Misdee

To be fair, the programme is called Greatest Bass lines, so I'm judging it by how great the basslines are. Peter Hook's basslines are sometimes memorable and therefore "iconic" to some people, but to me it does not follow they are necessarily great because of that. Dairylea is an "iconic" cheese but that doesn't make it a good quality one. If people enjoy it good luck to them, but don't try and tell me it's of the highest standard.

Don't shoot the messenger! I'm sorry to break the news but in wider society being a bass guitarist is not regarded as the prestige occupation which it ought to be. Although I would concede that in Jamaica I expect that might be a bit different.

I think Kris Novoselic and Adam Clayton are both decent players who've come up with good basslines on great records. I certainly don't understand why Adam Clayton is considered a poor player by some people. He's got a style and sound that works really well.

Well, Peter Hook prides himself on not knowing how to play the bass, whilst at the same time clearly regarding himself as one of the all-time greats. He's a well-known bassist, not an accomplished one in any musical sense. He's a personality, not a significant bass player. People will point to Love Will Tear Us Apart, Blue Monday et al. Talk it up as much as you like, I don't like his playing or any of those records, never have done. It never sounded good to me. His biggest accomplishment is playing bass in the two most overrated bands of all time ( except for maybe the Velvet Underground). As for the other two, they're not even personalities. What qualifies any them to judge other bass players is nothing to to do with their skills or knowledge of playing the bass. It is because they tick the right boxes for the editorial criteria of a TV show aimed at people who are even more uninformed. That's only to be expected, not everybody is a bass player or even that interested. It's all depressingly inevitable. I'll be watching, though.

This all sounds too much for ordinary coincidence to me. Can you think of any reason why you might be targeted for a hate crime?

To be fair, many would say a bass player is nothing special as far as music goes.

If indeed any such construct exists.

Does me good to look at such a perfect example. Wow.

It's not on for nearly two weeks yet and I'm already getting annoyed at who the inevitable candidates will be.😄 Let me put it to you this way, I can already see three bass players who definitely shouldn't be included. 🫢

I've got a 2012 Am St Jazz with the Custom Shop pickups that I bought new at the time. Sounds as good as any Jazz I've ever played, vintage, boutique, Custom Shop or whatever. The neck profile is a bit of an acquired taste, but I get used to it after half an hour or so. Otherwise the best Jazz Bass ever for me.

As Duke Ellington famously said, if it sounds good, it is good.

As opposed to agonizing over just about everything except how to play the bass well in a musical way.

Could I just say how refreshing it is for someone to ask a question about actually playing the bass.

I'm really getting into that classic Spector sound. I love that strident, wiry tone. I like aggressive-sounding basses, and the NS2 definitely falls into that category.

I nearly bought one of those Hellborg basses. A local shop had one at the time ( around 1997/8)) and it was a a powerful beast of a bass. Apparently Jonas asked Status to make him a bass that was as close to his Wal 4 string as possible, but with one or two tweaks, the 36 volt circuit probably being one of them. My main bass in the mid-1990's was a headed Status Empathy, and I think the tone-shaping controls on the Hellborg were essentially the same with switchable sweepable mids ect. My bass teacher at that time had a Wal Custom and when I plugged in my bass into the same amp his Wal was literally about twice as loud as my Status, despite the fact that the Wal was 9 volts and my Status was 18 volts. Maybe the 36 volt circuit in the Hellborg was to address that disparity. Difficult for me to say with any certainty because "headroom" has always seemed like a bit of a vague concept to me, and it's all a long time ago now! In terms of sheer output though, there was no competition. The Wal was way more hot than my Status.

To each their own!🙂

Master built Warwick Vampyre 5 and Peavey amps? That is really quite esoteric taste in gear you have, if I might say so. Nothing wrong with Warwick basses (or Peavey amps) but a Vampyre? Are you sure?

Thanks, that's very reassuring to hear, and I know how well you know Spector basses! . Especially considering that, generally speaking, I tend to leave conventional boost and cut active EQ circuits flat anyway, I will probably go for another Euro, maybe a Doug Wimbish. That has got a rosewood board, maple body and different pickups to the CST, so might be audibly different in tone. I'll have a think about that.

Nowadays the bass market is flooded with active Jazz-style basses. Back in the mid-1990's when the T-Bass came out that certainly wasn't the case here in the UK. An boutique Jazz Bass with a preamp in it was quite a novelty and highly desirable for British bass players who didn't have easy access to brands like Sadowsky who had popularised that style of bass. The T-Bass was aimed at that niche, but in retrospect maybe it was just a touch too innovative to have a wide enough appeal to most bass players. I think the angled tuners probably put more people off than they won over.

That's very interesting to know. I've recently got myself a CST with an ebony board. I've had very little chance to play it yet for one reason or another, but enough to know that I definitely want another Spector, just with a significantly different sound to the CST. The big question is whether I get another Euro, albeit a slightly different one, or USA-made bass. It's a long time since had my hands on a USA Spector but I remember them as being pretty amazing but financially out of my reach at the time. Thirty odd-years later now I can afford one but then again nowadays there's the Euro option with the new Legacy preamp ect. There's a decision to be made factoring in diminishing returns and whether a Euro is a "proper" Spector. What I can say is that my new CST is a meticulously-made bass and very good value for money in the current new bass market considering it costs substantially less than something like a new Stingray Special or a German-made Sadowsky Metroline ect..

It's so ridiculous that it has to be true. Presumably he didn't understand how to use an allen key.

I've got a Z3 4 string and I would say that for £400 it's pretty stunning value for money. Plays like a proper bass, sounds like a genuine old Stingray. The only things to note are that the neck is more like a P Bass than a conventional Stingray profile, and that ultimately the price probably puts limitations of the long-term durability of some electronic componants and controls. For £400-ish though it's a great proposition. Were it not for the complicated situation with my haemorrhoids keeping me at home nowadays I would definitely gig my Z3 down the Dog And Duck in preference to my more valuable basses. Sounds just as good as an expensive bass and eliminates any worries about getting damaged or stolen. Mine weighs 9 pound 3oz, so decent managable weight for a Stingray-style bass, too. A very useful and enjoyable instrument.

That bass is so beautiful I actually find it quite upsetting.

I'd be a liar if I said that purple/black colour scheme was my cup of tea, but I'm sure to be in minority (probably of one) on that, and may you both enjoy your new Spectors a lot. More's to the point, I'd be very interested in the fullness of time to hear about any perceived differences in sound and overall feel between these new S.E versions and previous offering with the Caribbean Burst and maple board.