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EMG456

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Posts posted by EMG456

    So has anyone cloned a Wal?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    6 hours ago, BigRedX said:

    I thought that the Wal MIDI bass used the fret sensing system developed by Steve Chick?

    Yes, the circuit made between the string and the fret segments determines the midi note sent out so no delay whilst the system tries to work out the pitch.

    The hex pickup senses how hard the string is played for midi velocity information. 

    6 hours ago, Hellzero said:

    They do.

    This is becoming a kind of non sense thread with truckloads of TB like posts.

    Mmmm.

    So has anyone cloned a Wal?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    On 28/09/2020 at 00:33, NickA said:

    The Wal pickups do have separate coils for each string (two for each string in fact), but they are not then separately buffered; they are connected in parallel within the pickup.  The earlier Pro IIe basses had the option to switch the coils in series or parallel (there is a little switch on the pickup body), but it was dropped on the Customs (don't know why).  So the individual coils do indeed load each other (string to string).  

    As you say ... just like having individually buffered active pickups (like the MECs in my Dolphin). 

    I don't honestly know what the advantage in all those separate coils really is.  Anyone?

    Are you sure about this?

    My Wal 5 is a midi bass version which normally would have required an additional pickup (a la Roland hex) so as to provide a separate output from each string but the Wal pickups were deemed to be appropriate so the bridge pickup ( with one set of raised pole pieces) also doubles as the hex pickup.

    A thread for Basschatters who have an interest in HIFI

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Stingray5 said:

    However, I also still have (and use) two original bits of hifi kit that I bought around 1972/3 - a Pioneer PL12D deck and a pair of Leak 2020 bookshelf speakers. Both still going strong. :)

    Ah Leak 2020's!

    I had a pair of 2030's which were great but the tweeters went at some point and the wifeley one wanted them replaced with something smaller. Still have the Rotel amp which powered them though - currently running the wee monitors in my recording setup!

    The smaller setup agreed with my wife was an early Bose Lifestyle system with two small direct/ reflect speakers and one big sub. I won't get into whether Bose qualifies as HiFi or not here - suffice to say that after more than 20 years it is still providing sterling service.

    • Like 2

    Werewolves of London

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 06/09/2020 at 18:18, wateroftyne said:

    "And if California slides into the ocean
    Like the mystics and statistics say it will
    I predict this motel will be standing
    Until I pay my bill..."

     

    My favourite (and there are many contenders) Zevon song, the great "Desperados Under the Eaves".

    I nearly bought a Stick

    in Other Instruments

    Posted

    Late to this as usual but older style passive Sticks really need a buffered preamp to run in mono. It’s not that it won’t work by either flicking the switch or doing the old jack plug in halfway method but a lot of the clarity is lost due to technical reasons that I’m not fully up to speed with- impedance loading?

    A low cost solution is a Boss LS-2 pedal which is really useful for many other things too which is why I’ve ended up with two of them!

    Graphite (Steinberger vs Status)

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    3 hours ago, dmz said:

    Maybe Ned and Rob at Status could get together and make a graphite Radius Bass there could be an all graphite version or one with just a graphite neck - they would sing no ?

    The very last run of Steinberger wooden bodied/ bolt on graphite necks used Moses Graphite necks with the actual blend modified in collaboration with NS. Moses are not doing musical instrument parts any more so there was a push by somebody (not necessarily Gibson connected- can’t remember!) to persuade Rob Green to start offering Steinberger compatible guitar and bass necks  some prototypes were made but the project was halted, again from memory, by Rob for whatever reason.

    1 hour ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

    An idea I'd like to pursue is a good quality wooden fretboard (Ebony? Pau Ferro?) On a graphite neck. 

    I guess no one's done it because the expansion rates and moisture absorption of carbon fibre/ graphite and wood are probably vastly different,  and the board would either warp or lift off in places (?)

    I think it might imbue an all carbon instrument with just that smidgen of warmth..

    Thing is, my Steinbergers and for that matter my Status already sound full and warm. Could it be that the full frequency hi fi aspect of these instruments just doesn’t suit the sonic goals of a lot of players? And if so, would they not be just as happy with an old Precision with flat wounds and a reduced frequency capability amp setup?

    • Like 2

    Eric Clapton’s music “mediocre”?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Grangur said:

    All a bit like McCartney really - did some great songs in the past, but now we have the co-writer of Sgt Pepper and The White Album, is now writing "Silly Love Songs" and "The Frogs Chorus"!!

    I'll give you the Frog Chorus and much of his output after Wings but Silly Love Songs is a masterclass in pop song writing/arranging/production.

    • Like 3

    Graphite (Steinberger vs Status)

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    On 15/08/2020 at 10:40, Bassfinger said:

    Those Hohners were decent instruments.  They sell for good money these days.

    As good as Steinbergers were - I love them - the move by Gibson to more traditional construction wasn't all bad news.  The Spirits are decent instruments in their own right and good value, and dont suffer the age related neck issues that many of the truss rod-less Steinbergers do with the passing of time. Indeed, the contemporary Hohner copy tends to withstand time much better than the original, which could be why prices are on the up.

    Fundamentally, the original Steinberger was flawed.  Cracking on 50 years ago when Ned Steinberger started work on these designs he didn't  have the benefit of the modern materials and the understanding of their characteristics that we do today, which is probably why modern firms can make them better and cheaper. 

    Were Ned to release the Steinberger today, it would be a different matter entirely. He was simply born 40 or 50 years too early.

    Some pretty sweeping statements there.

    I’ll agree that the science of carbon fibre construction was less advanced than it is today but there was still a good bit of experience there and NS drew upon external expertise when designing his instrument.  What has happened in the interim is that technologies like carbon fibre have become much more commodified with many able to buy off the peg materials for their projects but they’re still working with carbon fibres and resins.  Also, I would put it to you that a guitar neck made from a bought in carbon weave mat will be a very different thing from one made of a carefully designed lay up which utilises specific fibres and their placement and orientation in the mould. Which “modern companies” are actually doing this better and cheaper?

    What are the neck issues that “many” original Steinbergers suffer from? I have heard anecdotally of a few failures but any example I have seen has stood the test of time very well.

    It’s fine saying that the Spirits and Hohners are decent instruments- they are- but they are also not in the same league as a graphite Steinberger in terms of sound or stability- remember they were introduced as an affordable entry level instrument for folks who would have liked a “real” Steinberger but couldn’t afford one.

    And as far as it being “fundamentally flawed”, it’s an internationally recognised icon of world class design so I don’t understand where you are getting that notion from.

    • Like 4

    Bass identification

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    As was the trend at the time, when I got my first "proper" bass, I decided to turn the Avon into a fretless.

    I was astonished to find that the black fingerboard was in fact a maple one dyed and the actual neck was made of many thin laminates- very much like the neck on a Kubicki Ex-Factor if you've ever seen one of those. Very strange.

    I also can't remember where it went or what happened to it. This age thing is very annoying!

    Graphite (Steinberger vs Status)

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    Late to this as usual...

    Yes- totally different manufacturing process between Status and Steinberger meaning that it was very labour intensive to build the Steinberger necks and it's unlikely that they will ever be built the same way again.

    The Streamline was deigned to be a similar concept to the Steinberger L series but I believe is much lighter in weight. A Steinberger L2 is not a lightweight bass, despite appearances.

    I like Steinbergers- in fact my original L2 is my favourite bass. There were enough of them made for them not to be too difficult to source even today unless you are looking for an unusual spec so I would suggest you see if you can find one to try. Unfortunately I'm in Scotland so a bit far to come but if you're ever around you'd be welcome to try them out. I've also got a Status that Rob made for me in the Steinberger shape when I couldn't find a Steiney 5 string a while back. It's a great bass too, as was the Hohner I used for a while in the 80s. Functionally, no one has bettered Ned's design in my opinion.

    One point on the necks. Ned was heavily influenced by Stanley Clarke at the time so the L2 has a very chunky neck in terms of thickness back to front and a narrow and quite parallel fingerboard. Quite like the Alembics and Rics at that time. Some folks find the spacing too tight at the bridge. This was changed with the XL2 and it's at that time that the Spirit series and the licensed Hohners were introduced so your Hohner will have that slightly wider string spacing and taper, like the XL2.

    No truss rods in the graphite necked Steinbergers - the neck is very rigid and just doesn't move. You can't really change the neck relief apart from major surgery so to allow this. most graphite neck builders nowadays design a neck which is more flexible and will respond to string tension/ truss rod forces. With it not being wood though, as @Happy Jack states above, once it's adjusted, it never changes. I've had the Status since 2006 or thereabouts and it's never been touched since it left the workshop.

    • Like 3

    Own up .... Who's got (or had) a trem on a bass?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I've also now got two. The Atilla Balogh Odyssey bass I recently acquired has a retro fit Kahler on it but the one I've had for a long time is a Steinberger XL-2TA which was factory ordered with the bass TransTrem.

    I find them fun with a bit of harmonics and reverb but of course the Steiney has the edge as far as functionality is concerned as you can lock the arm into different tuning positions on the fly so with the bass tuned as standard, I can drop to D, C or B or go up to F#  or G.

    • Like 2
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