Misdee

That SB bass with the maple board looks great. Given the trend towards slightly quirky retro designs, I think if Yamaha were to resurrect that style it would be well received, especially if it were equipped with some nice and beefy- sounding pickups. As with all Yamaha basses, it would have to be Japanese- made to peak my interest, but I expect it will never happen anyway.😟

I would echo everything Ben has said. In my estimation the wenge neck/ fingerboard is a big part of what sets Warwick basses apart. They seem to add some natural compression to the sound. I can't really comment on the MEC preamp vs the John East , but I can tell you that some of the Mec pickup designs ie the ones modern-style ones with enclosed pole pieces are way too microphonic for my taste. I don't like the way the Corvette hangs on a strap in terms of balance and where the neck hangs, but you may feel differently. The Thumb is similarly awkward-feeling to me, but some folks don't mind them. Thumb Basses certainly sound good, that's for sure. Also be aware that a lot of Warwick basses can be pretty weighty. I remember when Warwick basses first came to the UK and how the Bass Centre were instrumental in giving them a high profile in the industry by introducing the pro players in London to their undeniable charms. But as Ben says the older pre-2000 basses were different . And they were all German-made. Nowadays a new German Custom Shop bass is crazy money. Too much money for what it is. You can buy a used vintage Warwick for very reasonable money and there is plenty of them out there .

Superb bass player, terrific band, truly great song. Growing up at this time as I did , the late 1970's/early 1980's was an era when music seemed to be more important in peoples lives compared to now, and the Specials epitomise that period to me.

For some reason-I know not why- the Japanese Yamaha workshop cut the nut slots on the shallow side ie the relief at the nut is higher than a lot of other basses. I have seen it on so many basses from them that I think they do it on purpose. The funny thing is that the basses seem to play well, regardless. A Fender with those nut slot heights would feel very stiff by comparison.

Yes, a B-Neck 1 5/8 inch is the most I can handle in terms of width on a four string bass.

Yes, the NE2 is a wonderful instrument, a truly high-end bass. I would put it up against any other prestige bass you could care to mention, both in terms of sound and construction. I love the modern-but-gutsy sound of the NE2 , but I've got a BB2025 because I prefer passive basses and it's fairly light for a five. I must really like Yamaha basses, because I normally won't entertain anything less than 19mm spacing on a five string bass . 18mm is O.K, and overall I find the BB bridge/nut spacing more comfortable and playable than something like a Stingray 5 string. At least the strings don't keep slipping off the edge of the fingerboard.

I had a G&L with a similarly wide nut width and I just couldn't warm to it, despite t having an otherwise very comfortable neck profile. Same with early 60's P Basses. I'd love to try an Attitude, though. I might be converted!

Just had a read, very interesting. I have had countless similar disappointments when it comes to trying acclaimed basses and being underwhelmed. I too am unlikely to be playing the bass through two amps. At the moment I am only playing at home , mainly through headphones. The best I could manage is to play it through two pairs of headphones, but I've only got one pair of ears. Maybe I could email Billy and ask him what I should do. 😄

If my fellow BB enthusiasts will indulge me while I go slightly off-topic for a moment, I have a penchant for knarly-sounding P Basses, and my lockdown-enforced Youtube viewing has led me to conclude that the Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude bass may well be the nastiest P Bass ever. I've never played one , but they look ( and sound) like a formidable proposition . I don't think I could ever use one myself due the the big neck, but you never know. This new anniversary edition looks particularly sumptuous to me:

Considering how hip and trendy the Les Paul Signature basses are nowadays, I am a bit surprised Gibson haven't capitalised on the demand and made a full-tilt reissue of the original bass. If they did I would probably buy one, so would plenty of other bass players . These Epiphone basses are great, but it's always nice to have the real thing. Gibson have got a back-catalogue of mouth-watering instruments that guitar and bass enthusiasts would pay a lot of money for, if Gibson could make a decent quality product that was true to the original . Then they wouldn't need to go bankrupt.

Lakland are very easy and straightforward to deal with if you want to order a bass directly from them. Any of the main guys there , Brian, Steve, Leo or indeed John Pirrucello himself, will be only too glad to help via email . More importantly, they are happy to work with you to get your bass just how you want it. For example, I wanted a lightweight P Bass with a very thinly- lacquered early '70's Jazz Bass neck profile that would have raunchy sound for rock . They recommended a swamp ash body, EMG Geezer pickup and maple board. When the bass arrived six months later , just as scheduled , it sounded outrageous, weighed 8 pounds and had a beautifully figured birds-eye maple board on top of an accurately profiled neck .

By the way, White Cloud, I hope you still have that beautiful Vigier. Now there is a bass worth getting excited about!

Learnt from bitter experience...🙁

My philosophy on prospective (expensive) bass purchases such as this one is, if you have to think about that hard it you don't really want it. If you are going to part with such a large sum of money then let it be for something you have unbridled enthusiasm for. Keep your funds intact for something that you don't have nagging doubts about.

I have really enjoyed all of these GP YT vids. Long may they continue! I remember seeing GP on tv for years back in the 1980's playing bass for various acts before I ever knew his name. Guy's anecdotes and insights are fascinating to me. Love his playing style, too.

Diamond Bass Compressor. By far the best compressor I have ever used, and the most useful( although I have yet to try the Cali76 which is also meant to be superb) . Not only does this pedal give me very pleasing compression/limiting, it is also a very handy tone shaping tool. Makes my basses sound like the ones on the recordings that inspired me and which I am still trying to emulate in one way or another all these years later. BDDI is great too, but more of a recording tool for me. I always think , in terms of using the BDDI in a live situation, why not just buy an amp you like the sound of in the first place?

I noticed the the new Musicman Cliff Williams Stingray ($7000) is made of Poplar, just like a lot of sub-£200 "starter" basses. Presumably CW's original '79 Stingray is Poplar, too. I am sure those bass will sound...like a really good Stingray.😯

Yes, louder with much more prominent mids.

Totally agree with that. Wiring, too i.e series vs parallel. A Stingray, for example, sounds the way it does because of the pickup placement , yes, but equally the fact that it is wired in parallel.

All this begs the question, if wood doesn't influence the tone of a bass, what does? On Basschat we periodically debate whether body wood , fingerboard wood, bridges, pickups ect make any difference to the sonic character of any given instrument. There are always those who are dismissive. Something must make a bass sound the way it does!

I bet it sounds pretty damn good after that though!😀

Gold cables do influence the sound(as do silver ones), depending on what audio equipment you partner them with. Some audio equipment does have a break-in time, some doesn't. And most decent hi-fi sounds better when it's warmed up than played from cold. I know this to be so because I have heard the difference myself at first-hand. Wood is one of many factors that define the sound of a bass. Bear in mind we are talking about nuances, but, in an aesthetic pursuit such as music ,nuances are really important.

I've got a P Bass made out of genuine lightweight swamp ash and it has the hallmark characteristics attributed to that wood i.e slightly scooped mids with plenty of highs and and a nicely rounded bottom. It's a subtle difference overall , but definitely a contrast to my alder-bodied P that has much more focused mids and low end. Northern ash is much brighter sounding and often sounds a bit compressed at the low frequency end of the spectrum.

Thanks for the insight. Those are exactly the problems that I was referring to. I will have to investigate further...