ped

AH ok yeah could try that, good excuse to buy more things... cheers!

Not really sure what to do with the 'Dry out' except into a tuner or something... any bright ideas?

They do quite a clever loop switch pedal with the impedance switch and phase switch too which looks awesome. https://eastwoodguitars.co.uk/collections/valco-1/products/valco-kgb-loop

Just noticed the one in the video above doesn’t have the polarity switch. Maybe it’s a prototype? Yeah it’s quite a big enclosure but I guess it needs to be quite big to allow all the controls. I like big pedals anyway 😂

The more I play this the more I like it!! The impedance switch is one of the best features. It can really alter the character of the fuzz. You can use it to create a more rounded clean sound which makes the fuzz less raspy and more growly, for a driven jazz bass/Geddy Lee kind of vibe, or open it up for a more modern open ended hard edged sound. Also the polarity switch means even more options - it can cause some phase cancellation which means the clean blended sound really works with the fuzz, giving that kind of dissonant collapsing sound which sounds super thick and rich. I’ll try and do a video soon. Earlier I had my bass board cranked up and the feel of this thing vibrating through my body was just amazing 😻

It says: “(The bass has a) Fender factory natural stripped finish with matching factory stamps… The body cavity still has some of the original Blond paint, which was the only color on Precision basses made during this era” Is that true, the factory painted them all then stripped some back to be sold as natural?

Sure, and I was trying to inject a little humour which has clearly been a fail. But I’m saying that if I had personally built thousands of basses I’d probably be able to say that within certain tolerances, basses with one sort of neck sound roughly like A and another type of neck is more like B.

I think they're super cool.

6:23 onwards

KGB = Keyboard, Guitar Bass. Super flexible fuzz that I’ve been after for a while. First impressions are that it does everything I’d want it to plus more. Full thoughts in due course as I compare it to the tall font muff. More info here https://valcofx.com/pages/valco-kgb-fuzz Not my video below but it shows the bass sounds

I’d lean towards having better audio than video. 4K I’d suggest isn’t necessary.

Mate

sorry I didn’t mean to sound dismissive like ‘you’ve watched ONE YouTube video’ 🫢

Some have it down to quite an art though when they can select the timber themselves. I remember Christian Celinder saying about using danish ash from only certain trees and only using certain pieces so the number of basses produced was tiny but they were super consistent, but expensive as a result. That kind of knowledge comes with experience I guess. Whilst other builders are quite happy to use nice prices of wood and going with a certain pickup location will give a sound in the ballpark of A or B depending on the recipe. Both approaches are fine, and I’d never have a custom build for me because I don’t have the ability or necessarily trust a builder to get it exact for me - I’d rather they the finished item in the round and see if it works as a whole.

And the way the string vibrates is affected by the wood. Graphite necked basses for example have a very particular sound. There’s no escaping the fact that the strings are attached to a piece of wood at each end. But I get your pic that it’s insignificant compared to other things. I’m sticking to my point that it affects the sound in a way which pickup location can’t, and vice versa.

So the wood does make a difference 🫣

I’m coming! My brother is up for the weekend too so he’s going, as are my two new potential band mates from work. Oh and a girl that I’m trying to set my brother up with. I’ll make sure I come and say hi!!

I dunno, I still think that’s a negative view of these guys experiences. We can’t compare having played hundreds of probably totally different basses or having watched someone pluck strings attached to a jig on YouTube to someone with years of hand making instruments for some of the best known players in the world. But everyone is entitled to their opinion and that’s why some prefer brand A to brand B which is all good. FWIW I think pickup LOCATION is the biggest factor, after that it’s strings, then neck construction, body wood and fingerboard. They all effect the sound but in different ways, the same way you can’t get flats to sound like rounds, you can’t get a MM sound from a Jazz, each change does something the other things can’t, and ultimately every instrument is a sum of all these nuances.

But the wood affects the way the string vibrates, it’s attack and sonic signature, which the pickups do pick up.

I don’t think the top flight luthiers need to do that. I just don’t think it’s necessary for them. Look at Ken Smith. If you ask him to do something else he’ll tell you to F off. They have reputations which speak for themselves so when someone like Roger says he’s experienced a clear difference in the thousands of basses he’s made then that trumps anything else for me.

ah god, tone woods at this time in the morning!! 😆 I don’t think it would make any difference to him if people believe it or not, tbh. People that say you can’t compare bass A and bass B because the body woods are different are fundamentally saying that the wood does make a difference. I think it does, and if someone who has hand made thousands of basses says it does then he’s probably the best person to judge as I’m sure he’s swapped necks on basses many times and heard the result. Even if nothing else then they certainly look different!

The stock pictures make it look like the body edges are less rounded than the Classic Vibe series, or any other mustang for that matter. Is that true?

It's not the plus version but it's plus an extra round.. decisions decisions!

Cort Action Plus from Gear4Music (£229) and a set of Elixir 40-100s (or 45-105 as I know they won't have the others in stock). Might leave me with a few £ for a drink. https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Cort-Action-Plus-Bass-Black/348M