4000

IME the Wal sound is mainly from the pickups. I've played passive Wals that still sound like Wals; listen to Leigh Gorman. His Wal Pro is passive.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1389907933' post='2339523'] Bear in mind Marcus, if you are Mark King aficionado, that the Alembic MK model bears only a scant relationship to the actual Alembics Mark King plays. His basses are far more upmarket examples. The only thing the more standard versions of his signature model have in common is that, for some reason, they have his name associated with them . Not that any of that makes much difference because, lets face it, Mark King makes all his basses sound the same, anyway. His playing style is a great leveller. [/quote] I think he sounds very different on all his basses. My favourite was his Alembic sound. Not overly keen on his Kingbass sound, which is far too pingy for me.

If I had my time again (assuming I still had back problems) I'd get a Balanced K shape. All the goodness but lighter and better balanced.

Good luck mate. That'll be another I need to try. ;-)

Have played several and owned a custom built Triple Omega which was essentially a MK Deluxe with extras. That was an incredible bass, only sold due to back problems (even though the body was chambered it was still over 10lbs). Normal MKs are generally very heavy (although typically not much different to a JD) and a real stretch to the lower frets. They're also a bit marmite, as are all Alembics. However I fall into the love them camp, weight aside. I've played pretty much everything out there and for me there's nothing that really touches a good Alembic; I much preferred both of mine to my Wals, Statii, JDs, Warwicks etc, they were different class IMO. I also vastly prefer them to the Foderas, Dingwalls etc that I've played. Only my Seis have really compared at all.

[quote name='ratman' timestamp='1389775095' post='2337666'] There's an art to 'plodding' away holding down 4's or 8's. Anyone who thinks it's beneath them as a bass player to play these kind of parts is serioulsly missing out. The notes may be simple but it's all about making it drive/swing/groove/bounce (delete where applicable) which is where the skill and fun comes in. [/quote] So true. I've found one thing that helps, as obvious as it sounds, is having a tone that lends itself to more simple playing (IME usually a nice big tone that you can sit on or hammer away at).

Depends how much you like the songs....;-)

I'm generally considered a fairly busy player but I've never understood why people have issues with plodding basslines. But maybe that's because I'm a songwriter first and whatever suits the song is the most important thing IMO. AC/DC could be said to have plodding basslines but anyone who thinks they need busying up is barking up the wrong tree entirely.

[quote name='Russ' timestamp='1389617757' post='2336103'] Granted, I'll never get on the cover of a magazine now, but as long as there's some people out there who like what we do, and we can do a few good gigs from time to time, I'd be happy. So, I guess I haven't "given up", per se, but I have scaled back my expectations to suit my life as it stands now. [/quote] This. Ironically, my latest band (all originals, as always, and all-acoustic except for me) probably gigs more than any other band I've ever been in, which has come as a bit of a shock (I'm now 50...)...

I always wanted to get on with Status basses but never have. I've had four and played dozens and if any bass really doesn't seem to work for me sonically it's Status. The ergonomics of the classic Status shape cripple me too, which doesn't help. I'd love to find one I got on with; I've played a few Kingbasses but they seemed to sit on me strangely, although maybe it was just unfamiliarity. Still hoping to try a Streamline at some point. BTW Andy, sounds like work on the house is in trouble....

70s every time for me. There are bands from earlier and later that I love (e.g. Beatles, Bow Wow Wow, Chilis) but the majority of my favourite bands and artists are from the 70s (I'm 50 BTW).

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1389639078' post='2336453'] Probably because finding out the weight of a bass *after* you've bought it is a bit too late. [/quote] This. Do you know what prolapsed discs are? Scoliosis? Trapped nerves? Shoulder subluxations? Arthritis? Have you ever put a bass on and felt intense pain throughout your rib cage or spine, or had your legs go numb? I have or have experienced all of these, and I'm sure many others have at least one of these problems. Up to the age of 35 I could have worn anything; I used to carry a 100lb cab one-handed with ease. Then my back problems started and now my 30lb combo is heavy and I really struggle to wear a bass over 9lbs. It's an absolute must for me, knowing how heavy a bass is.

My second Wal is on its way out the door shortly.....

I had an 8 string Rickenbacker; brilliant bass. Only sold it to help fund a custom Alembic.

One that sounds like my old Mk1 Trace Elliot 4x10 (sealed, only 200w), Celestions IIRC, but is no bigger than 1x12 and 13kg. Speaking of Celestions, why do I always seem to prefer the sound of Celestion loaded cabs?

As long as I like the instrument and there's nothing wrong it I really don't care whether it's been there for 10 years and been played by every bassist in Britain. But then most of the time I prefer to buy used anyway.

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1389452308' post='2334310'] Well this is probably the sweetest voice I have heard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuglvdPZ-JU [/quote] Huge +1 from me. Love Eva and Sandy too.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1389356989' post='2333200'] Oddly enough, as someone else has already mentioned, Roadworn seems to work well with Fenders, but not so well on other guitars.... Wonder why that is? Marc [/quote] I may be unique in this but I almost never want to pick up a new Fender and play it. There's just something about a new, pristine Fender that I find incredibly un-tactile, if there's such a term. The newer ones with pale necks are even worse. Whereas a Roadworn I immediately want to pick up; it's not a conscious thing at all. They're just warmer, friendlier somehow, if that makes any sense (I'm sure it doesn't!). I guess I'm into warm & comforting.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1389347392' post='2333038'] ^ ^ Yes. I had a 76P that also took 35-odd years of playing to get the 'finish' that it has today... you can't fake it! [/quote] I suspect Clive Brown would argue with that. As I said, for me it all comes down to how it's done (although the type of bass does have bearing on this too). The Nash posted is too far gone for me and doesn't look authentic enough, but each to their own. Leaving relicing aside for a moment, how many here simply don't like a worn instrument? I've never been a great fan of the aesthetics of most new Fenders but the first time I ever saw a picture of Jaco's main Jazz (probably 1980-ish?) I thought it looked utterly fantastic. Same with Rory Gallagher's Strat a couple of years before, and also with Klaus Floride's and Herbie Flower's Jazzes. So I obviously find worn guitars, or worn Fenders at least, aesthetically pleasing in a way that new ones aren't IMO. Why is that? I'm not sure; possibly because to me they have more character, or have more of a "pick me up and play me" quality. Thinking about it I'm a bit the same with women. High-maintenance glamour (Cheryl Cole, Nicole Sherzinger etc) are not my bag at all, I find them quite off-putting. Give me Barbara Good anyday; she doesn't even need the posh frock.

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1389280899' post='2332303'] I don't see that wear and dings acquired quickly are innately less worthy than ones acquired over years of accidents and use. If swift aging of your bass makes you feel better about playing your bass I don't see the issue with relic jobs [/quote] Good post.

I like 'em, providing they're done well. I don't like pristine guitars (except for stuff like Alembic); not keen on the look or feel. It also takes a long while to put the requisite wear on a new bass, assuming the finish is any good. Of course my main basses are from 1972 so have a fair bit of wear already, which is the best way to get it, but if I was buying a CS Fender it'd def be a relic.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1389091030' post='2329684'] Listen to the recording. Work out the chord changes and any important tunes in the bass line and wait to see what the rest of the band are play at the next rehearsal. As Happy Jack says trying to work out the bass line exactly as it is played on the record is quite often pointless, unless your band have the same instrumentation as on the recording and all the other musicians have got their parts down note-perfect as well. All it needs is for the drummer to play a slightly different rhythm and your carefully prepared bass part will sound terrible. Same with the guitarists if they don't have every run down perfectly a lot of the passing notes on the bass will sound wrong. And a lot of the time if your band doesn't have a keyboard player you'll find yourself having to modify the bass line to allow for that missing left hand. During the last year the Terrortones have been playing a number of covers to fill out the sets where we are expected to play for longer than our customary 30-35 minutes. On of the songs we leant was "Prime Mover" by Zodiac Mindwarp. It's a pretty straight forward rock song with 4 chords, but having played it with 2 different drummers and 5 different guitarists, I've had to adjust the baseline slightly to allow for the various variations each change in line up brought in order for the song to still sound right. For me learning to play a song by ear is the next most important skill a bass player can have after learning how to fret and pluck the strings. It opens up a whole new world of music that hasn't been written down, removes the reliance on bad tabs and dodgy YouTube play-alongs and allows you to start coming up with your own musical ideas. I don't worry if I can't make out what is being played at any point in the song. Usually from what other things the baseline has been doing it is simple to make something up that fits. And my philosophy is that if I can't hear what the baseline is doing very few other people can either - certainly no-one in the audience. Also if I can't tell what the baseline is what makes it any more likely that any of the internet transcribers or YouTube players will have got it any more right? (Unless of course they actually played the bass part on the original recording). [/quote] Great post. I'm always amazed when people need tab etc, but then ear is all to me. Our mandolin player can't learn stuff by ear and it just baffles me; it's like being a painter who can't see colours and needs to have them written down in order to paint. I don't mean that to be derogatory, I simply struggle to grasp how it works.

I had a Washburn B20 once which came strung through. I played it like that for a while; when I changed it to normal stringing it definitely felt and sounded different, although the difference in feel was more pronounced than the sound.

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1388957458' post='2328204'] Very nice! For me it would be a weekend in Prague and as many hookers as I could afford, but each to their own [/quote] The winner. ;-)

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1389017539' post='2328799'] Oh man... Sorry to hear that! The truss rod should be capable of holding a neck straight without snapping, even to the point of a bit of backbow, in fact. The fact it didn't make any difference with 3/4 of a turn suggests it was already damaged, and perhaps was why you were having the issue in the first place. Anyway, I hope it can be sorted easily! [/quote] Of all the Fenders or Fender types I've owned, only one (an early 70s P) had a truss rod that would actually straighten the neck properly.