funkle

Can hardly wait for mine now!

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1381437267' post='2239227'] What's the expected waiting time? I quite fancy one of them. [/quote] [quote name='DiscoTetak' timestamp='1381438138' post='2239241'] I ordered my Big Twin 2 three months ago and I'm still waiting . [/quote] Yep, that's about right...I ordered in July. Delivery soon I think though.

Big Baby 2 on order. If all goes well, could basically be a one cab solution for just about any situation for me. We'll see how it pans out.

[quote name='Dr M' timestamp='1381148271' post='2234911'] Because he's been making world-class instruments for over 30 years, and is therefore likely to know all the sales tricks? He's hardly likely to say "I think this instrument should have an ebony 'board 'cause it would look nice and I just got a really good deal on a stack of blanks." [/quote] Skepticism is healthy, I think - though it can cross over to cynicism? I would simply say that I have heard from other luthiers whom I respect and who know a great deal more than I do that neck woods do make a difference. They generally go on to say everything makes a difference, though of course relative contributions of the various bits vary. I am now at a stage where I think most of the tone of an instrument resides in the neck as opposed to the body. A slightly unusual point of view, perhaps. Took me a while to come to this conclusion, and it's based partly on observations of others and partly on my own (e.g. By swapping necks about, trying necks with graphite rods, trying fully graphite necks on basses I own, necks with steel rods, necks of different dimensions, necks with different boards, etc, plus a lot of modding of pickups and preamps and bridges and tuners and whatnot). I'm not aware of any well run double blind studies in this area. They would probably help.

My Celinder alder Jazz has a Braz Rosewood board. Feels lush and I think a bit snappier than the rosewood on my Squier CV Jazz and Precision (?Indian on both?? Hard to tell). All the rosewoods though sound nothing like a maple board to me. Maple has a 'dry', 'tight' sound to me that I find difficult to define in other words.

I defer to the expertise of Mr. Sadowsky in this area. http://www.sadowsky.com/pop/roger_talks.html Text below: 'This is my opinion, based on building over 6000 NYC basses and guitars during the last 30 years. Fingerboard woods from brightest to warmest: MAPLE: Tightest and brightest. Best for slap. Can produce more string and fret noise than others. Requires a finish to keep from turning dirty and grey. EBONY: Not as bright as maple. Most immediate attack and punch of all our fingerboard woods. Note is more fundamental with less overtones. Best for fretless. Pure black ebony from Madagascar is limited. African ebony has some grey mottling but is still very beautiful. These photos are representative of our current stock of ebony: http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/stock_images/nyc/lg/6030_full_lg.jpg http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/stock_images/nyc/lg/5973_full_lg.jpg http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/stock_images/nyc/lg/5327_full_lg.jpg http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/stock_images/nyc/lg/5968_full_lg.jpg Bob Taylor Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anCGvfsBoFY MORADO (also known as Caviuna, Bolivian Rosewood or Pau Ferro): Morado is not a true rosewood, but I have been a fan of this wood for fingerboards for 30 years. Also used a lot by Stu Spector. Grain is very tight and smooth. More warmth than maple or ebony, but tighter than East Indian Rosewood. Excellent wear resistance, even on a fretless. For fretless, produces a somewhat more acoustic/upright tone than ebony. MADAGASCAR ROSEWOOD: A less expensive alternative to Brazilian Rosewood. Many boards have the spider-web like grain of Brazilian. Rich reddish brown colors. Can be more open grained that some others. Tone is in the same ballpark as Morado and Brazilian. New supplies are limited. AMAZON ROSEWOOD (Dalbergia Spruciana): A new alternative to Brazilian Rosewood. A true cousin to Dalbergia Nigra, Amazon Rosewood is more similar to Brazilian than any other wood. BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD (Dalbergia Nigra): For me, the King of tonewoods for fingerboards and acoustic guitar sides and backs. Beautiful browns and blacks. Wood has very high oil content. Banned from export out of Brazil in log form since 1969. Currently protected by the CITES treaty which prevents shipment between countries without intensive permits. Same treaty that protects tortoise shell and ivory. We can only ship instruments with Brazilian Rosewood to a US address. No longer recommended to musicians who travel internationally.'

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1380447036' post='2225242'] That Liebman article is gold dust. [/quote] So true. Whenever you ask someone what they do when they transcribe, you get a huge variety of answers, and there's Dave Liebman laying down some serious gospel.

[quote name='lobematt' timestamp='1380467333' post='2225687'] Yeah I think that's exactly it, that's how I've started working this week and it's much harder which means it must be more beneficial, right?! [/quote] Takes ages....It feels a lot more satisfying though! I'm still trying to nail every single note absolutely perfectly of Skate U by Snarky Puppy - I think I've been working in it off and on for a month now! But it is really satisfying. The solo is pretty straightforward too, but just soon tasty and well phrased. I'm definitely learning some nice language for minor chords, though I'd say strictly speaking it's more big band funk than jazz. But it's what I wanted to do.

I'm going to stick the link to the Dave Liebman article here too - just for ease. http://www.daveliebman.com/earticles2.php?DOC_INST=13

My most recent epiphany was realizing that when transcribing, I was putting the horse before the cart - writing it out on paper before I had learned how to play it by ear first. Once I have reversed the process, I feel like I have been making more progress, though it is still slow! (That particular bit of advice came from a sax player, Bob Reynolds, BTW.) I usually end up playing a bar or two from the tune, working at getting it right, then move along to the next bar, but running the bar or two from before that into it. You end up doing a lot of repetition as you learn the solo/bassline that way, and really internalise it. Repeat until whole section/song done. Then I kind of go a bit along with the Dave Liebman article - wow that is a good article, and way more detail/depth than what I have tended to do.... I think tunes should probably be all learned by ear also, rather than from chord chart first. Time consuming though! Doesn't the classic quote go 'The answers to all your questions are in your record collection'?