mangotango

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Is it just me, or is that a bl*oody tasty Bass VI? 

Remarkably so....

16 hours ago, Al Krow said:

What a seriously unhelpful thread to be linked into 😂

Now you've got me checking out £3,000 guitars (not to mention Spector basses that I'd managed to ignore for the past few years), Mr Charlie-Tango-Foxtrot! 😈

Oh yes, I held a gun to your head on that one, didn't I?

Duane Eddy, though...…!!

I know a while back I was looking for a P-bass, but as it happens,  I have instead just bought one of the Squier Bass VI's (from @Al Krow, as it happens!) and although I'm still getting used to it, I've tried it on some of the more cinematic stuff that we do. With a bit of tremolo, it totally evokes the Spaghetti Western vibe...and there's the chance to play twangy melodies as well as thumpy bass notes. I can see this becoming something of a permanent fixture, though not necessarily to use on every tune.

As was discussed with Al Krow, it still needs a proper set-up, but I wanted to make sure that I was going to use it before committing myself to the expenditure. Time to get that done, then.

17 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

And if they don’t do it in the colour you want, perhaps you could paint it black?

Chapeau.

12 hours ago, leroydiamond said:

The wedding, corporate and in particular country music scene on this side of the water is very lucrative. As a result, guys that I know, have made a very good living from it and hats off. A B-list artist in the country scene only recently told me about his income and my jaw hit the floor. Cannot see him or his band opting for an office job anytime soon. 

 

When you say "hats off", presumably that'd be Top Hats, Bowler Hats and Stetsons respectively?

On ‎16‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 15:00, JamieMillsBass said:

If you like it, learn it.  If you don't, don't.  There are a million different ways to be a great bass player.

Slap. It's funny; after I came back to playing bass after a long time off, I found that the geography of the technique had changed, and I wasn't sure that I had the roadmap any more.

I saw The Brothers Johnson back in 1978, loved what Louis J. was doing, but didn't think that it was necessarily right for me. At the time for me, Jaco was the king (still is to a huge extent) but at the time I was playing in jazz, noo wave and reggae-influenced bands and adding that kind of thing to my repertoire seemed a bit irrelevant - then.

Move on 30+ years and it's de rigueur in certain music, particularly in the funky jazz thang that I now play, so it's a viable technique for me to introduce. I'm kind of getting there now, a little at least. However, whereas I'm very conscious of certain physical limitations, is there also something else.....??

Sure, Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke and Mark King are of my era and they slap the hell out of the bass like there's no tomorrow, but it's been part of what they do pretty much as long as they've been doing it.  I'm less sure about my trying to borrow all that wholesale and shoehorn it into my technique, at my time of life. Maybe a little bit here and there is as much as I need.

1 hour ago, WHUFC BASS said:

The earlier NS-95s and 2000s were through-neck basses with maple bodies, but since then, no Korean models have had through necks.

No. Nor does the one that I have, which makes it even more bewildering that I would have typed that in a post.

I hang my head in shame. Even more than an England batsman should.

22 hours ago, bassmayhem said:

NOT MINE!!! I just had to show what is out there...
This should be an intimidating rig: the EICH Amplification XXL cab under an EICH amp head...

XXL Cab Features

•  

Extremely lightweight construction

•  

Specifications

 

WEIGHT: 70,55 kg / 155,5 lbs

I'm sensing something of a disconnect here between description and specification!! 

I know everything is relative, but....70.55 kg = the weight of an average UK male adult of 5' 6" height. For a cab. That's scary.

https://www.onaverage.co.uk/body-averages/average-weight-of-a-man

10 hours ago, Al Krow said:

@mangotangoI think I've managed to pin down the make / model of the preamp in our Spector Legend Custom - it's the EMG B30-S which came out in 2004 and would appear to be precursor to WHUFC's much liked and more recent BQC preamp.

The description of this I've found on-line is that is: "a 3-band equalizer for bass guitar, which can be retrofitted snugly beneath two tone controls. Both bass and treble equalizers are mounted on a stacked pot, while the mid-range control mounts separately. Bass, treble and mid EQ's offer 12dB and feature a central detente. The new EMG B30-S can be used with either active or passive pickups and is powered by a 9 volt battery."

That fits the description of what's on our basses perfectly. Also turns out that our Legend Custom basses are not neck-through but actually set necks

Thanks for the technical information. Good to know, but I'm probably not bright enough ever to use it....

And yes, set-neck is what they are - don't know what I was thinking with the "through neck" description I applied elsewhere. Hopeless on my part.

6 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Hah! Didn't I just ask that? You probably like West Ham and play bass too... 😂 

Strong echo in this corner of the board...….

On ‎21‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 08:55, Al Krow said:

Ah ok thanks. That explains why it's taken me so long to find a 3 band EQ Spector and why my ears picked up when @mangotangomentioned that the Legend Custom model, he owned, indeed had a 3 band EQ (with a stacked bass and treble pot)! 

Not clear to me, however, from the 4 knob options which EQ model is on the Legend Custom? This has an independent volume control for both pups rather than volume / blend and then two knobs providing stacked bass and treble and a separate one for mids. I'm hoping Mangotango might know off the top of his head - there only seems to be a reference to the 'US' Legend models online which have Aggie OB-2 pre's in them, and it's clearly not that!

Is the BTQ pre you refer to still available?

http://www.emgpickups.com/accessories/bass-accessories.html

If not, it seems that the 4 knob BQC pre would now be the one to go for with its 3 band EQ and semi para mids. Either that or go for a John East Uni-pre!

Waaaaaay beyond my level of knowledge or experience on these things, I'm afraid!!

Nothing on/off the top of my head, not even hair (see avatar for confirmation).

On ‎11‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 14:17, TheGreek said:

OK BCers...anybody have a set of suitable replacement pups? Cheap/free/ trades preferred - remember this will, primarily, be for the use of some really troubled people.

PM me if you want to trade...I've got lots of odds & ends

If you're still looking for pups...I have the original P/J set from my Bass Collection bass. You're welcome to those.

I've posted this picture before, but...here are my Spectors.

The fretted Legend Custom does pretty much everything that I need from a fretted bass. It snaps, it snarls, it thrums. Because of the set neck, it has punch and sustain. Pretty heavy, though not to the point of being uncomfortable. The neck is a little chunkier than I'd like, but again, not to the point of being uncomfortable.

The Spectorcore fretless however...is just a pure delight to play. It sings, and I find excuses to use it where possible. Out of 14 tunes for the two sets that we'll be playing on Saturday, I will use it for over half of them. The others need the gank! of a fretted bass.

HOWEVER......

The best 5'ers that I've played but DON'T own...would be two completely different beasts, different from these and from each other.

When I was up in Glasgow a little while back, I played a Sandberg VM5. Pretty much up there in terms of spec., a top quality instrument.  I didn't particularly like the Heavy Relic finish, but the feel and the sound...even just trying it out in a shop on a rainy Saturday morning, it made me play better than I thought I could. Which is all that you can ask of an instrument.

And at the last Bass Show, I finally got round  (after much being told about how great they are by @Scoop) to playing an ACG Singlecut. After a short while of appreciating its sheer wonderfulness, I was mentally considering where the possible exits were and what my chances would be of getting to one of them with the bass and away, before anyone caught me. Or failing that, how many internal organs I would have to sell to be able to take it home legitimately....

When coming back to bass after a long time off, and realizing that although I'd confidently told the band leader, to get things moving, "I'll play bass for you until you find someone", it rapidly became apparent that my bass knowledge was three and a half decades out of date...that there are all these new hotshot players out there now,  of whom I'd never heard...and that I really wasn't very good anymore.

Plus all I had was a Squier Bronco Bass that went out of tune up the neck and I had no amp that was anywhere near loud/good enough to rehearse, let alone gig at any point.

In other words, I had talked a good game up to that point, but walking it was going to be something else. (Walking Bass pun 100% intended).

In the end, I borrowed some decent gear and in the couple of weeks I had available, worked my fingers off just to be merely bad enough to stumble through the first rehearsal with my hair on fire. But by comparison with the others, who were ready to go...I knew that I needed to pull up my socks pretty rapidly.

Oh yes, and I too have done the "no lead in the bass" thing before today.  But only once.

3 hours ago, Grahambythesea said:

You might not be able to find it on a dark stage. Make sure you’ve got a torch with you or fit some neon strings 😁🔦

Yep. Black Neon Flatwounds.

14 minutes ago, krispn said:

I’d saw on a video review the Spector basses came with (maybe historically) 43-122. I’ll see if I can find the source 

Looking on various dealers' websites, they advise 45-120 for the Legend 5's.

By the way - is that Bill Bailey in the Crimson Guitars video?

Niiiiice quilt….very Spector/Warwick.

20 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Thanks - much appreciated. I'm actually 'viewing' a Legend Custom tonight (entirely your fault btw for getting me interested in looking at these! 😁) and which is part of the reason of my urgent canvassing of opinion from the wider Spector BC community! 

If you have chance to pop yours on the scales - I'd be really interested to know what it weighs in at?

Entirely my fault? I couldn't possibly take all of the credit......

It's an honour and a privilege. My work here is done.

Will weigh mine tonight and let you know. And, wish you well to play that new Legend.  Go brass on the bridge, IMHO.

1 hour ago, WHUFC BASS said:

The voice of reason will always shine through! 😂

Good shout, although Brick Lane is overrated a bit i find.

Agreed. Nowadays, whenever I go, it's full of tourists and pished-up City types*. 

The Lahore Kebab House used to be a favourite, although I understand that too is nothing special nowadays. Which is a shame, really.

So, never mind the Bass Bash - who's going to organise the BassChat Curry night?

* no I'm not, hardly ever nowadays in fact.

13 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Thanks gents - if @Mastodon2 is correct that they are going to "sound broadly similar" that's actually a great starting point. 

I'm a bit more relaxed about Asian made basses - after all Apple make their phones in China. And Samsung, also Korean, aren't exactly a pants outfit!

The one I'm looking at also has EMG HZ pups but the EMG B30 3 band preamp. I'm a bit of fan of 3 band EQs so that's a big plus. It's Bubinga so it's likely to be heavy but, combined with the neck through, should have good sustain. Provided it's 10 lbs / 4.5kg or less, then it could be a good entry point to the world of Spector basses for me. Hopefully won't have the same negative impression that the NS 2000 had on @WHUFC BASS! But worst case, as @ahpook has just posted, that could be solved with a pup upgrade, if needed.

As previously discussed...if you fancy giving the Legend Custom a spin, I'd be happy to pop round with mine sometime. Plus there's the Spectorcore fretless....

30 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

But is it at least 9' tall?

 

No, it's slightly more than 9" tall, but it has power for days.....

and it's not often that I can employ that particular sentence to such great effect.

Just taken a Squier Bass VI off Bas' hands.... super easy to deal with him and he's a top bloke.

And since he and I aren't that far away from each other...it was good to pop round to his to collect, and incidentally shoot the bass breeze for a while.

Oh and it's a smashing piece of kit. But you could probably have guessed that.

I was doing so well with that up to a point, as lovely a thing as it is, but I was resisting the envy...and then you had to throw the 5'er into the mix, didn't you?

When I first came back to the bass after many years away, I wasn't aware of the benefits of updated technology - I just knew that I saw people gigging locally with small combos.  Jazz DB players in particular I saw using small GK combos. So that's the way my thinking went and I ended up with a TC BG250-112 combo.  After a short while, however, I became aware that there were other options that technology had thrown up. If I'd done my research, I wouldn't have gone the combo route.

What I now have is a great amp head (Genz-Benz Streamliner) and two cabinets for different applications. Barefaced Compact One 10 for rehearsals and small gigs, Genz-Benz 2-12 for bigger events. And I have the TC sitting round and doing very little, so will probably sell it.  Oddly enough though, I like it very much for use with my EUB. It's very rare that I take just that bass to any event, however, so keeping the TC for those occasions seems a bit of an expensive luxury..... 

14 hours ago, Evert Albers said:

Comparable with a jazz band that I sometimes play in myself. We may or may not be more virtuosic, but you guys certainly have better dynamics and self-control (if that's the correct word in English).

Thanks, that's very kind of you. 

We should set up an arrangement to trade gigs sometime - travel broadens both the mind and the fan-base!!