OVERLOAD ON PERSUADER WITH FATBOYS

[0vid]

The Fatboy in bridge position is absolutely brilliant for slapping, but for regular fingerstyle I really-really-really miss the clear highs from the AXY  
 
Funny you say that... I prefer  a single Fatboy in the bridge position for a fretless fingerstyle ( the neck one does not get used much), it has that low mid grunt the AXY does not have, but I much prefer the AXY for slap on a fretted... does not have that mid grunt, I prefer the 'cleaner' AXY sound for that.
 
(Message edited by 0vid on March 21, 2008)

[adriaan]

0vid - you're talking about a bass that you built yourself, right? Is the bridge pick-up in the StingRay sweetspot, or closer to the bridge like on an Alembic? Maybe it's the sheer loudness of the thing that makes me enjoy the slap qualities of a bridge Fatboy soloed ... but it definitely needs the hyped Q and lots of treble boost!
 
As my fretless Epic has MXYs I can't try out the Fatboy there, but what you say about the Fatboy being more suited as the bridge pickup on a fretless makes a lot of sense.
 
Let's ask the experts if they have any complaints about the highs on an Excel with the single Fatboy in the middle position ...

[0vid]

The fatboy bridge pickups are loaded on basses I made snug right up to the bridge, not the Stingray or Jazz bridge position. Also I use no EQ on the bass or on the rig, the F1-X is flat usually. I do use the low pass filter for a couple of tunes but usually run them wide open. I don't use the Q switch.

[adriaan]

I've put the AXY back in the bridge position, and it restored the clarity I was missing. I hadn't realized but the Fatboy seems to be less focused for those little harmonics all over the lower frets. Kind of like the proximity effect on a microphone.
 
Going back to the AXY does not make quite the big difference in clarity like I thought it would, but still too much to ignore. Then again I lose the oomph I was winning with the Fatboy - it really is frustrating either way.
 
Next up, I'll put the Fatboy in the neck position. The AXY there is brighter than it needs to be, and it does have nice oomph - who knows what the Fatboy can add.

[adriaan]

Oh dear - I'll be returning the Fatboy to 0vid, who very graciously proposed a swap of his Fatboy for my AXY. It's been an absolute pleasure to be able to find out the differences in person and on my own Spoiler, but the AXY is the better option for me - the Fatboy is just too dark.

[rneub]

Adriaan, how did you like the Fatboy in the neck position? ( I've read that you went back to AXY, but I just like to hear about your experience)I did not do it yet, but I'm wondering. Was it more or less the same as the Fatboy in the bridge position?

[adriaan]

In the neck position, it didn't make much of a difference other than the loss of sparkle, when soloed. But it seemed to overpower the AXY at the bridge, rendering the pan pot quite useless.
 
People seem to agree that you can combine a Fatboy at the bridge with an AXY at the neck, but not the other way around. A set of Fatboys should probably work fine.
 
Perhaps a short comment about my playing conditions - I play only in our living room through a SWR Workingman's 12, with the volume pretty low. Perhaps with a louder rig, in a band situation, the loss of sparkle is less of a problem.

[dannobasso]

My Excels have Fatboys in both positions. I can attest that live it is plenty crisp. I usually have to turn off the bright switch on the F1X.
That is for the basses with Spoiler or Distillate electronics.

[rneub]

Thanks guys! Always a pleasure getting advice from our great Alembic community