My Orions

[diptixon]

Cocobolo fretted and newly acquired Walnut fretless…

[pauldo]

Ooohh.  Love walnut.  That’s a beautiful pair- thanks for sharing.

[jazzyvee]

Lovely Orions with filters.

[keith_h]

Nice basses.

I have an Orion 5 string with the filters. I would highly recommend that you consider adding a Q-switch as it really expands the sound palette being able to turn off the boost.

[diptixon]

Thks; would you recommend the 2 or 3 position one?
And is it fairly simple to solder up?

[keith_h]

If I had it to do over I would have looked into a 3-position switch. I don't know if that is possible or not. Mica would be able to give a definitive statement on that. I'm more than satisfied with the 2-position switch.

I've done a lot of electronics soldering in my life and have all of the various tools to make that part easier. As a result I don't know if I am the best one to voice and opinion on how hard it is. I will say that the instructions and procedure were straight forward. Where I feel it was a bit complicated was fitting the switch to the bass. The shaft on my switch is not long enough to go through the body wood and veneer. This required me to remove some wood from inside the cavity so the shaft would come through the top. I don't own a drill press so I had to use a handheld drill. I just took my time drilling the pilot hole, removing the excess wood and it turned out fine.

[diptixon]

Thanks; yes did some digging and looks like install of 2 and 3 position are same. Also found PDF instructions for the install of the switch on this site, and it does discuss having to remove additional wood to make the switch fit:


http://alembic.com/club/messages/393/025-001-13735.pdf

Am I correct in saying the switch gives different-sounding  sweep options to the filter, and when set to off, the filter acts more like a standard tone control you’d find on a Fender-style bass? Sorry but have read a bunch of forum posts here and elsewhere, and am still trying to wrap my head around what the Q switch does in laymen’s terms… Thanks

[mica]

If you have a filter without a Q-switch, it behaves like a filter with the Q-switch permanently in the boost position (typically 8dB). When you add the switch, the filter has the flat response without the resonant peak at the cutoff. It's not like a standard treble roll-off control.

In use, the Q-switch in the "on" (boosted) position tends to give you a more aggressive attack. When it's in the "off" position, you have a softer attack. It really impacts the attack the most, and sustaining a note while flicking the Q-switch makes very little difference in tone. I tend to think of the Q on for playing with a pick, slap, or more rock style. For blues and ballads, the softer attack is usually nice. Of course you can use it any way you like

Right now, as you sweep the filter control, you hear a bit of a "wah-wah" sound. Most people don't use it as a wah-wah, but it's a good way to hear what the Q is doing, adding that 8dB boost to the cutoff frequency. When you change the cutoff frequency rapidly by rotating the folter frequency control, you hear the effect.

[Songdog]

There's so much good information here that sometimes it's hard to find it all.

Have you come across Bob Novy's Post on Filters and Qs? It's long and detailed (and has some jargon, but I think it explains it well).

I like to turn off the Q switch on my bass when setting the filter to lower frequencies, otherwise that resonant peak is a bit much.

When the Q is off, the filter acts like the tone control on a Fender-style bass wishes it could.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Danny,

Here's a good explanation of Q-switch function as written by David Houck in the FAQ / Series I-II area of this forum:

Basically, the filter control is a low pass filter; as you roll it back it lowers the point at which it passes low frequency signals and blocks high frequency signals. To quote Mica, the range is from 350Hz-6KHz. Wherever you set the filter, only frequencies below that cutoff point are passed. The Q switch is a 3 position switch and works in concert with the filter.  It provides 0, 6db, and 9db of boost at the cut off frequency you've set with the filter. When the switch is off you get a flat response up to the filter setting. Again to quote Mica, the Q affects mainly the attack portion of the note.

I'll add that 9db of boost is quite a bit and can almost sound like a wah-wah pedal as you sweep through the frequencies. That gives you an idea of how you can shape the tone in crazy ways.  Also - I'm not sure if this only pertains to the Series instruments or not but - 6k is quite a high frequency for a bass instrument to produce.  So boosting that much at that frequency really brings out a sparkle and bright fret tones.

Jimmy J

[diptixon]

Thanks for the great info, all … think I’m gonna buy the 3 position and have it done by a professional… ;-)

[edwardofhuncote]

First, Congratulations & Compliments on two fine Orions. The first Orion I ever played, was Keith's Custom, "Orion Nebula" mentioned upthread, and several of its features made it onto my eventual Custom.

Now, just to muddy up the water for you... there are a couple choices with 3-position Q-switches. A 0-3-6 dB, and a 0-6-9 dB. I opted for the lower values on both of my basses that have them. I find that I use the switch more on my fretless than the fretted counterpart. On the fretted one, the switch tends to stay parked in the middle (3dB) position. On a rare occasion, I may turn it to 0dB, or 6dB. I can't really explain my logic beyond, my ears tell me what I want that bass to sound like, and right there is The Zone. On the fretless, it's often toggled to 6dB for a passage I want to be more 'present'. I sometimes play with the switch in the 0dB [OFF] position, and the filter pot fully open. Thats a really organic sound... perfect for acoustic accompaniment. (which I  do a lot of...) If there is a point to this ramble, it's that the switch gives you options. You may, or may not need all these.

With all that in mind, remember what Mica posted; you are already experiencing 8dB of boost of whatever your filters are set at. Weigh your decision on that information. Another caveat; these guys are real pros, and I am a part-time weekend warrior. Mica runs the show at Alembic, so you've already gotten plenty of advice.

Welcome to the Club. Have some fun with those basses! And post some more pictures.   

[diptixon]

Hmmm….

[keith_h]

As Greg notes with my Series 1 I tend to use the 0dB and 6 dB most of the time. I generally leave my filters open or close to it relying upon my fingers and the Q-switch to keep things from sounding too bright. I use the 9 dB position as more of an effect where I want the extra zing or to stand out. With the two position Q-switch I use the full boost position more often (8 dB IIRC) since there is no middle option. I will use my fingers or the filter to tone down the extra brightness when needed. Like most things it boils down to technique and learning how to set the instrument to get the sound you are looking for.

[fivestringdan]

Beautiful pair! I love my Orion bass.