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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 2/16/2006 9:57:11 AM | Wow, you guys have some nice gear.
I just got a Musicman Stingray Myself, with the 3-eq and piezo bridge. Honestly, I think it's the last 4 string bass I'll ever need. Goes from round warm, and vintage sounding, to bass heavy dub sounds-with my amp set flat :)
I've always been a fan of J-basses. I think someone mentioned the MIM's back in this thread. I've had a mexican since the mid 90's, and other then the electronics needing some work, it's been a great bass. At a quarter of the price of my stingray, it owes me nothing for sure. | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 3/1/2006 8:15:43 PM | Interesting thread, I've been playing for over 30 years and still have a lot to learn, however i have not followed in the wake of greats like stu hamm or billy sheenan. I tend to follow greats like james jamerson and paul mccartney. Although they weren't as technically advanced as stu or billy, they laid some of the best bass lines ever written and they will always be remembered. These guys knew how to keep the grove ... although their music may not have bass lines that stick out in your head, the songs would be nothing without them. (the bass line in the beatles "something" is one of my favourites) anyone can play it, but not many can play it right.....
I have a 4001 rick, a geddy lee jazz, a godin 5 string and a hofner copy. I'm looking for a fender bass vi.... | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 3/2/2006 9:14:31 PM | ^^
Nothin' too fancy; just a Fender Jazz Bass and an Ampeg B-3. Also have a few assorted foot pedals, etc...
Jamerson was incredibly gifted; was a big part of the Motown sound... | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 3/2/2006 9:20:29 PM | | I've heard that about the MIM fenders, the electronics aren't the best, I had a MIM P-bass about 15 years ago. Went to active emg's. I miss that bass. Anyone ever play a Fender Bass VI? | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 3/23/2006 7:38:50 AM | | I played bass before i played standard guitar due to me having a natural inclination to use my thumb to strum chords,in doing so i developed an ear for music before i learned any chords, phrasing,or technique in general. The first band i was ever in I held up the low end in a death metal outfit called scald when i was in tenth grade.Influinced by the likes of cliff burton,steve harris,john paul jones,david effelson(sp?),paulo pinto,rex brown,dan lilker,tom araya,and cronos of venom.I am a competent bassist by all means | |
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longte
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Joined: 10/18/2004
Msg: 81 | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 3/28/2006 2:29:34 PM |
Old fretless Maton JB4
An Aussie builder, yes? With a good rep, IIRC.
I can't play a fretted bass any more, ....they just feel, "wrong". My first bass was a fretless, I played both for a while, but I got rid of the fretted ones, ....just too limiting, far less expressive ....for me anyway.
I would like to have a "tic tac" bass though, or a bari-guitar (for certain things, other than pushing groove). | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 3/28/2006 9:04:06 PM | | Im running a Fender Precision special. P and J pickups, active electronics. J bass neck. | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/3/2006 12:42:15 AM | Hi All,
Thanks Late on your advice earlier on for my amplification needs.
I have a question to anyone. I was thinking about getting a Rickenbacher bass like the old 4001. I always wanted one when I was younger listening to Geddy Lee and Chris Squire. However, I hear that they are finicky and are not the most robust instrument. I guess maybe I just want one for nostalgic purposes. Could anybody who has owned one comment on their experiences with this instrument? I was at a music dealer in town here and to order a new Richenbacker bass will take about one year!
Cheers, Ronetregnis | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/3/2006 1:19:30 PM | The 4001, is not a favorite of mine. They do however, have that "grindy" 100hz-sound; Lee, and Squire made good use of, they don't really have any other tones available, probably due to the pick-up placement/scale length. They are also difficult to set up and intonate due to a clunky bridge design, and while they may "look" cool, I find that they also tend to be "neck-heavy".
As for "robustness", the "necky", design doesn't lend itself to surviving rough handling, and the "neck-through" with body wings structure may sometimes present "de-lamination" problems. Finding an old used one that is still in one piece might be prudent.
A "must-have" for doing Yes and Rush covers, other than that? ....I'll pass. | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/5/2006 7:02:57 PM | Yeah, I know, .....I gave my opinion of the Ricky, even though I've never owned one. I'll add this:
If that's the sound you want, .....nothing does it better.
It got me thinking about the basses I have owned though, quite a few.
While primarily, I'm a guitarist, I play many stringed instruments, ......I do love bass though.
My first bass was a '70s Fender P, ....I only owned it for a week, ....it was a flip.
Ibanez Roadstar, "Jazz" style, fretless ....with Duncan "stacked pups, ......loved it, miss it.
Lado, .....forget the model #, fretted, ....active Bartolini's, ......meh..
California Custom, a late '70s "Shecter" P-Bass, fretted, .....through-neck.
Steinberger Fretless, ....early '80s, when they were around $1800
Kubicki Factor, fretless, with the "drop-D" extended fret board, ....killer bass, ....I wish I still had it.
Now I just have my Summers/Warmoth fretlless, ...."J" neck, P/J pup config. I had the neck custom made by Warmoth after the original (Bob Summers - Brazilian Rosewood w/Ebony FB), went "twisty".
The neck is African Bubinga, Ebony FB, frettless, of course. The body is solid Zebrawood/Brazilian Rosewood, made in the late-'70s, ....you can't get solid Zebrawood anymore.
Pictured here (Between the ampeg V4 and the Hammond):
http://homepage.mac.com/ewald/.Pictures/woodshed.jpg
Weighs a ton, ....It's the heaviest bass I've ever seen, .....and for over-kill in the sustain, via mass department?
A 1/2" machined brass plate, under the bridge. Sustain? ...........YIKES!
It has a '73 Fender "P" pup, and a Duncan stacked "J", .......recording engineers drop their jaws when they get a feed off the DI, ....the tone of this instrument is hard to believe.
Everybody calls it "the keeper". | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/8/2006 6:27:38 PM | Well, late. You aren't kidding when you say it looks heavy! I like the grain of the wood. I looked up the weight of the wood on http://woodworkerssource.net. 53 lbs/cu.ft. White oak is about 47 lbs/cu.ft.
Yikes! That will destroy your lower back and shoulder in a gig. Well, I wonder if how many holes you could drill in it before you notice the sustain diminishes? I wonder if anybody has done this to reduce weight and try get the best sustain to weight ratio. It also is funny to note that the wood smells like roses when it is cut.
I betcha a lotta women would like that on those romantic nights.
Ha... Ha.. come on over to my house baby. I'll light the candles and while we are waiting for dinner to come over, I'll fire up my drill here to give you a nice whiff of roses , while I prepare my instrument for the next gig.
Speaking of Jokes here is a bass player joke.
A couple, who's relationship was on the rocks, went to a marriage counselor who could not get them to discuss anything. The communication block was so heavy that nothing he suggested could make them open up and talk.
Finally after several sessions of non-communication, the counselor stands up, walks to the corner of the room and produces a bass guitar. He brings it to the couple, plugs it into a small practice amp and begins to play fervently. Gradually their barriers break down and they begin to discuss their problems and little things that always bothered them that they never felt encouraged to bring up before.
At the end of the session, they were smiling and laughing just like old times. They paid their bill and before leaving, the couple asked the counselor, "What did you do? How did that song help make everything work out?"
He answered simply, "Everybody talks during the bass solo." | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/8/2006 6:44:50 PM | Well, late. You aren't kidding when you say it looks heavy! I like the grain of the wood. I looked up the weight of the wood on http://woodworkerssource.net. 53 lbs/cu.ft. White oak is about 47 lbs/cu.ft.
.......and it has a half-inch thick brass plate under the bridge to make it even denser.
It boggles the mind, what ol' Bob was thinkin' when he made this one.
Yikes! That will destroy your lower back and shoulder in a gig.
It's definitely a "sit-down" bass.
Fortunately, I play up to 9 different stringed instruments on gigs, ...I sit, ......next to the "ax-rack".
I wouldn't change a thing on this bass, ....the tone is too perfect, ....and the sustain is other-wordly. | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/11/2006 5:05:41 PM | Ok here's one for all you bass heads.
I am going to get as bass guitar (electric) at some point in the near future. I want one that is good but not too much money.
Any suggestions please? | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/11/2006 6:00:23 PM | my suggestion
warmoth from ebay
you can get a crazy good bass for cheap | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/11/2006 6:12:41 PM | I take you meant the custom online shop?
I had a look. Looked good, but shipping to the uk is too much hassle and extra money for me. | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/12/2006 5:46:55 PM | bob dylan
dude
no I mean ebay
find some warmoth auctions on ebay from the uk | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 4/12/2006 6:05:54 PM | | Ok will keep my eye out. Did go on ebay but didn't really look properly. Thanks. | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 5/2/2006 11:31:05 AM | [I have a question to anyone. I was thinking about getting a Rickenbacher bass like the old 4001. I always wanted one when I was younger listening to Geddy Lee and Chris Squire. However, I hear that they are finicky and are not the most robust instrument. I guess maybe I just want one for nostalgic purposes. Could anybody who has owned one comment on their experiences with this instrument? I was at a music dealer in town here and to order a new Richenbacker bass will take about one year!]
I've got a '79 Rick 4001 that I have had since '80 (picked it up for $400) Jet Glo with white pickguard. I will never part with it, the action is still good and the only work I had to do was get the pickups rewound and set up a couple of times, That is all that can be expected after owning it for 25 years. It was gigged a lot for a while and i keep in great shape and I get many offers for it. I wouldn't say it is not robust, at least no worse than any others. | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 5/2/2006 4:53:38 PM | bull1bass
if you go back a couple pages on this thread you will read some stuff about the rich 4001
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 5/2/2006 6:16:56 PM | Yes, I saw the comments on it and had to put in my 2 cents, a Rich is a different breed of sound, but I still love it.
I also have a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz, Its a great player (gotta love the neck on it) but the pickups are so-so, I think that everyone will agree with me on that.... Any recommendations for upgrading them??? | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 5/7/2006 7:05:50 PM | Top Tips: Recording Bass Guitar
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Advice from both sides of the coin!
We talk to Oroh Angiama, Bassist and musical director for Corrine Bailey-Rae, among many others, and Steve Bush, legendary producer for the likes of Stereophonics. For home producers having to play ‘both sides of the desk’, here are some priceless tips for getting the perfect Bass Guitar recording.
Steve Bush - The Producer's perspective
1. Monitoring is key.
Understanding how much information wallows about down low in mixes is crucial to getting tight and clear balances. Try and invest in the best speaker system you can afford. This will allow you to critically assess exactly what's going on in the very low frequencies. These frequencies can be going crazy down below, wasting valuable power in your overall mix and most home recording and small nearfield speaker systems simply don't allow you to judge these well.
2. Balances.
Linked to the first point above. While recording bass guitar, or any instrument for that matter, being able to hear the instrument you're working on in the mix clearly is of paramount importance. The best tip I ever got from an experienced engineer was, ‘train yourself not to "solo" anything as much as possible’. Solo'ing an instrument is fine for checking technical glitches etc, but means absolutely nothing in terms of tone and balance when it comes to the overall sound of the track. If you are recording and someone else is playing the instrument, there is a lot to be said for the old method of working, whereby the player is either somewhere else other than the control room, or working on headphones. This allows you as the recording engineer to hear the instrument at a relevant level in the mix. The modern technique of recording in the control room on the monitor speakers forces the engineer to have to put the instrument being recorded so loud in the track, that the subtle judgement of tone and balance is severely compromised.
3. Colouration. I find some of the most flexible tools I have in the studio are the types of devices that give you options for "colouring" the sound you're working on. In particular with bass instruments, I find a delicate application of what would be called "re-amping" provides me with the most control over how to fit that instrument into a mix. I use a lot of subtle distortion effects for all sorts of instruments. By that I don't mean "fuzz", but something like a small Sansamp pedal can give you a lot of tone shaping control even after the recording (my personal favourite for Bass guitar). This leads on to tip #4.
4. Instrument/Amp/Player. It goes without saying, that the easiest recording sessions are the ones that involve great players. Most instrument tone is generated by the touch of the player, and their understanding of how music works. Ironically, the louder the music tries to be, the smaller the track ends up sounding. Touch and tone are everything. Combinations of instrument, amps, mics, DI's, compressors and EQ are fundamental to making the recording happen, but there are certainly no hard and fast rules in this department. Experience informs you about those choices. Don't be afraid of trying stuff, but remember that too much time spent "phaffing" about with sound choices can ruin the vibe and dynamic on a session. Familiar scenario: By the time the sound is set, everyone's lost the initial enthusiasm and the job becomes a chore. With Bass guitar especially, keep it simple!!
OROH - the player's perspective
1.GOOD INSTRUMENT
As a bassist it's important to have consistently good gear. Bass specialist Martin Peterson, owner of the Camden-based gallery, makes my basses. I usually turn up to a session with a custom made 5-string ‘Sei’ bass. This is good for a wide range of styles be it Pop, hip-hop or funk. Sometimes you might want a specific stylistic sound; music man basses were used on a lot of funk records in the 70's. Fender jazz basses give quite a warm sound naturally, ideal on a wide range of styles.
2.GOOD BASSIST
It's important to realize that after good gear (A bass with no buzzing frets, consistent intonation etc.) the rest is in your hands…literally. No matter how good your processing equipment is, even with an ISA 430 MKII for example, it can’t make a bad sound, sound good. At best, it will only help to soften the issues. So it’s practice, practice, and more practice.
3. Live versus studio
If you're used to playing live, you must understand that a different approach might be required in the studio.
For example, a bassist might play with quite a hard attack live, which may not be needed in the studio. I’ve always found that tone is sometimes best achieved by a softer approach in the plucking hand.
4. DAMPENING
This is the art of making sure only the string, and therefore the note, you want heard is played. This is especially important in a recording situation and sometimes is not as noticeable live. When it comes to recording, this is definitely something to focus on, and comes down to playing technique…again.
5. VARIETY
Have an open mind and try as many different styles and settings as possible, you may discover a tone or sound you never thought was possible. | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 5/11/2006 6:17:27 AM | hey guitarman, thanks for the advice on recording bass, i have only spent a small amount of time in the studio, just at the request of others since i don't write myself. It is good to hear the point from both sides of the desk, i have heard most of the mistakes you talk about showed up in your list, most of all the monitors that you use.
i know that the processing everyone uses may be different based on music/song/type of playing.... can you recommend a starting point for processing? ie what compressor/effects (without going overboard in $$)
i just aquired a fender jag baritone, though its not a bass vi (its made in japan, ok construction), what a learning curve on that, good thing i am a guitar player too, wow, sounds great for playing later beatles stuff... | |
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| Bass players thread....
Posted: 5/18/2006 7:31:21 AM | Well, it depends on what you call "overboard$$"?
A nice all in one recording rig at an entry-level price is the Universal Audio LA-610
Analog (tube) compression, pre-amp, and EQ in one box, use it to drive a power amp, and it does
dual duty.
At half the price of an LA 2A compressor, ...it's cheap, ...but the $1500 price tag might scare some.
On the bright side, a piece of gear like this isn't going to depreciate significantly, so its re-sale value
will probably stay close to original price.
I do a lot of bass recording, my signal goes to a Radial JDI direct box and split to my '70's ampeg V4
through 2 x 12" vintage Altec 417h alnico speakers in a sealed cab, for "air". Usually mic-ed by a
Lawson L47MP Large Diaphram tube condensor mic (A hand made copy of a Neuman U47, made
in Nashville), to a Neve preamp/EQ, and a Belwin Victor compressor.
The direct signal goes to a Pultec preamp/EQ, a Teletronix LA-2A (Universal Audio) compressor
(the direct signal is also split to go straight from the JDI, to the desk ...no Pre/EQ/Comp, for a
"safety track" in case we have to "re-amp").
All signals are routed through a Neve desk, ...straight to the Apogee AD convertors to hard drive.
Untouched by any digital processing except for AD conversion to data.
The bass, amp and speakers are mine, ...the other $175,000 in gear belongs to the guy I work for. | |
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