4000

Put the record on. Listen. It'll help your playing, honestly (and no I'm not being condescending).

[quote name='bumnote' post='530595' date='Jul 2 2009, 01:31 PM']Can Chris Squire play roundabout after 10 pints of lager and a curry[/quote] Absolutely, I've seen him do it. FWIW, I'd love Janek to keep contributing here, because he's at the top of the tree playing-wise. He may say some things I disagree with , but I disagree with myself half the time. Oh, and he has one of the coolest looking basses I've ever seen (please, no further discussion on this point..).

[quote name='alexclaber' post='530357' date='Jul 2 2009, 10:38 AM']Whilst conversely some of the worst I've ever read were by Roger Newell in Bassist in the '90s. Everything was 'efficient' and could get that 'hollow' tone.[/quote] My pet hate too...sorry Rog.

Just because it sounds terrible here doesn't mean it really does (and regardless, one man's terrible may be another man's great). With the wrong eq/technique, you can make any bass in the world sound terrible. I'd reserve judgement until I'd played one (even then, it will only be my opinion, which may not be valid for anyone else).

Just out of interest, has anyone had their bass Plek'd? If so, has it made much difference?

I guess you could say I lead the band; it was formed as a vehicle for my songs and I write all the music, and I have full veto power. I'd say it's more a case of the blind leading the blind though..

[quote name='ped' post='532017' date='Jul 3 2009, 08:54 PM']I think we have similar tastes bass wise Mike - of all the BCers basses I have played yours is up there as one of the best playing, IMO[/quote] +1 (it's the only BCers bass I have played but it certainly floats my boat. Awesome.)

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='490585' date='May 17 2009, 03:15 PM']I ordered my fretless 6 in October and paid £400 deposit. I asked Martin if I could pay off the balance during the wait time (12-14 months), but he said he'd rather have it all when the bass is finished.[/quote] I think he always prefer to wait 'til it's finished. Maybe there's less incentive to finish it otherwise.

[quote name='urb' post='489153' date='May 15 2009, 06:03 PM']I have Nordy Fatstacks on my Single cut Sei and wasn't dissapointed, and I've read good anecdotal reviews of the NSJ4 J pups by Nordy as well, those are going on my new Sei J bass... so I'll let you know if they sound any good, I know Mr Freak isn't really a fan but so far they've worked out just fine for me, and no "hype" was involved in my decision Mike[/quote] Mike's s/cut sounds awesome, one of the very best sounding basses I've ever played, so I can vouch for that!

[quote name='Clarky' post='531891' date='Jul 3 2009, 06:09 PM']I can't see that a string height of just 1mm would allow sufficient space for the string to vibrate freely - surely you could only get away with that if you played with very lightest of touches? Anyone hitting the string even medium-hard with a pick or digging in with their fingers would just end up with a buzzing, clacking mess[/quote] I think you answered your own question i.e. it works if you play with the lightest of touches, which many do. With a low action I can get the same effect as someone with higher action digging in but by playing lighter. Best of all worlds. Of course I may not get as big, fat and round tone as someone with high action, but that's not really what I'm after (for me the twang's the thang!), and as Eddie Van Halen says, why make it difficult for yourself? BTW, check out my comment re Flea; an extremely low action worked for him and he seems to dig in.

I have both and mainly use a pick.

[quote name='chris_b' post='531882' date='Jul 3 2009, 06:01 PM']Surely this is the difference between the guys who rock and the guys who twiddle?[/quote] Ah, but I try and do both... FWIW, I play with a pick most of the time (even more so now with nerve problems in my arms) but I play very, very lightly. I actually play lighter with a pick than many guitarists I know, so I have absolutely no need to have high action. As for digging in, I can do that, but it's all relative, and my basses are generally set up to accommodate that. Assuming the board/frets are optimum, everything depends on how you strike the strings; JPJ for instance hits the bass fairly hard so would need a higher action. Entwistle played very lightly and had an incredibly low action. Strangest is Flea, who seems to play fairly hard but used to have an action of 1mm. Go figure, as they say in the US.

[quote name='Prosebass' post='531508' date='Jul 3 2009, 11:21 AM']Nothing wrong with that Chris , I know a physicist and a jolly nice fellow he is too.... String height makes a big difference as to how hard you can "strike" the string and the harder you can strike it the more amplitude (movement) the string will have and the more you will notice the minor harmonics although that depends on where you are fretting the note and where your pick-ups are positioned also , so as you will appreciate there are a lot of variables. Action is very personal and depends totally on how you play and what you want a bass to do for [b][u]YOU[/u][/b] One thing to note though is that action at the 12th is meaningless if the bass is set-up wrong with regard to nut height / neck bow / bridge height. A correctly set-up bass in all these respects is essential, its no good changing one thing (ie saddle height) without redress to the nut and neck. And yes , the intonation is affected everytime you alter you action and again the amount is dependant on the other factors of the nut and neck bow. Indeed you may find that what a bass needs is the nut setting correctly and not the neck adjusting... Paul[/quote] +1

[quote name='Rich' post='531495' date='Jul 3 2009, 11:12 AM']If you spend £300 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. If you spend £1500 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. If you spend £3000 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. etc.[/quote] +1000. Great post. BTW Alex, I've tried 36" scale several times, and I don't think it's for me. I tend to go the other way. Everything else sounds great though!

[quote name='Tait' post='531247' date='Jul 2 2009, 11:38 PM']i guess, but is it really worth it? don't we make music so that others can listen to it? whats the point in spending an extra £1500 when none of the listeners will notice the difference, really? i dont know, i understand your point, and its natural for a player to want to sound their best, even if no one else is going to notice, but i just don't see that its worth the silly prices some pay for a boutique bass, to sound that little bit better when no one other than the person playing it is going to tell the difference. especially as i see the point of making music to be solely to please the listeners, i see music as entertainment. but i know others see music as much more than that, and i guess it may be more important to them, but even then i think its difficult to imagine that i could ever spend that much on a bass.[/quote] Obviously we have a huge difference of perspective here, because ultimately I write and play for [i]my[/i] enjoyment first and foremost. If someone else likes it, fine, if not, fine. There is absolutely no pointing using someone else's opinion as a benchmark for what you want. It might be the entire audience thinks that the best bass sound in the world is Jamerson's when you think it's Mark King's, or vice versa. To be honest half the typical audience wouldn't care what it sounded like as long as they could either hear or feel it. Is that sufficient for you? My question here would be do you write music, or write your own parts? Do you aspire to your own tone or your own style? Are you striving for something creatively? In essence, is music about creativity to you? It is for me. Entertainment is a hopeful byproduct, but even if no-one else ever listened to my music, I'd still be writing and playing (and let's face it, that's often the case ). Moving back to the boutique question, and ignoring my personal favourite Ric for the moment, I've played several Shukers (a cross section of styles, from a JJ Sig to headless), although none that were built for me. The Seis I've owned have been far better basses for what I want. My £3.5k Alembic also blew them into the dust, [b]in my opinion[/b]. Which for me is all that counts. So yes, absolutely worth it for me. I wouldn't have paid £1500 for the Shukers I've played because they didn't work for me (although I'm sure John could build something that did), but I was happy paying over £3.5k for the Alembic. Of course YMMV. Also bear in mind that whereas £3k may seem a fortune to some, it isn't to others. Of course it also depends how much you want something....

They are if they're worth it to you (haven't we had this thread before?). Bear in mind spending the money doesn't mean you'll get the best bass ever, because the best bass ever (as with many things in life) may not be quite what you expected. If you have a very fixed idea of what works for you then you may get close to your ideal, certainly nearer than anything else out there, but by the same token because every instrument sounds different you still might not get quite what you were expecting however much you spend. I love boutique basses, have owned quite a few and played dozens, but my favourite sounding bass that I've ever played is still my '72 Ric, which cost me £490 in 1993. I've owned basses that have cost in excess of £3.5k, but that's still the one for me.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='530106' date='Jul 1 2009, 11:19 PM']+1 Most basses that I've played with really low action sound great in isolation but don't seem to have enough body in the tone to cut through in the way that I like to hear when I'm playing in a band setting.. Having said that, I think it totally depends on what music you're playing, what you like to hear when you're playing and also, the way that you play..I'm not sure there's a definitive 'right way' or 'wrong way' about it.[/quote] +1.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='530969' date='Jul 2 2009, 07:23 PM']Actually thinking back, that's how Richard Bona writes music Thanks for the advice I'll get stuck in.[/quote] That's how I've always written music too. I hear it all in my head, more or less complete, and then it's just a matter of getting it all out, most of which involves a good deal of singing, although not necessarily a deal of good singing.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='530951' date='Jul 2 2009, 07:11 PM']Sing the bassline.[/quote] +1. For what it's worth, I've never looked at tab or chord charts in my life. Everything by ear for nearly 30 years; I sometimes think if I didn't have such a good ear I might actually knuckle down and work on my theory and reading.

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='529985' date='Jul 1 2009, 09:24 PM']That is shoreline gold isn't it?[/quote] +1....

Just adjusted the neck of the Sei Melt (forgot I put slightly different gauge strings on the other night, 40-100 from 40-95); a gnats under 2mm at the 12th E to about 1.5mm at the 12th G. I think I'd need a fret dress to get to Ped's action. FWIW all of this depends on how hard you pluck, but also how hard you fret.....a fellow bassist once commented on how lightly I fret the strings, barely pressing the strings at all, and my plucking (except when I want it to be hard) is extremely light.

[quote name='Jase' post='529909' date='Jul 1 2009, 08:10 PM']A bit of clunk and clank, some buzz, bark and growl all add the the character of it's tone for me. Just my 2mm worth :ph34r:[/quote]

[quote name='Jase' post='528477' date='Jun 30 2009, 11:34 AM']I'm a low action type, no man rock set ups for me thank you very much! I can't be dealing with clambering over and around my strings and fretboard if I have a high action set up...gets a bit noisy though when a band wants to tune down to the dreaded semi-tone below. I love having girl action [/quote] Me too; both sorts! Sei Melt; 2mm at 12th across the board. Sei Flamboyant 5; 2mm B string going to just under 2mm on the G, both at the 12th. '72 Ric 4001; 2.5mm at the 12th E to just under 2 (call it 1&3/4) on the G. Bear in mind I consider the action on my Ric quite high. In fact I might see if I can get the Melt's action down a bit based on that....