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tom5string

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Posts posted by tom5string

    Warwick thumb bass advice

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    That growl! Then it's a THUMB bass, a slap monster it urges you to use your thumb.

     

    And all that is written is true, it is heavy, not balanced, the first fret is miles away, not comfortable to play - but the SOUND!

     

    I had the chance to play one at a bass-player meeting (always an event with costly follow-up-actions) and immediately fell in love! So recently I found a 1992 NT5 - happy. It is not the most versatile instrument, not the one for the whole evening and not the one for every style, but where it fits it FITS. The B-string is absolutely stunning, clarity and power I haven't found so far (and I compare with Zon and Wal).

     

    So: try to play one - and check a 5 string, these are special as mastodon2 wrote, the pickup position is unique. Also check a neck-through - I like the asthetics of the back ... that is gorgeous craftmanship. Ah, and it's German Handwerk - everything is adjustable, stable and precice brass bridge and per-string adjustable saddle. Which leads to an extremely low action compensating a bit for the far out lower frets.

     

    ... see, they gained a fan 🙂

     

    Cheers,

    Tom

     

     

    TheThumb.jpg

    • Like 1

    Poll first fretless fiver

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    Moin,

     

    a short note from Gemany:

    I do play SpectorCore a lot (which I luckily could buy from UK when the Pound was weak and short before brexit where no taxes applied). The only thing I have to complain about is the 35'' neck, I am used to standard 34''. Everything else: wowsa, for way below 1k how could they build such a nice instrument. The neck is slim and fast, soundwise I like the possibilities to blend between creramic and magnetic PU. The piezo is way too bright, so the toneblend is almost closed for this one. It has a certain voice I like, sits in the band and always delivers somehwere between uprigtish and modern. You will not achieve Michale Manring zing, nor Jaco staccato but that was never my goal. An exremely musical instrument. Plus it is ridiciously light - and still perfectly balanced.

     

    The GWB - I tried the budget version and found it to feel cheap, that one was just not talking to me. And the extremely narrow string-spacing is a no-go for me. Also the expensive ones I tried (GWB-1) - the feeling is better, string-spacing still too narrow for my fingers.

     

    I think, your choice should be based on your band-context and the sounds you want to achieve. Plus - as said above - try and play some different instruments to get a feel.

     

    Have fun!

     

    Tom

    • Like 2

    Best 5 string bass you've ever owned and why?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    On 20/08/2019 at 17:47, mangotango said:

    The Spectorcore fretless however...is just a pure delight to play. It sings, and I find excuses to use it where possible.

    Absolutely. I love mine. I love this fundamental acoustical bass tone from the piezo pickup, almost uprightesque, combined with a modern bright sound with very pleasant mids produced by the magnetiv PU.

     

    Cheers,

     

    Tom

    • Like 1

    Fretless: Warwick, Spector, Mayones... ??

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted · Edited by tom5string

    Morning,

    some thoughts and experiences with the fretless ladies  I played during the last ten years:

    - Maruszczyk Elwood L5 24: kinda J clone but then different, a humbucker on the bridge PU position and the neck is thicker than you would expect. Nevertheless a fairly low action makes you forget this. A well built no-frills instrument, passive, classic tonewoods, ebony fingerboard, very light. A full blown 5er at 3.7 kg. Soundwise Jacoesque when played close to the bridge, warmer and more growly when moving towards the neck, nice slap-tone. Always present in the mix. Payed 1 kEuro which I found very fairly priced. Here`s a review I wrote on a German forum:

    https://www.musiker-board.de/threads/bass-maruszczyk-elwood-l5-24-fretless.468658/

    - Musicman Stingray 5: bought as replacement for the Elwood because I wanted to have a graphite neck and fingerboard to prevent the roundwound wear. So, she has a Status replacement neck which makes her less Pino-sounding but still in that direction. There is a bit more clarity in tone but in the end it's a stingray sound. Also very present in the band, more low-mid sounding than a J-bass, not so upfront more serving the context. My main instrument at the moment. But she's heavy, beyond 5 kg.

    - Spectorcore 5: Nice one. She's the perfect match for my unplugged band. The video above describes it perfectly, it was the trigger for me. My favourite setting is piezo full, treble almost completely dimmed, magnetic halfway, treble full on. This makes her stay growly and fundamentally below the guitars without getting lost. Soundwise in an upright direction but different, there is always this piano-like sound present that is mentioned in the video. Not built for high-speed soloing, more serving the fundamentals. Due to your Brexit experiment and the low exchangerate I could import her at an appealling price of 599 Pounds - and she's worth every penny of it.

    - Mayones Patriot MR 5: wowsa! Just played it in a music-store but WOW! By far the most resonant, sensitive, growly, singing fretless I ever played. Very beautiful and extremely light. But at a pricetag well beyond 3kEuro I left her at shop, too much money to be spontaneous.

    https://mayones.com/page/patriot-mr-fretless-5-antique-black/

     

    So, I hope this feeds some valuable info into your decision process. I really like playing pretless, the sound, the freedom to articulate 🙂

     

    Cheers,

    Tom

    “Tonewood” comparison, Rosewood vs Ebony fretboard sound clips.

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    So, my feeling pushed me to the decision of the majority. I'm curious if we were right :-)

    I think, this question is more important when using fretless basses. There is a nice comparison available on YT with Adrian Maruszczyk demoing "identical" instruments with just different fingerboard woods:

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPAHQXms6_A

     

    One can still argue if blueburst vs redburst makes a difference, too ;-)

    Cheers,

    Tom

     

    Glocken- klanger?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    Hi ,

    here in Germany, where Glockenklang is based, the company has a high reputation for "hi-fidelity" Equipment. They produce (since years) well acclaimed amplification in the upper price region. I doubt that anything with the brand name on it is not-optimal in a technical sense. But if it does not fit your idea of sound ... change it.

    Cheers,

    Tom

    Fretless bass - what would you recommend?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted · Edited by tom5string

    Morning,

    please check out Maruszczyk basses:

    [url="https://www.public-peace.de/bass-guitars/fretless-basses"]https://www.public-p...fretless-basses[/url]

    I played an Elwood 5 in the chambered version (5L) for long years. Really nice sounding, leightweight (3.7 kg), no frills, just a passive bass made of decent tonewoods. Some listed on the web-site sell new within your price range.

    Cheers,
    Tom

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