TomRichards

I believe Vivid Amps does (vividamps.com) Their approach is to make an amp that doesn't color your tone or signal at all, and reproduce the full range. The new VB1500 was designed using lots of comments from this forum but ultimately around their approach that bass players will use their bass or an outboard eq in many cases to get their "sound". So they try not to do anything to that. Fuchs has a new Bass Bruiser Jr. which has a valve pre and Class D power section. Also knows what they are doing. Getting power without weight, cutting down on some of the heat, but keeping the warmth and life of tubes (fuchsaudiotechnology.com) Check out both if you want to see what they are doing with Class D. I will agree though, lots of new Class D stuff out there. The Peavey one with the chicken head knobs is a good little amp and has some nice retro touch with the knobs. I saw a bunch of stuff at NAMM this year, everyone pretty equal. Nice stuff by Tecamp, Phil Jones added a new one, and even Fender had some decent additions.

A great comparison is vinyl record vs. CbD. Listen to an album on CD, then the same one on vinyl. CD will be cleaner, vinyl will jump at you! Much more "alive". Similar for solid state vice Tubes.

Thanks! Just want to make it clear before I jump into the water again. Don't wanna be the ex pat w***er....

Two different animals, each having a different true purpose. I have hybrid valve amps (Hartke and Fuchs Bass Bruiser) and solid state (Vivid Amps). Tools for different sounds. The Vivid is the size of a large cigar box, 500W into 8 or 4 ohm, Class D, weighs 3.5 lbs, runs really cool and works for all those small to medium club gigs where I don't need or want to drag more then my amp, guitar in gig bag and small 1X12 cab. The Fuchs is a hybrid valve and Class D, weighs 25 lbs, and pumps 500W into 4 ohms. Runs cool for what it is, and is pretty small package, but excels in those areas where I want what I call "symphony sound" that I get some tubey warmth and goodness but can also get some SVT style overdrive too. I use it for those medium club gigs where I'm doing a couple of sets, or for that corporate function where you need to be the actual bass sound and give the room some grit and pound. The Vivid works extremely well, and its a ton of fun, especially when all I walk into the gig with is the bass and amp with cables in a gig bag and a small lightweight cab. The Fuchs is newer to me, but I so far have gotten good comments on its sound and clarity over quite a range. Again, valve vs. solid state, two differrent animals for two different applications. My two pence...

Hello everyone! I know how important it is for people to know exactly who and what someone is here so that when you post they can take what you say with a grain of salt or place whatever importance they do on it. I have been asked by so many industry companies to work with them that I have decided to go it on my own. So, I am now independent in sales and consulting. I do business as F CLEF LLC, out of New Jersey , USA. I will still be managing some dealer accounts for Brubaker basses, and I am now working with Fuchs Audio Technology, focusing on building them a dealer network for their guitar and NEW BASS AMP. I not only will be doing work with Fuchs but I am also now a Fuchs Amps artist. They have been a guitar amp only company for the past 15 years, and with the release of the new Bass Bruiser Jr, I am coming on board. I still have relationships with J. Backlund Design/Retronix, Petillo Masterpiece Guitars, Vivid Amps, Hartke and Bitchstraps. But again, no monetary compensation what so ever. Just an old bass player getting some stuff from old friends. I was surprised at all the requests and meetings I had at NAMM 2014 asking for my expertise and help. Stunned. I appreciate all of the support I've gotten from members of Basschat that also may have lead to that. I hope this continues to clarify who I am and my relationships so that I won't get oodles of belligerent replies when I post my thoughts on different topics. Cheers, tom

It really is just a preference, and like any neck that you haven't played much, in the beginning it will feel a little weird. In general they tend to be a little more comfy to you if you play a ton and long periods of time. Having said that, I found the only time it really made a hill of beans difference is when playing too high on the neck (for me that's past the 9th fret, where I rarely get anyway.) If you play a lot of upper register stuff it definitely helps you with reach and comfort. Its physics and ergonomics. I work with two boutique US Builders, Brubaker and J. Backlund. Brubaker uses a nicely carved assymetric neck profile. it is one of the things that draws the players to it, and the majority of the Brubaker players are jazz, modern gospel and slappy NAMM chop guys in the upper register. The J. Backlund and Retronix uses a slightly thinner traditional jazz bass profile, symmetric. Most of the guys who play that are guys who play country, rock, blues, more fingerstyle or pick, "where the dough is" (nothing past the 5-7th fret.) Neither approach is better or worse. I find most of the guys I know who play highly technical or progressive music all have assymetric necked instruments. Most of the rockers I know do not. Does that help?

If you are looking for new, there are very few choices that look reliced/roadworn AND have classic Fender look. Sandberg is one, Nash is one, You can get Jimmy Coppolo to do that to an Alleva-Coppolo. Dennis Fano and Fano make reliced everything, however its in basically a Gibson non-reverse style or the hollowbody Fender Coronado style. Honestly, why not just buy a Squier VM series, take it apart, have the neighborhood kids drag it around for a while then put it back together? Same result. I am biased though. In my world, if you buy new, BUY NEW! Add your mojo to it.

Have played their review bass and spent a good two hours with the Thirty 2 at Bass Player Live in Los Angeles two weeks ago. I'm thinking really hard about buying one. Just was cool. The ones they had are strung with flats, but I could tell you would get a cool bass sound if it was strung with rounds. The wood choices are incredibly resonant and the bass is super well made. If you play punk/alternative/rockabilly/country/alt country/60s pop covers you will rock it out all night long!

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1385400523' post='2287793'] this... I read your second post, and was about to reply when I found you saying the same thing as I was about to in your first post. My local large shop doesn't have anyone on staff who can set up a guitar or bass. The nice secondhand bass I found needing the truss rod adjusted (a lot) didn't come home with me as I wasn't prepared to spend £800 finding out if the neck would go straight. [/quote] You got it LukeFRC! The predominant shop here is Guitar Center. I recently did a product knowledge training session on everything bass (guitars and amps) and I noticed that the bass they were featuring was completely tagged wrong. It wasn't even tagged with the right brand. I asked them to point out to me what was wrong with it and NONE of them got the brand, NONE noticed it was tagged Rosewood board but it was maple, no one noticed it had passive electronics although the tag said active, and no one could tell that it was a Fender and the tag said Musicman. I am sure I would NOT want them to be making adjustments on anything...

Molan mentioned Alembic Basses. Yes, their necks can move a bit. But, if you take the time to read anything by Rick Turner, one of the two genius behind Alembic, .020" of relief for him and his designs is considered LOW ACTION! He is from the old school and the designs are built around their experience and style. If you are serious about the purchase of a bass, and after you check it out you want to know if you can adjust the action low, just about any shop willl adjust the action for you to do a final try. Then you can see if it will go that low.

As and endorsed artist of many years, and as a representative of two American boutique luthiers with price point lines. I see this complaint all the time. Even the very BEST dealers cannot set up every bass every day and often what even they consider low action is always somehow not low enough for the "discerning player." First thing, way too many players are critical when a bass does not have stupid low action in the shop. Shops are in fact not guitar humidors, and stock can sit on a hook for a time, so to set up a bass with low action cries for it to be unplayable every other day considering the temp and environment changes it can experience. Take into account also that some necks are more stable then others, that one bass neck may be older wood and one newer, and its nearly impossible to keep every bass set perfectly, let alone with very low action. Second, the bass must be set up to accommodate all ranges and styles of playing. For the majority of the world that means higher action closer to vintage Fender spec. So you get few if any strings buzzing, get a decent amount of volume and tone, and you get good feel for the overall bass. Many who decry the lack of "setup"in my personal experience are a particular player with a particular style, mostly jazzy with some tap and a little slap, but also play high up on the fingerboard nearly exclusively. This type of player, in my experience, likes to try many basses and rarely buys a bass. So to accommodate that particular customer over all others has severely diminishing returns. The Brubaker Brutes that I represent are an amazing bass for the money. While they are designed to give as much of the boutique Brubaker quality as can be at the price point, the construction and design will never exactly match the capabilities that a custom, $5000+ Brubaker bass, or any custom bass for that matter, has. So while you may be able to dial in a Micheal Tobias Design USA Handmade bass to a near zero relief and action just barely above the fretboard and not experience buzzing or issues, the Kingston series MTD bass will probably not be able in many cases to do the same. Close, yes, but not the same. The MM Sub basses are imports, lower price point basses for Musicman. Great builds at good prices, but they just aren't USA production/near hand mades. They will most likely be made with "younger" woods that will move with time and temp until they mature and settle in. When your dealer gets them, most likely they will have to do an initial set up but in short order there may be some neck movement and possibly fret sprout. In addition, the Musicman basses were ALL designed by Leo Fender and are designed around his Fender spec, so they are optimized at higher relief and action. I personally would never set up a demo bass or shop bass at anything other then factory spec as that is where it is designed to sound and play at its optimum, which clearly will help me sell more basses then if I set it up very low and it buzzes and craps alot for the majority of customers. Lastly, with the exception of great dealers like Bass Direct, who love all things bass, if the stores in the UK are like those here, many of the floor people and salespersons have little or no experience with actual guitars or basses and many if not all have never done any work even on their own guitars, so they would have no clue as to how or what spec a bass is set to. I do want to comment on your "action too high at the bridge" comment. You don't measure action at the bridge. You do it where the neck meets the body, which is normally the 17th fret. So the action on the basses you played may actually have been to factory spec. My basses are normally around Fender spec, and I have played basses by many famous stuido musicians whose action was actually higher. You'd be surprised at how high action is actually the one used more for recording and live performances. I am sad that you did not enjoy your day trying basses though.

Hello everyone! This is not an advertisement, just a question. I do endorse J. Backlund Design and Retronix, so please, understand that. I am looking to see who on this board has purchased one of the R-800B basses from the Kickstarter project, and what your first impressions are? Also, would love to know where you are located. You could post it here or send it to me via email at [email protected] Thanks eveyone! I can't wait to hear from you!

I've played most of the ones they have made. Including the ones David Pastorius has. (I see him around a lot in my travels.) If you play with your bass in "classical" position, meaning medium to high on your body, and you have a good strap, the bass anchors and balances nicely and makes flying around the fretboard easy and a dream. The ergonomic model does in fact work. All of the Artisan basses are very well built, so nothing in the manufacture is an issue or problem. The look of some of the models does make some people hesitate. I play with my bass pretty low, and I throw my bass around a lot, so the advantages of the ergonomics for me are minimal. However in David's hands it sure does work and sound good. tom

LH. Classic amp with simple EQ that can do it all.

Should be some at Bass Central near Orlando (Beaver Felton's place) by then.

Yes. Working on the production of them as we speak.

Try contacting Mark Stickley at Bass Direct. I am not sure if he has any, but he can probably get access as the sales team at NS Design still has some ties to Spector. (Interesting story for another time.) These basses are a perfect blend between NS Design headless innovations and the Kubicki style string in the headstock. They look great, and play well. They are especially well suited to fingerstyle players as the piezo system in these is superior.

I'm gonna chime in here. First, note that I am a Hartke endorser, more because I have known Larry since the 1980's, drink beer and shots with him occasionally, and I also have owned and used one of the early Hartke/Guild cabs since the early days. The Hartke HyDrive 112 (1X12) with switchable impedance (4 or 8 ohm) is very light and can give you all the sounds and more. It translates the B string on my Brubaker Brute extremely well, especially at lower volumes. I use two different rigs for lightweight right now. My Vivid VTouch 2180 amp (180W into 4Ohm per channel, 400W into 4 or 8Ohm bridged) with either my Hartke HyDrive 112 or with a Vintage Cerwin Vega Dan Armstrong 210G open backed Hot Cab. The Cerwin Vega cab is maybe super light I know it weighs under 20 lbs. The HyDrive is similar. The Hartke HyDrive 112 is built to take a beating, which is a plus. Its also workingman affordable. My two pence...

I saw posted on one of the forums a picture of a green ceramic composite jazz bass that is no longer made and I believe is the predecessor to Aristides. Can someone point me to the thread please? I think it was posted here.

Hello everyone, and yes, I am here. Feel free to email me at [email protected] for any and all information on the Brute basses. If you live in the UK, you can find them at Bass Direct. Mark just received the latest production. You can also see them on his website. Thanks for the interest!

I know different parts of the world are dominated by different brands. What amp brands do you guys on your side of the pond want to see more of, and what ones do you have a hard time finding?

Look at my info, but I would contact Bass Direct and ask Mark and crew about the Brubaker Brute basses in 5 string. Sits right in your budget.

Brass nut is one of the upgrades you can do to any bass and you will tell a difference immediately. At least I do. For the record, Warwick did NOT have the adjustable nut first. Alembic was doing this since the '70s and Ned Steinberger also had one in 1984 on his Gibson 20/20 bass. They just marketed it much better. Vintage Danelectros all have aluminum nuts and they give the open strings part of that Dano tone. On a bass, you will notice that a brass nut adds a quality to the sound you don't get from a stock plastic nut. The next best nut would be bone, but if you are going bone you may as well go brass.