Godin Shifter / Fret-King Ventura - Three pick ups a new trend?

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Been there, done that with the Gibson G-3:

...which I would love to hear with a 'hog body. Maple really limited the tones to what I like to call "the JBL tone." IOW, what flavor of too bright would you like?

[jumbodbassman]

my threesomes....

[Pilgrim]

Also I had for a short while a Danelectro Hodad:

Any comments about the Hodad?  Evidently its performance didn't persuade you to hang on to it....

[dadagoboi]

My only 3 pup, 32" scale

[jumbodbassman]

Any comments about the Hodad?  Evidently its performance didn't persuade you to hang on to it....

I actually really like mine a lot.  Best/ most versatile  sounding of my 5 danos.  A litlle noisey 60 cycle wise but manageable.   Need to put some flats on it.  still have the original RW from when i got it 8-10 years ago...  But they only have a few hours on them..

[Pilgrim]

 

I actually really like mine a lot.  Best/ most versatile  sounding of my 5 danos.  A litlle noisey 60 cycle wise but manageable.   Need to put some flats on it.  still have the original RW from when i got it 8-10 years ago...  But they only have a few hours on them..

I think they're extremely cool looking.

[Nocturnal]

I've always wanted one of those Hodads. One turned up on the local Craigslist recently for $150. It was gone almost immediately. 

[Highlander]

That FKV is the Quasimodo of the bass world...

There was/is that white Craig Gruber NR T'Bird with four pickups... anyone care to raise...?

[neepheid]

Any comments about the Hodad?  Evidently its performance didn't persuade you to hang on to it....

I really liked it, it had a nice neck on it (fairly wide but not too chunky) and having the full seven combinations available was fun.  The tone control was a bit all or nothing, if I must offer a criticism.  It was light, quite a lot of neck dive (only mitigated to a degree with a wide suede-y strap).  I did a gig with it and it went well.  Love the looks, that deep blue sparkle finish coupled with the lipstick pickups looked amazing in real life.  Bridge was a bit dubious (being only screwed down with 1 screw and resting on another 2), but at least it can intonate strings individually and I didn't have any problems with it while I had it.

Contrary to what you might think I got rid of it because I had an opportunity to augment my Gibson collection soon after its arrival and I had to sell something to raise funds.  This decision had little to do with its performance and more to do with the fact that it was the odd ball in an otherwise pretty focused collection.  I wasn't willing to sell one of my Gibsons to get the other Gibson, I didn't want to part with my Epi Les Paul Standard because that's vaguely related to the Gibson theme, and my G&L L-2000 is the one bass I would keep if everything hit the skids as it's sensible, reliable and frankly bloody awesome.

[Pilgrim]

Very helpful!  Thanks.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The tone control was a bit all or nothing, if I must offer a criticism.

That would be a cheap and easy fix with a better quality pot and/or possibly a different value tone cap, pot value and taper.

I didn't want to part with my Epi Les Paul Standard because that's vaguely related to the Gibson theme,

What color is yours? I have a black one that got the last set of Fralin Thunderbuckers from RS Guitars that is rapidly becoming my favorite bass. Mine also seems to have a MUCH slimmer neck/headstock joint, as the three others I have ever held all had baseball bat necks on par with the worst Gibson ever put on their RD's, while mine has an almost Fender Jazz-like first position.

It must have been fate for that particular bass and myself because I bought her online from a Guitar Center in Chicago last year. I had never adjusted a three-point before, but the simplicity and aethestic of that big hunk of metal coupled with a kickass set of pickups, pots, caps and wiring and nice set of flatwounds make my Paul sing, sustain, and growl in ways a Fender style bass could never begin to replicate.

I had played and HATED the Bartolini equipped, Fender syle-bridged Gibson LP Studios and Customs when they were new, and had it not been for Eddie from the Supersuckers, I would have written off the entire line.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The Jazz pickups are in the standard position (or '60s) and the P is almost there, right?

Sorry; I missed this question earlier. The Jazz routes are correct for 60's Jazz basses, like all the early ESP Jazz copies but the Precision route was homemade and slightly skewed. The excess cavity was filled/ straightened with auto-body filler and there are several clear coats of polyester as the underlying colors are VERY fragile, as anyone who has ever owned a G&L with a swirl finish can attest. I saw a matched Strat/Precision Fender Custom Shop pair in a similar bowling ball finish but with black and white with no gray when I worked for Guitar Center years ago and even they had a polyester 'candy shell.' IMO it does make the bass brighter overall, but she's more of a looker than a worker right now. 

[clankenstein]

i never understood why a jazz bass didnt have a neck pickup as well for actual bass frequencies.3 pickups makes sense for a bit of tonal variety i guess.i tried one of those fret kings, i was a bit disapointed with the mudbucker type pickup on it,the idea is heading in the right direction though.i wonder when you start to lose tone through magnetic string pull-3 pickups 4?5? i know, lets have a split p pickup on 2 rails and call it a grapper.

[Pekka]

i never understood why a jazz bass didnt have a neck pickup as well for actual bass frequencies.3 pickups makes sense for a bit of tonal variety i guess.

The neck pickup (in my Jazz at least) works best own it's own (sounds like a Rickenbacker's neck PU soloed) or with all three on. With the bridge and neck it's boomy and honky, a bit like Ovation Magnum due to the PU locations but doesn't sound as good. Works with a pick-and-palm -style  if you wanna make a good Lee Jackson (The Nice) impersonation.

[neepheid]

That would be a cheap and easy fix with a better quality pot and/or possibly a different value tone cap, pot value and taper.

I know, but that doesn't change the fact that it's how they appear on your doorstep in stock condition.

What color is yours? I have a black one that got the last set of Fralin Thunderbuckers from RS Guitars that is rapidly becoming my favorite bass. Mine also seems to have a MUCH slimmer neck joint, as the three others I have ever held all had baseball bat necks on par with the worst Gibson ever put on their RD's, while mine has an almost Fender Jazz-like first position.

It must have been fate for that particular bass and myself because I bought her online from a Guitar Center in Chicago last year. I had never adjusted a three-point before, but the simplicity and aethestic of that big hunk of metal coupled with a kickass set of pickups, pots, caps and wiring and nice set of flatwounds make my Paul sing, sustain, and growl in ways a Fender style bass could never begin to replicate.

I had played and HATED the Bartolini equipped, Fender syle-bridged Gibson LP Studios and Customs when they were new, and had it not been for Eddie from the Supersuckers, I would have written off the entire line.

My Epi was black with cream binding.



Was?  It had to go when I got my Guild B402-A.  One in, one out.  Now I really have nothing to trade, so I'm going to have to save up for my next one

For what it's worth, I loved this bass, it had a chunky neck (which I like - Jazz necks feel like toys to me) and the fit and finish was excellent.  Lovely flowerpot inlay on the headstock.  I wasn't that impressed with the tone of the stock pickups so I gutted it and fitted EMG-HB pickups with an EMG-BQC control (3 band EQ with mid sweep).  I also hated the fact that the Epi had no selector switch, so I fitted one.  Drilling into a carved top, set neck instrument was an interesting challenge

I also dislike the 3 point bridge, but without major complicated surgery there wasn't much I could do about it.