EMG456

Stunningly brilliant! thanks for posting. Ed

Just accept that you're doomed and there's going to be an interesting stream of new bass like instruments appearing in your future! Resistance is futile. Or just never, ever go there... ever. Ed

I'm a glass half full kind of guy so I don't niggle... I noodle. If noodling is interpreted as niggling by the rest of the guys, it's just their insecurities showing through... anyway, it's not *real* noodling/ niggling till it's above the 14th fret! Niggle away - I've made it my bass playing mission for about 40 years now!! Cheers Ed

On the face of it they are expensive but up till now they are all handbuilt to an extremely exacting specification. The Stick needs a very low action over a long and wide fingerboard and although the design may look a bit primitive, it's that way for a reason - functionality. I view myself as a reasonably competent bass player - self taught as was the style in the 70's and I've been bassing now for about 40 years (ouch!) and I have not found the transition to Stick to be an easy one. The treble side which is played with the right hand is tuned in the very familiar 4ths tuning like a bass but of course, you're trying to execute those notes with a hand which is not used to fretting so it's a bit tricky. The bass side is tuned in reverse 5ths which from a bass player's perspective seems completely foreign but makes sense after a while due to the kind of built in symmetry which then exists over the entire neck. I'm sure some talented people can pick it all up very quickly but it's been hard work for me over about 6 years now and it's only in the last year or so that I've felt even vaguely confident enough to use it at gigs. Having said all that, it's been a hugely enjoyable journey and every time I play it, it teaches me new things about music that I probably should have known a long time ago! By the way, the tunings are not set in stone - some players use a mirrored 4ths tuning which makes it easier to play fluid basslines at the expense of losing the open chordal voicings on the bass side and there are various options for the treble side which basically move that whole side up or down one or more tones giving different voicings to the instrument. As well as 10 and 12 strings you can get the SB8 which is a bass-centric 8 string stick generally tuned in familiar 4ths all the way across the neck and shorter scale 10 and 12 stringers - the alto Stick and SG-12. The newest Stick is the Railboard - a radical departure in manufacture with a one piece aluminium neck/ body/ fretboard which has been designed to lower the unit cost of manufacture and so should bring costs down - it's never going to be a cheap instrument though. Check out youtube to see some of the things which can be achieved - my favourite players are guys like Rob Martino, Bob Culbertson Kevin Keith and Guillermo Cides. Hope some of this helps. Cheers Ed

[quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1391977036' post='2363233'] I've never counted, but nothing like that figure! At the moment I have one amp, and one 410. Amps are never the problem, in my experience... [/quote] Correct! Amps just make you louder so that you can hear the difference between all the basses... Cheers Ed

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1391710122' post='2360522'] Hey Rob, From your post it sounds as if you could well live with the VM Precision, so why concentrate on the slight betterness of the others you tried if a Fender type thing is what you're after? After all we're human. [/quote] I would turn that around and ask why you would buy an instrument that didn't feel as nice to you just because it looked Fender- ish? Having said that, we all tend to gravitate to the things that we like the look of and at this point in time we see more Fender type basses than anything else. This is purely to do with fashion and will change in time so I would say don't limit your choices unnecessarily. The more comfy you are, the better you will play and the more you will enjoy. Good luck. Ed

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1391586015' post='2358756'] Try firefox to clear typing fault. [/quote] Or if you want to keep using IE, click the editor back to plain text (top left button). Typing issues are gone and if you want to put in smileys etc. briefly toggle it back on. Works for IE 11 on Win 8.1

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1391524471' post='2358107'] Then this would probably fit the bill but, er... it's not cheap. [url="http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/takamine-tb10-bass-fretless-cutaway-electro-acoustic-bass-red-stain.html"]http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/takamine-tb10-bass-fretless-cutaway-electro-acoustic-bass-red-stain.html[/url] [/quote] That would indeed be ideal- I've been gassing for a B10 or TB 10 for years now... Very rarely come up secondhand. Alternatively, as well as their extensive range of EUBs, NS Design also offer the Omnibass in four or 5 string versions. It's a 34 inch scale bass which can be played upright or horizontal and can be bowed. Might be the ideal transition? Cheers Ed

I like that a lot... hate Marmite though. Cheers. Ed

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1389382958' post='2333759'] Swapping them around, whichever bass had the single piece sounded ballsier, whichever bass had the monorails sounded a bit too polite. [/quote] That is very interesting. I have a Status 6 with the individual bridge/ tuners and have struggled to get the sounds from it that I feel it should be capable of. The word I use to describe its tone is... polite! I've changed the preamp and the next thing to try was going to be the pickups but I now wonder if this may be down to the individual bridge pieces. It's not a bad sound- I often get favourable comments on my sound and the Status is no exception here but unlike most of my other basses, it seems to be incapable of being rude and it turns out that I like a bit of rudeness in my basses! Cheers Ed

It's been a long time but back in the late 70's/ early 80's I took a jigsaw to a track two bass and the equivalent 6 string guitar to form a demountable twin neck ala mike Rutherford's demountable Sheregold. I seem to remember that the body core was indeed mahogany but there was a thin layer of ply on the front and back. This was similar construction to an Antoria precision that I still have. DiMarzio pickups for sure and they were decent, workhorse type instruments. Cheers Ed

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1389104261' post='2329968'] I used to share a house with someone who had a Grant copy of the Höfner Violin Bass. I was unlucky enough to have to use it at a gig once... [/quote] Have to step in and stick up for the Grants here, if only because I worked with Jimmy Grant for a spell both in Edinburgh where the business was based and in Glasgow which had the nicer shop! the deals for the year were usually done in February at the Frankfurt Music Messe - a huge international music business trade fair held every year. All the actual Japanese and then Korean etc. manufacturers would have stands there and be showing off their wares for the coming year. As can be seen, catalogues and the like tended to show the unbranded versions so that they could be used by anyone. Haggling over quantities and prices would take place until a mutually agreeable deal was done. The instruments would usually start arriving around the middle of the year. I'm not sure which factories all the Grant guitars were sourced from but I do recall a review of the Grant Telecaster copy in International Musician magazine in which the luthier Stephan Delft basically said that it was identical in every respect (including build quality) to the then current Fender offering. So they weren't all bad. Them were the days! Ed

Ordered a Jazz Bass stack pot control plate and shielding kit from John. He's so quick it was almost sent before I ordered it! Workmanship is exemplary. Outstanding. Ed

[quote name='Philwbass' timestamp='1388951707' post='2328091'] I've had some interesting discussions since writing the article. Interestingly I discovered that it seems ABBA's key studio musicians were not given written music and mostly created their own parts. I've rewritten key sections and added another photo. Ed I have made sure I added the musicals to Rutgers bio too. [url="http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/"]http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/[/url] [/quote] Excellent piece Phil - I'm liking the look of that Hagstrom bass too! I always imagined from Rutger's work that he was one of these players who just sits down and plays. Maybe a chord chart and a few runs through trying different ideas out and then go! He had the ability, musicality and also good taste that let his employers more or less just trust him to get it right. Something like another long standing bass hero of mine - the late great Dee Murray whose work with Elton seems to suggest a similar approach. Cheers Ed

Found this thread too late the first time round... My favourite band of the 70s - saw them a couple of times and they were brilliant. I believe that Annie Haslam and acoustic guitarist/ writer/ composer Michael Dunford were trying to get backing to convert their "Songs of Sheherezade and Other Stories" into a stage musical show. Sadly, Dunford died just over a year ago. Also sad is the fact that whatever bad blood has lingered between Jon Camp and the rest of the band has been strong enough to rule out any kind of reunion for all these years. Think I'll go and dig out the Rick, look for a plectrum and "jam along a Jon" for a few songs this evening! Cheers Ed

Me too (a fan, that is) and proud to say that I used to argue the case for them to all my narrower minded muso pals back in the day. I used to take some flack for it but now I feel strangely vindicated... Gunnarsson also did stellar work on the Bjorn, Benny and Tim Rice musical Chess and I believe oversaw all the new recordings for the Mama Mia film as well as playing the bass of course. If the mythical gig ever happens, hopefully Rutger will be there to enjoy it! Cheers Ed

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1388333746' post='2320860'] The question is...if an ACG bass is built as well, plays as well, uses a similar filter based electronic package (always my preference) and looks as good as a Wal...at half the price (plus being located just over an hour drive away from me)...would I be stupid to discount it? [/quote] Yes, you would. Alan's stuff is very, very good and easily the equal of all the other exotic names which have been mentioned in this thread so if it's just a few hours out of your day to lose, give him a call and go along and check them out. That said, an ACG may be able to do all the things a Wal does but it's still •not a Wal•. In terms of musical instrument ownership there are many more factors coming into play than the simple and measurable ones like is it well made, can it provide a certain kind of sound, does it feel nice to play etc. etc. The fact is that you could end up buying something that matches the Wal in every respect but two years down the line you find that the hankering for the Wal still has not gone away. If that's the case than I'm afraid the only way to cure that itch is to scratch it! Anyway, I'm a fan of "big birthday" basses so wish you well with whatever choice you make. My big five oh bass had been determined to be an NS Design electric upright until, virtually at the point of ordering, I was knocked sideways by a YouTube link and now find myself more than five years down the line, still struggling to become vaguely competent on the Chapman Stick! You never know what's round the corner but whatever you choose, enjoy it. Cheers Ed

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1387365848' post='2311072'] Maybe I've just been unlucky and only seen a bad batch of them. I definitely wouldn't buy one without spending a lot of time trying one out. [/quote] Knowing the care and attention to detail that goes into them, I can't imagine Pete (or Paul) turning out a bad instrument, let alone a batch of them, so it is probably that the specific combination of design elements in the Wal bass just doesn't suit you personally. Nothing wrong there- we all like different things. I have a similar reaction to Warwicks. I have heard them played and sound fantastic. I have looked at them closely and liked what I saw but every time I have tried playing one, I have hated it. I know they are really well made and are top notch instruments but no matter how hard I try, it seems I will probably never own one. So yes, all who hanker after a Wal but haven't tried one- try before you buy. Also bear in mind that unless you've played an Alembic or an ACG bass, the preamp controls will take a bit of getting used to. All this talk now has me gassing for a Pro II fretless or early custom with the old paddle style headstock! Thanks BC! Camdenrob, what options have you gone for? Cheers Ed

Just bought a couple of Jazz Bass pickguards from Pete. Exactly as described and arrived very rapidly. Excellent transaction. Cheers Ed

Yep, Stuart - that's him. I guess he took over the electronic stuff after Iain Waller's death? Anyone know if he's still involved in any way? I have a picture of the three of them posing with my finished bass... Cheers Ed

Well I have a different hairstyle now but I do still have the midi bass. :-)

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1386703981' post='2303427'] I couldn't say it was magical - I had gotten up [i]way[/i] too early to get the train to Wycombe- but the last time I went to the workshop I got to play ( very badly) the prototype for the first ever Wal six string while Paul serviced my bass . That prototype had a solid ash body, from what I remember, and I think it eventually went to Rob Burns. [/quote] Ha Dingus - you must've been there about the time I was down for the "fitting" for my 5 String Midi Bass. Pete showed me the almost finished neck of the 6 he was experimenting with - happy days. Can anyone remember the name of the guy who was doing the electronics and pickups at that time? As you say they were all nice people. Paul Herman took a fair amount of banter from Pete and the joke of the day was that his only job was to glue in the "boat" which was what they called the little black plastic piece that protects the body from errant truss rod adjustment keys! Now he's the main man. Cheers Ed