Russ

If you play an instrument, you are a musician. End of story. But I will say that, from experience, you improve as a musician much more quickly if you get to play with other people and gig on a regular basis, since you get to react not only to other musicians, but to an audience. And there's no feeling like the feeling you get on stage when you're all in "the zone" and have the audience in the palm of your hand - it's wonderful and addictive. I haven't played a gig in well over a year. I miss it like crazy.

[quote name='JoeS' post='65664' date='Sep 26 2007, 02:31 AM']Hmmm, the mind boggles. I've only ever seen him playing Fender or Godlyke. He was playing Fender at the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC9Gl38qiGc"]VMAs[/url] as well, apparently.[/quote] Troy Sanders' brother Kyle, who plays in a band called Bloodsimple, plays leftie Warwicks. But I've never seen Troy play them - only ever the Fender/Heartfield basses and Godlyke basses. Neither is he on Warwick's site as an endorsee.

[quote name='rodl2005' post='64604' date='Sep 24 2007, 08:05 AM']I dunno why but this is MY experience of trying out a EB MM SUB 5 & a EB MM Stingray 5 in my local shop. Both theu SAME MARKBASS LMII amp & 4 x 10 cab, same settings on guitars & amp CHALK & CHEESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The SUB was a nice bass. didn't make me think WOW or anything, but was a nice solid bass. The 'RAY was ....WOW!!!!! Blew me away- brite, powerful, thick, full. Was one of the only basses in MY 30+ yrs of playing that made me think WOW what a GREAT bass- straight away!!! I was informed B4 hand that there were same pup, bridge etc in both, But the difference was STAGGERING!!!!!!!!!! Probly the active elecs. have alot to do with it, possibly the Ash/ poplar of the SUB- I dunno really. BUT It was THAT different!! & I WANTED the SUB to sound as good-coz I didn't have the $$$$ for the 'Ray! But after that........... I HAD 2 have the 'ray![/quote] The SUB 5 and Stingray 5 have very different electronic setups, as well as quite different pickups. The SR5 has a 3-band cut/boost active EQ and a coil-tap switch, whereas the SUB 5 has a 2-band, boost-only circuit with no coil tap. The SR5 pickup has an extra phantom coil for humcancelling purposes, and uses ceramic magnets, as opposed to the alnico magnets used in the SUB 5 (4-string Stingrays also use alnico pickups). They do sound quite different. The SUB 5 sounds a lot more like an old, 2-band, 4-string Stingray (some say the classic MM sound), whereas the SR5 has its own distinctive sound. I'm another one who loves the sound of a Stingray 5, but, appearance-wise, just can't get over that enormous scratchplate... it's hideous! If I only had the £2500 I'd need for the scratchplate-less Anniversary model...

Another difference between the SUBs and the pricier Stingrays and Sterlings is that the SUB body is uncontoured - there's no forearm chamfer on the top bout or belly cut on the back. Depending on how you play, this might make the bass more uncomfortable. Also, the SUB 5 was a lot more like a proper 5-string version of the 4-string Stingray than the official Stingray 5 is. I actually preferred it in some ways to the official Stingray 5 - the SUB 5 has the same body shape as the SR4, the smaller, round scratchplate and the metal control plate, plus the original Stingray 2-band EQ. Plus, it actually sounds like a 4-string Stingray, just with an extra string. The Stingray 5 is more like a 5-string Sterling, with the switching options, different pickup configuration, etc, and doesn't sound all that much like the 4-string.

[quote name='bnt' post='64161' date='Sep 22 2007, 08:08 PM']For an idea of what JPJ can get up to with his Manson 10-string, have a look at [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sGHWxLruLvA"]this[/url]. He's not exactly "the guy at the back of the stage" any more... PS: There is one other famous Manson endorser: Muse's Matt Bellamy. I think Matt tapped Manson because he grew up in Devon, where Manson is based.[/quote] Holy crap. That was impressive.... especially the whammy pedal solo part. I want a 10-string now. JPJ is a bass god. No question.

The Spector. I had a Legend 5 for a little while, and it was an awesome bass. Certainly a lot more usable sounds in it than the Warwick, and a much nicer neck to boot.

I was tempted for a while to buy two Lowdown 300 combos and use them together as a versatile stage rig (each combo could be EQ'd differently, etc). But I'm a 10" speaker guy at the end of the day, and I really just want them to come out with a Lowdown head and some cabs to go with it.

As a little anecdote to add to the Spector love here... I'm in the US, visiting the in-laws right now, and one of the things I wanted to do while I was out here was to take my Spector NS5-CRFM up to the Spector workshop just outside Woodstock, NY to get a problem with the truss rod sorted out (the previous owner had broken the nut off the end of the truss rod... ). So, we headed up there, and found them, out in the middle of nowhere, in a rather anonymous workshop right opposite a big industrial welding company. So we went in, and handed the bass over to Jimmy (Spector's tech) for him to take a look at. The secretary (whose name escapes me, alas) directed us to a shop a few minutes down the road that stocked lots of British stuff (amazing to find Marmite, Golden Shred, Cornish pasties and Double Deckers in a tiny shop miles from anywhere)... when we got back, Jimmy had fitted a new truss rod, filled in a small crack at the top of the fingerboard, then gave the bass a proper setup for me... for free! I also had my Spector GAS re-ignited when I got the chance to have a go on a USA Spector NS-5 with buckeye burl facings... what an absolutely amazing bass! Best customer service I've ever experienced. I didn't get a chance to meet Stuart Spector though, alas... apparently he was off fishing with Michael Tobias (who's also from around there).

There's lots of differences, but at the end of the day, it's purely a matter of taste. As an overview, Conklins are a little more modern and esoteric in their approach (they specialise in basses with cool woodworking - melted tops, etc - and more than six strings, for instance), whereas Overwater are a bit more old-school and traditional. Overwater also make their own hardware, pickups and electronics, which give them a definite "Overwater sound" - British custom luthiers are quite well known for this (GB, Gus and Wal are other examples). Conklins are fairly hard to come by in the UK as well - I've played a few Groove Tools basses (their cheaper range) but only ever seen one of their proper US-made custom shop basses over here. And they're not cheap, even with the exchange rate being so much in our favour at the moment - we're talking almost Alembic money for a top-of-the-line model. So if you're thinking of a custom, as Dood said, it might be easier to deal with Overwater, since they're actually over here.

I've been toying with the idea of putting together a more "hi-fi" kind of bass amp, using either one or two PA speakers, a power amp and a preamp of some description. Basically, a system that will have a wide, full frequency response, without the colouring that bass-specific cabs add to the sound. Has anyone else gone this route? If so, what types of PA speaker would prove suitable? I would have thought something with multiple drivers for the bass, midrange and treble would work best. I'm mostly unfamiliar with the different PA speaker models available, so can anyone recommend something good for this purpose? Won't be doing this for a while, but best to get the research done early.

90% of Chris' customers are guitarists, and guitarists are almost always interested only in the classic shapes if they want a custom instrument. The site is tailored to that market. If you go down to see him, he's got pictures of various non-traditional custom instruments he's done, including basses.

Chris is a fantastic guy (got to know him well during his Sei days), and will build more or less anything you want - he doesn't just do basses and guitars based on the classic shapes. He's also quite reasonably priced compared to other builders. I say go for it.

[quote name='lwtait' post='55462' date='Sep 4 2007, 06:45 PM']it depends on the colour you get it in in my opinion. i can't tell a difference in tone on any bass i've ever played, and your fingers don't actually touch the fretboard when you play, so it doesnt feel any different. so i'd just choose whichever one looks best, because you have to be happy with looks as well as the way it sounds[/quote] It depends how much of the bass' sound comes from the electronics, I think. The Stingray pickups do have a characteristic sound, but you can still hear the woods. Trust me, a maple neck Stingray sounds very different to a rosewood one = there's quite a different balance of frequencies.

Me. Male, 35. Overplaying rock monster. Been playing 18 years. Penchant for heavy metal, very loud amps, OTT custom basses, esoteric techniques, melodic bass parts, crazy effects, and a desire to tone all this down and be more like Tony Levin. I'd say I'm alright. Not brilliant by any means, but I can hold my own. I've got a decent groove, a good ear, can play with fingers, pick, thumb, and do all the other tricks, can perform in an animated fashion, and am reasonably good with most styles of music. Still got a lot to learn though - my theory is strictly average, my reading sucks and I wish I could improvise better. There's always more to learn and I'm applying myself to all that at the moment.

Both. I have no qualms about using whatever technique is appropriate for getting the sound and feel I need for a bass part. For some songs, the fingerstyle groove is all that'll do. For others, I need the up/down articulation and bite that only a pick can give.

The Streamer Stage Is don't seem to suffer from quite the same stigma as many of the other basses in the Warwick line - the current ones aren't really that much different from the older ones. The woods are the same, the body shape is the same, I think all that's changed is that they now use MECs instead of Bartolinis, and they use CNC machines a lot more in the manufacturing. It seems different with the Stage IIs and the Thumbs, what with them abandoning wenge for the necks, changing the body shape and headstock detailing of the Thumbs, and so on... everyone seems to prefer the older ones (me included - I'd murder for a mid-90s Streamer Stage II 5er).

[quote name='Bigwan' post='52716' date='Aug 30 2007, 12:07 PM']My No.1 choice also but I would refer you to my comment above... Well outside my £400 budget at the minute! Would you flog your ATK Russ?[/quote] Hmmm... maybe... after all, once I get my custom bass plans together, I'll need a deposit...

Lakland 55-02 with the Basslines pickups. Nails the MM tone, has 19mm string spacing at the bridge, and has a fair bit more versatility than a regular, single-pickup MM.

Very nice basses. Always wanted one with the CAT tremolo. My first exposure to them was seeing Claypool using one (a 6-string fretless) in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (there's about 20 seconds of Primus playing towards the end). There is just something mysterious and alluring about these esoteric, high-end Japanese instruments - Tune, Atlansia, etc. I'd love to go to a musical instrument shop in Japan and try some out.

To sum up... Cabs - decent enough. Don't get the ones with the aluminium speakers though. Heads - utter sh*te. Avoid like the plague.