Fionn

Hi there John. I’ve not really been on BC for a while. Did you end up moving to the Neuk?? I’ve had this for about five years, but I bought it here from a guy who goes by the name ‘Bamboo’. I think I recall you saying you were eyeing it up though. So far as weight goes, I can’t weigh it for you unfortunately as I don’t have scales, but it’s significantly heavier than the ‘87 Streamer I had (which is your kind of target weight, right?).

Yes, it is ... And you’re correct about the controls. When the preamp is bypassed the pan becomes the sole tone control. Yeahhh, the twin-j pickup is a bit of a Pandora’s box. MEC did something very good there. Mine is one of the rarer early models with the wenge neck and single preamp (those are from the first year of production). Sometime in 1998 they changed to ovankol necks and the twin-preamps. Most Pro M’s are like that.

Some uncluttered curvy goodness 🖤

Halo again folks. I’ve been away from Basschat for a while, but I picked up another Matsumoku gem in the interim. Aria SB Special-II. I’ve read that only 1000 of these were made, between 1982-84. The SB Special came in single and dual pickup versions, in either black or sunburst. These were the pre-cursor to the more common ‘RSB’ basses, though there are a few defining differences. The SB Specials have ash bodies whereas the RSBs are alder, the necks on the SB Specials are clear-coated whereas those on the RSBs are painted. The most notable difference is the bridge pickup on the dual pickup versions. The SB Special-II has a MB-III unlike the RSB, which sports a single coil MB-J. These may be among the ‘poor siblings’ of the Matsumoku Aria output, but they’re truly excellent instruments none the less, well made, beautifully balanced, and just oozing with Matsumoku mojo. I find this one more comfortable to play than either of my ‘full-weight’ SB’s, and it sounds amazing ... really clean, bright, and articulate, super smooth tones, fat thru glassy, with the same control set as on the SB900 and SB-R80 so, yes, very versatile. I’ve got a ton of love for this bass.

I use light gauge (40-60-70-95) Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on all my basses. This gauge/ tension is perfect for me. I’d like to drop tune one of my basses to C-F-A#-D# (standard 34” scale). I love the specific character of the EB Cobalt flats, so I’d like to stick to this brand. I can’t use their 5-string set as their only available gauge is too high. Their heaviest 4-string set is 55-75-90-110. I wonder how this set would work at that tuning? Specifically, would the 110 go down to C without losing definition? I reckon I could live with that tension. Are there any other factors that I’m failing to consider here? I could switch brand and put the low-4 of a light gauge 5-string set on there, but I’d rather not. There’s no string like the EB cobalt flats. Just wondering what I can get away with, tuning down that heavy set. What do you reckon?

The old 90’s Boss RV-3 has a cult following among guitarists. Johnny Greenwood and a fair few other tone-lords of that instrument use them ... and it’s absolutely fantastic with bass too. The guitarists who don’t like it say the reverb sounds ‘sterile’. Well, on bass it’s definitely digital sounding, though not cold nor hard by any means. Any of that perceived ‘sterility’ translates well with bass anyway, as the reverb isn’t muddy at all, and the delays are clean. The low end always stays thick and together. Some more details about the pedal here ... https://www.modulargrid.net/p/boss-rv-3

EHX Freeze pedal ... Does anyone know the type of switch that’s in there (the toggle switch)? 6 pins, straight onto the circuit board. Advice much appreciated 👍🏻

Sensational!! Good job Dan! Great to see such a nice bass returned to its former glory 🏆

Paul is a good honest guy to deal with, no doubt 👍🏻

I know he played bass in what was arguably the biggest/ best known band of all time. I know that a few top players rate him for such strengths as ‘melodic sensibility’, ‘appropriateness’, etc, but why do I hear his name so often when ‘bass greats’ are being spoken of, always seeming to rank highly on these relentless ‘best bass players of all time’ lists that proliferate? I would never argue that he wasn’t a fine musician, a good song-writer, and solid multi-instrumentalist, and I don’t find his bass playing to be offensive in any way. ... just a bit ‘meh’. He sounds to me like a guitarist playing bass typically does. I can’t hear any innovation or great imagination in what he did, nothing special at all. He may have been a tuneful, solid player ... but I certainly don’t believe he’s one of the greats of the instrument. I believe him to be highly overrated in that regard. Am I spectacularly missing something here? I’m interested to hear what folk have to say, McCartney fans especially. Give me food for thought. I’m always open to another perspective.

Very nice @Planemo!

I’ve relocated, so you might want to edit my location. I’m now in the Outer Hebrides (still furthest north though). I’ll help out anyone in the islands, sure .... provided I’m not the only bass player here 🤔 Anyway, I can do set-ups, fingerboard/ fretboard/ fret work, basic electronic repairs, certain types of refinishing, and my forte ... metalware/ hardware modifications. I’ve been confidently working on my own basses for the last 20-odd years. I’m a silversmith by trade, so I’m familiar with working to high technical standards 👍🏻

Bought a nice set of flats from Chris ... all good, very happy, etc. cheers man! 🙂

Thank you 🙂 Oh! I never noticed that was there. That’s my partner’s clip-on Snark tuner. She plays acoustic guitar around there.

After another bout of tweaking, this is where my board is at. It’s set-up to have two basses (fretted & fretless) plugged into the Preamp simultaneously, with 3 programmed tones (2 Clean & 1 Overdrive) for each bass. All the other pedals are linked through the internal FX loop of the SansAmp. The pedal order works for me, I’m delighted, although a few compromises were required for the greater good. The chain goes ... Preamp (SansAmp Bass Driver Deluxe) >>> Tuner (Korg Pitch Black) >>> Compressor (MXR M87) >>> Synth/ Octavers (Markbass Super-Synth) >>> Fuzz (ZVEX Mastotron) >>> Envelope Filter (MXR M82) >>> Chorus/ Flanger (MXR M83) >>> Phaser/ Ring Modulator (Ibanez PM7) >>> Delay/ Reverb (Boss RV-3) >>> Volume/ Wah (Hotone Bass Press) >>> Boost (Mooer Pure Boost) >>> Looper 1 (TC Electronic Ditto) >>> Looper 2 (Boss RC-300 *not shown*) >>> DI/ Out (SansAmp again) ... Elsewhere on the board, the PSU is a Diago Powerstation, plugged into a 3-port extension socket (adapted with a right-angled female kettle socket) . The 12v Markbass PSU also plugs in there, with a free socket available for my amp if needs be. I just plug a kettle cord into the board and I’m totally powered up and good to go. The patch leads are Bespeco. These have been totally reliable and are noise-free. The whole board operates very quietly and cleanly. The 3 buffered pedals are all good. Also in the case is a wee box for bits n bobs; earplugs, spare patch lead, spare battery, capo (yes, a capo), and a couple of mutes. I made raised plinths of various heights to attach some of the pedals to, so that they’re all accessible/ easily clickable. In addition to this board I use a multi-track Looper (Boss RC-300). It’s about 2/3 the size of my pedalboard, so it lives separately. That unit has its own FX section, though I only use the delay function. Very handy when looping, as the delays are synced. I’m satisfied with this for now, but you know how it goes ... I’m already thinking about putting an anologue Octaver in there (in addition to the Markbass). I’ve got 3 switchable Octave settings programmed via the software on that, and they’re fantastic, especially when used in combination with other pedals ... but they do sound very digital. I had been thinking about the new MXR Vintage Bass Octave, though I’m coming round to the idea of the wee Valetone OC-2 rip-off. Small, cheap, and good. Hmmm 🤔

Just bought a set of tuners from Dan. All good in the basshood! 🕺🏻