Misdee

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.

I've got three Yamaha basses, a BB2024X, a BB2024 and a BB2025. On balance, I would say that they are my favourite basses that I have ever bought in forty-odd years of playing bass and owning a lots (lots and lots) of high-end and vintage basses in that time. Those 20 Series basses really were something special, with a unique tone that you can't get from any other Yamaha bass, new or old, or indeed any other bass from another brand. I've played and owned much more expensive basses I didn't like half as much. Those particular Yamahas have got a unique sonic personality that sets them apart. When I got my BB2024X not long after they came out I was shocked not just by how good it was but also how much it confounded my expectations. Despite having all the grunt and growl of a good Fender, the sound was surpisingly unlike a Fender and had all the richness and depth of a high quality active bass. I don't like polite-sounding basses, and my Yamahas always sound big and asseritive. Needless to say with Japanese-made Yamaha instruments, the build quality is top-notch. I had the brainwave of trying flats on one of my Yamahas after seeing Jah Wobble playing his BB2024x, and with a set of Thomatiks on it that bass takes on a whole new dimension of interesting possibilities. Excels at reggae, hip hop ect (and probably a lot more besides) with those strings on. If Yamaha did a proper authentic reissue of the BB3000 I'd definitely be up for getting one of those, too. I had a BB P34 for a while but, despite being beautifully constructed with a nice slim neck, it just didn't do it for me like my other Yamahas. Not a criticism more an observation, but I found the sound of the P34 to be a bit on the lean side. Maybe that leaness can be attributed to the maple laminate in the core of the body. What's for certain is that it sounds much more like a conventional PJ than the 2024x et al, which makes sense if you consider that it's the first BB to use conventional Fender-style pickups.

I am delighted to see that you have rediscovered the joy of bass with your much-missed Suhr. They're top quality instruments, and an active Jazz Bass like that really can do it all. May you get much pleasure from playing it. That said, may I offer some well-meant but unsolicited life advice without causing offence? It's just that now your financial and domestic situation has eased a bit I would strongly recommend putting some thought and planning into how to improve things even more in that respect going forwards. That might mean holding off a bit before putting financial resources into buying many more basses. Take it from me my friend, there isn't a bass in the world that is more important than a stable and happy home for you and yours. I am speaking from personal experience when I say that we all need a safe haven in this world, and no bass, however nice, will provide that for you. I know it's none of my business, but there, I've said it anyway.🙂

From the the golden age of Japanese-made instruments.Yamaha basses from this era are a combination of bulletproof construction and top-class design. Well-worth trying to resurrect.