Vibrating G String

[quote name='Beedster' post='1278109' date='Jun 22 2011, 12:23 AM']plenty of guys (including that Jaco) had de-fretted their basses in the '60s Not that it really matters [/quote] It doesn't But I'll still post on it. Some of Jaco's stories claim he did the defretting, others from him claim he didn't. I tend to believe him when he says he didn't. In an interview with Ralphe Armstrong he says he was up for the Mahavishnu gig against Jaco but he got it as Jaco wasn't playing fretless yet and that was in 1974. I would expect that fretless electric bass is as old as fretted electric if not older.

Some interesting opinions on Certainbass and I would suggest a bit of research before considering them.

[quote name='Mark Latimour' post='1278606' date='Jun 22 2011, 07:12 AM']People who don't own them. People who do own them don't care, they just play them.[/quote] Except for the owners who care and are posting in this thread trying to defend their choices and pretend they don't care at the same time

[quote name='HazBeen' post='1278514' date='Jun 22 2011, 05:51 AM']As somewhat of a SC fan I must point out a few things: 1. Because a SC bass has a longer upper (non)horn, usually the balance is often better. Especially with a bass like a Warwick Thumb, the SC variant actually is well balanced, where the normal Thumb is not imo. 3. A SC bass can have a deeper cutaway to enable better access to higher registers. Try reaching the 21st fret on a Precision...... it's hard. Need I go on? For the SC hater, I must admit that some examples are FUGLY as.....[/quote] 1. The horn on a pbass goes to the 12th fret, SC horns are not longer. Some of the shortest horns are SC, for example the ASAT or Les Paul style basses. 3. The two things are unrelated, the Zon Hyperbass or Curbow are good examples. SC hater

Here's another can of worms to open. Look how low the action is, not only is it very close to the frets it's almost touching the pickups.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1278791' date='Jun 22 2011, 09:40 AM']Who's going to defend Lakland and tell me the gap is meant to be there, Anyone?[/quote] I thought you were defending them Are we all arguing the same thing but for different reasons?

[quote name='largo' post='1278243' date='Jun 22 2011, 02:28 AM']It's all to do with the ergonomics of the fretting hand vs the plucking hand. [b]There was an article somewhere (probably some medical journal)[/b] that said by creating an offset between the top & bottom strings on a fretboard it reduces the risk of RSI and Carpal Tunnel in Bass players. It was also scientifically proven that you could play faster & longer with your bass setup this way. A little bit like Dingwall with their fanned fret system. It might not look nice, [b]but scientifically Lakland's make you a better bass player whereas Sadowsky's do the opposite[/b]. I guess nobody's forcing anybody to buy these, but the facts speak for themselves.[/quote] That was awesome I guess the obvious question would be if Lakland has all this "science" why did they only use it on one bass?

[quote name='4StringFortress' post='1276815' date='Jun 21 2011, 03:06 AM']I hear good things about Wilkinson but I want to get the opinions of you all first.[/quote] I got a 5 string version off eBay for $17, came from Hong Kong I think. Sounds great, nails the vintage tone.

[quote name='icastle' post='1277743' date='Jun 21 2011, 01:00 PM']If adding a cheap little component like a choke was going to make such a huge difference then everyone and their dog would have done this years ago. The biggest problem with stuff like this is that it's the musical version of the Emporers New Clothes. Once people fall for it and hand over stupid sums of money, they will swear blind that it's absolutely fantastic rather than admit they spent all that money and can't tell the difference... [/quote] Like with tonewoods

And yeah, that is a nice Fender. Replace the pearloid for mint and I'll start drooling

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1277811' date='Jun 21 2011, 02:00 PM']I'd say that's very nice and a little taper is fine but without fitting wider saddles or slimming the neck width that Lakland isn't going to look like that ever.[/quote] Are you saying it was just designed wrong and not simply made badly? That sounds like the worst criticism of this thread. To me it look easily repairable by properly mounting the bridge.

[quote name='TRBboy' post='1277560' date='Jun 21 2011, 11:34 AM']I can't believe they really sound THAT much better than a standard CTS wiring kit.[/quote] Don't believe it sounds ANY better. If you believe it sounds even a tiny bit better you've fallen for it

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1276621' date='Jun 20 2011, 11:43 PM']I don't think any bass I have ever owned has had strings that don't run parallel to the boards edge from end to end.[/quote] Maybe we're looking at things differently. How would you describe this one?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1276239' date='Jun 20 2011, 11:33 AM']Hmm I don't think your understanding my posts? I'm not defending it, I was trying to explain that your idea of it being bridge alignment doesn't make sense as that would just make either the (currently correct ) E string out or have to be half as bad but on the E & G strings, The only proper fix would be to fit a bridge with wider spacings possible or taper the neck more at the heel end. I'm not sure I can explain myself clearer does anyone else understand me or am I insane [/quote] Well if you're insane it should be easier for us to communicate I see what you mean. I don't agree that the outer strings should be parallel with the fretboard edge though. They need much less overhang by the nut than the 12th fret so I expect the fretboard edge to follow closer to what another strings path would be. So on a 4 string the fretboard edge would be somewhere in the middle of where the outer strings of a 6 string would be with that spacing. I think in this case a simple remount of the bridge splitting the difference and centering things would remove the one flaw on this bass (not counting the pearloid pickguard of course).

[quote name='JTUK' post='1276127' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:36 AM']I don't get the impression that £1000 outlay is any garauntee that the bass will be decent[/quote] I couldn't agree more. I think the odds go up and they're more likely to be setup well but I've seen enough multi thousand dollar basses that are blown away by my Peavey Foundation to know price only guarantees how much you paid for it.

[quote name='risingson' post='1275800' date='Jun 20 2011, 04:33 AM']Wow, Lakland are getting slammed! I agree if you're paying upwards of a grand for a bass you should be getting a much better level of QC but I really can't fault mine. In fact it killed my Fender Jazz stone dead in terms of playability and sound, so much so I sold the Fender recently.[/quote] I've seen great Laklands too. I think people need to remember this is one bass and not all things Lakland getting slammed here.

[quote name='4000' post='1275826' date='Jun 20 2011, 04:57 AM']*Cough* [i]Arsenal!!![/i]*Cough*[/quote] Sorry, I don't speak sportfan. What does that mean?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1275519' date='Jun 19 2011, 11:39 PM']The edge of the fret board so if you pulled the bridge over to align the G you would have the same issue with the E. You could have it centred so the E and G got equally worse from nut the heel, Alter the neck width to suit at the heel end or make a new bridge to splay the string spacing to fit equally across all four strings. Does that make sense?[/quote] No, it doesn't make sense. Look at a bass on Sadowsky's website for example, things line up. This is just sloppy work and the fact that you can make it just as bad on the other side of the neck doesn't mean it's good work.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1274691' date='Jun 19 2011, 05:25 AM']The US PRS is a rarer bird over here in the UK perhaps, even allowing for the huge difference in output compared to Fender. It just happens I've seen more in the classifieds than I've ever seen onstage Plenty of SE's, though. For a mid-priced guitar they're pretty good.[/quote] Do you get a lot of Patrick Eggles? I've always thought of those as the UK PRS. We get a lot of clones too, I think the PRS is copied more than the Les Paul these days. Here's one of the earliest PRS's just for fun. After this gig it was traded back to PRS for 4 new customs of his choice.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1274508' date='Jun 19 2011, 02:43 AM']Then the E string wouldn't line up anymore?[/quote] That doesn't make any sense. The pictures clearly show the strings are far to one side. What are you saying the E string lines up with?

This kind of test has been going on for at least 30 years IME and no one can ever tell the difference, but those who believe they can tell still believe they can tell. No matter how badly they can't when tested. Basic cognitive dissonance and refusal to admit you're wrong after strongly stating an opinion.

The original EMG actives can sound very vintage. Lots of Jaco in this tone to my ears.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1274908' date='Jun 19 2011, 08:35 AM']Im going to put a better pair of pickups in my jazz bass.the Japan pickups arent cutting it.... just wanted some suggestions..i had a pair of Nordstrand NJse 4's in my old Custom Shop and they werent as good (to my ear) as the Custom shop pups that were in there so i want a single coil design.. i was thinking Lindy Fralins but ive never tried them... money is not an issue so can you give me some recommendations.. i really want a good trad sound... i really like Bartolini's but ive never tried them in a Fender what have you got/had in your jazz basses?[/quote] No such thing as better pickups, only different If you go the Bart route (my favorite) it can be tricky as there are so many different models to choose from and the sound can vary greatly and the descriptions are horrible. There is no Bart sound IMO. Moon used to use some Barts and they sounded very vintage to me. The humbuckers including the rare quad coils sound different than the single coils. They make at least 3 kinds of humbuckers with many flavors of each. Some things I really like about Barts is no exposed pole pieces, they use bars instead of poles so string spacing and bending is never an issue. And they are indestructible and fully shielded with shielded wires. You can get away with not shielding the control cavities. What tone are you chasing?

[quote name='RhysP' post='1275379' date='Jun 19 2011, 03:08 PM']That Bolin is lovely![/quote] One of the best looking basses ever made IMO. Love the headstock and color choices too.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1274536' date='Jun 19 2011, 03:11 AM']I think there is an arguement for SC having less twisting possible so they really do feel like one big instrument rather than a necland body, I like them.[/quote]That could be true but there's also the argument that since one side of the neck is extremely rigid and the other side isn't that any normal flexing or simple truss rod adjustments will impart a twist since only one side of the neck can move. If the truss rod is active between the 12th and 24th fret it can only twist the neck in that area.