Gauge105 - IB-5 Fretless

[gauge105]

The IB5 kit pickups are barely adequate and rather dull sounding. I have a spare set if you really want them.

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Cheers Waz, I figured the kit hardware would be kind of lackluster. I'm not in a rush to put this together so I'll do a bit more research on pickup options before committing.

[wazkelly]

Did you get any tuners or bridge or are they on your shopping list too?

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[gauge105]

I wanted to get hold of the body and neck before I make those choices. Given that this is my first build i didn't want to buy parts that don't suit it

[wazkelly]

Fair call.
Whereabouts are you situated? In OZ or overseas?

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[gauge105]

I'm in Perth WA

[wazkelly]

Ok, plenty of parts available in OZ

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[gauge105]

Ok, plenty of parts available in OZ

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Who would you recommend in Australia for things like tuners and pickups?

[wazkelly]

The shape & size of pickups limits your choices and most are made overseas.....EMG & SD can be bought online maybe through Amazon or eBay, maybe even direct. In Perth there could be guitar stores that stock what you need too.
For tuners, the modern looking ones on PBG store are same as what comes in the kit and ok, just not high end like Grover or gotoh. Kit bridge is not a good one and if chasing black that limits your choices.
Real parts would be worth checking out as they have a few extra things that PBG don't.
www.realparts.com.au
If tempted to buy on ebay just be wary of anything coming direct out of China as the measurements and descriptions may be different, possibly lost in translation. Most of the time if using paypal you are protected and obtaining refunds for poor quality or poorly described goods is very easy.

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[gauge105]

I was contemplating making my own bridge, like the nut, from Aussie buloke. Haven't settled on a design as yet.

Tuners, I was thinking about sperzel but they are quite expensive and I've heard the shafts aren't common diameter. I'll check out the other options tonight.

I'm willing to invest a bit extra in the pickups since that's where the magic really happens. Still leaning towards the Lace pickups due to the size and specs but I'm going to look into some more audio reviews after what Sonic brought up.

[wazkelly]

Never actually heard them so cannot comment. It all comes down to what sound you are chasing. Humbucker bass pickups tend to be more meaty....think Thundebird and the bass sound on Slash's past few albums. If they come in 4 wire that provides coil split options where you can achieve almost P & J bass sounds.

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