The Last Bass Outpost

Quote from: Basvarken on November 19, 2025, 12:49:23 PMAt the moment I'm looking for chrome 6-32 UNC screws that are 3cm long (1 1/4 inch).
So if any of you guys know a source, preferably in Europe, that would be super.

I have used a guy in the UK that calls his company 'the screw guy' when looking for hard to find slot screws.
He was the only one I found with correct pickguard screws for old Höfners, for example.
I believe he specializes on wood screws, but he has a lot of knowledge and probably a lot of contacts. I kept his business card somewhere, with the slogan 'need a good screw?'.... Not sure if the company name should be googeled, unless you want spam  Let me check..

Wow, this is dedication on a high level. I remember taking apart a few of these many years ago.
Still have a workshop with winding equipment, but rarely dabble with pickups anymore.
I do have some inventory with magnet wire inherited from a speaker factory, and from memory one of the wires were correct for the LoZ Gibson pickups. Feel free to reach out if needed Rob, and in any case good luck with this great project! Cheers

Sad to hear about his passing, rest in peace.

Quote from: Basvarken on October 20, 2025, 04:54:18 AMHave you tried to place an extra ring in front of the nut of the truss rod? This can help to extend the working range of the truss rod a bit.

I have done this to a 60's EB3 and it worked.

I can't say that KISS made a lasting impression on me musically, but on a sad day that Tom Snyder interview from the late 70's can still cheer me up

Rick short scale for real? I might want one!

Series wired singlecoils are serieusly underrated!

Quote from: Dave W on December 31, 2024, 07:01:04 PMSurprised you sold that. It may have been mostly unplayable but there was nothing else like it.

I still have my '63 6070, but I'd trade it for an EB2 any day. Way too big!
But as you say, nothing else is like it. Fntastic sound.

Quote from: Alanko on January 28, 2025, 01:36:44 PMI don't think magnet type matters unless you know a whole raft of other specs about a pickup. Ceramic magnets don't give a pickup a faster attack and colder tone. Alnico III isn't spongier, etc. if you don't know the magnet and coil geometries then you're in the dark.

Ceramic is perceived as a cheaper magnet and ceramic pickups are perceived as ersatz. I think people hear 'ceramic' and think of cookware, as criticisms tend to be that they are cold/harsh/brittle-sounding pickups. A Dimarzio Model P isn't that cheap (a Tonerider alnico P Bass pickup is far cheaper) and it isn't a bright pickup either.

Well, as much as I dislike 'mystique' around vintage materials, and work more with speaker design than pickups nowdays, you can still have very audible differences between alnico 5 pickups vs a ceramic ones when all other parts are the same. Back when I did pickup repairs in my shop, the most common pickup request (after rewinding broken fender custom shop pickups) was to replace ceramic magnets with alnico 5 in mexican strat pickups. Probably some forum hype firing up this trend, but lots of guitar players were happy with this mod. And quite audible difference.
One can argue that the pickup in question was probably designed for alnico from the beginning, of course.

But obviously the biggest difference between the two materials is the price 

I had a few PF350's in for repair over the years, but no PF500's, so maybe they are more reliable.
Now that Yamaha owns Ampeg, service is no problem anyway.

I did end up with one PF350 as a customer would rather buy a new one than pay for a new main PCB,
but only use it as a spare/backup that fit's into most glove compartments. I found it too underwhelming though,
as any 100W valve bass top I have is louder on 1 than the PF350 on 10. If weight was an issue and Ampeg tone was my preference, at least I'd look at the PF500 rather than the PF350. That was probably not very helpful, but I can recommend buying Ampeg any day because Yamaha is the best in the business at supporting their products!

Quote from: uwe on July 01, 2024, 07:32:14 PM
No pickup on earth will make an EB3 sound like a Precision or a Ric 4001 like a Höfner.

Pups are important but they can't change wood and construction tonality.

The pickups can't change wood tonality, but they do have an impact on tone?
Not as important as wood and construction of course, but a pickup with special characteristics will certainly add flavour to the tone.
I have put a few mudbuckers in neck position of non Gibson basses (Fender P included) and although none of them sounded like an EB-3,
they certainly got in the ballpark more than a P or J pickup could take them.

Quote from: Dave W on June 03, 2024, 11:50:34 PM
Mike Dirnt, fiftysomething fake punk in a fake punk band.

His only saving grace is that he's not quite as big an asshole as Billie Joe.

I stopped using my Grabber because of him 
Too many 'so you're a Greenday fan..' comments.

Thanks guys, and sorry Carlo for crashing your thread :-)
I was always puzzeled by the lack of candy orange options when I grew up, always liked it on 70's japanese motorcycles.

Quote from: senmen on May 28, 2024, 09:05:42 AM
Oh and Amptech:
Your build really nails the originality!
Great!

Greetz
Oliver (Spyderman)

Thanks, but I must admit I used a four in line headstock design. I did put metal knob banjo tuners on it for the look,
but that means using it in studio and rehearsal only. There is no way I enter a stage with a banjo tuner loaded bass! 

Good luck, gotta love a rescue project!
Worst I had was a Hofner shaped by some acid head in Sweden:

Worst part was getting hold of old abachi wood from Germany. Took the liberty of making a Spanish 'S'
Höfner shape and doing a candy orange finish that I'm sure someone here hates as much as antigua