NancyJohnson

We're doing the vocals on Thursday...
P

The guy w
[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1344280957' post='1762269']
Although bizarrely enough all of the original examples to be found in the first 5 pages on [url="https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-ContextMenu&q=Aria+Pro+II+Primary+bass&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1243&bih=529&wrapid=tlif134427947538710&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=shMgUMeVOMaR0AWXiIC4BA"]google image search[/url] (bar this one ) did...
[/quote]

The guy with his arm in a sling is me! Two operations to correct thumb and middle-finger issues. I look very pretty in blue. That's also me leaping out from between the two flashpods.

Heh.
P

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1344267437' post='1761963']
Several different version of the Primary. The PB400 and 450 where alder, and tended to have four or three piece bodies. The PB500 and 550 were sen ash, and tended to be three and two piece bodies. Alder versions usually weight circa 4.0/4.1 kg, with sen versions circa 4.3/4.4 kg. Necks mostly one piece maple, with bonded maple touchboard, although some rosewood versions can be found. Necks are usually slightly slimmer at the nut than the Fender models these are based on: circa 40.0/40.5 mm. Most didn't have DiMarzio pickups fitted, contrary to urban myth. Matsumoku, mostly, bought in pickups from Maxon and Gotoh for these, until it started building its own. You can tell the date from the first three characters of the serial number - letter is month, first two numbers are year.

Knobs: usually chrome, so those might have been replaced. Covers: Usually came with a bridge cover, some models came with a pickup cover also.
[/quote]

Thanks for this info...this is what is so good about this site. From this, it's a July 1980 model. I've already put on some tele-style chrome knobs (the ones on the photo were black - it didn't have any when I got it, but thankfully the pots were OK). The neck is a single piece of maple, with a glued-on maple fingerboard, the headstock is clearly three pieces, the body is three pieces. I used to own a 1979 Precision (US...weren't they all US back then?) and if memory serves, the neck is certainly slimmer on the Aria.

I'm becoming an advocate of cheap old basses and this one is quite the beaut. Might try and find a Jazzer at some stage.
P

I've spent a lot, with potentially another huge wedge going out once I find a black Thunderbird. Let's leave it at that. I think if my wife did the numbers she might pull my scrotum right over my head.

That said, the only thing I'm not fond of with the Aria are the 12th fret dots, but otherwise...

I've got the Bellybutton and Spilt Milk instrumental stuff as well. They're interesting...
P

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1344193255' post='1761058']
Agreed it's a tiny bit 'clanky' but that's not really a criticism, just my taste, still sounds really cool as it is .

I've never really been drawn to the Fender side but I picked up an Aria STB Series P bass for £40, I'd heard the necks were really nice and they weren't wrong, I put some Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in it and set of Chromes on and somehow it became my main bass.
It plays beautifully and sounded instantly like the sound I had in my head, especially in a band situation, strange how you stumble across the sound you're looking for when you're not really looking isn't .
[/quote]

I paid - are you sitting down? - £50.00 for a job lot of the Aria, two other guitars and a small practice amp. I gave the guitars and the amp to my nephew (ten years old). The Aria had a set set of Schaller machines on it as well. The thing is, I probably wouldn't have given it a second glance when it was new.
P

I tried a Sandberg (couldn't tell you the model, but it was a Jazz-esque five string). It played lovely, but I just couldn't get past the headstock design. It was nasty and cheapened the look of an otherwise outstanding bass. It looked like one of those SX basses.
P

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1344163636' post='1760500']
edit : Does it have cream DiMarzios? Listening to it again it sounds a lot like my 70s Jap P which came standard with them.
[/quote]

The pickups are non-descript with black covers.
P

If memory serves me well, when Fender bought out Kubicki one of the first things Fender did was to put the Kubicki circuitry on a range of Jazz basses.

I'm not sure whether it was a good or bad thing really, more a case of Fender [at the time] being low on ideas, buying out a company that was doing something creative and fresh, then assimilating their tech into a 40-year old design.

P

Yesterday I was doing some basic tracking...I tend to record: bass>Sansamp BDDI>Boss BR-600 eight-track and then my bass stuff gets circulated, guitars arrive, we mix in Audition and so on.

My Thunderbird is pretty shagged at the moment; a couple of very sweaty midweek rehearsals has resulted in dead strings and it just felt [i]icky[/i], so I used an Aria ProII Primary bass; effectively a 1978 Precision copy out of the Matsumoko factory. Aside from the machine heads, it's 100% stock and this is what came out:

[media]http://www.chevril.com/nancyjohnson/media/july2012/12%20-%20New%20Big%20Thing.mp3[/media]

This is straight no-frills playing with a pick, it's just the early stage of a song (no vocals), all downstrokes, but dammit, I may well leave my part as it is I'm so pleased with the tone. I'm not looking for criticism or anything, I just wanted to blow my own trumpet from a tone perspective and get over how pleased I was with the sound. This is the tone I've been searching for since I started out.



P

Shoot me your address by PM...Ive got a 1996 Hollywood show plus about 50 demos. Also, if your collection has any Jellyfish gaps, I got a ton of [i]other [/i]stuff. Umajets. Hollyfaith. You really need to check out Sugarbomb as well.
P

Crowthorne...about fifteen minutes through the woods.
P

Pretty much whoever operates the venue. Because I'm on a wireless, I can always walk back to the desk and have a listen. (No seats in the venues I play!)
P

Gone to Rumple!

Cheers mate & enjoy!
P

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1342872535' post='1742129']
Geddy only started recording with the Jazz on 'Moving Pictures' - maybe (I've read also) a track or two on 'Permanent Waves'.

Classic Ged tone? Ric all the way, but add studio trickery, compression....and Ged's technique!
[/quote]

He used a Precision as well...the one he cut into a teardrop shape.
P

Good topic.

I borrowed one from a work mate a few months ago and had a noodle for half hour. Didn't actually like the look of it (the white binding and slab-o-plastic pickguard was off-putting - there's shots up on BC of plain finish ones with non-white plates that do look peachy), it was horrifically set up (high action, the intonation was off), but note for note, it sounded very pleasing, either direct or through my Sansamp.

To be honest, all my playing life I wanted Geddy Lee's tone, only to discover many years ago that he used a Jazz on a lot of the early recordings. I get a similar tone out of my existing set up (Thunderbird/Sansamp), so I'm happy.
P

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1342223182' post='1732175']
Mr Bungle..... everything and anything....
[/quote]

Dae bo chi, mah willah lo, tiyange bungwa.
P

The clip on the transmitter does come off to enable you to rotate it through 90 degrees. It's very fragile though...the plastic on the housing is very thin, but once on it's fine. Otherwise, sweatband or tape.
P

A looooong time ago I discovered Shudder To Think. They were a punky/math rock band from the US, with falsetto vocals. If you've got a penchant for two or three minute songs with more key and timing changes than you feel is conceivably possible during a two or three minute song, fire up your Spotify and listen to their Get Your Goat album. Even now I try and play along with a few of the tracks and struggle to work out what's going on. Wonderful stuff.

Also, check out Tubelord.
P

Rickenbackers have been a bit of a slow burner for me. I borrowed one (from a work colleague) for a lunchtime and despite the bass being horrifically set up, that tone was there instantly. Jetglo finished get two thumbs up in my book. Nice one.
P

Here's the thread I was referring to above. Haven't reread it yet, so if there's anything flying around, I apologise.
P

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/29411-what-quantifies-a-build-diary/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/29411-what-quantifies-a-build-diary/[/url]

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1342095947' post='1729457']
The porn section is one of those I hardly ever check out.... because there is some real sh*t porn out there. How does replacing a pickguard on a stock bass make it porn? I'm just as "grumpy old man" with the build diary section too, where screwing a few components together somehow constitutes a build.
[/quote]

I can admire/appreciate it when someone creates something out of some planks of wood, perhaps to a lesser degree when someone screws together some parts (I'm as guilty as the next guy on this count), but the whole 'My Shuker/ACG build' thing rubs me the wrong way.

I have nothing against these luthiers, they do fine work, but surely anyone with a few bob to spare can get someone to build something for them, but the poster isn't the one getting splinters.
P

Just an observation, any chance the porn section could revert back to how it used to be? You know, individual member posts of new acquisitions, collections etc. rather than these TalkBass-esque threads where everyone just chucks their collections in a general bucket? Next thing we'll be copying and starting Rickenbacker/Spector/Thunderbird clubs and everyone will start having their own number.

Sure I like looking at basses, but maybe I'm just a bit old school, to be honest I liked it more when Wayne posted photos of his checkered Frankenstein models or when Gary would just throw up photos of his collection of 1,700+ Spectors and everyone just went 'Wooooooo'.

Cheers
P

Jeepers Wayne, you're quicker than a virgin in a whorehouse.
P

[sup]Bump. I though you guys loved Bongos!
P[/sup]