Chris2112

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1077189' date='Jan 4 2011, 12:18 PM']Compare it with American customer service. I e-mailed Avatar Speakers on New Years Day, and got an e-mail back from them yesterday. No excuse really, think its a case of the American way is that a reply may generate a sale, whereas the British way seems to be "too much messin abt mate".[/quote] I used to email Phil Kubicki when he was based in California and even though I'd bought my bass second hand, he always offered good advice and even gave me his workshop phone number incase I needed to chat via telephone! Excellent customer service.

In no particular order... [b]Stuart Hamm[/b]: Stu inspired my tone, and his records are a masterclass in good bass playing. He shows excellent ability in both grooving and being up front with fantastic bass parts. Stu was the reason I got into Kubicki basses! [b]Geddy Lee[/b]: Geddy got me thinking about this "perfect" basslines. Rush are probably my favourite band of all time, his lines are just incredible. His tone on 'Power Windows' and 'Hold Your Fire' is a masterclass in getting bass sounding good in rock bands and the production is just right, its what I strive for. Geddy encouraged me to unclutter my playing and just concentrate on putting the right notes in the right place. [b]Mark King[/b]: Mark inspired me with British Cool. It was that cocky attitude I loved, the fact that he constantly let other players on the 80's pop scene know that he was the best with his bombastic solos before dropping back into some of the best songs of the 80's with that unique percussive, melodic style he has. [b]Jonas Hellborg[/b]: a further influence musically and tonally. I've spent hundreds of pounds tracking down my Hellborg record collection, and it's all been worth it. Hellborg has always occupied a niche, but he always focuses on the music so intensely. In the past few years, he has detached his ego completely from what he is doing and has created some of the most incredible fusion around. 'Escape' from the [i]Icon[/i] album is about as good as music gets IMO, every note is placed so perfectly. [b]Bakithi Kumalo[/b]: The absolute master of fretless bass playing. He has that driving South African style, with it's obvious rhythm and frequent melodic flourishes. I love it, and thats what I try to bring to a lot of my bassplaying. I love South African music.

[quote name='Marvin' post='1077200' date='Jan 4 2011, 12:31 PM']Apparently there's a very nice man who works at the Academy of Sound .[/quote] If it's someone round here (Pete Academy, maybe?) then the shop is excellent wih customer service and sells great stuff. An Ashdown MK500 combo for £500? Excellent!

I've never really bothered with emailing shops, but I did buy my Ashdown MK500 amp from a shop called Academy of Sound. I ordered it online, but when I rang up to ask about the shipping they were very on the ball, excellent customer service. However, the top luthiers in the country like Rob Green, Alan Cringean and Jon Shuker are excellent at replying to emails with the answers you seek!

They're just basses to me.

[quote name='funkypenguin' post='1075780' date='Jan 2 2011, 09:40 PM']At the moment my sound is fairly close to Anthony Jacksons. If i had to change i would go for something close to Tony Grey (fodera not Yamaha)[/quote] Are you using the gear in your signature to get that sound?

They look awesome, and they've got loads of comparison videos on the site that I'm looking forward to watching! I can't seem to find the prices though...

[quote name='bigthumb' post='1075365' date='Jan 2 2011, 03:10 PM']It was a nice Thumb, played and felt just right. Julian (slooj) now uses a 5 string G&L as he [i]needs[/i] the extra string! I though the Kubicki was bonkers but wow, what a slap machine![/quote] Aye, I do love the Kubicki. I first had one when I was 16 and I sold it when I was 18 (silly me...) and spent years wanting another one. So I was well glad I found one, as I don't think I could be without one again! I did love that Thumb though, it was superb. At the time I was playing a lot of Big Country stuff and the Thumb did the job fantastically.

[quote name='bigthumb' post='1075251' date='Jan 2 2011, 01:09 PM']Ha ha! Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder! I dare not ask how much they are though. BTW Chris did you trade your Thumb for the Kubicki last year?[/quote] I think the Bass Centre had them for about £4000 new when they came out. Very pricey, much like Hellborg's Warwick amps! And yes, I did trade my Thumb for a Kubicki. It was a 1999 model I think, with a wenge neck in "as new" condition, lovely bass! Alas, Kubicki basses are just more my thing.

Oh, I thought I'd pick that tone as it was another player's tone that would be a good substitute for my own. In that case, I'd have to go for Victor Wooten's tone I think! Absolutely lovely!

Try as I might, playing along to Paul Simon's "Graceland" album just isn't the same without a fretless bass! Maybe thats what I need again in 2011!

I'd got for Stuart Hamm's late 80's Kubicki sound, as it's so close to what I have now!

[quote name='bigthumb' post='1075135' date='Jan 2 2011, 11:30 AM']You mean that you DONT like the Hellborg Signature Bass? [/quote] The Hellborg bass is awesome but it's so damn expensive!

Another unspectacular year for Warwick as far as new basses go.

[quote name='BassBus' post='1074766' date='Jan 1 2011, 09:18 PM']Two of my favourites. Neither of them particularly known for their fretless playing. [/quote] I've always preferred Marcus' playing when he's on a fretless bass. But I'd say Alain is definitely well known for his fretless playing and his incredible intonation.

The sad thing about the Heathrow video going down was that the tone on it was even better than any sound Mark King has ever had...and he's had some great basses over the years!

[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1074724' date='Jan 1 2011, 08:28 PM']I didnt know much about this fella, but yes, I love his stuff on Graceland!![/quote] He's done a few solo albums too which are fairly good, but I wish he'd spent more time working on high profile projects like this. When Paul picked him to do the album he'd never even been in a studio before!

I like the videos below, they show off that amazing Kubicki slap sound. Perhaps the best one I heard was a cover of a guy playing 'Heathrow' by Level 42 on a Kubicki Ex Factor, it sounded incredible. The video doesn't appear to be on youtube anymore though!

[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1074366' date='Jan 1 2011, 01:58 PM']Er, to a 15 year old it might! [/quote] +1 I've never been a massive fan of the Esh shapes but it looks quite tacky to me, especially the colour scheme which reminds me of those dodgy Epiphone Voodoo guitars they did a few years ago. Not for me, but I'm sure someone will love it!

To me, Bakithi Kumalo is easily the best fretless bass player around. His stuff on Paul Simon's [i]Graceland[/i] and [i]The Rhythm of The Saints[/i] albums is as good as it gets. The best stuff is probably on [i]Graceland[/i], where there was more of a focus on those South African sounds and the bass was a real driving element like it is in Mbaqanga and Zulu pop music. This is the one for me: