yankeebulldog
I don't like to get that specific
Well, pick up a Kingfisher myself today. Really like it, a lot more lively tone than other import basses I've played in this price range.
SE Kestrel and Kingfisher Basses
- Thread starter CantankerousCarl
- Start date
CoreyT
PRS Addiction
Very nice!
Which pickup are you liking the best?
On guitars I like the bridge pickup the best as it is clearer.
On the bass I am liking the neck pickup better by itself, as it seems more clearer and punchier than the bridge pickup.
I would have thought it would have been the other way around.
Which pickup are you liking the best?
On guitars I like the bridge pickup the best as it is clearer.
On the bass I am liking the neck pickup better by itself, as it seems more clearer and punchier than the bridge pickup.
I would have thought it would have been the other way around.
yankeebulldog
I don't like to get that specific
I like either both pickups or just the bridge pickup on a bass with J pickups. The bridge isn't quite as punchy as is it on my Hamer's with single coils but I assume that's part of the reason. These Kingfisher pickups are really fat sounding.
CoreyT
PRS Addiction
Yankee, if you get time, please add some pics to this thread.
http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthread.php?10794-Show-Us-Your-PRS-Bass-Guitars
http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthread.php?10794-Show-Us-Your-PRS-Bass-Guitars
Just got the natural Kingfisher after having yearned for a bass guitar of my own for a looong time. I really like it (though I'd take more experienced players advice here, not mine) but I'm wondering whether I dare to mess with the truss rod by my self or not... The neck could be a tad more straight after checking. Last bass I had/played was a borrowed, old and dented Hagstrom 20 yrs ago.
I have two questions/issues:
1. What is the volume curve/taper supposed to be like on the pickup pots/knobs? Volume wise mine go like: nothing, a little, a little, a little, a little, EVERYTHING. The last 10-20% of the knob sweep is more or less like ON position. Is that how it is supposed to be? I should mention I play DI only, no amp (other than boost from pedal + audio interface preamps) or cabinet is involved. My chain is: bass -> fx pedals -> audio interface stereo in -> headphones/etc. It's all solo noodling/song writing. Tone wise it's fine, though, since I've found a position/mix between the two + tone that I really like as a "general" tone.
2. My apartment has old wiring and in general lots of RF/EMI which the pickups ...well, pick up. It's directional so if I find the sweet spot/angle it goes away completely, save for when using lots of saturation on one of my pedals. Luckily the sweet spot is in a very playable position and not standing on my head in a corner. Very little noise from the pickups otherwise and I like their sound! Will shielding the cavities help here? I was thinking copper tape from having looked at tutorials online. At its worst it's driving me mad (exchanged a Telecaster for a Strat with noiseless pick ups due to this problem a few years ago). Add a delay with many repeats + reverb (which is fun...) and I can create ambient textures just from the RF/EM interference building up... I've also looked at the EHX Hum Debugger but I'm not sure that would work in my case?
Thanks!
I have two questions/issues:
1. What is the volume curve/taper supposed to be like on the pickup pots/knobs? Volume wise mine go like: nothing, a little, a little, a little, a little, EVERYTHING. The last 10-20% of the knob sweep is more or less like ON position. Is that how it is supposed to be? I should mention I play DI only, no amp (other than boost from pedal + audio interface preamps) or cabinet is involved. My chain is: bass -> fx pedals -> audio interface stereo in -> headphones/etc. It's all solo noodling/song writing. Tone wise it's fine, though, since I've found a position/mix between the two + tone that I really like as a "general" tone.
2. My apartment has old wiring and in general lots of RF/EMI which the pickups ...well, pick up. It's directional so if I find the sweet spot/angle it goes away completely, save for when using lots of saturation on one of my pedals. Luckily the sweet spot is in a very playable position and not standing on my head in a corner. Very little noise from the pickups otherwise and I like their sound! Will shielding the cavities help here? I was thinking copper tape from having looked at tutorials online. At its worst it's driving me mad (exchanged a Telecaster for a Strat with noiseless pick ups due to this problem a few years ago). Add a delay with many repeats + reverb (which is fun...) and I can create ambient textures just from the RF/EM interference building up... I've also looked at the EHX Hum Debugger but I'm not sure that would work in my case?
Thanks!
Cyclecamper
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2016
- Messages
- 3
1. curve/taper ... pots/knobs Volume wise mine go like: nothing, a little, a little, a little, a little, EVERYTHING. The last 10-20% of the knob sweep is more or less like ON position.
2. RF/EMI ... pickups ... pick up.
The stock pots in my Kestral behave the same. I thought that perhaps they have very high resistance values in order to assure they don't "load" the output, especially when there is no pickup selector. At the least those two pot values are always in parallel across the output. But the taper is nearly unusable, in my opinion. Can't tell what the ideal solution is yet.
Don't feel too bad about the noise on a Kingfisher, it's probably worse on the Kestrel. There are plenty of "noiseless" stacked pickups in the Jazz Bass form factor for the Kestrel though; none of them have treble as good as a old-fashioned primitive single coil though, unless there's an active mixer of the string coil and the bucking coil on-board; a stacked just has inductance and treble loss issues. And then there are also pickups that mount like a Jazz Bass pickup but inside are actually two 2-string pickups. Not two blades or some kind of "U" bumbucker magnetic structure, but they work just like the Precision split staggered pickup, one 2-string pickup has different magnetic and coil polarity, so that each sounds pretty much like a single-coil, yet each 2-string pickup cancels hum with the other. I just got a set of Nordstrand Jazz Bass pickups and hope they live up to the technology's potential.
2. RF/EMI ... pickups ... pick up.
The stock pots in my Kestral behave the same. I thought that perhaps they have very high resistance values in order to assure they don't "load" the output, especially when there is no pickup selector. At the least those two pot values are always in parallel across the output. But the taper is nearly unusable, in my opinion. Can't tell what the ideal solution is yet.
Don't feel too bad about the noise on a Kingfisher, it's probably worse on the Kestrel. There are plenty of "noiseless" stacked pickups in the Jazz Bass form factor for the Kestrel though; none of them have treble as good as a old-fashioned primitive single coil though, unless there's an active mixer of the string coil and the bucking coil on-board; a stacked just has inductance and treble loss issues. And then there are also pickups that mount like a Jazz Bass pickup but inside are actually two 2-string pickups. Not two blades or some kind of "U" bumbucker magnetic structure, but they work just like the Precision split staggered pickup, one 2-string pickup has different magnetic and coil polarity, so that each sounds pretty much like a single-coil, yet each 2-string pickup cancels hum with the other. I just got a set of Nordstrand Jazz Bass pickups and hope they live up to the technology's potential.
