bubinga5 Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 8 hours ago, Davo-London said: High action anyone? This is my pet hate. I will not play a bass or guitar with high action. Oh well, then there's neck thickness from front to back. Don't like baseball necks. Oh, now I've started ... Davo Me too. A super high action imo is my only achilles heel. But there is no need for it imo. I dont care how hard you play to let your strings ring. A pick player who plays heavy rock can get away with it. But finger style . You dont have to work that hard with your left hand/or right hand may it be the case your left handed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 1 hour ago, Delberthot said: This is the fellow right here Nice bass. Always fancied a fretted one. Know what you mean with the ironing board. Here's my Overwater 6er. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 (edited) On 26/02/2019 at 12:29, thodrik said: I think that when people say 'I can't play with 18mm string spacing' it is just shorthand for 'I could technically play on 18mm string spacing but it isn't my preference and I would prefer to play something else'. I think that it is mostly personal preference rather than a case of bassists being fussy or not being adaptable or any idea that a bassist who doesn't like narrow string spacing is somehow a less talented bassist than someone who does. The context behind someone saying 'I can only play bass on Fender Precision basses might actually be 'I have been playing loads of types of basses for years but have finally discovered that the dimensions and sounds of a Precision are perfect for me, so why bother playing something else?'. I'm sure that if most of the players on this site swapped basses for a weekend of gigs, most of us would be able to 'make do' with someone else's bass for a weekend without the gig suffering. We probably wouldn't enjoy it as much though as playing with the instruments we are used to and have chosen through our own personal preference. It would be a fun experiment though. Exactly this imho. I can and have played basses with narrow string spacing, but I didn't like it and it didn't feel comfortable so given the choice I'd avoid doing it again. Necks I can/could adapt to far more easily. The favoured neck amonst my current herd is on my Aria SB-R80. It's big and chunky but seems to suit my hands/long fingers (I have no idea what its neck profile would be termed as). However, I can then switch to using my EBMM Sterling which by comparison has a tiny, slender neck. As far as my ability to play it goes, no problems at all but the issue that I have noticed just recently is that I'm starting to experience pains in my left hand after playing a slimmer width neck for a while. As has already been stated there are a variety of reasons why a player may favour a particular neck profile or string spacing, but it doesn't mean that they can't play anything else, it's just that they know what they like and would prefer not to. Edited February 28, 2019 by Deedee typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 (edited) 18 hours ago, bubinga5 said: Me too. A super high action imo is my only achilles heel. But there is no need for it imo. I dont care how hard you play to let your strings ring. A pick player who plays heavy rock can get away with it. But finger style . You dont have to work that hard with your left hand/or right hand may it be the case your left handed. The "heavy-handed rock pick player" is something of a generalisation and it annoys me somewhat. I play mostly pick style and spent most of my early years playing heavy rock, but I've always had very, very low action and play very, very lightly, unless of course I'm digging in for effect. I always wanted to have the same sort of facility as a typical shred guitarist, whether I used it or not (I tend not to these days). Martin Petersen has said in the past he could only think of one customer who had lower action than me, although my main bass these days has something of a compromise due to age and build tolerances. It's very low, but not super low. The right hand picking thing, with minimal movement, and the need for (potential) speed are the reasons why I prefer relatively narrow string spacing. Edited February 28, 2019 by 4000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 22 minutes ago, 4000 said: The "heavy-handed rock pick player" is something of a generalisation and it annoys me somewhat. I play mostly pick style and spent most of my early years playing heavy rock, but I've always had very, very low action and play very, very lightly, unless of course I'm digging in for effect. I always wanted to have the same sort of facility as a typical shred guitarist, whether I used it or not (I tend not to these days). Martin Petersen has said in the past he could only think of one customer who had lower action than me, although my main bass these days has something of a compromise due to age and build tolerances. It's very low, but not super low. The right hand picking thing, with minimal movement, and the need for (potential) speed are the reasons why I prefer relatively narrow string spacing. Agreed, the idea of the unskilled, heavy handed rock player who hacks away at a badly set up bass with high action through a cheap, badly EQ'd amp where he/she has made a mistake of deciding to 'cut rather than boost mids' is a classic bass forum caricature, alongside the incredibly adapt fluent funk and jazz player who always has amazing technique, plays with a beautiful light touch with low action, who never achieves fret buzz or fret clank, and always plays through a very expensive and complicated EQ system which is always 'run flat' or 'adjusted to suit the room'. Maybe it is time to start a new thread... Quote Surely your human hand can adapt to a slightly different neck shape slightly higher action on a bass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 14 minutes ago, thodrik said: Agreed, the idea of the unskilled, heavy handed rock player who hacks away at a badly set up bass with high action through a cheap, badly EQ'd amp where he/she has made a mistake of deciding to 'cut rather than boost mids' is a classic bass forum caricature, alongside the incredibly adapt fluent funk and jazz player who always has amazing technique, plays with a beautiful light touch with low action, who never achieves fret buzz or fret clank, and always plays through a very expensive and complicated EQ system which is always 'run flat' or 'adjusted to suit the room'. Maybe it is time to start a new thread... Describes me to a tee.😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 I will also apologise for my slightly passive aggressive approach in the post above. I dropped my sandwich at work. Complete disaster. Shredded lettuce everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 20 hours ago, thodrik said: I dropped my sandwich at work. Complete disaster. Shredded lettuce everywhere. Sounds like a day in the life of staff working at 'Subway' . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leroydiamond Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 Roger Sadosky offers a choice between an 18mm an 19mm bridge on his NYC 4 strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 I've played some awful necks over the years (mainly on Gibson and Rickenbacker basses). That said, size and shape don't matter to me, so long as it's comfortable. I always roll my eyes when a player says "Oh, I won't play that, it's .5mm too wide at the nut" or "oh, thats 150g over the weight I'm happy with". I've generally found my hands quite adaptable. I love fast, thin necks like on my Peavey Palaedium and Cort Rithimic Jeff Berlin models, but I also love wide and flat with wide string spacing, like on my Bogart. I can swap between them quite happily at the drop of a hat without issue, which suits me just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 On 25/02/2019 at 18:37, bubinga5 said: Is it being fussy/un adaptable or just what players want to stick with because they have been playing certain instrument dynamics/measurements for so long..? Maybe. My ideal neck width is about 16mm. So I am happy to play a 15mm or a 17mm bass just fine. Can I play a 20mm spacing bass, or a deep neck, yes of course I can, but I can't play it anywhere near as well, and thus don't find it as nice to play on. There is more than the spacing obviously, there is the spacing at the top of the neck, and the depth of the neck. The dingwalls are wider than that, but I found it ok to play because the necks are much thinner. Something like a P is not pleasant for me as it has a chunky neck and wide spacing. I have gigged them, many times but I can't play them as well as I could play an Ibanez for instance - I can't play it as fast and I make more mistakes. Literally I can play hit me with your rhythm stick on a jazz, but I can't on a P. So yes, I could probably get used to anything but if I am buying something, why would I buy something that I don't find comfortable when there are plenty of things that I do find comfortable, that would surely be crazy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 On 01/03/2019 at 18:26, Chris2112 said: I've played some awful necks over the years (mainly on Gibson ... basses). That does surprise me - I understand why Gibson basses are an acquired taste, but I've always found the necks very comfortable on the (admittedly rather small selection of) Thunderbirds I've played. Perhaps I've been lucky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 On 01/03/2019 at 18:33, Woodinblack said: P is not pleasant for me as it has a chunky neck and wide spacing. I have gigged them, many times but I can't play them as well as I could play an Ibanez for instance I'm in the the opposite position. I'm naturally more comfortable on a P-bass with the wider spacing but find, when switching to my Yamaha BB425, my fingers trip over themselves. If I play the 425 exclusively for a few hours, the muscle memory starts to develop and it gets more comfortable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Regularly playing a bit of acoustic guitar should help with dealing with narrow spacings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 6 hours ago, MoJo said: I'm in the the opposite position. I'm naturally more comfortable on a P-bass with the wider spacing but find, when switching to my Yamaha BB425, my fingers trip over themselves. If I play the 425 exclusively for a few hours, the muscle memory starts to develop and it gets more comfortable Well, that is the thing, even when I was playing the P bass all the time, I was still not able to play some things that I could play on other basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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