Chris2112

I used to play .30-.90 for that Mark King sound and feel...good fun, but I'm using slightly thicker strings these days.

I mean, as far as crap lead singles go, [i]Human[/i] has to be one of the worst, but it was sadly the colon-stained peanut on top of mountainous turd of an album. I shudder with embarrassment every time I hear that weak chorus with those dire lyrics. And saying that about the latest effort from one of my favourite bands is pretty painful.

I have always wondered though, what do these qualifications unlock for you? Aside from degrees in music? (which seem a bit of a dead end if I'm honest). It seems the world of music has jobs for businessmen and people in bands (usually flavour of the month). So what does a grading of skill do for you? Because I have friends with degrees in music who are struggling to get jobs (even on graduate schemes) whereas law/psychology/business degree holders seem to be doing alright for jobs. So whats the score?

Yeah, the basswork on Hot Fuss was really moving. "Glamourous Indie Rock and Roll" is the one to see him stretching out on. But even on Sam's Town, I find that the basslines are moving and doing things with great subtlety...there are small nuances and things going on there that the average rock bassist is not doing... I really like Hot Fuss, I LOVE Sam's Town and Sawdust is a belter too (especially Leave The Bourbon on the Shelf), but Day and Age is utter crap. Even "Spaceman" isn't that good! You'll notice that previously he was playing Geddy Lee jazz basses though Day and Age was recorded with a P bass...and the bass tone is crap. Quiet, wooly, flabby but lacking the body his previous tone had. The grind is just gone and even in the dull, dreary songs, the bass just doesn't stand out. Coming from someone who makes a habit of learning Killers albums front to back, Day and Age is a massive letdown on so many levels and I've barely started work on transcribing it.

When I read threads like this I sweat and thank my lucky stars I never took music at school! Good luck!

"The Crossing" by Big Country is currently blowing my socks off...not so much "rediscovered" as "just discovered"! It's from well before my time but the songs are amazing and Tony Butler's bass playing and tone are absolutely brilliant...he's a hugely underrated talent. I've always loved Big Country's singles but this is the first time I've dabbled in an album, and I'm very glad I did! EDIT: It also brings out the Scotsman in me.

[quote name='neilmiddlemass' post='529096' date='Jun 30 2009, 09:22 PM']Thanks for advice, appreciate it. Bit stuck with this as I'm after something light,but with rich throaty bass, punchy pit and plinky full top end. I've been told before that the maple neck should brighten up the sound, but would it be at the cost of the growl? Warwick has so many beautiful looking woods available I guess it's easy to get carried away with asthetics (also important though I think!) Is the top or the body wood more important? My communication with Warwick in the end was through a distributor rather than direct so haven't had the benefit of their advice yet, any extra input is appreciated (although I realise every instrument is different). I suppose my questions are: Can you get throat from a maple neck? Can you get a lightweight bass with a defined, clear but powerful bottom end? Which parts have the greatest influence on the overall sounds if any?[/quote] You can easily get growl with a maple neck but it won't be that same unique flavour of growl in the lower midrange that Warwick basses get, it will tend to be more of a honky, upper mid kind of bite like Jazz basses and Spector basses have, IME. You can still get a throaty, powerful sound, but it won't be the kind of sound that a wenge or ovangkol neck will provide. As for a lightweight bass with a clear, defined and powerful bottom end - yes, you can get get them like this. My Status basses have been fantastic examples of this. Parts that have the greatest influence on sound: IMO it's the woods, the the pickups and the pickup placement...just about everything then! Thats why basses can be planks of woods with metal frets and metal strings on and yet sound so different. I'll say for the Thumb though that in terms of wood composition and pickup placement, there is nothing else like it tonally, at least not unless it's made by a custom builder...and even then, it won;t have the look and feel of a Thumb! If you can get your hands on one of the limited edition Thumbs like the Dirty Blonde you'll see that they sound good, but not like the famous "thumb" sound. I find that the Warwick basses that have Wenge or Ovangkol necks and an ash body just don't have the full throated growl of a Thumb. Great basses, but not for that sound that I typically associate with Warwick.

Thats pretty high praise, thank you very much Mark!

I've just sold my Status Matrix to Mark and he has been an absolute pleasure to do business with. Great comms and willing to work around the dire hours I'm doing at work at the moment, which is fantastic as otherwise selling a bass by collection could have been a nightmare! Great stuff Mark, and pass on my regards to Mr Palmer when you see him next.

[quote name='neilmiddlemass' post='528837' date='Jun 30 2009, 05:12 PM']Looking at the posts on here, I've decided that the Thumb is the way to go. Since I made my first post, I've put a call into Warwick to find out about custom models and I'm looking at a Thumb5 with a maple body and neck+fingerboard and Indian apple wood top. Mainly because I want something unique which is really mine. I've chosen these woods for weight and asthetics mainly (the 'Tineo' looks lovely) - not too au fait with the sound characteristics. Anyone got any advice with this sort of thing?[/quote] First of all, I'll tell you right now that even with typical Thumb pickup placement, this is not going to sound like a "normal" thumb bass. The throaty, powerful midrange of the Thumb BO comes from the ovangkol body and the wenge or ovangkol neck. Similarly, the Bubinga of the NT gives you some midrange pop but not as much as the BO has... I'd expect given your wood choices that the top end will sparkle a little more and there will be less of a prounced, characteristic midrange. Did Warwick not advise you on this when you called them?

[quote name='crez5150' post='520101' date='Jun 21 2009, 05:37 PM']Do they make these in 5 string?[/quote] There was only ever one Ex-Factor made in a 5 string configuration, but I'm not sure where it is now. Maybe Phil still has it? I just remember the photo of it and that it was a prototype. It might have ended up in the hands of a Yahoo group member... As for the Bahama green being a limited run colour, I'm not so sure, I have seen a fair few in that colour (as gorgeous as it is). Jeff Trout (admin @ stuarthamm.net) used to have a Bahama Green Fender Kubicki and the now defunct Australian TB member Kubicki_Heath had a Bahama Green Kubicki that Stuart Hamm used when he was touring Australia with Satch in the early 90's.

I do recall playing a red SS1 just like that in Howard's Bass Place in the toon...it was in need of a good polish up though at the time...wasn't yours, was it?

That 4 string is amazing. In fact, they both look bloody fantastic!

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='526459' date='Jun 28 2009, 02:15 AM']Yoo barney welcome to basschat. whys everyones hybrid called frankenstein? lol Z x[/quote] Because he was a creation cobbled together with random bits! (bits of tat or bits of class depending on Frankenstein basses!)

Looks like any other jazz bass now, doesn't it!

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='526505' date='Jun 28 2009, 08:36 AM']Well it certainly looks quite incredible. Great gloss finish on the one. Fairly rare mind with only a dozen made.[/quote] Very, very rare I'd say! But the finish looks absolutely amazing, like a coat of glass! Looks like a good 'un.