BassBod

Chris...get a Clifton! But don't talk to Mo about Pbasses..." 'orrible 'eavy things etc etc" Seriously, the Clifton is one of few that allows you to go back to an acoustic without any drastic changes - close your eyes and its just like playing an acoustic - even the obstacles are there. The sound depends on your pickup/string choices, but can be very old fashioned upright, if that makes sense?

I completely understand how you feel - if something isn't packaged well, and then doesn't work out of the box they should take it back, no hassle and no "if it really is faulty" etc. And why on earth would you not put an instrument in the case?? I looked at these on Bob Gollihur's site, but two things put me off. I used to own an Ashbury...it was fun, but had a few problems. I've also read that the tuners/strings can break and be unreliable - that was enough to get me back to on the upright..... Hope you get it sorted

I think oil could look good - providing its half decent wood underneath the grotty paint job? I saw a bass recently (Dorset bass bash...can't remember the owner's name at the mo...but very nice chap) that was oiled but then topped up with Ken Smith polish - it looked very good and could pass for a thin clear coat of lacquer. See what you find, then decide?

For home/project studios I'd suggest the following approach. Record as live as possible with other musicians, but record acoustic bass with just the pickup. When you get the best take from everyone else, then re-record your acoustic bass, but using a combination of good condenser (usually your best "vocal" mike) and pickup. Then you've got plenty of time to experiment with room placement for your bass and mikes etc without excessive bleed and boring everyone else involved. I've had good results from expensive vocal type condensers and also cheaper dynamic bass drum mics. Experiment with what you've got. You also have the benefit of experimenting a bit more with your part, although it may be limited to a close copy of what you originally played if it is too audible in other tracks.

One reason I normally play EUB is that I've never found mics that can work in anything like a real gig/festival situation. The best solution I know of is to run a good pickup/amp/DI setup for your stage sound, and use a good mic only for front of house....but don't try using it for your monitor/stage sound. I've never had the luxury of trying this, but I will one day! I use an acoustic for recording, but rarely get effective isolation, so more often than not its still the pickup that gets used most.

No specific tracks spring to mind - its been a loong time! There was a track called Noddy goes to Sweden..but can't remember if it had obvious env filter action. To be honest, I don't think I ever realized he used one at all, I just thought that was a sound you could get out of an old fretless Wal. Then I got one.

I really liked his sound and playing on the Brand X stuff - but when I finally got to see him play (10 -12 years ago?) it didn't sound like the same person. It only occurred to me recently that part of "the sound" I liked was his very good use of envelope filters on fretless - much more direct sound than most people use so it adds colour to the sound, without swamping it.

[quote name='wesfinn' post='933065' date='Aug 22 2010, 08:52 PM']I miss this already![/quote] hehehe....looking forward to the "renovated/re-invented" JBass...........keep up the good work!

It should be fine - they are cast in epoxy stuff and pretty indestructible..as long as the wires are all there. I guess you'll have to ask Bartolini if you don't get a diagram with it, but they are probably on-line somewhere. My guess is this is the inspiration for the Sadowsky circuit, so that's a good find!

I seem to remember he changed the stack to 3 pot as he felt the 3 pot setup had a punchier sound. There is usually only one cap in a 3 pot circuit, so I'd be surprised if he took that out. It could be a confusion with the extra two resistors used in a stack to stop the two pots interacting with each other - these also reduce the output a bit, so also take away some of the "punch". I did see an article on another early Jbass that he played a lot but never owned, and the owner had allowed Jaco to remove/bypass one of the resistors - and re-finnish the neck.

Cave was good - sound was pretty nice, but it was a bit of a trek down, and everything felt cold and damp after a few hours. Looked great with candles everywhere - I'm told they do the best Santa's grotto ever....

Did a cave recently...never done that before.

As a former owner of the Alembic Epic above - I'm [b]really[/b] pleased to see someone enjoying it! Lovely bass indeed (if a bit too heavy for wimpy old me). It got passed on at a good price simply because I got it here for a good price...

Sit down when you open their reply! They can be very pricey...but the pots do last a very long time. I forgot to say they are also normally sealed so can't really be cleaned as such. They usually only need replacing when the carbon track starts to break down. Before you buy anything ask them specifically about the feel - a new one may be the same.

Just read the news - really don't know what to say. I met Simon last year at the Cardiff bash...and straight away new we'd met a (more than) a few years earlier and shared a few musical friends. Had a great chat or two. Easy to judge his fine reputation here from all the comments. Thanks to Rich for breaking the news and deepest sympathy for all the nearest and dearest.....

Alembic pots are very high quality, and not the type you can easily buy. On my Epic the volume turns more freely than the others, but I don't find it a problem. I'd suggest calling Alembic and ordering a replacement - they are hit and miss on email. It will cost a bit, but should be a push fit rather than soldering. If it isn't noisy or erratic I'd be tempted to live with it a bit longer....

Yes, that's the one. Does the job fine, runs on phantom power and has a high enough input impedance (without being so high it starts to produce interesting noises you don't want). John @ Orchid is always very easy to talk to, so give him a call?

I go against perceived wisdom...don't use eq on (electric) upright. After years of trying I found it was fine without! My general choice is Orchid Electronics active DI with mute button and tuner send - so I can kill the output when I want. A cheapish box but sounds fine.

Just a thought - another big variable is the cab. My Euphonic Audio cabs are very clear/unforgiving, depending on your preferences. They show up the hiss, a lot if the co-ax tweeter is turned beyond half way. My Bag End is an "older" voiced cab and you have to listen for it to hear any hiss at all. My guess is that modern speakers are more like the EA than the Bag End - people expect to hear more upper mid and detail than they did a few years ago?

Computer or camera cases are usually good options - or large sandwich boxes, even! I wouldn't put metal boxes (however light) into guitar gig bags.

I've used my EA 500 for a few years now and an Acoustic Image for about two years - to me and my aging ears there is an inherent hiss to these designs. I've also used a borrowed older Acoustic Image and a newer version - both were the same. Its not something you'd hear in a real setting, but it is very noticeable at home or in any very quiet situation. The hiss isn't on the preamp or DI, it seems to be a product of the power amp circuit. I asked EA about it and they said the level of noise does vary a bit from amp to amp, with variations in component values/quality (pretty normal for electronics?). If it was a problem they offered to replace some items on the circuit boards. My personal take on it is - older amps tend to hum, have very noisy fans and get hot...."digital" amps have a slight hiss that you can't generally hear outside your own front room, but are small light and powerful. To me, I can live with a bit of hiss for the other benefits. I'd use Thomann's replacement offer and see what the next one is like?