Vibrating G String

I believe the tighter the string the more sparkly the overtones. Shorter floppier strings are known for their tubby or boomy tone which basically means less overtones and more fundamental. Currently I'm running 40-60-80-100-120 and I get fat full tones as long as I don't play too hard. When I play a B as big as a 135 I find it hard to get a good tone out of it.

Here's a video for the detractors

[quote name='JTUK' post='939105' date='Aug 28 2010, 03:18 PM']My point..which I expect you know, was what sort of bass player buys this stuff and keeps it at home without a gig for eons..??[/quote] Do you mean someone who is gigging cheaper basses? I guess that would be like the fine china plates. More decorative and owned for just the fun of keeping fine things.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='939093' date='Aug 28 2010, 03:01 PM']mechanically an electric bass is pretty much a generic commodity in many dif in a side note when i first started reading about basses everyhitng i read said avoid late 70's fender if you can. Yet the prices seem to be going up and up....[/quote] A few years before that it was anything after 1965 was junk.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='938668' date='Aug 28 2010, 02:50 AM']Im sorry guys I just dont get it,Would you have just one set of clothes (more than one set but all the same like Peter Griffin from Family Guy!) Or only ever eat the same meal 3 times a day?[/quote] I pretty much had the same thought 3 hours later

[quote name='blackmn90' post='938164' date='Aug 27 2010, 07:32 AM']Nope and i never will. The reason is when i havnt played on one of my basses for a while i will go back to it for a certain sound or gig and think wow why am i not using this all the time!? So if i rotate them i get that same thrill of when you try one in a shop and you think youve got to have it.[/quote] I'm the same way. I think having one bass would be like having one choice for lunch or one shirt.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='919332' date='Aug 9 2010, 02:08 AM']Also bear in mind if you're gigging a £2000+ custom instrument, the feeling you'll get from watching a teenager with a Mexican Fender make better sounds than you is going to be worse than it is for the rest of us. [/quote]For a few years I gigged solely on my Ken Lawrence, a great bass, but it did bug me that it set expectations so high and I'm not that kind of player. Now that my gear tastes have swung to the other side of the spectrum I'm enjoying playing above the expectations of my current stable.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='919275' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:49 AM']I am loving the fact that no-one (yet) has said; [i]"Nah, waste of money, mate!"[/i] So it must be a justifiable expense! [/quote] If you're trying to get an advantage over other players by buying gear it's a waste of money. My Peavey Foundation plays and sounds as good as any boutique bass. We could go on for days listing great players who play cheap gear: Berlin, Jaco, JPJ, Jamerson, Marcus etc... A long time ago a big name luthier revealed to me the secret to a great bass is the setup. He was explaining why Pensa Suhr's could be made with standard off the shelf parts and go for so much money. Boutiques are often setup great but we attribute the playability to hand selected exotic tonewoods or something else that can justify a $4k Fender copy from NY. The Fodera in this thread for example appears to have a buckeye burl top (or is that chestnut?), a huge cost upgrade that Vinnie himself calls a sponge and a tone sink that needs to be filled with superglue to keep from falling apart. It's like painting a car to make it go faster. It will look faster but it isn't. So for tone and playability, yeah, a waste of money. For fun? Worth every penny. IMHO

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='919258' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:12 AM']It needs a badass.[/quote] Instead of the high quality Fodera bridge? Gasp!

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='919268' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:36 AM'][attachment=56129:poshreviloreal1.jpg] Take their advice. [/quote] Notice the slogan is "because you're worth it" and not "because it works". In advertising this is an appeal to ego. Grab a copy of bass player magazine and look at the ads. Notice how many of them contain the word you or your, you should also notice this is more prevalent in the full page ads from companies with ad agencies and less common in the ads put together in house. This is well researched powerful marketing. We have an insane need to be told we're special and advertisers know how to manipulate that. Just a thought

[quote name='JTUK' post='939044' date='Aug 28 2010, 01:38 PM']Who would have all these things and not gig them..??? what is all that about..?[/quote] Collecting? Is that uncommon in the UK? Almost none of the vintage fad Fenders in Japan in the 1980's were ever played again. Look around Talkbass and you'll see hundreds of high end owners who go on for days about how cool their bass is but they never gig. Collectors of numerous Musicman basses etc... This concept seems to stir up a defensive reaction. That's funny

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='938793' date='Aug 28 2010, 06:37 AM']I dont care how expensive a bass is i'd still gig it! whats the point in having such an amazing looking/sounding/playing bass if it just sits at home doing nothing![/quote] It makes wealthy people feel like they are musicians. When Fodera sells a yin yang Wooten bass it's likely going to stay in the house of a fan. I didn't say no one gigs expensive stuff. But I've seen so many collectors who don't gig with rooms full of boutique gear. I'm just sharing an observation over the past 30 years. Vintage and boutique is more likely to be in a case than on stage relative to the more affordable less collectable stuff.

[quote name='fingerz' post='938129' date='Aug 27 2010, 06:45 AM']I knew a bloke years ago, who couldn't play at all, but collected rare guitars and basses. I expect there are a lot of people like this who actually keep the top end of this market afloat.[/quote] From what I've seen the majority, though not all, of boutique gear never sees a gig. They're in many ways like brand new vintage basses, owning them is cool even if you don't really play. At least in the US many just hang out in the bedroom and noodle now and then.

[quote name='bigjohn' post='937956' date='Aug 27 2010, 03:37 AM']I reckon an easy rule of thumb is basses (or anything for that matter) that have started to appreciate over time are likely to be a better investment than those that haven't. As soon as they do that it snowballs, people buy them and think of them as investments as well as possessions and don't trade them for less than they bought them for, which in turn further appreciates them.[/quote] I think you're right, once the investment grade talk starts things go crazy. I remember in the '80's when the Japanese started to buy all the Fenders it went from "I just sold some businessman in Japan my old Strat for $20k" to "Whoa, that's a $20k Strat? It must sound really good. I want one."

[quote name='Muzz' post='937856' date='Aug 27 2010, 01:58 AM']The fact that old Fenders are worth multiples times their original value seemingly regardless of quality or useability means that it's Fender all the way. The market dictates these things, and the market for Fenders is very much bigger than the market for any boutique brand. Fender is an iconic brand, and it's a sad fact that a significant proportion of the people who spend a lot of money on iconic instruments have their actual playability and quality fairly low on their priority list.[/quote] I'm glad you posted this twice as it's dead on. So much so I'm quoting it for a ridiculous 3rd time. I think the redundancy is important. It seems the best investments are the cheap Fenders that went from the bottom to the top of the price list. Buying boutiques you start at the top of the price scale making a fall more likely. Warren Buffet says buy undervalued and boutiques rarely if ever are. I can't think of any boutique builder who's basses value keeps pace with inflation let alone increases much. Rare individual basses excepted

This one. [attachment=57515:5_4.jpg] Wals have always floored me and a Ken Smith fretless has a great tone. There's a lot of Wal fretless on these 2 free CD downloads. [url="http://LaurenceCottle.com/buy/"]http://LaurenceCottle.com/buy/[/url] I think any fretted that sounds good sounds good fretless.

To further pick on this point "None of us who put wood high on top of the list claims that anyone listening to a record or a concert would hear the difference between a maple and a rosewood fingerboard or be able to identify one brand from another." Those of us who put the electronics and their placement high on the list can often tell the difference live or on a recording.

I like the invincibility description. I know what you mean about a thin wooden neck moving around, sometimes I can pull a bass out of a cold car, tune it, and then when it warms up it's out of tune and the action is a bit different. I think some of that is the metal in the strings changing temperature, maybe most of it. But graphite does seem so gosh darn stable I really hope to have a nice one someday. Whether graphite is more stable or has some unique tone I don't know but I am sure it's damn sexy!!!

[quote name='RayFW' post='935866' date='Aug 25 2010, 04:47 AM']He must have changed his tune recently then. Here is what he had to say about necks back in 2006:[/quote] Here's 2007 [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=341431&highlight=fingerboard+hear&page=2"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.p...hear&page=2[/url] To approach this properly, you have to compare 2 virtually identical basses and change only one variable. Builders are in the best position to do this. [i][b]None of us who put wood high on top of the list claims that anyone listening to a record or a concert would hear the difference between a maple and a rosewood fingerboard or be able to identify one brand from another.[/b][/i] But it does make a difference to the player. And what one hears as a player affects how you respond to the instrument. The feedback you get from your instrument directly affects how you play the instrument. This whole conversation is about you and your relationship with your bass. But for whatever it is worth, I have never had a customer who owns my basses contradict my opinion regarding wood and the tone of the instrument. Roger

I see that as fit, it doesn't have to be the best. It should be your favorite, if a 63 P inspires then thats the choice for you. Like an old pair of jeans, they may be crap but they feel nice. I get ruffled when people try to claim they are better and can't be duplicated or other claims that remind me of religion. Then it makes me want to save the world...

[quote name='Chris2112' post='935596' date='Aug 24 2010, 09:54 PM']I've seen some real "experts" on Talkbass looking buffoons over "is it a P or a J" blind tests.[/quote] I love those threads Especially those posters that will wait for the answers to be posted to chime in with "I knew that". In one thread over there Roger Sadowsky admits that there is no way to tell the difference between maple and rosewood by sound either live or recorded. I respect him for that.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='935026' date='Aug 24 2010, 09:16 AM']On a positive note, Ive recently realised despite what people might think about the forums here or in the US, EBMM know how to make a high quality, US built instrument.[/quote] Worth noting and a very good point Sterling's personality (and I have met him personally a few times) has almost no bearing on the quality of the basses he has made if any. His antics may influence our decision to buy one or not (I won't buy a new one) but it should not cross over into our perceptions of the actual quality of his work. A praise I'll freely give Big Poppa is he's actually a very good bass player, unlike that Leo guy Sterling rocks and I've seen him play with the Biff Baby Allstars which included Steve Morse, Van Halen and Albert Lee. He's a deep pocket groover. Just goes to show how complex we can all be.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='935535' date='Aug 24 2010, 04:00 PM']I think with graphite necks, or indeed "resin" necks, what you're hearing is the general tonal properties of materials that are stiffer and more resonant than woods.[/quote] Stiffer would mean less resonant no? Resonance is a conformation in response to force and the stiffer something is the less it conforms. For example my opinions have little resonance

[quote name='Fat Rich' post='934445' date='Aug 24 2010, 01:04 AM']I don't think it's adding metal that changes the sound, I think it's because the graphite isn't rock solid like the old necks were. Probably less resin / glue and more flexibility.[/quote] Stiffness would be changed by removing graphite, the resin is flexible by design to counter the brittleness of graphite and is there to maintain shape more than being structure.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='934421' date='Aug 24 2010, 12:23 AM']...Thinks... I reckon you might have got something there (and whoever mentioned Moses necks sounding like graphite in spite of being mainly resin) What do Kubicki necks, Carbon/Graphite Composite Necks and Phenolic fretboards all have in common? Large quantities of adhesive/binding/bonding agents or resins. Perhaps it's those we can hear? ([b]insert manufacturer[/b]). [i]The sound of glue[/i] [/quote]I think resin may be the majority of some of the others too. Graphite is very expensive, resin not so much. Modulus is laid up like fiberglass and that should be at least half resin and my Status was so heavy I felt it must have a lot of resin. Parkers are very light and don't sound hifi to me. Glue could be it, but then we have to compare alaphatic resins to epoxies of many formulations. My guess would be they all have in common being marketed to non traditional bass players who like to crank the treble in the preamp. There's 11 wood basses at my house right now, pick any attribute that can only be had from graphite and I'll hand you a bass or two that can do it. Glue isn't too farfetched. Many [i]experts[/i] have claimed there is a tone difference between 2 piece bodies and one piece versions. I don't believe them but they outnumber me. Most of the lore on glue is it's why plywood sucks or when promoting a one piece fingerboard/neck like on an old Fender it stops vibration from transmitting from the fingerboard to the neck. It's hard to disprove people aren't hearing what is there. What's much easier is to prove they will hear things that aren't there. If you get an unfamiliar bass into an [i]experts[/i] hands and tell them it has graphite bars in the neck and they don't know it doesn't they will usually hear it. With a little coaxing you can usually get them to go on about the subtleties.