Chris2112

Bass: Jeff Berlin Drums: Neil Peart Guitar: Shawn Lane Keys: Joe Zawinul The jam session afterwards would be out pf this world. Well, it would have to be saying as Shawn and Joe are both dead, sadly.

Evening all, I've put an order in for a Markbass CMD151P Jeff Berlin combo at Guitar Guitar in Newcastle this morning. I thought I'd start my thread on it now whilst I'm still in eager anticipation. I've not tried one of these amps yet, more on that in a bit. First off, Guitar Guitar were excellent at handling the sale. My brother and I have been buying guitars there for years (and with the same blokes at Sound Control beforehand). I lugged my Fender tube amp and Classic 50's Stratocaster down for a part exchange. Both fantastic bits of kit, kept in great condition if I do say so - but my interest in playing guitar had waned significantly and it was only a passing fad. I've had a couple of years off from serious bass playing but I'm looking to get back at it! Recently, I've been listening to loads of Jeff Berlin. Not just for his music and incredible ability, but because his tone has been consistently delightful over the years. It's changed as time has went on, but the core aspect of a deft touch, low action, strong midrange and plenty of bridge pickup wasn't lost on me. It's an approach I have always favoured but now I really want to bring it to the fore. In choosing the Markbass Jeff Berlin combo, I am making a bit of a departure from my old amp tastes. I used to like bright, super even, modern tones. Well, interestingly, I heard someone on Talkbass say recently that 'modern' tones are old fashioned now as that trend has died off. I'm not looking to go full vintage, but I want a modern interpretation of someting a little sweeter. So the tweeterless 15" might have been something I would have passed over in years gone by, but here we are. I'm putting my trust in Jeff's good name that it'll sound good. The closest I've been to one so far is listening to youtube videos. I knew I wanted to go with Markbass this time, and my brother has recently bought a Little Mark and a 2x10" cab which sounds amazing - it makes you realise how far the technology has come when I can say without laughing that it sounds better than my old Trace Elliot head and the gargantuan 4x10" cab! The only other Markbass product I really looked at was the Alain Caron combo, which sounds great, but since I'm looking to move away from the tweeter sound, I stuck with my gut instinct and chose the Berlin model. Delivery should be on Monday, and my SR3006 ESOL is ready to go.

The high point for me was his collaboration with Queen on 'Under Pressure'. Magnificent. The low point, I'm not so sure on. His music isn't to my taste and I detest glam rock in general. However, he was clearly a motivated and talented bloke so more power to him doing what he wanted.

[quote name='40hz' timestamp='1489665698' post='3258739'] Geddys Wal sound is one of my favourite tones of all time :/ [/quote] Yep, I love Geddy's Wal sound. One of my favourite bass tones. It doesn't sound like a box strung with rubber bands to me, I would reserve that description for P basses and Gibsons (like that dreadful bass tone in 'Handy' by Wishbone Ash).

The pics don't seem to be working...

I believe Mark's Alembic basses were 34" scale, but of course, strung with light strings. One of the key elements for low action setup is straightness of the neck. For good low action, I look for as straight a neck as possible with just a touch of relief so that the strings don't ground out at the higher frets. This was something I got from Jeff Berlin, who typically has a super low action. You'll end up with a bass that needs a more sensitive touch to play cleanly, but once you've got the touch you can really get it working. A good tech will be able to address this, but so long as the actual neck and fretwork are up to the task, a straight neck with adjustments to saddle height and the pickup height would be the way I'd tackle it. If you want less lateral tension for big bends like Mark does, lighter strings are handy.

I'm hoping to order the Jeff Berlin combo this Thursday from Guitar Guitar (the CMD 151P Jeff Berlin, not the Players School amp). I had also considered the Alain Caron combo but I am in love with Jeff's tone. Going to a tweeterless 15" speaker is a bit of a departure for me but if it gets me half as good a tone as Jeff manages with his, I'll be happy.

Wal basses are a bit of a funny one. Many here will be able to remember they were in the doldrums, price and image wise! I remember a Basschatter describing how, in the 90's they were thought of as rather naff, thought of as the dream bass of the pub player who was still playing the hits of the 80's. It was the sort of bass a boy done good with a pools win might buy. Rather dated, by that age. I never bought into that viewpoint because I worshipped Geddy Lee and to a lesser extent, Jonas Hellborg. I do remember when just over £1000 would secure a decent 4 string Wal from a trader though, never mind a private sale! Of course, their fortunes changed dramatically, and the demand from America grew massively off the back of this 'well kept secret', and we are now at the stage where I genuinely feel, for all the love that I have for these unique and amazing instruments, that they can change hands for rather more than they are really worth. At a time, they represented, to me, a good standard of woodworking and playability with an astounding set of electronics and a tone to die for. Now other builders like ACG offer options that to my mind, do 'all that and more' of the Wal filter preamp tone. Don't get me wrong, I love them and I covet them but their deification still rather mystifies me. As for other basses you won't lose money on, Kubicki basses remain a topic of interest to me. I note that since the unfortunate passing of Philip Kubicki, the rarest of his Ex Factor basses are quickly becoming more valuable. Early serial numbers and late serial numbers (essentially basses built outside of the period when Fender supported his operation and distributed his guitars) are trading for higher values now. This to me, suggests that some speculation continues to be involved in the market values as the Fender era instruments should be no less valuable as they were no less of an instrument.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1488488780' post='3249482'] OMG, that would win an award for the body too! Ned must have been broke! [/quote] It has the look of Ned's LS type bass after ten rounds of Gibson bean counter cost-cutting. No graphite, no expensive headless design, no charm etc etc...

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1488202001' post='3246694'] The Ibanez Gerald Veasley model is very tight, [/quote] It's also hugely expensive. Handmade in Japan, like the Adam Nitti bass. I believe it is 14mm string spacing, which is tight!

I haven't read any of these bass publications for years. I don't tend to bother, they're usually worthless - I can't remember the last time something got a bad review (though I accept the quality of gear these days means not much is truly 'bad', just suited to different tastes). That said, I did once own a Zon Sonus bass and it's one of the few instruments I dream of at night...

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1374424460' post='2148564'] Can a song really be so dire if it can emotionally connect to so many people? [/quote] It has all the integrity of a Justin Bieber song, who has also sold millions of records which emotionally connect to their audience.

Urgh, what an awful song. It was dire then, and is dire now.

Looked great with those gold strings.

Ho, these parody threads never get old, do they?

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1373358701' post='2136526'] They turn Rock n Roll into Cabaret and should be ashamed of themselves. My publishers, Equinox, have a release by Georgina Gregory called 'Send in the Clones: a cultural study of the tribute band. [/quote] These vanity publishers, I expect they'll be lucky if they sell ten copies of that!

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1373297053' post='2135803'] I don't feel an urge to drive a Ferrari. My Volvo does all that I need of a car. You can see where I'm going with this! [/quote] Your Volvo does not have a screaming V12 in it, are you sure you don't want a go in a Ferrari?

I doubt it. Most major acts will never play to a bar full of 20 half interested drinkers, so it's not like tribute acts steal their gigs.