Fat Rich

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1349514753' post='1827182'] I found it really frustrating. As much of my bass playing style hinges upon rhythm and timing/delivery, I found that my lack of ability on drums clashed very badly with my sense of rhythm. That and a lack of practise space scuppered my attempts. I had an electric kit, but even that occupied too much space, and the neighbours hated the noise the kick pedal/pad made, even with the solid concrete floors downstairs... [/quote] Very good point, I've lost count of the number of times I'm playing some fantastic stuff on the drums, full of great dynamics and groove. Listened back and thought it actually sounded a bit flat. Plugged in the bass to play along and found my drumming was all over the place and I was a drummer I didn't want to work with. All part of the learning process I guess.

Edit: Arrrghh what's the point, I've lost the will..... As long as you're happy with your basses.

I started learning drums maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I found it really easy to get some simple beats, a bit more difficult to get fills in time, and it would be a lifetimes work to sound like a really good pro drummer. There's no substitute for time behind the kit, it really shows in your playing. So it depends what level you want to take it to and how much time you've got to invest I reckon. But I'd also say drums is one of the most enjoyable learning experiences there is.

Another great John Paul Jones / Dusty Springfield track: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhV3Ual2HGA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhV3Ual2HGA[/url]

I sold the few basses I built in the 80s and early 90s and bought proper ones. I guess I wasn't very good at building basses.

Nope. Gone forever, unless it's a truly memorable tune I really enjoyed playing.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1349181564' post='1822827'] I definitely see why people love the Jazz. Its a lovely design...great aesthetics. I am still wowwed by the slap tone (although I barely ever slap). I wouldn't see any reason to opt for a Sadowsky over this Jazz as the passive tone is fantastic, and the Tonehammer adds a wonderful touch. Its well made and lightweight. I think I much prefer the ''rough' Fender Jazz tone over a more polished boutique tone. So far, still very happy. Part of me wants to get a matching Jazz with a glossed maple board...but that is the collectors side of me coming out. [/quote] I sometimes run my unmodified Jazz basses through an outboard Sadowsky preamp if I want that polished boutique Jazz tone, best of both worlds.

Running both pickups at maximum tends to scoop the sound, it can sometimes get lost in a band situation. As you may have found with other basses, in some band settings a sound that's pretty awful soloed works well with everything else. I'd suggest for starters: run just the neck pickup for songs you'd normally use a P bass, and just the bridge pickup for songs you'd use a Stingray. Then start dialling in small amounts of the other pickup to add scoop and probably some growl too. Also you might want to experiment with strings: I use DR Fat Beams for clang, EB Slinkys for more mellow sounds. Generally I'd say experiment a bit, what works for your P Bass and Stingrays won't necessarily get you that classic Jazz sound.

[quote name='craigonbass' timestamp='1349001980' post='1820467'] Many thanks to Colin, Mrs Hampster and Nick for a great day. Also to Sibob for his session on pedals, and to Rich for making me get my 70's jazz out of the cupboard and use it at last nights gig! Craig [/quote] Glad you're using your old Jazz bass, it's too good to live in a cupboard! A big thanks to everyone involved, some interesting gear and interesting players..... looking forward to next year.

As had been said, ignore where they're made. Fenders are so variable in sound and build quality there's no telling what you're going to get. Just play as many as possible, take your bass with you as a reference, one day you'll find a bass that's right for you. You might find it's a £100 second hand Squier, but it might be a £2500 Custom Shop and then you've got to worry about is how you pay for it I've always liked MIJ / CIJ but have a played a few MIM that sound and feel good but have terrible neck joints and misaligned pickups. I've never got that warm fuzzy feeling from a MIA Fender (apart from some vintage ones), but some people swear by them.

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1348765708' post='1817951'] Oh, so if I ground myself (maybe a cable to a copper pin sunk in the ground) the hum would stop? I'm not going to go to the faff mind, but I'm really pleased to know what's actually going on. Mind you, I *could* be tempted to experiment with a tin foil pointy hat thing - I've seen them on films so they probably work? [/quote] A lot of players just keep their fingers on the strings in between songs. I wouldn't worry about tin foil underpants unless you're in a Spinal Tap tribute band.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1348759946' post='1817840'] An active bass will stop the problem [/quote] Some active pickups like the older style EMGs don't need an earth, they're not connected to the bridge by a wire. So no earthing hum, less risk of electrocution to presumably. Active preamps will sometimes make the earthing sound more noticeable if they boost the higher frequencies.

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1348662704' post='1816586'] ...... Apologies to the OP for the O/T here. [/quote] No worries, I'm just soaking up all information DB related at the moment!

I'm certainly enjoying my DB, I took a punt with mine but it can be a bit daunting buying one if you know nothing about them. I seem to have got lucky and ended up with a rather good bass for not much money. I guess with an EUB you can read a few reviews and then buy with confidence, plus you can plug them in and transport them easily. My DB bag seems to be a size too small for the bass and has no handles, if you've ever tried to transport a corpse rolled in a carpet you'll know what that feels like. Plus you'll need a fairly large car with the seats down just to get it in. Early days but worth the effort!

Forgot to mention my teacher said my bass was too low, the stuff she's shown me about hand and arm position seems to work better and feel more natural with the bass higher. I've got the pin fully extended and it's about 4 inches too short, the original pin doesn't seem to come out otherwise I'd just get a longer one, any ideas anyone? I'm currently practising with the bass on a step, it looks a bit like Tom Cruise's wedding photos.

[quote name='tonyf' timestamp='1348650896' post='1816333'] Has he upgraded to iOS6 yet? [/quote] He found his way to the studio so I'm guessing not yet.

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1348613869' post='1816136'] I like the Chris sig. I couldn't deal with that many nobs though. I love the simple pre on my Energy. I do think it would be nice to have bass cut/boost too and maybe a passive mode with a tone control but I don't want that much control from the bass. Do the status faithful think Rob would build an S2 with a 2 band pre? [/quote] Rob'll probably build you whatever you ask for but it'll probably add to the cost!

[quote name='dmz' timestamp='1348608833' post='1816051'] All great stuff - the guys at Statii.com will be going crazy over Chris's twin neck Status - that iPad controller on the top "bass" is just mental ! Does Damien Hirst play drums for PIL now ? [/quote] Nothing on the Statii site yet, I've just post a youtube link to wake them up! There don't seem to be many Muse fans on the Statii site, they'll probably just take the mickey!

[quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1348582585' post='1815504'] It's a very nice bass. The mid shift is taken from something like the EMG circuit I have in my 8 string (although that has stacked knobs). It was always a source of slight frustration that even on a bass like the buzzard the mids were only either "flat" or "boosted." If it were a complete graphite mould rather than just facings (which I consider cheating), I'd probably be a bit more interested. The simple fact of it is that Status don't have that many endorsees that are stupidly high profile. Whilst there can be no argument (love them or hate them) that Muse are one of the biggest bands in the world, does anyone like Chris Wolstenholme enough to shell out £2300 on a bass when it's very unlikely to make you sound like him? It's like people that buy a Wal to sound like Justin Chancellor. It just doesn't happen as he's using so much processing. However, that's a whole other argument. I would like to think that this is finally Status stopping rolling out Kingbasses every year or 2. However, I doubt it. Do we really need 9 different Kingbass variants? Really? Really?!!! Do us (or more importantly me!!) a favour and build a bass to replace the buzzard. Preferably one which your forearm can rest on and is availble as an 8 string which would be a one piece graphite mould. [/quote] We don't need that many, it seems Mark does though I guess if you've developed something to Mark's latest spec you might as well make it available and get some money back from the R&D. I'd also be surprised if many people buy Chris' bass purely because they're a fan, I ordered mine purely because I wanted an all graphite S2 and thought the alder core would give me the sound I wanted.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1348579502' post='1815442'] Liking the inclusion on the midrange eq. [/quote] Rob's been offering this as a custom option for a while, although usually the mid gain knob replaces the mini switch (which gives +6db / flat / -6db presets) rather than having a bypass switch too. Moving the bridge pickup forward is probably a cool mod, I often want a little bass boost on the EQ when favouring the bridge pickup.

For me the important thing is that the low B should have he same tone and attack as the other strings on the bass, and not just with fresh strings either. Otherwise you'll find your low notes will just go missing and it'll feel like the bottom has dropped out of the song. Graphite necks or fanned frets are fairly extreme solutions to this problem, but there are plenty of more traditional designs out there that work. As has been said, try before you buy.

I've had my prototype for a couple of years now, best Status I've ever played. Mine is the standard S2 spec apart from a one piece bridge which I prefer. It's an alder body with a graphite skin, and the usual graphite through neck construction: [IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx159/richardmatthews_photos/forum%20stuff/AllGraphite.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx159/richardmatthews_photos/forum%20stuff/AllGraphitecloseup.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx159/richardmatthews_photos/forum%20stuff/AllGraphiteback.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1348067356' post='1808810'] Yeah, I know it would be useful, don't know anyone near me, and not sure if i can take it. Never had a lesson in my life on anything (well a few months of piano when I was 5, but i forgot most of that, and it put me off lessons). Learned all the theory in general music lessons at school, and am happily self taught otherwise. If I was near jake I probably would. [/quote] Picked up my first upright bass on Wednesday, had my first lesson today and despite being largely self taught on the electric bass..... you gotta to get at least one lesson Just being shown the best position for the bass, your thumb, your arm and your fingers has already made it easier to make progress quicker. No point in reinventing the wheel, and a lot of what you do on electric just won't work on upright. Good luck!

[quote name='FLoydElgar' timestamp='1348511464' post='1814610'] Great news! Just a few tips! remember to relax the arms and body for the biggest sound with the bow! like an eletric bass play, closer to the bridge for harmonics and faster bow strokes! Take your time with every aspect of the bass and enjoy it Ask your tutor about the Sevcik book and Neil Tarlton, the genius himself!! its a book of small ££££ but probably the most valuable bowing book out there! I spend months working on one exercise as there are about 150 variations to 1 exercise - that really haves you using all of the areas on the bow! I'm a bass geek so.. yeah... I get a kick out of it lol.. [/quote] [quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1348512640' post='1814634'] +1 on the Sevcik even though it makes my brain hurt! Tarlton's scales book is also well worth the money. Steve [/quote] Um..... we're kind of bypassing the whole bow thing .... I've ordered the Neil Tarlton scales book though on your recommendations, hopefully be through the post in a couple of days. I'll see how things go playing pizz only, if it's not moving on then I'll reconsider the whole bowing thing.

The 6th is worth a look.