Misdee

I have a Musicman Reflex HH which has a humbucker in the Stingray position that can be switched to passive (and which also features a passive tone control when used in that mode). From memory, I don't really notice that much difference in tone between the two with the EQ set flat. I certainly wouldn't rush to modify the stock electronics on a regular Stingray myself. To me a Stingray is an active bass, even if I usually set the EQ flat. Just my own personal prejudice though, obviously Stingray owners can do as they see fit. I always felt with the Joe Dart Sig that it was just him being contrary in asking for a passive bass with no finish and one knob. 😄

Bands with two drummers immediately puts me in mind of the American "jam bands" , a genre that fills me with almost as much dread as " blues-rock trio".

In purely sonic terms, this seems a bit of an odd choice for a preamp, to be honest with you. I am a big fan of Yamaha basses, but they have never really been renown for their preamps. The notable exception would be the Nathan East preamp which Yamaha marketed themselves as a standalone unit in the early 2000's. The selling point for this product is the Peter Hook association. If that inspires peoples' imagination then great, but it might not translate to much in terms of tone. I quite like Peter Hook as a bass player but I'm sceptical his preamp has ever had much to do with his overall tone. It's more his effects and his overall approach. If a boutique electronics company wanted to make a vintage Yamaha- inspired product, a reissue of the PB1 rackmount bass preamp from the early 1980s would be a great choice. It was a superb bit of kit, almost as good as the Alembic preamp that inspired it. .

I suppose whether it is worth the extra money depends on what premium you place on having the real thing. If you just want a tool to use the Euro will probably do a very satisfactory job for you. If, however, you have always wanted to own and play a nice example of the iconic American bass guitar brand that is Spector then only the USA- made bass will do. And there is nothing wrong with that point of view, however irrational it may seem to some, . I love Spector basses , wish I owned one, but I wouldn't want a Euro version , no matter how good they are.

I take your point entirely, but I think that some of Chris Squire's parts are pretty difficult to recreate by most standards. What he played on some bits of Relayer immediately springs to mind. Also , if you are primarily a fingerstyle player like me , his picking technique is pretty formidable and was a major part of his style and sound . I agree that Chris had his limitations, but he was still a very tricky customer. I think it would be pretty difficult to play his parts and make them sound like he did. And yes, I know there are some chaps on YT that manage to imitate him pretty well but they are doing an obsessively detailed job.

Amazing work doing the transcription, by the way. I'm in awe. I feel a bit ungrateful that I can hardly read music at all , despite several attempts at trying to learn.🙁

I suppose it depends what you mean by chops. I have difficulty with the idea that Chris Squire was deficient in terms of technical ability to express himself on the bass. He had very distinct and individual style that he adapted to different musical contexts, so in that sense he was limited. But then again, you could say the same about Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, or most other influential bass players who have a discernible personality on the instrument. Musicians who can be all things to all men, so to speak, tend to end up being fairly anonymous. I see lots of tremendously capable bass players who are dull as dishwater. I could name names, but I don't want to offend anybody , including the individuals concerned. Chris Squire was a bass guitar icon , and he was never dull. He used too much treble for that. 😄

I like aggressive -sounding basses. None of this wishy-washy mellow tone for me. If I am paying a lot of money for a bass I want it to give me a good kicking. All the basses mention in the o.p can sound aggressive, but each one in a different way. The Stingray because of its' treble/upper mid emphasis, the Thumb because of its' inherent low-mids and extended treble ( largely due to the woods used to build them ) and the flexibility of the electronics means the Wal can sound very aggressive indeed. Try activating pick attack and the filters on 10 . Instant Geddy Lee.

I am much too diplomatic to be drawn on exactly who, but suffice to say there are some very high profile bass players who seem to spend their lives going to trade shows , doing endorsements and appearing on Youtube. Where are the albums ? What is their body of work ?😉 Jaco Pastorius, by comparison, played with Weather Report and Joni Mitchell. Stanley Clarke played with Return To Forever and then made some very accomplished solo albums , as well as doing sessions for major artists. Alphonso Johnson similarly showed his skills in any number of musical settings , from jazz to top 40 pop music. I could go on . Could I just point out that I certainly would not count Marcus Miller as a trade show bass player, not in a million years. Marcus is as good as it gets in my opinion. He has it all, taste, feel, chops, and the nous to know how to use it all to great effect. And when it comes to slap, he is the best in the business. And he has played with too many great artists to list.

The point is that it's all about context. Slap bass can sound great in a song , even when it is very prominent : Without mentioning any names, , it is no coincidence that a lot of high-profile virtuoso players have very limited careers because they can play like demons but they lack the wit and imagination to contextualise their skills effectively in a wider musical context i.e on other peoples songs.

Exactly this. Slap exhibitions are almost always tedious and largely irrelevant. But done well in a musical context it can sound great . There are more examples than you can shake a stick at . As Ubit points out, Freddie Washington's line on Forget Me Nots is a great bass line, and is indeed the hook for the whole track. Here is another more recent slap groove that really works, in my opinion.Nothing fancy but the slap line sounds great and really propels the song :

John Taylor with a Wal Pro on TOTP: Although I remember reading that JT had only borrowed the bass and was not at all keen on it.

I distinctly remember seeing Derek Forbes playing his Wal bass with Propaganda live in concert , but what bass he used on the recordings I have no idea. Anyhow, I think slap bass can sound great. I love a nice bit of slap and I love to do a bit of slapping myself, but I am a bit distraught at how much I have let my own slap chops go to seed a bit in recent years . I have been trying to practice a bit more slapping lately, but quite frankly, it is making me knackered ! I had forgotten ( or never realised) how physically demanding a technique slap can be. I was never Mark King, but by the same token , I was never ready for a cup of tea and a lie down after two songs either. I can feel it in my water that a 1980's revival is just around the corner and if I am right then any self-respecting bass player is going to need to be able to pummel and twang those strings or else get left by the wayside. 🙁 There is good slap and bad slap. In the 70's and 80'S there was a lot of good slap, nowadays less so.

Maybe the BBC should put on an Old Musician Of The Year contest. The winner should be some poor chap in late middle age playing Sultans Of Swing 95% correct on his Fender Strat via video link from his sheltered accommodation . Or someone playing a Jethro Tull medley on a flute whilst balancing on one leg like Ian Anderson and then having a nasty fall and having to use an inhaler.

I use the Diamond BC1 and it is a fabulous bit of kit. I use it on the 9v setting and it copes just fine Makes my bass sound like the ones on my favourite recordings, if that makes sense. I will say that the Diamond is maybe a fairly subtle compressor more for overall tone shaping than aggressive limiting of your signal compared to some other pedals. It all depends what you are after. The Cali 76 and EBS Multicomp are also great choices in terms of tone. Can't go too far wrong with any of those. The opposite end of the spectrum would be something like the MXR M87 , a bit sterile for my taste but lots of control over the actual compression / limiting.

If it helps, the 5 string version has a profile that is fairly un-chunky for a 5 string , if you see what I mean.

I remember playing those basses , sunburst with one passive pickup towards the bridge and little toggle switch. More like a simplified Custom than the original Pro . They were indeed very tasty basses.

The new Wals are proportionately much more expensive than the earlier incarnation, allowing for inflation ect. However, the basses that Paul Herman is building now are of the the very highest quality. I would put them up against the very best available, Fodera, F Bass, whoever. By comparison with similar builders nowadays , Wals prices are o.k. But then again , from another perspective , I remember back in the late 1980's when a Status Graphite Series 2 was a few hundred quid more expensive than a MK1 Wal Custom. The equivalent Status bass is now a few thousand quid cheaper than a MK1 Wal. Status Graphite are also a small independent UK- only manufacturer. What has happened to make Wal basses so much more expensive to make ? Is it rising costs, or bigger profit margins? Or both. Either way is alright with me, by the way. Paul, like anybody else, has the perfect right to charge what he feels his work is worth, the potential customer can decide to pay it or not. The problem for me is that I can't make my mind up what side of the fence I am on regarding this. I am reticent to pay 6 grand for a bass that used to cost the equivalent to £ 2377 in today's money ( including the blue "dogbone" case) back in 1988. But the again I really want one. All the time I keep prevaricating the prices are going up and the wait time is getting longer (so obviously plenty of folks think the price is ok!)

I have never played a 1024x, but I have got a 2024x and it must be said that the neck profile is pretty chunky so the 1024X you tried may well be very similar in profile if not the same. I still find it perfectly playable though, and I have got fairly small hands/short fingers.

I would be hesitant to spend a lot of money on some new "boutique" pickups for a relatively inexpensive bass, and as others have pointed out, the used market is full of bargains. And as Hooky-Lowdown wisely states , don't automatically reject the stock pickups. If you are going to replace them though, don't overlook Fender pickups as an option. Despite the burgeoning market in replacement pickups' implicit suggestion that Fender are somehow inadequate or getting it wrong in some way , I have always found Fender pickups to be very good indeed. Stating the obvious maybe, but they seem to nail that Fender sound pretty well!

Me too. A timeless classic.

I remember seeing the bass player for The Cure playing a Wal Pro bass , and that must be about 40 years ago!