Crawford13

17 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

I think it's wonderful so many of us can have such widely differing views - it makes for healthy debate - although as always, it's very obvious so many are wrong 😂 😬😧👍 

A tone and wood related thing that's always really perplexed me - as some of you know, I've been around for a while and clearly remember people who should've known putting forward the view back in 1975 (and I'm really paraphrasing here) that an alder/rosewood combination from 1962 was that much better than a 5 yr old combination on the same instrument model - as a bit of a rebellious (almost) teenager I thought this was complete bo**ocks - I understand these days people say the same thing and I must say I still can't hear any vast difference (perhaps the electrical bits have deteriorated this giving a 'mellower' sound - however I understand the proponents now state it's because the wood has dried out etc etc. Not sure what the difference was in 1975 as such instruments were only 13 yrs old then!!! So I haven't changed my mind after all these years on this subject 😂😂

Now put a maple board and ash body on the same type of bass - yes I can hear the difference then!!!! 

Just a little anecdote to assist the naysayers 😏

Now that is an interesting take on the subject. Just what exactly is it that makes vintage fenders so sought after, if indeed the wood doesn't matter... 

9 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

I was told an extraordinary number of instruments turned up at dealers with faults during from the early part of 2020 onwards as factories struggled to rush instruments out with skeleton staff. Poorly profiled nut, poorly inserted and profiled frets, jack socket not working, bent tuning pegs etc.

With most stores having one member of staff onsite (and not every day in some cases) and firm demand, it’s inevitable that some basses in sealed boxes just got shipped out.

Yeah I guess all of these things will be factor's. Its difficult to adapt to 20/21 issues, I guess the morale of the story is that we all have to have different expectations now. 

My take would be that I will judge companies based on how they sort out issues, not if they have issues in the first place. 

It's always a fun read when this topic comes up. I just wish I had the time to do the research in order to be as passionate as people are defending their respective camps. 

The logic in my head tells me tone is the sum of all parts from player technique to every componet. 

Then experience also kicks in and tells me it doesn't matter how good an instrument is or what it's made of, if the player is rubbish, the tone in rubbish. 

I can prove this by sitting behind any drum kit, no matter how good the kit is it's going to sound terrible... 

27 minutes ago, DiMarco said:

Dodgy retailer then.

Mine (mig) arrived with loosened strings and loosened truss rod, and setup instructions. Intonation was almost spot on after tightening stuff.

After letting it climatize for a couple of days I further fine tuned the setup. It plays like a dream now.

 

The tread is about the made in China models, I would like to think the the MiG models would be great. 

I have to add that having worked with the plug in this afternoon I have to admit its awesome. I would go as far as to say it's worth full price, happy to have had a discount though.. 😂

Now if gigs start coming back I can see myself getting a Darkglass amp. 

Great discount on Neural Dsp, if you ever wanted to get your hands on these now is a good time. 

Got the darkglass plug in for £53.80 (after the Vat and exchange from €) 

6 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Reading these comments makes me think I made the right move ordering from Jon Shuker.

I wanted a P bass with a J neck and went right around the houses in my thought process.

Custom build to my spec with roughly the same wait time and probably not much difference in price.

Yeah I definetely agree if you can support local luthiers it's always a good shout. I have another Alpher coming at the end of the month, which I'm very much looking forward to. 

I work in retail, albeit not musical, to be honest right now supply chain is in the most difficult position I have seen it in my 20 years experience. 

The global shortage of containers mixed with the ongoing largely undiscussed implications of brexit, and on top of the covid restrictions are playing havoc with most companies inventory availability. 

Some companies will put dates on products being available, but all you have to do is look at any post  by a company on Facebook and you  will see disappointed customers high jacking the comment thread. 

Others don't take orders for stock they don't physically have. 

Two different philosophies, one is don't take money for stock you don't have, and you avoid disappointing customers, but run the risk of losing orders. The other puts an order in your books  but you have the risk of disappointing customer if stock doesn't arrive when you think it will. If a retailer chooses this route communication is key. 

Its a bit of a catch 22 situation for retailers to be honest. 

Looks awesome. You have just kick started my Gas for synth related gear.

1 minute ago, Reggaebass said:

Isn’t he a member here 

Not sure, but I wouldnt be surprised 

https://youtube.com/c/TylerSpicer

I have been enjoying this channel recently, Tyler seems like a good guy.

Also another shout out to:

https://youtube.com/c/WithBassInMind

Phil's weekly interviews have been awesome. 

We got to page 3 before some one mentioned House of Pain, worst offence:

Word to your moms, I came to drop bombs
I got more rhymes than the Bible's got Psalms

However they redeem themselves a little bit with:

Or better yet a Terminator,

like Arnold Schwarzanegger

Greta van fleet , thin Lizzy , Primus , Audioslave

Quite a diverse set of influences there, do you reckon they are looking for some claypoolesque character vocals 😂

+1 for the longevity of nickel Elixirs. I usually change strings every 8 weeks, I am 6 months in to the Elixirs. 

I prefer the sound of fresh NYXL's to the Elixirs, however the Elixirs win by lasting atleast double the time with consistent tone. 

I'm really surprised this is still here, especially given that these will become rare as hens teeth, due to them evolving this into the DRoc thanks to Gibson. 

GLWTS

7 minutes ago, MartinB said:

Can anyone think of any songs where the original bassline is so fundamental, simple, well-known etc. that you really couldn't stray from it without getting funny looks? Another One Bites The Dust maybe? Feels like it's so minimal that a drastic re-interpretation of the song would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

This would be a good thread on its own, I dont know if its already been done though... 

I really wish it was Mark doing the interview. I loved his interview with Janek Gwizdala. 

16 minutes ago, Trueno said:

... then you listen to a live version and realise that even the original bassist doesn’t play it the same as the record.

The only sin, for me, is getting out of the groove.

This is very true. We need to keep it fresh, little changes to lines here and there is what keeps things interesting.

8 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I've never heard anyone dissing Joe Dart. 

And I certainly wouldn't take any further notice of them if I ever did. 

 

It comes from Jazz & Funk circles. The same people who dislike Snarky Puppy. Upset because people are listening to them instead of 70's fusion. 

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

And he’s confirmed he doesn’t write the bass parts as Stratton does all the composing.

JD is happy to be a sideman. 

Wow I didn't know that.

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

In fact, there has only ever been one bass that has consistently improved the perception of a bass player in the eyes of the world at large.

And FWIW it's not a Yamaha or a Sadowsky or a KS. With the crime of rhyme, you must wonder what could it possibly be, other than almost certainly a... 

😁

Unfortunately it is very true. Theres a reason it's a number 1...😂

Yeah it's pretty cool, I remember seeing a video of them performing Dean Town in Dublin years ago and the crowd singing along. Joe Dart gets a lot of crap for only playing pentatonic, but he is funky. 

I think a lot of the stick he gets comes from people not liking that a current band becomes popular, when they are heavily influenced by other musicians in the past. This seems cray to me as every musician has their influences, and to repackage that music for the current generation is par for the course, and hopefully it leads the fans to the source of influence. 

@EBS_freak thank you for all your input in this thread, it has reinforced what I already thought, and has just killed almost all of my amp Gas, so you may have just saved me a fortune. Quick question though, if you are given the DI from an HX stomp is it comparable to a Kemper (presuming it's been programmed well)

Cheers 

2 minutes ago, DiMarco said:

I agree with none of those points but hey. to each his own.

 

Yup fair play, that's what I love about basschat, very few people get annoyed because some one had a different opinion. 

Its all good. 

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

I'll happily pit my £500 Chinese made Yamaha BB against your German (or USA) made Sadowsky P and assure you that no pub audience will notice the difference 😁

But put the exact same basses in the hands of Kinga Glyk and I suspect no stadium audience would notice the difference either.

I don't buy the concept of a "world class bass", but there are clearly world class bass players! I think you'll find that basses end up sounding pretty much like the men and women who play them. Obviously we all have more or less money to spend on our gear and can get our basses accordingly.

Oh and the Chinese make some fantastic high-end gear - ever heard of an iPhone?

This is a very good set of points. I pretty much agree with all of them. 

When I buy expensive instruments it's due to them being handmade by individuals that I have massive respect for. When it comes to factory instruments that are CNC made its really all about quality control afterwards, hence this thread.