jazzyvee

I forced myself to learn it by putting in Marcus Millers version of What is Hip? into my band set list. We play it pretty well unless it starts to speed up, then I'm in BIG trouble. In fact it's not a technique I use often just on the Marcus Miller covers that we use sometimes in the set. I don't have an upward curl on my thumb. There are a couple of ways I execute the technique. 1) Down and up with the pad of my thumb on down stroke and the top of my nail on the up stroke. 2) in and out hitting the outside of the string with the inside edge of my thumb so that the thumb finishes between the body and string, then pull the thumb out using the outer edge of my thumb on the inside edge of the string for the out stroke. A bit more percussive and less of the note and more attack.

I have used these Alembic strings on and off since I have had an alembic bass. They are a great sounding string and do have a more mellow tone than for example my regular strings D'addario Pro steels. Also they are smooth to the touch right out of the bag unlike other strings I have tried. The main reason I don't use them more is that for some strange reason my fingertips don't seem to get on with nickel coated strings either on bass or guitar. I use them on the bass I use for reggae because the mellower tone suits that genre better and I can cope with the sensation on my fingertips for an hour long gig. .

Not cheap but i can highly recommend PJB Briefcase. Thankfully I got mine when they were about £300 odd. works great with a low B too.

I have barefaced covers for mine and they look exactly the same as the Hotcovers ones that I later bought for my JC120 and PB Briefcase. Plus you can have your own logo put on the cover too. The Black 600D Canvas ones seem the most hardwearing. They don't list barefaced but If you gave the measurements I'm sure they could knock one for you or just use the barefaced template if they are the same company that makes the barefaced ones. https://www.hotcovers.co.uk

An interesting setup, have you considered how you will transfer that sound you see into the FOH so the effect you are seeking is getting is heard by the crowd. I have had a dabble in bi-amping a few years back when gigging at a venue run by my band's sound engineer so we had time to get it all set up and it sounded great. I was/still am trying to get the cleanest HIFI sound from my gear, i dont use effects yet and i have separate pickup outs so each went to its own cab through individual pre amps and a stereo power amp. Two DI's from the bass and each cab mic'd up and It sounded great in the venue. Next time i try it i will be using my barefaced cabs instead of mesa boogie PH cabs and a roland Jc120 on the HF crossover output of one of the preamps. it would be good to hear how your setup works live.

I have recently joined a band that plays Brazillian music, they have sent me the set list of about 30 songs to learn and we have a rehearsal next week. ( My first with them). I have decided that I want to play double bass in this band using my EUB as a way of forcing my learning of it and reading music. My progress is slow at the moment and whilst when I listen to the tracks I can hear the note to go for but can't always find it because no frets and different scale length to my electric basses. So I wonder if anyone here has any experience of playing this music and can pass on any practical tips, good practice routines, some music and bass players in that genre to listen to. I'm still a complete novice on DB so advanced stuff will just go over my head. I am slowly working my way through the Simandl book which was recommended to me by a few DB players when I first got my bass.

Someone on here is selling a100w Phil Jones Briefcase which would be fine for small gigs.

if it was a good many years ago then it was most likely Alvin Ewen. He is an incredible musician and plays a lot more than reggae on bass. He used a Jaydee Custom for many years then Yamaha Nathan East basses. i did a gig playing guitar with him about 5 yrs ago doing Stevie wonder covers. Awesome player. The current bass player is another superb bass player and also a Brummie , Amlak Tafari

The new bass looks great. I look forward to your views on it after you do some gigs with it. 👍

I wish one of those turned up as a hired backline for one of my gigs. :-)

My thoughts exactly. I don't recall ever seeing a 5 string Spyder.

Great looking bass. It must sound as amazing as it looks. Im glad everything worked well for you. Welcome back to the alembic experience.

I'd love to see a complete picture of that bass if I may.

Thanks, it's a pleasure to be able to help. I know from experience that it's a scary leap of faith into the expensive world of alembic basses especially when there is no real opportunity to try before you buy. 👍

2012 was the same year I visited Alembic HQ to collect my bass. It's a fascinating place and a pleasure to see how the make their basses and meet some of the people who make them.

I know what it is but I don't want to throw a Spyder into the works and be accused of being a Spoiler or Rogue by adding my Signature to a Series one rumour that may in fact be actually an Epic bass that will Excel on stage and become the Essence of his collection. Mark King my words, all I can say is that since we are almost Brexit it's not an Europa..... Stanley!!! 🙂🤣

i switched from mesa powerhouse 4x10 to a Barefaced Big Twin II and a mesa powerhouse 2x10 to Big Baby II. Although i thing the boogie cabs have a great sound, the BF cabs bring me closer to the hifi sound im looking for. At one time in the past i toyed with the idea of a PH1000 but the weight and practicalities of getting it into my car persuaded me to think otherwise. for me going lightweight without losing power and quality was a win win. Actually i hardly ever use the big rigs at the venues we gig at because, apart from maybe a couple of gigs, they alway sound like they have been thrashed and it's impossible to get a clean sound. Exceptions were markbass 8x10 and a brand new ampeg 8x10 rig

Aston also plays a 5 String Alembic bass

Go for a new one if you can stretch the finances that far. However a used alembic in good condition is a great investment in your bass playing. The reality is that whichever route you take, they are not gonna come around cheap and just like all other things to do with music, we don't all like the same things so whilst I love them to bits, I appreciate the sound of them is not everyone's cup of tea. There are however quite a good selection of alembics around for sale these days on ebay and reverb, more than I have seen in a good while.

Being a big Stanley Clarke fan I bought into the signature thing with an Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature Short scale bass and I have to say it's been a fantastic bass purchase. Never regretted it for a moment. It does take a while to get used to the way the low pass filters work and how to get repeatable tones but I've cracked it now and it's more instinctive than standard bass eq controls for me.

My experience with BF cabs has been all good. I have replaced two of my Mesa boogie Powerhouse cabs with them and they certainly deliver a much better cleaner sound. Not that there is anything wrong with the sound of the boogie cabs. I just wanted to downsize to lighter cabs and get a better off axis sound with a fuller bottom end. I have three bf cabs (big Twin II, Big Baby II and Dubster 2) and I can't think of a situation I would play in that I wouldn't be able to cover with those three. I did a dep gig at the weekend with a Ska reggae band and the loved the sound. I can highly recommend at least the ones I have experience with.

Aston Barrett