bnt

Got a new stepbrother who played a bit of guitar, so I got thinking "what can I play?" I found guitar too fiddly, so that led me to bass, and there was a cheap one for sale locally.

Voice is my second "instrument", but I also do some elementary synth stuff, mostly because I'm the kind of computer geek who actually gets MIDI. Fear the skills! :ph34r:

Quick update: it's on its way to me OK. Dealing with that store was a bit strange...
- I pay with MasterCard SecureCode - so my ID is doubly verified
- they say "cool, we're packing it now, will ship it today (Wednesday)"
- later, I email and ask for the tracking number
- salesman's response: "I need a photocopy of your ID and credit card, before I give you the tracking number"
- my response: "I paid with MasterCard SecureCode, so my ID is verified. Sending copies of ID is a risk of identity theft. Get Bent".
- them: "Upps! Sorry, here's the tracking number"
- all the next day (Thu): UPS does not recognise the tracking number - I waited in case it took time to get through their systems
- By today I'm suspicious, thinking they might not want me to have the number, in case it showed they were lying about shipping the bass. I get back to them by email.
- "Upps again! Here's the correct number." (one digit off)
Turns out they did ship it when they said they did, so they're not dodgy... just confused. But I do not allow my IDs to be copied if I can help it - what does that achieve, other than exposing me to ID theft?

PS: that headstock, based on the photos, still looks "a bit much" for my taste, but it might not be as bad in the flesh, er, wood. If it's OTT, I may be hitting the Warmoth website at some point.

Roundwounds do chew up softer fretboards, but some folks really need that sound. I remember Pino Palladino talking about getting his Stingray fretboard redressed at regular intervals, during the 80s when acts like Tears For Fears and Don Henley called him specifically for his fretless sound. Jaco had boat epoxy on his fretboard for this, which might have helped him.

Have a look [url="http://www.ems-synthi.demon.co.uk/emsprods.html"]here[/url] for details of the different Synthi models made by EMS. The Synthi E was the "educational" model for schools.

As for what they're worth... I don't know for sure, but I'm reasonably sure it falls under the general heading of "a lot". If you or someone you know has one, there are synth collectors out there who want them, badly.Brian Eno used to use them with Roxy Music, and these days the Chemical Brothers use a Synthi AKS heavily, I read.

As for the sound... see [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jmk_OkANAk"]here[/url] and [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDMW8j3Kxvk"]here[/url] (YouTube).

[quote name='Russ' post='52593' date='Aug 30 2007, 03:37 AM']There is just something mysterious and alluring about these esoteric, high-end Japanese instruments - Tune, Atlansia, etc. I'd love to go to a musical instrument shop in Japan and try some out.[/quote]
So would I... the one I'm buying is made in Korea. (Like I'm going to get one of those Japanese ones for a bit over £300? I wish! )

[quote name='Sibob' post='52195' date='Aug 29 2007, 10:14 AM']The problem i'd have with this particular bass i think is the size of the pickups, or length rather. Because i anchor my thumb on the pickup to play my E, on this the pickup looks a long way from the E string compared to my jazz, or any other bass i've seen tbh[/quote]

Looks to me like they use the same pups on the 4- and 5-strings. I've been playing 5-string almost exclusively, and used to rest my thumb on the B-string, but I've had no real problems since I switched to High-C tuning. So I think I'll be OK there. I'm a bit more concerned about balance etc - I'm a fairly tall chap (5' 11-1/2"), and this is a small-bodied instrument. (It looks big on Narucho, but he's quite short.)

Well, that's torn it! Now I know you guys are interested, I've got to jump on it, haven't I, or else one of you might Gazump me?... order placed a few minutes ago, ought to be here next week (or sooner).

First thing I'll do is replace those knobs, I think. If this doesn't work, I'm going to sue Basschat for Aiding and Abetting GAS.

Anyone here have any experience of the Tune basses? I mentioned in [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4796"]another thread[/url] (on Narucho from Casiopea) that I was thinking of buying one, but I've just found an ex-demo model on a German site, [url="http://www.musik-schmidt.de/osc-schmidt/catalog/tune-hotsuns-twb43-showroom-modell-p-11491.html"]here[/url]. It's nearly double the dosh [url="http://waltons.ie/waltonsshop/product_info.php?cPath=60_62&products_id=10780"]here[/url] in Dublin.

It's the model I want - the TWB-43 - though I'm not so keen on the Bubinga, and would prefer the Maple. I could do with less headstock, but I'm really wondering about the sound, more than anything else. Any thoughts? Ta.

One that I've heard (though not played) is by [url="http://www.mikelull.com/"]Mike Lull[/url], in the hands of Bryan Beller. Killer sounds through his SWR rig. I heard him with Mike Keneally, though he's touring with Steve Vai this summer. Randy Jackson is endorsing them now - don't know what to make of that.

The only bloke I've heard of with one is Geddy Lee. He's using it on tour at the moment, after playing the fretless version on the new Rush album, so it's a good bet he likes it...

I'm not a Mac user at all, but I do know that the new Rush album is excellent, and was recorded on Mac(s) with Logic Audio. (Except for one clumsy master edit during "We Hold On" ).

What I currently have on the PC is Tracktion 2, which is by a small company but distributed by Mackie. It has [i]no[/i] dialog boxes at all: apart from configuration, everything is done from a single screen with a logical layout. Most of the power of e.g. Cakewalk Sonar, but costs a lot less.

I really don't know what kind of bassist I am: all over the place not going to extremes in any direction. Lots of playing at home, but nowhere nearly enough gigs, and that was 15 years ago.

I have an "attraction" to Jazz, simply from being blown away at Jazz gigs of various kinds, most recently Dave Holland & friends at the Barbican last year. However, I find the learning curve intimidating - I get the impression it takes a lot of study and practice before you are any use to anyone.

I'm not interested in the "competitive sport" aspect of bass playing at all: for example, if I try slapping, I'm never going to compare to Marcus Miller or Mark King, who have specialised their techniques in that direction. (Did Marcus have surgery on his thumb to make it bend that way, or is he just a freak of nature?). My fingers, my bass, the strings... "making excuses" for not being a happy slapper, am I? Maybe I just prefer moderation in these things, [i]a la[/i] Chuck Rainey or Billy Gould.

Actually, when I first heard Billy Gould, my reaction was [i]A-Ha![/i] - he mixes it up with an aggressive sound, which I found instantly familiar. Add in lots of bass-heavy Progressive (Squire, Trewavas, Geddy), and we're in the ballpark of the kind of bassist I might be, if I get off my keister and go looking for gigs. No wonder I'm looking to tone it down a bit...

I'm now pretty good at resisting GAS, usually for financial reasons. I tell myself I can't afford stuff, even when I can. The prices in the few Irish music stores are a good disincentive, so I've made nearly all my purchases on visits to London. The last straw was in 2001-2, when I bought a 2nd-hand Chapman Stick, followed by a rare keyboard synth (Kawai K5000S). I really don't get on with the Stick at all, but there's not much of a market for a Stick in Ireland, so I may try and trade it on my next visit to the UK.

Another reason is space: I share a small rented flat, with neighbours below me, so I don't have an amp at all, and play through a preamp and headphones. If I buy anything, it's one more thing that I have to schlep around with me, and I have too much of that already.

I'm about to start university - a pre-emptive strike on the midlife crisis - so there's no let-up on the budgetary constraints any time soon. There, I hope to get involved in a band or two, even if it's just the "battle of the bands", so I may need a new bass, because my main Hohner headless is not remotely fashionable. However, I've just recently discovered the NS WAV 4 bass, the budget version of their upright, which is not helping. I'll have to travel to the UK before I even see one, though, so I can resist.

I'm investigating a possible EUB purchase, looking for video examples, and found this: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBv15FXBBvQ"][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBv15FXBBvQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBv15FXBBvQ[/url][/url]

Eberhard was the first EUB player I ever heard, with Kate Bush, and has many recordings out on ECM. This ... just awe-inspiring.

edit: I've just [url="http://speakeasy.jazzcorner.com/speakeasy/showthread.php?t=20999"]read[/url] that Eberhard is recovering from a stroke he suffered in April, but was sounding stronger and positive he'll be playing again.

It's a bass solo, innit? I like the little nods to other bassists - Mark King, Les Claypool, and of course Jaco (the delay section). There are other Casiopea tracks on YouTube that are more musically solid.

The Dublin store Walton's has some Tune instruments on sale, and I'm considering a [url="http://tuneguitars.com/store/wizmart.php?code=000101&lv=2"]Hatsun's TWB[/url] 4-string. That's one of the [url="http://www.tuneguitars.com/"]Korean Tunes[/url] - not affiliated with the original [url="http://www.cc.rim.or.jp/~tune/tune/framepage,tune.html"]Japanese Tunes[/url] that Narucho plays, and I couldn't afford. Don't quite know what the legal situation is there, but the Japanese site has a [url="http://www.cc.rim.or.jp/~tune/tune/important/important.htm"]notice[/url] about the Korean site.

[quote name='RichBowman' post='42914' date='Aug 8 2007, 03:09 PM']I'm intrigued - does anyone know if you can get a 10-stringer (as in low ? I'd love to have a go at that.[/quote]
I know Michael Manring got Zon to make one for him... but here's one made in the UK by Manson:
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGHWxLruLvA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGHWxLruLvA[/url]

As for the 8-string, try the following video: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuRuVT6QElw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuRuVT6QElw[/url]
The sound quality is not that good, and the singer is ... unique ... but it takes more than that to get in the way of that 8-string.

I have a Hohner B2V: it's a solid chunk of wood, light but not quite as light as you might think..! The bass I really want is also very light: the [url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/code/models/models_bass_4str_intro.asp"]Parker Fly[/url], whose specs say it weighs 7¾ pounds. The Mojo is the same, but the cheaper PB41 weighs 9 pounds. I wonder if that includes strings?

[quote name='ARGH' post='41387' date='Aug 4 2007, 08:35 PM']You ever seen Bowie with Gabrels doing 'Heros'???[/quote]
No, but I've seen King Crimson doing Heroes, with two of Bowie's old collaborators: Fripp (who was on the original) & Belew.
Gabrels is awesome, though - who else would have thought of playing a chrome-plated Steinberger guitar with a vibrator..? He's been quiet for a few years due to illness, but he's on the way back.

Almost all fingers, though I do keep a few plecs around to play with. I find that I can get a plec-ish tone if I hammer on the strings a bit, especially when I've forgotten to trim my nails.

[quote name='bassboy115' post='38405' date='Jul 29 2007, 11:44 AM']Does he literally just get a piece of sand paper to the neck to remove the finish?
Does anybody do that?[/quote]
I just saw his Bass Player magazine interview and the answer appears to be exactly that. Not to a vintage neck, though - the neck on his main bass finally wore out and has been replaced with a neck from one of his signature basses.

I've checked out a few of those YouTube videos... is the human thumb really supposed to bend back that far? Mine doesn't go past straight, there's nothing to hit the string on the way back up.

They don't ship Ernie Balls outside the US... so does that mean I can't have that MM Bongo, Teal Pearl w/ Moonstone pickguard, then? Dang...

Hi,

I registered on the old forum and posted a message like this, not long before the move here, which means I forgot to introduce myself here, so here goes again.

I'm originally from Scotland (Dunfermline), but moved to South Africa at age 6, and live there till 23. Finished school, went straight to work. No university: no govt. grants there, competition for corporate bursaries was fierce and nepotistic. (This becomes relevant later.)

I got in to bass there at around 16, and bought a P-bass copy someone there had going cheap. It certainly didn't go "Woof", even after modifications, and I found it was made of plywood, and not worth fighting for.

I got it in my head that I wanted a headless bass, after playing one and seeing a few on TV. I also wanted a 5-string, which was rare in South Africa at the time, but a local shop found me the Hohner B2V I still have today. I used it in a covers band, mostly guys I worked with plus my stepbrother on guitar.

I moved back to the UK in 1991 - but haven't been in a band since then: too busy working or looking for work. I was lucky to get the B2V through Heathrow: they saw the truss rod on the x-ray, and thought I was bringing a rifle in to the country. It didn't help that I had it in a hard rifle case - the only one I could find at a normal price. I had the B2V pickups replaced with EMG 40 P/J soapbars by the Bass Centre in London. It still sounds great - not "plastic" at all, though the anaemic Low-B means I've settled on a High-C tuning. I have quite strong fingers, after years of playing Rush songs with no amp, and with new strings this thing has as much Punch as all the Proms in Orange County.

I need to do some more work on my second bass, a Hohner B2Afl fretless, which I picked up 2nd-hand in 1994, and modified straight away. Someone had put frets on the fretless fingerboard, and badly: some were audibly off. I didn't think I was buying a fretless then, but I was considering it: it was one of those "meant to be" moments. I soon had the frets off and epoxy in the slots... then I decided I wanted a natural finish, not another black Steinberger clone... then I got the saw out. I might put some pictures up in the "Bass Porn" section later. All I'll say at this point is: I suspect Steinberger sent their spies my way, before designing the Synapse models...

My "GAS Overdose Moment" came in 2001: I bought a 10-string Chapman Stick, and soon found out that it was not for me. Huge learning curve for a bassist, and (IMHO) it's such a specialised instrument and technique that I'd need to study it intensively to get anywhere. I'm probably going to sell it.

I've lived in Ireland, working at the local branch of a US IT company, since 1999, but here's where the "midlife crisis" comes in: I'm about to quit my job and go into full-time study here. It will be a career change in to Structural Engineering: IT is a young man's game now, and I have no prospect of advancement without bits pf paper, so I've decided to make a break for it and try to get back some of those lost years, as a not-so-mature student.

I'm also hoping to get back in to playing live. A big obstacle for me, when looking at "band members wanted" ads, are lines like "no time wasters"... "must be committed", "must have own transport", and so on. Since the day I left school, I've been reliant on income from work as my sole means of support. It's only now, 20+ years later, where I have the relative luxury of jacking it all in and living off savings and investments... but I'll be studying full-time. So I'm always left wondering: just how are you supposed to play music with other people at all, when you have commitments? I don't know any other musicians here at all, and ads are not helping, but I hope I get to meet more musicians at the university ([url="http://www.ucd.ie/"]UCD[/url], in case you're wondering). Maybe I ought to start a "weekend warriors" project in Dublin ..?

I remember Tina Weymouth used to play a short-scale Hofner, though I doubt you'll find one of those at a sane price these days.

What about the Status KingBass? With the "bendwell" option it's one fret shorter, making it about 32.1" (by my calculations). Mark King is quite a little chap who plays fast, so the short scale works for him.

I have a [url="http://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?A_PROD_NO=AmpworksB&category_id=6"]Korg Ampworks Bass[/url], which (I think) really sounds great in a home studio setting. Not the most versatile unit, though, and it would be pretty limited live, since the footswitch socket only lets switch between your saved presets - both of them - and manual. The presets sound great, and I always find myself dialling back the effects, but at least there are knobs for everything.