Chris2112

I recall my Fender Urge Standard. It was nowhere near as good as the US model (not that I expected it to be) but it did't sound great, and it played pretty badly. With a decent set up it could have been a bit better. Didn't keep it very long at all (lovely light weight though).

Pickups probably have secret coils built in that turn up the suck when you mix them up!

If only you could have the bridge pickup as a Bart and the neck as a Nordy!

Sounds like a bright P bass at the start but ends up sounding [i]much[/i] better at the end!

I'd favour the Barts. I've never been overly impressed with Nordstrands in the limited time I've had them. They give brightness and punch, but sounds a little bit brittle. Whereas Bartolini pickups have usually impressed me (their humbuckers are the best aftermarket units I've heard). They tend to let the bass speak but always add their own colour, giving the midrange prominence and depth. This makes for a pickup that is very useable in a live band situation but also sounds great in a sparse mix where the bass is prominent and audible! Contrary to the popular belief, they're not just subtle, dark sounding pickups. You can get some great bright tones out of them, with loads of oomph so it's a useable sound. IIRC the Bartolini pickups used by Zon and Modulus are custom wound for each manufacturer, these really are the jewels in Bartolini's crown IMO.

I'm not familiar with the DBS system, but I've never been impressed with Marshall bass stuff (or guitar stuff).

[quote name='martthebass' post='975340' date='Oct 2 2010, 07:36 PM']I'd agree with above bit say £800 should be looked at as a minimum, on a good day it (in this condition) maybe up to £1k. I think the headed generally do a little worse cash wise than headless.[/quote] FWIW, Status seem to be having a rough patch, there has been a nice S2000 going for £1075 here for a while now and it's just not moving. However, I recall when that price would have seemed excessive for an S2000, the market is in flux...

The best I've played is an Alembic. I'm a big fan of ebony boards on fretless basses, they sound great and are so hard-wearing. I'm not sure if the Alembic is the best fretless bass in the world but it's the best I've played so far!

Well, they deserve this award! They rock!

I think the thing with slap bass is just not to get hung up on it! So many saddos will harp on about it being out of fashion, old hat, tacky etc etc whilst thumping 8th notes on the root. It's another tool in the box and one that is there to be used. If a track requires a relentless 16th note slap line like some Level 42 stuff, go for it. If it requires a shifting groove with double thumb pops and clicks, do that. Collectively, bassists have to become comfortable to be in the limelight again. It was common place in the 80's but we became marginalised in the early 90's. If there is one thing that must go with good slap, it is practice. Do anything poorly and it will sound awful.

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='969759' date='Sep 27 2010, 05:46 PM']i've posted this previously, good demo here. [/quote] That is an incredible sounding bass, particularly at the beginning of the video!

Typically ebony will be more expensive. I recall some discussion between luthiers over how it was becoming more and more difficult to get ebony blanks of sufficient length and quality for making fretboards. I would expect this to be reflected in the price, it is typically considered a premium wood unlike Indian Rosewood. If you're buying Indian Rosewood blanks it should be about as cheap as exotic hardwoods will get. Brazilian rosewood will cost more, and coco bolo and bocote are sometimes sold as rosewood, though they'll be significantly more expensive than bog standard Indian Rosewood.

True, but with some balancing they're all usable. That said, I don't know anyone who uses the passive modes!

[quote name='urb' post='971054' date='Sep 28 2010, 07:30 PM']I disagree - learn the masters note for note and then use what you've learned to feed into your own style of playing - it's how they did it - ask any top pro and they list the players they listened to and copied - if it's good enogh for them it's good enough for you and I [/quote] back in the day when you were doing those Victor Wooten style lines on your Thumb, that was cool! When I was 16-18 I studied Stuart Hamm's slap lines religiously and leared those, applying the skills I gained there to pretty much all of my slap playing. That was my foundation.

And both mine have been "pre Fender" with the 18V 6 position preamp both with high outputs...

No, mine has a very hot output, amongst the hottest I've had.

For me, the elements are: Bass: usually something modern with a hi-fi sound. Kubicki, Status, Alembic, Fodera with EMGs, Spector etc etc Strings: stainless steel roundwounds (sometimes thin, never heavier than .45 guage) amps: Again some thing a hi-fi sound (or Trace Elliot). I'd suggest something like an Ashdown Mark King setup effects: none (although a touch of chorus can be useful for fingerstyle parts in between slapping)

[quote name='Tdw' post='968647' date='Sep 26 2010, 06:13 PM']On the subject of gauges, the kubicki strings sold on the website are only 45 gauge, somewhere else on the website it also says that a slightly heavier gauge string is required for the x factor because of the 32" scale. So it looks like kubicki recomend 45 gauge.[/quote] Well, this is what Phil recommends for getting a "normal feel" from the bass. With the decreased scale length there is a small loss in string tension compared to a 34" scale bass, hence Phil recommending the slightly heavier than normal strings to get a "familiar" feel in the fingers. Of course, the bass works perfectly well just .40's. I used to use Fodera Stainless Steel .40's and they were really, really good strings.