Chris2112

[quote name='BTS_Spacebass' post='1063291' date='Dec 19 2010, 10:32 AM']It doesn't cover my lack of talent because thats apparent in the portions of our songs that are effects-less[/quote] oor-err! Has someone ruffled your feathers there! Quick, blow your own trumpet! Back on subject, I do find it quite easy to switch off from listening to bassists who use a lot of effects. If I wanted to listen to such a menagerie of sounds I'd stick on a Vince Clark record. From a bassist, I'd just rather hear the bass. Maybe one or two effects being used very sparingly (think Mark King or Jaco's occasional dusting of chorus/double tracking) but no more.

2001 called, it wants it's thread back!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1063281' date='Dec 19 2010, 10:22 AM']I never wanted one before but as far as value for money they look a bargain to me especially when compared with the prices of the other basses you are putting them in company with. If their basses are as good as their necks I might have to try one out one day.[/quote] I do of course hold the older ones is the same regard as these top shelf basses, the newer ones not so much, aside from the Kingbass Artist perhaps. They used to be very reasonably priced on the used market. A couple of years ago I sold my Stealth 6 string for £750 and technically made £150 profit on it! When I bought my Matrix, there was a graphite necked energy selling for something like £400. Now, as I say, the tattier stuff like the unimpressive S4000 is pitched around the same price as the Stealth sold for! And the Stealth really was a marvel of engineering, perhaps Rob's finest moment for me. Had it been a headless 4 string I would have kept it, as it sounded great. It was a fantastic player, but as a headed 6 string it felt a little bulky and a 6 string wasn't something that appealed a great deal to me. It also cost me a Kubicki to acquire, something which was a bad move! You live and learn...

[quote name='theplumber' post='1063184' date='Dec 19 2010, 02:55 AM']Nice enough guitars...in fact guitar porn.....alright for a fly w**k.....but as we are all about playing music...not lusting over guitars...what kind of tunes are we playing on this stuff...and to who?[/quote] I'm guessing, having read what Sheldon has said about these basses, that I might find great use for one in the studio playing a wide range of tunes as I often do. If the string to string timbre is so evenly matched I can imagine them being well behaved at the desk and thus a pleasure to work with!

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1062223' date='Dec 18 2010, 07:37 AM']No Dingwall bashing but we can compare Sterling & friends to the Nazis. Fanboiness is ugly from any side [/quote] Mind you, Sheldon has been much more gracious, personable and accomodating than Sterling Ball ever is. Look how he has come here and engaged in thoughtful discussion with us, leading to us better understanding these basses; both in what they do and who they are made for. Sterling would have came in here and said "NO YOU ARE WRONG, YOU MAY NOT HOLD THIS OPINION AS IT CONTRADICTS WHAT I SAY AND BELIEVE. IF YOU HAVE A CRITICISM OF MY PRODUCT YOU MAY LEAVE AS I WILL NOT ENTERTAIN SUCH THINGS". I like Musicman basses but Sterling doesn't have many friends beyond his own troupe of fanboys.

I think I know where you're coming from there, and it reminds me of when people were obsessed with EQ settings at the start of the Millenium. Everywhere you looked online and in guitar magazines, they'd have "EQ settings" for copying a player's tone. I thought it to be the biggest load of rubbish when I saw something like this on another forum a few years ago: Stuart Hamm: Bass - 6/10 Mids - 5/10 Treble - 6/10 So that was it, that was supposed to get you Stuart Hamm's sound? I thought that was a big load of crap. Stu's tone was something I had been after since I was 15, I bought my first Kubicki bass without ever having seen one in person to get that sound. Simply tweaking a few controls on your amp was never going to have the same effect as having the same bass, the same amp, detailed study into the playing style. Even the minor details, like learning to replicate touch and plucking action are important. A Kubicki sounds like a Kubicki. A Ken Smith always sounds like a Ken Smith. An Alembic always sounds like an Alembic. Instruments have that inherent "tone", their own character that just can't be removed without serious and unncessary tweaking. You can't replicate Kai Eckhardt's 1980's Schack tone with something dire like a P bass and a flutter about your amp's EQ settings. The tonal characteristics of the P bass are never going to be able to produce a suitable result. Luckily, we seem to have moved away from this now. Particularly with older players who have a better idea of what different brands and instruments do and sound like, we are appreciating the instruments for what they are. I never use the EQ section on my amp now. I used to use it when I was playing live as an aid to balance the sound of the room, essentially so I could reproduce the sound I used at home. Now if I'm in the studio and I have my amp with me I still don't use it, as I'll EQ from the board. It is a fantastically useable and flexible tool but not one that should be relied upon too much.

[quote name='Fat Rich' post='1062438' date='Dec 18 2010, 01:31 PM']I can easily get the classic Status sound by boosting the bass and treble on the preamp on the new S2 Classics, but they're also capable of doing so much more.[/quote] And I think here is the crux of the matter! For a start, you have boost from your preamp to create that classic tone, which is never a good thing. And even then, it doesn't sound as convincing as the old basses do. And when it comes to saying the basses are "capable of doing so much more", I find that to be such an overrated thing. When I borrowed Conan's 1986 S2, it produced one tone, essentially. On both pickups, it was fuller. With just the bridge, it was tighter and burpier. I never used the EQ, I never the passive mode. It just did what it did so well. Being able to do many things can be useful, but the core tone of that S2 was so good you could have used it anywhere. A little tweak on your amp to accomodate for a room or venue and you've got it sorted, classic and distinctive bass tone right there. It's not that I don't like the newer Status basses, they are absolutely fantastic. But they don't strike me as "the best" like the old ones do. The older S2's, Empathys etc etc have stood up next to the best basses I've ever played as equals. And in company like Kubicki, Fodera, Wal, ACG and Alembic, thats is no mean feat. The newer ones are good but they just don't make them like they used to, and the prices are unpalatable to me when such fabulous value is available elsewhere on the new and used market. It also strikes me now that the quality of the woods being used, particularly in the bolt on basses, has declined somewhat. I suppose good wood is more difficult than ever to source but this really is a shame as there are a few slightly dull looking Status basses around now whereas they all used to look a spectacle of fabulous woods in the 80's! I also wish they hadn't stopped using the brass hardware and it looked much better than the monorail units and was no more difficult to use. Please do not think I am "Status bashing" or defaming some sacred cow. I know that Status Graphite rarely come under criticism and quite rightly so. They have a long history of producing fantastic basses and I've enjoyed being a Status owner myself. But they are drifting away from the market, a market in which at one time, everyone wanted a Status bass!

I get the feeling your Modulus could soon be going the distance to fund a Dingwall! I've always liked the look of the Prima basses most... This one here is owned by a Talkbass user, always struck me as particularly fine top... I like this one too...

Muse was just the kind of rubbish I was thinking of when I was considering how bad the over use of effects can be. Mind you, I suppose switching off the effects there wouldn't make it any better! IMO.

You'd be very brave to make the move based solely on migrating to a new music scene. I'd concentrate on sorting out a job in London or Bristol and then up sticks, at least then you've got some security while you find your feet and build your contacts on the music scene. As it seems that now it's harder than ever to make it in music, especially if you have any real talent, it pays to be realistic and focus on the real world first! Let the hobby come later.

[quote name='redstriper' post='1063120' date='Dec 19 2010, 12:34 AM']But the tone of those instruments can vary a lot and most players, (great or otherwise) try to choose an instrument that has a tone suited to them.[/quote] Indeed, Victor Wooten wouldn't sound anywhere near as good as he does if he played something like a clunky old P bass or a Thunderbird. Similarly, I doubt Mark King would get away with using tat like that in Level 42!

I have a distortion pedal and a Boss delay pedal that have probably seen no more than 2 hours use since I bought them a few years ago! In the studio I may use a very slight touch of chorus and compression, but I certainly think that less is more with effects.

Well, you may have a point if your band mates are tone deaf or not particularly interested in the sound of the band as a whole. If I bring the guys in my band a click track with me playing a bassline over the top they can instantly tell which bass it is I'm using, and I'll choose which bass to use based on the way it sounds. My Kubicki and ACG both have "modern" tones, but they're both very different. The Kubicki is definitely a "one of a kind" type bass which sounds unlike anything else, it's very bright and full of click and punch with a "honk" in the upper mids. The ACG is closer to what you'd find from a Wal, with a crisp and burpy sound that extends right through the midrange. Essentially, the ACG can do anything because of it's filter based preamp but I tend to keep it settled around a bridge pickup focused burpy tone; think Geddy Lee's sound on "Hold Your Fire" or thereabouts. I would agree that these things would probably be less important if I was playing in a pub rock band or something like that, but since I've retired from live playing and the band is now 100% studio based, making music for our enjoyment, tone is more important than ever for me. I'm not going to sit around for ages recording, mixing and mastering songs if I'm not happy with my tone!

At the moment I think a Jaydee represents far better value. Status basses are suffering some pretty severe inflation now, both in the used market and as new builds. For instance, a Kingbass Standard will set you back some £1600 at the very least. And I've got to say, thats a big hit, especially considering that the woods being used in the Standard range seem to be looking more and more uninspiring. Add to this the bolt on neck and satin finish and you seem to be paying an awful lot. I can't remember the list prices for new Jaydees, but I do recall a thread here where people were stunned at how cheap they are. Your money will go further there than at Status (and the Status prices will further increase with the VAT rise). It's a shame that the Status market is so vastly overinflated at the moment, which means that the tattier stuff like S2000 are pitched at £1000 used and even things like S4000's turning up for £700 used. Furthermore, Status certainly don't build them like they used to. Anyone who has played a 1980's S2 with the proper graphite "paddle" through neck will be able to attest to how they feel, sound and look better than the new ones. I don't know if I've got Statii fatigue from owning them over the years, or if it's the dire state of the current Status market that is turning me away from them. I once thought that they represented fantastic value for money, although this is not so much the case now.

[quote name='obbm' post='1061911' date='Dec 17 2010, 07:01 PM']Neck is Maple/Wenge with a Flame Sycamore fretboard[/quote] Alan is one of the only luthiers I can think of who appears to be regularly using flamed sycamore in his builds, and it is used to typically stunning effect here!

They've got some nice looking custom basses there!

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1059340' date='Dec 15 2010, 09:59 AM']That is one of the most gob-smacking, awe-inspiring threads I've ever read. Out of sheer idle curiosity, I've emailed Gil Yaron to ask roughly how much he charges ...[/quote] And did he tell you how much he charges?

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='1061318' date='Dec 17 2010, 09:05 AM']I know. You can't knock Mark King as he is an exceptionally talented bloke... but as with most things, there is a time and a place. This wasn't it.[/quote] Well given the fact that he's done a version of the song which is clearly miles better than the other effort, surely this is the place? Two threads about the same song would be clutter, and there is no shame in being bettered by Mark King.

And here was me thinking this would be about the Public Image Ltd classic!

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1060451' date='Dec 16 2010, 12:02 PM']Watching those vids one after the other MK looks like he's thinking "Ha! I've got a thumb and you haven't. Look what I can do with it" [/quote] And he's showing that he can quite easily play the other lad under the table, although this clear display of mastery was not intended as an offence, as Mark did this video last year and created something incredible - a christmas song you'd actually listen to.

[quote name='casapete' post='1060348' date='Dec 16 2010, 09:51 AM']Am I the only one who prefers the version in the OP.......??[/quote] I decided to watch that one, but it was a right plodder. As for him "single handledly" owning Mark King, I don't think he quite does that...in any sense!

This how you do a christmas song...listen to the amazing bassline!

In one of these places...