Upgrade to signature electronics question

[BeenDown139]

i searched the forum, didn't really find a definitive answer on this, so pardon the repetition.

i was at work, loading the engraving machine with the next job, wondering what kind of christmas present i should give myself this year and somehow the idea of upgrading my essence fretless electronics to signature electronics to match my MK deluxe popped into my mind.  might be kinda cool.  Soooo...
is this possible?  can it be done at home by a skilled person or would i have to send it in?  and lastly, what kind of $$$ would we be looking at?

any help/direction appreciated.

[edwardofhuncote]

This Elan 5 came with Signature electronics, and somewhere on this forum there is a picture of them. Gimme' a few...


http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=8537.0


(offhand, I'd guess you'll need to hog out some wood and drill at least three more holes to make Signature fit where standard Elan tronics were. Sure, it can be done.)

[mica]

If you look inside the cavity, and imagine cramming in another filter board plus 2 switches, and if you're happy with how close things wind up, then it's possible.

If it seems like you need more room, then we have to see if undercutting the cavity toward the lower horn will give you the room you need without the need to open a larger cavity and a larger backplate (which always risks finish issues).

Now, I read your message as an Essence, and Greg answered regarding Elan electronics. That custom Elan had the Signature electronics to begin with, and so we didn't have to work around existing holes. You can also post pictures of your cavity here and we can all chime in and see how we might arrange things for you.

[edwardofhuncote]

Ay. That's right, you ebayed the Elan. 

Here's what I would think about, if you're looking for a really nice upgrade to a fretless Alembic... an "East-Meets-West" conversion. It adds an asymmetric rotary bass and treble boost/cut and a Q-switch to what you already have there. It'd still be a squeeze but I bet do-able. I can personally attest, there isn't a much better gift for a fretless Alembic than this. Mine are spread out, because they had plenty of real estate to play with, but they might could be drawn in for an Essence. Top row is [Volume/Pan/Filter] Bottom row is [Bass boost-cut/Treble boost-cut/Q-3] I know for sure these same electronics have been retrofit into an Epic cavity.

Just a thought...

[rv_bass]

"If it seems like you need more room, then we have to see if undercutting the cavity toward the lower horn will give you the room you need without the need to open a larger cavity ..."


This reminds me of the dentist!  Yikes!!

[BeenDown139]

Thanks for your replies.
edwardofhuncote, that east-meets-west conversion sounds intriguing, i'd like to explore that further.

Mica, here are pictures of the bass and control cavity.  Any further suggestions about to what is doable and what is practical are greatly appreciated.

I might mention, this bass sounds awesome as it is, i keep it strung with thomastik flatwounds.  it's got that acoustic bass growl that's hard to beat.  But... years ago i owned a '76 series I fretless.  The sound of that bass was an order of magnitude above this one.  Since series fretless basses are hard to come by, i'm trying to live within my means and i really like this essence.  So that's why i'm exploring this electronics upgrade route. it may not pan out, in which case i haven't really lost anything and i still have an awesome fretless bass.  So without further ado, here are pictures of my 1995 essence 5-string fretless, S/N 95K9548:

[mica]

So this is a tight squeeze but it looks possible. This is what I think the best plan of action would be. Move the output jack to a new location. Put the new filter where the jack used to be and squeeze the switches in the green dots. We will have to undercut for the switches,and trim some of the shelf away to get the filter in. Some new shielding will be in order for the newly exposed wood surfaces.

You'll need a new filter with Q switch and a Q switch fort he old filter. The original volume and pan harness will not be used as the circuit is entirely different in the Signature electronics.  You're at about $850 in parts and up to $500 labor (that's four hours) or round about there on this project. You can get an extra filter or bass & treble module for your leftover volume and pan control if you want to hot rod another bass in your collection or you might be able to sell them to partially fund this upgrade.

You could also add a set of my now-discontinued but a-few-are-left wide aperture MXY pickups. The magnets are 3/4 the width of the Series I/II (unlike the FatBoy in the AXY shell that are wound on the same magnets as the Series I/II). This will scunch your tone toward the Series, but there is that danger with audio that you can't unhear what you have already heard and it resets your expectations.

Disclaimer: While I have some rough pricing here, please note that these are for this job only. Even another similar looking Essence might not be able to be done in this manner. Every modification is unique.

[BeenDown139]

OK thanks everybody for the info.  I'm going to mull this over.

Mica - i will email you if i decide to move forward so that we can work out the particulars.

[BeenDown139]

just an update -

I was playing this bass last night, making it growl and feeling it vibrate my skinny old body up through the floor and 2 cushions on my bass chair and i came to the realization that this bass is freaking awesome just the way it is.  Doing anything to it other than changing the strings and keeping it maintained would change it from the instrument that i fell in love with when i opened up the shipping carton at the UPS center a couple of years ago.  not sure i really want to do that.  if i need an upgrade, i should probably just shop around for a new bass.  although finding a 5-string unlined fretless neck through with LEDs upgraded model over this one is a stretch.  i've yet to see anything that fits the bill. although i keep an eye open for it.

so thanks everybody for your help and suggestions.

[rv_bass]

If retaining the current set up, I would suggest adding a three position Q switch and the pan preamp that allows adjusting the output level of each pickup.  They are both very easy to install.

[jazzyvee]

If you are sticking with your bass, have you considered adding an Alembic S-F2 to your rig. That will give you so much more tonal opportunities.

[edwardofhuncote]

There's something to be said for lovin' whatcha' got already, (struggling with that one right now on a separate project) but having done exactly the mod Rob is speaking of here to my Persuader 5-string (which after restoration, had essentially what you have there) that's a very easy mod to do, and lots of added adjustability for not a lot of $... especially adding a 3-position Q to a fretless.   

*here was the thread on the new Pan Preamp, back when it was 'new'... see my posts at #14 and #16.   http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=21904.msg225043#msg225043