Lfalex v1.1

I've only seen full sets of G,D,A and E Elixirs. Low B and high C are available separately.

[i][b]Preamble[/b][/i] Well, where do I start? Having had a quick browse through the reviews section, I couldn't see [u]any[/u] Electric Upright Bass reviews. Maybe they're in that [i]special[/i] forum.. No? It is a bass... Of sorts, so here's the review! [i][b]Background[/b][/i] Why an EUB? Having flirted with fretless (an old Columbus S2 Jazz and a Musicman Ray 5) I discovered that, whilst I could play such an instrument, It couldn't reproduce [i]that[/i] DB sound. Nor can an EUB. But it does get closer. And it's smaller And you don't have feedback issues And they're available with too many strings (five, in this case) And you can use effects with them And amplify them straight from the box without modification And many can be readily set up at home without specialist tools/skills I'm guessing that the DB purists will have hit the "back" button on their browsers by now, so I'll continue! In all seriousness, An EUB represents the right compromise for me. A sort of halfway-house between fretless and DB that's more portable and convenient. Why the NS? For me, it had to be a 5. It's now my choice of fretted bass, so to be able to play/re-interpret some material it was entirely necessary to have that fifth string. That limits the number of purchasing options, even in the EUB field. I'd originally targeted an NS Design NXT 5, but a CR 5 came up second-hand, and at a good price, So that forced my hand somewhat. [i][b]Features[/i][/b] Made in the Czech Republic. A diminutive Maple body with a flamed Maple cap (about 3mm thick, if you look closely) A full 42" scale Maple neck, scarf-jointed to the body. This is of [i]much[/i] higher quality than either the body wood or the cap, and is beautifully finished is a gloss lacquer. The fingerboard is of Macassar Ebony, and has small dot markers at every position from "1" to "24", with double markers at 5,7,12,17,19 and 24 positions. Yup. A double-octave neck that's completely accessible due to that dinky body. The transducer is a piezo electric bridge fashioned from phenolic resin. It's adjustable for action/side to side tilt from behind with two 3mm Allen keys. It's a doddle. No Magnetic pick-ups in this model. That's the "M" String spacing could be changed, too, if you wanted to file a few (more) small slots in the bridge. As it's removable, you could possibly obtain a new phenolic blank from NS (not that I've tried) The electrics are 18v active, with controls for Volume, continously variable Arco/Pizzicato control with centre detent, treble and bass. The tuners are Schallers. A regular Bass guitar type, but they're the smoothest, most positive tuners I've ever encountered. Period. The nut is phenolic, too, by the looks of it. It all stands atop a tripod. Yes. It stands up all on its own. No leaning it in corners or buying stands. It's remarkably liberating to be able to just walk away from an instrument and not have it follow you in some way. That might sound odd, but if you've just swapped from a Bass Guitar, your shoulder won't miss having a lump of wood hanging from it! End pins and shoulder straps are available as further alternatives. The package comes in two tubular soft cases with a degree of padding. One for the stand, one for the bass. [b]Simple, minimalist design, with good quality construction and selective application of excellent quality materials where it really counts, particularly the neck and fingerboard. 10/10 [/b] [i][b]Sound[/i][/b] In a word, Massive. Makes my "biggest" sounding bass guitar sound like toy. Yes, that's partly a function of the energy transmitted from all that extra string mass, but the Piezo system conveys the player's input with great accuracy, and the 18v electrics give plenty of headroom. Best of all, the EQ controls are not an after-thought. The extremes of adjustment are too much (particularly if you wind the treble up all the way- its uncomfortable through headphones), but used sensibly, they affect exactly the right parts of the sound in just the way I'd want. [b]Powerful, flexible and intuitive.. Great with (subtle) effects. Noise and feedback free. 10/10[/b] [i][b]Action, Fit and Finish[/b][/i] Very good indeed. Everything feels remarkably solid. All the joints are tidily constructed and there's no sloppy workmanship to be seen.. The only shortcoming is that the inner faces of the (open) headpiece are not finished to the same standard as the rest of the bass. The neck has a truss-rod, so it's adjustable, as is the bridge, so you can tailor the action to suit your preference. I opened the back panel up to have a look (slacken the strings or the tension will fire it across the room!) It's all tidily wired and very well shielded inside. The Tripod stand is very stable and adjusts into some weird positions if you want but allows a good degree of flexibility [b]Solidly made, with only a few compromises visible. Plenty of adjustability. 9/10[/b] [b][i]Reliability[/i][/b] I purchased this instrument used, and am at least its third owner. It has seen plenty of action. And it all still works exactly as it should. [b]No issues here, then.. 10/10[/b] BUT [b][i]Durablility[/i][/b] Here's the catch. All that Maple, particularly on the body, is soft. It can be dented easily. And this has been. Especially around the bottom edge of the instrument. The Flamed face has some gouges in it from fingernails when players have overshot the G string. The headpiece is fine. The padded bag for the bass is not up to the job.It has insufficient padding in the ends to prevent damage to the instrument. The manual states that you can get the stand (in its bag) in with the instrument in its bag. Not a good plan. The stand has the ability to damage the instrument. Bagged or otherwise. The previous owner had purchased a proper flightcase. That's more like it. Time to try and steam some of those dents out with a soldering iron/damp cloth. [b]Inadequate protective gear supplied. Durable if you treat it [u]carefully[/u]. Buy a proper case! 6/10[/b] [i][b]Overall rating[/i][/b] Cracking design (if you favour minimalism) Sounds superb and plays really well- and I've only used it to play Pizzicato. Great clarity and sustain- really sings in a way that makes a lot of Bass guitars sound a bit thin and weedy! Excellent neck access. If your intonation is up to it, you can go "Cello-Chasing" A really good blend of design, features and construction, with materials that can only be described as "premium" used in critical areas (neck and fingerboard) Let down only by the soft bags and the fact that the body damages easily. The strings can be kinked against the (square) tail-end of the fingerboard if it suffers a big impact. If the instrument bag was better, it might not happen... [b]Overall? 8/10 as if bought new. If only it came with a proper case. These are approx £1700 new. Inadequate protection is a serious flaw at this price point Otherwise I'd probably bump it up to 9 or even 9.5 out of 10[/b] Any questions? Fire away? I'll try to sort some photos in due course...

2nd-hand Warwick. Thumb 5 Fortress Masterman 5 Vampyre 5 Streamer Jazzman 5 Corvette FNA 5 Infinity SN 5 Plenty more where they came from...

Does it have a truss- rod that could be adjusted? Did the change of strings also include a significant change of gauge?

What sort of a hot-rod is it, and which pick-up config is it? I have visions of a Maple Thumb with double-Ps in it...

[quote name='bagsieblue' timestamp='1367669108' post='2068165'] Cheers - I don't want to really mod the bass and I don't really want to get rid as it is a beautiful and lovely bass to play, fussy bugger eh? Not familiar with DR Fatbeams, will they give me some more thump as I would hope that flats would? [/quote] Fat beams may give you a slightly more scooped sound than you're used to. Nice strings, and easy to play due to the round cores, but not the game-changer you're looking for. I'd have said change the pick-ups and pre- amp. Keep the originals, and at least it's reversible. Maybe an outboard pre-amp? Tone hammer, EBS, Paradriver etc?

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1367460317' post='2066007'] Yup. My Status loves The Sheehan EBS and the B3K The Marleaux HATES drive of any kind. The P loves the B3K and the Marshall Jackhammer. I have about 20 drive pedals. Clearly I need 20 basses! [/quote] My Vigier is a complete fx dodger. I think it's the low (600 Ohm) output impedance.. Best all rounder I've found is my Ampeg SVP pro. Lots of tube niceness..

Not sure I liked that. Over-application of a tap-controlled flanger/ noise gate combined with short slides sounds exactly like the sound effects they dubbed over laser bolts in the 80's. A smidge of ring modulator on the top end, and I reckon you could nail the Battlestar Galactica tone. But that's probably NOT what I bought an EUB for...

I really don't know. Haven't really played much recently as it's all seemed a bit pointless. Oddly, the time I'd have spent doing that hasn't been reinvested, and I've completely stopped watching TV, using the PlayStation, reading, listening to music. Nothing is doing it for me right now, so I seem to be sleeping quite a lot instead.

Maybe he just hasn't the TIM anymore?

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1367325063' post='2064159'] LOL yes, except when you do it the other way round and buy an EUB first and then a fretless (5 strings in my case), followed inevitably by a 5-string EUB. No space for the DB at present, thank God! [/quote] I didn't exactly go that way myself... 4, fretless 4, 5, fretless 5, discover fretless isn't for me, sell it and buy another fretted 5, figure EUB will sound how I'd want, buy EUB 5 straight from the off...

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1367323022' post='2064118'] Dunno what they sound like on a wooden neck, but phenolic on a graphite neck is too bright and clacky for me. I've got rosewood on mine. [/quote] And the converse is also true... They sound great on my Yamaha and Vigier, both of which have mainly Maple necks. Not so good on the Status. My only fretless is a NS CR5, and that's Macassar Ebony. That's really nice...

I'm wondering about the merits of a B3... The blurb says the tap function can control all of the modulation fx and tie them to the same tempo....

[quote name='chilievans' timestamp='1367263685' post='2063437'] Being new to this sort of thing I'm looking for some advice regarding intonation, setup, strings, study pieces etc etc. basically anything that can help me on my merry way. [/quote] Start saving for an EUB. Then a DB. That's the normal progression, isn't it?

[quote name='Junkyard Rocket' timestamp='1367278618' post='2063719'] he should make it up to her by taking her up the oxo tower. [/quote] Brilliance.

I'm guessing (and hoping) the Alembic is a Photoshop.. One good downstroke on that guitar, and your Eq just got kinda "scooped"!

[quote name='- Matt -' timestamp='1365601699' post='2041643'] Intonation is 7/64 [/quote] So, what's wrong with good ol' screwdrivers?

Having recently acquired a fine EUB, I was just wondering, are there are other non-purists who use effects/multi effects with an upright? If so, which ones? I'd love some sort of modulation box with a tap tempo for chorus/ flanger and a delay/reverb with a tap tempo on that,too. I don't suppose anyone manufactures an all-in-one unit that allows adjustment for rate/depth/tone filtering.. Or am I just asking too much?

It doesn't say what the necks are made of. Bet they're wooden bolt-on in spite of the fact that they slated wooden bodies... It'd be nice if they were graphite or summat.

[quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1366824666' post='2057770'] Affected and pretty awful all round imho I lasted about 30 seconds [/quote] Charlie says.. « meow meow grrr meow grrr » Or in English... "Me too. But it was the snare sound that did for me, not the gurning queen..."

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1366880733' post='2058374'] The best harmonics I've heard are on Musicman Bongo basses....ridiculously clear harmonics. [/quote] Might the compensated nut be a contributory factor, I wonder? Otherwise, what's the definition of "good" harmonics? My Vigier produces nice harmonics. In keeping with the sound the instrument otherwise produces. They're all where they should be, and sound reliably. Nice decay and sustain. Some basses produce almost artificially loud harmonics. Is that good? I don't know... I reckon strings/string condition and good set-up (intonation-wise) are likely to have a big effect.

I have; '02 Infinity SN4 '97 Streamer LX6 '97 Fortress Masterman 5 None are perceived as the pinnacle of Warwick instruments, but the Streamer is nice, the Infinity pretty and capable. The fortress is great. Good core tone and lots of nice eq variations, most of which sit really well in a mix. My favourites? Streamer Jazzman. Dolphin. Thumbs are OK, but the balance is off. The version with the pickups closer to the bridge suits me better. Taranis and Dark Lord are a bit niche. Some 'vettes are nice Not sure about the $$. On paper, they should be great for me. In reality, they don't seem to cut it. Perhaps my expectations are too high. Buzzards should have stayed at Status. That upside-down-Stryker Adam Clayton monstrosity should simply be burned.

And you didn't have to buzz to get in. That front "door" was well weird. Were they expecting a flood or something?

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1366826110' post='2057803'] It's clearly nothing to do with [u]The[/u] Bass centre. [/quote] If you're referring to the Brune Street one, that was only a pale shadow of the mighty Wapping Bass Centre. Words cannot describe how great that place was. Or the stock they had. Fender, Gibson, Warwick, Dingwall, Alembic, Smith, Status, Parker, Musicman, Vigier, Ovation, Washburn, Steinberger, Kubicki, Yamaha, Ibanez.... And that's just the basses. Never mind the amps, strings, accessories.....

[quote name='Bob G' timestamp='1361400561' post='1985564'] I've just been reading through this thread - I have a real hankering for an upright, I've been playing saxes for about 8 years but following recent dental work it's quite uncomfortable, and as a bass-player of some 30 years the old low notes are calling to me once again. I don't really have room for a 'real' DB unfortunately, so I reckon EUB might be the way to go. Having read all this, I am definitely going to count the pennies a bit. If not a Stagg (which seems to have nice features) is there something a little better/more expensive, say around the 7-800 quid mark? Cheers, Bob [/quote] Ns design NXT4 fits your budget. That said, I just bought an Ns design CR5 for £850... S/H on here.