GremlinAndy

[quote name='Kev' post='600050' date='Sep 16 2009, 11:56 AM']Because of course, this thread is about using 'bad' cheap basses..... [/quote] LoL but in my defence I *did* apologise for using such a bad example. It was extreme and was only used to justify that even the mightiest could be felled by a *really* bad example of a bass. (and as a counter to bringing a player of such "bass trancending" ability into the discussion.) My point was that not even a player like JP would transcend their instrument at *some*, albeit extreme, level.

[quote name='Doddy' post='599583' date='Sep 15 2009, 08:41 PM']To Ou7shined....So when you bought a new 'better' instrument,you became more inspired to improve your technique,so you have to practice to improve. The instrument gave you the inspiration to improve,which i said can happen in an earlier post. To Gremlin Andy...... You say that you SPECIFICALLY ruled out my argument,but then go on to say that "given the *SAME* player, that player is UNDESPUTEDLY served better by a better instrument". This is where my argument lies.I don't think it is undisputed. The player may not necessarily be better served on a better instrument. Would Jaco have been a better player on a 'boutique' bass than on a stock Fender? No..He'd still play like Jaco. Once again,I like and own 'Boutique' basses,but I will maintain that ultimately the player is more important than the instrument.[/quote] Goddamnit. No-one is disputing that. but would he sound *equally* good on a 40 quid bass with bad intonation, and warped neck, crappy pots and crackly socket? and here is where I repeat *undisputedly* ...no. Therefore he WOULD be better served by a better instrument. My argument holds up even when you try to use a silly example involving such a remarkable and unrepresentative (of the readers in this thread) player. (no offence to any players who reckon they *are* at Jacos level) Nobody said "boutique", they said expensive (re-read the title.) And Jacos bass would have been expensive in it's day (and more so now obviously) (Apologies for using an equally unrepresentative point there with the £40 bass, but expensive is just 'relative'. )

[quote name='Doddy' post='598788' date='Sep 14 2009, 10:27 PM']A Better Bass won't make the player 'better able to use the techniques and expression'. A better Instrument can give you the inspiration to play and practice,but it won't make you more able to express yourself.That comes from the person, not an inanimate piece of wood. To continue the Violin analogy, if you gave an average player a Stradavarius,the player would play it in the same way as they would on their own instrument,they may be more inspired,but that will be all. Give a Virtuoso an average instrument and they will still play better than an average player on a great instrument. I wasn't misrepresenting the discussion, I was refering to this quote.... "As your technique improves you reach a point where your playing allows you to go to the next level of instrument - because that instrument allows you to be more expressive. So again you gravitate to your desired point along the curve, this time governed by skill level rather than the thickness of your wallet. Although there is the school of thought that says that if you play instruments that are beyond your ability then it forces you to get better so as not to sound like a twat." Your Instrument has no bearing on your skill level whatsoever,and buying a nice instrument will not force you to improve your abilities. As I have said before, I own about 20 Basses,some cheap,some expensive, but I can play all of them comfortably. While the 'boutique' basses are undoubtedly better quality and more 'fun' to play ,if I wanted to I could do anything on the less expensive basses.[/quote] lol you make me larf you KEEP on using a dissimilar argument *even* after I SPECIFICALLY rule it out. "Give a Virtuoso an average instrument and they will still play better than an average player on a great instrument." Fercrissakes... no ones arguing this. It's preposterous to think ANYONE is saying that a better bass will make a crap player into a virtuoso... RE-READ the original post and digest it, and you'll see this is my EXACT point. given the *SAME* player, that player is UNDESPUTEDLY served better by a better instrument. To continue your argument is ...I dunno, so irrelevant that it staggers me. We all know that a more expensive bass doesn't make the player. That almost goes without saying. (But, obviously, not completely) funny. flame on...

[quote name='Doddy' post='597585' date='Sep 13 2009, 07:06 PM']I have to disagree with you here. The instrument that you play has nothing to do with your ability or expression as a player. You can be playing blues badly in a grotty pub on a Fodera,does it mean you are a good player? No,it means you can afford a Fodera. If you are looking at the instrument to improve your playing,I'm sorry,but you have a warped view towards music. The technique,the expression,and most of all the music, comes firstly from the player.[/quote] You seem to be saying that a person of *any* ability will sound *exactly* the same regardless of the bass they use. No-one is trying to claim that a bad player will suddenly sound better than a good player if they have the right bass. (That's just a daft misrepresentation of the discussion) But it is most certainly true that a better bass will make the same player better able to use the techniques and expression you mention. Unless you're suggesting that Stradivarius Violins are just a bad case of one-up-manship? Don't worry, I'm not really suggesting you're saying that, I'm just showing that misrepresenting a discussion isn't altogether constructive.

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='595751' date='Sep 11 2009, 03:16 PM']My personal view is, as someone posted earlier, simply that it's nice to own nice things. It's a sort of "thank-you" to yourself for all the hard work and long hours, when you come home and plug in that gorgeous bass. You love the look of it, the feel of it, the sound of it, and just the sheer pleasure of owning it. Whether or not you can actually play it is, I believe, secondary. It's a bit like buying a modern sportsbike. Very few people (dare I say, practically no one?) can actually ride these things to anything like their potential, but owning it, looking after it, even just gazing at it in the garage on a cold, wet, winter's day, and riding it to the best of your own personal ability, is a very great pleasure. If I can ever afford it, I am going to buy one of these "boutique" basses. And I only play in my spare bedroom. [/quote] That's a very perceptive point you have there... that just about cuts to the nub of it. (I just sold a Hayabusa 1300 bike (200mph plus) ...In 3 years I did about 70 miles and never went above 110mph... Lost about £3000. But feck! *what* a 70 miles that was!) I work hard. At 49 my goal isn't to make it as a rock star... But I do earn a good wage, I have no wife to moan, ...and my tastes in instruments are purely self indulgent. So it might not come as a surprise that regardless of my playing ability, I want the best instrument my money can buy. My current whim is a Zon Hyperbass VII which I ordered a couple of days ago... $8700. I told you I have a good job right? Joe Zon is even going to try to arrange a leeson with Mr Manring if I go to San Fran to collect it... Sweet Jeesus, god bless those boutique basses! Which is better Fishcake and chips, or Caviar? I guess it depends on whether you're starving hungry, or holding a party for the King of Gondwanaland.

I have 2x21012L's and 2x1515L's and none have developed any problems yet. They are lightly used at the moment though so time will tell. I haven't had them 'open' either, so can't vouch for build quality... but they sure sound good.

Ah, right, I see. It's a real fake, not a digital fake? I'm so used to seeing the digital fakery that that's my first thoughts...

Is everything but the word "Fender" photoshopped? It looks so badly faked.

[quote name='dazco' post='531162' date='Jul 2 2009, 10:13 PM']No idea if this is a good deal or not but I stay well clear of "cocky" adverts. Just my twopenn'orth[/quote] With a piece of gear as good as these, and as OOP as these, the seller can afford to cut straight to the chase. £700 is a good price for such a creature. The only other pre to compare to them is (IMHO) the Hellborg pre. And at £1300 ish the Hellborg is considerably more. but I'm not defending him, I don't really care how he advertises it. thats *my* twopenneth well spent. [color="#808000"]EDIT: Actually I just re-read it. I don't think he's being *cocky* He's saying he doesn't want people to contact him and offer less than the strike price he has set, which if you've sold anything on e-bay, you'd probably agree is *very* annoying... I dunno if it's neccessary to state it in the advert, but to each thier own. And be careful because it may well be one of our own (fellow basschatter, for what it's worth.) [/color]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320392208393&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123"]Aggie DB680 on EBay. [/url] I'm keeping mine (both of em.) ...even though I'm favouring the Hellborg. The reason I'm favoring the Hellborg is down to the fact that there's not much between them, both are equisite sounding. However, the Hellborg is only 1Unit high and also, being Solid State, is hopefully, more robust for gigging. Although it cost nearly twice the price of this linked DB680) So I dunno if you're interested, I posted the link in the ebay section too. Good Luck, if I wasn't already minted up with pre's I'd be bidding on this one myself. Andy

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320392208393&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ME:B:SS:GB:1123[/url]

[quote name='arabassist' post='516626' date='Jun 17 2009, 05:04 PM']hmm alright cheers everyone. so which set of strings should i buy then? i wanna a good slap tone out of it. These [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/582-elixir_nanoweb_electric_bass_"]elixirs[/url]? or these [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/1026-warwick_black_label_bass_strings"]warwick black labels[/url]? oh and what guages would be best for slapping n popping? lower the better?[/quote] Well, the nano coating on the Elixirs has a bad rep for flaking. (according to threads on this forum) ...However, I have no first hand experience with them, so you need advice on that from someone who has actual experience on that subject. I [b]do[/b] know the Black label though. They were my string of choice before the EMPs They are very bright when new, and I would say, last a very reasonable length of time. Longer than most of the other strings I've tried. The EMPs [i]should you reconsider[/i], are nearly as bright as the black label, and have a surface coating which doesn't flake (1st hand experience, here) and last 4 times longer than black label. Makes the price difference seem easily worth it to me. Saves in the long run Seriously, consider them as a contender. As for slap tone, I'm afraid I'm a rock bassist and only slap both infrequently, and sadly, quite poorly... so again you need to listen to soemone who knows their slap tone better than I do... Good luck whichever way you go. I'll be interested to hear you thoughts once you try! Andy

try warwick EMP strings... Bit more expesive from the off, but the upshot is that although they start off a *little* less bright than other rounds, they remain constant for so many hours of usage you'll lose count. The extra cost soon pays for itself. I'm very keen on the new string sound, and mine last *months* of *daily* playing, before loosing the zing. I'm so impressed with them I can't see me ever switching (at the moment, ...but you never know, with technology, what's around the corner) Give them a try and I'll be surprised if you're disappointed.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='510846' date='Jun 11 2009, 07:08 AM'] It took me a second or three to figure out what you were on about! Nice one.[/quote] Perhaps I did too good a job?

while you were at work I nipped round to your gaff and had a Luthier look at your unfinished bass... TADA! [i]NOT SINGLECUT NOW[/i]! No, don't thank me... It's *my* pleasure.

Am I the only one *OUTRAGED* by the laziness of these so called "Luthiers"? Jeez guys if you CAN'T EVEN BE BOTHERED to cut out the top bit you shouldn't even be making basses. I dunno if the idea is to save wear on the teeth of the band-saw, but to be honest the saving on that must be negated by the extra cost of the wood which remains in area which should *CLEARLY* be a gap. I mean maybe you could glue the bit cut out of a single-cut onto another, shorter bit of wood as a top horn, saving on money there? Lazy, just plain lazy. EDIT: Oh before you start, "YES" I *have* tried a single-cut, but I hated it. It was a lefty which (since I'm a dexter) I spun around and changed the strings on. It played really badly.