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I’d not seen this documentary before. I’m sure a few people here will enjoy it.

A couple of early Classics: In October 2009, EBMM introduced the new Classic Series at Bass Player Live. Five instruments were on display, finished in Surf Green, Shell Pink, Sonic Blue, Trans White and Fiesta Red. Here are two from that first edition: B050501 (Surf Green) and B050505 (Fiesta Red) For the regular production run, the colours were renamed Mint Green and Coral Red. [Nice weight on the Surf Green - 8.9 lbs.]

Yes, it is true. Actually, there are several stories and one (not involving class D specifically but involving confirmation bias and over-confidence in listening abilities) where I rigged a double-blind listening test to select between the same power amp and added only 1/2dB to one amp's level caused a high percentage of people to be "positive" they were listening to two different amps (presented to the group as 2 quite different circuits). Of course there was the cork sniffing swagger, the golden ears proclaiming all kinds of absurdities, the hyperbole, etc. When the curtain was parted and they saw that they had been listening to the SAME amp, the excuses started coming out and it became clear that I had just finished my last day with that company (and the high end Hi-Fi industry as a whole). This was in 1981 or 82 and I was planning on quitting the next day anyway, so it wasn't an unexpected or even unwanted outcome (This industry was just full of snake-oil marketing that had no bearing on reality or truth of any kind). The point being that even a small difference in level, or in preamp voicing can make a much bigger impression than most folks realize.

It might be a coincidence, but it's also just as likely (maybe more likely) that you prefer the voicings that were more common in the older designs. Preamp (and speaker) voicings have evolved a lot in the 40 years that I have been designing products and this has been driven primarily by changing player preferences along with changes in music styles. One of the best examples of this that I can think of (off the top of my head) is the Darkglass models, they are what the industry refers to as "Euro-modern hard rock/metal" and is quite different from products we used to offer in our lines (Carbines and Strategy/Prodigy) which were American hard rock/metal oriented. The Euro tone evolved from the American tone as the music itself evolved. Because class D wasn't available (in practice) when these older products were developed, they were by default class AB. When Darkglass revisited this theme with their approach, class D was available and a practical option so that's the direction that they went. The appear to be very successful for those players seeking that voicing. I did test a Carbine preamp with a class D power amp, it was close enough that nobody was really sure which power amp they were listening to when testing... but that voicing was becoming less and less popular so the decision was made to evolve the Subway line into something that followed the evolving tastes. In no way does it make you wrong for preferring the amps that you like, but there's a lot more involved than just the amp class.

I've owned a 1978 SB-1000 batwing headstock, and have had three MC924's. I can't comment on the tones of the SB-1000, the electronics in mine were shot. Someone had added two more pickups (original model) and had removed the original varitone and active circuitry and the middle (stock) pickup was barely working so the bass sounded nothing like it should have. I can comment on playability, feel and weight though: it was heavy, big and chunky and the near parallel strings won't be for everyone, as pointed out by various people above. I liked it a lot though, but I eventually sold it because I would rather want one that's still stock. I still have two of my three Musicians, and they're quite different from the SB despite the similar construction and looks. I have a 1981 MC924 (single coil soapbar pickups, mahogany body wings with ash facings, rounded body edges, HUGE neck) and a 1983 MC924 (PJ pickups, ash body wings, bevelled body edges, narrower and thinner neck). The one with the soapbars has a voice all of its own and sounds great, but the PJ is my favourite for versatility, ergonomics, playing comfort and range of tones (in part thanks to a pan pot as opposed to the 3-way switch of the older model). The 1981 is about to be shipped to Boston, but the 1983 is not going anywhere anytime soon! It's exactly one month younger than me, and very dear to me.

Not bad for a first attempt at a decal I think!

New model is finally done. See affiliates section. Demos to follow shortly.

77 Fender and 98 Modulus.

Close of play today... started to pelt it down with rain and the windows/doors aren't yet in... hopefully that won't cause issues. Back of building facing towards front door/shower room. Loo/shower room.

Other band members giving me a hard time about my drink and drugs habit

Singer/songwriter-guitarists (for it is always these people) who expect you to be able to transpose on the fly when they put their capo on the wrong fret, or expect you to improvise to whatever they're playing without even telling you the key or meter.

Like people who prefer class D want to reduce the benefits paid to single disabled mothers?

How are the pre’s “very similar”? Change one or two component and the voicing can change wildly. Unless the preamps are IDENTICAL, you aren’t comparing power amps, you just think you are (which is where confirmation bias comes into play) Now if you were to say that you preferred one amp over another without insisting that it’s due to the class of power amp, I can totally appreciate that.

Sometimes gambles pay off. It looked good in the seller pics, and it was lightweight. I prefer the pre-1970 pickup spacing, but I never use the bridge pickup on a Jazz anyway... At 8.5 lbs it's a dream to play, and the guys in the shop nailed the set up on it. With a quick change to a 0.1 ceramic disk capacitor, it's dark but still really bitey with the new roundwounds they put on it. I had a 1000 show 69 Jazz Bass which I stupidly sold in the early 2000's and have not had a factory Jazz since. Some pics of it indoors and outdoors!

New model just launched. ACG Mule which you can see in the affiliates section or on my website.

Thanks @fretmeister @fleabag @three - they look worth checking out.

I do remember a brilliant story about a gig I did with a guitar player who knows me well and a drummer and singer who didn't. Before we started playing the gig, we sat down to talk through the set list. This amounted to the singer asking me ' do you know this one'? and me replying 'no'. As we were called to the stage, I was listening to the first tune on my phone just to get a sense of the groove. It turned out later that drums and vocals were freaking out because we were about to play and I didn't know any of the tunes. We played a blinder. With vague notions of the tunes, good eye contact, watching the Guitarist's hands, 30 years of experience and big ears, I was able to keep the whole thing together without any difficulties whatsoeve. If I had said we can't play anything I don't 'know' , it would have been 2x45 minute versions of Johnny B Goode. Most of my best gigs ever have been playing things I have never learned.

If it comes to coolness, then Liberty X were always the cooler out of the pair.

1) Almost everything. 2) Other people finding this to be an unreasonable proposition.

My cobra blue ultra- And a sneaky six string- Blue is my favourite colour.

1970 ET280

Had both in 80's. The original Aria SB1000 with bat wing headstock i thought was a tremendous bass and sorry i ever sold it on. I found the neck very easy to get along with and i was used to playing Jazz or Shergold necks at that time. I did find it a very mid-focused bass no matter where i set the controls it always came across as having nice Lo to Hi mids depending where you set the switch. Reasonably heavy bass compared to newer basses but i was 9.5 st back in them days and didn't have any issue over a full gig. Neck was gorgeous to play and it just felt like a big step up on quality from other basses i had tried to that point. Had the MC925 in white in later 80's and again a heavy beast of a bass but a glorious neck. I did find the weight an issue with it over a full gig and it would dig into my shoulder a bit. A wider strap would have resolved that i think. Tonally i think it had a huge range of available tones from smooth bass to high treble and very nice mids. On a personal point of view i found the controls a bit more than i needed but always had a great tone from that bass. My strong memory is how good the neck felt to play. I dont recall anything special about the tone on the Ibanez. For me i'd prefer the Aria SB1000 as i liked that mid focused tone and growl. It always felt different to other basses in that price range whereas the Ibanez was just another bass to me. Aria had a distinct tone that the Ibanez didn't. Ibanez would probably give more variety of tone tho. It was a long time ago but my memory tells me the Aria felt better to play and better quality bass. I cant comment on reliability of either bass as i bought them new and had no issues over the 1-2 years i had them. Hope that helps a bit. Dave

The story that one amp class is superior or inferior to another. Are the different? Yes when driven into severe distortion. We all go into the discussion with biases and preconceptions* but when blind listening tests are conducted you get a truer reflection of what an amp or audio system can achieve.. *except me of course 😇

I actually think this is the main construction issue. Most of the ‘damage’ complaints seem to stem from either the corner protectors or the feet. Don’t think I’ve read about any issues with the carbon panels. Are the screws effectively being screwed into the foam in the panel ‘sandwich’. If so, can’t see that working too well, plus the screws are pretty small. As I previously mentioned, there was an issue with a corner of one of the display cabs I saw, which wasn’t great to see. Thinking about potential damage in that area, I thought it was going to be a case of ‘when’ not ‘if’ & I’m someone who is really, really careful with their gear.

So in that case I would say I never found a preamp I clicked with on the Cass D's owned, but had a very good hit rate on the A/B's. Quite a coincidence!

There's a easy way, ready to drop in, no soldering and works first time, or you could spend hours trying 😉

People helping out with packing up who proceed to wind cables around their elbow, or worse, their fist.

I almost never learn anything. I read dots and chord charts so can play most stuff cold. The trouble with learning stuff is that you have a very narrow available body of work at any given time. I learned lots of tunes in the past but cannot remember them. If I have the dots, I don't need to remember the tune, I just play it off the paper. If you have to learn something (because the band leader doesn't like music stands on stage), learning stuff off the paper is the best way and saves you a lot of time finding out what is happening. I read through this last night relatively cold (not the solo, just the 'bass' line). Listen from 5:44 onwards. I could never have done it by rote.

I always felt like that the first gig after Rebellion, back to the day job so to speak

Heresy!

They play up the NY bit as though they were in Manhattan. But they're not. They're in Brooklyn, and not even in the trendy (expensive) part.

Once turned up for an audition, I'd learned the songs they wanted me to, but I learned another while the guitarist was tuning up.

For the unaware, the first 40 seconds of this

There are all kinds of dynamics and voicing modifiers that go into a preamp design. The Streamliner that was mentioned earlier was very much about voicing and dynamics and sounded/felt totally different from the Shuttles even though they both used the same power modules. There’s a lot more to how an amp sounds/feels than just the power amp design (which can also be designed in ways to exploit or reject a particular aspect of tonality and feel.

I have done double-blind tests regarding which preamp players prefer (not just my designs) and it’s ironic that what many players are convinced they like ends up not being what they chose when they couldn’t see it. This is why double-blind testing is come, to remove the effects of confirmation bias. I have designed some very high powered class AB amps back in the day, well received in the pro touring world, but today’s better class D designs are every bit as good when mated to the identical preamp.

Headlining at Frome Sunday Market today (means you get 60 minutes rather than the 30 mins the 3 other acts get) and the rain held off for most of the gig. We were under cover, 6 on a tiny stage, no backline so I took the Acinonyx again as they close off the centre of Frome so parking close by is impossible. Apparently sounded good for the punters and onstage pretty good too. Picked up some more garden plant supports from one of the stalls too....