EMG456

Not falling off the end of the neck?

If you'd never tried a headless or 5'er before, I'm not sure the Boden would be a fair representation of either of those concepts.

That's when it starts to be fun!

Many (in particular it would seem bass players) buy assuming it will be easy enough as they've got the left hand going already. Unfortunately, the combination of tapping to sound the notes and a reversed 5ths tuning on the bass side quickly puts paid to those assumptions. So many languish in cases for years and are then sold on to the next optimist. I'm an experienced, relaxed and confident bass player but I've had the Stick for over 10 years now and I still feel like a novice a lot of the time I'm playing. On the up side, it's a beautiful sound and I have learnt so much about music in general and chord construction in particular by playing the Stick that it's a journey I'm happy to continue with. Don't think I'll ever be a virtuoso now though...LOL.

That's a great price from Newtone! I've not really had to meddle much with the setup of mine - just the odd tweak to the truss every few weeks according to the weather. A Railboard might well be more stable generally. The most irritating thing about the setup is the need to lift the string off the bridge saddle to adjust height. I've seen some players who have made up a little wire hook that lets you lift the strings on and off the saddle without de-tensioning them. I've never bothered but for a full setup with a radical change of strings, it might be worth your while to cobble something together. Let us know how you get on.

Sounds as though you’re doing well with it- I couldn’t contemplate taking it to a gig for years!! Interested to hear how you get on with the strings- I have so far bought them directly from the States several sets at a time. On the upside, they last me much longer than bass strings do.

What’s going on with the inlays on your Stick- kind of almost looks like double frets at each inlay position. Not seen one like that before. Also, is that the EMG pickups? What tuning? Lol- so many questions! Enjoy it!

Flats but it was quite difficult to find a fretless Fender in those days. Don’t think production numbers were very high. Oh, and they were all Precision’s- no fretless Jazzes.

I like many of the recorded sounds produced by folks using flats but every time I tried them myself, I couldn't stand the clankyness of them - probably because I use a full range sound. I haven't bought a set of flats for oh… about 40 years but must confess I'm thinking about a wee experiment and will probably now throw a set onto my old Tokai PJ to see what transpires.

This is my most favourite bass, my 1984 L2. From December 1984 to the middle of 1993, it was essentially my only fretted bass and came with me to gigs, sessions, tours throughout the busiest time of my music career. It's been with me all over the UK and as far afield as the Middle East. That's the original Earth strap still on there too! Thing is, Steinbergers are pretty tough really, EMG pickups slightly less so... Yes, I sometimes dig in and my slap technique is in the Louis Johnson mould. And yes, it appears that a human thumb, used to anchor against the pickup can wear down carbon fibre! Original frets - they've been dressed once - she still plays and sounds magnificent!

That's also a fair point! Andy Lewis, proprietor of Acme Bass, the designer of my favourite bass cab the Low B2, was testing the design of a new cab for old school sounds and discovered that with an old P bass and flatwound strings, the tweeter made no difference to the sound whatsoever. So they just missed it out and called the cab the Flatwound! https://www.acmebass.com/pdf/b112_flatwound.pdf

Some Chapman Stick players do this for a muted sound.

I'm with Davo - full range all the way! Why buy an instrument and then only be able to get half the sound out of it?

Always a lot of grouching in here about slap bass or indeed any bassing that’s in any way extending the standard bass player’s role. Funny that we’ve arrived here in the 21st century. Anyway, like or loath it, the punters still love it. I hardly do any slapping these days but one of the songs the *folk* band I play with does, now has a mad slap bass ending and it generally brings the house down! Anyway 2- here’s the master at work- tasteful mix of fingerstyle and slap. Clarity, punch, melody, rhythm and a tone from that Stingray that no one else has IMHO ever been able to replicate.

Bought a Boss pedal from Bas- condition exactly as described, well packed and speedy delivery. Smooth transaction- recommended.

I used Colron finishing oil on this. You can see pics of the body after sanding and then after about 8 coats of the oil to see how much actual darkening happens - it's not a lot but it's also not that very white look that freshly sanded wood has.

As a secondary thought, the amp chain can have an effect on this as well. You May be familiar with the sometimes contested notion that some Musicman Stingrays have a very quiet G string. Well I didn’t really buy into that idea until one day I took my normally reliable USA Sub (a Stingray in all but name) to a band rehearsal. The G string was all but inaudible through the Ashdown/ Peavey rig in the room. Back home and on other gigs using my own rigs, it was back to its normal, punchy self! have you tried it through different amp setups?

@ped this is completely correct. If you mix things up with a bit of fingerstyle and slap, you’ll find that different basses respond differently to each style. Some will produce slap sounds that are much louder and brighter than the fingerstyle sound and some will produce a slap sound which is quieter than the fingerstyle. If it’s all slap for one song and all fingerstyle for another then this doesn’t matter too much but if you vary between styles, it’s good to find a bass that gives you the balance that matches how you play in each style.

Saw this a while back and it’s not helping with my long term gas for an old Mockingbird! The fantastic keyboard player is Pee Wee’s wife, Michiko Hill.

I will state that my first hand experience of these only goes to 1993 - Wal, 1998 - Alembic but I don't think that much has changed with the philosophies of either company in the meantime. Both are top quality instruments built to the highest standards and use mostly unique, purpose built hardware and electronics. to my mind, Alembic set the ball rolling with filter based preamps but Wal developed the concept to its optimum regarding variety of tones versus simplicity of use. ACG/ John East has since developed the Wal concept even further albeit the complexity is increasing again. A couple of things not mentioned in the original thread you referred to in my mind influence the sounds of these instruments as much as the pre amps - Construction and pickups. The Alembic sound is without doubt partially due to its complex, multi-laminate, through-neck construction, just as the Wal is similarly shaped by its bolt-on construction. That is partly I think, why the Epic basses seem to slightly fall short - they are set-neck construction, not through-neck. Apologies to all Epic owners - they are fine basses but that basic construction setup in a way changes the character of the sound. And again- pickups. The Alembic pickups are voiced to enhance the Alembic sound and as such are probably integral to the sound of those basses. Likewise, the Wal Multi Coil pickups are a huge part of the Wal sound. Do Alembic and Wal ( and Fodera, Sadowski etc. etc. ad infinitum) justify their high price tag? Well, factually they do - they're still in business after all these years and customers are still ordering new instruments from them so the price is justified in that respect certainly. But in relationship to general cost of living price indices, some of these makers have been able to push their prices far beyond inflation levels. According to an inflation calculator I looked at, the Alembic Essence 6 bass I ordered in 1998 at a cost of £2k should now cost about £3.5k But if I look at the Alembic price list, it starts at $8000. Only the individual can decide if anything is worth that sort of premium to them. I love my Wal. I love my Alembic. I love my ACG. I love my Antoria fretless Precision Copy! I just like basses and I like the little differences between different ones. Whilst the prices of the boutique builders can sometimes be hard to swallow, there is no doubt that at the mass market end of the bass spectrum, it has never been easier to afford a quality instrument.

That’s a beauty with the old style paddle headstock too. Colour me jealous.

Lovely!

I've been here before on this forum and on this topic. The article linked to is interesting but in my opinion the author has the science the wrong way round so read it to get an idea of some of the concepts that need to be considered but don't take its conclusions as gospel.

Ah... We Close Our Eyes. Played that song at the time- fantastic line. Only minor issue was that I was singing it too- brain explosion! Anyone who was playing at that time really had to come to terms with the accuracy of machine timing quickly or get left behind. It was a drummer’s nightmare though and some of the old guard I knew couldn’t cope. Don't make the assumption that the timings involved were always strict eights, sixteens etc. As soon as drum machines evolved past the TR 808, micro timings and groove templates became available and on all the main sequencers too. Guys at the high end of the production chain were definitely using these tools to refine things to give a less machine like feel but of course still with complete acuaracy and repeatability. The second bass guy (with the Yammy) nailed it better for me.