shizznit

[quote name='Rasta' timestamp='1331798228' post='1578862'] The rest of the band got wind of our reggae history and promptly put Monkey man (Specials version) [/quote] Hehe!! That's one of the ska songs we cover!

There was a company called Needle that took up the smallest stand at the BMF show years ago that had the most ridiculous pointy shapes I have ever seen. I don't think they were around for long and I can't find any of their instruments on the interweb. Their prices were ambitious to say the least. Their cheapest instrument was £6500!! Has anyone heard of them or remember coming across them at the show (I think it was the 2004 show)? (I am determined to find a pic of one of their basses!)

Chris - keep an eye on the Bass Gallery website. Martin usually always has a Wal in stock and every now again a MTD. When that happens jump in the car and head to London to try them.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1331734996' post='1577962'] I think the direction of the cut might have something to do with it aswell but if you think about it. The lighter the wood then the more the burl should stick out [/quote] Yup, that makes sense

What a bizzare remark to make on an auction? That aside, nice looking Peavey Cirrus copy.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1331733742' post='1577916'] Here's quite a nice example actually [/quote] Those samples are seriously outrageous! Me thinks I made a good choice!

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1331733623' post='1577912'] Commonly known as tulip poplar [url="http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/TulipPoplar_070514.htm"]http://www.sierrapot...plar_070514.htm[/url] [/quote] Nice one charic! The description says that tulip poplar is light in colour though. The burls must really mess up the natural pigment. I wasn't too far away saying that it looks similar to poplar!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1331731324' post='1577851'] That's the oddest-looking 5-string I've ever seen. I think it's something to do with having six strings ... [/quote] This is the one I meant to post! I did notice as soon as I posted that message and I did correct it, but obviously still shows the 6-string! [url="http://www.walbasses.co.uk/Gallery?img_id=83&gallery=17"]http://www.walbasses.co.uk/Gallery?img_id=83&gallery=17[/url]

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1331730709' post='1577835'] Nice, cant say i have heard of Canoe Wood either ....maybe Birch ? Lovely looking stuff anyroads..... [/quote] I am not finding a lot of information about this wood on the interweb. It's either very rare or could be called something else?? It looks very close to poplar burl, but much darker. At close examination it looks very different to buckeye, myrtle, imbuya, camphor or anything else I have tried matching it to. I'm completely lost. How did Jon get hold of this? I'll have to investigate further the next time I chat with Jon. This has left be a bit bewildered!

[quote name='Alex Spencer' timestamp='1331222335' post='1569761'] Surely you're looking for headphones that will represent the sound well, rather than give a 'better' sound? Personally I'd go for Beyer DT770's. I use them a lot for mixing and general audio work when I can't get to a decent pair of monitors. Pretty popular headphones, BBC use them a lot too. [/quote] [quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1331222447' post='1569765'] +1 for the DT 770's, outstanding for the money [/quote] ++1 I have a pair and wouldn't recommend anything else in that price bracket.

[quote name='jazseven' timestamp='1331727273' post='1577739'] Didn't know that about flea I must admit, not that surprised though, can get a pretty good stingray tone out of the Spector I have [/quote] ...and here's the man himself giving a Spector the usual abuse he shows towards his Stingrays and Modulus basses! [url="http://youtu.be/hU9vToZ8ti4"]http://youtu.be/hU9vToZ8ti4[/url]

My MTD 535 was quite a perky bass by design because of the timbers I chose. Mike Tobias is very good at honing in on what the player wants to expect from the basses that he builds and has an incredibly nerdy knowledge of what tone woods combination sounds best…even when it comes down to scale lengths! I would argue that Mike needs to get out a bit more, but you won’t find another bloke who has such in depth knowledge and experience about bass construction. Whether you want a hi-fi tone, a warm traditional tone, a bright and lively tone, an earthy flat tone…whatever you want…Mike will have a good idea on how to achieve that. You really do have the ‘blank canvas’ experience when ordering a MTD. I have never had the pleasure of chatting with the guys at Wal, but I have heard that they are good lads to deal with and also have a heck of a lot of experience and knowledge too. Much like Alembic and Status, they like to focus on electronics quite a lot and they design and produce one of the best active preamps I have ever heard and their hand-made pickups are as good as Ken Smith’s. In a nutshell, Wal and MTD are great basses and neither is better than the other because the build quality and customer service is second to none. However, in my opinion they are quite different animals, most notably in feel, construction and electronics package. My personal preference? Now that I have had the experience of living with an MTD I would have to say if I had to pick either that or a Wal I would go for the Wal. The MTD served me very well and sounded incredible…by far the best bass I think I will ever own, but the wide string spacing became quite uncomfortable for me after playing for long periods (i.e. long studio sessions). Because the bass was oil finished I didn’t like playing it live because I sweat quite a bit and I didn’t want to ruin the finish. In the end it became a piece of furniture to show off to my muso mates when they visited the house and that really bugged me, hence why I sold it to a friend that had a crush on it over the past several years. I think a Wal would suit me better in the long run for all those reasons.

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1331721466' post='1577563'] Whether you would want it in a sweaty smelly urine soaked pub though is a different matter. [/quote] Yeah, that thought has always put me off about the floorboard. An iPad is not designed to be stood on by a clumsy singer or be sweat/beer resistant either. Alright for home or studio use, but live? Nah. I couldn't imagine using my iPad after its been exposed to a hot and sweaty gig environment. Definately some hygeine issues there.

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1331721474' post='1577564'] You can disagree but i think you'll find that this kind of thing has been happening for years and will continue to happen. Ironically the very next post to yours is from another chap who suffered from the same fate. I agree its unacceptable but over time you learn to avoid these gigs/landlords. [/quote] Sorry to say, but I have not been paid on many occasions...even at a pro level at reputable venues, so it's more common than some folks may think.

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1331722567' post='1577602'] I've liked all the drummers Primus have had, particularly Brain, although I know he's not the most popular. [/quote] Herb is my fav, but Brain's drums on the Brown Album and Antipop is awesome. He is a top drummer.

I'm so done with this thread Continue to have fun! Thank you BC...goodnight!

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1331655232' post='1576667'] Thats better I was starting to think this was a little one sided Beautiful bass , it's a shame i can't play a fretless. I would have to go for a fretted Wall ......................................i know , don't kick me all at once [/quote] Don't worry...I'm useless on a fretless too! Just can't get over it Weirdly, DB...not a problem

*forgot to add this!* The Euro Spectors are a lot of bass for the money and just as good as the US models IMHO. The bolt-on ReBop model is a lot of fun to play and has a great neck profile. I have never been keen on the EMG Hz pickups, but that's just personal taste. jazseven - Flea is commonly known for playing Stingray basses, but also used a Spector to record some of the songs on Mothers Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik!

I'm a huge Stingray fan. Used to have a 2-band 4 string ages ago and my fav bass to record with both for pleasing tone and playing comfort for long recording sessions. I sold it to get a 5 string, but ended up buying a Lakland which actually pulls off the passive MM tone quite convincingly. If you want a tight, punchy and ballsy bass tone the Stingray is very high on my list of suitable basses. Some folks criticise the Stingray for being too much of a one trick pony. I will conceed that it's not a subtle bass, but you know where you stand with it just as much as a P or J bass. That's why they are very popular...no fuss with great results. I'm not a guy that will spend days to find the 'ultimate tone' (despite owning an EA amp!). I just want to plug in, crank it and and rock out! The 2nd hand market for Stingray's has always been very good. You can find yourself a bargain in next to no time.

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1331296085' post='1570901'] Finally decided on a top! Jon found this one and I really like it... [attachment=102068:burl_goahead.jpg] [/quote] *for those wondering what type of wood this top is* I didn't actually know what species of wood this was until this morning! I automatically assumed it was buckeye burl, but Jon told me it is [b]Canoe Wood Burl[/b]. Its usually used for carving wooden fruit bowls! Jon hasn't made many basses with this wood because most folks will automatically go for the buckeye, walnut, myrtle and maple burls, so he struggled to find an example how it will look. He sent me this image of a 9mm pistol with a canoe tree burl handle grip to demonstrate how the top will look like when it is lacquered... [attachment=102451:imagesCA3HLXPO.jpg] Very pretty . I have never heard of this wood before, so it's nice to add a bit of obscurity to make this build a bit more special. Jon has quite a lot of work to do with this top because of the amount of holes he has to fill in and its quite brittle to work with, but he is up for it because thinks this will be one of the prettiest basses he has built for a while and is prepared to put in the effort. Can't wait to see how this baby will turn out!

Just to balance things up... [url="http://www.walbasses.co.uk/Gallery?img_id=110&gallery=17"]Wal 5 String Fretless[/url] Ding-dong!!

Hehe! Just saw the 'Dennis Rodman' bass at the bottom of the page!

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1331651624' post='1576575'] Thanks shizznit, Just looked on the Bass Central websire and i really like the look of the ............ [b][u]MTD 535 Dark Cherry Sunburst / Wenge[/u][/b] It is the 12'th bass from the top of the 5 string section. very tasty. i love the colour. I would love to play the bass but can't justify the plane ticket ........ unless i bring the bass back with me [/quote] Ooooo!!!! You have very fine taste indeed sir! The Buckeye Burl/Ash 21 fret one just below looks very similar to the one I had.

I used a Boss MC-2 Metal Zone once which really narked off my guitar player! Even though my ProCo RAT is a bit tame in comparison to the MC-2 its body count is pretty impressive as far as claiming the lives of a few of my speakers...mainly tweeter horn diagphrams. Remember to turn the tweeters down or completely off at high volumes when using a high gain fuzz/distortion pedal. It can get pretty expensive if you are not sensible.

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1331645954' post='1576451'] Is there any tonal gain in an MTD with an exotic wood top or is it just a personal cosmetic taste ? [/quote] Maybe a bit of both...depends. Pretty tops don't necessarily mean pretty tone. I chose a myrtle burr top for my bass which was jaw dropping gorgeous, but Mike told me that wood has very little tonal character and just recommended to have a 2mm thick top on the ash (got a similar thing going on with my current Shuker build). Tops can contribute to the tone if they are thick enough, such as maple, walnut, cocobolo, lacewood, rosewood etc… Some builders prefer to use laminates for cosmetic value rather that tone generators, but it is also common to use timber combo’s for tone production by using them as wings rather than top and back laminates…sometimes use both methods (Sei basses are a good example).