Kiwi

Thanks for the heads up about Industrial Radio BigRed. Nice to see a company retaining faith in Steve Chick's technology. Great also that they've included pitch bending too. If I can ever afford it, I'll be getting one.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1356963191' post='1915669'] The decline of Hamer as a brand is not so much the fault of Fender so much as it a result of the long but steady decline of the brand , due almost solely to the founders of the company abandoning it . Hamer were never the same company after Kaman aquired them in the late 80s , and their profile in the prestige guitar market slipped accordingly [/quote] Given Kaman have achieved lofty heights of indifference with another brand (Trace Elliot), so it could be Kaman's fault.

[i]Sub zero:[/i] Steinberger XL2's: They look fantastically purposeful and elegant. The ergonomics aren't to everyone's liking but the same could be said for the Lamborghini Muira and that didn't stop it being cool either. I'm in the process of building a rack for mine so I can mount it on the lounge wall and it really does look the business when lit properly. Kubicki Ex-Factor: Incredible design and can be picked up for virtually pocket money right now. They didn't need to make a 5 with the fingerboard extension but if they did, I would have one. Ibanez Roadstar/Roadster: Just well made, workhorse basses that are the equal of anything Fullerton produced from the same time period. Aria SB basses: They look great, have superbly quick necks and the design still looks contemporary. The Industrial Radio MIDI bass - incorporating an updated version of Steve Chick's fret sensing technology that was featured on the Valley Arts MB4, Peavey Cyberbase and MIDIbass, and the Wal Custom MIDI Bass. Lets hope it's everything it promises to be. [i]Seriously uncool:[/i] Alembic Series basses - just too many knobs and the design is fussy and the stereo electronics just aren't justified any more (I still own one though). Doublenecks - Heavy, most of the time only one neck is being played anyway. Anything with large fingerboard inlays - to me they look pretentious.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1356704263' post='1912642'] The thing with early 80s Musicman basses is that they introduced new colours (as well as the Cutlass models with graphite necks), rosewood fretboards, and some colours moved to alder rather than ash bodies so give an arguably smoother sound. The 2 band Stingray EQ has been more or less the same since 1979 to date. And yes, made by Charvel. [/quote] Bodies were made by Charvel and a number of other luthiers such as Grover Jackson out of pretty much whatever wood they could find. Mahogany and popla-...[ahem] tulipwood were also used when alder and ash weren't available. This happened because Leo Fender's company, CLF, was sub contracted to supply the bodies and necks and there had been a lot of returns due to quality control issues with the finish of instruments. Apparently Leo was also disappointed with the sale of Stingray guitars and started to deliberately sabotage some of the parts, such as shipping necks with unanchored truss rods (according to Sterling Ball in an interview). Seems both logical and reasonable that this situation might have prompted the use of graphite necks on the Cutlass basses, its another avenue for cutting dependency on a single supplier. Although not much chance of clarifying if that is the case given so much time has passed since then. But back on topic, I'd go for an Aria SB-1000...maybe with the Alembic pickups option.

[quote name='alstocko' timestamp='1356785293' post='1913553'] This was Blondie. I talked to Trevor about it a couple of years ago as he is a FOAF, he said it was a bit awkward... [/quote] I think you might be right!

Motley Crue? I also remember some band somewhere that had to re-record all the bass parts laid down by the original bass player because they were so bad. I think it might have been a Trevor Horn produced track...was it Frankie Goes To Hollywood?

Chris_b is right although Smiths have been gradually usurped by Tobias. Perhaps because the Tobys have a bit more mid range. But the track sounds like it might have a jazz of some kind on it. Difficult to tell though because the bass is so low in the mix. Definitely doesn't sound like a Smith or an Alembic, whatever it is.

I'd go with hamfist. It also sounded like he had heavy strings and pretty high action, but looking at the vid its clear he's not running high action.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1356377327' post='1909753'] Alembics committment to the ultimate quality is beyond question , but my ( limited ) experience and knowledge of Alembics is that they need taking good care of in so mucjh as they are far more breakable than more robust Fender -style designs . The angled headstock is prone to breaking if they are dropped , the electrics are good quality but will eventually wear and need servicing and /or replacing , and some of the 70s Alembics are now having problems with the neck laminations shifting slightly apart , according to some reports . Most fancy custom basses do need care and consideration in how they are treated and maintained , I'm not just singling out Alembic . My Wal basses , for example , were also quite finnicky and needed periodic servicing by Electric Wood . Used Alembics are indeed well worth considering if they "fit" you as a player , most certainly . Alembic basses have a special allure for me , and they are without question basses with a special sound , and I'm just sorry that I find the classic ones like I always wanted when I was a kid so uncomfortable. [/quote] Well, I'm a bit wary of Pre-CBS Fender snobs whipping up anti-Alembic sentiment too. Not to suggest you are the former at all but its always interesting to know where the information comes from. Can you cite any testimony from owners as evidence of more serious issues? I'm not aware of any Alembic owners mentioning neck laminations shifting apart from mistaken identity where the headstock laminations have been known to shrink at the joint with the neck producing a crack in the finish. This is nothing like a neck delaminating however. The bass continues to be perfectly robust and playable. I've had one like that. On the subject of electronics, the pickups have been known to crap out after 30 years and funnily enough, this is not unusual on any bass (including Fenders). The magnets just lose their strength. Nothing that can be done about that unfortunately, regardless of the quality of the bass. My Alembic has had the pickups replaced. The preamp can be serviced but US Alembic owners tend to be fastidious...how much of that servicing has been to fix a specific fault and how much for normal stuff like pot cleaning just to keep the bass in tip top and noise free condition?

[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1356368371' post='1909612'] Also. Dingus mentioned they were delicate. Delicate how? [/quote] They're not delicate at all. They were designed to be the best engineered instruments it was possible to make in the mid 70's - both structurally and sonically. They haven't changed much in the last 40 years or so because they haven't needed to. Every plaudit that could be extended to Leo Fender could be extended even further to Alembic. I agree that they're idiosyncratic but I really like mine. They're expensive because they've decided to position themselves at the highest end of the market. If you want the brand, you pay the price. Looking at their options list, I doubt very much that some prices could be justified in terms of labour and materials. Late 70's Series 1 instruments can be picked up for very reasonable prices if you keep your eyes peeled. But forget about slapping on one regularly unless you get the pickup selector relocated away from the horn.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1356279126' post='1908710'] I'm assuming that for categories 4 and 6 we can't nominate the whole of the Mod team - after all you all do a great job... [/quote] If that's what you feel, why not?

Thanks guys

cheers ez

I gave up trying to take decent pictures. So here's my refurbished Chandler Custom Strat, Lexicon MPXG2 + R1 and Burman Pro501 combo. Last thing I need to do with the guitar is install a decent tremolo. The only one that does the job so far is the Stets trem but I don't like how it fussy and vintage it looks. A Wilkinson VS-100C would have been perfect but they aren't made any more. [attachment=125637:DSC08941.JPG] I'd include a pic of the Klein-clone but I haven't installed a control plate yet or resolved an issue fitting all the electronics in.

We've been overwhelmed by a single response so far!

Nothing for me apart from an Eventide Pitchfactor pedal. I focussed what little spare cash I had on outfitting a workshop so I can make my own insturments . Although if I have to move again to find work, I'll have to pack the lot up.

Hi folks, its that time of the year where we get to reflect on the last 12 months and give recognition to those who have made BC a better place. After a discussion between the mods, the following categories are open for nominations over the weekend. Depending on the response we'll either put a poll together over the Christmas break or go straight to an announcement on New Years Eve. The categories are:[list=1] [*]The Robert Trujillo Award for Altruism - The most generous/selfless BC'er this year [*]The Guy Pratt Award for Hilarity - The most entertaining BC'er this year [*]The Halabja Gas Attack Award - Highest turnover of bass guitars this year bought and sold on the forum [*]The Big Bang Theory Award - for technical assistance above and beyond the call of duty [*]The WTF Award - [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]for the bass related event, quote or press release that had us scratching our heads (and nominating Ped or I for the new look classifieds won't count )[/font][/color] [*]The Kim Jong Il Award - for your favourite moderator [/list] Email your nominations to the admin inbox ([email protected]) with "BC Awards" in the subject so we don't miss them. Each nomination should be supported by as much evidence as you can supply. For example, if you want to nominate someone for the Halabja award, knowing how many instruments were traded would be helpful for us. Similarly, quotes off the forum would be helpful too. Ped and I will have a rummage around in the merchandise department and see if we can't come up with a few prizes for BC members. In the meantime, on behalf of the mods and admin, we hope every single one of you has a fantastic festive period, filled with love, laughter and loud music. Stay safe. Steve

I've had that too although it was in my junk folder. Protecting contact information is our highest priority. Our host was very careful to examine whether security of information had been compromised after the last hacking and it didn't appear there had been any attempts to access the database. I'm wondering if its possible your email may have been publicised somewhere. Bots trawl the net and record email addresses automatically in order to generate spam lists that can be sold.

I got frustrated with learning chordal stuff on bass, so I took up guitar instead. Much easier to hear the differences in 7th and major 7th chords,, 6th/9th/11th and 13th chords, inversions and voicings. I kind of play guitar more than bass these days just because I'm finding it more interesting.

Wasn't the zebra wood Session on Ebay one time? It seems familiar...

[quote name='BigBeatNut' timestamp='1355218899' post='1895397'] What kind of analysis tools do you envisage would help ? [/quote] We need to know more detail about what is being posted and where. We don't know much about how many new topics are being created per month in which sections, we don't know who is doing the most posting in each section, what the most popular items are...stuff like that. Stuff that could be easily bought up with targeted searches and would help us understand how different bits of the site are being used. But its a ballache to log targetted searches every month. Much better if we can run some kind of report with pie charts and animated strippers and sh*t.

Oh we would have loved to have done that. Problem is...there are no analysis tools available with the modules. Everything would need to be coded which would need funding.

Hmm, the gospel sound that makes it onto recordings is not a sound that works very well live. Forget about ideals. You have a bass that can make it happen so just find a sound you can listen to on stage and let the "gospel" sound engineer figure out "the gospel sound". If your live sound is mic'd for FOH then get a neutral sounding Class D amp and scoop the mids with a parametic eq around 250hz. Good luck hearing yourself, however. On a noisy stage, mids are everything.