4000

21 hours ago, Dazed said:

Apologies if slightly off topic - seems to have turned towards MK’s various basses over the years - and my q relates to this. 
 

Anyone come across clips of him ever playing the Pangbourne live?
Always loved the look of that bass but only watched him on stage with Jaydee / Alembic / Status over the years. 

Yes, I have an old copied-from-VHS dvd of him playing a Pangborn. Sounds not dissimilar to the Jaydee, maybe just a little less grunt. 😉

19 hours ago, binky_bass said:

Beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder, but to me these are incredibly ugly... I love the original W&T basses, but these just look far too busy, not for me! 

This. I loved the original basses, particularly the original Zoid which I thought was a fantastic design, but then they changed that to a vague (and appallingly-rendered) approximation and I haven’t liked anything since. Apologies, but to me those look like they were designed by a not particularly artistic 12 year old. 

On 10/11/2021 at 16:28, Rich said:

Jimmy Johnson's tone on this is just gorgeous. Lovely solo and not a single slap.

 

For me Jimmy’s one of THE best all-rounders in the business. Great sitting in the pocket and laying back, great at soloing, just great, full stop. Saw Allan Holdsworth several years back and stood right in front of JJ all night, literally about two feet away. I’d have stayed to chat after but I had a train to catch, sadly. 

On 09/11/2021 at 15:55, ezbass said:

I assumed that that was Neil Young's guitar (or maybe his rear end).

I assumed the same, I thought it was a terrible-sounding guitar. That’s way too horrible even for me! 🤣

On 09/11/2021 at 12:19, Cosmo Valdemar said:

I know envy's a terrible thing, but what I wouldn't give to even play just one of those Alembics... he must have a very good job 😄

I believe his dad originally bought him the buckeye one but I could be wrong. That was about £18k-worth IIRC. And that’s just one! 

22 hours ago, Alien said:

Let's be honest here - either would have been a pretty amazing thing to have done at any age.  Fantastic tune.

 

A

One of my favourite pieces of music by anyone, anywhere, at any time. But I think Kate is a genius. 

13 hours ago, ern500evo said:

You can play that Paganini piece on bass?? That is impressive! I agree with you that writing and composition is hugely admirable and should be highly commended, but I also think that natural ability plays a part. A lot of artistic people have a natural ability to write and compose. I have a friend who’s a fantastic songwriter and incredible drawing artist, it’s not something he’s particularly had to work on, it just comes naturally. The piece I posted impresses me due to the sheer amount of work and practice she must have put in to get it nailed. Not saying that anyone who writes doesn’t put the work in, far from it. The fact she’s 13 also stuns me. At 13 I was probably still eating mud and trying to impress girls by doing impossible stunts on my bmx, usually resulting in broken bones and cuts and bruises. I almost can’t compute the amount of bedroom hours she spent learning that at such a young age. 

Oh I can’t imagine I could now.😂 I haven’t practised like that for nearly three decades and some physical issues slow me down a bit these days, but there was a time when I could, yes. Putting in the work does help though; for the first several years of playing I was practising probably 6 hours a day. I don’t think playing fast was ever an issue for me. Certain feels/styles were far always more problematic; I’d struggle to do an even vaguely convincing Bernard Edwards - who is one of my favourite players - even now. 
 

I agree about the artistic thing. I was always artistic and was expected to make a career in art before I fell out of love with it (thank you Maidstone!😡) and I wrote songs from the first day I could play a note. I could say I never really had to work at either but I’m not sure that’s true as I drew for the pleasure of it absolutely non-stop as a child. That’s the practice, although it didn’t feel like it. I think most artistic people ‘practice’ incessantly but don’t view it as such. 
 

On 04/11/2021 at 19:18, ern500evo said:

I remember seeing this for the first time and thinking wtf?! She was 13 at the time 

Many years ago that was one of my bass practice pieces. I certainly wasn’t 13, but then I didn’t start playing until I was 17. 😉 

Its all very impressive, but to echo BigRedX, I’m thousands of times more impressed by the fact that Kate Bush wrote The Man With The Child in His Eyes at 13. And recorded it - live with a full orchestra - at 16. 

On 02/11/2021 at 14:21, chevaliernoir said:

what is the wood used for the body, to be so light?

 

It’s not just the woods (although that is certainly a large factor); Paul’s basses have very thin bodies too. 
 

Paul’s a criminally underrated maker. His basses are amongst the best I’ve played.
 

I’d love this, but just like the last time it was for sale, the timing sadly isn’t right. 

On 03/11/2021 at 10:00, Hellzero said:

As it's the first single delayed 40th anniversary tour, it's quite logical Mark King is using his Jaydee basses as he is free to use whatever bass he wants.

 

That's certainly the best gift he can make to his fans.

 

The amp endorsement is another thing as it's MarkBass so he MUST be using them, but now I guess everybody seeing him live is amazed by the sound of the Jaydees through his new set up if you're close and facing it.

 

I never liked his awful Trace Elliot sound.

I thought his Trace sound was probably his best. 

On 02/11/2021 at 21:15, Lord Percy said:

Hi all,

 

I was lucky enough to be centre stage front row for Level 42 at Sheffield City Hall last night after keeping hold of the tickets for 2 years. In fact, my seat was bang in front of Mark so I had no problem checking his gear out (not that gear madam!) and was surprised to see him running his old Jaydees through a Mark Bass rig, not a Status or TC in sight all evening.

 

This may seem irrelevant but it surprised me - anyone know why? 

My understanding was he sold the Starchild ages ago. What’s going on there?

21 hours ago, Misdee said:

Thomastiks on a Rick is indeed a wonderful tone, but not necessarily the right tone if you are trying to emulate Chris Squire rather than Paul McCartney (I love them both ).

 

If you are prepared to go that light, have you considered the Thomastik Jazz rounds?They are expensive but they have got a unique sound that I think would really work beautifully with the natural growl of a Rickenbacker. And they are very low tension.

The cost has always put me off these. It’s bearable with the flats as how often do you change flats? But with rounds, even if they last twice as long, they’re still very expensive. 

18 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

 

it’s lake placid blue that came out a bit darker I think. 🤣 it’s not got any/much yellowed top coat making it green.

That said there seem to be some more faded LPB, and some of the fender custom shop early 60s ri are similar to this… I don’t know 🤷 what blue is the blue fender would have been using in 1960 - I like this though! 

I figured it was probably LPB but - at least in the first photos - it does look really dark for LPB. I love it though, I’d want it like that. 

28 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

I do indeed. I've had my Status Buzzard down about 0.5mm at the 12th fret. My Alembic is pretty much the same.

 

There is no way that I want to fight a bass with my left hand. Sod that for a game of tennis. 

 

Admittedly, some basses just can't be set that low. However, try doing tapping when you could drive a bus under your action. My style which is quite percussive (not slapping!!) suits this really well, but it's not for everyone.

 

Even my 12 string Hamer has an action probably lower than most people could believe. Many thanks to Martin at the Gallery for that.

 

A lot of it is down to style as well. I tend not to dig in and play somewhat differently to most. If I had a different style then I'd have a different preference. 

Martin once said he had one only customer who likes lower action than me. I imagine it’s you. 😉😂

2 hours ago, ped said:

Looks great, really nice dark blue, quite unusual. Enjoy

This! What actual colour is it? It looks fabulous, especially with the minty guard. 
 

It’s typical (although possibly a good thing for my wallet) that he doesn’t do custom builds anymore as he’s the first person I’d choose if I wanted a P Bass - preferably like yours! 

Now that’s a P Bass! 

58 minutes ago, Bigwan said:

 

I've felt the same about a number of basses I've played including most Sei and Fodera basses I've tried. Different strokes for different folks!

I’ve certainly felt that about all but 1 Fodera I’ve tried. I realise this may be impossible for some get their heads round, but the rest were some of the least inspiring instruments I’ve ever picked up, at any price point. Same with the F Basses I’ve played. But then my favourite basses are extremely polarising. Everyone has different requirements and preferences, which is why I don’t really understand “which bass should I get” threads, as every one will tell you something different based on their preferences. 😉😂

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

@bassmansam @Dood

 

All the Shuker basses I have tried, felt dead and lifeless in my hands. It wasn't a question of of neck profiles or any single thing I could pin-point, just the overall feel of the instruments (to me) was completely uninspiring. Shuker instruments aren't the only ones that have elicited this reaction, but in all the other cases when I have felt this about an instrument it has been a single isolated case. It is only with Skuker basses that every single one I have tried felt "wrong".

 

I'm sure there are some Shuker basses out there that won't give me that reaction, but I haven't played them yet. 

This has been my experience also.
 

I will however add that the basses I tried were all set up a million miles away from how I prefer, which won’t have helped matters. You could have driven a bus under the action of all of them (this every single bass over the course of 2 separate Bass Days). 

8 minutes ago, Muzz said:

Can you get a custom Sei (or GB) to that spec for £2000-2500?  I could be wrong, but I thought they'd be more...

No idea; probably £2.5k plus I suppose. Last time I ordered one it was £1650, IIRC. 😉

Used to be mine too. 😉
 

One of the best Seis I’ve had. Very light and comfortable and felt and sounded great, although it still had the Schack circuit when I had it.

1 hour ago, bassmansam said:

Not heard of GB Spitfire. I'll check them out! 

Any reason Sei isn’t on your list? They’d still likely be top of mine. 

Either a copy of my main Rick 4001 but in the Azureglo of my spare, or a checker bound, full-width crushed-Pearl inlayed, heavily flamed-maple Rick 4004 in trans blue. 

2 hours ago, karlfer said:

I quite like the idea of trying 35-95, however as can just about be seen by the strings vanishing into the holes, it appears RIC cut the nut with a chainsaw!

I’m surprised you could get normal 45-105 in there as the factory Ric set have a lighter A and D compared to most sets., 45, 55, 75, 105, and are cut for those. 

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

For that spec I'd be looking at either a GB Spitfire or a Sei.

This, absolutely, given the spec. 

1 hour ago, Muzz said:

Yeah, spec and personal taste are everything - I've got to the point now where I can look at a bass, note the pickups and position, and say 'It looks absolutely lovely, but it'd suit me like a fish suits a bicycle'...

 

 

This. 
 

Re Overwater, Chris and co are absolutely lovely, but I’m also in the “too polite” camp with the many Overwaters I’ve played. But that’s fair enough as Chris isn’t a fan of my favourite basses, so is aiming for something different than my taste. 
 

I’ve played quite a few ACGs and Shukers, and have always preferred the ACGs. The few issues I’ve typically come across with the ACGs (weight, flat board) I’m sure Alan could rectify. And Alan is an absolutely top bloke, one of the best. I’ve never spoken to John, although I do hope to go on one of his build courses at some point. It’s horses for courses really; as others have said, John will to my knowledge build pretty much anything, whereas Alan has his fixed (if flexible) range. Who I would pick out of the two would depend entirely on what I was after. 
 

There’s also Sei Bass of course, who are as good as anyone anywhere.