Chris2112

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1372268' date='Sep 13 2011, 06:31 PM']Quotes like this really piss me off. "£27 to watch Marcus Miller going slap slap slap slap slap ? No ta.......... " What do these people base their opinions on? A couple of YouTube vids? Something they heard in the pub?[/quote] I'm not a huge Marcus Miller fan but even I'd pay £27 to see him play.

[quote name='4000' post='1370458' date='Sep 12 2011, 02:11 PM']Always loved the top wood (amboina IIRC) on your bass.[/quote] Yes, aboyna burl. Very nice! I like the flamed sycamore back too. The wood choices are great. Every bit of the bass feels magnificent. When I order my next ACG I plan to drive to Moffat to select the woods with the help of Alan.

[quote name='wombatboter' post='1370849' date='Sep 12 2011, 06:19 PM'][/quote] These are the lucky lads! What a fantastic collection of basses!

[quote name='steve-soar' post='1369962' date='Sep 11 2011, 10:37 PM']The electrics are some of the best ever created for bass guitar.[/quote] Yes, Phil hit the nail on the head with those ones. Hence them being the only electronics offered on the basses. And you'll never see a Kubicki with modified electronics!

For me, the passion is about the instruments as well as the playing. I probably spend more time on my playing and craft than I do thinking about basses themselves but the equipment is an extremely important part of the equation and must not be overlooked.

[quote name='TheGreek' post='1369562' date='Sep 11 2011, 04:48 PM']Is this a Blue Mahoe fretboard?? I saw some on an exotic wood website - not unaffordable from what I could see - I've asked for a quote for a fretboard. Apparently a very dense wood which makes a fine board...[/quote] No, the fretboard on the Zon is 'phenowood', basically a softer wood like Birch which is impregnated with a phenolic resin and compressed under intense heat. I believe it's similar to ebony in terms of sound and toughness.

[quote name='Bassman Sam' post='1369849' date='Sep 11 2011, 08:49 PM']I would love to try one out Chris, I like the look but I had never heard one in action. I'll need to change that.[/quote] Check out the 'For Sale' forum as I think there are one or two on there at the moment. I've just sold one, and I've owned two 1989 models in the past. They sound amazing. Check out the soundclips on this page: [url="http://www.kubicki.com/player.php"]http://www.kubicki.com/player.php[/url] That's pretty much the untweaked, out of the box sound. A 32" scale bass has no right sounding that big and powerful!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1369848' date='Sep 11 2011, 08:49 PM']I didnt think you liked Rays?[/quote] Oh I do, I love the sound of them. I couldn't have one as my only bass but what they do, they do very well. No fuss, just funky sound on tap. It's not a sound I'd want every day but it's a damn good sound at that. I think I need to own one just to tick it off the list!

I often use my Zoom! drum machine when I'm practising. It's very easy to use and sounds good. I've used it for rehearsals too when the drummer has been unavailable. In those situations I'll use just program a pattern and let it run and we'll improvise over it.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1369835' date='Sep 11 2011, 08:43 PM']Can you get an ACG for £1500?[/quote] To be fair, I'm not sure. In the past, yes I believe you could. I've specced up a bass which pulls out all the stops in terms of fine materials and crafting techniques and it was quoted to me at £1800 a few months ago. Sadly, real life got in the way and I had to spend the money elsewhere. I still think about that bass and I expect next year I'll sell something and make the dream a reality! You can technically get an ACG for much less than £1500 if you look at the superb Graft series. They are 'no frills' instruments in terms of spec but they are beautifully made and play very well (and I assume they sound fantastic). Yes, I think I'll get a new ACG next year as my ACG is by far my favourite bass. I still want a Stingray in the meantime too...

Nice! I think if I had £1500 spare I'd be on the phone to Alan at ACG!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1369810' date='Sep 11 2011, 08:27 PM']It's also the position I find you need to play with attack on none MM basses to get the growl,[/quote] You're absolutely right. I never play near the neck and you just lose that punch and definition. My Zoot bass has a Bartolini humbucker in the MM position and playing over that just nets bags of growl!

[quote name='ead' post='1369716' date='Sep 11 2011, 07:21 PM']New pups, bridge and VVT now rather than VBT as it came.[/quote] Variable Valve Timing?

[quote name='4000' post='1369668' date='Sep 11 2011, 06:41 PM']FWIW, whilst Peter's old bass (which I've spent some time with) was certainly not particularly heavy, my Sei Melt singelcut was waaaay lighter.[/quote] Wow, was it wafer thin? Glad you enjoyed the Sei. That said, I wouldn't make the ACG lighter if I had the choice. It feels wonderfully substantial without being heavy. It's just right!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1369728' date='Sep 11 2011, 07:29 PM']You could just buy a Stingray some folk don't like the fact they always growl even when you don't want it too though.[/quote] Indeed, just that pickup position that Stingrays use gets a growl (often referred to as the "Stingray position" when looking at other basses with a humbucker in the same position). It's not so close to the bridge that it 'honks' effortlessly, not so close to the neck that it's muddy. It just captures that low mid rang burp that makes a bass growl.

[quote name='molan' post='1369512' date='Sep 11 2011, 04:07 PM']How about a Kubicki? One of the 5 pre-sets is designed as a passive 'Precision-alike' but you've got all that flexibility from the twin pickups in active mode as well [/quote] With the two active presets and the amazing tone you get from having both pickups going I doubt anyone would use just the neck pickup! That 'huge' sound I'm talking about is just too addictive! I think for my next Kubicki I will look for one of the exotic top customs!

[quote name='ezbass' post='1369434' date='Sep 11 2011, 02:21 PM']How's this for you? [/quote] Thats awesome! I'd not heard that before either!

No, but then I tend to sit in a seat when I'm playing live so that wouldn't be such an issue.

I've always fancied a Jaydee just to go with my Status for a Mark King collection. But then I consider that the Status sounds better than the Jaydee and that makes it hard for me to justify buying something to play second fiddle to my Series II!

Is there a chance to gig promoter will get arsey with you if you don't lend the kit?

[quote name='freelancesam' post='1369050' date='Sep 11 2011, 03:45 AM']Can anybody guess what instrument this guy plays in the band? [/quote] The skin flute?

Typically that 'growl' is thought of as a strong low mid presence as seen in Warwicks, so look at your EQ in relation to that. There is also a jazz bass 'growl', caused by that burpy sound from the bridge pickup. Try playing closer to the bridge and see if this improves things for you. On the other hand, some basses just do not 'growl'. Some have a little bit when you're really digging in and playing hard but more often than not it seems dicated by wood choice and pickup placement. You can try and make the most of what you have through string choice and EQ'ing but nothing is going to change the inherent tonal character of a bass.

[quote name='billyapple' post='1369519' date='Sep 11 2011, 04:14 PM']Is that the reasoning behind the design then? What kind of an improvement would increasing body rigidity give? Anyone with any experience owning them, they look like they could be quite weighty, is this an issue?[/quote] If you look at the bass Peter posted above (which I now own), thats a great example of how good a singlecut can be. It's not heavy. My Zoot bass is heavier, when on paper it shouldn't be, as they both have mahogany bodies but the Zoot has a carbon fibre neck! Often it's not so much an issue of weight as it is balance, and this ACG here balances perfectly. The body appears slightly elongated when you look at it when it isn't strapped on. In practice, this results in the bass sitting in a very ergonomically friendly position. Out of my three current basses it is the most comfortable to play for long periods. As for the neck access issue, it's not a problem. You soon adapt to having your thumb in the correct place even if you've hung your thumb over the neck for years. Does it make a difference to the tone? I'm not sure as this is the only ACG bass I've really played. Surely it must do though. It looks great, sounds great, plays great and thus I'm sold on singlecuts!* *In truth though, I've always had a soft spot for them.