Vibrating G String

So plywood sounds middly, Jaco played a plywood bass. Ever notice how important wood species is but how irrelevant it is in plywood? No one ever discusses the species of wood in plywood. Is it because they don't know what it is and therefore can't claim to be able to hear it? Kramers with aluminum necks sounded great, if the player is any good. Foderas sound middly, is that the plywood? Or is it setting the amp for mids? The only way you can demonstrate you can hear wood without knowing what it is is by telling us what it is by listening only before you know the answer. Knowing what it is first and then deciding what you hear is not science it's religion.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1317046724' post='1385894'] Apparently it's because of the name on the headstock. That little decal automatically transforms any piece of sh*t into the greatest basses/guitars in the cosmos. The Fender marketing people must just spend all day pissing themselves laughing at the stuff they can get people to buy. [/quote] I was going to say there's one born every minute but I like the way you phrased it better

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1316704988' post='1381736']I wouldn't think too seriously about detuning a short scale other than half a step or maybe a step at a push. And even then, you'll likely need some thicker strings to keep it sounding a feeling good. They are neat items on their own but not ideal for detuning. Can you imaging Stanley knocking out low B's on his Alembics?[/quote]Yes, I could. Matt Garrison plays short scale with light strings and drops his E to an A with a Hipshot.

Magnets stuck to the bottom implies ceramic magnets as I've only seen alnico where the pole pieces are the magnets. As far as tone is concerned cheap poorly made pickups can sound great. The Wilkinson in my OLP or any pre CBS pickup for example.

[quote name='KiOgon' post='1369988' date='Sep 11 2011, 03:10 PM']Build quality? The American Vintage reissue models & the NOS are made by the same builders in the same workshop - 'the custom shop'. Not a lot of difference IMV. In my mind playability is all down to the individual bass & it's setup, nothing is ever coming out of the factory with maximum 'playability', it's all in the setup![/quote] I'm also a believer in the setup. I would never pay thousands more for a bass that is simply setup well. And my experience with the custom shop is it's the same fender quality for a whole lot more money.

[quote name='Doctor J' post='1369065' date='Sep 10 2011, 11:32 PM']Looks great, well done. What is the string spacing?[/quote] 18mm at the bridge, 9mm at the nut.

[quote name='Davout' post='1361846' date='Sep 4 2011, 07:41 AM']A lot of the price difference is set by the Marketing departments according to what they think they can get away with in a certain market.[/quote] That's true but I find very few people are willing to accept prices are set not by construction costs but by what the market will bear. Marketers know very well the ethnicity of the builder weighs heavily on the perception of quality. This is extremely powerful in the US where people will choose a car based on the way the name sounds and ignore where it was actually made. Buying an Asian made Ford versus a US made Honda for example.

Japanese used to mean crap, now it's ranked amongst the highest quality. No genetics have changed. China is used for their cheap labor. Compare a Chinese made bass that wholesales for $40 with an American made $40 bass that the Americans simply can't even do and the Chinese is by far the best quality at the price point. To make a fair comparison you really have to compare at the same price point. Having dealt with manufacturers in both the US and China I prefer to deal with the Chinese. I find them more professional and they lie less. An example would be ordering pickups from Hong Kong that arrive within the week, ordering from Bartolini has taken up to 16 months.

Looks like you got it cheap

"In use, the channel flange is slipped under each string in turn, while the instrument is strung up to tension, and gently moved back and forth until every fret shows abrasion." Never level a fretboard under tension. It should be leveled without tension so the string tension add some relief.

I had a bass do the same thing. Thought it was a fret off but I couldn't fix it. Turned out it was a dimple in the underside of the string from when it got banged. So turn that E string over and see if it's just the string. It's more likely a fret end is raising though.

[quote name='redstriper' post='1358955' date='Sep 1 2011, 08:29 AM']I am considering replacing the pickups in my Mexican Fender Jazz bass. I mainly only use the neck pup with heavy flat wounds and I like a really deep old school sound for reggae and soul music. My old (1963) Fender Jazz has a very deep smooth tone, but the new one sounds thinner and I am hoping a new pup set might help. I tried Wizard 84s, but they sound too growly and aggressive, I like a smooth deep and thick vintage tone with reduced mids and treble. In [url="http://www.atkinsonbasses.com/multimedia"]this comparison[/url] of 5 J pickups, I prefer the DiMarzio "Model J" followed closely by the Seymour Duncan Antiquity II, I also like the Duncan designed ones in The Squier VMJs. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks, Steve.[/quote]My favorite bit of advice on pickups is ignore all advice that gives company names but no models. Since you're going to solo the neck a lot a hum-bucker makes sense for noise control. I also find them to be smoother with less of the J bite of single coils. What's in your old 63 jazz? Originals? They can be wound to most any spec I find rolling off the lowest frequencies on the amp, even for a dub tone, can often fatten up a sound. Pino has a great tone on Vinnie Colaiuta's Private Earthquake: Error 7. To my ear that's a narrowly focused tone that doesn't go too far on either end. Super deep but mud free. If you can find the old Bart quad coil J's those can get quite deep if you play with the series/parallel options of 4 coils. I think Bart makes about 9 variations at the moment of dual coils. If you like the Squier ones find a set for cheap and if they work for you you can mess with the fan boys who read labels. From what I know they're made much better than your old pre CBS ones. You seem to prefer a low output single coil by your choices, my advice will be all wrong for you I've got bart 57J1's in my MIM J, they're split coil. Still relatively fender sounding but a bit less growly.

Nice comparison. But my tastes differ, I only liked #'s 2 & 3.

[quote name='allihts' post='1355855' date='Aug 29 2011, 04:27 PM']I love the way only the string core goes over the bridge saddles on F bass basses, does it affect the sound or just look cool?[/quote] Those are likely the LaBella Supersteps he uses. Nice string, sounds scooped or modern to me, kinda soft which I like. A different animal worth trying.

I guess they can't see the shiny frets flashing in the video Not the first time I've seen a Jaco fan comment on his fretless ability on fretted bass. Or Chris Squire's or Geddy's Ric tone they got with a Jazz etc...

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1353309' date='Aug 27 2011, 12:37 AM']Other people realise that putting different sounds into the pre amp will make a different sound when it's amplified, some that don't like a glassy sound also like to boost their mids or lows without being forced to play in a particular style just to achieve it [/quote] Maybe the sarcasm on the first judgmental post was too light?

The Corts are nice, I've seen some very well made Corts, even the cheaper ones. Instead of looking for a particular model I'd get a list of workable models and then shop for a good example and a good price. A nice Peavey Grind could be under $200 and that would leave you with enough to snag 4 or 5 more basses for variety and backups.

The comments are praising his fretless ability

[quote name='Muzz' post='1347738' date='Aug 22 2011, 12:10 AM']I've just been reading that page, when one of the stupidest things I've seen in a while jumped out at me: "The bass was so loud on stage The Who and their road crew used to vacate my side of the stage whenever I played it." A. It's the amp, not the bass, John. B. Turn it down a bit, John. If that had come from a guitarist, I know what I'd be calling him... [/quote] I always thought Entwhistle was a guitarist

[quote name='lobematt' post='1350054' date='Aug 24 2011, 03:01 AM']Has anyne ever played a fretted/fretless like that? I 've always thought it would play pretty horribley...[/quote] I've never seen anyone play one but over the last 30 years I've seen an endless stream of builders trying to push the idea as revolutionary.

My favorite flavor I've got an OLP MM3, Peavey Foundation and Tobias Renegade that all fit the bill. You would have to by used of course.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1350506' date='Aug 24 2011, 09:31 AM']All people are different. Some like to plug and play and not worry too much of the nuances of "tone", while others enjoy an understanding of "tone" and like to play about with it and use it as an expression of the music.[/quote] Some realize every amplified bass plays through a preamp and the only advantage possible from an onboard preamp is a slight loss of highs from a long cable and the ability to be redundant and process your signal twice. As someone who is not into glassy "tone" I find the only advantage is it's easier to play with your knobs.

[quote name='karlfer' post='1351758' date='Aug 25 2011, 01:04 PM']What's a brain ?[/quote] It's those hard tips on the ends of shoelaces. I'm still searching for the perfect ones. I'm in 100% agreement with the OP, I still enjoy collecting toys though. Just for fun. There's a few more colors I need, CAR, white and something with giant metalflake

[quote name='tauzero' post='1333361' date='Aug 9 2011, 03:04 AM']Isn't it nice to know that, whatever the variability of wood, all strings will always sound exactly the same, regardless of who they were made by, how they are constructed, how much they've been used, and how many grams of human detritus are lodged in their windings?[/quote] Don't forget that truss rods and large amounts of steel in the neck never influence tone, because you can't see it.

[quote name='ficelles' post='1329145' date='Aug 5 2011, 11:32 AM']I didn't take offense, I just insulted you.[/quote] You're truly a great human and make the earth a better place. God bless you for your sacrifice.