Dingus

[quote name='marcus bell' timestamp='1390771784' post='2349392'] This thread went from a really good one to one that absolutely sucks. [/quote] Mark King . He's a troublemaker. And it was you who brought him into this conversation by asking about his signature model Alembic . So really , you only have yourself to blame , Marcus.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1390824729' post='2349861'] And one of those 'more pointless things' is the spectacle of watching someone present personal opinion as solid fact. [/quote] Basschat is a celebration of the pointless. Where has this idea come from that if you preface your statements with "in my opinion" then that makes you a more reasonable and balanced person ? Is this part of the National Curriculum in schools nowadays or something? Maybe if Hitler had finished all his speeches with " in my opinion " then the Second World War might have been avoided, but then again , if Winston Churchill had said "We shall fight them on the beaches... we shall never surrender ect ..in my opinion " then maybe he wouldn't have been met with such a resolute response from the British people and Hitler would have won. Just for your information, proposing "opinions" as facts in the manner which seems to irk you so much is an established rhetorical convention , and part of what is called "presenting an argument" . The assumption behind this convention is that, if you don't have the necessary conviction in your opinions to present them as facts then you shouldn't bother presenting them at all. The spurious idea that if you preface your argument with"in my opinion" it makes you somehow more reasonable or more rational is a nonsense, wherever it has come from. In my opinion.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1390760155' post='2349158'] Dear oh dear. And what sounds better? Who determines it sounds better? If two equally talented musicians have two different preferences, who is right? Jaco Pastorius preferred to use the back pickup only on his Jazzes. So if Jaco, who many consider to be the greatest electric bassist of all time, decided that was better, why don't we all have the same opinion? Shouldn't we all bow to Jaco? The folks at Alembic certainly have their own preferences and it's true they prefer ebony lams. However they're also fully aware that different people require different things, hence all the options. I actually went ahead with my build and had purpleheart lams. However I've played other builds without purple heart lams that I've liked just as much, although they didn't necessarily sound the same. Because there is no 'better', only your preference. Interesting that you should comment on graphite necks, which I already mentioned. If graphite was unequivocally better-sounding, why do so many musicians (me included) prefer the sound of a wooden-necked instrument? I think you need to go and talk to Steve Swallow about what he looks for in an instrument; it might open your eyes. [/quote] Woah there! Hold on a minute. Just because I bought a graphite necked bass that doesn't mean I am championing them at the exclusion of wooden necks. Where are you getting all this from ? You are quite right that there are many different preferences and prejudices that we all have when it comes to choosing basses.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1390760371' post='2349161'] Hmm. And [i]you[/i] think [i]I'm[/i] unreasonable. [/quote] Listen, my friend, I'm having a discussion with you about this, not an argument, despite your apparent determination to make things personal. But yes, I am unreasonable. However despite the failings of my personality , the fact remains that art requires craft, skill, endeavour, creativity and imagination. Those are a rare combination of qualities, and as such are by their very nature exclusive. People who possess those qualities and know how to use them to create beauty are an artistic elite. That is not of my making.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1390759054' post='2349142'] It is [i]your opinion[/i] (although many others may agree, possibly even Mark King) that Mark King isn't particularly good at playing the bass guitar. I suspect even Marcus would disagree with that. Still, all opinion. FWIW, [i]any[/i] musician is a valid alternative to [i]any other[/i] musician. By your argument, whats the point of Marcus Miller when you have Anthony Jackson? God forbid some of the ridiculous opinions people out there might have, eh? You obviously feel there's a place for elitism in art. I don't. FWIW, [i]you[/i] really need to get over [i]yourself[/i]. [/quote] I need to get over all kinds of things. I don't really know what you mean by "valid". And, yes, there is definitely a place for elitism in art. Art is not necessarily a democratic or inclusive experience.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1390756239' post='2349078'] I've talked to Alembic at great length; they made me a custom bass. Strangely enough, they understand that different people have different sonic preferences, a concept that seems beyond you. Did I say purpleheart lams didn't affect the sound? No. It's perfectly likely that they will in most cases. FWIW carbon fibre necks are stiffer still and yet many people don't like their sonic properties. However you really don't understand 'subjective' do you? There is no 'better' when it comes to sound. Which sounds better, an ash or an alder body? A maple or rosewood fingerboard? Long scale or short scale? Precision or Jazz? Les Paul or Strat? All subjective. [/quote] I too have spoken to Alembic at great length when I visited them in Santa Rosa with a view to them making me a bass,. We spoke in detail about neck fabrication , and that is when they impressed upon me their opinion that the stiffer the neck is made by the laminates , the better the overall tone. I opted for a graphite neck , but Alembic were unable to proceed with the order because they subsequently stopped offering that option due a parting of the ways with Modulus who supplied the graphite necks, and so I made other arrangements. So how from that you can extrapolate my passing on that information about neck laminates told to me by Mica and Bob that the concept that different people have different sonic preferences is beyond me , I can only wonder at. And when you say there is no "better" when it comes to sound, in fact there is , i.e the one that sounds better. There may, however, be several options which sound equally as good.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1390755735' post='2349068'] You mean that you have a more informed opinion than me. Hilarious. I studied fine art for years and have consistently understood that many art critics' opinions count for nothing. If the cap fits. I'm actually not a big Level 42 fan, but the fact that you think musician A is any more valid than musician B simply because you believe it to be so is, ironically enough, an enormous act of hubris. See what I did there? Have you ever met Mark King? I assure you that in my experience (I have by the way) he's actually pretty self-deprecating. Unlike, apparently, yourself. [/quote] When did I ever direct my remarks specifically towards you? The fact remains that , if everyone has a right to an opinion, as I am so frequently told nowadays by people such as yourself , then surely everyone also has a right to assess and evaluate those opinions and give more credence to some than others. I am sorry you find that such an unreasonable stance. I can only suppose that you have you own reasons for being so unreasonable, but like most unreasonable people, you seem to think you are eminently reasonable and the arbiter of what constitutes good judgement. The fact is that you are making this far more complicated than it needs tio be. My comments about Mark King are based on the simple fact that, compared to musicians like Marcus Miller and several others of a similarly elevated stature that I could mention , Mark isn't particularly good at playing the bass guitar in an effective manner . That is all . To answer your question , no I have never met Mark King, but we do have mutual friends and apparently he is, just as you say, a very nice man. The fact remains that he sees himself as an alternative to Marcus Miller. He is not , and never will be. You really need to get over this whole "everybody's opinion is just as valid as everybody else's" thing, for your own sake rather than for mine. It worries me when I think of some of the ridiculous opinions you might end up accommodating as the result of such a policy.

[quote name='Legion' timestamp='1390727067' post='2348559'] Well, I've been wanting one of these forever so I couldn't really pass up the opportunity now could I? Well, maybe I could....but I didn't I had this in my ebay watch list when it was sold in the USA last year, but a combination of factors meant I never ended up making a bid so it slipped by and I regretted that decision. Luckily for me, the new owner realised he had been a little impulsive and the sound wasn't for him. Immediately it feels normal, like all the other decades I've owned. The short scale just makes it more ergonomic than a normal decade, it actually *feels* like a normal bass still. Buzzed like mad when I touch the pickup surrounds however, so I did my previous tried and tested trick - I cut a small spring in half, soldered a ground wire to it and put it between the pickup body and one of the screws. As you tighten the pickup screw down, it squashes the spring underneath the pickup body, grounding the chromed plastic surrounds. So now when I rest my thumb on the pickup surround it's totally silent. I also did a full shield job on the cavity (getting good at it now). Amazes me that at this price range Lakland do not shield their basses. The Rob Allen probably has to go now [/quote] Lovely bass, by the way. I bet these are a lot of fun to play.

Country can be a bit of difficult genre to define nowadays, because a lot of acts that come under the country music banner and who are based in Nashville such as Lady Antebellum, enjoyable as many of them might be, are in fact essentially generic mainstream pop acts in all but presentation and image. It's well worth checking out artists like the excellent Shelby Lynne and Lucinda Williams if you want to hear some modern music that comes from a country tradition. Nancy Griffith is great , too.

I remember Acoustic amps from when I very first started playing, and they had a very "scratchy " treble and a hard and honky midrange, from what I remember. I would still have loved one back then, though. Bobby Vega is a unique talent, and it's always great to hear him play.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1390674798' post='2348264'] The purpleheart will potentially [i]change[/i] the tone. Whether it makes it better or worse is, again, a matter of opinion. [/quote] Well, if you talk to Alembic they will tell you that the neck laminates do indeed affect the sound, and that all their experience has shown them that the stiffer the neck , the better the sound of the bass. That is why the single most effective upgrade Alembic recommend for their basses is going for the extra cost of the ebony laminates in the neck, because they add even greater stiffness than purpleheart, and the sonic benefits are very apparent.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1390674658' post='2348262'] And there you go again. Aesthetic awareness is down to individual or learned cultural considerations and is ultimately just opinion, collective or otherwise. Your opinion re MK and Marcus holds no more water than somebody stating that band x is better than band y. FWIW, I've read a couple of interviews with MK where he's mentioned Marcus and all he has done is describe his slap style as different, which is a perfectly valid statement. I could describe my style as different to either, and that would be perfectly valid too. It has nothing to do with being better, worse or equal. Which of course is a matter of opinion anyway. I would argue that the most important concerns for an artist are to develop a unique and recogniseable voice and to have some degree of cultural impact. MK, like him or not, has certainly done that. [/quote] What you consistently fail to understand is that all opinions are not of equal worth, and someone with a more informed opinion would concur that, whatever merits Mark King may or may not have as a bass player, Marcus Miller is a completely different calibre of musician. Mark King [i]does s[/i]peak about himself as if he were in the same echelon as Marcus Miller, and I cannot help but recognise that as an act of hubris. Mark King has indeed developed a voice on the instrument, it just doesn't sound very good , and his "cultural impact", as you put it, amounts to Level 42, who were and still are , for the most part, bloody awful.

[quote name='Legion' timestamp='1390727067' post='2348559'] Well, I've been wanting one of these forever so I couldn't really pass up the opportunity now could I? Well, maybe I could....but I didn't I had this in my ebay watch list when it was sold in the USA last year, but a combination of factors meant I never ended up making a bid so it slipped by and I regretted that decision. Luckily for me, the new owner realised he had been a little impulsive and the sound wasn't for him. Immediately it feels normal, like all the other decades I've owned. The short scale just makes it more ergonomic than a normal decade, it actually *feels* like a normal bass still. Buzzed like mad when I touch the pickup surrounds however, so I did my previous tried and tested trick - I cut a small spring in half, soldered a ground wire to it and put it between the pickup body and one of the screws. As you tighten the pickup screw down, it squashes the spring underneath the pickup body, grounding the chromed plastic surrounds. So now when I rest my thumb on the pickup surround it's totally silent. I also did a full shield job on the cavity (getting good at it now). Amazes me that at this price range Lakland do not shield their basses. The Rob Allen probably has to go now [/quote] [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1390731342' post='2348617'] Sounds like a good fix. I think Lakland were aware of this problem and it's why they had alternative pickup covers for the Skyline Decade for a while. So presumably they too have a fix for it now. My 2008 Skyline Decade has no issue at all. [/quote] I have never personally encountered any grounding problems with the chrome shells on these pickups, but I do know that Lakland had a manufacturing problem with the Chi humbuckers - a large proportion of them were not usable from new after due to grounding issues after they had been potted in wax and had to be discarded at the factory - so much so that they discontinued those humbuckers in the chrome shells for a while last year . They have, apparently, remedied the problem and are now offering them in the chrome shells again, as well as a new version using anlico magnets as opposed to the neodymium ones used in the standard Chi Sonics. That problem, however, only applies to the humbuckers, whereas the standard Decade uses single coils housed in humbucker shells purely for cosmetic effect. The single coil version in a humbucker shell was not affected by the same problem of shorting out like the humbucking version was, and was never discontinued. I haven't heard about this problem with the hum before now, but I suppose using chrome surrounds you are asking for trouble. Lakland never stopped using chrome shells on the Skyline Decade, but rather offer it , as with the other Chi Sonics, in a plastic shell as an alternative option if the customer prefers it.for whatever reason. A couple of basses with that option were pictured on the internet and some people started to assume that the chrome covers were no longer standard, when in fact they still were . When the Chi humbuckers were discontinued in the chrome shells they were still available in the plastic covers because the problems were specific to the chrome version.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1390658851' post='2348016'] I would be most interested in this but the decals put me off. It's nice that she has a tattoo that means something to her and she wants it on her bass, but I don't want it on mine I'm afraid! [/quote] Yes, quite. I feel a bit sorry ( well , not really[i] that [/i]sorry) for all these celebrity bass players who end up with Squier signature models. If it were me I would demand that my signature model was Custom Shop, and preferably a Masterbuilt one, just to keep the riff raff away. Yes, I know these are more affordable, but that is exactly why I wouldn't want one. That bass in the video sounds perfectly good, though, and a Precision with a Jazz neck will be popular, no doubt.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1390581571' post='2347242'] This obviously works. (750,000 views) [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd2pSLFjOas&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL4csMoGyO-TmOEc-RYwUaO8h0JnU8XWkj[/media] [/quote] Dressing up like that will definitely get you offers of relatively well-paid work, Milty, just not necessarily as a bass player.

If you are going to buy one of these basses, Marcus, then I would try and get one of the slightly more upmarket versions with the purpleheart laminates in the neck. They help improve both the overall tone of the bass and structural stability of the neck . These full size Alembics just don't look right without the proper stringers in the neck-thru-body , either.

Some Alembic porn here for you, Marcus. This clip really showcases that classic snappy Alembic tone that no bass can replicate. Fabulous playing , too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4kN01cY-Z0

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1390255467' post='2343316'] I love it when people think that their opinion on taste (and feel for that matter) is quantifiable, it always gives me a good giggle. FWIW I was ONLY discussing MK's SLAP. That doesn't mean I hadn't considered the rest of his playing, in the same way that talking about the bread in a sandwich doesn't mean you haven't considered the filling. [/quote] It's not just a question of taste .Besides which,there is good taste and bad taste, and what constitutes good taste, contrary to popular fallacy, is not just a matter of opinion but also aesthetic awareness . We all make qualitative and quantitative judgements about all kinds of things hundreds of times a day, why would music be excluded from that? I'm not trying to have a row with you, my friend, but everything is quantifiable, or at least eligible to be assessed , including Mark King. If you enjoy MK's slap playing and prefer it to that of Marcus Miller then that is perfectly fine . Maybe what you say strikes a nerve with me because on more than one occasion I have heard Mark King in interviews compare and contrast his style with that of Marcus Miller as if he were Marcus' equal. He is not, and if he thinks he is in the same league as Marcus Miller as a bass player on any level then he is deluded.

Both those basses sound absolutely superb to me, Gareth. Classic Fender tones by the bucket load!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1390239359' post='2343010'] Just as Mrs Dingus accepts yours. Ho, ho. [/quote] Mrs Dingus has difficulty seeing my imperfections and limitations because her eyes are clouded with tears of gratitude and joy that she is now living out her ultimate fantasies ( and those of her female friends) on a daily basis. Either that or she has been chopping up onions.

I bought my dream bass so many times ( no really, [i]so[/i] many times ) and have always been disappointed or discontent in one way or another . By the same token , I can play a decent off-the-shelf Fender or similar and be perfectly happy and accept it's imperfections and limitations.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1390235124' post='2342937'] Marcus, I've got an idea for you. It's a bit radical and left-field and you may want to sit down as it could come as a bit of a shock. Here goes. Ready? OK. How about getting... [size=2]sitting down? good. here comes the shock bit[/size] a bass that... [size=2]ready? here goes...[/size] [i]isn't[/i] associated with Mark King? [size=2]Well, I did tell you it was a fairly radical idea.[/size] [/quote] Heretic.