Josh

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='236226' date='Jul 10 2008, 12:51 AM']must.....try....harder[/quote] Just type in Bass Solo on Youtube and then the balance will be restored!

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='236218' date='Jul 10 2008, 12:36 AM']Surprise my last flame didn't draw a response - everybody must have me in their ignore list I dont think it is fair to blame MK for all the slap w***ery that followed his success - and he is really the only slapper thats made it to the mainstream of british popular music (Larry Graham did it in the US and of course Marcus played some sublime slap on Luthers greatest hits). If you listen to the L42 albums rather than all the MK wannabe slap alikes on You Tube there is not really that much slap w***ery on their stuff, lots of nice fingerstyle and of course a lot of the slapping was underpinned by solid synth bass from Mike Pindup.[/quote] It was a rather modest post thats why man And so is this one.......something is not right.......I feel unsettled now........what next...TBBC admitting to a sordid relationship with a female Warwick representative?

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='236144' date='Jul 9 2008, 10:45 PM']I reckon I could have Mark King in a fight though. He looks a big lad but I still fancy my chanches. Probably get in close and work the body. Or maybe just a headbutt to the bridge of the nose/eyebrow. Depends really.[/quote] Who couldn't you have in a fight Chief? Whoopi Goldberg maybe?

[quote name='YouMa' post='235628' date='Jul 9 2008, 12:15 PM']Why are so many Mark King bashers about,and why do people not realise what a fantastic decade the 80s was for bass guitar.I was still a stupid young kid in 1989,nostalgia aside does anybody agree with me?[/quote] I think it comes from the fact there are many players out there who post video after video of them playing nothing other than MK's chops and thus displaying little or no originality in which some players loose respect, I'm one for the latter. I am a fan of Mark King, I'm not a huge one like many, he is a great source of influence and I've learnt how to slap in his way because it felt much more natural and comfortable as opposed to the crappy Flea style I was using at the time, and I can play a few Level 42 songs but beyond that I have no desire to copy MK down to a tee, and like some, I'm more impressed by his fingerstyle work as opposed to his slapping, but a little triplet w***ing is nice now and again. Also I only recently aqquired a King-bass Black Beauty, so I'm sure some people will straight away assume I can do nothing but MK chops and have the bass right up underneath my arm pit and assume I wish on owning every single bass MK has ever had dealings with. Whereas the truth is, I first played a King-Bass a good few years ago thanks to a chap called Will Tottle, and thought it felt great and made everything I was playing on my bass at the time feel effortless and really just felt nice and comfortable and the LED's just make you smile. I bought this bass to see if it can do more than just give you MK's tone and set-up, and I have been pleasently suprised thus far and I'm also starting to enjoy playing again, which personally I think is a sign of a good bass. Mark King is one of the most influential bassists of the last 25 years or so and has brought a style of playing to the masses unlike anybody else, and I doubt someone like that will come around again, and he's still going strong and is a bloody nice chap....apprently.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='234581' date='Jul 7 2008, 10:54 PM']Firstly, Zing+Growl=Status! Rob Green was telling me that as you raise the strings away from the pickups, the frequency loss is much bigger than you think. Were you setting up your Sadowsky, Chris?[/quote] +1!! I thought the action on my Thumb was low, my King-Bass is ridiculously low, yet everything is still audible and the buzz is almost comforting, both plugged and un-plugged. The bad thing is I know I'll never get that kind of action on another bass.

Ever since finding out about Warwicks and Jaco, growl and bark have now been the key elements of my own tone, and for countless others. I thought I had found "It" with my Thumb, but something is still missing, and thats it not being a NT. But........since saturday I now have a compromise, and thats my King-Bass. It's not the growl of Wenge and Bubinga...it is it's own unique growl and I've got so much control of the mid's on this bass and the tonal variety is much more larger than I first imagined. Their defiently not just for Level 42 and Mark King clones, they can do everything in between as well.

Hold on a tick, didn't you want a 5 string or have you got that as well?? If it's the latter then Sir you are in heaven! On a side note Chris, my Thumb might be wanting a new(Old) home

Couldn't resist: Beautiful Sadowsky man!

[quote name='simondee' post='231019' date='Jul 2 2008, 12:06 AM']phwoooar is that an SSII? How does the fretboard stay so pristine??? [/quote] Nah Stage 1 man, Stage II's don't have soapbars, well very rarely. And also that's Lex's 2nd one, the first one cracked.

Mike that Sei is truely something else!!

[quote name='bassjamm' post='230082' date='Jun 30 2008, 09:36 PM']As XB26354 said...that Lull is lush. But i would not pay 2k for it, there's a passive 5 string one in the UK for £1300 brand new. Ok it's not go the fancy top and eq, but even so, 2k for that Lull is excessive! Lull's are up there for me though with Fender copies! Josh...what kind of sound are you after? At the moment it just seems like we're firing off loads of different suggestions at you, but you could probably narrow things down if you had a few ideas in place? I totally understand about the whole custom build thing. I'd consider one now, but that's because i've got a good idea as to what i want. I'm totally contradicting myself here...but you must consider Marleaux's mate! The M-Bass that was up on here recently is still available through Overwater if you fancy it. And as for Fodera's...there's plenty about overseas, and on their Website...they have some used one's in stock as well as a load of NYC models!!![/quote] The sound I'm after is really that modern sounding growl and bark, but not necessarily from a jazz, Ken Smith's higher end basses for example is the tone I've heard MTD emulate, and with my Eden rig I know I'll have a huge mid-range to play with but also to sound very Hi-Fi which is what my Eden is best for. Basically the 2 Warwicks will keep one side of my growl gas at bay, and hopefully the MTD will satisfy my growl needs all around. If I were ever to go custom at some point, it would be a Warwick, but it wouldn't be much more than a mild adapation of an off the shelf "Wick, but really I have no real reason to go custom, the current market has basses I'd like to try and own and I've got years to figure out what is 100% right for me. I've never really been blown away by Marleaux's I'm afraid man, their much more of an aqquired taste.

[quote name='BassBunny' post='229572' date='Jun 30 2008, 11:31 AM']Or have an Overwater or ACG built?? I rate MTD's, I have a Kingston Heir that has just had a Bart pre-amp installed and it is an awesome beast. I am with Jamie on the ergonomics though. When switching from the MTD to either my Jazz or Marvin, you realise that it takes more effort to play. Mike Tobias is great with his Customer Service as well and generally answers any questions himself.[/quote] I'm not one for customs, all of the custom makes of basses we've got on here do absoloutley nothing for me, not in a bad way and I 100% respect the craftsmanship and the hard work, but it's just each Shuker/Overwater/ACG/RIM etc... I've seen have never made me want one, Sei's...a little, but I just don't have the paitence for one and I'm just happy to have a great of the self bass which has been well put together, that looks good and makes the sounds I want . I know such high calibre basses like MTD, Fodera, Sadowsky NYC are custom to a point, but at least for the price tag, I know the time has been taken to make them the best they can. 3 (Or more) months waiting for a bass?? I end up so frustated I'd probally read the bible and not laugh out loud .

[quote name='Toasted' post='229515' date='Jun 30 2008, 10:07 AM']If you're going to spend £2K on a bass, what's a £50 ticket to London in the grand scheme of things? Joe.[/quote] Funnily enough, in the last day the possibility of going to the gallery has become more realisitic so I may hopefully be able to try a handful of basses and be able to walk out with a few

[quote name='bassjamm' post='229433' date='Jun 30 2008, 02:00 AM']Why not just get 1 awesome beast...like a Fodera hehe!!![/quote] That thought has crossed my mind, it would have to be the right one, no Monarchs, but very maybe a Emperor or Emperor 2, I'd be champing at the bit if this one hadn't sold: Though from reading in recent threads regarding Fodera, they do seem to be way over-priced and not exactly living up to the hype, but ah well I'd have to play one for myself. I just wish there was a UK retailer with more stock of MTD and Fodera and other higher end brands like Ken Smith, and thus is also another reason why I'm really considering the 535, due to them not being all that common, it would probally be a long time before I saw one at a good price again.

[quote name='bassjamm' post='229393' date='Jun 30 2008, 12:04 AM']Well if you have money to burn that's fair enough...still i'd be cautious. They are great basses though, but i don't think they're for everyone. One other thing i'd consider, as you said you like to chop and change...resale may prove interesting. Just a thought...but if you like it, go for it!!! Incidently...that Mike Lull that they have in at the Gallery is pretty nice, way overpriced, but very nice...i know of one available in your region if you're interested. Pm me if so. Ari's 535's cdefinately had tone though...as Gwilym said, sometimes the pre-amp can offer you too much tone, so proceed with caution, but fiddle away [/quote] I wouldn't say I've got money to burn, just that I've been saving for a good few months to get the basses I've wanted for a long time and also for BIMM, I've got enough money to get both a Warwick Thumb NT and Streamer Stage 2 and to also have more than enough left to get a high end 5 string. Good thing is if I do decide to go for it and it's not for me then I know I'll have a bass which will generate alot of interest so from that I may find something else more to my liking, but I've got a good feeling the MTD might be for me. Hmmm a bass that can offer too much tone, I've always had the opposite.

[quote name='bassjamm' post='228974' date='Jun 29 2008, 12:46 PM']Hi Josh, I've owned an MTD Kingston, but i've also played Ari's 535's, all of which were great instruments. I found the, a bit ergonomically challenging, they're quite big basses, large spacing and large necks...but i still enjoyed playing them. The tones you can get are pretty awesome too. I'd strongly suggest trying one before you buy one though. If you can check out that one at the gallery, it'd be worth doing so...better losing a day than all that money on a bass you don't love!!! J[/quote] Unfortunatley for me, buying blind is the only way I can get stuff from places past Somerset, as I've got no chance in hell of getting there and back. And I'd love to be able to try a few other basses out, basically I've got enough money to buy anything on that site right now, and my Thumb is starting to grow stale, and the 535 just seems to really appeal to me, both athestically and tonally. And also I'm one of those players that's always been jumping from bass to another, all varying in different sizes and scales, and luckily for each one I've managed to adapt so as far the ergonomics go, I should be ok. [quote]i Josh, if you're interested in the MTD at the Gallery, then give Alex a call about it, I'm sure he'd be happy to help you out. i've played a few MTD's, most of them were owned by Ari, and they can sound quite different depending on the woods used IMO. I guess I was suitably impressed to fork out and buy one! Mine is a wenge neck and f/b, poplar body, maple burl top. The sound is even, articulate and clear, and you can eq in wide range of tones, in fact maybe too wide range - you've got to be carefull not to overdo it. If anything it can sound a bit sterile at low volumes, but when I've gigged it, it just sounds awesome. The only other thing I found it took a while to get used to was the higher string tension due to the 35" scale, as I didn't change the gauge of the strings I am using. The MTD has definitely grown on me - very much like the Sadowsky Tokyo I used to own - because it wasn't until I played them live that I really realised what the fuss was about. I won't be selling my MTD thats for certain! Cheers G Oh and heres some gratuitous porno... (picture courtesy of The Groove Shoppe, where I bought it) [/quote] Georgous!! If all goes to plan, the string tension shouldnt be too much of a problem. Due to lately, I've been playing a full step down exclusively, and hopefuly that would give me a more than playable tension. It works for Andrew Gouche Mind if I ask how it sounded sterile?

Has anyone had any experience with them at all? I've heard and seen many examples of he 535 in action and I've always been impressed, and also I've been one for how they look as well. I'm just curious to see if any of you guys have had a run in with the said bass and if in the flesh, are they worth the hype? As I'm in a position to get the one I've seen at The Gallery: And I'm a bit baffle don how to order from that site as well. Thanks all, Josh.