Post your Melvins collection

[Dumpster D]

*Insert theme music here*

[Pelican]

My most prized worldly possession.

[bUTTHOLEmAN]

Nice! Do you play it often?

[Pelican]

Nice! Do you play it often?

Not too often. Every now and then I'll take it off the wall to play a little Night Goat or Eye Flies. Even though it's easily the most banged up instrument I've ever owned (still plays great though) I'm afraid to use it too much, I want all the dents and dings to remain Kevin's. I made myself a replica of sorts, with a Jazz body with a P-neck, brass nut, those same G&L single coil pickups, and wiring that is copied exactly like Kevin's. I play that one more often. I've had it for a year and a half now, I still can't believe I have it. Plug it in and it's just nasty in the most amazing way.

[Rusty Shackleford]

 

That's too cool.  Did you buy that on EBay? 

Kevin sold a Beta preamp on there a few years ago. 

[Pelican]

That's too cool.  Did you buy that on EBay? 

Kevin sold a Beta preamp on there a few years ago.

He posted on Instagram that he was selling it and I sent him a message.

[jules]

My most prized worldly possession.

Fuck, that's cool!

[Dumpster D]

yeah, god damn that bass!!! NICE...did you low ball him? I'll bet he was really desperate for cash. 

Play the dog breath out of it man, Just enjoy it...I would.

do you know what year it was made and where he got it etc ?

Do you practice in the mirror with boots and mumu doing the ole' Swivel hips dance? 

[bUTTHOLEmAN]

That bass for sure has swivel hip rub marks.

[Pelican]

Dumpster D, no low ball required, his asking price was reasonable.
It was made by Eric Chaz. I believe it was made in 2000 or 2001. I know he had it made shortly after joining the Melvins. The green one was made by Chaz too, in 2003ish. This one originally had a split P-bass pickup in the bridge position and a Fender style jazz pickup in the neck position. A few years later he switched them out for the G&L single coils, like in his old Cows SB-2.

When I do throw it over my shoulder it is difficult to resist swiveling around. I usually do. 

[Dumpster D]

I was kidding about the Low balling. 

So awesome, wow.  Special Request...can you post a shot of the wiring of your bass for me?

And brass nut? where'd you get that?!?! how does that feel and sound? I think raunchy...very raunch.



I Just brought a late 70's P-bass back from the dead, minus the fret dressing it desperately needs, I wired it myself and found that a fun Job, It's pretty solid, one of the heftier Maple neck guitars I've ever played, the split single is pretty good, what sort of tone does the two single G&L pickups give?

Have you ever asked Kevin about his actual intonation and general Setup?

I'd like to know, I saw like a foot switch or something taped on his green horn bass, do you know what that's for?

Anyway I've always loved and wanted that bass, so..congrats on being the proud owner of that thing!!! I have an old Ludwig Jazz kit with double kicks you'd love to see, that bass would go along perfect with a gold sparkle Drum kit!!! 


PS....Lock-ins???!?!?? 


my friend, get some of these instead :

[Pelican]

I know I've got a pic of the wiring, I'm having trouble finding it. Might have to open it back up and take another. It's a clusterfuck in there though, tight rout for the pots and wires going all over themselves. Took me a while to trace everything to its right place.

Yeah, brass nut. Kevin's bass has it. When I built the replica I had my luthier put a brass one on that too, just to try to get the tone as close as possible. From what I've read online brass nuts are popular with slide guitarists, so it makes sense. I think it brightens up the tone as well.

On a technical side note, both pickups are bridge pickups, which also makes it more aggressive and gnarly sounding. The neck pickup for first version G&L SB-2 and Lynx is no longer available, so both had to be bridge versions. Two single G&L MFDs are big, gnarly sounding pickups. I'd say much more bite than Fender pickups. More sensitive to a pick. You can roll the tone back and get something in the neighborhood of a P or J Fender, but it's still kind of it's own thing. Hard to describe I guess. Loud too, they're passive pickups, but they're about the loudest passive pickups I've ever played. Check out any of those old Cows records, or some of the Kevin-era Melvins stuff, they sound awesome. This is a pretty good video (with the nearly identical green bass) to get an idea of what they sound like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izAc1yvNLwQ

Never asked him about setup. My impression from talking to him, he's not a big details guy, lol. The action is kind of high on this though, maybe because of all the slide work he does?

I think that switch you're talking about is actually a desk bell. No idea what the hell he was doing with that.

Oh yeah, the locking strap buttons were on it when I got it. On the top horn one, the screw was backed half way out. I was trying to figure out if that's why there is so much gaff tape on there, or if he taped the hell out of it and the screw backed out without him noticing. Who knows, lol. But yeah, keeping it exactly as I received it (minus fresh strings). The strap was not his strap, but I scoured the interwebs for six months and finally found another one just like his last strap he used in Melvins, and on into Hepa/Titus. My other guitars and basses all have Grolsch washers.

I tried to post a few up close pics, but I keep getting an error message. The lower edge of the fret board is scalloped from the slide. 3 of the 4 knobs are broken off, one of the pot posts is completely sheared off, I assume from slamming the slide down. The pots all still work fine. I assume he kept everything dialed to 10 at all times. Also, it's got a white ASS decal on the headstock. 

[Pelican]

Here's the replica. For some reason I can upload this and not the detail shots of Kevin's. User error I'm sure.

[Dumpster D]

I wasn't sure about whether it was a Dinger bell or actually an FS-1 Style roland foot switch he'd taped on there.

I'd say what you got there IMO between the two singles is like having one Giant Humbucker or something depending how it's wired.

Have you ever tested the PUPs resistance with a Volt meter? I'd be curious to see what kind of numbers you're working with.  Hell..I might as well ask you the gauge of the wind on those bobbins eh? 

I definitely know the sound that bass make it the meanest most super crisp, super tight and mostly Top end and nasty bite...LOUD AF!!! 

I've always been more of a Jazz bass guy than a P bass guy...that being said...two Bridge pickups is pretty cool...that would explain why it's so loud apart from the output on those coils.

The high action is probably for slide like you said, either that or it's gone off over the years and no one's checked the relief ever.

Safe to presume the tape is holding the screw in. 

Those Locking nuts are a fuckin' nightmare IMO.


I was watching a Live Melvins set last night, from San Fran in 2003, guess what? he was using that bass instead of the slimer green one. 

I love your bass, Thanks for sharing with us! 

[jules]

2 to go, 2 to trade