kurosawa

Just got a MIK Peavey Milestone II and I put an old set of JF344 and an original EMG P on it. Even though it's alder-maple-rosewood, it sounds woodier than other Ps have that I've set up similarly, drier, not the liquid syrup that's so familiar. Very different, and I like it a lot. That's the maddening and magical thing about wood. Every piece sounds different. But as 4 Strings says, some arrangements of pickups and build specs have persistent identities. That's the stronger characteristic. The rest is gravy, and likely few but we notice, but it does inspire our playing, so it has definite value.

Nah. I don't mean deadness, I mean loudness. I sat in the car when I got home from work today mesmerized by what Jamerson did in "Reach Out," "Standing in the Shadows of Love," and "Bernadette." I was searching for the bass drum's pitch, then when I found it, I was able to appreciate that Jamerson ALONE was exceeding it in whack. He was LOUD, He was a string bass player. You will hear him and wonder how a bass drum could keep up because it sounds like they're hitting at the same time, then it dawns on you that it's the bass alone spitting out those hard-hitting sixteenths.

Had to sell everything to feed the kids during this divorce. Just picked up a used $80 Peavey Milestone II, 8 lb, 2.8 oz (alder body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard) . It's better than most, but still not as loud as I'd like. Loudness seems to indicate wide dynamic range, so I think loudness tops my list of desiderata.

No one's trying to convince you, except to convince you that no one's trying to convince you. However it does seem you're trying to squelch the line of inquiry, Can't fathom why. Been playing since 1967. Got my first Fender 2 years later, a '63 P in LPB.

There is a tutti in Rob McConnell's "Louisiana" that challenged me. It took a month for me to precisely match the horns' phrasing, dynamics, and articulation. The experience completely changed my ideas of what a fretted electric bass can and should do. It also changed what I listen for in an instrument. Different experiences mean we listen for different things. If you don't play your bass like a horn, then it's not going to bother you if a certain bass has problems doing that particular trick, even if it drives me nuts (I don't care if a bass is totally unslappable, which might have you tearing out your hair). There is nothing to prove here. There are profitable interactions with players who are going in the same direction as we, and if we don't connect with players who are going in other directions, that's just the way it is.

Interesting. Is it important for the laminations to be made of different woods?

Probably dead spots aren't caused by wood. John K. figured out how to make dead spots go away by increasing the mass of the headstock. Ned Steinberger did it by decreasing same. Hipshot has had some kind of fix on the back burner for a while. However, I discovered poplar makes dead spots worse for me (at least the poplar plank that plagued me), and some guitarists have found poplar makes "chirping" easier (which sounds to me a whole lot like the harmonic that rings on after a dead spot goes dead, seems it's an octave plus a fifth above the dead note). I am in the group that likes wood louder. Seems to give me a wider dynamic range to work with and seems to allow more wallop in the attack. Not saying others' experiences aren't valid. Just relating mine.

I used to joke with a friend about what I called his belief in "wood elves" inhabiting some trees but not others. Then some time around the turn of the millennium, having read the occasional listing by the Swami at thebasspalace.com that said "this bass is The One" or "this bass reeks of Oneness" and so on, took a chance on a SQ-series P (listed as "the One") for $350, and became an overnight convert to the idea that wood matters. However, it's very frustrating. I've slowly come to agree with those who say the character of a bass lives in the neck, and these must simply be auditioned individually. There are some species of body wood I steer clear of, like poplar, which in my experience can dramatically worsen the dead spots in even a very good neck, but there is no decent predictor of great sound, although I find that by limiting myself to alder and going for the lightest plank, I can avoid much unpleasantness. Still, it's effort that I'm sure would be better spent practicing. If it weren't such an annoying and interesting problem, I'd probably have stopped experimenting with it years ago.

Seems I don't have anywhere near as much money to spend as you guys. Instead, I just pick up an interesting bass or neck or body here or there over the years, try with other parts, and keep the good ones. Happily, SQ-series P basses are the same $400 they were a decade ago (when they came of age). They now 30 years old and due to the ratty quality of post-Japan Squiers, won't foreseeably be collectable.

I spoke with my son's high school band director last night. The band owns a Jazz Bass. Last year, there were significant intonation problems, and the bass's pitch was indistinct due to the inherent phase cancellation. I offered to build him a Precision Bass for tighter focus and he accepted. Actually, a PJ is probably best for a gigging musician, both pickups to be used in thin mixes like cocktail combo, and just the P for denser mixes like big band or horn rock band. But because the school only uses electric bass in big band and marching band sidelines roles, I'll just make it a P.

I forgot to mention that the muddy-sounding body is 1/2 lb. heavier than the clear, loud body. So maybe if attempting to build two identical basses, it might be worth trying to obtain bodies from the same manufacturer within a couple ounces of each other. I bought an Allparts body last year from an eBay vendor (name unfortunately forgotten). Allparts bodies are available in first and second quality, with a $100 surcharge for lightweight bodies. The first quality ash PJ body I bought is 4 lb. even, but the vendor didn't add the surcharge for the light weight (it cost $200, IIRC). I saw both this vendor and another sell another such body without charging extra. When I need another body, I'll set up an eBay search to be notified by e-mail of Allparts bass body listings.

I have 2 maple/rose SQ-series (Japan Squier 1983-1984) Ps. One neck is bright and the other is dark. One body is clear and loud and the other is muddy. There might potentially be more difference between individual pieces of wood than between this or that species of tree. It just seems that I get a better chance of finding what I want in a bolt-on with a maple neck (either rosewood or maple fretboard) and an alder body than any other combination. And what I want is mostly in terms of envelope quality (percussive attack and wide dynamic range) and not a certain tonal flavoring. I have an all-wenge Warmoth neck with a 6dB, 1kHz spike. No biggie. I have a stomp box EQ that can dial that out.

Another thing, if you can't find a neck for your body that doesn't have dead spots, it might be the body. Poplar taught me this.

Good article to start thinking about DIY fret leveling. http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-technical/201556-fret-leveling-yer-tele-101-a.html

The spots may be found using clamps, and "cured" by inlaying tungsten weights into the back of the headstock Article: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/dead-spot-removal-743976/