Well you do, but you don’t like one of them and you just don’t know why yet,
Ivory color relentless? It only comes in Black, Chrome, or Gold.
You just need the PreAmp pedal one that you can dial the high mid and treble down a notch or two. You can also install the DR color coated strings, it would mute the high mid a bit. You might like that kind of tone. They are a bit too percussive for me. I have them on a few for the looks. The tone is not my cup of tea for sure.
If you are going to change the pickups why not go active on the pink one. You can have the sealed cover look in red or classic with pole magnets. It sounds so awesome.
My modding days are over (for now) … I will revisit the basses just for some smaller things, mostly aesthetic stuff.
When summer season is over and I cannot play in the park anymore, I will think about stuff to do with Ronin.
Maybe put the GZR in Pink’s Hot and do something more exciting to Ronin:
go fretless?
go active?
go double humbuckers? (my prefrence!)
a combination of previous…
One question though … you mean: make the DP126 active? I’m not going to do that now (cause I need to make new cavities then), but if I were to: how???! Just get one of those little amps and that’s it?
Like a Noll PA 1, which is quite popular in Germany?
DP126 is not a pickup, it is the code for a set. The individual pickups in the set do have names, as DiMarzio names all its pickups. The P pickup is their Model P, and the J pickup is the Model J, pickups they have been making and selling separately for a long time, and brand cornerstones.
I think Billy Sheehan actually named the Relentless, as it was originally a custom for him?
If you are thinking about adding buffer then I highly recommend Sonar Xpure by Delano. I have that on several of my basses. Totally awesome!
Double humbuckers is definitely not recommended. Not only it will be very expensive to do it’s pretty irreversible it also doesn’t look like you have enough real estate to do it properly, not to mention you’ll need a proper preamp. Get another used bass to do that.
Don’t worry, I’ll be posting my mod soon enough hopefully it would kick start something for you. I have to order a custom pickguard for one of the guitar to be able to drop in the Steve Lukather pickguard set, going from fender pickguard to Musicman Cutlass pickguard. All 3 guitars are getting Graphtech Ratio tuners treatment, and active EMG pickups. Can’t wait.
DP126: Yes, I have owned the primary pickup in the set, the Model P. And I have separately heard the Model J.
EMG GZR: Never owned this one. I have heard them though.
With the EMG GZR I am absolutely happy, so they would remain.
Good thing is that it will be easy to sell the DP126 when the day comes.
I have to remind myself, that the DP126 sounds really good, just not as exciting as the EMG GZR.
Hahaha. I will read that as soon as Monsoon season starts in Germany, so I’m not too tempted by your post now
I have used the DP126 and Relentless first hand, not the EMG Geezer though I have used other EMG pickups. Nor do I think I have anything bad said on the Geezer/
I don’t think anyone said anything bad about any of the pickups
They are all great choices. I was just surprised he thought the EMGs were more aggressive because to me the DiMarzios are more punchy; it’s a subjective thing really.
It’s very possible with pickups with strong magnets, which can interact with the string vibrations. It’s something general, not specific to the DiMarzio’s.
@terb - I still don’t get the actual physics behind PU being closer to strings and being further away.
I understand the effect of string vibrations, but what it is hard to grasp is the general effect.
In my mind, if the PU is closer to the strings, it will be a) louder and b) more precise (as there will less side effects from neighbouring strings???). If they are further away it should be less precise?
This confuses me, as I found the sound improving, when having a greater distance between the PU and strings. What counts is that I am quite happy with the sound now - but not happy enough
Also, it confuses the hell out of me that the EMG’s are easy to adjust in terms of volume balance between the strings, though I have more options with the DP126.
One theory is that the P pickup for E&A strings might be faulty??!
Each pickup model has an ideal distance to the string, it’s a trial and error game.
Also with a P pickup, you can set the distance for each string (one screw for one string, not very complicated) so the string balance should be quite easy to fix. Often it should look like this, to follow the curve induced by the fretboard radius :
The interaction between the string and magnet (and it’s relationship with distance is complex. The general answers to your mind are:
a) usually
b) no, precision is not a factor
The pickup generates sound by the metal string moving through the magnetic field and inducing a current in the coil. The closer the pickup to the string, up until a point, the stronger this effect will be.
However, when the distance becomes too small, a few things happen. The timbre changes to be less distinct and more muddy as the dynamic range of the generated signal is compressed. Sustain also decreases. Both of these are likely because the magnetic field is now strong enough to have a physical dampening effect on the string that appears as tonal changes.
The DiMarzio Model P has a very strong ceramic magnet. This is where much of its character comes from.
@terb nailed the finer points if adjusting there - the top of the pup shpuld NOT be flat from E-G but should instead follow the radius
Also remember you are adjusting to fine-tune tone, not output level. Do not expect pickups to have the same volume at max as other pickups, regardless of height.
The E string is MUCH louder than the other strings, A being somewhere in the middle, D and G having the lowest volume.
My hope is to even out volume by adjusting height, first by changing PU height itself (done - lowered the E/A PU) ) and then do some fine tuning with the adjustable pole pieces…
I will interject and remind that the poles themselves on the DP126 can be raised and lowered, which should make adjustment simpler. All you need is the right hex wrench
