Should I shoot my new bass? (Modding the Harley Benton MV-4MSB)

It looks like your pickups are screwed out to maximum height. What’s the distance to the strings? If it is under 2.5-3mm you probably don’t want that :slight_smile:

These are very strong pickups and too close to the string will sound super saturated and muddy.

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Wow, you have a very good eye! Maybe even two :slight_smile:

I just did that but need to redo it as the DiMarzio foam does not apply the right amount of pressure under the pickups.

I use these values to start and will then experiment with actual height: How high should I adjust my pickups for the best sound? | DiMarzio

Now looking at a solution for the intonation at the Gotoh bridge by just using the springs and screws from the China bridge…

Those numbers are for electric guitar, not bass, but sure, start there and see how it sounds.

Do the pickup height first because it can change the intonation.

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Ah, cool - missed that! Will try your values…

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it’s not a science :slight_smile:

Start anywhere around 3mm and go up and down until it sounds and feels good to you.

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It sounds really great in any position until now. Even the slightly incorrect intonation is no biggy. But needs to be resolved, of course.

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This is not a challenge, rather a request for more information, as this is not something I was aware of. How does this work?

Adjusting intonation because on how much the string will stretch due to the physical movement involved as part of the note being fingered makes intuitive sense. But can’t get my head around how exactly the magnetic field from the pickups would influence this.

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If you set the pickups so high that they press the strings up, it will change intonation :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

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???
Maybe I read this wrong. If the pickup is so high that it touch the strings you’d have dead notes.

Pickup Magnets will effect more than just tone and intonation it effects the note duration as well. I did a little research into it when I bought my LightWave optical pickups, but that’s another conversation altogether. :joy:

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I was totally not being serious, sorry for the confusion.

Had a clown for breakfast :slight_smile:

TMI

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No worries - it’s a German saying, more in the spirit of Hannibal Lecter than Pete Buttigieg :slight_smile:

TTMI

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You learned something about the wonderful European culture (again). It’s priceless :slight_smile:

True, I wouldn’t pay anything for it. :disguised_face:

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Nothing mysterious you are missing about magnetism, don’t worry :slight_smile:

It’s simply if the pups are screwed that high it may necessitate higher bridge action. Lowering the action will change the geometry and thus the intonation (albeit slightly).

Intonation should be the last thing you do.

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Ah, I gotcha. :rofl:

Raising the action was the missing link. My mind never went there, instead jumping directly to “lower the pickups”.

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Ok, everything has arrived for modding Ronin and I already drilled the dreaded hole for the output jack. No mask of course, so I’m already coughing a bit…

As everything on this bass will be black(-ish), I am looking for a good/cheap solution to darken the wood on the fretboard, possibly without loosing the “texture” of the wood.
So the fretboard should not be pure black but more dark wood.

Any suggestions?

I think I will leave the backside of the neck as it is (light wood). Can’t imagine a way to make that black without going crazy.

I was thinking to use something to polish dark furniture, like this:

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how do you plan to protect the binding from stain and ensure it doesn’t look dumb to have a white binding on a black fretboard?

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The Poliboy stuff is some kind of dark oil. So here I could just remove stains on the binding with alcohol. Or just tape it!
Maybe the white binding will look cool? I do have my doubts too…

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