Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

[pesciolino]

Hi all, so I have a custom bass being made. My concept is to have it be kind of like a cross between an electric bass and an archtop jazz guitar. 32" scale, 5 string tuned E to C. Narrow string spacing. Imagining it like this - if Django Reinhardt played the electric bass, what instrument would he play?
The body will be mahogany, and it will be chambered.
So, my idea is to put a Benedetto B-6 in the neck position and a Passive Phase II Basslines soap at the bridge. Want to stay all passive.
What do you think? Any comments? Suggestions? Thanks!

[jtougas]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

... I don't think that'll do quite what you want, but nor do I think your approach is far off.

I would look for guitar pickups with lower resonant frequencies, and probably rail pole pieces over standard slugs or screws. I've heard of people using HotRails in Tele basses, for instance.

I would want to put together a proof-of-concept banger first, before investing in a custom built job that may not work as planned. Then change out the pickups until you find what does exactly what you want.

If what you're looking for is a really clear and open tone, I would also suggest passive Bartolinis.

[pesciolino]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

Hmm, there's no low frequency roll off for the Benedetto, and it is bladed and is described as being deep, fat and warm sounding.

See this thread

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=77804

Since I envision it to "accessorize" the bass pickup at the bridge, why do you think it wouldn't work - is it the resonant frequency?

[jtougas]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

*quick read*

Huh... Any report how it worked out? Try PM'ing him.

Give it a shot. *shrug* What's your string spread going to be at the end of the neck? What's your scale length going to be?

I'd still suggest building a test beater...

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

I ran this past Kevin Beller, our VP Engineering and a bass player and bass pickup designer. Here are his thoughts:


There will be a noticeable output difference between the Benedetto B-6 and the Passive Phase 2 soapbar. The B6 is wound to give a traditional fat, jazz guitar sound and the bass soapbar is designed for clarity and punch. I believe the B-6 will tend to overpower the bass soapbar, especially when placing it in the neck position.

There are also a couple of other considerations with the B-6. The Blades are designed with compensation to reduce the intensity of the E and A strings of the guitar. This may not be what you want for a Bass. Also, the maximum overall string width that I would recommend for the B-6 would be about 1.95" or approximately 50mm. This is very narrow string spacing for a 5 string bass.

As far as recommendations go, if you plan on having an overall string spacing of 66mm or less, which is still considered narrow for a 5 string, then the SSB-4s passive soapbar bass pickup set will work for you. This will keep the pickup size in nice proportion to the size of the neck and overall string spacing and will, more importantly, give a full, articulate and balanced sound.

Kevin Beller
V.P. Engineering and New Products

[jtougas]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

Evan, howsabout a vintage wound P-90?

[pesciolino]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

Hi Evan, thanks for sending my query Kevin's way.

I'm actually going for a combination of the clarity & punch, PLUS that fat jazz guitar sound, which is why I had this idea. My string spacing will be at 16.5mm, so for a 5 string that should be 66mm total - hmm, should I go for the SSB-5 just to be on the safe side?

So ... just two questions to determine if this could still be workable

1. use a B7 ?
2. if so, put it near the bridge right next to / in front of a passive soapbar (itself near the bridge) ?

If you could possibly ask these of Bryan, that'd be great thanks!

I ran this past Kevin Beller, our VP Engineering and a bass player and bass pickup designer. Here are his thoughts:


There will be a noticeable output difference between the Benedetto B-6 and the Passive Phase 2 soapbar. The B6 is wound to give a traditional fat, jazz guitar sound and the bass soapbar is designed for clarity and punch. I believe the B-6 will tend to overpower the bass soapbar, especially when placing it in the neck position.

There are also a couple of other considerations with the B-6. The Blades are designed with compensation to reduce the intensity of the E and A strings of the guitar. This may not be what you want for a Bass. Also, the maximum overall string width that I would recommend for the B-6 would be about 1.95" or approximately 50mm. This is very narrow string spacing for a 5 string bass.

As far as recommendations go, if you plan on having an overall string spacing of 66mm or less, which is still considered narrow for a 5 string, then the SSB-4s passive soapbar bass pickup set will work for you. This will keep the pickup size in nice proportion to the size of the neck and overall string spacing and will, more importantly, give a full, articulate and balanced sound.

Kevin Beller
V.P. Engineering and New Products

[pesciolino]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

One more question, Evan - I'm hoping to put the SSB-4/5 underneath one big ramp + cover combo wood piece - would that work? Thanks!

[jeremy]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

evan is out of the office for a while so it might be a bit before he gets back to you

[pesciolino]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

evan is out of the office for a while so it might be a bit before he gets back to you

Ah thanks, well if anyone knows Kevin and would care to bring this to his attention in Evan's stead ...

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

Sorry for the delay. I just got back from vacation and this reply from Kevin Beller was waiting for me:

The B-7 would be a problem because it has individual pole pieces rather than the blade pole pieces of the B-6. Some may coincidentally line up, but most would not. The string-to-string response would most likely be very uneven.
At 66mm overall string spacing, there would be 0.150" overlap on either end. I consider this the minimum for acceptable coverage. The SSB-5 format would give 0.370" overlap, which would be better, especially if he intends to use a fairly heavy string on the low B. This may prove to be desirable for a short scale instrument to help keep string tension close to what would be expected on a 34" scale. Bottom line, go for the SSB-5 format.
In terms of tone, I can custom wind the SSB-5 to produce a fatter tone if this is what he is looking for. Additionally, I have alternate designs for bobbins and blades that I developed for the new Steve Bailey signature models that I can use for a custom SSB-5. I believe they will allow me produce a more punchy and fat tone from the basic SSB-5 platform.

[jtougas]

Oo! Go ahead, be a guinea pig! R & D is fun!

[pesciolino]

Re: Benedetto B-6 ... in a bass!?

Hi Evan, this is super. I'm in contact with Kevin via email, much thanks!

Sorry for the delay. I just got back from vacation and this reply from Kevin Beller was waiting for me:

The B-7 would be a problem because it has individual pole pieces rather than the blade pole pieces of the B-6. Some may coincidentally line up, but most would not. The string-to-string response would most likely be very uneven.
At 66mm overall string spacing, there would be 0.150" overlap on either end. I consider this the minimum for acceptable coverage. The SSB-5 format would give 0.370" overlap, which would be better, especially if he intends to use a fairly heavy string on the low B. This may prove to be desirable for a short scale instrument to help keep string tension close to what would be expected on a 34" scale. Bottom line, go for the SSB-5 format.
In terms of tone, I can custom wind the SSB-5 to produce a fatter tone if this is what he is looking for. Additionally, I have alternate designs for bobbins and blades that I developed for the new Steve Bailey signature models that I can use for a custom SSB-5. I believe they will allow me produce a more punchy and fat tone from the basic SSB-5 platform.