Dingus

[quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1365032886' post='2034524'] Be aware that Ed Roman doesn't get a good rep in the Steinberger community in terms of prices and a certain economy of truth in his product descriptions. That said,, he gave me a good deal on my XL2 but when the bass arrived from the States it had a chip in the finish which had not been mentioned and a broken Transposing Pin on the Trans Trem. Ed himself passed away a couple lf years ago so things may have changed there. Headless USA is a little company specialising in Steinberger and they have an excellent reputation- a bit pricy again, though. By the time I had bought my L2, the price had gone up to £1600 - Wal Customs were £799 and Steinbergers were in such demand that I couldn't even get a discount!! You're right about iconic and influential bass designs - I would add in Rick 4001 because of it's through- neck construction and twin truss rods and the Jazz Bass specifically because it set the standard for two pickups. So my timeline would go something like Precision - so much was spot on Jazz - two pickups for more tonal variation Rick - neck through, dual truss rods, twin pickups, stereo output Stingray - active EQ Alembic - twin pickups, neck through, very active EQ, stereo output, dual truss rods- the blueprint for thousands of basses to come Steinberger - the ultimate neck through with every aspect apart from the scale length re-imagined. I'll admit that they're not for everyone but so much about them makes such perfect sense that I think everyone should try them at least once, ideally for a couple of days if you're not used to the headless aspect. Cheers Ed [/quote] Thanks for the heads- up .I have heard about Ed Roman's reputation as a guitar dealer from various sources , and suffice to say that I would be cautious in doing business with them . I know a few people in the trade in the U.S.A who would be my first port of call when looking to locate a Steinberger and I am pretty confident locating a good example would be quite possible . Wal Custom basses at £799 ! It seemed like a lot of money back then , but even allowing for inflation it wasn't nearly as much as the three and a half grand or so they are now . Just as I was about to buy my first Wal they went up from £799 to £899 and when I mentioned that to Pete Stevens when I went to buy bass from them he let me have it for the old price ! They always were a fantastic company to deal with . I remember seeing Steinbergers in the old Bass Centre at Wapping in those days and they would quite often be sold within a couple of days of arriving in the shop , but for some reason I never played one there , it may well be that if they were £1600 quid I just couldn't afford them or thought they cost too much . That was an awful lot of money for a bass back in the late 80's , but obviously with the benefit of hindsight they were very much worth that kind of money even back then . The first time I actually played a Steinberger was at the now long - gone New Seattle Music across the street from Pike Place Market . Back in the 1980's they had a dazzling array of basses in there , and the bass department was run by Evan Sheely , who now owns Bass NW in Seattle . I got to play it through a big SWR rig and I vividly remember being surprised by how substantial the Steinberger felt and sounded . As I alluded to earlier , the one thing I never did was play a Steinberger standing up with a strap , and after using my Music Man Reflex bass a quite lot recently ( which has a very different feel to the Fender - style basses I am used to due to its' shape and the stap button position in relation to the neck ) , I noticed looking a a Steinberger bass in the For Sale that the strap button poisition was similaly further from the twelfth fret than usual on most basses , hence prompting my initial question . Regarding the most important bass designs , how did I forget the Rickenbacker ? I suppose in a lot of ways the Alembic owes a lot a lot more of its' design to the Rick than the Fender , as do so many other designs that have followed .

5 string P pickups present a number of challenges to pickup designers in terms of getting them to sound right . Apparently there are peculiaries to adapting that design to a five string thast make it hard to bget an even - sounding response across all five strings . Add to that the fact that there are not that many P5s on the market and that is why there are not nearly as many five string Precision -style pickups on the market for builders to choose from .

[quote name='paulconnolly' timestamp='1365025721' post='2034420'] Well thanks chaps. I guess it was the Stringbusters thread that compelled me to create this thread. I'd really like to be able to walk in to my local music store and buy what I need but sadly I can't and it's so disappointing. Rushworths, Hesseys even Micro Music on Smithdown Road were worth a punt back in the day. And my typing is getting worse - 2 edits to correct typos [/quote] Why do you think the Beatles moved to London as soon as they got the chance ? Exactly - they were exhausted from walking round Liverpool looking for bleedin' strings !

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1354296077' post='1884620'] A fast neck is different things to different people, so there is no definitive answer. [/quote] Exactly this . If you can play fast on it and feel unimpeded , it's a fast neck . It will never be universally agreed on what necks are fast because everybodies hands are different sizes .

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1365018847' post='2034285'] Over the years there has been a couple of names mentioned, Google search found this. [url="http://www.discogs.com/Jocelyn-Brown-Somebody-Elses-Guy/release/185367"]http://www.discogs.c.../release/185367[/url] Garry [/quote] I could be wrong , but I think those credits might be for a re -recording of the track , Garry . I think there is some kind of copyright issue with the original version and Jocelyn Brown has re-recorded several versions of it to get round the current copyright holders embargo .

[quote name='Pete Academy' timestamp='1365015362' post='2034228'] I might be wrong but I don't think he played on Somebody Else's Guy. [/quote] I have heard some people say it was Freddie but I don't know where they have got that from . Great bassline but it doesn't sound like him to me

Can it really be 31 years ago ? I remember this from around the same time . One of them was Bob Holdness ' daughter . A truly dreadful record with no redeeming qualities : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyiYC4Vy23o

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1365005970' post='2034061'] I win... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXu8hd49ZZM[/media] [/quote] Ah , now this is an interestinig one . The guy with the dreadlocks is now superstar DJ Jeremy Healy , and this seemingly trite pop record had a deeply subversive subtext . The lyric was inspired by the book Hollywood Babylon and its' description of John Wayne and his legendary and somewhat taboo sexual preferences . By the time the BBC found out it was way too late . They had already performed on TOTP complete with illustrative dance moves . A wolf in cheesy clothing .

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1365005540' post='2034055'] Oh you mean this kind of stuff.... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiuHdUkuRi0[/media] Nipple-slip-tastic [/quote] This has already been removed by the moderators once in this thread . Enjoy it while it lasts !

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1365001249' post='2033943'] Ay, I agree. It is 17.5 mm, but since its 'all I know' for a 5 string bass, I've got used to it and started to really enjoy how fast I can play on it. As all my fivers are by EBMM, I don't have to adjust. [/quote] I would hasten to add that there is nothing inherently wrong with either of those two things , it's just something will bother certain people and not bother certain others . If you look at the sheer number of working pros that use the SR5 , that is testimony what good basses they are .

The HH SR5 is a monsterously powerful ( and good ) sounding bass . Just be aware that the string spacing is on the narrow side and on most examples I have ever played the distribution of the strings on the neck is such that the B and particulaly the G string are very close to the edge of the fingerboard .

[quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1364992607' post='2033717'] This is not the case - there was a container but it was sorted out and the parts were either sold off or used in the Music Yo era USA reissues during the 2000's. There will not be any more L series Steinbergers made again ever. Anyway Dingus, as long as it's an L or XL 4 string you're looking for, there is still a ready supply on the second hand market. The basses are so tough that they will be about for ever and many are in surprisingly good condition. Parts are not a great problem with the notable exception of the strap pivot assembly but even there, there are now solutions available (3D printing) which will solve that issue. Back in the day, I had the Wal /Steinberger conundrum and was told by my wife that I could either have matching Wal fretted and fretless basses or one Steinberger! After much soul searching, I bought the L2. Had to sell a few basses to get it including my Aria SB1000 and a '61 Precision and, on reflection, it's the best purchase I have ever made. The bass was my only fretted bass for gigs and sessions for about 12 years and is still the old faithful "go to" bass to this day. Next year we will have been 30 years together! I like all my 'Bergers and the L2 has since been joined by a fretless L2, an XL2 with Trans Trem bridge and finally, the elusive XL5W. Unfortunately (or maybe not) the 5W didn't appear until a couple of years after I *really* wanted an extended range 'Berger for a project I was working on, so I've also got a Status 6 custom that Rob kindly made for me with the L body shape. The Steinberger bass has now got over the stigma of being an '80s fashion statement and is starting to be recognised for what it always was - the most fully realised and intelligent bass design ever. Leo Fender got it right on more than one occasion but Ned Steinberger built on that and took it to a completely higher plane altogether. I am fortunate now to have a few terrific instruments to choose from but if it all comes down to it and they have to go for whatever reason, the L2 will be with me to the end! On that cheery note... Ed [/quote] Thanks Ed . I can see myself succumbing to my Steinberger fixation sooner rather than r later , if only to get it off my chest . As I have previously mentioned , I have seen a couple of used ones in perfect and unplayed condition in the not too distant past but hesitated and told myself that I don't really still want to buy one , but as you can probably tell , really I do . I know Ed Roman in Las Vegas has got a big supply of original parts but he is selling everything at top dollar . I can still remember reading the review of the Steinberger in the music gear section of ( long gone ) Sounds magazine in about 1982 and the retail price was £999 from Soundwave in Romford , which was about twice what a Wal or JD cost back then . As I previously mentioned , I asked Ned a few years ago if he would ever make them again and he said neither he or any other company would because to make them to a proper standard is just too difficult and costly to be worth anybody's while in terms of selling them at a reasonable price and still making a profit . It's such a shame because if they were in production today there would definitely be a market for them . To me the four most important bass guitar designs are the Fender , Musicman , the Alembic and the Steinberger . Everything else is secondary to those . Long may you continue to enjoy you Steinberger , Ed.

This is the kind of crap which bombarded you wherever you went in the 1980's : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_YBLpaLqb8

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1364992178' post='2033711'] I'm sure I've chucked this into another thread a while back but I still like the bassline if little else... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZSMDaewz2A[/media] [/quote] I just really enjoyed listening to this track again , but like a lot of the other nominations , it's [i]way[/i] too good a record to be considered cheese . This track wouldn't be out of place in a thread about hippest music of the 80's . Nice to hear it again whatever , though .

If I might venture , getting one of these necks is very worthwhile exercise ( if you like the sound and feel of graphite - i do ) but considering the considerable effort and expense of getting a neck and having it fitted ( I would strongly recommend getting Status or an experienced luthier to do it or you risk making a complete bollocks up of your bass and/ or the neck ) it seems a bit of waste spending all that money on a Sub . Good as those basses are , if you flogged it and got a real EBMM Musicman Stingray to have converted , especially at the bargain prices they often crop up for on Basschat , then you would end up with a quality bass that you could keep for the rest of your life . As Lfalex points out , it's a lot of money to spend on a budget bass .

If I might add one dissenting voice , it looks like a very nice Thunderbird to me . Let it be a Thunderbird . There is nothing wrong with the sound of these basses as they are - it's got an earthy quality that is great for rock music , hence the enduring poularity of these basses in that genre . If that doesn't suit the music you play then why not choose another bass to use for a year that does suit ? It's not so much to do with resale value - if you only paid 500 quid for the bass there is a limit to how much you could lose - and more about choosing a single bass that properly fits the bill for all your needs . Is this [i]really[/i] that bass if you want to make such a fundamental change to it ?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1364982009' post='2033508'] Well done for moving on from Victoria Coren, but... The Krankies..?? ...[size=4]You know that's not really his dad, don't you?[/size] [/quote] Thank God !

To use a medical term , the chap is a couple of scotch eggs short of a picnic .

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1364984538' post='2033565'] I Also - a bridge ashtray looks great, but it gets old pretty quick - especially if you're into palm muting. [/quote] Or if you need an ashtray !

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1364930320' post='2032942'] PMSL.... No I did genuinely tour France and China whilst playing the Oboe aged 14 (France) and 15 (China)!! Nothing will ever beat the memory i have of performing live at the Chinese State Circus venue in Beijing infront of 5000 people! I even appeared on Blue Peter [/quote] Session ace Jerry Meehan who plays bass with Robbie Williams used to be ( and probably still is ) an oboeist . I would imagine having that background helps with learning to play the bass .

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1364927958' post='2032861'] But he used to be Victoria Coren. I think he's a shape shifter. Anyway, back OT.. [/quote] There comes a time in a mans' life when he realises that Victoria Coren is never going to see his simple but heartfelt tribute to her charm and beauty in the form of his chosen profile picture on a bass forum . We are both moving on with our lives .

I always liked this one from when this album first came out back in the 1980s : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9dytLAEPYE

Some more : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N30MgWhOUzE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPJ4yugulXY

There are loads of great examples of Ready Freddie Washington tearing it up on the Fender bass . From early in his career : [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh-YW6DLdPs[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmeMPBlAIDo[/media]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1363948039' post='2019879'] I`ll throw a curve-ball in here - the GK MB Fusion 500. Pre-amp valves, so warmer and fuller than the regular MB500, so a bit more depth of sound, but still with that famed GK tone. Worth checking out. [/quote] That's a wickedly good sounding amp .