deepbass5

Dead Kennedys - large underground following

I am genuinely surprised at how many people are sighting Pups and pre-amps where good tone comes from, I am open to that but have tried to improve basses which don't speak well by adding new pups and changing EQ,s but still not turned them into a good instrument. I use John East pre-amps because they primarily give me flexibility playing live when jumping from number to number in a set, without turning round and changing amp settings. Not because the make the bass sound better, that, i believe is in the wood and construction. The only exception to that was because John did me a deal on two pre's one for a bass with scratchy pots that needed replacing anyway and the other was for my M Bass as i wanted a para mid and the top end hi and hi mids didn't speak well. It did help it breath better in the top end, but the bass never got the gig over my Shuker, But interestingly 8 years on it has improved so much with age and gigging, it now sounds better than ever, and is now the last i would sell. So to me even though I am sure Marleaux select the best quality tone woods, after construction basses all need to be played so all those woods can work together in harmony, some more than others I guess. Hope its not just that set of SIT strings i haven't used before ?

If you play in a Folk band, then it is acceptable to have a bass made from Oak, Elm or Beech. It'll sounds crap but you'll probably get away with it due to all the other odd sounds from whistles and squeeze boxes wafting round the pub garden.

New York Dolls - no fluff in sight

Then someone goes and raps a nice piece of tonewood in carbon fiber so you can't tell what its made from and it sounds great But is it better than a solid resin one, I need more basses, to prove these theories beyond doubt.

No Bass wood then, must be the pickups

Funny, I watched that Bass show video yesterday, it sounds good to be thinking about the best way to bring out the bass side and also the treble side, I was originally taken in by this but the fact he also mentioned inconsistency in weight being a problem for fender in the past, I think he is more concerned with heavy basses sitting in shops unsold. I would also think his fan fret design has already given the bass advantages for both bass and treble side. The last time i mentioned Him in a thread here he jumped in on the next line so, stand back would be nice to get a manufacturers opinion 🤐

I remember an article in the Bass player mag, about special bass amp mains cables, ( very expensive ?) possibly oxygen free copper etc. and how bad leads and mains cables can degrade your tone. I did make up my own speaker cables with good hi-fi oxygen free cable anyway. But I was concerned after reading this, that on gigs I would often have to connect an extension into another extension for not only my bass but PA etc. So following the article I cleaned all three pins of my mains plugs with a fibre-glass stick to remove any oxidization, It was a noticeable improvement. After that i always made sure my bass amp was always first off a mains socket.

And specific harmonics are produced that we can distinguish as tonal variations, it's harmonics that we use to identify different instruments. a guitar from a bass playing the same note or clarinet to a piano, the vibrations of a 440hz 'A' reaching our ears is an A but our brains can interoperate tonal variation including those on the same type of instrument, one bass to another depending on its construction. Tone is just volume of a particular frequency but add a unique harmonic signature to that. and Bobs your Aunt ☺️ tone wood starts to matter. I may have to leave this thread as I have basses that need to be vibrated, just so they sound as good as they have done when i start gigging again.

shall we start on 35" v 34 " v 32" necks 😉

I accept all the above, but not if said red guitar is made from a non tone wood,

Are we heading for agreement on - Red guitars are louder conclusion to this topic

I remember being surprised that Kubicki factor bass's had a ply constructed neck, which i guess is the next step on from a 5 or 7 laminate neck employed for stability, but with 30 -40 lamination's working against the relief. one would assume these lamination's are tone wood strips not just from 'construction site' shuttering ply ? 😦all those tones the lamination's add to the sound ! 😁 Or are you in the camp where some luthiers say glue actually detracts form the sound and resonance of the neck so should be minimized. Is the Carbon rod introduction. snake oil as well ?

what would you call all the woods that bass makers reject? and have learnt to not use because they sound bad, (non tone woods) ? logic says hundreds of years of musical instrument making, using wood has led to some favorite woods now known as tone woods

Why not buy an old bass that has been played for years , or better still practice more so your fingers make a difference, so when someone says its all in the fingers you can say I know. come and listen to me play my new £200 bass. Not aimed at you Maude but those he think a gadget would be more fun than playing to get a better sound and feel.

The quality will be down to what they can get away with at the price ( well it was straight when it left the factory)

how about Yamaha exposing their basses to hours of musical vibration in their factory to simulate years of playing, the aim to line up all the woods molecular structure to be in line and vibrate in harmony to those notes to be played on it. Just as an old violin or 60's P bass. Good wood selection helps with this, hence the term tone wood. electronics and string choice can ruin this but not enhance it. High mass bridge can help bring out what is there, along with expert set up.

Nobody seems to have mentioned seasoning of the woods, most bespoke custom order basses from reputable luthiers will pride themselves on using older seasoned woods, Schack for example kiln dry there necks and have also pressure resin impregnate them to prevent them taking on moisture after manufacture. My custom shop P bass sounds great - only because I have paid a premium for them to select the best woods and a quarter sawn neck, its still has standard 60 year old designed pickups and a bent metal bridge. No fancy pre-amp. So I am in the camp for quality wood sounds good and will show out.

Wow just read through all your replies, great experience and input, best i've seen on here for a while. I've join in after you have bought a five 😄 Echo all the above, I have just finished in our covers band after 30 years, I spend the first 5 years needing a five and playing a 4 string P bass. and an octave pedal. once i had bought a 5 string I used it all the time and now have lots of them, But Over the last 15 years I have not really needed one maybe the odd song in the set, But I was so ingrained in 5 strings because I had learnt all our sets on them. To the extent i couldn't play the songs on a four string because my muscle memory was on a five. So my advice is keep the four string and rehears on both don't allow yourself to loose the four string touch. I have now finally got my self back into a P bass. and the fives are gathering dust.

I originally made it as volume tone - volume tone. I have since changed this to volume Pan, Tone Tone. It is easier when playing live . I also wish I had now gone with a Music-man control plate, for more flexibility to later tweeks, but wanted to keep that "double up" theme which the two Tele plates would portray. Just added this as you do need to have a good practical firm idea of what you want. sometimes being too different is not good and you realise the big boys have probably been there and now make basses to what works best.

Then of course there is the video itself. too light, too dark the background, what you are wearing. and then facial expressions like you are chewing a wasp so the rest of the band know where to listen for the mistakes 😁

Edit ? Edit? Not an option when its one take including video on your iPhone that is to be drop-boxed to your MD for scrutiny and hopeful inclusion. Edit - I wish 😂

That's a revelation Bilbo, I feel better already. I tend to lean the other way happier to read, one of the first recordings we did back last May was ( Where or when). but with a chord chart for the bass, and even though I am sort of comfortable busking around chord charts in a concert or jam situation where any blunders are gone, never to be heard again. There is no way I could get through a four minute chart making split second decisions on note choice whilst recording. So I sat and worked out a bass line and wrote the whole thing out and then, just about got away with it.😅

Hi Guys Did this course 3 years ago now, took early retirement so treated myself. I am hands on with most DIY, and working with wood ?? but I had never used a router either so that was my main fear. I did the 3 person course but it ended up with just two of us so was quite good for the individual attention we got during tricky bits. Jon had two body blanks previously glued ready for us. You then have to apply template and draw your body shape onto that, e.g P bass or Jazz but nothing stopping you bringing your own template design along. then yes to the band saw then the bench to file the contours. I wanted a 5 string reverse P bass with double pickups so there was an extra cost for the Pups. so you do have flexibility within the time restraints. I also requested body wood of Ash and padauk fingerboard, revers head stock The other guy did a straight 4 string jazz. in Alder with RW board It is pretty full on. we both stayed in the same B&B within walking distance. so 9 - 5 each day and Jon orders sandwich deliveries of your choice lunchtime and you can eat and work through etc. Mine turned out better than i could have wished very please with the neck which was a concern as I am fussy. I walked out with a playable bass so good result, cost wise course was then about £750 so with B&B extra pups evening meals in pub and fuel was about £1200. But it is the learning experience you are paying for. worth doing Great guys up there.