Kiwi

Tinman, I've moved the topic to Off Topic but I'm not aware of any settings that might prevent someone from posting.

Hi nick welcome to the forums

I bought a Warwick Rockbass Streamer Basic from Thumbo's shop in Plymouth on impulse in the days before I had a stingray. It made more than a reasonable account of itself in a side by side comparison with the authentic thing. The only downside was that the bass lacked a bit of warmth - even after I installed an EMG BTC preamp. Possibly I should have put an Aguilar or similar instead but the EMG meant I didn't have to drill the bass.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='18870' date='Jun 16 2007, 05:30 PM']I'm convinced that the "clack" is partly a function of the phenolic fretboards that inevitably seem to accompany graphite necks. Sounds like the glued-in Zon echoes some of the traits of the neck-through Vigier 10/90 necks.[/quote]
I'd agree and this has been my experience. There's a lot to be said for a soft wood as a fingerboard on a graphite for taming the high end. Steve Lawson had grenadillo fingerbaords fitted to both his modulus basses.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='18870' date='Jun 16 2007, 05:30 PM']As an adjunct to the query about graphite/structurally reinforced necks, apparently Roger Glover once took a Vigier Excess, rested it across two cabs (supporting the base of the neck and the volute area) and STOOD ON IT to prove its resilience to journalist types...

Didn't someone once de-string a Steinberger and play Baseball with it, then string it up and play it (again to demonstrate its strength)?

(Don't try this at home, kids!)[/quote]

I recall someone posting a vid of the same being done to a Warwick.

In Christchurch, NZ my bass tutor told the story about the Steinberger rep having one of the first XL2's ever made and he would demonstrate its resiliance by literally tossing it into a corner of the room. Then he'd pick it back up and it wouldn't even be out of tune. However eventually he threw it one time too many and the neck snapped at the 12th fret. Effectively a $2500 bass (back then in 1983 money) which had been reduced effectively to spare parts. How did my teacher know this? He bought the bass and had the neck glued back together with adhesive used on composite boats. I had a go on it and it still had its characteristic steinberger sound but there was no way of knowing how long the neck was going to last.

I'm also a leftie who plays right handed. I learned drums right handed at primary school as my then teacher said

'all good drummers have to play either left of right handed so you might as well start right handed and you'll already be at an advantage.'

However, I got stuck when it came to doing fills around the toms because it meant my right hand had to lead. In anycase, I ended up with micro-fractures in the ends of my arm bones form playing too much volleyball at highschool and switched to bass because it was more interesting.

Ended up more comfortable playing right handed even though my (left) plucking hand always needs a lot of maintenance to keep it working smoothly. I haven't really regretted it apart from it did make learning to slap hard because my arm muscles weren't as developed.

[quote name='Alemboid' post='17937' date='Jun 14 2007, 11:52 PM']Graphite's pretty wonderful too. CK: not sure about the graphite neck/low density wood thing. My ancient Modulus/Alembic Bassstar (the one in my avatar) has the most absurdly heavy walnut (or possibly koa) body and has the thickest tone imaginable. It's too heavy to play for very long without a team of support staff though.[/quote]

Ben, sounds to me like we're in agreement!


[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='17808' date='Jun 14 2007, 07:38 PM']There are others that only broaden the issue;
Steinbergers
Statii - Which in graphite-necked form have truss-rods.[/quote]

Rob will tell you that his necks don't need truss rods as they're stiff enough, but he installs them anyway so people can have more control over their set up.

Thanks to everyone who applied, we had a total of 13 applications so the competition was stiff.

The mods were originally going to be given two votes - one to determine who made it onto the standby list and then a second vote to appoint. As it happened there was a clear winner and a clear cluster that could make up the standby list so the team agreed that a second vote wasn't needed.

So the winner is:

[b]Bassjamm[/b]

HOWEVER, the team decided that we could use a second mod so congratulations also to:

[b]The Burpster[/b]

who came second.

The following will go onto the standby list:
[b]
Acidbass, Hamster and Steve_k[/b]

To those who applied but who were unsuccessful, please don't feel discouraged from applying next time.

welcome but you'll have to make more effort than that for a first post!

Could we have a short biography and gear list please?

*coquettish wave* in return from London.

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='18020' date='Jun 15 2007, 09:17 AM']i've got... ...a leathercraft one[/quote]

I've got 5 of the huge 4" wide padded leather/suede ones from Sound Control and they're the only strap I will use now. Super comfortable and non slip.

People usually go for a starter bass between £300-450. You could probably net yourself a secondhand MM Stingray or new Japanese Fender for your budget - hell you could even make Bassjamm an offer on his [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1044"]Smith BSR5J [/url]in the Basschat classifieds!

What kind of bass do you want?

Musicman, Warwick, Ibanex, Yamaha, Spector, amongst others all fall within that price range for new basses. You could go second hand and get much better value for money but you'd have to take responsibility for checking the bass over more carefully before you buy it

If you look at Elixir's website there's a load of guff about how stuff gets in between the windings to deaden the sound. There may be something to this but I don't know. However I think its also worth noting the properties of metal are that its good under expansion, but it can stretch. Part of the legend behind cryogenically frozen strings (like Dean Markley Blue Steels) was that the freezing process aligned the molecules better (tempering process) and made the strings less susceptible to stretching and therefore they lasted longer.

I mean, its all a lot of medicine show at the end of the day. You can potentially still end up with a duff set of strings regardless of how good the manufacturer claims they are. I'd prefer to minimise my risk and buy cheap every time. I tend to use D'Addario Stainless Steel and boil them so long as flat spots haven't been worn in. I've had duff sets from status, rotosound and elite. I use Warwick red label sometimes as well if I want softer sounding strings - the Daddarios are very aggressive so good for the Smiths.

I've heard the same, but it doesn't it potentially mean you can pump into them double their power rating? Best to talk to Acme direct on that.

Find a friendly auto paint shop. If you get the final sanding done and grain filling (if needed), they can paint it for cheap as chips and cut back the finish to a nice gloss.

The only problem with hifi speakers is that they may not be shielded. I've also used a pair of Alesis M1 Active Mk2's and they've been very good if a little on the large side.

I have a pair of Yamaha HS50's which have proven to be a total revelation - I can hear details that I've not been able to pick up even on my mp3 player.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='17160' date='Jun 13 2007, 07:57 PM']Why did Polymers never really take off?
Apart from limited success with Status and Uncle Ned himself, there has been hardly any takers in this department..... I find it odd! They (now) have incredible stabilty and memory they are not affected by temp and humidity like wood.... They can be considerably more dense that some woods so better for tonal qualities, the newest ones are even CNC able (anyone that has fired a Glock will know about that) ..... but they still remain an "out there' material......

Somone enlighten me.........[/quote]

Do you mean graphite composite necks?

There's Modulus, Rainsong and Vigier too. Technically graphite composite is a very demanding material to design with. Its not like you can check its weight and moisture content then lob a lunk of it in a CNC mill for shaping. There's a skill in getting the layers aligned so that they're structurally efficient, then you have to understand how to mate the fingerboard to the neck, and the fingerboard has to be really stiff too. PLus, its expensive to make the molds because you need high standards of finish to let the poly finish look smooth and glossy.

Moses have necks that I suspect are more resin than graphite weave because if you keep one in a cold room you'll notice the neck is very stiff and suffering from backbow. Plus they sound a bit gutless in my experience. An all resin neck probably wouldn't be stiff enough.

I love graphite as a material, but I don't think many manufacturers have tried to tame the sound of graphite much. Its great as a structural element but really needs some dampening to sound its best. Graphite necked basses really sound best when mated to a heavy, soft body. Whether thats soft, heavy ash or whatever isn't so important - the graphite necked basses I've liked least have ALL had light bodies.

I'd love to hear what a graphite necked bass with a bubinga body would sound like - I suspect it would sound very meaty and the bubinga might tame the highs a little. I tend to see graphite being used with the same wood combinations as maple though - alder/ash etc. but unless the body woods are particularly soft, it can make the bass sound too brittle.

I also think most phenolic fingerboards sound too brittle, and if the recipe for the phenolic resin mix isn't stiff enough then the neck can warp - which is what happened with my Modulus fretless and 1st Cutlass. I reckon Vigier have got the mix right - a firm graphite 'skeleton' softened and fattened tonally with wood selected for its tonal dampening.

Good good, keep them coming.

Interesting thread Alex - any plans to go down the pro tools route eventually?

This is (at last) a healthy discussion as far as I'm concerned. I've removed some words from the filter that can otherwise be used in every day language in a non offensive manner.

[quote name='BOD2' post='16817' date='Jun 13 2007, 12:44 PM']I don't know that it's "too good" - after all, oak often ends up in flooring and even palettes.

You're probably right about it being difficult to work with, though. (i.e. hard on tools and more difficult to sand etc.).

Having said that, guitar makers often use ebony for fingerboards and that's like iron ![/quote]
ebony sounds good too.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='16746' date='Jun 13 2007, 11:13 AM']Never seen a Neck in Hickory or with Hickory laminates.[/quote]

I know that hickory is very difficult to work by hand.

I wonder about its tonal characteristics too.

As a bit of useless trivia: Will Lee played sessions in the 90's for something like triple or quadruple scale. In Bass Player, he said he bumped up his rate as a way of weeding out the crappier work but it only ended up increasing demand instead!

[quote name='DHA' post='16267' date='Jun 12 2007, 02:50 PM']A 3 or 4 way input switch is much simpler and hence much cheaper.[/quote]

Now that would be a good idea if the gain levels remained consistent when you swapped basses and didn't need separate settings to suit each bass.

Dood should inspire you. He inspires me, but I'm still crap on my 6 string.