Soliloquy

[quote name='ziggydolphinboy' post='1070621' date='Dec 27 2010, 10:52 PM']thought id put my trace gear up ,
i now have two ah400s that hopefully i will run together in the new year , the bass cab being clean and the top cabs being effects channel sound!!

hope you all like!![/quote]


Can I ask what that weighs ?

It's an amazing looking rig .

I use the Status ones, very good. Nice tension and sound.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1073942' date='Dec 31 2010, 07:06 PM']Looks like something inside you wants you to like them, Horses for courses and all that I have tried every Ric I get close to but cant love them the same way my eyes do, That said I have never bought 5 of them! If its the feel of them then maybe a pre EB with a glossy neck might suit you better, My 82' has the fastest neck of all my 3 Rays and plays real nice. The sound is all subjective but to my ears its smoother and punchier but doesnt have the glassy top of the EBMM which looking at your stuff might not suit your taste? A pre EB with a modern pre amp hybrid might be your only way to MM happiness![/quote]

You are very right. A friend of mine has a very old one, (can't remember how old, but I think it's 70's) Stingray. I've heard him playing it, and it sounds great. They just don't work for me though .

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1073912' date='Dec 31 2010, 06:17 PM']Why did you buy in total 5 Stingrays after the first one was so bad then the second etc until owning 5 of them?

My post was meant to be kind of sarcastic/funny by the way I actually like lots of basses for slap (and all styles) and get made out to be some kind of stingray drug pusher from my user name but if you look in my signature I have P and J basses also.[/quote]

I had bought the first one about 10 years ago and sold it. It had a rosewood board and sunburst finish body. I then bought another this year, just to try again , thinking it was maybe just me. That was maple/maple, I didn't get on with the sound, so I traded it for one with a rosewood board.

The five's were the same.

It's probably just me .

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1073883' date='Dec 31 2010, 05:54 PM']Well if you want to take the advice usually given it goes like this, You ask the slapper question, Done. We suggest everything and the answer usually comes down to a Stingray from most parties which obviously is the correct answer then the OP ignores all the advice and buys something else maybe a T Bird or something then 6 months later the OP reappears saying "bloody hell I had a blast on a mates Stingray last night and its amazing for slap I must have one" we all say I told you so and one or two people usually say get a Bongo instead which leads to an arguement about toilet seats and the thread is repeated a few weeks later with a new OP. Did I miss anything?[/quote]

See my previous reply, there's only Flea in my list of players who uses (sometimes) a Stingray.

You need to try the basses yourself and see what works for you.

I've owned 3 Stingray 4 strings, and 2 Stingray 5's, I hated all of them, they simply didn't work for me, and the number that come up for sale suggests that the same applies for others too.

I suggest listening to you favourite 'slap' player.

Mark King doesn't sound like Marcus, who doesn't sound like Stanley, who in turn doesn't sound like Victor who doesn't sound like Flea.

Identify what (beyond the player), makes that particular player sound like they do. Mark King uses (now) Status basses, Marcus uses (mostly) Fender Jazz basses, Stanley uses Alembics, Victor Fodera and Flea a Stingray (amongst others).

Each bass does have it's own inherent tone.

[quote name='dafonky' post='1064405' date='Dec 20 2010, 11:20 AM']they are heavy weight, that's the only negative thing about it. I have a very very old one....Series I
one of the first Jay Dees ever built.... [/quote]

If you ever decide that you don't want it, then please let me know .

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1072103' date='Dec 29 2010, 08:20 PM']As a Roscoe user I would say that is an amazing bass. May be a little expensive, though?[/quote]

Maybe £800 expensive ?

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1072027' date='Dec 29 2010, 07:20 PM']I know that a Jaydee can be as versatile as any other bass when you start tweaking knobs and fiddling with your amp. But in essence, why should you? So a Jaydee sounds like a Jaydee? Why make it sound like a Jazz or P bass? You can still play all the same songs, just you'll get that lovely Jaydee tone coming through.

Listen to how the Jaydee tone fits into this song perfectly and sounds incredible.




I think there is too much focus on basses being versatile rather than just sounding excellent off the bat, which Jaydee basses certainly do. If you want something that sounds middle of the road, buy something middle of the road![/quote]


That's what I was saying to a friend of mine earlier. I think it's how you 'play it', that's what's important. If you play like Mark King, then you'll sound like Mark King (tone wise anyway ).
My friend is a great bass player, he plays with Martin Taylors 'Spirit of Django' band. He uses an old Aria semi acoustic bass for that particular gig. He 'thinks' of deep and woolly sounds, and imagines that he's playing an upright whilst playing.

There's a lot of nonsense spoken and written about particular basses being suited for certain types of music.

[quote name='4000' post='1071343' date='Dec 28 2010, 10:37 PM']BTW, that's gorgeous. Aways wanted a Starchild JD; never got one. Now my back sadly couldn't cope unless it was made of balsa![/quote]

I have to say, it's not light by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe that's where it gets its big sound from.

I'm after a series 1 in red, preferably with the planet inlays, if anyone has one please get in touch .

Here's mine.

The one photo was taken by John about a month ago, just before it was finished. The othe rphoto shows what it look like now.

[quote name='Rich' post='1061269' date='Dec 17 2010, 07:50 AM']As a Status player and former Jaydee owner, I'd say Status every time. Jaydees are fun but too much of a one-trick pony IME.[/quote]

Got to disagree with this, though I can see possibly why you say that, especially with the Mark King thing.

I used my Series 3 Mark King bass on a session this afternoon. It was with a great Midlands singer called Judy Duff. We did 6 songs, all kind of jazz standards, 'L.O.V.E', 'New York, New York', 'Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps', 'Summertime', 'The lady is a tramp' and 'Almost like being in love'. The Jaydee performed amazingly on all the songs. The active tone circuit is very, very versatile, as good as any other.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1070427' date='Dec 27 2010, 07:46 PM']I have to say, this is not something I enjoyed reading but that thought was at the back of my mind when Wal came back. During the hiatus, I was thinking "Surely, someone could be making a lot of money out of these basses if they were prepared to start making them again. Whoever owns the rights could make a killing". And sadly, it seems that the "New Wal" is just a money making exercise. It is good business for them to charge what they do because people are obviously paying it (probably in small amounts).

But there is nothing in a Wal that takes a huge amount of time to make. The woodworking, even at it's most exotic, is well finished and functional rather than incredible. Not bashing what Wal basses are (I love them after all), but like I say they could make the same basses for less money and sell more as a result. The demand is certainly there to make Wal the bass of the moment again.

I was just sat playing my ACG there, marvelling at the bass. The woodworking is better than anything I've seen Wal do. The fit and finish is superior, the electronics are superb. There isn't a corner cut anywhere on the ACG, yet it cost roughly 1/3 of the price of a new Wal or thereabouts. Whereas new Wal basses start at £3200 - so I'm guessing that will get you a Mk1 4 string with a bolt on neck and some basic top wood. My ACG harlot is about as highly specced as I've seen an ACG (or a bass). The quality of the build, woods and materials are all top notch and the bass competes with heavyweights like Alembic, Fodera and Ken Smith at an affordable price point. It is every bit their equal. It's proof that you can build exceptional basses for good value, and I'm sure Alan's order book will attest to this as a good way of doing things.

With the ACG, you get a sense of Alan's passion for building and making fantastic instruments. I've not played a new Wal yet, but sadly at the moment I get the impression it's a front to get rich Wal chasers to open their wallets. I had hoped that the new era of Wal would bring back the passion that Ian and Pete brought to the brand, along with their reasonable prices. It seems this is just not the case![/quote]

I got to say that you've gone the step further that I was a bit reluctant to take.

Wal's are a bit 'production line'. They make a lot of necks and a lot of bodies, this is what Paul explained to me he was hoping for anyway. A neck isn't made to fit a particular body.
They even fit cheap and nasty strings on them as standard, or they were back in June.

Most policies have excesses anyway.

That would probably be more than the cost of a new tuner.

Very nice basses, very heavy though. I had a Stanley Clarke bass a few years ago, it was hopelessly unbalanced.

I just upgraded my hifi and bought a new turntable.

This is a great CD player, and is in perfect working order.

It has a few minor marks on the top of the unit towards the back. This is where it was placed underneath the amp. The front is perfect, and the little scratches aren't visible when the unit is placed in a hifi rack.

It comes complete with a remote control.

I'd like a bargain £100 for this, I'd prefer collection. Postage should be about £10 via courier.

I've mislaid my camera cable, so no photos unfortunately.

[quote name='pantherairsoft' post='1067861' date='Dec 23 2010, 03:38 PM']Roscoes are stunning. The fretless Roscoes are the best fretless basses I have tried. The shapes arn't all great, but I quite like the Century series (which I have).[/quote]

I had a Roscoe 5 string a few years ago. It was a fretted, but had the most perfect fretless sound of any bass I've played. It had a beautiful kind of burpy growl, that didn't actually work too well as a fretted bass.

I've never played a Marleaux 6 string. My Marleaux 5 is ridiculously light though.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1065489' date='Dec 21 2010, 11:10 AM']Never liked the physical feel of Jaydees - I find the few I have played uncomfortable. Status are better in my mind but I am a Wal man through and through and do think that they are worth the £3.5K asking price. Would order one tomorrow (5 string fretless) if the money was there.[/quote]

I couldn't agree less. I had a Wal that I sold earlier in the year. It was very old, and a beautiful instrument. I had it refinished by Paul at Wal. The impression that I gained with my dealing was that the new Wal business is nothing more than a money making enterprise. There really didn't seem to be any passion about the basses. I wasn't alone with the impression either, there was another guy there when I collected my bass, he thought exactly the same thing.

£3.5k is an awful lot of money for a 'bolt on' neck design bass. There's very little of the custom element in the bass, not like Sei, Status or Jaydee.

The comfort of a bass is a very personal thing. My Jaydee is as comfortable as any other bass that I own. It's actually a lot better to play than my Sei. My Zon has the most ridiculous string spacing, an Alembic Stanley Clarke that I owned was totally unbalanced. I had a Kingbass Series 1 that was nice but had a sound that you just couldn't EQ out.

Jaydee !

I recently got my 24 year old Series 3 back from John. It's been totally refinished, and sounds and plays as good as anything else I've played, including Wal, Alembic and Status. I'm going to be ordering a new one, I want a 5 string GA24.

This is it a month or so ago, and the finished article.

I like playing a 4 string, I love my new/old Jaydee Mark King bass.

I do like my 5/6 strings though, especially for reading gigs. It just makes things a lot easier with not having to move about so much.

The Protech is better, I've had Mono and they're good, but far more expensive and don't have as much carry space for other items.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1046870' date='Dec 3 2010, 09:53 PM']Wouldn't bother with listening to it, personally..it is a 3 chord groove which you should really..as a band..be able to make it worth listening to.

If you can't do this...the band should give up.[/quote]

I have to admit I agree with this sentiment, to a point.

I played it for the first time this year, after 20 plus years of playing, and 10 as a professional musician. It came up on a set list for a 'dep' gig. I listened to the track once through, to see what the chords were. Then I think probably once more to make sure I hadn't missed anything first time through.
It's a very, very simple song, just three chords. You should just go for the 'feel' of the song. I really doubt there would be much to gain from working out the original bass line 'note for 'note'. I doubt the original band played it the same every time, it's a groove thing. Just play what you feel with your band, and have a good time with it.

The only aspect of the original statement I don't agree with is about giving up. Don't do that !

I've had plenty over the years, I find that I use them briefly and then stop.

A decent bass sound is pretty much all I need.