SMART Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Fascinating designs and ideas but if we're not careful the technology takes over from enjoying making great music! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazm Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 [quote name='SMART' post='73583' date='Oct 12 2007, 09:35 PM']Fascinating designs and ideas but if we're not careful the technology takes over from enjoying making great music![/quote] Bit like the hats & tats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMART Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 (edited) PS I DO like great technology but feel the same way that Rick Turner does about making it work as simply as possible in making great noise. Once it starts on a journey where you're dealing more with it than the music and great sound and tone then the plot, Agatha Christie or not, has been well and truly lost! Try the Indiana Jones approach and just get on in there and have a go and see what treasures reveal themselves to you (excluding Nazis in Austria!). Ian Edited October 13, 2007 by SMART Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proghead Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Here some Toys I bookmarked over the years... Doubleneck... A photoshopped request I sent to Ernie Ball... I had one of theese... Greets Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E_MaN Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Why goes the g77 have that bit parallel bit to the neck? I suppose it is there for a reason.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proghead Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 [quote name='E_MaN' post='75531' date='Oct 17 2007, 01:43 PM']Why goes the g77 have that bit parallel bit to the neck? I suppose it is there for a reason....[/quote] ...in the manual there was something like "to reduce harmonic vibration of the neck that can cause tracking problems". Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonlord Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 [quote name='BigRedX' post='60645' date='Sep 15 2007, 01:02 AM']Time for Friday's bass and here it is: This is a TK Signature Series 524 Bass Made by Todd Keehn in Colorado. I'm a sucker for the fanned-fret look, and now having played a Dingwall Afterburner, I can say that it's surprisingly easy to adapt to. In fact the fanning looks more difficult when you look at a bass from the front than from the playing position. The fanning on this bass doesn't seem as extreme as the Dingwalls this one's 37-34" (I believe that the Dingwalls are shorter scale on the G?)[/quote] Nope, Dingwalls are 37-34". Judging by the photo, this bass must have a less extreme fanning, 2" difference between B and G at most. (yeah, i saw this a little late) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 excellent thread.... my faves so far are the Norton basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few weeks... However normal service should be resumed until I run out of suitable instruments to share with you. I've been trying to keep these selections to basses that are currently available for purchase just on the off-chance that anyone who loves these as much as I do may be tempted to get one... Anyway on with my current selection and something that Dragonlord might possibly be interested in - more fanned frets from KR Guitars: The Jamal Ursa Major + and the Kamakiri I found KR Guitars through the Luthier Access Group and at the time I bookmarked the site there were 4 models and a fairly informative, although completely Flash-based site (which makes grabbing pictures to show here slightly more complicted that normal so I'd held off until I had time to dedicate to it). Since then the site has been completely changed and is now marked as under construction and only has limited (but easy to grab) pictures of these two basses. However what is there is completely stunning - especially the Ursa Major +. Fretless with a slight fan (35-34") and fretlines disguised as art. Q Tuners and extended upper range access. If it wasn't for the single-cut body and the complications that might arise from my guitar-style "technique" this could be heading my list of ideal basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 As the owner of probably the weirdest shaped basses here,there's absolutely nothing in this thread that I would want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 I should think playing a fanned fretless in tune would be imposible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotnwhy Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 very nice! although i'm slightly worried about what i see with the bridge of the second bass. looks very much (though hard to tell for sure) like a concept i've been working on. i really hope it isn't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 (edited) Found this on the Sei site today. I don't think you can fit many more tricks on a bass: Edited October 21, 2007 by peted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Lorne, If I'd been doing this thread 30 years ago BC Rich would have been right in there, however in the intervening years IMO they've become pretty much the mainstream for "extreme rock" styled instruments and also I don't feel that the designs are quite as radical compared with what else is now available as they were back in the late 70s. Having said that if you ever feel the need to sell one of your 8 strings I'll probably be at the front of the queue! bass-ferret, I don't think that a fanned fretless is going to be much more difficult than non-fanned - afterall it's all about practice pitching the notes right, besides the KR fretless instruments all have enough marking on the fingerboard to get you roughly in the right place. wotnwhy, I'm seen quite a few basses with similar bridges to the KR Kamakiri - some will be featuring in this thread soon. peted, I believe this is the most recent bass completed by Sei. Martin was fitting the electronics in it last time I was at the Gallery finalising the specifications for my Sei bass. While I love the Sei flamboyant shape and fanned frets, I'm not entirely sure that the combination quite works... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Today's bass comes from Italy, [url="http://www.laurus.it/english/english.html"]Laurus[/url] This is the Quasar At the moment Laurus just does the single design in a variety of string, pickup and woods configurations. I believe there is a technical reason for the small headstock shape, but it's not currently explained on the Laurus site (although the're not the only builder to utilise this design element). Check out the "who plays Laurus" section - there's some impressive sounding clips there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 [quote name='BigRedX' post='77508' date='Oct 21 2007, 10:07 PM']Lorne, If I'd been doing this thread 30 years ago BC Rich would have been right in there, however in the intervening years IMO they've become pretty much the mainstream for "extreme rock" styled instruments and also I don't feel that the designs are quite as radical compared with what else is now available as they were back in the late 70s. Having said that if you ever feel the need to sell one of your 8 strings I'll probably be at the front of the queue![/quote] Erm,Not for sale,At least not yet My 2 are kinda the best you can get,the first one is a 1979 bass,now the Bich was unleashed on the public in 1978,but the basses didn't appear until 1979,so this is one of the first The other one is a 1985 Supreme,one of only about 20 ever made,so that makes it kinda rare too However,for the right money I "Might" be persuaded to sell the Mockingingbird used in a Thin Lizzy video-it won't be cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Lorne, that's completely understandable, if they were mine I wouldn't even contemplate selling them (although I would have them strung up with all 8 strings, but then again I love the sound of 8 string bass and it suits one of my playing styles very nicely). I think that the Bich style body is an elegant solution to the tricky problem of finding places for all the tuners (and Kramer obviously thought so too). If you come across one up for sale that you aren't interested in I'd much appreciate a "heads up". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Today's basses are from [url="http://www.spaltbasses.com/"]Spalt[/url] Here's a pair of Hybrids - a Magma with Lightwave pickups and a Terminator And a vViper Bass Appologies for the poor quality of the pictures, but these are pretty much the best I can find without trawling through several hundred pages of TalkBass posts where I know that somewhere there is a stunning set of photos of a 6 string Hybrid Bass. The site seems to have been "under construction" and is low on information, your best bet for details is to read [url="http://www.bunnybass.com/e-zine/interviews/michaelspalt/michaelspalt.shtml"]this interview from Bunny Bass with Michael Spalt[/url] The Hybrid basses are high up on my list of 'must-try' instruments - I find the combination of the aluminium chassis and adjustable figured wood body parts looks elegant and practical. The vViper bass while more conventional looking has an interesting take on the movable pickup concept, with a pivoting pickup rather than the more usualy sliding arrangement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 [quote name='BigRedX' post='77891' date='Oct 22 2007, 09:49 PM']Lorne, that's completely understandable, if they were mine I wouldn't even contemplate selling them (although I would have them strung up with all 8 strings, but then again I love the sound of 8 string bass and it suits one of my playing styles very nicely). I think that the Bich style body is an elegant solution to the tricky problem of finding places for all the tuners (and Kramer obviously thought so too). If you come across one up for sale that you aren't interested in I'd much appreciate a "heads up".[/quote] I know of 2 and they're both F%%*^%g expensive and not in the U.K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotnwhy Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 i've drooled over those spalt basses on a number of occasions. frikkin love the concept and look. first time i've seen the vViper though. would like to hear some soundclips, see how well that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rohan Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 All these are making me want a bass in the shape of one of the ships off star trek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 Next up is [url="http://www.vikingmovie.com/phaedrus/"]Phaedrus[/url] This is called the Quadrant. Here's a view looking from the 'body' end A close up of the machineheads and pickup And Ned Steinberger checking one out at NAMM Phaedrus takes the Steinberger concept of a minimal bass the it's extreme. This is bassically a 3/8" strip of steel with strings, a pickup, and associated electronics attached to it. There's 3 versions, the 4-string Quadrant, 5-string Destructor and the single string Proton. I'm not sure exactly what the availability of these basses is at the moment. When I first came across them the site had it's own domain, but now it's piggy-backed onto vikingmovie.com. Phaedrus inventor Thayer DeMay isn't brilliant at answering emails, but lat time I was in touch, the Quadrant was at a special offer price of $500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 [quote name='BigRedX' post='78582' date='Oct 23 2007, 11:46 PM']Next up is [url="http://www.vikingmovie.com/phaedrus/"]Phaedrus[/url] This is called the Quadrant. Here's a view looking from the 'body' end A close up of the machineheads and pickup And Ned Steinberger checking one out at NAMM Phaedrus takes the Steinberger concept of a minimal bass the it's extreme. This is bassically a 3/8" strip of steel with strings, a pickup, and associated electronics attached to it. There's 3 versions, the 4-string Quadrant, 5-string Destructor and the single string Proton. I'm not sure exactly what the availability of these basses is at the moment. When I first came across them the site had it's own domain, but now it's piggy-backed onto vikingmovie.com. Phaedrus inventor Thayer DeMay isn't brilliant at answering emails, but lat time I was in touch, the Quadrant was at a special offer price of $500[/quote] Nice to see one of these weird and wonderfuls actually strapped to a human .... Most of them can't be practical instrumenst - or can we have live playing shots as well?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotnwhy Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 looks interesting, would shure like to play one. but surely in more energetic performances the tuners would be easily knocked?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 I'll do my best to try and fine player pics for some of the previous Weird and Wonderful selections, just so people can see that these basses are beind used... The tuners on the Phaedrus are quite safe from 'accidental adjustment' as the strap buttons on the bass are located in such a way that the tuners are past the line of the player's body. Have a look at the video of the Quadrant Bass being played to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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