FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. Instruments construction details
1.1. Why does D'Alegria build bolt-on basses? Is it true that the neck-through instruments offer more sustain than the bolt-on ones?
1.2. Is it true that the instrument's weight influences the sound?
1.3. Is it possible to have basses even lighter than D'Alegria's without harming the sound?
1.4. What is "neck dive"?
1.5. Is it true that in electric instruments only the pickups define the sound?
1.6. The chosen woods change the sound of an instrument?
1.7. Why does D'Alegria uses wood such as Ipê, Roxinho (Purpleheart), Cumaru, Freijó, Marupá and others instead of the most commonly used (Maple, Mahogany, Rosewood)?
2.1. Why is the neck of the Dart model multi-laminated?
2.2. What is the advantage of a glued fingerboard?
2.3. Why does D'Alegria include extra internal reinforcements beside the truss rod on its bass guitar necks?
2.4. Why does D'Alegria use glued headstocks on the necks of the Dart basses?
2.5. Why are there back and frontal veneering woods on the headstocks of the Dart basses?
2.6. Why does D'Alegria use a 2-piece expansion truss rod?
2.7. What are the differences between flat and arched fingerboards?
2.8. Why are D'Alegria basses frets glued on the fingerboard?
3. Electrical parts and pickups
3.1. Why is the electrical cavity of all D'Alegria basses shielded?
3.2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of active and passive pickups, and why does D'Alegria use a preamp on its active basses?
3.3. Why has D'Alegria opted to use its own exclusive self-made preamp?
3.4. What's the advantage of humbucker pickups over single-coil ones?
3.5. The distance and the angle between the strings and the pickups have any influence on the sound?
4.1. What is the difference between "roundwound" and "flatwound" strings?
4.2. Why does D'Alegria handle all steps of its production internally, without third-part involvement in any phase?
1. Instruments construction details
1.1. Why does D'Alegria build bolt-on basses? Is it true that the neck-through instruments offer more sustain than the bolt-on ones?
This is a very controversial subject. There's no direct relation between the sustain and the fact of the instrument be a neck-through or a bolt-on one. In a simplistic analysis, we can assume that the sustain will be bigger when the string's vibration energy is less absorbed by the vibration of the other parts of the instrument. This fact induces us to conclude that the more rigid instruments offer more sustain than the less rigid ones. For a bolt-on instrument to be rigid and offer a considerable amount of sustain more careful has to be its project and construction when compared to a neck-through one, hence the perception of the latter having more sustain. In addition, it is also important to understand that the "more sustain the better" concept isn't always the truth. An excessive sustain would make the string to vibrate indefinitely, totally changing the sound characteristics of the bass guitar and making it sound like an electronic instrument, such as a keyboard.
Anyway, usually a high sustain is achieved by using a very rigid neck (at D'Alegria we use very rigid woods such as Ipe and Purpleheart and still include a truss rod plus a pair of internal steel reinforcements on the Dart series), by having a well-done body-neck junction, and by using specific woods for the body that are resonant without absorbing too much vibration energy from the string.
That said, the big difference between bolt-on and neck-through instruments isn't the sustain, but the SOUND. The neck-through instruments feature a stronger fundamental frequency, though with less harmonics in the mid-bass and treble regions, while the bolt-on instruments tend to feature a sound with more "attack" and more definition in the mid-bass region. Generally speaking, the neck-through instruments usually present a stronger bass tone and less definition in mid tones, whilst bolt-on instruments tend to have a more defined sound, with more "attack".
The bolt-on instruments, when built with appropriate woods and techniques, offer an excellent definition in the mid-bass tones, which is the main requisite for a bass player to be heard when playing together with a band. It is exactly the high definition on these frequencies that allows the bassist to be noticed in the mix, therefore it is one of the main characteristics we aim in our instruments while projecting them.
1.2. Is it true that the instrument's weight influences the sound?
No. Usually this is said in respect to heavier woods being commonly more resonant and more rigid than lighter woods, offering more sustain and more sound to the instrument built with them. However, this is not a rule. With an adequate choice of woods and construction techniques, it's possible to build very light instruments, with a lot of sustain and clear sound. The aimed objective in terms of sound and punch has to be taken in consideration during the project period.
1.3. Is it possible to have basses even lighter than D'Alegria's without harming the sound?
Theoretically speaking, yes. What would happen though is that the mechanical equilibrium of the instrument would be affected, making it incline to one side (an effect known as "neck dive") or making it a bit uncomfortable to play while seated.
1.4. What is "neck dive"?
The neck dive happens in instruments where the neck is too heavy in comparison to the body, making the headstock lean into the floor direction while in rest position. This happens when the body is lighter than it should, and causes severe discomfort to the musician when the instrument is played for long periods. This phenomenom forces the musician to hold frequently the neck while playing, and in addition it overloads his/her shoulders in an unequal way. The shoulder located closer to the headstock takes the bigger amount of weight, and when this happens frequently column deviations might be caused.
1.5. Is it true that in electric instruments only the pickups define the sound?
This is not true. Obviously being a bass guitar an electric instrument gives the pickup a big amount of responsibility on the generated sound. However, the pickup will only turn the string vibration into sound, and this will be different depending on the wood and construction choices altogether. There's no doubt that what has to be analyzed is the combination of a specific pickup with specific woods, thus achieving the desired sound.
1.6. The chosen woods change the sound of an instrument?
Totally! The pickup simply transforms the strings vibration into electric pulses. However, who will actually define how the strings vibrate are the woods used. Its choice is fundamental for the aimed sound to be achieved.
1.7. Why does D'Alegria uses wood such as Ipê, Roxinho (Purpleheart), Cumaru, Freijó, Marupá and others instead of the most commonly used (Maple, Mahogany, Rosewood)?
Woods like Maple, Mahogany or Rosewood have been used through the years by all kinds of instruments manufacturers. Despite their excellent characteristics, our country (Brazil) has an exceptional set of options when the subject is wood. The use of new types of wood provides new grounds in terms of sound, stability and look of the musical instruments, besides reducing the pressure over endangered species such as Mahogany and Rosewood. We believe that the scientific choice of new species is a valid path for the evolution in instruments manufacturing. D'Alegria only uses woods comprising certain stability, esthetics, durability and sound quality skills, and consciously utilizes combinations that will provide the maximum in sound. Ipê, for example, is considered to be a possible replacement for Ebony by the Soundwood Institute (www.soundwood.org) and the Purpleheart (or "Roxinho" like it is called in Brazil) is widely used internationally in neck's construction when the goal is resistance and stability by all means.
These details make the D'Alegria basses unique in terms of durability, look and sound, turning them into exclusive instruments.
2. Neck construction
2.1. Why is the neck of the Dart model multi-laminated?
With a multi-piece lamination it is possible to combine the wood grain of all laminations in order to reach the maximum in stability and rigidity. In addition, the use of several pieces allows us to decrease the resonance peak of the neck, hence making the sustain and the volume of the notes to be more uniform throughout the whole fingerboard.
2.2. What is the advantage of a glued fingerboard?
A glued fingerboard, even if made with the same wood of the neck, makes the neck more rigid which contributes to more sustain and sound definition. Another advantage of the glued fingerboard is to allow us to install a 2-piece truss rod underneath it, distributing in a more balanced way the tension applied to the neck.
2.3. Why does D'Alegria include extra internal reinforcements beside the truss rod on its bass guitar necks (Dart series)?
The internal reinforcements made of steel that are present on the D'Alegria necks comprise 2 functions. The first one is to provide a more resistant bass to the strings tension, allowing a very small possibility of bending. The second function is to provide a more rigid neck with the consequent increase of its resonance frequencies, thus reducing the incidence of dead spots.
2.4. Why does D'Alegria use glued headstocks on the necks of the Dart basses?
A glued headstock allows the wood grain pattern at the junction point with the neck to be perpendicular to the force provided by the strings, maximizing the resistance and the durability of the neck. This kind of arrangement offers the maximum in resistance on this critical point of the neck, minimizing fractures or fissures.
2.5. Why are there back and frontal veneering woods on the headstocks of the Dart basses?
The laminations located in the front and back parts of the headstock contribute to the esthetical part of the instrument as well as help to reinforce the headstock's structure, providing a more resistant set.
2.6. Why does D'Alegria use a 2-piece expansion truss rod?
The expansion truss rod is comprised of 2 pieces positioned in a certain way on which when the adjustment nut is rotated one of these pieces compresses the other, making it expand and forming an arch that pushes the neck to its rear position.
With this arrangement the force imposed on the neck depends exclusively on the tension applied to the adjustment nut, what makes the neck less susceptible to climatic variations and needing less frequent adjustments. It is a more expensive truss rod and even more difficult to produce and install, but it is worth it due to the stability granted to the instrument's neck. This fact also minimizes the chance of any torsions or "S" bendings on the neck, since the truss rod's tension only acts in a way of compensating the strings tension, without compressing the wood.
2.7. What are the differences between flat and arched fingerboards?
The flat fingerboards are usually appreciated by musicians who have a faster fingering, since it makes the transition between the strings easier. The arched fingerboards are often preferred by players used to vintage instruments. This is, by no means, a rule, but rather a matter of preference which will change from musician to musician.
2.8. Why are D'Alegria basses frets glued on the fingerboard?
The objective of gluing the frets is to guarantee that they won't move during the instrument's life. The fingerboard "works" constantly, contracting and expanding according to the variations of temperature and humidity. After years of use this could affect the fixation of the frets even if only by millimeters, thus harming the action and the playability of the instrument.
3. Electrical parts and pickups
3.1. Why is the electrical cavity of all D'Alegria basses shielded?
The objective of shielding the electrical cavity with copper is to build a "Faraday cage", where the magnetic field is null internally. This means that with this arrangement it is possible for the electric circuit not to suffer influences from external magnetic fields, which would represent noises and interfere on the instrument's sound. The use of copper, due to its high conductance, allows a high level of shielding.
3.2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of active and passive pickups, and why does D'Alegria use a preamp on its active basses?
The main purpose of using either an active or a passive pickup with a preamp is the same. The idea is to provide in the instrument's output a high headroom and low impedance, with 3 basic objectives:
- To minimize the effects of the amp's input impedance on the final sound result;
- To diminish the effect of the cables' capacitance, which causes a "cut" in the high frequencies in passive basses;
- To diminish the generation of noise through the cable that connects the bass to the amplifier, since the low impedance signal is less susceptible to this.
These objectives are reached with the use of a preamp, providing a high impedance input where the pickup is connected and a low impedance output where the amp is connected. In both cases (active pickup and passive pickup + preamp) the arrangement is the same. The only difference is the localization of the preamp: with the active pickup the preamp is installed inside it, and with the passive pickup + preamp it is located inside the instrument's electrical cavity. Each arrangement offers, as expected, advantages and disadvantages, and depending on how careful the project and the manufacturing are the results might be good or not, in both cases. These advantages and disadvantages are listed as follows:
3.2.1. Active pickup
Advantage
- Since the preamp is located inside the pickup, it is easier to control the noise generation and therefore easier to obtain a very silent pickupDisadvantages
- The existence of batteries for it to work is completely necessary, which means that if the batteries die the pickup stops working
- It doesn't allow a preamp being projected with special sound characteristics for the pickup, since the only way to modify the sound is through the tone controls
- It doesn't allow any changes within the connection arrangement of the pickup's coils (series/parallel, single coil, dephasers, etc.), commonly used in a lot of instruments.3.2.2. Passive pickup + pre-amplifier
Disadvantage
- It's more inclined to noise generation than the active pickup, and so for a silent operation extra care is neededAdvantages
- It can work without any batteries
- It allows several connection schemes for the coils (humbucking, single coil, series/parallel, dephased, etc.)
- It allows the change of the pickup's response through the characteristics of the used preampWe at D'Alegria believe that the system combining passive pickup and preamp offers more flexibility, since we could invest our efforts in the project and construction of an exclusive and high quality preamp. We believe that this kind of arrangement not only guarantees more flexibility to the instrument but also lends a more natural sound.
3.3. Why has D'Alegria opted to use its own exclusive self-made preamp?
The complete manufacturing of an exclusive preamp allowed us to project a circuit with the purpose of extract the maximum in sound and performance of the materials (pickups and the combination of woods) used within our basses. The frequencies and the action of the filters chosen were defined in agreement with the bass' project, what allowed a very optimized final result.
3.4. What's the advantage of humbucker pickups over single-coil ones?
Humbucker pickups provide a silent operation, since the captation of external noises (mainly "hum") is null due to its construction characteristics. Regarding the sound, single coil and humbucker pickups tend to sound in different ways, but this depends on a number of other factors such as coil inductance and format, materials used, format and localization of the magnets, etc.
3.5. The distance and the angle between the strings and the pickups have any influence on the sound?
Yes. The electric signal of the pickup is generated from the alteration of its magnetic field by the vibrating string. This field is stronger close to the pickup, and so the distance between the string and the pickup has an influence on the obtained output. The angle between the string and the pickup's surface is also relevant, and the string must be as parallel as possible to the front surface of the pickup.
4. General
4.1. What is the difference between "roundwound" and "flatwound" strings?
The roundwound strings are composed of a core involved in a round-section wire, whilst on flatwound strings such wire has the core wrapped up by a square-section wire. The difference between both is more perceptible in the sound, having a roundwound string a brighter sound with more sustain, and being the sound of a flatwound string sultrier and closer to the sound of an acoustic bass string.
4.2. Why does D'Alegria handle all steps of its production internally, without third-part involvement in any phase?
We believe that only this way we can totally guarantee the quality in all steps of the manufacturing process, enabling the construction of exclusive instruments with higher quality.