Chambered BK Jazz w/ Delanos

[Malta]

Stupid back button! Ok, 3rd times a charm...

Was poking around ebay looking for something to spend a bit of my tax refund $$ on and end up grabbing up this brand new/never installed Delano J/MM pickup set - JMVC4 FE/M2 neck & MC4 AL/V4 bridge. A steal at $143 shipped.

Now I'll need a body to drop these puppies in. Fast forward a couple days and a see this BK/BK Jazz body in the Showcase.  

God I love that pinstripe!!! I think my GF put it best when she said “Oooo!! I like! It looks rugged yet sophisticated….like if Chuck Norris and James Bond had a love child.”

But the body already has J/J pickup routes...hmmm.... Guess I'll just have to order the matching JMVC4 FE/M2 bridge p/u....should be here shortly from BestBassGear.com.

I know the Delanos are not nearly as popular as say Nordys, but I mainly play hard rock and the few reviews I have found on these puppies all indicate the JMVCs are aimed right at rock bassists.

The MC4 AL/V4 will just wait patiently for my next project...maybe mounted in a swamp ash jazz with wenge top...

Anyways, here’s where I need some input:

Electronics - Delano’s description of the JMVC4 FE/M2 claims: “Even the very bottom range of droptuned basses will stay tight, focused and alive.” I’m planning to set this beast up tuned either BEAD or Drop C. “JMVCs can handle massive tone tweaking and interact superbly with active circuits and effects.” I’ll probably pair up the Delanos with either an Audere or possibly pull the Delano Sonar 3 from my Spector, unless anybody has any other suggestions?

Neck - I want a raw exotic neck but I can’t decide between wenge, padouk, bubinga, and goncalo alves. Anybody have either of these necks paired up to a BK body? Perhaps a 5 string maybe? How’s the low B?

Finish – I’m torn between Tru-Oil (hand some difficulty with pure tung oil on walnut), Deft spray nitro (either satin or gloss), and wipe-on poly.

Help me out guys, I’m eager to get the remaining pieces of this potential tone monster on order.

Thanks!
-Joe

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Dangerous used Watco Danish Oil on one of his guitars and it sounded like a not to difficult job.  The thing about Korina is it does have quite a bit of grain that needs to be filled for a glossy guitar.  My experience with lacquer and Korina is that unless you fill it very well, it will be very visible that there is still grain dips.  The Danish oil technique had you sanding the finish in, making a dust/finish filler for the grain.

As far as a neck, I am partial to Wenge.  Very functional, good mids for presence with a bass, and very slick stuff.  I have a guitar with a mahogany body and a wenge neck and it is a great sounding combo.  Rocks out very well.  I have a guitar with an ebony neck and a Korina body and it rocks out as well.  Korina can be paired with quite a number of neck woods and it still sounds nice.  Because of that, go with what works well/what you like.

The body is gorgeous.
Patrick

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

TFarny's got a Wenge necked BK/BK J-bass with P/J pickups and finished it himself.

I think W can route that body for the MM pickup and it might possibly cover up the bridge J pickup.  Nevermind, it won't.

 

[Malta]

Yeah, I fired off an email hoping they could rout it out to fit the MM but the MM footprint doesn't completely cover the J footprint. Not a big deal, I was planning to order the delanos anyways so I ordered the matching J bridge pikup and ended up with 2 sets of top notch pickups (J/J & MM) for about what I was planning to pay for 1.

 

[Malta]

Got an email from warmoth today telling me that, while not listed in the showcase descrption, my body is chambered. What a nice little surprise! I wonder if a wenge neck on chambered korina body would cause any balance issues?

 

[Kublai]

That is a fantastic body!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Got an email from warmoth today telling me that, while not listed in the showcase descrption, my body is chambered. What a nice little surprise! I wonder if a wenge neck on chambered korina body would cause any balance issues?

Ultralite tuners are a must.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Most likely no.  The upper horn on the body goes quite a ways forward, reducing the tendency to dive.  But, the HipShot Ultralights really do help a lot weight wise, and they work really well, so they couldn't hurt.  I have them on my five string and I wouldn't get anything else unless a specific style had to be used for a build.  Best Bass Gear has them as well.  Great folks at that shop, I use them for most all of my parts needs.
Patrick

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I have 2 chambered J-basses.  Neither are BK and only one has a Wenge/Ebony neck on it.  I've had no neckdive issues with either and both are equipped with Hipshot 3/8" Ultralites.  Another forum member with a Dinky B/K J-bass and Wenge Ebony neck has reported neck dive issues.  His solution was Hipshot Ultralites and weights in the control cavity.

 

[shanejw]

I wouldn't worry too much about the neck weight.  I've got an Alder G5 with a Wenge/Ebony neck and while it is a little neck heavy when on the knee, once its strapped and you stand you don't notice it at all.  I'm not a big fan of the look of Black Korina..kinda looks like old barn wood to me..but that body does look nice, I think its the pinstripe that does it for me.  I'm a big supporter of the pinstripe like the one on my soloist here.  It's such a classy touch.  Can't wait to see the way this one ends up!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

This one is chambered though and the G5 isn't.

 

[Malta]

I have 2 chambered J-basses.  Neither are BK and only one has a Wenge/Ebony neck on it.  I've had no neckdive issues with either and both are equipped with Hipshot 3/8" Ultralites.  Another forum member with a Dinky B/K J-bass and Wenge Ebony neck has reported neck dive issues.  His solution was Hipshot Ultralites and weights in the control cavity.

I LOOOVE your orange swamp ash/wenge J. Is there a reason you went with the reverse headstocks, or is it just because you wanted it that way?

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Years ago, before I ever played bass, I saw a blues trio and the bass player had an upside down headstock.  I thought it was cool.  You normally see them on guitars, but this bass had one.  Also, it seems P-Basses and J-Basses are everywhere, this is one more way to stand out.

 

[tubby.twins]

I know the Delanos are not nearly as popular as say Nordys, but I mainly play hard rock and the few reviews I have found on these puppies all indicate the JMVCs are aimed right at rock bassists.

Delano makes great pickups.  I used to have the 5-string P-bass version of this pickup, and it sounded really meaty. 

Neck - I want a raw exotic neck but I can’t decide between wenge, padouk, bubinga, and goncalo alves. Anybody have either of these necks paired up to a BK body? Perhaps a 5 string maybe? How’s the low B?

Wenge is good, Bubinga is better, but a solid Purpleheart neck is probably your best option.  I've got one on a Black Korina body (Gecko 5) and it looks stunning.  It hasn't had a lot of playing time yet, but the low B is very solid.

 

[Malta]

Years ago, before I ever played bass, I saw a blues trio and the bass player had an upside down headstock.  I thought it was cool.  You normally see them on guitars, but this bass had one.  Also, it seems P-Basses and J-Basses are everywhere, this is one more way to stand out.

Awesome answer. Definitely gives them a character all their own. I beleive I read a debate somewhere over whether or not the length from the nut to the tuner affects tone so I wasn't sure if there was an underlying reason behind it.

Dangerous used Watco Danish Oil on one of his guitars and it sounded like a not to difficult job.  The thing about Korina is it does have quite a bit of grain that needs to be filled for a glossy guitar.  My experience with lacquer and Korina is that unless you fill it very well, it will be very visible that there is still grain dips.  The Danish oil technique had you sanding the finish in, making a dust/finish filler for the grain.

I've never grain filled before, is there any special technique or is it simply slap it on, rub it in, let dry, sand, rinse, repeat? I've read of people using black filler, clear filler or black & then clear filler on korina....if I were to spray either clear gloss or satin Deft nitro, I'm assuming I'd I want to use clear filler? Any recommendations on a particular type or brand?

thanks again!
-Joe

 

[Malta]

Delano makes great pickups.  I used to have the 5-string P-bass version of this pickup, and it sounded really meaty.  

I'm REALLY glad to hear that, I'm hoping the JMVCs sound meaty too! It'll be up against a couple LPs so I'm going for a mean sound out of this thing.

Wenge is good, Bubinga is better, but a solid Purpleheart neck is probably your best option.  I've got one on a Black Korina body (Gecko 5) and it looks stunning.  It hasn't had a lot of playing time yet, but the low B is very solid.

I'm curious about this good/better/best statement. I've really only ever played on maple/maple and maple/rosewood necks (aside from picking up a Warwick now and then at GC), could you go into a little more detail as to why? Purpleheart didn't even cross my mind. Do you have any pics of the Korina/Purpleheart combo?

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Awesome answer. Definitely gives them a character all their own. I beleive I read a debate somewhere over whether or not the length from the nut to the tuner affects tone so I wasn't sure if there was an underlying reason behind it.

-Joe

It may affect the tone, probably less so on a bass.  Both of mine have string tees that put the tee'd strings at roughly the same angle of the string w/out the tee.  There are some overtones, atleast on a guitar, between the nut and tuners or between the bridge and tailpiece or trapeze.  I can't hear the difference and IMO, those are neglible and a preference for string bending.  Examples would be the reverse orientation of Hendrix's Strats and wraparound or thru placement, as well as height, of a stop tail.  I don't have the ear to insist on such preferences.  There are so many other variables that affect the tone like string tension as it relates to scale length, pickup choice and location, and most importantly amp choice/settings and the player.  I've heard (and use to believe) that longer anchor points (reverse headstock and string thru or trapeze bridge) could take the floppiness out of a low B.  I'm come around on that fallacy, and don't play a Low B anyway.

 

[tubby.twins]

I'm curious about this good/better/best statement. I've really only ever played on maple/maple and maple/rosewood necks (aside from picking up a Warwick now and then at GC), could you go into a little more detail as to why? Purpleheart didn't even cross my mind. Do you have any pics of the Korina/Purpleheart combo?

Here's my work in progress:
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=10816.0

I ranked these woods based on several criteria, including how they feel on my hand, and how they sound.  My Purpleheart Gecko neck has a resonant quality unlike any other Gecko neck that I've played.  It has a very warm, woody tone but with unplugged overtones and that remind me of an acoustic upright bass.  If that makes any sense at all.  It actually took several months of playing to develop this tone, since it originally seemed a bit darker than it's become now.

I think the stiffness of the neck wood plays a big part, as does the natural resonance of the body wood.  Stiffer woods seem to transmit vibrations more completely to the body.  I've currently got that Purpleheart neck on a Mahogany body, and it just sings.  It's perhaps the loudest "unplugged" Gecko bass that I've ever played or owned, and I attribute it mostly to the neck.  Having a resonant body helps too.  I expect the response to be similar on the Korina body, since it weighs about the same.

 

[Malta]

I ranked these woods based on several criteria, including how they feel on my hand, and how they sound.  My Purpleheart Gecko neck has a resonant quality unlike any other Gecko neck that I've played.  It has a very warm, woody tone but with unplugged overtones and that remind me of an acoustic upright bass.  If that makes any sense at all.  It actually took several months of playing to develop this tone, since it originally seemed a bit darker than it's become now.

I think the stiffness of the neck wood plays a big part, as does the natural resonance of the body wood.  Stiffer woods seem to transmit vibrations more completely to the body.  I've currently got that Purpleheart neck on a Mahogany body, and it just sings.  It's perhaps the loudest "unplugged" Gecko bass that I've ever played or owned, and I attribute it mostly to the neck.  Having a resonant body helps too.  I expect the response to be similar on the Korina body, since it weighs about the same.

Thanks for the input. I decided to go with a bubinga/bubinga neck. While I love the look of purpleheart I just wasn't digging how I imagine it would look paired with my body....speaking of which should be here in just a couple more days.