4000

I’ve come into contact with people who don’t ‘get’ music. Not a particular style, just music, any music. It just doesn’t interest them. I too find it utterly impossible to comprehend.

I’m not sure it’s directly related just to the wood, but generally speaking I tend to be a fan of maple basses. Obviously I like Rickenbackers but I’m a big fan of Pedulla MVPs too. Where mahogany is involved as a body wood I’ve generally been less enamoured, although I’m aware there may be other factors at play. But maple basses IME seem to have a particular quality, a certain type of clarity and openness, that I like.

I also have to say I don’t like the cover of S of Silence, but then the original (or even the version with the overdubs 😉) is one of my all-time favourite songs. If someone else likes it however, I certainly don’t have a problem with that.

Well in all instances they were expensive, bespoke basses. But the most common factor, apart from the multi-laminate necks, were that the maple laminates in those necks were very heavily flamed. I could literally walk from one room to another and if there was a noticeable change in temperature and/or humidity, they moved. I had other instruments from the same builder where the maple had little or no flame and they were fine.

IME it’s far, far more complicated than “vintage” and “modern”, or “warm” and “bright”. You can have 100 different basses that all sound similarly “vintage” or “modern” etc but they still won’t sound the same. The trick is finding the one that works best for you. When buying, I just choose the one I most like the sound of.

Not necessarily related to stiffness per se, but of all the many basses I’ve owned, the ones where the necks have moved most have all been laminates (and expensive ones at that). And the absolute worst of them, by a country mile, also had carbon fibre reinforcement.

This is obviously the subject of much debate. However the particular piece(s) of wood, species aside, certainly has a great deal of impact IME.

I’ve had John work on a few things over the years. He certainly knows his onions, but rather marches to his own drum, so to speak. I sent my first (used) Jaydee to him for a fretstone. I rang him a few times to see how it was getting on, and eventually it was done, so I asked him to send it and told him what day I’d arranged to be off work and so would be at home for delivery. The day arrived, the bass didn’t. So I rang him and he said he hadn’t sent it yet. So I arranged another day, same thing. So I rang him again and arranged another day, same thing. Eventually I rang him up, pretty irate, and reiterated I’d had to take days off work (i.e. my holidays) each time (I lost I think 4 days in the end), which I had explained at the very start. So the bass finally arrived and he’d changed the pickups. I rang him and asked why and he said the old ones had low output. Which would have been ok except I really liked the sound of it before and didn’t like the sound of it after. I sold it soon after. I later spoke to the guy it had been built for and he said the bridge pickup had been built completely differently, not like a normal JD pickup, so I’m sure that was a factor. That bass had one of the “wafty” necks. I bought another Jaydee later on but it was far too heavy - my back had gone by then - so that went too. That was a good bass otherwise.

John Diggins, having done a fretstone on my main bass, described the neck as ‘spongy’ (although it hardly ever moves). It has some flame in it. I’ve definitely had other basses - including other Rics - with stiffer necks, but as you say, they’ve always lacked the growl and openness and generally sound more brittle.

I had a ‘replica’ - more or less - built of my One. It doesn’t feel or sound the same though. 😂

Depends how good your ears are. They all sound very different to me. In fact I’ve hardly played any two instruments across thousands, of any make or type, over 40 years of playing, that sound exactly the same. Having no dead spots, no fret buzz etc (although I personally like a bit of buzz) doesn’t mean 2 instruments will sound the same.

But each individual instrument, although they’re all P Basses, may sound different. I’ve had something like 20 Rickenbackers, but only one of them is The One. And of course it’s only The One to me. Doesn’t mean it would be for anyone else.

This is the point I was trying to make, but not quite as succinctly. I think some of the debate here is about entirely different things.

Blimey, is it still 1958?😂

But what about people? There are only 3 types of people, tall, short and in between. 😉

A friend at work introduced me to this. I use the term “friend” loosely. 😂

Well I haven’t played Chris’s Rick, but I can attest to the fact that of all the Rics I’ve owned, my 2 CSs sounded less like him than most of the others. 😉 I think the point about a finely tuned ear is important. Some people can hear even subtle differences between instruments, even in the mix, but simply don’t care. It’s not important to them. Some genuinely can’t tell the difference, and many are probably at some point in between. But there are also those who can tell the difference and who do care, although admittedly this can be something of a double-edged sword.

Well, most of the time I’d fall more into the JJB /Squire camp than the more typical thing. But there are many, many levels of ‘different’. 😉

I think you have a different idea of “The One” than I have. My “the One” is the bass that I feel most connected to and best achieves the sound I hear in my head. It’s the instrument I’ve bonded most with and best expresses what I wish to express. No other factors come into it. And even then, it doesn’t mean it will be right for everything. That isn’t my “The One” at all, I don’t know where you’ve got that idea from.

Oh I’d agree Chris always sounds like Chris; however sometimes he sounds more like Chris than others. My point still stands though - even though the wink seems to have been ignored - in that not everyone wants to sound the same.

And who said that? Not me. But many bassists will take a bunch of basses to sessions, to see which works best.

Absolutely. I don’t believe for a minute someone in control of a session would say “you know what, who cares what the bass sounds like!”

But Chris Squire plugged into an amp - without using any of his pedals - still sounds nothing like JJ. And playing style - and amps, effects etc - are all part of the sound. Chris Squire was quoted at one point as saying he never DI-d because “ it takes away everything you’ve done to achieve your sound in the first place”. If someone just wants to sound like “a bass”, that’s fine. But not everyone does.

Yeah, James Jamerson sounds just like Chris Squire.😉