Kiwi

[quote name='birdy' post='221742']Once I got the Celinder P bass I knew I had to have a jazz and I got one and then let it go so there's now another one arrived and this is a very special bass. The tone is absolutely wonderful and its super playeable. I hesitate to say this but I can't see this going anywhere for a long time. Only drawback is it's not light at 10.25 lbs but what a bass!!![/quote] Welcome to the club

In my experience and assuming everything else is equal (ie. string break angle over the saddles) it makes a difference only so far as the bridge contributes overall to the general rigidity of the instrument. In plain english that means the following points: 1) The string vibrates from the saddle, not from the anchor and the saddles are in contact with the base plate. So most of the vibrations essentially get transmitted to the body primarily through the base plate. A high mass bridge (like a badass) is less likely to vibrate in sympathy with the the strings and therefore less likely to transmit vibrations through to the body but will help with sustain. 2) The through body anchoring [u]may[/u] make a difference if the bridge lacks sufficient rigidity as an anchor. Basically this would mean that if the bridge was flimsy enough to dampen the sustain AND the wood selected and neck design was insufficiently rigid then through body anchoring could probably have some slight benefit. 3) With a high mass bridge, the wood makes less of a contribution to the tonal character and sustain of the bass. With a low mass (eg. vintage Fender) bridge the wood is likely to make more of a contribution. So in basses with low mass bridges its more important that the wood is well seasoned and rigid if sustain is desirable. To sum up, I'd suggest the role of the bridge is relative depending on how the rest of the bass has been designed. I've owned stingrays with both options and there was little difference in tonal character.

[quote name='crash' post='221406' date='Jun 18 2008, 02:42 PM']I currently use a 'Necx' bass guitar - from Necx guitars,[/quote] Yeah, not bad. OK, you can be part of the forum. Welcome! [quote name='crash' post='221406' date='Jun 18 2008, 02:42 PM']I also have a rare Jaydee Superatural Roadie series Fretless which is gorgeous that I am currently considering selling - but I don't want to it's just too beautiful! [/quote] Yeah, we've had a few of them on here for sale.

Welcome aboard.

funnily enough we had a look at doing this one for our function band but panned it because it dragged so much when we played it.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='220223' date='Jun 16 2008, 09:26 PM']First up there was a band call Secret Love Society they were hilarious, had huge egos and a bad attitude they got kicked off stage for throwing the house mike around they were warned twice but they had too much ego to stop so they got kicked off[/quote] They sound like Black Sabbath in an Alice Cooper style.

For me, it certainly limits my technique to the demands of the songs for better or for worse. I don't really practice bass for its own sake any more because of the Grumpy Old Bugger living next door. Strangely enough he never seems to complain about the neighbours shagging though. However I've found some songs are demanding in terms of split second timing (like Ain't Nobody), and I can push other songs out a little. For example, the bass line to I Feel Love is pretty simple but if I add triplets up an octave it starts getting a bit more interesting. There are potentially a number of different ways I could play those triplets depending on the technique I choose. My creative impulses were fairly stifled last year primarily by a lack of chordal knowledge and so I ended up buying a guitar to help me learn the different voicings that were possible. Now I'm picking up some cool things for guitar in its own right as well.

I'm both, in varying amounts depending on context. If I'm jamming with the guys in the band on stuff I've just made up, I'm an artist and the emphasis is on finding inspiration and exploring creativity. If I'm performing covers on stage in our usual function band routine, then I'm trying to craft the music and the emphasis is on quality product. I don't see a distinct line drawn between the two, its more a point between polar opposites. I've faced with this dilemna every day at work with clients expecting artistic levels of inspiration for craftsmans fees.

I used to have a Boss CE2B and I sold it to Rich. The thing that made it appeal to some bass players was that the chorus effect applied only to the upper frequencies. To my ears it lacked richness so I ended up getting a Yamaha E1005 rack analogue delay instead which sounded great. Having said that its pretty coloured in having fairly prominent upper mids so I just tend to use the chorus on my MPXG2 if I need it. I've had the analogueman, Carl Martin and TC Electronic chorus pedals recommended to me but I've never tried them.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='220569' date='Jun 17 2008, 01:32 PM']My signature electonics are very good for live. I have very variable control with the Q switches and I can get just what I want at high volumes with the lightest of touch, which makes what I am able to play easier and therfore more dextrous. Something I have only had on 1 other bass (still got it too)[/quote] I think a Signature bass offers all the wood choice advantages of the Series basses but without the fiddly and excessive electronics. If I was in the market for an Alembic, I wouldn't bother to look beyond a signature bass. (Bear in mind that I already own an old Series 1). I've played an all maple Mark King which had a lot of nice growl and still stayed full sounding because of the low impedance pickups and electronics.

[quote name='Wil' post='220487' date='Jun 17 2008, 11:45 AM']Wood fingerboards perhaps?[/quote] Eventually? Absolutely! But for the steinberger necks we can probably get away with it. The necks have a core filled with a very fine grained grey hardened foam which seems to do a great job of dampening off the clatter. Replacing the fingerboard would add an extra cost that isn't really needed. I'm anticipating a very firm sounding instrument with a crisp high end and deep lows. I will have to wait and see how much midrange comes out but with the chambered alder body core, it should hopefully sound nice and firm.

Personally, I think the Series II is pretty much overkill for live situations. Most live sound engineers I know would baulk at the idea of running a bass in stereo on stage, however the Series II is in a league of its own in the studio. I've found the Series basses seem to have more upper midrange and punch than other Alembic models too. The bass seem to combine a delicacy and attention to detail with tremendous robustness in my eyes. They're definitely idiosyncractic instruments however.

Im still waiting for my guitar to be delivered.

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='219726' date='Jun 16 2008, 11:24 AM']if tribute and cover band are indeed tired and culturally redundant then they would have no place in the music scene. yes it is a more local and convenient way of hearing live music were the original bands would never play and allows a more simplistic way of getting into playing live music.[/quote] I agree that many covers bands are culturally redundant in the context of pushing musical boundaries. As I've mentioned already, I think function bands help set the mood at an event, they're not culturally [i]irrelevant [/i]at all.

[quote name='Marshy' post='219452' date='Jun 15 2008, 09:15 PM']To be fair, Barry was very apologetic, didn't dodge the issue, and within short order I had the agreed sale price for my Yamaha bass in cash (plus a couple of sets of strings).[/quote] The most important thing was you got your money. Nice one.

[quote name='spog' post='219346' date='Jun 15 2008, 06:42 PM']Wrote a lengthy post last night only to find it has now vanished. Anyone else had this happen? Bloody annoying, frankly![/quote] There's nothing in the trash can, so you only have yourself to blame. Next time drop a PM to a moderator first maybe?

with all due respect, thats probably a fair price for a bass that looks like its had a stingray control plate added. The economy of description may mean the seller is glossing over something though.

heheh, resistance is useless...

SIR! REMOVE YOUR HANDS FROM THE KEYBOARD AND STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!!

[quote name='danfergie123' post='218557' date='Jun 13 2008, 08:54 PM']Dude, that is probably the best [i]and[/i] worst joke I've ever heard [/quote] thankyou... ...I think.

Isn't Jack Cables a mate of Allen Keys?

London SC is closed for the forseeable apparently.

you'll be well and truly screwed if you ever play that on a hollow stage too.

In my experience: The fundamental character of the instrument comes from the neck and body materials and the type of neck joint construction. The fingerboard heavily influences the treble, attack and sustain. The bridge and hardware can detract from the highs and lows if not rigid enough The pickups can detract from the highs if they have too much resistance, detract from the lows if the pickups are very low impedance, the pickups can add midrange if they are overwound. That recipe can be mixed and matched a bit but it won't add character (eg. more growl). The position of the pickups also influences how the tonal character of the instrument is emphasised. The preamp can offer the most significant source of tone tweaking if you preshape the degree of boost and the frequency centres. Spector's 'tone pump' has a substantial amount of preset bass boost to compensate for the bright character of the maple wood that the NS5XL/NS5CR or NS2 is made from. You'll very rarely find a warm sounding all maple bass with a passive bypass. However the danger with tweaking the preamp is that if any of the boosted frequency centres coincide with notes on the neck it will make those particular notes jump out more. lower action = more growl and midrange (and mwah on a fretless) higher action = rounder tone with more bass