4000

[quote name='jamesf' post='290245' date='Sep 23 2008, 07:00 PM']I'd personally love a singlecut design, but would worry about the weight of it - anyone know if this is an issue? I think some people have just got it right when it comes to singlecut designs (Sei and Shuker spring to mind), and the shape of the flow of the solid upper 'horn?' into the neck really sets them apart from the stunted-looking ones. I mainly want one because of the neck stability and sustain, but they are unjustifiably expensive compared to many other excellent basses. I love the shape of my Bass Collection at the moment - any high end clones knocking around?[/quote] I have a Sei 4 Singlecut (the first Series 2 - was built for Alex at the Gallery) and it weighs no more than eight pounds, probably less. It's the lightest bass I own, and with the exception of a Westone Quantum headless (Steinberger-esque) probably the lightest bass I have ever owned. I wouldn't worry about the weight if I were you.

I think a lot of it has to do with what you get used to playing and the individual ergonomics, although obviously your own sense of aesthetics come into this. I was never a great fan of the Fender look at the start because everyone except the bass players I like (with the exception of Phil Lynott and Gary Thain) played them. The players I liked played Rics, and I loved what they looked like (I really like 50s and 60s American cars and that's what they remind me of) so that started me off. Of course once I got used to playing them most other basses, particularly Fender, felt funny; I have a nightmare ergonomically with the majority of Fenders. Always liked the looks of the Alembic Series basses, and of course when I first played one the neck felt similar to a Ric, so that was that for me as well. Also I'm not a huge fan of the bolt-on aesthetic anyway, practical as it may be; from a design perspective it's not really very complete. I'm also not really a fan of small bodied basses because I have terrible trouble with them ergonomically; the comfiest bass for my right hand is actually my Triple Omega Alembic (I'm 6ft). The downside is because I have back problems big bodied basses generally weigh more and I could do with as light a bass as possible, so it's a constant juggling act to get something comfortable. Regarding the Sei jazz, I know Martin was very reluctant to make them at first but was gradually talked into it by a client. Martin is very keen on keeping his own shapes, and I completely understand that. I prefer designs that I feel really make a statement and are not particularly derivative, but many like the Fender shape and want something familiar, hence the popularity of the Fender and Fender clone. One thing I'm not big on is fancy-wood Fenders. The 2 aesthetics just don't match IMO; same goes for fancy-wood Rics. I like a fancy wood bass to look very organic. I love the Alembic almost-Art Nouveau style.

Ok, I'll bite. Not usually big on negative threads, but this seems to have stayed good natured. Heavy basses, especially ones that you love to death but cripple your knackered back when played standing up; especially when they took you 20-odd years to get. Actually scratch that, it's life that ruined that part! The bass is wonderful....ok, every bass that I want but can't have because it's too heavy. No, that's still life that's the problem.... Marcus Miller. SMILE!!!!!!! IT'S EASY!!!!!!! Heavy gear, especially when you know you can get your ideal sound out of it for peanuts but can't carry it anymore (please step forward the early Trace pre-Kevlar 4x10s)...actually scratch that, that's life too. Grrr. I second hating "less is more", and for your consideration cheerfully submit the much more apt "enough is enough (is enough)". People who say you're not a bass player if you use a pick. Try having arm problems that mean using your fingers is an arse; learning to play with a pick in the first place has saved my playing life. Fender-type (wide) spacing. If I had hands like the Hulk ok, but I've got decent sized hands and it's still way too big. Aguilar GS112s. Will be for sale as soon as I can afford to replace them and work out what I'm replacing them with. Pants, I hate 'em. They have all the articulation of a stoned Chav. Tweeters. Hate them more than Marcus. One question; why does anyone want to sound like a bottle being thrown at a greenhouse? Forearm contours (on most basses). I'll have my bass without built in RSI thanks. Neck dive. Basses that sound great in the shop that don't work in your (my) band. How many times have I been caught out? Most of them. How much have I spent finding out? Double Grrr. People who cant accept that what doesn't work for them might work for someone else. I don't fancy Angelina Jolie. Doesn't stop Brad Pitt wanting to er, you know. And probably lots of other things......hmmmm. Gear I want but can't afford, that's the worst.

The Gallery is my fave; Martin & the boys are absolute stars. Can't praise them enough. Overwater has always been great too, lovely chaps. First time I went up there I had a wonderful (and expensive!) day; I've got all the time in the world for Chris & co. I used to really like the Bass Centre when it was in Wapping, and the Brum version was great too. Enjoyed the Manc version when Napper was there; he's a good lad. Also the old A1 Music when Nigel and Drew were there; Nigel's a top bloke, and it was nice to see him at Bass Day a couple of years back.

Just a Day by Feeder springs to mind.....

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='274235' date='Sep 1 2008, 08:59 AM']yeah but she was the one who told me "this is a bass shop" when i asked for Chromes. Still, i dont go in to shops for advice, i do my research first and normally just go in to get a price and if its good enough ill buy, dont care too much about the staff.[/quote] I meant she was [i]niiiiice[/i]....although she was nice as well (if you get my drift). Always pleasant to me the few times I went in. I just ignore most of the staff in typical guitar shops, most of them seem to know very little about bass gear (yes, i know it's supposed to be the Bass Cellar..). That's why whenever I do have a query or want some decent advice I go to the Bass Gallery. None better. Has to be said that these days I usually try and find out stuff beforehand, much like yourself.

[quote name='The Funk' post='264481' date='Aug 18 2008, 12:43 PM']That was Simone who left a while ago. She was great.[/quote] Yes, she was very nice. Shame about the other pillocks though....

[quote name='steve-soar' post='273534' date='Aug 31 2008, 09:41 AM']Rimsky-korsakov!!!!!!!!! It's frothy,mannnnnn.[/quote] LOL!!!! +1000 though. Staggering. I want one I want one I want one! How's it compare to the Alembic sonically and playability -wise? And is it as heavy as expected? BTW, nice Kingbasses...

Hey, I played on that tune! ..............................................(only joking )

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='269587' date='Aug 25 2008, 04:44 PM']I noticed today that the neck on my (new) Dean is slightly bent from the 5th fret up. I say slightly as it's not massively but enough for me to notice. Apparently it's an 'up bow' bend.. (good old google). Have a gig on saturday and need to sort out the intonation and action and was going to do this tonight before I spotted the bend. It's not too extreme so I was wondering whether to leave it? I read that apparently necks should have a slight bend... but the neck on my 5 string is bolt straight.. so I don't know which to believe.. What do you guys think?[/quote] Assuming that it's just a neck relief issue, the amount of relief you should have in your neck depends on how you play and your personal preference. Rickenbacker and Pedulla (and probably Alembic since that's how mine came) aim for dead straight. Other manufacturers and luthiers will advise differently. But really, it's down to you. I usually gauge my necks by feel and sound (I like a touch of fret buzz); one way of judging how straight it is is to fret your E at the first fret with your left hand, fret the twelfth fret with the thumb of your right hand, and tap the string around the 7th with your extended right hand fingers. You should get a reasonably clear tapping sound. It you don't, it's generally considered too straight. If there's a lot of fret clearance, then it's too forward bowed, again as a generalisation. As I say, this will depend somewhat on your preference; if you play harder you will likely need more relief, and the lighter you play the less relief you will need. Assuming there are no other neck issues, a tweak of the truss rod either way should suffice. Apologies if you already know all this. Ah, beat me to it....I should type faster!

[quote name='Faithless' post='267419' date='Aug 21 2008, 10:15 PM']So, the bassist-one actually's a gu1tard!!! At last, he was doing the whole thing with a pr1ck... umm, sorry, a pick - so, no big applause here...[/quote] I really hope that's a joke. Squire and Entwistle use/used picks. So does Steve Swallow. So does Anthony Jackson. Do you hear Paco De Lucia saying to John McLaughlin "well you're ok, but to be really good you want to stop using that pick". Do you have to establish what kind of brushes Degas or Rembrandt used before you'd consider them great painters?

[quote name='teen t-shirt' post='269450' date='Aug 25 2008, 12:48 PM']the only reason i feel its mindless w***ing is because i aint in to the whole tapping thing be it on bass or a guitar... nor am i all for speed... i admit yes hat mr. masaki has brilliant technical skills but i don't see the need for the tapping or the excess speed... and my comment was nothing against Paul Gilbert...[/quote] I'm not a fan of tapping either but I would hardly refer to it as you do. Nice to know you're keeping an open mind.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='267422' date='Aug 21 2008, 10:19 PM']Was really curious as to what that bass was. Looks smaller and lighter than a Rik. Also, seems to have tape markers on the back of the neck, just like my reverse neck bass (dots were on bottom).[/quote] This has been on Talkbass about a thousand times. The bass is a Ric 4000 with a replacement P-bass pickup. For those not in the know, the 4000 is an unbound, dot- knecked single-pickup version of the 4001. From 73-ish they had set necks. How do I know this? What's my username?

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='130065' date='Jan 29 2008, 04:30 PM']Michael Brecker's Don't Try This At Home - Itsbynne Reel!! Pat Metheny's 80/81 - the dogs danglies![/quote] No offense intended, but I can't stand Metheny or Brecker, although there is much jazz I do love. My dad is a jazz trumpet player/big band leader. I was listening to jazz before I came out of the womb. No other music (except on the radio) was allowed in my house when I was growing up. My musical hero when I was 8 was Buddy Rich. My first concert was Stan Kenton (at Southport IIRC), and the next 4 were Buddy, Woody Herman, Louis Bellson and Buddy (although not necessarily in that order). My dad used to play with people like Don Rendell, who used to come over from the States and stay at our house, and I clearly remember being in a car with Pete King and having a conversation about playing bass. So instinctively & emotionally jazz, or certain sections of what can be called jazz (I don't think "jazz-funk", if we have to use categories, is anything much to do with jazz as I understand it at all, and I know my dad hates it; he certainly wouldn't class it as jazz!) are a big part of me, although my theory sucks . I will however say that my love of jazz became somewhat marginalized when I discovered the Beatles, then later Prog and what used to be known as Heavy Rock. Oh, and ABBA (and no I'm not joking...). I now love all kinds of music, including jazz; in fact pretty much every type of music out there, although there are artists in many sub-categories (I too hate musical subdivisions when it comes down to it; it's all music!!!) which I don't care for - see beginning of my post for examples! The one thing I don't care for is "head music", even in jazz. For me it has to contain/convey genuine emotion. Obviously every individual's perception of that will differ; some might find John Scofield emotionally transcendant, whereas I just find him horrible to listen to. Obviously Bilbo has already hinted at a distaste for John McLauglin, who is an artist I adore (certainly in his peak phases at least). So ultimately it's horses for courses, and it's up to everyone to love what moves them. I would far sooner someone love music I hate than not love anything at all. Although to second another poster, Trad Jazz.....ergggg! Not for me I'm afraid!

[quote name='ziggydolphinboy' post='263783' date='Aug 16 2008, 11:03 PM']hi everyone, youve prob seen my posts on here, i sem o have 3 decent basses jazz 4 usa plus. warwick sn 5 string dolphin early thumb 6. on my recent for sale post i noticed that the jazz and the thumb got interest and the dolphin sn didnt, was cotemplating keeping the 4 and the 6 nd maybe changing the 5. are mike lull basses the nuts and will it blow my 5 away? many thanks ziggy.[/quote] I don't think any bass will categorically blow away any other bass; it's all personal preference. I've played all sorts of boutique basses that I have absolutely no time for, and several that I've thought were amazing. I've played lots of cheap basses I've had no time for either, and yet have also played several of those that are amazing. It's all about what suits you. You need to try an instrument before you can judge it, as it's all about how it fits [i]your[/i] body, hands and ears.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='262969' date='Aug 15 2008, 11:00 AM']Trouble is, he is with McLaughlin who is one if the world's worst/most typewriter orientated players - clearly paid on a notes per second basis. Most players sound better away from him![/quote] Each to their own I guess....I also really like Matt G, although I can understand why he wouldn't be some people's cup of tea. Strangely I feel rather the same about Marcus as you do about Matt; I bought a live dvd a year or two back, watched it once, and was completely underwhelmed. Not my thing at all. I've rather gone off most "fusion" - whatever that really means - these days though.....

[quote name='jakesbass' post='262231' date='Aug 14 2008, 10:41 AM']I like to feel a sort of bristling excitement from players.[/quote] +1000

I just clicked on the price list link and the website is completely different to the one I access when I Google Jaydee. It's obviously been updated, but when I Google it I get an old version. Weird.

[quote name='themoo' post='262874' date='Aug 15 2008, 01:52 AM']Hey Nick I'm looking forward to seeing yours when it comes back... Very sexy bass!! You're right, Thom has (or had) lots of JayDee's but not the original Starchild. Would be interesting to know how many 'Starchilds' John has made!! Might just ask him! With my Starchild I asked John to keep it as close to the original as possible. Only thing I really wanted was a 16.5mm string spacing! So we'll see in maybe 2 weeks what she looks like! [/quote] Sounds like you've just created my perfect Jaydee, as that's my spacing preference too. One day; I've actually been planning to get one of these for years (or something very similar, maybe a bit more of a hybrid) but never got round to it. As there's not much left for me to go for maybe it's not too far off.