Dingus

Finding a decent five string has been a long term project for me , and it has turned out to be a much longer term project than I ever anticipated. To echo what Shuzznit posts , I have come across very few 5 strings that were any good , regardless of price . I cannot get on with 35 inch scale , so that cuts out about half the market before I start , and an incongruous low B is all too often the final outcome on 34 inch scale fivers , cutting out a whole host more. Music Man do a decent 34 inch scale low B , but the string spacing is too tight for me and , equally significantly , to even achieve that string spacing on a comfortably- dimensioned neck the have to place the top and bottom strings ( B and G) way too close to the edge of the fingerboard , rendering the whole thing useless in my book. Yes , I know you could get the nut recut , but then the already too-close spacing would be even more prohibitive. Fodera do a good 34 inch scale 5 , as do Ken Smith and Sadowsky , but I don't want to spend that much on a bass I probably won't use all the time. So I haven't got a five string.

Why not compromise and have Bob Harris present The X - Factor ?

Without wishing to be controversial ( well, maybe a little bit controversial...) the best thing for me would have been if the mystifyingly overrated PJ Harvey had left the rest of the instruments off her latest album , and then left the vocals off as well. I used to have a girlfriend who thought PJ Harvey was a great artist , but then again the girl in question was an idiot . Regarding the question of whether the bass is disappearing from pop music , I think the o.p clearly means bass guitar rather than any other instrument fullfilling the same or similar role , and so I think it is a very valid question. Certainly the prominence of the bass guitar has diminished in many styles of popular music , and the way people play the bass has changed stylistically , but it was always changing anyway , and will continue to change . Whereas bass magazines were once full of men with mullet haircuts and basses that looked like a cross between a coffee table and a science project who would play a twenty minute slap solo at the drop of a hat , they are now full of men with beards using vintage basses strung with flatwounds talking about how they play what serves the song best rather than try to show off . I'm sure a lot of these blokes would be much happier as social workers or working in an Oxfam shop , but for some reason they have chosen the bass guitar instead .

How would you describe the tension on these compared to DRs , Pete ?

[quote name='Roger Evans' timestamp='1352664557' post='1865886'] Just watching it now with the missus...praying for a powercut! ;-) [/quote] Surely she's not that bad ...?

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1352665626' post='1865912'] Sorry, I was just being silly. I am very much a pick player, I was sticking my tongue out at the "Your not a real Bass player if you use a pick!!11!!" brigade. I never got any stick for playing with a pick when I started using one in the 80s and I was working in a Guitar shop at the time and they loved to take the Mickey whenever they could. It wasn't until fairly recently, when I discovered Bass forums, that I found out what an abomination I am. [/quote] Playing with a pick is one bass playing technique that I really struggle with. When I started playing it was drummed in to me that playing with a pick was taboo if you wanted to be a properly good player , but nowadays I would love to be able to use a pick when it suits me ( like when playing along to songs by The Police for example ) , but after 30 -odd years of fingers I just can't seem to get to grips with it . Some stuff just sound better played with a pick.

Also bear in mind that there are plenty of these basses about in the U.K , largely due to the popularity of Flea , and so if you are patient you should be able to pick one up over here for reasonable money ( i.e. a bit less than this one).

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1352657620' post='1865736'] As a bass player,I've never though of McCartney as being either a 'genius' or a 'virtuoso'. The way I've always heard him is as singer playing bass. What I mean by this,is that on a lot of the later studio based Beatles tunes he's basically playing vocal-like melodies on the bass and playing the way he sang.His later work,where he often takes on a more traditional Bass role,is generally more Rock and Roll influenced and not particularly groundbreaking (if at all),although it fits very well within the music. [/quote] Then perhaps the most accurate description of Paul McCartney would be as a Maestro- a master musician of supreme compositional ability. There are are many great bass guitarists , but they would struggle to come up with a more effective line than this regardless of what chops they've got : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV-3aGnF714 l

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1352656384' post='1865707'] got my hands on some Mission 760i's (at a bargain price too) and have to say they're marvellous, really clear and focused, which means I can hear what the bass is doing, went for them because they're the easiest to get hold of second hand. Thanks to everyone who offered advice, much apprieciated. [/quote] Excellent choice , I hope you get many hours of listening pleasure. If I remember correctly ( and in this case I think I do) Mission recommended they were best suited to open frame stands ( but most decent single pillar stands will also do fine) and they were quite specific that the speakers be positioned with their rears exactly 20 centimeters from a rear wall to achieve optimum bass response , and preferably a foot and a half from a side wall . Mission speakers of this era were also unusual in so much as they were designed to be placed facing squarely into the room rather than angled ( or "toed in " , as it often referred to ) in towards the listening position as is usual with most speakers . Mission designed them to give the best stereo image that way , but you are , of course, free to experiment with any and all of these things. to suit your own taste

This will bass will end up being a bit on the expensive side . Expect to pay 3.7 % duty on the total declared cost of the bass and shipping ( $ 2300 in this case , then) and then 20 % VAT on the total of that sum, which according to my quick thumbnail calculation would make the bass end up costing around approximately £1850 or maybe a little more with added charges ect. . You could get a new one from the U.K distributor for only a little more than that , and that would have a U.K warranty and you could choose your preferred colour ect. I wouldn't get too hung up on the Lane Poor pickup thing either ; the one that Modulus got Seymore Duncan to design to replace it when Lane Poor called it a day is pretty much identical - that was the design brief that Seymour Duncan were given and they know a thing or too about designing pickups. Of course, because Flea still favours Lane Poor in some of his basses then some people place a premium on the originals , but in practise I would be amazed if you could here much difference between the Duncan pickups and original Lane Poor. Edit: Is 1997 considered vintage nowadays ? I've still got socks and underwear from that era that plenty of wear left in them . My God , this is making me feel old !

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1352641336' post='1865430'] IME most of the cheaper design and construction techniques that lead to an acceptable 4-string bass, simply don't produce a 5-string bass with a useable low B string. [/quote] +1 on this . I have never played a cheaper 5 string that was really good , to be perfectly frank. I haven't played everything out there by any means , but the least expensive half- decent 5 string I have encountered is the Music Man Stingray 5 , but even that has one or two idiosyncrasies that mean that I wouldn't buy one myself. In my experience , really good 5 strings are few and far between at any price and I have played a few very expensive boutique ones that were quite frankly rubbish in my opinion , but the best ones tend to be pricey because the builder has taken the time and trouble to address the design issues arising from the sonic and ergonomic issues arising from the extra string . If you are looking for a decent reasonably affordable 5 string I would check out some of the Yamaha basses- they probably offer the most low B string bang for your buck.

[quote name='jimbaby' timestamp='1352623517' post='1865182'] Hi I have a pair of TDL RTL3's and a set of RTL 1's sitting doing nothing since I moved on to Tannoy dual concentrics, only prob is i'm in Dundee, lovely speakers though. Regards Jim [/quote] Both fine sets of speakers , but the RTL3's do like a big room to do their stuff in .

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1352596356' post='1865109'] But... But... He uses a pick! [/quote] Playing with a pick is considered socially acceptable nowadays , unlike when I started playing in the 1980s.

Paul McCartney is a bass guitar genius . His virtuosity is in his taste and imagination , and the countless hooks , motifs and melodies he creates in his supremely well- crafted bass lines . In the Beatles and indeed his later work , his playing serves as a role model for bass players in popular music of all kinds on how to be creative while serving the music as a whole . One of his greatest skills is to be able to come up with lines that are so simple , so straightforward and and so obvious that only a genius could think of playing them , and in my book that puts him in a rarified group of bass players that has very few members . He is a master of the hook bassline and his lines provide a structure for the music in a such a intellegent way and that's what makes him a truly special player . There are hundreds of players who can be all kinds of flash, but they will never come up with a line like this in a hundred years of trying : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX4NmRqeHPs

These are very beautiful basses.

I only mention it because I came across this today and wondered the very same thing : [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MvLXe2BfVA"]https://www.youtube....h?v=8MvLXe2BfVA[/url] New bass , apparently with scatterwound pickups, whatever they might be.

Is this , by strange coincidence, anything to do with Norman Watt -Roy ?

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1352480918' post='1863691'] Nut is pretty key to being set up. Not really a setup unless it is right. [/quote] +1 on that. Absolutely essential.

If all your bass needs is adjustment rather than any structural work such as nut or fret work then I think £45 is actually a little steep unless it is being worked on by some uber-professional . I f nut and frety work is called for then obviously, that would have a significant additional charge, but basic adjustment should be more in the £30 range or less, very generally speaking. I can't do nut or fret work ect and would always entrust that to a pro, but I find the only person who can adjust my basses the way I like them is myself ( surprisingly enough) , and so do all that myself. I've had pro setups done in the past but always been dissatisfied with the results.

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1352451096' post='1863114'] Congratulations, nice one. I'd be lucky to get an endorsement with Marks & Spencer, let alone Markbass. Lol Geoff [/quote] An endorsement with Marks & Spencer would probably be worth more , and Markbass don't do Scotch eggs.

My own very limited experience with endorsement and sponsorship is that more often than not it is actually the smaller companies that are more inclined to take a risk on lesser known or less high-profile musicians than the big name companies. A smaller independant bass builder might be more readily prepared to sell one of his instruments at a discount to someone still trying to make a career who will give his work at least some degree of exposure and credibility , whereas the major brands can adopt a wait and see approach in the full knowledge that most of the people who approach them for deals will in fact come to nothing , and if they do become successful they will still probably be able to become associated with the musician in question anyway . I can think of at least two major bass brands started from nothing who have established themselves in the indusry very, very successfully by giving stuff away to established players like it was Christmas until they were in all the magazines and on t.v ect as part of a deliberate business strategy , and then promptly stopped and adopted a much more guarded approach once their brand identity had been cemented in the consciousness of the bass playing public. You can certainly see it from the companies point of veiw- they are after all in the business of making a profit and not part of a welfare system for aspiring musicians , and have to ask themselves if the value of whatever discount they are offering to a potential endorsee will be exceeded by sales from the resultant publicity, the answer to which will most usually be a resounding "no" .

I am no expert, but the dotted neck makes me think something might be not quite right here . Didn't Jazz Basses still have blocks in 1979?

There is no rhyme or reason sometimes as to which necks are stable and which aren't. My main bass for a good many years was a Jazz Bass with a graphite reinforced neck that shifted so much that I could predict the weather from how the action was on any given day.

Came across this the other day and thought some of you might enjoy oggling these as much as I have : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0P-6gGZzG8&feature=plcp If anyone knows what they are saying then please come forward and let us know.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1352234799' post='1860616'] I have my action about 'medium'. The good thing with Musicman necks is the feel and the easy adjustability. Truss rod wheel = excellent addition. Can't be bothered to adjust Fenders as it involves messing about. I wouldn't say the necks are any kind of low budget...it costs very little to finish a neck in laquer. That's just how Musicman do it...oil finish. It feels natural to me...I like it. [/quote] An oil /satin finish is almost mandatory for most bass makers nowadays because that is what most customers want to buy. Most bass necks need regular adjustment, it's just a fact of life. EBMM necks are just straightforward flatsawn maple with no additional stiffening, and the wood is kiln dried rather than the more preferable ( and expensive) air dried timber used on more upmarket basses.That is not neccesarilly low budget as such, but it is cheaper to manufacture than a reinforced neck , and more prone to deadspots and changes in climate The quality of EBMM necks is pretty acceptable for mass produced mid-priced basses , but If EBMM basses had quartersawn graphite reinforced necks then I could pretty much guarantee that it would enhance the sound and performance of these basses . The flipiside however is that it would put the cost up towards custom /boutique prices.