maybe I can dig out some picture somewhere.
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There's an Epiphone Genesis on Ebay right now (http://cgi.ebay.com/Epiphone-Genesis-Right-Handed-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ200300547387QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item200300547387&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A2%7C294%3A50)
(http://i2.ebayimg.com/02/i/001/2c/01/ee49_1.JPG)
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I would love to hear the story about what plant made them and how they ended up being sold under 3 different brand names.
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I have some pics of the previously mentioned Pearl (Epi) Export (Genesis).
I need to ask a few questions to help this guy out a bit. So I guess I could have just PM'd Rob, but I figured others might be interested in the discussion.
As far as I understand it these basses are Matsomuko instruments.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Pearl-Export6.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Pearl-Export23.jpg)
The main problem with this one is that the A and D strings sit a lot higher than the E and G strings. This is creating a big loss of volume from the A and D by comparison to the E and G. Obviously because they are so much further away from the pickups.
Its a bit hard to show it in the pics.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Pearl-Export8.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Pearl-Export9.jpg)
As there is no vertical adjustment on each saddle I was wondering if others (Rob ;)) have had or seen similar problems?
Could it be a case of someone having switched the saddles around?
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Pearl-Export18.jpg)
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Hmmm... that looks weird.
To me it looks like the saddles aren't placed in the right order. Did someone work on the notches of the saddles?
On my Pearl Export the saddles of the E and A are tall (A is the tallest). And the D and G are shorter (G is shortest).
By tilting the three point bridge slightly, the curve of the fretboard is followed perfectly.
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Thats kind of what I was trying (poorly) to say that I thought it might be. I have no idea who has done work on this bass but it is not setup very well at all. I'm not particularly experienced in taking my basses apart and changing things or doing mods to them as some of you are here. So I work on the policy of, If I haven't done it and seen it work then there is no harm in asking first before I get my hands dirty. Thanks Rob, I will take them out and rearrange them in that order tonight. :)
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Bugga! the saddles are numbered underneath and are in the correct order. Problem remains.
I'm going to take it in to my Luthier and get some advice as to a solution.
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They remind me of those Custom Basses Gene Simmons used to play.
(http://www.kissfanshop.de/GeneSimmons/gene73b.jpg)
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Bugga! the saddles are numbered underneath and are in the correct order. Problem remains.
I'm going to take it in to my Luthier and get some advice as to a solution.
You could try to file the saddles/notches down a bit. From the top down. Don't touch the sole that glides in the bridge.
Is the bridge mounted under an angle? The bass side shoud be slightly lower than the treble side.
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I have reversed the order of the saddles and it seems to have made a positive difference.
I need more time to play about with bridge tilt adjustment. Will have more time tomorrow.
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I guess this must be the latest incarnation of this shape :gay:
(http://www.lunaguitars.co.uk/images/large/dc_pandorabass.jpg)
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I like it.
Especially the waxing and waning moon inlays.
Not too sure about those colours though... ;)
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Hey Bret, I made a mistake about the angle of the bridge. It should be slightly lower on the bass side :-[
I finally found the time to take some pictures of the Pearl bridge.
It isn't easy to catch it on camera, but I hope it helps.
(http://www.superfloor.net/pearlbridgetopview.jpg)
It may look a bit awkward with the G string saddle being so much lower but it does work alright
(http://www.superfloor.net/pearlbridgerearview.jpg)
The action on all strings is pretty even.
(http://www.superfloor.net/pearlneck.jpg)
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Thanks Rob, I need to get on of those string bars for this bridge but have a look at how much more acute the bend on mine is compared to yours.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Pearl-Export11.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Pearl-Export12.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Pearl-Export17.jpg)
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Geez man, that looks like someone bent it on his bench or something.
I have never seen such a severe arch on a thee pointer!
I bet the holes for the saddle screws are cracked, aren't they?
Because of that huge arch the slots for the strings on the tail end are widened so far the ball ends almost slip through!
You should definitely get a new bridge to solve the problem. You'd only need the baseplate. Place the original saddles and you're saved.
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I have no idea what they were thinking. There are no stress marks on the chrome or near the holes and the slots on the sides marry up perfectly to the 3 bolts. Unfortunatley I'm pretty sure it was made like that :rolleyes:
The 3 point bridges I have here are not as wide as this one so I cant swap one on to it. :-\
I do have a brand new Badass 1 bridge lying around looking for a home ;)
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I took the bass into My luthier (Brian) and got him to take a look. He reckons that the bridge is made of a light alloy and that the arch has been caused by the string tension over a long period of time. He checked the measurements between the poles and confirmed that standard Gibson 3 point bridge with fit fine.
AllParts have them for $75 and basspartsresource.com has them for $64.79. Same part number so I'm guessing its the same bridge. Interestingly the cheaper one comes with the studs and the AllParts one without.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
Also, any of you wood experts out there know what kind of wood it is? The neck is made from the same stuff.
I will try and take a few better pics of the wood and grain. It is definitely not Maple although it is about the same weight as Maple.
To me it looks like a few pieces of Mahogany (Which it obviously is not) but in a white or blonde colour. The grain and texture is quite similar to Mahogany.
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I always assumed it was maple. Because of the weight and the more "snappy" character of the high tones and the "booming" character of the lows.
But I'm not a carpenter ;)
Beware, the aftermarket All Parts three point bridges wil NOT fit a Gibson stud spacing. I know that for a fact.
I'm not sure if the Pearl has Gibson stud spacing. But I just want to point it out to you that they're not interchangeable.
About the arch: I don't understand how string tension can make a bridge bend in a cross direction?? Makes no sense to me.
To me it looks like someone bent it on a bench. Especially because it is not bent like perfect curve. But rather trapezoid shaped.
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Thanks for that info regarding the fitting of the bridge Rob. Must be a small but obviously relevant difference between them. The Allparts/Bassresource one is listed as 3-11/32" which I translate to 83.566mm. The stud spacing on the Pearl is the same but I will take your word for it. I realise that that there wouldn't have to be too much difference for it not to work.
Any suggestions of what replacement to use?
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It might very well just fit. The Pearl three pointer is no Gibson after all.
I bought a non Gibson three pointer for my Gibson Triumph a while ago. But it just did not fit. I couldn't slide it between the two studs and make the third stud fit. I wound up using the non Gibson saddles on my Gibson brigde. It cured the problem. So I'm not complaining.
Come to think of it I still have the non Gibson (made in Japan?) three point baseplate. Maybe it fits the Pearl?
I'll check that tonight for you.
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Bret, I just checked the spare Made In Japan stamped three pointer I have. It doesn't fit. :-[
First: the slots on the sides that hook behind the studs are wider than the slots of the original Pearl three pointer. They allow for too much play.
Second: the slot for the middle stud is isn't deep enough. The bridge keeps wobbling against that middle stud, never allowing the outer slots to fully hook behind their studs.
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Thanks for that Rob, I wonder if the studs that come with the bridge from basspartsresource.com have the same thread as the Pearl ones.
(http://www.basspartsresource.com/BB0333001.JPG)
http://www.basspartsresource.com/bridge_aftermarketgib.htm (http://www.basspartsresource.com/bridge_aftermarketgib.htm)
As a last resort I guess I could dig out the Stud inserts from the Pearl bridge and replace the whole kit and kaboodle.
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Or put one of these on it
(https://store.hipshotproducts.com/secure/images/products/74.jpg)
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I hadn't noticed this thread until just now but I can definately say an Allparts 3 point will fit on a Gibson or an Epi with only minimal filing on the bottom of the two outside post mounts, the spacing should be fine. My purple 'Bird had an Allparts on it when I first got it, I later replaced it with a new chrome Gibson part. The stud inserts from Allparts and those on Epi's are eh, no so good, they don't countersink into the body and have a "lip" that raises the bridge up as well, I'd look for some Gibson parts here if the originals don't fit your new mounting posts. Don't know if this helps too much but........
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Thanks Mark, I'm definitely open to buying parts, new or secondhand from members of this forum. All offers welcome.
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I should have updated this a while back but got side tracked.
We did go for the Hipshot bridge and it went straight on without a problem. Looks good too. I did a basic setup , intonation, action etc and it plays really well. I will try and get some pics when he brings it back. I got some CTS pots for him and he wanted to put them in himself.
I've told him that it could probably do with a fret level and, nut adjustment (its been loose at some stage and someone has done a rough job of gluing it back on.
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Hipshot bridge fitted
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Pearl-Export/Mods1/RIMG0088.jpg)