FDC484950

Stunning. Always loved Ken Smiths and I had exactly the same model with Claro walnut top - best-sounding, feeling and playing bass I have ever owned

I had a Sei whose tone I didn’t like and did just that - it made no noticeable change to tone. Not sure whether a new preamp would have made more of a difference but put me off switching pickups. Now where possible I’ll only go for a bass that sounds right as-is.

Standing In The Shadows Of Motown explains both his musical style and his life. Essentially he was a jazzer on upright (as were many of the Motown regulars) and applied those concepts to pop songs. In terms of noodling vs fitting in, the Motown groove was generally very straight on drums and rhythm guitar, which gave him the freedom to stretch out - with busy drums and other instruments it would have been a mess. As Anthony Jackson says near the end of the book - “rhythm section as chamber ensemble”

19 hours ago, RedVee said:

Like I said it is nothing to be ashamed of being in the minority.............I wouldn't worry about it, you have your opinion and I firmly have mine.

 

Makes me wonder why you bothered posting in this thread as you have no interest in the subject. Smacks of trolling to me.

4 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Sorry. My mistake. I humbly and profusely apologise. I actually thought it was a forum where discussions take place and people exchange opinions and ideas. Maybe I was wrong and I shouldn't bother in future? Also I don't recall complaining about anything. My comment on the second post was meant to be light-hearted and humorous, but I guess you understand humour about as much as you understand the purposes of a public forum. 

Are you expressing an opinion or stating it as if it is fact? Also the fact you’re being quite aggressive about it doesn’t help, does it?

Expensive gear gives you the aesthetic pleasure of higher quality construction and finish. A plywood table is just as usable as a solid oak, hand-crafted, bespoke table at a fraction of the cost - but people still buy the handbuilt stuff. So long as the cheap gear isn’t so cheap that it doesn’t function, nobody really “needs” any more. There is a certain amount of relaxation about cheap gear as others have said - it’s generally less of a worry to gig a £200 bass than a £5K vintage Fender in terms of damage or theft.

One item where more expensive can mean better is with a 6-string bass - the best designs are not a scaled-up 4-string, and neck reinforcement - be that carbon/titanium bars, hardwood laminates or something else - tend to push the price up as getting that all to work on a cheap bass isn’t easy. Correct string balance, a clear B and a high C that doesn’t sound like a thin guitar doesn’t come cheap. Even my current favourite bass, an Ibanez SR3006e, is far from perfect. Sadly, I have played one that was as close to perfect as I’ll ever find - it was an £8K Fodera. So it cuts both ways!

Phenomenal player on both electric and upright  but I must say I much preferred his electric tone with a Ken Smith in the early days. To me the Yamaha tone is too thin and stringy.

I had a Smith BSR Elite G once; stunning instrument and the most even sounding and playable bass I’ve owned. It could do old schoole Fender tones, right up to modern and the preamp was great. Sadly they’re as rare as hen’s teeth in the UK. If I ever find a fiver in the Uk I’d snap it up. There’s a factory tour video on his site I believe; very interesting.

Edit: there is one in Bass Direct... but although lovely, not at £5,250! 😮

BBC4 have just announced tonight’s program featuring bass “legends” Nile Rodgers and Carole Kaye 😄

Aside from the slightly flaky tuning (and I agree that the tapewounds don’t sound great) what effortless playing. Very interesting right hand, damped the low B perfectly but very fluid and smooth, yet lots of thump. I’ve heard lots of great tracks with his playing on but not paid attention when watching him play before. Thanks!

When was the last time a bass player had the monicker “TV personality”! 

Having watched the video and the conversation with Sean Hurley I’m at a loss to see what the big deal is. He’s talking about a particular situation experienced in the studio, whether it’s down to engineers not having experience of eq’ing another bass, or current retro fashion, it is what it is. Vive la difference - if you like something else, what’s the problem? Also when Scott mentions “top session pros”, in 2019 he’s probably taking about a few dozen players worldwide at the very most, probably less than 30, as so little mainstream/session/film/tv/jingle music is now recorded with instruments, it’s hardly representative of all styles of music and all situations. Funnily enough, as a “pro” in the late 80’s to late 90’s I didn’t own a P bass and was never once asked to play one on a track  

The most important tip for walking bass is how it should sound and feel. I tend to play walking lines just with my index finger (plucking hand) as it just sounds better. Next tip: just play straight quarter notes - no embellishments, skips, triplets or any other fripperies. I’ve heard it described as sounding like a bouncing rubber ball. It’s origins are in “dance” music so remember it was meant to make people dance!

In terms of the harmony, at first you will want to nail solid root notes on beat 1 and either 3rd, 5th or 7th of chord on weak 3rd beat for one chord per bar, or root/chord tone/root/chord tone for 2 chords per bar. Then gradually start to shape the line with scale fragments, then chromatic approach notes above and and below the chord tone, and after about 25 years you can start playing longer ideas across many bars! 

Ed Friedland’s books are good for getting an understanding of the walking bass. Ultimately once you’ve got the basics, then your music collection is the best possible teacher - learn from the masters - Milt Hinton, Jimmy Blanton, Oscar Pettiford, Ron Carter, Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Charles Mingus, Scott LaFaro, Jimmy Garrison, Christian McBride and many others!

I’ve had so many basses that I’ve bought based on the sound I thought they should have, but were very disappointing. Wal mk1 - I probably wasn’t good enough at the time but it sounded distinctly ordinary. I had a Mk3 made years later when I was a much better player. It weighed a ton and sounded no better than the first one!

I also owned an MTD that was very nice, but like every MTD I’ve tried since, there was a big dead spot on the neck - sad to say as they make some incredible instruments otherwise.

Jaydee Celeste. Horrible, horrible instrument which I got part exchanging a Status series 2 - which was, by the way, a fabulous instrument...

Warwicks - I’ve had plenty and whilst the wood combinations and bell brass frets produce a unique sound, they’re an ergonomic nightmare - poor balance unless a 4 or ridiculously heavy and the stock eq is rather anaemic. And the barrel jack is rubbish!

Never tried a Fender 5 with a convincing B string, I owned a US deluxe and got rid of it in a few months, as I did another 90’s US Deluxe V I bought a few years earlier. Hold on, there’s a pattern appearing 😃

It’s also true that people will generally post things on a forum that they probably wouldn’t say in person to a (relative) stranger. The comparative security and anonymity of posting online (hence the keyboard warrior phrase!). 

Dont mistake forum opinions for fact. A forum is a vehicle for people to air their opinions, and has been said by others, not everyone reacts well to their viewpoint being challenged. FWIW the opinions on here are rather mild compared to some of the places I’m a member - and I have typed many a reply and deleted it before hitting Post ☺️

Couldn’t they find a bass player to do the demo?

Jess Glynne had a decent voice, Bublé not my cup of tea but good singer and a natural entertainer, Rudimental quite good, house band OK but the Chic stuff sounded poor (sorry but Jerry Barnes just doesn’t fit - hasn’t got the right groove for the gig and every time I hear them he overplays) and the house drummer just didn’t groove unless it was the boogie woogie stuff. Dave Swift sounded fine on both upright and electric. Junior Giscombe still has a fantastic voice. It’s a funny old world as The Record Company seems to have near-universal praise but bored me silly!

Dave S was playing an Ibanez BTB (1826?) as I believe he’s now an Ibanez endorsee. 

24 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

There's only so much love and care you can put into something so simple, three blocks of wood in the cnc machine and hand sand the edges a bit, a few screws and a lick of paint. 

Fixed

Usually really obvious, especially on a sunburst, with little attempt to match contrasting grain!

I’ve played a Cort A6 before. Reminded me strongly of a Ken Smith, nice even tone and lovely fit and finish. The only downside was the slightly anaemic electronics. I’m usually a Bartolini fan but I think it had the cheaper mk1 pickups (not sure about the eq). They certainly punch way above their weight. The B5 OPN with Wenge neck and ash body is also a cracker - and can be had for less than £500.

2 hours ago, hypercarrots said:

I think the 3v system (power curve III 3 band) eq was on the 09-14 SR4000E, 11-12 SR4500E and the 09-14 SR5000E as well as their 5 and 6 string counterparts. Also the limited edition SR5JCT. They are recognizable by the 2 rubber knobs, 4 plastic knobs and only one switch. In 2015, the eq was replaced by the ibanez custom 3 band eq which has 5 plastic knobs (2 large, 3 small) and two switches and a 9v battery box on the back.

 

Power curve III - you can see the 2 AA battery box  

 

 

Ah, that makes sense. I had one of the first SR5006 models with the 3v preamp and assumed they still used it. IMHO it was pretty useless, the eq did next to nothing and the tone from the pickups wasn’t very inspiring. The acrylic finish didn’t feel very nice under the hands and the bass was heavy and very neck-heavy. Quite a surprise as the SR3006 has a much more usable Vari-Mid EQ, but ironically it doesn’t need much EQ as the basic sound is so rich and fat. I’m currently leaning toward the SR1705, probably solely due to the look and combination of woods. The S2605 has stainless steel frets but the neck has something like 15 laminations and the top is a bit over the top for me!

I might be in the market for a premium 5 to complement my excellent SR3006e (which imho has a much better preamp than the 5006, having had one previously). However there appears to be an SR1305, SR1825, SR2605 and some limited edition models like the SR1705. Is there any material difference are are they just cosmetic changes as they all seem to have a mahogany body, wedge-type laminated neck, Nordstrand pickups and 3v circuit?

Now on hold pending the usual.

I can arrange for you to collect from a train station in a London if that helps - but probably in the new year! I have neither packaging nor any kind of case, so sadly shipping isn’t an option...

For sale: Yamaha BB435 5-string passive PJ

I’ve decided to move on my Yamaha BB435 in black, purchase back in July 2018. 

Specs:

• Alder body with mint/black/mint pickguard
• 5-piece maple/mahogany neck
• 6-bolt mitred neck join
• Rosewood fingerboard
• Yamaha lightweight vintage tuners
• Yamaha passive P/J pickups
• Controls: Volume/Volume/Tone
• Yamaha bridge with stringing through bridge or 45-degree through body (see pics)
• Weight: approx 4.2Kgs

Playability and sound:

It’s one of the few passive P/J 5-strings on the market. Both pickups sound similar, but not identical, to their Fender equivalent. Tone is very even and full, and with both pickups on full, it’s very much like a passive Jazz with both volumes on. B string is surprisingly good for a bass at this price point - for reference, every bit as even as a US deluxe Fender or Musicman. As is expected on a passive bass with a standard J pickup, there is a bit of 60-cycle hum when the J is solo’ed, but nothing untoward. Strings are the original D’Addario and are a bit dead.

Finish and build quality:

You won’t find any flaws - the build quality, paint finish and overall feel is that of a much more expensive instrument. The black paint finish is in fact flawless, even around the mitred neck bolt holes, which are elliptical, so 9/10 for build quality. No scratches or dents as never gigged.

Payment and delivery:

No case or box so this will be collection only from Surrey. Cash on collection please.