wombatboter

[quote name='MarkW' timestamp='1390814659' post='2349695']
Does anybody have an opinion on the Warwick Corvette Standard fretless before I contemplate the long journey south to check one out? It's the six string on the Bass Gallery website if you fancy a gander. It ticks a number of boxes for me: I've fancied owning a Warwick since about 1988, I have been contemplating a six string for a little while, and it's within my budget - just!
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I borrowed this Warwick fretless Fortress One for a couple of days and quite liked it (although I had some troubles because I prefer dots between the lines instead of on top of them). Not sure if you can find them in six-string but this particular bass is on the second hand market for around 400-500 euros which is excellent value for money. ( It's not that I'm so fond of recording myself but I do it when there's not a lot to be found on YT and it might help others get an opinion)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_JWzAnajkY

Great.... killer bass tone, fat and punchy

Don't want to hijack the topic but the same bass with flatwounds.... (and thanks to Mick Karn who lives on forever through his influences)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWUGf3GFKFs

Thanks.. it's a Wal Pro fretless... one pickup, volume-tone, that's all but found out that I don't need more even after trying out the MK-models.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1390736720' post='2348739']
If you use coated roundwounds like elixirs then you kind of get the best of both worlds - smooth feeling and bright sounding, infact coated strings seem to last longer on fretless presumably because there are no frets breakup the coating.
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Never had any problems with strings eating the fretboard away... I have epoxy on the fretboard of my Wal and it remains ok without scratching.
Just don't like the feel of flatwounds, it's like rubber under my fingers and I see no reason why I should switch to flatwounds. Like I said : there's a bite in a roundwound string which flatwounds lack and I want to hear that growl.

Great player.... still I wouldn't be able to play with an amp with that sort of hum, even it that's how it supposed to be.
I would prefer something a bit more quiet which wouldn' t distract me from my playing.

Weird.. I have been playing fretless for a rather long period (around 25 years) and I only want roundwounds on them...I've tried flatwounds but they miss the "bite" you need to bring the string to life. it's not because it's fretless that it should sound boomy or completely dead. I don't want my basses to sound like an upright or an acoustic bass so I prefer roundwounds.. Without any problem I can go back to my fretted basses although if I had to choose I would pick a fretless as my ultimate bass instead of a fretted one...

Just recorded a clip with roundwounds on my fretless.. I don't feel limited by them at all.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6FRf3XlL8k[/media]

You're absolutely right (but I don't have the grammar to write what you do in English :-))

A funny thing about Palladino is the way he plays... I'm always convinced that people play like their personality is.
If you're flamboyant you'll play like that; if you're a shy person it reflects in your playing, if you don't really listen to people irl then you won't on stage when someone else is doing their thing..
But Pino plays rather "busy" imo (but in a fabulous way) but it wouldn't match with the "you play like you are".
I talked to him twice and he is this really easygoing person while on stage he's someone who doesn't disappear in the shadows musically..

One of so many amazing things about Karn was that he had a couple of manierisms in his bass-playing and that he was able to make endless combinations with these weird licks and slides. I rarely had the impression that he was repeating himself.. it remained unique and special.
Whenever I pick up a fretless bass I find myself playing things which find their influences in Karn's playing. He opened up new doors.
When you listen to Jaco you understand his roots in r 'n b playing but in the case of Karn I have no idea where his style is based upon.
It was suddenly there and it made him absolutely unique.

It's true crafsmanship allright... the playability is just great. A very fast neck, quiet electronics and the most important thing : it inspires.

Doesn't happen too many times that something grabs my attention like this.. just great, loved it.
The song, the energy, the concept of the video. Perfect.
(the verse reminds me a bit of that part Rockwells sings in "Somebody's watching me")

I've had around 140 basses the last 32 years and about two years ago a local builder with whom I had worked before suggested to build me a bass with the specs I loved and I got really enthousiastic about it.
It took a long time to finish it but I have been playing it for the last three months and it still blows me away..
It's lightweight, has a very low action and the ideas just seem to pop out of it..
[color=#333333]Alder body with Poplar burl top + padauk veneer line , maple neck ( quarter sawn ) with birdseye maple fretboard and poplar burl headstock veneer . Carbon reinforced neck . Hipshot hardware , Glockenklang preamp , Delano pickups[/color]
[color=#333333]I went for the oval Delano pick-ups because they give me more support when using certain techniques and I wanted something different than what I mostly see...It can be switched to a passive mode and then it sounds a bit more "vintage" but when active it just delivers the more hi-tech sound I prefer (it's a matter of taste, this is not really a rock-bass). That's why I wanted to have a maple fretboard since I like sparkling highs and the brightness it delivers. In combination with the pre-amp I can have some more mids when I need to.[/color]
[color=#333333]A YT clip with some sounds I get out of it...(and some Flemish words)[/color]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YswjUjDL3ys

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Really nice...

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOd0msTbIy4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOd0msTbIy4[/url]

I play in an Abba-tribute band, love the basslines (somewhere between disco and rock)
Still weird that when you see this clip with the original bassplayer (Gunnarsson) he plays it like any bassplayer from any random coverband without the fire I remember...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO_uoOuQm1U

I was checking the website of Dave Swift and I thought to myself that this man has one of the best jobs on earth (ànd deserves it).
But then I started listening to some live clips of the "Later" show again and it struck me as always that the drums are on a level I wouldn't be too enthousiastic about.. Pity that someone like Swift has to settle with an "inferior" rhythm partner...

It's always funny to read comments around here..
If only you would know how much discussion there is around here in Belgium about programs like "Jools" but in a really positive way...
Over here we have nothing of that caliber and "Jools" is viewed as the ultimate...we can only dream of a show like that with that sort of variety and live-bands in that setting... Musicians are very enthousiastic about it and are jealous of the format and the chances it brings.
You should consider yourselves very lucky..we do.
For those who say "Well, go ahead..you can have him !" : gladly

Great ! Thanks for sharing, made me feel really good.. best christmas story I've had so far.

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1387204294' post='2309271']
I am amazed at how few Warwick basses are seen being used by pro's in the spotlight. OK same could be said of Wal basses, but Warwicks are produced in many more numbers. Good basses too. Fender still wears the crown I guess..
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Around here in Belgium I know bands where you have lesser chances to join them when you don't play Fender... I brought several basses along (Wal, Alembic, Fodera, Warwick..etc) and still you get the reaction "yeah, but it's not a Fender". Even the worst mexican crap Fender gets you more credibility than other basses.. They do listen with their eyes...

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1386082180' post='2295457']
Why don't you relax a bit, go and have a glass of milk and a sandwich or summat. The world can be a horrible place, there are much more important issues to die young of stress about. Boiling live animals to death for dinner so certain Chinese people can get a better boner, female genital mutilation in Africa, child abuse in Daventry, why Tom Daley's sexuality still has the power to shock some people, why many American states are fascist theocracies. Will that do?
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I don't see why this should be an "or" story instead of an "and" story. The fact that it bothers me that someone smashes up gear doesn't exclude the fact that I'm not putting intrest in other stupid things. It's hard to be selective when it comes down to human behaviour and it should be an individual choice what someone thinks is important. I'll have that sandwich now.

I always considered it to be the most beautiful bass line ever... I never wanted it to learn it because then a bit of the magic would be gone and I would know the notes instead of just listening to the sheer beauty of them. "Ticket to ride" used to be "Ticket the ride" but as soon as you know that it's in A major you think about it every time you hear that song...

I watched it and enjoyed the program... I am a huge Macca fan and I agree that his voice has lost much of its strength...It's weird that he makes it so hard upon himself. He was singing one of my favourite songs ("1985") and he couldn't get the high notes any more.. it was horrible and I was wondering why he sang that one while there are hundreds of other songs he can sing (I am a bit annoyed that he sings "Mr Kite", he's got plenty of good songs himself). In general the concert was better than I expected and the new songs are actually good (I've listened to the new album around 20 times now and the songs are really growing on me although I think the production sucks). I still think the ultimate line up was with Hamish Stuart, Robbie McIntosh and Chris Whitten on drums and I don't like the drumstyle Laboriel provides... The big difference with the old footage of Wings over America was striking... a powerful voice which could cope with anything (now he uses certain tricks to avoid painful notes (Band on the run)), that Rickenbacker bass which sounded a lot better than the Hofner (probably the whole Beatles image forces him to use the Hofner) and really good material. It's funny to compare the singer of the "New" album with the singer he used to be...

The pleasure was all mine...

I can't stand the people who hired the band coming into the dressing room saying in a far too enthousiastic way : "All right, five minutes to go !...let's make it a night we will remember ! "(while padding you on the shoulder) or "they are still finishing their chocolate mousse so you'll have to start half an hour later... remember : don't play any loud songs in the beginning !"

I'm afraid my ego is too big :-)