My Zon Sonus 519... progress pics!!!

[Addison]

Well, a couple of you might remember that back in THIS THREAD I was looking for a new/used five-string... I sold some bass and non-bass stuff and saved up some additional money and... after the wife's approval ... I decided to go for a "dream bass" of sorts.

The final result is a Zon Sonus 519 with a buckeye burl top, swamp ash body, wenge tone block, and a buckeye ramp made from the same top piece that the body was made from.

Here are some progress pics... but, the bass is almost completely finished and I should have it in a couple of weeks!!!

*** FINGERS CROSSED ***

Here's a pic of the raw wood top, after a little naptha bath so I could get an idea of what it would look like finished...


Sanding, smoothing and shaping after CNC...


Here is a good shot of the wenge tone block... you can see how deceiving a buckeye burl top looks when it's dry and dusty.


Here is the body after it was cleaned up, with an initial coat of grain filler/enhancer applied before it went to the booth for clear coat!!




Yes, I am VERY excited for this bass... a Zon has been a dream of mine for a VERY long time. Due to recent events, my buying/selling/purchasing days will be over for a few years, so I'm glad I was able to fit this one in beforehand!

Right now, Joe Zon is waiting on the electronics (split coil "skinnys" specially wound for lefty!)... so I hope the Bartolini crew comes through for me so I can get this bass before my big show on New Year's Eve.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pics... let me know what you think!!!

[Basshappi]

I think that is an amazing piece of wood!
Can't wait to see the finished bass and hear some soundclips. Hope it is everything you hope it will be and that you get it in time for your show.

Cheers!

[Frenchy-Lefty]

It looks awesome! (and expensive!).
I can't wait to hear a sound clips too - After you get it, I might even drop by one of your shows if you let me know the dates -

[AzWhoFan]

Very awesome. That naptha-bathed top reminds me of many of my drug induced experiences of the 70's ..... oh wait, I not supposed to be able to remember any of them now ....

2 BIG thumbs up!

[Rodent]

that is a KILLER (and quite expensive) chunk-o-Buckeye there on that top nice score!!!! ZON builds fantastic basses

I'm curious about the "split coil 'skinnys' specially wound for lefty": what kind of special pickup winding must be done for a lefty? I can see Bart needing to pot the lefty pickups into a cover with the Bart logo orientated for a lefty installation, but outside on a something proprietary they might be doing with the physical magnets (blade or pole) I'm left scratching my head about anything unique in the actual winding process based on playing orientation. Can you elaborate more on what the specialness is?

all the best,

R

[Addison]

Thanks guys!

I'm curious about the "split coil 'skinnys' specially wound for lefty": what kind of special pickup winding must be done for a lefty?

Ok, here's the way I understood it... please forgive me if I'm not translating what Joe explained to me correctly, because "pickup science" to me is like understanding vacuum tubes for amps. I just haven't quite grasped how it all works yet.

Joe said that with a 5-string the coil is split 3 and 2... the larger coil goes under the A, D, G strings, and the smaller coil goes under the B and E strings. He said it sounds better that way.

He also said that the winding varies in height to mimic having adjustable pole pieces to compensate for the radius and for strings that are natually lower in output.

Bart pickups have the logo on them, so if he installed them in a lefty bass so the smaller coil was under the B and E strings, the Bart logo would be upside down. Because Bart p'ups are sealed, he can't just switch the cover around, so he actually has Bill wind them special for lefty players.

Am I making any sense at all?

It makes sense in my head, but when I try to say it... I feel like I'm speaking Japanese.

[Rodent]

yup- makes sense, and if Joe prefers the B/E to be covered with the smaller coil then this is what you'd have to have done with the Bart design

curiosity cured - I can sleep tonight!

all the best,

R

[gravesbass]

I saw this body in the rough and I must say, it's one of the prettiest tops I have seen.

Bartolini is close to us (though they take a while for everything custom), it's 1 day ship to Joe. You should have your bass by Christmas I predict. That Wenge tone plate is killer looking with the clear coat!

[bbl]

Wow, that makes my clear ash Sonus 4 looks utterly boring.

I generally don't prefer Barts these days, but imo, they're a great in a Zon - dark pickups in a very bright and punchy bass (probably due to the composite neck).

Did you get the buckeye burl idea from thumbslam's Warrior?

[Addison]

Did you get the buckeye burl idea from thumbslam's Warrior?

Looking at his bass certainly didn't help my craving!

But, yeah... I've been gassing for a buckeye burl top for at least a couple of years... before buckeye, I was all about heavily figured spalted maple. Someday I'll have a spalted Sadowsky.

About a year ago, when I was gassing really hard for a 6-string... before I got my SKB3006 from across the pond... I got quotes for an MTD 635-24, Roscoe Century Signature 6, an Elrick e-volution SC, and a Zon TJ6... all were with Buckeye tops.

It's nice to finally make it happen.

[bbl]

Buckeye burl looks so crazy and exotic, but is it also for tone? Burl is quite hard and dense, right? Seems like it might produce some brightness and clarity. If you believe in tonewoods, that is.

Also, how much is that bass gonna weigh? If my Zon is any indication, it will still be quite light, even with the burl.

[Addison]

Rod might be able to chime in on this since he's probably worked with buckeye burl before, but... from what i understand, it's usually incredibly light. And it must be pretty dense, since I've seen pens and bowls and that kind of thing carved out of it.

As far as being a "tonewood"... meh... I dunno...?

Honestly, I've heard mixed things, but it's never been from anyone who seemd like an expert to me. I've always been part of the camp that believes that "tops" have far less to do with sound than necks, fingerboards, and bodies do. Take a pickguard for example... does that seem like a good "sound conductor" for the top of your bass? Some of the best bass tone I've ever heard was from a bass with a pickguard on it. Also... when I play any of my electric basses unplugged, I always hear most of the sound radiate from the back of the bass.

But... the way I see it, even if it's not the best choice for a top wood, it can't be THAT bad...

Alembic, Sadowsky, Elrick, Fodera, Zon, Lakland, MTD, Spector, Roscoe, and Warrior all seem to think it's OK to use, so I'm going with what they say.

[Addison]

Sanding, smoothing and shaping after CNC...

I need to correct myself here...

I found out that Zon does NOT CNC their bodies... it's bandsaw, router, and hand shaping/sanding all the way.

I guess I assumed there was a CNC involved since it was only a couple of days between my top wood selection and the pics, but apparently those guys work pretty fast!

[thumbslam]

That is one beautiful wood sandwich!! Thanks for giving me Zon gas. Already thinking about my tax return might have Joe Zon’s name on it…

[Addison]

*passes out*

[blankrider]

hot damn that's nice.

[AzWhoFan]

hot damn that's nice.

+1
Addison is going to have his-self one heckufa merry christmas.

[slybass3000]

*passes out*

WOW. +100000000000

Congrats Chris,

On time for xmas?

[funky42]

that is funkin awesome! congrats chris! that really is a dream bass,

[pjmuck]

Absolutely stunning! You can pick wood for me anytime (or at the very least, a decent Christmas tree that doesn't drop needles the minute you get it home!).