thegummy

"When I was offered the chance to design these basses with Chapman Guitars I was first shocked as it was something I never thought I'd have the opportunity to do."

Don't know why he's shocked, as the bassist in Chapman's band, it was obvious he'd get a signature bass.

I've tried the carole Kaye method of taping on felt but never was able to get it right, not sure what I was doing wrong.

1 hour ago, Funkfingers said:

The usual weak points on the Korean-made SE series instruments are the pickups, electronics and tuners. 

I worry that the distance between the single coil pickups on the Kestrel will screw up the "Jazz Bass" sounds. Thus, my choice would be the Kingfisher. It 3.5 x 1.5 inch pickups would be ripe for upgrading. 

On my PRS SE guitar, I actually really like the pickups. I went back and forth between the stock and a Seymour Duncan and really liked both but ended up preferring the stock ever so slightly. They were different types of pickup (hot ceramic vs vintage alnico) so it wasn't apples for apples but I think it still looks good for the stock pickup.

The electronics went bad quickly so I agree there. Stock tuners were replaced right away so can't comment there.

Out of interest, what pickup size is that on the Kingfisher; MM, soapbar, other?

Always wanted to try one because they look so great and my PRS SE guitar is very good.

Surprised how little I've heard about them.

Hopefully if you get one you can post a video or some pics and some opinions.

Such a nice looking bass, congrats

I've heard quite a wee bit over the years from engineers that often bassists are requested to use a P in the studio, even if they use something else live, because it fits so well and the engineers know how to use it.

Has that been anyone's experience?

4 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

As soon as you get to the last bit... the bit with a *... it could be anything and everything.

That's always the tripping point when trying to find how to get a sound on a record.

There could be all sorts of fairly extreme processing done in the mixing.

Not so much with bass, but with guitar the track is often double tracked very tightly which changes the sound so much.

The bass part may well be doubled with a synth for example.

Can't say about the jazz bass but I'm about to buy a new 22 fret guitar because the differently spaced neck pickup in my 24 fret guitar sounds a lot different so I'd believe the different placement of the j bridge pups could well be quite different.

7 hours ago, bazzbass said:

this. I find with a VVT the sweet spot is neck pup full, bridge pup backed off until the slight mid boost occurs.All is personal taste of course

 

I do the same but back off the neck slightly. Either way, the tiniest backing off of either really changes the sound quite a bit; the term "opens up" seems to fit with how it sounds.

I searched Google news to see if there were any stories about Gibson being in trouble and found a story that they're suing Funko (collectible figures) because a the Slash and James Hetfield models are holding Gibson guitars!

I really hate that, almost makes me consider my upcoming purchase of a Gibson.

Just seeing that I said that tort only works with rosewood fretboards.

Since posting that I took a risk and installed one on my Strat with maple fretboard and it is one of the nicest looking instruments I've seen.

4 hours ago, FinnDave said:

I know the CVs are top of the line Squiers, but over 400 squids doesn't sound like a bargain to me, another 100 and you could get a Fender standard!

Are they better?

Man that is one amazing looking bass.

Doesn't seem to be any information on the pickups though.

Any indication of price?

Nice one, love those early precisions.

Merry Christmas!

P.s. Hilarious username lol

When I watched some of it before, it seemed like he was trying to convince people that it's more ethical to pay a lot of money to someone to build a bass than buy one from a company who may not pay their workers as much.

Apart from not agreeing with his political opinion, it made it sound like he was almost admitting the Asian factory instruments are actually on par with his, hence having to introduce this other incentive to buy his. Couldn't watch it all though, it was too long and I wasn't liking what he had said so far. It's a shame it wasn't a textual article that I could read a lot faster.

18 minutes ago, Twanger said:

It's not all politics and no, he doesn't get into physical differences.

What else does he talk about if he doesn't actually talk about the basses themselves?

Don't think I'd buy into the idea that the higher paid workers would be more motivated to be better. The factory in Korea that made my J has a very good reputation for consistently putting out very well made instruments whereas the Gibson USA factory will pay higher wages but not necessarily have that same reputation.

Just to clarify, I'm not trying to decide between a Mexican and American Fender; I already have a Schecter J bass and would like to know specific things that would be different if I bought a more expensive bass to see if it's ever worth doing it. Not that that nullifies your advice, just clarifying

1 hour ago, spectoremg said:

This helps make a bass better than most 

Sub-optimally placed tuning pegs? *hides*

26 minutes ago, Rumple said:

Wilton Felder played a lot of the Jackson 5 bass lines, I'm not sure if that one is him though.

Never heard that name, I should check him out

Listening to Xmas songs while doing my wrapping and the bass on this Jackson 5 one is great, anyone know who played on it?

Carol Kaye?

46 minutes ago, LoneFurrow said:

Juha Ruokangas recently published a couple of videos to try to elaborate on why hand-made guitars cost as much as they do. Although he's more focused on guitars, he does offer the Steam bass as part of his range. The principles apply whether considering a guitar or bass, I'd assume. 

Part 1 - Guitar Prices  

Part 2 - Ethical Footprint
 

 

I've actually watched some of that before and really didn't like it.

Does he get into physical differences or is it all politics?

6 minutes ago, Funkfingers said:

"Yeah but don't shout it out or they'll all want one." 

 

 

Nice one, cheers for helping me out with my queries about various instruments!

9 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

In comparison to my US Fenders, my Mexican one is a good bass, but the tuners aren`t as good, there aren`t the graphite rods, the bridge isn`t as stable, and the pickups aren`t quite as full-sounding. So the US are better for those points, imo. Whether or not they`re nearly a grands worth of money better, well not sure.

Thanks a lot for the info.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by the stability of the bridge?

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

So you're asking what makes a bass different and special and you tell us to discount all the things that do that! Design, materials, quality of workmanship are what makes anything special. That it "speaks" to someone is what makes it special to that person. Personal preference (which can totally irrational and subconscious) does that last bit.

Why do people buy a Jag  or Merc instead of a Dacia? They all do the same thing.

I buy this bass rather than that because the tone is better, it feels better to play and it's got a tort pick guard.

The only thing I said to discount is pickups and electronics.

It's just that vague terms don't give me any information whereas specific things like the ones mentioned so far in the thread do.

3 minutes ago, Cato said:

Bit of a can of worms this one.

Is it possible to take,say, a Harley Benton Jazz, and upgrade everything, from the fret finish and tuners to installing all new electronics, to the point where it plays and sounds as good as a Sadowsky.? 

I have know idea, but anyone who has bought a much more expensive bass, and I'm one of them, would prefer to think that it isn't.

That last sentence is interesting.

I've always thought it quite hard for a lot of people to really know what exactly they're getting for extra money. I personally have bought expensive things based on the idea that I'm unsure if the cheaper Model X could be upgraded and finished up to be as good as Model X Plus, but I know that buying Model X Plus will definitely get me that level. (Hope that makes sense)