jazzyvee

[color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] I still consider myself fairly new to live bass playing and I have a basses I love the sound of and I'm starting to discover what I think my tone on each instrument is. I use one brand of bass so do not have any real experience of different brands. So.... what I'm seeking for with this post is clarity to something I've read so many times on-line here and other places, and heard many bass players claim but I haven't read anything that convinces me that this is really true.[/font][/color][color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] What I hear is this "Most if not all of the tone we have as players comes from our fingers and not the bass." [/font][/color][color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] Now I'm not going to express my own view at this point, but I'm putting it out here to find out from more experienced musicians if there is any meat on this view. However, if that really is the case why are we falling for the seduction of spending so much money time and effort on the smaller percentage of our playing that contributes the least to our sound, namely the bass and the rig, the gear?[/font][/color]

[quote name='ChunkyMunky' timestamp='1433767682' post='2793740'] On the contrast to Nicko's thread similarly titled thread, I'd like to offer my inversion of it. I'm throwing my bet on 'Billie Jean' for the sheer repetition of it all. [/quote] For those of us who are used to playing reggae, repetitive and uncomplicated baselines are par for the course.

The little guitar shop in Hockley, Birmingham do hand wound pickups. I had a set made by Martin to replace the Seymour Duncans that were in my Rob Williams CSM guitar. http://www.thelittleguitarshop.com/hand-wound-pickups.html

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1433251115' post='2789384'] did my first gig with the ACS pro17's at the weekend, horrible, it was so quiet, kept thinking my amp had packed up and couldn't hear the guitarist at all, I've just sent them back to have PRO10 filters put in them, I don't want my hearing wrecking any more than it is at the moment but I also want to enjoy playing in a band, it's got to be reasonable loud, hasn't it? [/quote] Most of the time I find the 17's are great and I also use them when going to see live bands too. I could actually probably do with a couple more different strength filters either side of 17db. Sometimes the 17's could do with being a bit stronger for when we have a louder on-stage sound or the drum monitors are a far too loud. For some gigs where I need ear plugs the 17's are a bit strong and it leaves me a bit detached from the music. Anyone know any place to get extra filters a fair bit cheaper than ACS charge?

One time the band I was in were booked for a 21st party in a huge marquee somewhere in Stratford-on-Avon and we arrived there only to find that the marquee came with a band which was one of those old time jazz bands. The family were really great about it and said they would pay us anyway because it was their fault. We offered to play alternate sets with the band that was there but the jazz band were not keen on that idea so we went home with money in our pockets and no gig.

[quote name='BruceBass3901' timestamp='1433953296' post='2795415'] I think I am right in saying that the idea is to attach the bridge to a section of the instrument which is made from a different material, usually to increase sustain or change the tone (supposedly). Alembic did this quite a lot by having a brass 'tone block' under the bridge, others have used Ash, Alder or Mahogany. [/quote] This is what some alembics have under the bridge. Usually it's usually made from brass but you can specify what you want. [attachment=194019:serveimage.jpeg]

I have a Vigier surfretter I bought about 12 or so years back. Still in great nick. I used it live a few times when I was working as a guitarist with an Indian artiste and on a couple of TV recordings. These days it doesn't see much action. It's surprisingly easy to play if you trust your finger memory but clean chords are a challenge. The first guitar I made from scratch when I was about 18 was a fretless electric guitar, then made another in the early 80's from parts but that time I de-fretted a strat style neck to get a better finger board than the one I made earlier. I gigged quite a bit with that one too.

Recently I've been considering having mine it stripped back to the natural wood as it's all maple with a flame maple top under that back paint. I could then have it clear sprayed or a light tint to bring out the look of the grain depending on how it looks. Here is the build thread with the woods. http://alembic.com/club/messages/631/57606.html?1314917105

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1432895006' post='2785931'] Wow! Thank you both for those vids! I've never really been into Jack Bruce but I now realise that I've completely misunderstood him all these years. What a pedigree.. Pro at 15 etc... Sh**! Very informative hour just spent there. Wow! [/quote] + 1

As far as I know those two are the only exceptions to the No paid/free Endorsement rule. Everybody has to pay to get their new alembic either through a dealer or direct from the factory which costs more. Also not giving stuff away to endorsee's helps keep the prices down.... :-)

Here is a promo-clip from one of my band gigs at the end of last year when we did a concert in tribute of Grover Washington Jr. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3DD0UbiRrY&index=1&list=PL83iJEMd_7jyuO-wMpkpYhgOUhlE8Gwml&spfreload=10"]https://www.youtube....ml&spfreload=10[/url]

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1432799520' post='2785015'] I think if you had a bass that nice you'd have it on a stand wouldn't you ? [/quote] Yep and that's the reason Alembic started making those classic basses with a point. Back in their early days before they started making basses they did loads of headstock repairs so when they made their own, they put a point on in order to force owners to put their basses on a stand. [url="http://www.alembic.com/family/history_bodyshapes.html"]http://www.alembic.c...bodyshapes.html[/url] A lovely bass but still, I'm not a fan of the large bodied classic shape but the coco bolo does a great job of distracting me from the size.

Medieval Overture by Return to Forever Voodoo Chile Slight return - Jimi Hendrix The World is a Ghetto - George Benson Lively Up Yourself - Bob Marley and the Wailers The Big Wave - Tribal Tech

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1432743319' post='2784529'] Not this again ......... I do not use anybody's gear other than my own I do not let anyone else use my gear either. End of discussion. [/quote] Same here except when it's a festival and a backline is provided by the organiser. Then I usually take my own bass head.

I've just today re-ordered another set from ACS as somehow I lost the last pair last December. Expensive blunder. I've again gone for the Pro 17's

It was 2009 when I did the stripping and it took a few coats of the stuff before it all came off. I think it took about 4 days in all to get it from blue to sanded clean. I wiped it over with white spirit to get any grease off first then I used a regular flat scraper to get the paint off once the nitromors did it's stuff. That is the one I used. [attachment=192581:IMG_0856.jpg]

I had a blue stratocaster and called John Diggins, (JayDee), to get advice on how to strip it back to the basic wood. He advised me against burning it off and recommended removing the finish using nitromors. It took me a few days to get it all of but eventually it did, sanded it down as advised and he re-assembled and sprayed it with clear finish for me. Here are a few pix to show the process. [attachment=192531:BOB_F6GW2059.jpg][attachment=192532:BOB_F6GW2069.jpg][attachment=192533:BOB_F6GW2071-2.jpg][attachment=192534:BOB_F6GW2077-2.jpg][attachment=192535:BOB_F6GW2084.jpg][attachment=192530:Bob_6GW2741-2.jpg] [attachment=192536:BOB_IMG_0077.jpg]

Hmm I take the paint off and go commando with the natural wood and maybe stain it to enhance the grain, then get a contrasting pick guard. I'm thinking of stripping my black bass back to the flame maple and refinished in a clear coat.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1431245886' post='2769059'] [attachment=191702:Hercules.jpg] Hercules. I've used them for years. You lower your bass into the spring-loaded clip and it closes around the neck. [/quote] I wouldn't use that type of stand personally. I had one for christmas about 3yrs back and found that when they accidentally get knocked from the back or side the bass swings forward like a pendulum and falls face down. Fortunately this happened in my home and I caught it before it hit the deck. I wrote to the manufacturer about it but got no reply and I exchanged it for this one shown below. [url="http://www.herculesstands.com/guitars/GS415B.html"]http://www.herculess...ars/GS415B.html[/url] which I find is much more stable.

[quote name='r16ktx' timestamp='1431348955' post='2770228'] I had this problem and it turned out to be a short [/quote] Hmm I doubt if that's the case for me because I don't have that problem with regular duracell or energisers I change them as soon as they stop tingling on my tongue test.

I bought two boxes of Duracell Procell 9v batteries and they didn't last long at all. All done about 20 of them under a year. I wouldn't use them again for basses. I now have gone back to whatever Duracell or Energiser I find and they are fine.

+1 I use pro steels and I have wondered the same thing.

Patrick Eggle Berlin pro is a great guitar with that configuration.

Now that's my kind of bass.....!!!

Hey BigYouth, good to see you here on this forum. May I also add that Big Youth is also a member of a Stanley Clarke tribute band called School Days :-)