Kiwi

[quote name='51m0n' post='419970' date='Feb 26 2009, 11:35 AM']Oh, did I say, the one is everything.[/quote] Funk's moved on a bit since Bootsy and James Brown, thankfully.

Welcome Raef, are you near Chamonix? I have a friend who lives in Courmayeur. EDIT: just did a look up on Google - close but not that close!

I have a bass tone I like if I can get it (growly, clean and solid - bit like a Smith but with more Spector) but sometimes having the right sound for the song is more important to me.

Like many forms of music, funk is mostly about attitude. The more laid back you can play without falling out of 'the pocket' (ie. the timing gap around the beat you can play within and still be considered as playing in time) then the funkier it sounds. However you need a drummer who can pin things down for you and play in the same pocket. Funk is as much about the relationship between bass and drums as it is about just the bass. Ideally you need to understand the difference btween playing in front and behind the beat and the further behind the drummer you can play, the better. Its not something you can think about because the timing is so minute. Thats why its about feel. Play like you're stoned.

Real Men(tm) don't play 'em. Bit like wearing pink business shirts to the office.

I think headless basses might be the bass equivalent of quiche. [quote name='4000' post='419438' date='Feb 25 2009, 05:29 PM']Be careful though, because as I always say, different examples can vary so much, and your taste may not be what another player's is. For instance, CrazyKiwi loved the black Sei 4 Original in the Gallery, but after trying it myself it's one on my least favourite Seis that I've played (although the lack of weight was fabulous).[/quote] +1 to that, but what wasn't to like about that bass? It was sex on a stick! Low action, loads of growl, very supple and playable.

Personally, I have no time for debates like this. At most you'll get an idea of how diverse everyone's opinion is. Decide what is important to you and find someone who can make a bass along those lines, or someone who is accommodating if things don't go to plan initially. What is very important is that you know what you want. If you don't and you still go to a custom maker, you'll probably end up disappointed.

Personally, I really like the necks on the Tobias basses that I've tried. The string spacing is quite narrow but, regardless of aesthetics, everything feels in place. I've never played one of the US made basses, only the Korean made versions. I wouldn't mind having a test drive on one of the authentic jobbies to see what the bass response is like because the pickups and pre in the korean versions were a little lacking. Good luck in selling, this is one of those basses I've always been curious about but not had a lot of exposure to.

you're welcome to have a plonk on mine if you're ever in the vicinity.

Anyone who goes custom is at severe risk of sounding like themselves... ...Derek Smalls. It would be a John Entwhistle bass in the shape of a wing of some kind. But a stupid wing, at that. Harrier jump jet? Penguin?

[quote name='BeLow' post='415861' date='Feb 20 2009, 11:07 PM']It does not exactly fit in with the original plan very well but I have sort of fancied a BBE unit for a while, has anyone had a go with one of these preamps as I don't want to buy it cold but may not have an option?[/quote] OBBM used one for quite a while.

Thanks chaps:) The MIDI side still has a way to go because of this string contact issue with the piezo saddles. I don't think I can really set the bass up properly in regard to sensitivity until then. Jon is going to continue messing about with two spare piezo saddles he has until he's worked out how best to modify them (or he's at least clear on what Graphtec need to do). I even ended up popping the top off the E string last night as I was grappling with a contact issue...might go hunting for PSD design strings this week perhaps...

I think its possible to go for at least three different characters on a fretless. One is the bright singing tone on Pedullas, there's a double bass type sound you get from Ashborys, Godins etc and the final is a warm woody tone typical of Wals, Smiths and others. Each have different design characteristics depending on what you're aiming for. Personally I love the Pedulla sound but I also like the Godin fretlesses I've tried too (couldn't justify one with my playing though).

[quote name='BOD2' post='417999' date='Feb 23 2009, 11:04 PM']The cheapest solution is to attach a 4-way (or 6-way) mains board inside the rack, then plug all the rack units into this. Cut the mains cables short to cut down on clutter. Then you only have one mains cable (from the mains board) coming out of the rack.[/quote] This solution lasts only for as long as the next upgrade...

[quote name='mathewsanchez' post='417556' date='Feb 23 2009, 04:07 PM']Once again I have to say that it stunning. Any idea roughly what it would cost to get an identical 4 or 5 string built without the midi and piezo stuff? I'm really starting to want a shuker myself and would probably sell up [i]most[/i] of my stuff for quality over quantity.[/quote] I'd suggest talking to Jon about it, he's already had requests from a couple of others about similar projects and he's unlikely to take as long doing theirs as he took doing mine, I suspect. The wood was scored off Ebay, for a low price (I think about £20 but it was sopping wet and took 4 years to dry out sufficiently for sawing as well as costing me about £60 in postage because it was so heavy.) Golchen, the functions of the knobs are [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=8263&view=findpost&p=405899"]here[/url].

I had a pair too, bought them off another basschatter as a trial but my V8 struggled with two. Did ok with one though but the V8 is rated at 400w so that would tie in with Acme's claim about minimum power. I also tried a Burman head and it made 100w sound like 30w...nice sounding cabs but in my experience you're better off with a lot of power behind 'em.

blimey Al, you're on a roll now and an originals band! I forsee some interesting music festivals in your future, perhaps?

LOL ok, I'll have to see what I can sort out this evening by way of samples but the bass is still settling down so I'm not sure how indicative the samples will be. At the moment the sound of the bass is developing and its sort of a cross between a Fodera in the highs, a jazz bass with the scooped mids and a Spector in the lows.

[quote name='YouMa' post='417107' date='Feb 23 2009, 02:17 AM']Who makes the midi controlers are they built into the pickups?[/quote] A company called Graphtec made the piezo pickups and two of the three preamps. One is a buffer preamp for the piezo, another is a filter/mixing preamp which sends the signal from the buffer preamp to the 13 pin socket. The third preamp is Jon's own eq. The signal then goes to an Axon AX100 pitch to MIDI convertor which senses the pitch and converts the signal to MIDI before passing it on to whatever MIDI devices are attached.