TheGreek

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1090449' date='Jan 15 2011, 02:24 PM']Hi Rich and welcome.
Most of what you want to find out about this is readily available if you take advantage of the search button. In fact there are a couple of very relevant threads running right now.
You may soon realise though, that asking if different types of wood produce different sound characteristics is opening up a big ol' can of worms around here and you will hear passionate arguments from both side of the argument and from people who are talking from experience and those talking from their arse and then a lot from those regurgitating other peoples facts or hokum they have read somewhere.
Wood is a natural material therefore exact consistency is not always present - similar woods may have different densities of grain, knots etc.
For me a nice piece of wood for a musical instrument resonates clearly if you knock it with your knuckles (I've read somewhere that a really nice bit of wood sounds the same painted as it does unpainted - which makes sense to me too) so that should be up there with choice of wood. Hold the phone though, a solid chunk of well made ply can also resonate successfully too... try and get a guy who has invested a lot of money in a bass to admit that a ply bass can sound almost as good as his exotic wood bass... and then try and scientifically prove it either way.
At the end of the day body wood can only reasonably be accountable for at best only a tiny % of the tone you hear from the speaker cab so don't sweat it.[/quote]
Hi Rich and welcome to BC..

What Ou7shined failed to mention is that some of us are very shallow and buy basses with exotic woods because they also look good!! As proof look at the "Gear Porn" thread..

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1090556' date='Jan 15 2011, 03:56 PM']Very nice... you do know its not a Jazz...there called Zone basses...[/quote]
see..I'm learning already - what's the difference??

[color="#006400"]Some photos and info on the Fender deluxe Jazz I took possession of this morning.

As you can see it's a Fender made from 5 piece exotic woods laminate, which I'd never seen before. Serial No suggests it was made in 2002 ( confirmed at Guitar Database website), is active, and weighs very little - certainly less that any other Fenders I've tried. I've included the info from the sale along with the pics..Anybody with any additional info please contribute..[/color]

Body Construction - Solid
Top Wood - Cocobolo (Nicaraguan Rosewood)
Neck Wood - Maple
Fingerboard - Rosewood
Frets - 22
Inlay - White Dot ( I think they're actually Abolone)
# of Strings = 4
Scale Length = 34" (86cm)
Headstock - 4 In-Line
Bridge Construction - Carbon Fiber (Graphite) (don't think this is right either, actually gold finish)
Cutaway Double
Finish - Amber, Walnut
Guitar Hardware - 1x Volume Control, Gold
Pickups Noiseless

Can I ask people NOT to drool TOOO much and to keep their GAS under control..

I'm going to also put this in the "Porn" Thread but I thought I'd put this in a wider thread and ask for any info that other Fender owners may have, first.

My complaint with Fender always was that they didn't make active models and that they didn't use exotic woods. I'm always happy to be proved wrong (see my signature below) as long as I learn something along the way. Well, I took possesion of this item this morning and after a quick visit to one of my mates (a long term Fender owner who incidently took the photos) - (nice one Wilf) - and gave it a test drive I've decided to put the photos/details up for discussion. Anybody know any more??

Item is a Fender deluxe Jazz (circa 2002) - here's the details from the sale:

Body Construction - Solid
Top Wood - Cocobolo (Nicaraguan Rosewood)
Neck Wood - Maple
Fingerboard - Rosewood
Frets - 22
Inlay - White Dot
# of Strings - 4
Scale Length - 34" (86cm)
Headstock - 4 In-Line
Bridge Construction - Carbon Fiber (Graphite)
Cutaway Double
Finish - Amber, Walnut
Guitar Hardware - 1x Volume Control, Gold
Pickups - Noiseless

I'm not sure of the weight but it's certainly lighter than most Fenders I've tried - my mate says it's one of the lightest he's ever played.

As I said photos will be going into the "Porn" thread so please don't drool TOOO much here..



Did I mention that I was pleased as punch??

I saw this in Phil's collection when I was down in Brighton this week - nice bass (though I'm not really a Fender fancier) - no reason to believe it isn't every bit as good as he says..what else do you get for £180 nowadays??

I thank you for the compliment..enjoy the bass - it will get more use with you than it ever would've in my hands..

absolutely classic track - one of my favourites from the 80s - and one of the best band names ever - other than say "Fairfax Aikman"..

Just a bit of feedback for [b]philw [/b]after doing a deal for (formerly) my Fender AE semi acoustic P Bass. Nice fella, and the deal was done in a very friendly manner.

However if you are a fretless player with GAS and you're thinking of visiting him in Brighton - [b]Beware!! [/b]- he has some lovely instruments - including the blue fretless Veillette which he has as his Avatar - what a lovely bass..and that neck... I think I was lucky to leave without giving him the money back for a commissioned Veillette. Anybody considering a custom could do far worse - especially at those prices (he said £1900 for the one he has - absolute bargain!!). Thankfully his Wal was also fretless which meant that my lust for that was under controll!!

[b]Anybody wanting to do business can do so with absolute trust and confidence..Great guy..[/b]

Phil - Enjoy the bass..

my eyes aren't what they should be - doesn't the lettering in the ad go up and down?? Did anybody else notice??

[quote name='Sean' post='1087183' date='Jan 12 2011, 08:31 PM']+1 You beat me to it! I always wanted one ever since I first saw the One Hit to the Body video with Bill Wyman playing one. There's a documentary about the filmshoot for that video where Jagger asks Wyman, "Is that one of the new ones?"[/quote]
..but did you know that Cetera has a black one - again somebody will need to keep him talking...

[quote name='TheGreek' post='1087092' date='Jan 12 2011, 07:27 PM'][b][color="#2E8B57"]Always like these - a bit Japanese Metal, I know, but fell in love with them when I saw one at a Bass convention in the 80s..Built originally by Mick Jaggers brother I believe who went on to work for Lotus..I would love to own that Cocabola Alembic Mark King from the American Guitar Centre that's been advertised on eBay for ever (at £5300 in the current financial climate??)..and the spalted Wal in the Wal thread..ahhh..GAS overload!!![/color][/quote][/b]


Just looked at the AGC website - the Alembic's nolonger being advertised - could it be that it sold??

As for the spalted Wal - belongs to Walbassist - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=24969"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=24969[/url]

Now if somebody can keep him talking while I "relocate" it..

Always like these - a bit Japanese Metal, I know, but fell in love with them when I saw one at a Bass convention in the 80s..Built originally by Mick Jaggers brother I believe who went on to work for Lotus..I would love to own that Cocabola Alembic Mark King from the American Guitar Centre that's been advertised on eBay for ever (at £5300 in the current financial climate??)..and the spalted Wal in the Wal thread..ahhh..GAS overload!!!

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='1071784' date='Dec 29 2010, 02:38 PM'][attachment=67344:IMG_0713.jpg]
(only a quick iphone pic for now)

Nice bass Chris - something different from a standard J/P bass..that's what I like to see..

[b][color="#008000"]i only paid £38 Duty and vat for it too! [/color][/b]
Well done for getting one over on the lads at Customs and Excise - they actually took me for £199.13 (that figure is engraved on my brain) when I imported my first Veillette Citron. I think of it as Ransom money!!

[b][color="#2E8B57"]You're all welcome to come round and try her out anytime [/color][/b]
I'm arranging a coach load for the weekend - hopefully arriving at 3am - this going to be OK? After all you did say "anytime"...[/quote]

I'm impressed so I've emailed him to see if he does a headless neck for that body - I bought a headless system last year but can't find anybody who'll supply a neck for it - I'm not prepared to buy a neck and then attack it with a saw (or according to another thread, "Sorr") - had to get that in..sorry..

I'm thinking that I can put together a custom bass from bits I've picked up from eBay over the last few months - got an MEC jazz p/up, a MM humbucker, anybody recommend a good preamp? It would have to be active!! If I remember correctly he also does some nice abolone tele style knobs. I think I've also got some quick release straplocks somewhere..

Having GAS can pay off - don't you just love it when a plan comes together..

[size=4][b]Ohh come on - that's not fair...[/b][/size]

This is probably one of the most difficult questions you'll ever ask any musician - what I put down today may not even be on the list tomorrow!! - also you've left it so open ended it's practically impossible - had it been more genre specific, e.g favourite groove/reggae/rock - it would (might??) have been a bit easier..."favourite" on what grounds? - feel?, "wish i'd written that"? - it's far too difficult

Got to agree with Simon1964 with [b]Down in the Tube Station... [/b] absolutely classic line - tempo, construction, feel..

How about:

"Money" by Pink Floyd??
"Land of Confusion" by Genesis??
"Wood Beez" by Scritti Politti??
"I need your lovin'" by (the late) Teena Marie (been listening to a lot of her stuff since she died)
"Visions of China" by Japan (again since Mick Karn's untimely departure)
"I want you back" by The Jackson 5
"Burning down the House" (live) - Talking Heads
"I refuse" by Hue & Cry
"Smooth Operator" by Sade
"Sunshine of your love" by Cream
all of "Cheap Thrills" by Big brother and the Holding company..

Was this supposed to be Top 5? - I've already done too many and I've not really thought about it...
Damn you..

[quote name='lojo' post='1085560' date='Jan 11 2011, 02:49 PM']Inspired by Bilbos view on most classic songs we cover just wondering what happens to your personal enjoyment of a song once you've gigged it a few times

For me, I have sometimes suggested favorites of mine to bands, but somehow after taking them apart and playing them, songs I have loved for years and turned the radio up for become "oh no not again"

How does this effect you guys[/quote]

I know exactly what you're saying - sort of like killing your heroes..the act of playing a song over and over ( and over and over) somehow takes the mystique out of those songs - I can see why some musicians say that they hate the tunes we all expect them to play.

I remember seeing Pigbag at the Glasgow Nightmoves club back in 1981 - they weren't going to do "Papas got a brand new Pigbag" - which was why most of the crowd were there. Apparently they were sick to death of doing it!! They did it eventually..Imagine how Ozzy feels about "Paranoid" and "War Pigs"..at least Status Quo get to change the lyrics of their one tune

the only real good look you get is at 1:24 - 1:27 - hard to see any logos - 1980 seems a bit too early for it to be a modern Ibanez which it resembles. Got me stumped!!

Note: it's not Wilko Johnson on guitar!!

Active - gives you additional sounds/punch that a passive just doesn't have - and where's the problem having a spare battery? If you know the one that's in the bass has been in there a while it only takes two minutes to check!!

Having said that I don't actually own a passive bass - all of mine are active and I rarely use them without the preamp on..

I've just seen these bodies for sale on Ebay - anybody thinking of putting together a custom Jazz could do worse than consider one of these!!

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/No3-Spalted-Maple-2-9kg-jazz-bass-electric-Guitar-body-/130465345719?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1e605730b7"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/No3-Spalted-Maple-2-...=item1e605730b7[/url]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1081991' date='Jan 8 2011, 12:25 PM'][color="#000080"]To me, the bass needs to be laying down a groove[/color].[/quote]

Isn't this essentially what the bass is for?? the kid can certainly play (gimmicks aside) but he seems to have missed something quite fundamental..

No doubt it impressed some 14 year old somewhere..

[quote name='TimR' post='1082810' date='Jan 9 2011, 12:12 AM']Listen to something from other genres and play along to stuff you wouldn't normally listen to. Might add a different dimension to the way you think musically.[/quote]

Got to agree with Tim's advice - I tend to find that by listening to stuff I wouldn't normally listen to, I find things which I can use when I play/practice. I have used "Bad" by Michael Jackson and evolved into 2 or 3 riffs which you wouldn't immediately associated with the original - another is "Ride on Time" by Blackbox - really simple riff which can evolve in so many ways (octaves/ walking/passing tones/doubling up notes) - I know a number of players who listen to classical music for inspiration.

Another thing that strikes me from your thread is that you seem to have hit a "plateau" which is natural when learning to play any instrument. Maybe you should spend time with other musicians who play in a completely different style or also play another type of instrument, maybe keys or brass - I found that playing a saxophone made me think of other ways of constructing riffs other than squares and triangles.

In general you may want to broaden your listening database - emcompase as many styles as you can - most riffs and tunes are transferable. My favourite version of "smells like teen spirit" is by Paul Anka (Jazz stylee) which I'm sure Nirvana fans find quite repulsive.

Most of all don't get disillusioned and stick with it...

I'm also of the other school of thought - if you're going to do a cover why do it exactly the same way 500 other bands would have done it? Why not put your own twist on it? See the examples below...

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5w_hSUUG1c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5w_hSUUG1c[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1WAMNIunKc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1WAMNIunKc[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tV0lgCKtyQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tV0lgCKtyQ[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO1zDwYfq_s&feature=fvst"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO1zDwYfq_s&feature=fvst[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10qLYy6hiFQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10qLYy6hiFQ[/url]

See how artistes these have given these tracks a new lease of life? - they didn't play them note for note...who's to say whether they are better or worse because of it??

Check some of these out:

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P09yhLnRGo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P09yhLnRGo[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chPqocG3ato&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chPqocG3ato...feature=related[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnh7YmXSviY&feature=more_related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnh7YmXSviY...re=more_related[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVBaCAhgRPA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVBaCAhgRPA[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJmQNSNvZJQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJmQNSNvZJQ[/url]

hope these help you on your way..

You've really opened a big fat can of worms..Bubinga..ATTACK!!

Some of the stuff I love listening to::

Groove Armada
Plan B
Drizabone
(the late) Teena Marie ("I need your lovin", "Behind the groove"..)
GQ
Light of the World (recently reformed I believe)
Edwin Starr (25 Miles/War/etc)
Donna Summer
Areetha Franklin
Stephanie Mills...

see what you've gone and done...

If you shop in Tesco they have an album "The Ultimate Funk Party" for about a fiver - some classic 80s funk on there..

now wait for the floodgates to open and...

Quite a modest guy by all accounts ..unfortunately "Amazing" by name "ordinary" by nature...