Bass Culture

Was hooked as soon as I saw them doing 'Southern Central Rain' on some BBC music show in the early 80's. 'Life's Rich Pageant' was my personal highlight from the early years, and I've always thought 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' represented one last hurrah in an otherwise increasingly irrelevant roster of latterday albums. First time I saw them was on the Work 'tour' (one gig in the UK, I recall!) at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1987. All I remember is Pete Buck playing the opening chords of 'Finest Worksong' and turning to my mate, who had the same stupid grin on his face as I did, as our ears were assailed by this complete wall of sound. Bloody brilliant!

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]1. Funkgod[/b] -[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Wal , [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Goodfellow classic (86/7 number 42, one of bernies kirtchen table ones)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]G&L L2000E (a very rare 1980), [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Mucicman sabre '79, [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Fender jazz fotoflame, [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Fender Jazz in metalic burnt tangereen,,,, [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif],[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] HK 6 string fretless Amazing value for money.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Swr red head, 2x10 combo, [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Swr red head 2x10 combo with swr 2x10 ext cab, [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Swr SM500 pro, [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Swr 6x10 Goliath.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]2. Lurksalot [/b]- Spector Euro4 , Spector Legend4, TC RH750 , TC RS212 & RS210[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]3. MrZed[/b] - [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Musicman 25th Anniversary and Stingray HH along with my Genz Benz STL9.0 and Berg HD210's [/font][/color] [b]4. Les [/b]- '79 Stingray, '78 Sabre, '68 Mustang [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]5. ChunkyMunky[/b] - Musicman Bongo 5HH, Another Musicman, Genz Benz Shuttle 12.0, cabinet (Probably a Berg or Barefaced)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]6. Josie[/b] - probablqy three GMRs (two 5s and a fretless 4) (and/or two non-standard Fender Jazzes - how to decide? [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] ) and definitely cake.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]7. Vinny - [/b]BB-1X, Smooth Hound[/font][/color] [b]8. Musicman20 -[/b] [b]9. MisterT - [/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Sterling SB14, Eden WTX500, Vanderkley 112MNT x1, only 2 pedals of note: BeatBuddy & Pigtronix Envelope Phaser.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]10. JellyKnees[/b] - Dingwall ABZ5, Tune Maniac fretless, Barefaced BigOne, [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Markbass Little Mark Tube 500[/font][/color] [b]11. ead[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] - Some ACGs, maybe something else too if I have an interesting bass knocking about, Gen 2 (I think) Barefaced Compact and Midget, GB Streamliner 600[/font][/color] [b]12. ribbetingfrog - [/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif](only have one bass so that'l be an easy choice) [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]13.[/b] [b]Bassman Sam.[/b][/font][/color] [b]14. AndyTravis - [/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]original batwing Aria SB-1000 to bring, a heavily modded Nate Mendel Fender. [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Contenders also include a graphite necked peavey 5 and a few pedals. Ashdown [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]rootmaster evo 800 rig.[/font][/color] [b]15. Bass Culture[/b] - Zoot Custom Medium scale & possibly Zoot Custom fretless. RH750 & Barefaced BB2 if needed. 6 miles from home - I simply can't resist!

Thanks both. Much appreciated.

My apologies if this has been asked elsewhere already but has anyone found a decent bag for their Zoom B3 - to take the pedal and power supply? Cheers, BC

[u][b]Zoot Custom, 32" fretted 4[/b][/u] [url="http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Myrtle2014/media/Zoot%20Custom/WP_20160722_09_24_24_Pro_zpssteourkv.jpg.html"][/url] I actually took delivery of this little fella back in July and I thought it best covered in a review rather than a NBD thread for that reason, so I hope the mods will excuse me linking to it here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/295069-zoot-custom-32-scale-4-string-passive/page__pid__3172834#entry3172834"]http://basschat.co.u...34#entry3172834[/url] Enjoy, BC

[u][b]Zoot Custom 4 string, 32"[/b][/u] I took delivery of this bass back in the Summer and have resisted the temptation to review it any sooner to try and ensure the 'New Toys' syndrome didn't exert too strong an influence. I've had four basses built for me in the past - three by Les Evans from Liverpool and a more recent ACG Finn. I think there's always a leap of faith element to every new commission but they've been more successful every time as I've become clearer and more confident about what works for me. The Finn, with its filter preamp, and single pickup moved slightly towards the bridge was the best of the bunch for my personal tastes. I'd owned a few Zoots over the years, and played a few more - mostly in Mike Walsh's shop, The Bass Merchant, a good few years back. I'd always promised myself a custom build but had never got round to it and, after having had quite a low profile in recent years, it was just coincidental that has name popped up on BC at exactly the time I was thinking about adding a passive bass to my Finn and Les Evans fretless. Mike lives quite close to my family down south, so we met up when I was down visiting them and eventually settled on the following specification: [list] [*]Splat Ash body with figured maple book matched top, finished in am Amber trans' tint. [*]Ebony veneer dividing line [*]5 piece laminated neck of Canadian rock maple and Blue Jarra [*]Satin finish to back of neck [*]Hi-gloss finish to face of headstock [*]Ebony finger board with side dots [*]Soft 'V' profile [*]38mm bone nut [*]16" radius to board. [*]24 frets [*]Bi-flex (two way) truss rod adjustable body end [*]ABM bridge [*]Hipshot 'Ultralite' machine heads and string retainer in black [*]Dual Aguilar DCB pickups [*]Passive with Vol/Vol/Tone/Master Volume and three position pickup selector [*]1 X mini switch for H/B soap bar [/list] A mere five months later this beauty was ready to pick up: [url="http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Myrtle2014/media/Zoot%20Custom/WP_20160722_09_23_39_Pro_zpseldsho1h.jpg.html"][/url] [u][b]Fit and Finish[/b][/u] As ACGs have a lot of love in these parts and there's a fair few owners in the BC parish, I'll use my Finn as a reference point. The Zoot is a more straightforward, traditional bass, I'd say. It's a bolt-on build like my Finn but Mike sticks to the tried and trusted Fender method of securing the neck to the body with wood screws rather than Alan's preference for captive nuts and machine bolts. I've no complaints about Mike's method at all but the ACG method does feel a bit more robust to me. In all respects though the workmanship is fantastic. The frets sit low and level and the fret ends are perfectly finished - I mean really perfectly - and the rounded over finger board edges make for an incredibly comfortable-playing bass. I asked Mike for a soft V profile neck to try and get close to a friend's Wal I played years back and he's absolutely nailed it. I had no complaints about the offset neck on the ACG but this profile fits like and glove - it's fast, effortless, and simply puts a huge smile on my face. [url="http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Myrtle2014/media/Zoot%20Custom/WP_20160722_09_25_15_Pro_zps66mprjtj.jpg.html"][/url] Having mostly played basses with satin or oiled finishes in recent years the high gloss took some getting used to from a playing point of view as it's more 'grabby' over the forearm cutaway area of the body, but that was a small price to pay for the stunning looks (I honestly stood there with my mouth open when I went to pick it up and saw for the first time, lying on the bench!). The high gloss is a preference of Mike's but I didn't take any convincing as I quite fancied a change anyway. The only slight reservations I have are so minor as to hardly merit a mention, but in the interests of balance I will: the nut and the string retainer. I'd have preferred a black or darker nut material. Nothing 'wrong' with the white one but it sort of draws attention to itself to my eye and grates slightly. Similarly with the string retainer a three string version was fitted because that's all that was needed, the break angle of the G string rendering it unnecessary to be retained; however, it makes things looks slightly unbalanced now and we'll be changing it for the 4 string version on a visit soon. [b][u]Sound and Playability[/u][/b] Okay, I freely admit all attempts at objectivity are now futile because, quite honestly, I think this is the best bass I have either owned or played in my nearly forty years of playing. I think with my Finn (as good a bass as it was) I began to feel it lacked a certain 'something'. Don't get me wrong, it cut through like a bastard in a band situation and the filter preamp offered a huge range of tones. But I think that maybe the huge variety of tones it had up its sleeve seemed to mitigate - for me - against a fundamental character or personality. It was a brilliant bass but it never really put a smile on my face. The Zoot has character. In spades. It has a fundamental warmth, breadth, weight and punch; it doesn't just put a smile on face, it actually makes me laugh out loud. It's one of those basses that encourages you to try new things. I have one bass 'pupil' who commented on it sounding like a fretless, and he's right. There's something about where the attack in the note occurs that is very fretless-like. I was worried about it cutting through in a band situation as passive basses often sound great at home but struggle in company. Played through my TC RH750 and Barefaced BB2 at last week's rehearsal there were no such issues though. I didn't back the tone off quite as much as I might do at home but that was the only concession I had to make. I also have to say that returning to a slightly more traditional neck after the ACG feels good. There's something about V profiles that is so comfortable; I really don't know why they're not more popular. Likewise the radius - 16" is a great compromise between the benefits of a flat board and something more pronounced or Fenderish to me. [url="http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Myrtle2014/media/Zoot%20Custom/WP_20160722_09_24_34_Pro_zps0efhjssp.jpg.html"][/url] [u][b]To Sum up[/b][/u]: I love this bass. And I say that after 4 months of ownership and playing. There is nothing about this bass I don't like. Even the finish - which turned out darker than I imagined - turned out to be a happy accident. It looks fantastic, it sounds fabulous and it fits like a glove. It feels like home. I wish I could find something negative to say about it beyond the rather lame nut and string retainer observations but I can't! Suffice it to say I have sold the Finn and commissioned a fretless from Mike too. Make of that what you will.

I don't know why but this guy seem to encapsulate all of the things I hate about modern music. I'm sure he's a nice bloke but his music is so tame, bland and twee; it has no emotional authenticity at all...discuss. 🙂

Just watched Tom Chaplin and could have sworn I heard a bass line on his anemic, middle of the road dirge. Buggered if I could see a bass player though...😳

When I first started playing my primary tutor was Chuck Sher's (who he?) 'The Improvisor's Bass Method'. I recall it advising 'good' technique as a matter of energy conservation as much as anything else, and that arched fingers enabled the player to fret a note with less energy, and the fretting hand to move more efficiently and quickly, and therefore with less fatigue. Of course, I don't know anything different after 35 years but I always think that players with good, 'classical' technique always look a lot tidier. Of all the 'world class players' I know I think Entwistle's technique looks the worst. Still, seems to have worked for him all right! Bottom line - be comfortable. I've got small hands so classical technique works for me; larger hands might necessitate a different approach.

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1472154840' post='3119007'] I'm going to use what I usually use...and what often kicks off a debate . - red fountain pen ink. Specifically Diamine ink. I may try a few different reds to get one that looks right with this particular mahogany. [/quote] As a fountain pen user myself i'd say Diamine definitely offer the largest range of inks and they're also a top quality, British product. As an alternative though you might also want to look at Pelikan Edelstein Ruby Red. Those are really good inks too. BC

Blackrg's kept such a low profile that when he first contacted me about my Maruszczyk Jake I was initially a bit suspicious. A quick phone call and natter put paid to that though and I'm happy to report that not only does he actually exist but he's also an all round decent chap (given he fell to the dark side and pursued guitar for a few years) and thoroughly trustworthy. We exchanged views about what it's like to be a bass player when you're on the slightly diminutive side and decided medium scale is the new black. I wouldn't hesitate to deal with him again.

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1469651484' post='3100121'] Just for the record three cats were in evidence. [/quote] Who were all very complimentary about your playing after you left.

Recently sold my ACG Custom to Alain (no surprise there! ) and found him to be a great guy to deal with me. Like me he's a bit of a middle-aged bass tart so we had a lot in common! Anyone who deals with him - either as a buyer or seller, I'm sure - can have absolute confidence in an amicable and stress-free transaction.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1470328560' post='3105205'] Another nark for me is the no rehearsals before the first gig, I would prefer not going in blind. But if they're playing them straight from the tune...can't see any major issues. [/quote] Mentally preparing for the bass break in 'Forget You' should keep you awake for the first few numbers anyway.