TrevorR

The entire Reeve story. Courtesy of Flat Eric... still not worth 2 grand, though. http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-reeve-guitar-story.html http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/04/reeve-brian-may-and-more-reeve-guitars.html http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/04/val-reeve-continues.html http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/04/reeve-guitars-continued.html http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/05/reeve-brian-may-red-special.html http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/07/reeve-guitar-gallery.html http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-visit-to-val-reeve.html http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/10/derrick-taylor-roachford-reeve.html http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2016/11/reeve-headless-bass-finished.html

Built in the same year as some Wals... must be worth at least 2k, then. Good grief! £200 maybe given it’s a pretty much unknown brand!

My first real gig too... 1981 with Snowy. St Austell Coliseum. A few months before Renegade came out. Cracking gig! Still my favourite band all these years later.

Great band. And adding the fantastic Dave Bainbridge, formerly of Iona, on guitar has done them no harm at all!

I’ve got to that age we’re I suspect that my brain is almost full up with music good and not so good. So it’s very rare these days that I come across new music in and genre that makes me go “Wow!” like so many bands did for my in my teens and twenties. However, just this last couple of months I’ve come across a few different bands that tickled my ear like in the good old days and made me sit up and get into them in a big way. A chum leant me Greta Van Fleet’s album. Considering I find Led Zep very dull these days and simply don’t listen to them any more these guys really impressed me with their sheer energy! OK, they’re are more Zeppish than Zep ever were but still... I do like a bit of souly Acid Jazz type music so this review CD from Richard Hawley’s cousin and the ex-Weller drummer really floated my boat... love the Bond theme vibe on this one... More acid jazz... heard this band on the PA at a Pret A Manger and just had to Shazam them... I think that The New Mastersounds are my New Favourite Band! And now for something completely different. Another review CD by Sinnober blew me away. All About Eve meets CSNY round at early Fairport Convention’s house... lovely swirly music.

I do enjoy Rick Beato’s videos. Pretty well informed, well argued, interesting topics... always worth a listen. So what better way for him to start the New Year than with a “Top 20 Bass Sounds” video. Some great players and lines on there and some stellar sounding basses. He asks about which tones he’s forgotten. I guess my nomination would be this one... always loved the bass tone on this track. He chooses a totally classic Chris Squire line but I must say I’ve always had a soft spot for this Yes track. Love both the bass tone and the bass line. The hair cut not so much...

Silvia’s second bullet point was never going to take us in a helpful direction. Apropos of nothing and notwithstanding that gender is irrelevant, three (actually make that four) other bassists whose playing I have always enjoyed are: Sheryl Crow - simple but solid. Claire Kenney - Cropped up on TotP so many times and she played a lovely Aria SB too back in the late 80s and early 90s which counted as extra brownie points for me Carrie Melbourne - when she wasn’t playing for the gawd awful Babylon Zoo. Good stick player too. Took over from Lol Cottle in Mike Oldfield’s band IIRC Jo Wadeson - some great playing with Thea Gilmore and the Waterboys. Really tuneful and powerful playing both on record and live. And to amply demonstrate how irrelevant gender is in a bass discussion, Jennifer Maidman. Great back in the day with T-Rex, Gerry Rafferty, Paul Brady and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and now funking it up with the revamped Kokomo.

If you want to see real terror, get a classically trained pianist (who isn’t also a rock/jazz player). Give them a chord chart and say, “12 bar blues in A, just feel the changes with us.” Also works when giving guitarists sheet music.

Lesley Garrett having a pretty good go at it... But compared with the fluidity of Ella...?

Two of the greatest singers of their generation not getting the heart of a well known song... The show tune singers getting it (Marni Nixon as the voice of Natalie Wood)...

Thing is, that video will seem like such tosh or stupidly simple stuff for most folks on this site but it’s not aimed at those of us who have that kind of internal rhythm. It’s aimed more at those formally trained musicians who can sing or play the notes strictly à tempo but don’t have a loose, swung bone in their body. She does talk about her piano students at the top of the vid, after all. Think of those “classical soprano sings jazz” albums that Kathryn Jenkins, Dame Kiri and the like release - all painfully stiff and straight in their timing. The choir my little boy sings in does all sorts of stuff from jazz to pop to show tunes to folk songs to whatever and I find listening to the choir mistress fascinating and horrifying in equal measure sometimes. She and the other choir mistress will often do a solo or duet spot during the choir shows. Now if they choose to do Delibes Flower Duet from Lachme or Ave Maria or some other classical piece it’s absolutely sublime. If they choose to do Summertime or a Simon and Garfunkel tune or an Irving Berlin jazz show-tune it is absolutely painful. They. sing. it. so. pain. full. ly. straight... Vocalising rhythms like in the video is actually a really powerful way of internalising feel and it’s that kind of person (the 1-3 clappers) that the video is aimed at. For us it’s “Well d’uh!” For them it’s a potential revelation!

Don’t worry, a late Motown vocalist’s estate will be along soon enough to claim it sounds vaguely similar to something he whistled in the shower once...

Good advice but I’d also underline, learn the basic groove that underpins the song and play around that. Sometimes a groove is just a groove and you can play around it as much as you like. Sometimes it’s a fundamental part of the song. Good Times wouldn’t sound like Good Times without an approximation of THAT bassline. So long as you play the fundamentals of the song and work out what’s important to the tune. Applies to certain tunes in all genres. Good Times, Owner of a Lonely Heart, The Chain, So What, Lady Marmalade, Another One Bites The Dust, Rio and Superfreak would all sound as bad as each other withthe iconic bassline replaced by either root notes or a rock ‘n’ roll walking bass. Whereas when we did “What’s Going On” or “Mercy mercy me” in my old band I felt much freer to play around the chord changes...

A jam, in my experience, is between the scone and the clotted cream, not on top of it. YMMV moi luvver!

Here’s a photo of my “The one that got away”... Spandau Ballet at Live Aid, 1985 I popped into Denmark Street back in 2000 or so on the hunt for a 1970s Pro Series Wal to go with my Mk 1. I went into (I think) Music Ground and asked if they ever got any in. The guy behind the desk said, “Not seen any of those in for a while. But funny thing is we just got a couple of the newer type in... they’re hanging at the back.” I went over to have a look and there were two. A walnut fretless and a maple fretted one with an added finger rest that looked strangely familiar for some reason. And for a decent price too. The store guy said, “What do you think?” “Lovely, but I’m not really looking for a Mk 1 at the mo...” “No worries. We’re selling them for that bloke who’s in East Enders who used to be in Spandau Ballet.. He’s not using them any more.” “Oh, nice. They’re lovely basses!” Mentioned it to my wife a couple of days later. “Yeah, the bass he played at Live Aid.” “You should have bought it.” “Really?” “Yes! of course.” “Oh, ok. I think I will!” By which time, of course it was my “one that got away...

Of course, Tears For Fears “Mad World” has been known to work well in a more acoustic mood... and in a depressing, “It’s Christmas, think I’ll just go and top myself” mood. These arrangements may not be mutually exclusive.

This is the paragraph you should be focusing on. The questions you are asking yourself are, no offence intended, a mug's game simply because there is no definitive, scientifically verifiable answer. For the player taste comes into it as much as spec. As does the psychological need to self-justify the expense of the purchase when it comes down to YouTube videos (the posting of which surely has to be a somewhat narcissistic thing anyway). Here's the thing, I can spend hours explaining why Wals cost twice as much as Seis and take 2 years to build - almost entirely custom made parts instead of off the shelf hardware, quality of woods, cost of time from non automated handcrafting, length of settling time between processes, overheads, choice of rate fo return on each bass blah de blah de blah... That doesn't change the fact that Seis are one of the world's finest built basses or the validity of your paragraph quoted above. Or make a Wal better suited to you as a player. Once you get to these price points there is also a complex mix of the makers pricing their time and components and simply charging what the market will bear given the reputation and desirability of their brand. Each will come up with a different formula that suits them. Then there's personal preference... give me a £5+ grand Warwick Masterbuilt bass and I can pretty much guarantee I'd hate it. I just have never found a Warwick I like to play, whether its the old style or more modern necks. I've played a few £1.5k Sandbergs and Maruwotsits and never found one I didn't absolutely love. Whether you love and connect to a bass is the more important thing in my book, rather than price or some sort of "desirability" factor.

The carve at the end of the fingerboard looks really great and works really nicely with the point on the upper bout. Killer bass!

Wonderful profile. I’m not a modern single cut fan but that shape is GORGEOUS! The scoop out where most builders have a but bulbous upper bout is so, so sleek. I’d genuinely say that’s the nicest single cut shape I’ve seen yet!

She’s an amazing player and so much more tasteful and musical in her playing than 99% of bass YouTubers. There are some vids of her playing with her trio and quartet which are well worth tracking down... Picked at random...

Wonder how long it’ll be before someone asks... “So if I order something in 2019 but it won’t be delivered until 2020 does that count...?”

Given the topic of this thread that kind of talk’s not really helping,is it?

It’s nice having both options for those moments when Bluetooth or Wi-fi connection gets glitchy or laggy. But I’d never want to go back to not being able to tweak my monitors from my tablet!

And since nobody has mentioned it, Dave at Rock Wire http://www.rock-wire.co.uk/ our very own @obbm will see you right for the best possible cables and connectors at a very reasonable price. Better than any off the shelf stuff and no more expensive. I’m addicted to his new Sommer cable... buy wisely, buy once as they say!

So what to say about Marco’s bass? Well, for the two or three weeks I had it staying with me I loved having it around. It’s lovely, beautifully built for effectively a home-make and sounds great. Stunning looks too. When I pulled it out of the case at worship band rehearsal everyone stopped and gathered round to have a look, wondering if I’d bought myself a new one. The girl singers said I should just keep it as they loved the look and the woods so much. And the Delano pickups sounded great too - very flexible and some great sounds. Though I still think a three way pickup switch and a three way humbucker coil switch would give you all the functionality in a much more intuitive package. The immediate question from the others was “How much did it cost?” I explained its story but said that I reckoned that to go out to a builder and get something similar spec and design would easily cost a couple of grand or more. Thru neck, hand built, quality woods, lots of unique design features... which got me thinking about how to review it. I think that Marco has the ability to become a proper luthier is he puts his mind and effort to it. So I asked myself, what would need to change to justify paying £2k for a bass like this? So that’s my benchmark. What would he need to do to lift his output to the Shuker , ACG stakes...? Mostly I think it’s just attention to detail. So that’s what I’m going to focus on... where does the QA need tightening up etc. I like the design even though I’ve never really been a fan of Warwick Dolphins or Alembic style random cut outs. That said, I think that the curves of the cut out behind the bridge still need some fine honing to get the flow just right - just some more or less flare on the main part of the body to properly frame the cut out. we’re just talking half a mm but it could flow a touch better. Similarly the ends of the upper and lower horn. Their shapes don’t quite match. Pure nuance but important aesthetics nonetheless. I compared them to my Aria SB where the horns hook similarly and, though different do match in width and profile. Headstock. I like the elongated shape, branded logo and little cut out. I think it’s neat and looks cool. The adjustable nut is cool too and very easy to tweak. And it’s wenge or stripy ebony or very dark rosewood (or similar)! Cool! Wonder what the durability will be? However the cool little maple wooden trussrod cover needs a wider base... its thin enough that when the locating screw loosens it can rotate and leave the truss rod cavity uncovered. And the tuners... I think they’re put on back to front! The shaft should be nearer the neck than the tuning head. As they are pushing with your thumb on the E and A string tuners loosens rather than tightens the string. That just feels wrong. Plus their position on the headstock could be adjusted by a mm or so to even the shafts of the tuner a tiny bit. See. I said it was all about tiny detail. Neck It has its own feeling! Very deep and square D shaped, esp near the headstock. A bassist chum and I decided it was kinda Warwick Squared. I got used to it as I played it but I’d love to play Marco’s take on more traditional neck shapes. The carve is so nice and the Matt finish is lovely to play. And don’t forget, the customer is always right, even if they want a dull, standard J or P bass profile! Lol! I like the matt maple fingerboard too. Can’t stand heavy gloss fingerboards. I’m not sure that the chevron carve at the end of the fingerboard completely works for me but it’s a lovely touch as the board seems to flow into the body. Maybe a different shape might work a tiny bit better? Or not. There’s also a tiny measuring error as a touch of the walnut body/stringer peeks through. But the carve through on the back is lovely! Body Love the shape and it is sooooo light compare to my Wals and Aria!!!!! Very comfy to wear. I’ve commented on a couple of things already to do with the finer points of the aesthetics. But overall it’s a lovely, characterful design. It would definitely be a candidate for a standard model body shape if Marco released a range of basses. The small headstock, extended horn and offset bottom strap button means it hangs really well and it was a pleasure to play. Finishing This is where I think this is where Marco has the main scope to hone his craft. When you look at brands like Shuker, Overwater, Goodfellow, Wal etc the finish is completely perfect and, at the type of level Marco should be aiming for is expected. This is also where a lot of the hidden cost of a custom bass is. Time and care. The funny thing is you sort of can’t really tell when it’s done perfectly over and above the minimum necessary and you can’t always see the time that has gone in to achieve this sort of perfection. But every time you don’t achieve this standard it’s a glaring error. Especially if you’re shelling out £2-3 grand for a bass. On Marco’s bass there are a couple of spots where it looks like a plane blade has caught or chisel slipped and some filler has been needed. On the back of the neck there seem to be some circular sanding marks still present. A little longer with some finer grit sandpaper and wire wool would have sorted that. It looks like the pickup screws haven’t had guide holes properly drilled and the screws are a bit higgledy piggledy in the pickups. One has completely reamed out - no slight pickup height happening any time soon. There is dark filler around the abalone side dots which kinda spoils their circular shape. In fact, with small dots I wonder if a more uniform pearloid, plain white or black might work slightly better, giving a more defined circle. But none of this detail stops the bass being lovely to play, stunning looking or nicely designed. It’s a fab bass and I loved having it around. However, these are the finishing details that set it above the average . From home built/self built into the lofty heights of custom built/luthier built. From what I’ve seen I reckon that Marco could have the capability of making that jump. So in summary, I’d say that Marco should keep honing his skills and he will soon be producing even more droolsome basses than this one. However, the magic, silver bullet is all in that attention to the finest detail. Thank you so much, Marco for letting your lovely bass out for its grand tour of the UK. I so enjoyed pretending it was mine for a little while!