Kiwi

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='169920' date='Apr 4 2008, 05:31 PM']..lovely graphite Alembic sir! [/quote] cheers, its a little more 'mojo'd' than the photo's show though. I was tempted to refinish it but I thought it might be more authentic if I left it as it was. Its seen quite a few Canadian winters.

Haha, gorgeous stuff! Thats what its all about for me right there. He's completely nailing that song and still sticking in some fly phrases. Estelle's bassist could take a few notes.

[quote name='WalMan' post='169783' date='Apr 4 2008, 01:41 PM']What do you mean [/quote] I'm too scared to talk about it any further, I might get threatened with physical violence again.

I'm going to mention a dirty word here *cartel* I'm aware of at least two attempts at price fixing in the UK over particular lines of product involving two of the biggest retailers in the UK in the last 5 years. Although I don't like to see the well-meaning and genuine retailers suffer, I find the presence of cartels and bullying of distributors [u]completely[/u] unacceptable. The presence of online retailers has been absolutely pivotal in breaking those cartels up. As I said to Alex on Monday, I'm fully prepared to pay 10% extra for peace of mind and the Gallery has my support so long as it continues to be a genuine and trustworthy retailer. BTW Alex, I hope the EA Micro 300 wasn't seriously damaged and the radio is back working again. I wouldn't mind coming back to have a go on it sometime with the EBS neo212.

I'd suggest a Tobias Toby Pro 6, you can pick them up for about £400-ish second hand. The pickups and electronics are a bit crap but the woodworking is fine and the bass is really easy to play.

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='169622' date='Apr 4 2008, 09:07 AM']Two producers that like to play bass when allowed ...Tony Visconti & Don Was (yeah, ok Don does tour with the Stones on bass, but it's a sideline really!)[/quote] In which case you can probably add Trevor Horn and Youth too.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='169324' date='Apr 3 2008, 06:12 PM']An interesting thing about that speaker system is that it relies almost entirely on acoustic crossovers. OK, well I found it interesting - I'll get my coat... Alex[/quote] LOL Alex, don't you dare go changing.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='169398' date='Apr 3 2008, 08:06 PM']It's always great hearing other people play your own bass[/quote] +1 TBH I get a kick hearing how people's fingers make my basses sound more like I'd like them to sound! I could listen to people playing my stuff all day. So long as they're not slapping for 3 hours and getting on everyone's tits, that is.

[quote name='Gwilym' post='169484' date='Apr 3 2008, 10:15 PM']the first thing that sprang to my mind when I saw it was that the whole song was a bit overplayed and messy. it certainly did not sound tight to me. i enjoyed the song but am not familiar with it, and it seemed to me that they were playing it at a much faster tempo than what I would have thought was the \"optimal\" tempo for the song. was it much faster that the recorded version? [/quote] The bass playing is a hell of a lot more solid on the recording, for sure. There's a nice funky Bernard Edwards-type groove going on there, I don't understand why would anyone want to change that.

Blimey - so many friendly people here! I can feel the love flowing out my monitors. Welcome Alicedear

I don't have a party piece although I do get the occasional break down to groove over which usually met with total indifference from the audience (although there was one exception recently when I got a cheer, but only one mind.). I'm crap at soloing because its not what motivates me, its the team work that I tend to get off on.

#53? Was that an Alembic or Vigier? [quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='168803' date='Apr 2 2008, 11:46 PM']Kiwi - are there any piccies of your gould-of-geoffrey-garbed vessel of distillation anywhere for I to peruse? My hanky is poised....was that you or an aged Boy George in the pic!?[/quote] Its just what I wear around the house to relax. I do a bit of capering and cajoling when I'm in the mood too. If you check out my website you'll see pics and sound samples. There's a link to it on my BC profile but you can also click [url="http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/mybasses.htm"]here[/url]. It needs updating since last week though.

[quote name='ped' post='168666' date='Apr 2 2008, 06:39 PM']#3! Better than being a number two though, surely?[/quote] Fnar! I No.2 at you, Sir. *flaps hanky*

[quote name='ped' post='168656' date='Apr 2 2008, 06:24 PM']Boys and their toys! I like the new avatar pic Nick!! lol it just needs you grinning over the fence![/quote] Be still No. 3, unless you wish to feel the flap of my finest silken whitework!

Look at that, some bastards scrawled on it. [i]Wwwwwwwwhaaaadda f-[/i] [quote name='Rich' post='153209' date='Mar 7 2008, 05:31 PM']ex-Greg Lake Alembic 8-string. It sounded like God clearing his throat. [i]Huuuuuuge[/i] sound.[/quote] I'm wondering if that might have been #79 1300 Basswise, I remember trying an all white Celinder Larry Graham Sig. at the NEC years back that made me go a bit weak kneed. It felt just like a nice, warm old jazz and I couldn't believe it was a new bass.

Myahah! Well Sir, I will trump your Alembics and your graphite necked basses with... ...a graphite necked Alembic. I duly flap my silk lace handkerchief at you!

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='166621' date='Mar 30 2008, 10:02 PM']Kiwi, a man with great taste in graphite[/quote] You didn't get to try the one I left at home. Maybe next time though...

[i]Features:[/i] This 34” scale instrument was originally bought off Talkbass. The previous owner had purchased it from Guitar Den in Florida who have sold a number of Cliff Williams instruments on consignment. The bass is active and features a 2 band baxandale eq plus volume running off a 9v battery. The pickup is an original Musicman twin coil humbucker with fat pole pieces in a position about 4 inches from the bridge. The body is made from ash and the neck is a single molding of graphite composite with 21 frets and a phenolic fingerboard. The bass is finished in black poly which appears to be sprayed over a sanded back white finish. The body shape is a standard stingray with a pre-EB 3 bolt neck joint. The bridge is a substantial affair and made from steel with two dimensions of movement and through body stringing. The tuners are open geared Musicman cloverleaf tuners typically of the design associated with vintage fenders. The neck dimensions are probably best described as a cross between a jazz and a precision bass. The neck is a little fatter than the normal stingray neck and has three bolt neck joint whereas most cutlass basses feature a 4 bolt neck. The three bolt neck also features the microtilt feature which makes fine tuning of the neck angle possible without completely removing the neck, I'm a big fan of this feature and wish many manufacturers still included it on their basses. The neck has a serial number and date in hand written marker that suggests is was manufacturered in 1984 whereas the body has an ink date stamp that reads August 1979. The serial number is also consistent with a 1979 year of manufacture. I’ve speculated that either this bass was made up from NOS parts at the factory or Cliff Williams gave them a bass to fit the neck to. [i]Sound:[/i] Probably the most striking thing about the sound of a Cutlass in comparison to a Stingray is a much harder character to the sound. The highs are crisp rather than coarse, the mids are perhaps centred around a higher frequency and the lows are broader and less barky. The overall effect is like a velvet glove – a very big and solid sounding instrument. The growl is still there but its softer and less prominent. At the moment I use the bass with Gallien Krueger and Trace valve amps through Gallien Krueger and EBS neo 2x12 cabs. I’ve found that the cutlass and stingrays have the same affinity with valve heads. The lower mids are projected nicely all through from the strings to the speaker. [i]Action Fit and Finish:[/i] The action is fairly low but the neck could do with a stoning or, better yet, a bit of a clean up. The fit of the neck isn’t super tight into the neck pocket, theres a 1mm or so lip to the neck pocket where the neck fits inside. The neck has always been a bit of an issue on basses that were made towards the end of the Cutlass era. This one has a slight bow in it and the lack of a truss rod means I can’t get the action below a fairly average string height. OK for most players gigging regularly I suspect but it still pales in comparison to my Alembic and Pedulla. [i] Reliability/Durability:[/i] I’ve not had to replace the battery yet after a couple of years of infrequent use. I’ve not had any other problems with the bass so far. It’s proven to be a very reliable instrument. [i]Customer Support:[/i] None. Ernie Ball don’t stock pre EB parts or have any pre EB information on basses prior to the change in ownership. The only source for preEB parts is secondhand through somewhere like Ebay (sometimes at a price). The necks are no longer manufactured, not even by Modulus. [i]Overall Rating:[/i] I own a range of other bass gear including Smiths, an Alembic, Celinders and a Pedulla, plus more stuff I’ve sold on. I’ve been very satisfied with the bass since owning it, its managed to hit the right spot every time I’ve used it. Generally this bass tends to get treated quite gently but I’m getting used to the idea of possibly gigging with it.

[i]Features:[/i] This 34” scale instrument was originally bought off Ebay in a mutilated state. The original body had been hacked into an approximation of a Warwick Thumb shape, painted in blue emulsion and then an original airbrushed sci-fi nude on plastic had been laminated onto the front of it. Apart from the body, the rest of the bass was intact and I planned to transplant a EB 93 body onto the bass temporarily. Eventually I found a worn but nicely mojo’d 1977 body on Ebay which I bought at a silly (ie. expensive) price but I still had a pre EB Stingray at a very good overall cost. It also wasn’t unknown for bodies and necks to be up to a year apart in dates as well so the bass still retains a lot of integrity. The bass is active and features a 2 band baxandale eq plus volume running off a 9v battery. The pickup is an original Musicman twin coil humbucker with fat pole pieces in a position about 4 inches from the bridge. The body is made from ash and the neck is a single piece of maple with 21 frets (which could probably do with a bit of stoning) The bass is finished in a nitro finish and is very worn and checked. The body style is a typical double cutaway with a 3 bolt neck joint. The bridge is a substantial affair and fixed to the body with two substantial anchor bolts that screw into ferrules inset into the body. The bridge itself made from steel with two dimensions of movement and through body stringing. There were sponge mutes still on the bridge but the foam was turning into sticky gunk so had to go. A bit of white spirit took care of any residue. The tuners are open geared Musicman cloverleaf tuners typically of the design associated with vintage fenders. The neck dimensions are probably best described as a cross between a jazz and a precision bass. The neck feels very similar to many modern basses in terms of its playability and super low action is possible thanks to the microtilt feature in the heel of the bass. This makes fine tuning possible without completely removing the neck. [i]Sound:[/i] Probably the most striking thing about the sound of a Stingray is the very prominent lower mids and the coarse sounding top end. This is primarily due to a combination of the pickup placement and the Baxendale preamp although the neck and body woods undoubtedly provide the basic growl and attack. With this particular bass, the vintage disco vibe is immediately apparent, particularly the growl on the lower strings. Some people have claimed that on their stingrays, the D and G strings are quieter, I have to admit I’ve never encountered this on the Stingrays I’ve played. When I fitted the 77 body, the bass was a little dead sounding for about 6 months but the bass kind of settled in and now it sounds as growly as it did with the 93 body. At the moment I use the bass with Gallien Krueger and Trace valve amps through Gallien Krueger and EBS neo 2x12 cabs. I’ve found that stingrays and valve heads generally suit each other very nicely whereas super clean amps like the GK can make the ‘ray sound a little brittle unless the tweeter is turned down. But any amp with a warm mid-low emphasis and clean highs will compliment a stingray. [i]Action Fit and Finish:[/i] The action is fairly low but the neck could do with a stoning or, better yet, a bit of a clean up. I think the neck has been refinished at some point judging by the scratches around the headstock, but that’s OK. I have a spare 1978 neck which needs a new trussrod but could do the same job. The fit is great for an old bass, but the finish is very worn and cracked. Overall it’s a bit of a beater but looks great from all the player wear. [i]Reliability/Durability:[/i] The battery seems to last about 3 months with weekly gigging and I’ve not had any problems with the bass so far. Its proven to be a very reliable instrument. [i] Customer Support:[/i] None. Ernie Ball don’t stock pre EB parts or have any pre EB information on basses prior to the change in ownership. The only source for preEB parts is secondhand through somewhere like Ebay (sometimes at a price). [i]Overall Rating:[/i] I own a range of other bass gear including Smiths, an Alembic, Celinders and a Pedulla, plus more stuff I’ve sold on. I’ve been very satisfied with the bass since owning it, its managed to hit the right spot every time I’ve used it. Generally this is my bass of choice for funky 70’s disco type bass sounds. The instrument is probably replaceable in terms of sound but the mojo it has probably isn’t.

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In order for everyone to get the best out of this section, its important that easy comparisons can be made between different reviews. For the sake of some consistency, we recommend using a format similar to that used in the Harmony Central reviews. We like the system they've used and we reproduce part of it here for your reference: * Select a numerical rating in each category (10 is the best, 1 is bad) * Add comments in at least one text field (You must enter some comments that go deeper than saying it's good or bad. Surveys without valuable comments will not be used). There are a number of questions below that you can use as a guide. * BE CRITICAL! Nothing is perfect. Superficial, glowing reviews may not get published. * Resist the new product rush! Take some time and really work with the product. If you need to comment right away, make it clear you haven't used it extensively. * Please include some of the specs too, since not everyone will know the model numbers and names alone. * For manufacturers - We value your input, but DO NOT pose as a customer. If you want to address any comments on your product or refute the facts, you can use this form, but make it very clear you are responding to those comments as a manufacturer (and leave the sales pitch out please!) Companies that abuse this review system will be warned, and related reviews or comments may be removed. Additional instances of abuse will result in ineligibility to participate in user reviews for a period of one year.

In order for everyone to get the best out of this section, its important that easy comparisons can be made between different reviews. For the sake of some consistency, we recommend using a format similar to that used in the Harmony Central reviews. We like the system they've used and we reproduce part of it here for your reference: * Select a numerical rating in each category (10 is the best, 1 is bad) * Add comments in at least one text field (You must enter some comments that go deeper than saying it's good or bad. Surveys without valuable comments will not be used). There are a number of questions below that you can use as a guide. * BE CRITICAL! Nothing is perfect. Superficial, glowing reviews may not get published. * Resist the new product rush! Take some time and really work with the product. If you need to comment right away, make it clear you haven't used it extensively. * Please include some of the specs too, since not everyone will know the model numbers and names alone. * For manufacturers - We value your input, but DO NOT pose as a customer. If you want to address any comments on your product or refute the facts, you can use this form, but make it very clear you are responding to those comments as a manufacturer (and leave the sales pitch out please!) Companies that abuse this review system will be warned, and related reviews or comments may be removed. Additional instances of abuse will result in ineligibility to participate in user reviews for a period of one year.

In order for everyone to get the best out of this section, its important that easy comparisons can be made between different reviews. For the sake of some consistency, we recommend using a format similar to that used in the Harmony Central reviews. We like the system they've used and we reproduce part of it here for your reference: * Select a numerical rating in each category (10 is the best, 1 is bad) * Add comments in at least one text field (You must enter some comments that go deeper than saying it's good or bad. Surveys without valuable comments will not be used). There are a number of questions below that you can use as a guide. * BE CRITICAL! Nothing is perfect. Superficial, glowing reviews may not get published. * Resist the new product rush! Take some time and really work with the product. If you need to comment right away, make it clear you haven't used it extensively. * Please include some of the specs too, since not everyone will know the model numbers and names alone. * For manufacturers - We value your input, but DO NOT pose as a customer. If you want to address any comments on your product or refute the facts, you can use this form, but make it very clear you are responding to those comments as a manufacturer (and leave the sales pitch out please!) Companies that abuse this review system will be warned, and related reviews or comments may be removed. Additional instances of abuse will result in ineligibility to participate in user reviews for a period of one year.