I have too many basses as it is, but this makes me want to dabble in that pickup-making thing. This is THE channel for amateur luthiers (I mean those of us without huge shops, CNCs and whatnot).
As an Aussie, it amuses me to no end that the RUclips-generated Closed Captions suggest you are calling this instrument a "Liz Paul"! There is some super fluid and lyrical bass playing in the first set of time-lapse music. Really great stuff. Also, I love how beefy that neck pickup sounds. You've given Liz all the balls she needs now!
Hehe, I don't usually name my basses but that's too good to ignore, Liz it is. And yes, Liz kicks ass and takes names, I have to wait until next week to test her out on stage but her time will surely come. Thanks.
thanks to your videos I am starting today to transform my bass into 3 jazz bass pickups (stratobass) I bought all the equipment, screws, magnets, wire spool, router, etc., made my pick-ups myself, insulated, re-adjusted the instrument I use your separate coil technique the bass didn't cost me much and it sounds too modern for me, I want the 60s We'll see thank you very much for your remarkable videos which help us a lot
I added my 3rd pickup to my jazz bass (real neck 8.16k) stratocaster style 1 push-push tone volume potentiometer per pickup the trickiest part is cutting the pick-guard 😒 for the sound it's what I was looking for (I rarely use the bridge pickup) it looks a bit like the Hofner sound on the neck 😀 I put on a pack of GHS light flatwound strings thanks to you we embark on the adventure (on inexpensive guitars) next step replace the 3 ceramic pick-ups with homemade separate coil pick-ups "FANBLADE" method style 👍
Yep, the weather is warming up and the garage keeps calling me, got a lot of random stuff in store for the foreseeable future, thanks for coming back to watch, It's great to know that my viewers won't just evaporate when I take a break. Cheers
In....... Wow!!! Those very substantial pickups sound...... Fantastic. Great work Geoff. Truly an excellent sounding bass guitar. Love the channel man.
There were multiple times during filming this one when I didn't know how it was going to turn out, carving out the body was just madness - it's major surgery to install an experimental and untested pickup, and cutting those cavities just felt like a mistake the whole time, so I'm very happy that it turned out good and a couple of my theories proved correct, if I carry on like this I might eventually start to feel like I know what I'm doing.
Yes, actually , a friend of mine has a FWR in a Squier mustang that he modified a few years ago. My band followed his band at a gig and I asked to play a song or two on his bass, I wound up playing the whole set with it and it kicked total ass. Been on the lookout for a Wide-Range pickup or three for myself, so while it's not intended to be a direct design copy, my instincts are definitely heading in that direction, thanks
I have always loved the LP bass too. I have owned one of these, it's a late 90's Korean Les Paul Special. I really liked it apart from the pickup output, and much lighter than the Gibson LP of which I have owned 2 early 2000's. Very heavy but really unique tonality and top notch build and wood! I currently have a '93 Washburn LP bass which is my #1, but would really like an Epiphone standard if I can find one.
That sounds incredible now, a huge improvement! A friend of mine as an Epi LP Standard bass with the dreaded 3 point bridge and plated pickup covers, tbh it sounds just as lifeless as this one did originally.
Yes, my other LP bass is a Deluxe, with the pickups as you describe, I'm trying to work out how to shrink my design into something that'll fit inside the smaller cavity as I don't want to go carving up the Deluxe, that seems like a bad idea, Thanks.
Always liked these and thought of adding one to my collection but don’t have the skills you do to make one sound good. Re the Mockingbird, I have one as I just live the shape, even though it was so uncomfortable to play. Added a cut out to the back of mine so it doesn’t bruise my ribs and also changed the neck, using an Ibanez SR300 neck. The neck change really transformed the playability and sound. Looking forward to see what you have planned for yours
I know exactly what you mean, I have a different solution but I've actually already done the mods to see if it was possible before making the video, and yes, it's worked out a treat, I'm starting filming in about 20 mins and I'll get to show you all what I did. Cheers
wow great work Geoff! Some day you should do a video showcasing your bases, their sounds, and which ones you prefer more than others and why.. good job, always appreciate your excellent work!
I've got an Epi Les Paul Special bass - it's got a set neck, massive soapbar pickups, a really fiddly bridge and it weighs a ton. What shocks me is how much they go for on Reverb (£350-500). I got mine off eBay for £95 in 2016
Yeah, my other Les Paul bass is a Deluxe, carved top, set neck, three point bridge, very heavy. It's got the regular humbucker sized pickups in it and they sound ok, but what really distinguishes that bass is it's feel -it's got a sort of rigidity to it that's very reassuring to play, it's the only bass I have that's got enough sustain to get some controlled feedback happening without an overdrive pedal, it's quite remarkable. That said, the one I've modified here just feels like a toy by comparison, and what's weird is that they're both '97 models and most likely made in the same factory, yet it's an incredible contrast between one that's made properly and the mass produced cheapness of the second one.
Music generally is a sort of semi-pro thing for me, I regularly gig on 3 instruments, I freelance as a studio engineer/producer/videographer, I build and repair all kinds of musical equipment, the issue is that in NZ there just isn't the population base to make it a full time career. My city is home to about 400k people, but if I was living in a big city with 10 times the population then everything would increase exponentially, 10x ticket sales, 10x studio work, 10x repair jobs, and any one of those would be enough to sustain a career. As things sit now, I have a day job that I like and my hobbies generate enough income that they can pay for themselves - and I consider myself lucky that I even get that, not a lot of people do. The long term goal is to go into full time building my own basses, but I'm a few years away from that being a viable business. One day though, one day.
Despite not having separate volume controls for the coils in the bridge pickup, the bass sounds so much better with the pickups you made compared to what it had to begin with. BTW, do you purchase the wires you use for the pickups locally? I haven't been able to locate any AWG 41 or 42 wire here in Singapore, and since I'll be in Christchurch in a few weeks, I was wondering if I'd be able to pick some up there.
Sorry no, I get mine from Aliexpress. it's not listed by AWG number either, it's all listed as metric. I'm using .06mm wire which is just in between 42 and 43. When that runs out I'm going to go up a size to .07mm which is just barely slightly thinner than 41. I don't know what kind of difference it'll make but I'm really keen to find out, thanks and good luck on your travels.
I remember a friend who decided to take up refretting his guitars. He started off using stainless steel frets. Talk about throwing yourself in the deep end? 😅
I know how to do all this stuff because several years ago I decided to learn it, and it's been a slow climb up the learning curve ever since. If I appear to be good at doing this stuff it's only because I spent years being bad at it, Mark Twain said it best: “Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.”
Indeed, I have a friend with a Wide Range in his bass, he lets me play it occasionally but he won't let me dissect it. It sounds incredible and I love it.
Indeed, that was the look I was hoping for. I don't know about paint on the pickups so much as I'd be worried about it wearing through and gradually looking even worse, but some black stain that was actually jet black would soak into the timber and last a good long time. You never run out of new things to try, thanks.
That would be hilarious if that happened as I based the coil design on the Vintage Japanese ones in my Greco. I'd be selling their 'lawsuit' back to them😆😆
Hey! I stumbled over one of your videos by accident and found myself bingewatching ALL of your videos in the last few nights. Absolutely GREAT content. I love it! But i have a question. My english is, as i would say, improvable, so i don't understand the name of the wood you're using i a lot of your builds. I only understand the word "Quiller" or similar and google won't give me a clue. Thank you for the great work. You got a new follower 🫶 Greetings from the other end of the world, Germany, keep up the great work 🙂
Hi, in New Zealand we call it Kwila, in some other places it's called Merbau, depends on where you live. It's quite varied as far as quality goes but it's not hard to find great pieces. I've found it to be stiff but light, nice and stable, easy to work, takes glue and finishes nicely. Can be a little unpredictable when resawing but a straight piece will be straight forever, also the dust is quite irritating, but apart from that it's a great wood for instruments, thanks.
Glad you're back in action. I always like to watch you videos. Great skills and you are not afraid to experiment. Cheers from North Carolina.
I have too many basses as it is, but this makes me want to dabble in that pickup-making thing. This is THE channel for amateur luthiers (I mean those of us without huge shops, CNCs and whatnot).
Sorry, what is this "too many basses" that you speak of? 😉
As an Aussie, it amuses me to no end that the RUclips-generated Closed Captions suggest you are calling this instrument a "Liz Paul"!
There is some super fluid and lyrical bass playing in the first set of time-lapse music. Really great stuff.
Also, I love how beefy that neck pickup sounds. You've given Liz all the balls she needs now!
Hehe, I don't usually name my basses but that's too good to ignore, Liz it is. And yes, Liz kicks ass and takes names, I have to wait until next week to test her out on stage but her time will surely come. Thanks.
thanks to your videos I am starting today to transform my bass into 3 jazz bass pickups (stratobass)
I bought all the equipment, screws, magnets, wire spool, router, etc., made my pick-ups myself, insulated, re-adjusted the instrument
I use your separate coil technique
the bass didn't cost me much and it sounds too modern for me, I want the 60s
We'll see
thank you very much for your remarkable videos which help us a lot
I added my 3rd pickup to my jazz bass (real neck 8.16k) stratocaster style
1 push-push tone volume potentiometer per pickup
the trickiest part is cutting the pick-guard 😒
for the sound it's what I was looking for (I rarely use the bridge pickup) it looks a bit like the Hofner sound on the neck 😀
I put on a pack of GHS light flatwound strings
thanks to you we embark on the adventure (on inexpensive guitars)
next step replace the 3 ceramic pick-ups with homemade separate coil pick-ups "FANBLADE" method style 👍
Loving the new music, loving the teases at the end, just all around loving it.
Thanks for sharing this 🎵🎶🎸🇬🇧
OMG, what a surprise! You are back! Very excited to see what you have in store! Welcome back, you were missed!
Yep, the weather is warming up and the garage keeps calling me, got a lot of random stuff in store for the foreseeable future, thanks for coming back to watch, It's great to know that my viewers won't just evaporate when I take a break. Cheers
I know I won't 'evaporate'! The only risk you run is that I forget to check for new videos, but I am not planning on unsubscribing any time soon! 💪👏👍
In.......
Wow!!! Those very substantial pickups sound......
Fantastic. Great work Geoff.
Truly an excellent sounding bass guitar.
Love the channel man.
There were multiple times during filming this one when I didn't know how it was going to turn out, carving out the body was just madness - it's major surgery to install an experimental and untested pickup, and cutting those cavities just felt like a mistake the whole time, so I'm very happy that it turned out good and a couple of my theories proved correct, if I carry on like this I might eventually start to feel like I know what I'm doing.
Those pickups reminds me of the Fender Wide-Range humbuckers
Yes, actually , a friend of mine has a FWR in a Squier mustang that he modified a few years ago. My band followed his band at a gig and I asked to play a song or two on his bass, I wound up playing the whole set with it and it kicked total ass. Been on the lookout for a Wide-Range pickup or three for myself, so while it's not intended to be a direct design copy, my instincts are definitely heading in that direction, thanks
I have always loved the LP bass too. I have owned one of these, it's a late 90's Korean Les Paul Special. I really liked it apart from the pickup output, and much lighter than the Gibson LP of which I have owned 2 early 2000's. Very heavy but really unique tonality and top notch build and wood! I currently have a '93 Washburn LP bass which is my #1, but would really like an Epiphone standard if I can find one.
Wow! You have done amazing work! The pickups also look very well
Thank you for the video
wow! They look and sound great. You nailed the process perfectly :)
Wonderful video as usual. The Bass sounds awesome, roll on the next video!
That sounds incredible now, a huge improvement! A friend of mine as an Epi LP Standard bass with the dreaded 3 point bridge and plated pickup covers, tbh it sounds just as lifeless as this one did originally.
Yes, my other LP bass is a Deluxe, with the pickups as you describe, I'm trying to work out how to shrink my design into something that'll fit inside the smaller cavity as I don't want to go carving up the Deluxe, that seems like a bad idea, Thanks.
IS IT NEXT WEEK YET?!?!?!? Love that Mockingbird! 😎😎😎
This is so cool! Looking at those pickups, I'd love to see you do a quad coil version.
That may well be happening, I've got plenty of basses to experiment on😁
I'm sure you have your own ideas, but I have a wiring diagram for a dual pickup quad coil bass with a huge variety of tones, if you're interested.
Always liked these and thought of adding one to my collection but don’t have the skills you do to make one sound good. Re the Mockingbird, I have one as I just live the shape, even though it was so uncomfortable to play. Added a cut out to the back of mine so it doesn’t bruise my ribs and also changed the neck, using an Ibanez SR300 neck. The neck change really transformed the playability and sound. Looking forward to see what you have planned for yours
I know exactly what you mean, I have a different solution but I've actually already done the mods to see if it was possible before making the video, and yes, it's worked out a treat, I'm starting filming in about 20 mins and I'll get to show you all what I did. Cheers
wow great work Geoff! Some day you should do a video showcasing your bases, their sounds, and which ones you prefer more than others and why.. good job, always appreciate your excellent work!
I've had a few requests for that video, I just don't know how to do it without it being 4 hours long!
I've got an Epi Les Paul Special bass - it's got a set neck, massive soapbar pickups, a really fiddly bridge and it weighs a ton. What shocks me is how much they go for on Reverb (£350-500). I got mine off eBay for £95 in 2016
Yeah, my other Les Paul bass is a Deluxe, carved top, set neck, three point bridge, very heavy. It's got the regular humbucker sized pickups in it and they sound ok, but what really distinguishes that bass is it's feel -it's got a sort of rigidity to it that's very reassuring to play, it's the only bass I have that's got enough sustain to get some controlled feedback happening without an overdrive pedal, it's quite remarkable.
That said, the one I've modified here just feels like a toy by comparison, and what's weird is that they're both '97 models and most likely made in the same factory, yet it's an incredible contrast between one that's made properly and the mass produced cheapness of the second one.
What magnets did you use ? And where can they be purchased ? Thank you, keep up the good videos !!!
Great video once again Fanblade! Is guitar restoring what you do for a living or is it more of a hobby? Keep up the good work sir!
Music generally is a sort of semi-pro thing for me, I regularly gig on 3 instruments, I freelance as a studio engineer/producer/videographer, I build and repair all kinds of musical equipment, the issue is that in NZ there just isn't the population base to make it a full time career. My city is home to about 400k people, but if I was living in a big city with 10 times the population then everything would increase exponentially, 10x ticket sales, 10x studio work, 10x repair jobs, and any one of those would be enough to sustain a career. As things sit now, I have a day job that I like and my hobbies generate enough income that they can pay for themselves - and I consider myself lucky that I even get that, not a lot of people do. The long term goal is to go into full time building my own basses, but I'm a few years away from that being a viable business. One day though, one day.
Despite not having separate volume controls for the coils in the bridge pickup, the bass sounds so much better with the pickups you made compared to what it had to begin with. BTW, do you purchase the wires you use for the pickups locally? I haven't been able to locate any AWG 41 or 42 wire here in Singapore, and since I'll be in Christchurch in a few weeks, I was wondering if I'd be able to pick some up there.
Sorry no, I get mine from Aliexpress. it's not listed by AWG number either, it's all listed as metric. I'm using .06mm wire which is just in between 42 and 43. When that runs out I'm going to go up a size to .07mm which is just barely slightly thinner than 41. I don't know what kind of difference it'll make but I'm really keen to find out, thanks and good luck on your travels.
Beast sounding !
I remember a friend who decided to take up refretting his guitars. He started off using stainless steel frets. Talk about throwing yourself in the deep end? 😅
Good stuff.
Glad you enjoyed it
Sounds Great :) How do you know how to do all this stuff? Wow!!! Great Effort!!! ;)
I know how to do all this stuff because several years ago I decided to learn it, and it's been a slow climb up the learning curve ever since. If I appear to be good at doing this stuff it's only because I spent years being bad at it, Mark Twain said it best: “Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.”
100% Yes :) Well man - you are very talented at your craft, you can see you have put in the hours - Very impressive!!!
@@fanbladeinstruments
those pickups turned out pretty similar to the wide range ones on the new fender paranormal basses. both sound great so seems like a solid design
Indeed, I have a friend with a Wide Range in his bass, he lets me play it occasionally but he won't let me dissect it. It sounds incredible and I love it.
you could always paint the pickups black and mask only the coils they would look a little better
Indeed, that was the look I was hoping for. I don't know about paint on the pickups so much as I'd be worried about it wearing through and gradually looking even worse, but some black stain that was actually jet black would soak into the timber and last a good long time. You never run out of new things to try, thanks.
@@fanbladeinstruments thnks for answering i love your channel so much!
Gibson/Epiphone should pay you for your pickup design; maybe one of them will finally sound good!
That would be hilarious if that happened as I based the coil design on the Vintage Japanese ones in my Greco. I'd be selling their 'lawsuit' back to them😆😆
Poetic justice for their "play authentic" attitude, if you ask me!
Fender P
#63_Grade85%_NoEweJestWindPickups_VacumeSealed_SMH_BrilliantEffortForA_BassOf_humbleLineage🧐5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hey! I stumbled over one of your videos by accident and found myself bingewatching ALL of your videos in the last few nights. Absolutely GREAT content. I love it! But i have a question. My english is, as i would say, improvable, so i don't understand the name of the wood you're using i a lot of your builds. I only understand the word "Quiller" or similar and google won't give me a clue. Thank you for the great work. You got a new follower 🫶 Greetings from the other end of the world, Germany, keep up the great work 🙂
In addition: we share the Ben Folds Five Passion. I owned a Hamer USA Blitz for some time, just because Robert played it on the debut album.
Hi, in New Zealand we call it Kwila, in some other places it's called Merbau, depends on where you live. It's quite varied as far as quality goes but it's not hard to find great pieces. I've found it to be stiff but light, nice and stable, easy to work, takes glue and finishes nicely. Can be a little unpredictable when resawing but a straight piece will be straight forever, also the dust is quite irritating, but apart from that it's a great wood for instruments, thanks.
😲😲🥹I want one of those so bad, I saw one for sale on a japanese site and it went for ridiculous money. One day, one sweet day...