WTB EUB with substantial skeleton frame

[TheRev]

[quote name='walbassist' post='968667' date='Sep 26 2010, 06:31 PM']Ian's waiting on stock, so that'd be very handy if you would.[/quote]

Looks like 1/2 inch.

[Mr Bassman]

[quote name='Beedster' post='976452' date='Oct 3 2010, 09:37 PM']SLB-100 incoming. Thanks for your help guys, especially those of you who tolerated my PMs

Cheers

Chris[/quote]

Just got in from a gig and really enjoyed playing my SLB100 again.

Hope it works out for you!

And you can stay up all night playing it without getting any complaints!

Edited October 4, 2010 by Mr Bassman

[Beedster]

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='976619' date='Oct 4 2010, 01:16 AM']Just got in from a gig and really enjoyed playing my SLB100 again.

Hope it works out for you!

And you can stay up all night playing it without getting any complaints![/quote]

Hiya mate

Well, in part thanks to you, I'm now the proud owner of an SLB-100. I have to say it's been an interesting process. I played several EUB over the last year or so and simply couldn't find anything that got close in feel to the real thing. I really like to get stuck in when I play, so the lack of a decent frame or skeleton really changed my playing style if I had to use an EUB for a gig or session. Anyway it was clear that the SLB had a very solid frame, and having spoken to the guys who owend them, all agreed that it is very DB-like to play in physical terms.

BUT......

Wow, are people negative about these instruments sound-wise (in fact there is a monster thread on TB in which the SLB is pretty much hammered by everyone, and I mean everyone, and it's been going for 10 years [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352752)"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352752)[/url]. But I have no idea why?

Well, actually I do; if you play an SLB through a bass amp without paying some real attention to gain and EQ, it will sound like a cheap Precision copy with cheap flats played through a cheap amp, simple as that (in fact last night I had the misfortune of playing through a Behringer bass combo and it sounded shocking, really shocking). Through my Mesa M-Pulse I had more success, but it still had a few limitations despite playing around with the 5-band para for a few hours. However, through my Acoustic Image Contra this baby comes alive. OK, it's far from perfect DB tone for sure, but given that in deciding to buy it I was expecting it to sound crap and to require several modifications (certainly a new bridge and a new PUP), I'm both amazed and relieved. The guys in the band immediately loved the tone as well, and that's a big plus at present. The SLB is also a dream to play; OK, it weighs a ton, but I love that, it's really solid and stable so I can really get stuck in. I can lock it into my body when I'm digging in, or I can stand away and use the lower bouts for a bit of stability in quieter sections or when I want to just have a look around! The tone controls are a bit crude and there is perhaps a little more noise than I'd ideally like, but these issues can be pretty simply rectified (I'll almost certainly try a few PUPs on it to see if I can improve these issues). Anyway, if you haven't played one and you're looking for an EUB, play one, you'll soon understand what a well-designed and well-built EUB should look, feel and play like. OK, new price for these is pretty ridiculous and I wouldn't/couldn't have paid that, but if you can find one for under £1200, it's a great instrument for the money.

Many help for all the help above guys

Chris

[TheRev]

[quote name='Beedster' post='986206' date='Oct 12 2010, 08:38 PM']Wow, are people negative about these instruments sound-wise (in fact there is a monster thread on TB in which the SLB is pretty much hammered by everyone, and I mean everyone, and it's been going for 10 years [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352752)"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352752)[/url]. But I have no idea why?


Chris[/quote]


This was why I went for an Eminence over the Yamaha. I like the feel of the Yammy but the issues over the pickup/pre and the overall sound just put me off.

It's interesting that the Contra made such a difference - I'm seriously considering investing in one.

[Beedster]

[quote name='TheRev' post='986672' date='Oct 13 2010, 10:17 AM']This was why I went for an Eminence over the Yamaha. I like the feel of the Yammy but the issues over the pickup/pre and the overall sound just put me off.

It's interesting that the Contra made such a difference - I'm seriously considering investing in one.[/quote]

I guess it's like everything else, we have a natural tendency to take the printed word as gospel and when we see a lot of it saying the same thing, even more so (as a wise man once said, give one hundred million monkeys one hundred million typewriters and you have the internet). I genuinely believe that the majority of those guys posting on TB simply hadn't done the work to get the sound. Playing an EUB through a bass amp is going to tease the tone in the direction of electric bass. Playing a SLB with stock strings (which are shocking apparently), through a bass combo in a music shop and then stating "I played it and it's crap", seems to be quite a common sentiment with this instrument, but then many vintage Precisions fail on the same test unless you know what a good vintage Precision sounds like soloed through a poor amp. Like I said, through the Behringer, the SLB stank, really stank. Through the AI however it sings. It's a £3000 instrument; I'm not saying that it shouldn't sound good through everything, perhaps it should, but perhaps Yamaha assumed that the people who'd be prepared to pay that would also be prepared to take their time over amplification and tone? It was designed, like the other Yamaha silent instruments, as a headphone practice instrument for orchestral players, so I guess there are compromises that were required in terms of amplification. My logic in buying it was that, if it sounds that good through headphones - which it does - the core tone must be there, and if the core tone's there, I can get that tone out with careful amplification.

Re the Acoustic Image, it is mind-blowingly good stuff. Kicks PJB and Markbass into touch and some. Everything sounds great through it, literally everything. I bought it for acoustic DB, but it's become the standard studio combo overnight.

C

[Beedster]

I think this was one of the more interesting comments on the TB thread, albeit in the context of the SLB-200, which seems to have been slightly better recieved


Originally Posted by lin fung[i] I heard the Norwegian bassist, Arild Andersen, play an slb 200 here in Taipei a few weeks ago and had decided by the end of the show that I wanted to get one. I sounded that great. He wasn't using the stock pickup, but instead had mounted a fishman full circle on it...


"lin fung’s post about Arild Andersen’s SVB200 piqued my curiosity because I was considering either changing the stock pickup or adding a bridge wedge pickup like the Revolution Solo. So I did what any curious shmuck would do, I emailed Arild directly and asked him about his setup. I wasn’t expecting a response from Mr. Andersen quite honestly. I figured he has more important things to respond to like booking gigs and not responding to some pesky Yank from the US. Much to my surprise, he responded to me the very next day. He was very personable and cordial in his email. To me that’s the best kind of musician – down to earth and willing to help out fellow musicians. I digress.

Anyway…he uses a Wilson pickup, not the Fishman Full Circle. He did advise me to focus more on my technique rather than what kind of pick up I should get. In his words, “no sound comes from the pickup – it comes from your fingers.” And I agree whole heartedly. I'd like to add that he uses Thomastik Spirocores. Arild made a very bold statement in his email. He said that with his Wilson pickup, through an amp and sound system, his Yamaha SVB200 sounds 90% the same as his acoustic upright. Wow. Then again, we’re talking about a seasoned professional here. He could probably make a piece twine nailed to a 2 x 4 sound good. But in short, hearing him say that or reading it rather, is very promising and shows what the SVB200 is capable of in the right hands. Looks like lin fung feels the same about the sound of Arild's Yamaha SVB200"[/i]

[TheRev]

Good point - it really is in the fingers. The's a Youtube vid of Chris Mhin Doky playing his SLB200 and it sounds amazing - but again, he's changed the pickup and electronics.

IIRC, a lot of the TB comments referred to early versions of the SLB200, which, as you've said, was intended puerly as a silent practice instrument. I believe that later instruments had redesigned electronics more suited for amplification.

For me it was really an issue of not having to faff about with the electrics. The Eminence had a reputation for sounding good straight out of the box, wheras the general concensus was that the Yamaha needed fettling to get the best from it. That's not to say that I can't make my Eminence sound sh1t....

[Owen]

[quote name='Beedster' post='986691' date='Oct 13 2010, 10:33 AM']Through the AI however it sings[/quote]

I am not a betting man, but would put money on the fact that it sounds good because the AI pre-amp is buffering the piezo properly.