spencer.b

Cool bass , great pic , what year?

Check this one out , bit of a bass feature in the Paul Jackson mould

Funnily enough I did a gig with Tom the band leader last night doing a jazz thing , great player and really nice guy

I'd say insurance is definitely a must , if you're sending them in a gig bag!! Sorry to be nosey but what's the situation , how did they end up on the other side of the Atlantic from the owner

https://youtu.be/cltDqc-lPsw?feature=shared

Interesting vid here of a guy who bought 2 basses from AliExpress , I've bought football shirts for the kids from DH gate and was interested in the basses but after reading reviews it was mainly horror stories, that said you might get lucky, how much is the Duff bass ?

Just watched this , interesting that he's being perceived as grumpy and pissed off , I'd suggest that's viewing it it through the prism of modern day content, I found it striking how candid he was , just hanging out with a fellow enthusiast being natural , nothing to prove , confident in his abilities but we've become used to seeing anyone on camera straining really hard to be loved , liked and subscribed ! 

Get a bigger amp and turn up a bit after every song!

1 hour ago, Sean said:

 

I love using open strings in this sense too, especially for pull-offs and duplicating the main guitar riff.

I shan't reveal the songs in case that blows my cover. It's early stages.

I think that it's really do-able on an Eb Standard as the songs in their original keys are very root note straight eighth type lines.

 

 

Yeah you'll be fine , personally I'd find swapping basses or using tech more off putting than learning a few tunes a semitone up , odds on playing it a semitone up on the detuned bass will end up as a horn key like F, Bb, Ab , Eb and that's great practice for us bass players!

Sorry I assumed they were in E , what key are the original key ones in?

I'd play it all tuned down a semitone, being a rock band I wouldn't use a 5 cos there's something about that low open string for riffing with the guitar and I play alot of jazz so I like playing in  F , annoying though that the band do that , out of interest what are the tunes they play in E with the guitar tuned to Eb? 

It does seem inevitable that the old fenders will drop off but I've thought that for years and they keep creeping up and up

I wonder if Sei and Shukers will go up a lot in years to come , they're mad cheap 2nd hand at the moment for what they are 

On 04/03/2025 at 21:01, Martyn R said:

Last year I ordered an Ibanez that turned up virtually unplayable , like 4.5 - 5mm action and intonation out, only slightly but enough to bug me. I don't expect a 1 1/2 hour set up or plek or whatever on a thousand quid bass, but I'd at least fancy not having to wrestle with it. I got the feeling they were having a laugh and wound out the saddles to max height as a FU gesture for asking do they check the set up.

Turns out I got it sorted after a while setting up and the bass was otherwise immaculate. Ok, Sorted moved on.

 

 So back to this week; I've been thinking for a while let's see what all this Dingwall fuss is about so asked a few questions on a NG3 5 string in black (that appeared to have been in a while).

I asked what year it was, does it have a nice low action and is it definitely new and not a return.

The answers were: not sure what year it is, possibly a 2024, yes Dingwalls can achieve a low action and no mention of the new/return. I sort of got the impression they aren't that bothered about selling Dingwalls.

I thought mmm, OK we'll let things ride and go with the flow. Hit checkout then up pops the £15 delivery charge. On a 2300 quid item, really???

All the little snags I'd forgotten about suddenly came rushing back to me and I thought I'm out.

Don't know if I'm being a little too arsy or whether music shop staff are right and the customer is always wrong...

 

A bad setup on a new bass is rubbish but I don't see the link to postage costs , I'd imagine the big companies that offer it "free" must be building in that cost to the price , £15 to send a bass sounds cheap to me 

I've always had great customer service (except once when Mark was on holiday) and they've really gone above and beyond a few times for me and Mark has given me great advice, he has opinions and I don't always agree but I like that and I'm pleased there making it work , I would say I'd be willing to pay a bit more to support an independent but TBF I find their prices really good

Just watched it , brilliant, thanks for posting 

Never seen one of these before, stunning 

Green day "When I come Around" off the record and Cream "Badge" from a transcription in bassist magazine ( I could read a bit from playing the trumpet)

Both really great inventive lines that taught me loads

You'll be spending nearly as much as the bass is worth to  devalue it if you get it defrettted , I'd get a fretless sire on here and if you don't like it you can get your money back 

Yeah , I'm interested to know if the mij ones are hand built by one person like the US ones or is it more of a factory set up?

4 hours ago, kuetsum said:

Post 2012 Burner is good bass

 

But they will not be the same as a US Ken smith 

Even though you go for a humbucker version (it's not a kent Armstrong)

 

The fiesta red one is very sexy.

 

 

 

I must admit having now done a deep dive on Ken Smith basses the US one in the classifieds at £4500 is tempting me too !

1 hour ago, LLOYDWT said:

 

Smiths of all flavours are all about the mids. The Burners are more "Jazz bass" than the Americans, but they're still very *SMITH* (I think it's all in the pickup positions). The modern Burners I've played are naturally woollier, whilst my BT6s are more focussed and "forward sounding." They can both do the pre-transient punch for that thing all Jaco fans are chasing but without the need to solo or favour the bridge pickup (which gives all Smiths more depth, IMO). My BT6s, and the other US Smiths I've played, have a more pronounced compression, but they're still really dynamic.

 

I used to like a really scooped sound, but the Smiths have such musical mids that sit so well in any mix that they've really dictated my tone since buying them.

 

If you're ever Ipswich way, you're welcome to try mine.

Thanks for that mate , great info

That's lovely mate , what's the difference with the e series? Are they the solid colour ones?

2 hours ago, LLOYDWT said:

The Hadrien Feraud Burners are great basses, but sonically quite different from the Patitucci/Melvin Lee Davis tone that the US-made BTs are known for, though they can be EQ'd into the same ballpark.

 

If you're wanting to scratch that 80s-Pattituci itch, I'd go for an 80s/early-90s BT5 or BT6, but you'll need to deal with the "coffee-table-bass" aesthetic and the heavier-than-the-sun weight. but if it's the body shape you want, the Burners are amazing basses.

 

 

Thanks for that mate , are the US ones brighter then ? I guess I'm looking for more the jazz bass end of things , more punchy mids than sparkly highs

Great aren't they , yeah built in Japan and I understand that burners always have been although there a few early US ones apparently 

Always had a soft spot for Ken Smith basses , love Andrew Gouche and Pattitucci but I've never been a fan of the figured wood look , just seen the fiesta red burner on bass direct and I'm in love! 

Any one played them , got one ?

It's sounds counterintuitive but sometimes playing higher can blend a bit better , I've noticed that alot of 60/70s bass players would play higher than people do now , don't know if rubbish amps had a part in it but sometimes the bass being closer in pitch to the guitar can thicken it up a bit , Noel Redding , Andy Fraser , Entwistle etc , if there is a riff in G for instance try it at fret 10 on the A string

You know some venues have a PA and they put the bass through it?

Put this on my Xmas list , about halfway through, it's so good , you've got to read it , absolutely fascinating