OutToPlayJazz

[quote]I don't think we need to disassociate ourselves from guitar players out of pride in our own instruments in ways like this. You just have to get to know the average guitarists personality to appreciate the real difference![/quote] Well said, that Doctor

I think I've said this before, but the bass is not a guitar. It's closest relative is the double bass. Leo Fender designed the electric bass to be a more portable alternative for double bass players. The 'guitar' like shape is just there for convenience Perhaps the bass should have it's own programme? But then again the numpties that know nothing would probably say, "It's another bloody guitar programme!" I give in!

That's lovely, birdy! I've only heard Sadowskys with the Nordstrand big singles, but I'm sure it sounds mighty

I started off as a cellist from the tender age of 7, started some piano at about 12 & was lucky to fall in with the best classical double bass player in the country for a teacher! So the electric bass was a natural progression for me by the age of about 16. Now also playing/teaching violin, viola, classical guitar & some electric. Bought a 5-string banjo this year as well. Still trying to get my head around the idiotic tuning, though! My music classes at school think it's really cool that the school's head of music is a professional bass player Rich.

Wow, 4000! With those body cutouts (given enough curvature between the strings) you could use a bow with that one! Lovely, if strange, looking Alembic Rich.

The Epiphones are nice basses, but I was also thinking of a review I saw in BGM of the Fret King Blue Label Esprit. That's not exactly a T-Bird, but it is styled similarly & received a favourable review. [url="http://www.fret-king.com/esprit4ta_spec.html"]http://www.fret-king.com/esprit4ta_spec.html[/url]

Well, played my bolt-on 5-stringer in anger last night for a two hour non stop party set. It was magic! Punched right through everything. First 5-stringer I'm not tempted to sell! *Was that an offer of £2000 I just heard??* As soon as I get my 1990 model back I'll do some proper pictures with the digital SLR of the whole fleet!

Rob's reply (from Statti) to everyone's comments on the KB-II... 'Morning all, I had a great drive up to Liverpool on Wednesday with a couple of new basses for Mark. These are the final "keepers" but fundamentally the same as the last two... One is quilt maple over alder with blue LED's, the other is cocobolo over walnut with white LED's. There were a couple of very minor tweaks on these two but nothing that makes the bass sound any different. Opened the cases at the sound-check and away they went. Stayed for most of the gig and thought it sounded great. I know Clem (long time sound guy) had a few problems with the in-house PA at the sound-check but got it sorted. They added their own subs to beef the sound a bit. Nice to hear a couple of 'new / old' tunes and Mark was enjoying it.... even gave me a name-check! Regarding the new Mk-II KingBasses, the story goes like this : I sat around with Mark, kicking ideas again and we decided it was time to do more than a 'face-lift' of the original model and we have had a few people ask about a headed version. Fitting a headstock to the original bass is not ideal because of the small body size and the way the balance is upset... so... we pumped up the body shape and slimmed it down a little.... Mark had the image of a Hofner Verithin somewhere in the back of his mind. The J style pickups are a way of opening the sound and adding a broader frequency response. The 4-string pickups are horizontally split so are hum-cancelling, but they still retain the true single-coil tone. They are not thinner and twangy but gives a wider, more open tone.... sounds good and Mark loves it. I dabbled with the idea of coil-tap soap-bar pickups for a while and it works great but the skinny J covers also give the bass a different look. A Board 302 circuit remains the same as the original KingBass. The neck has a regular 34" scale with a lay-back headstock plus the custom option of a moulded "BendWell" and ball-bearing top-nut. 4 and 5 strings are available with 16.5mm (Mark's) or regular 19mm string spacing on the 4-string. The 5-string is 18mm as standard. Mono-rail bridge units are fitted and the hardware can be black, gold or chrome. I already had enquiries about a headless version ( ! ) and do not see any problems. The current wood and LED options are, of course, available. I will be adding some stock basses and up-dating the info on our web-site next week. Comments and enquiries to the usual place. Pip-pip, Rob.

Just had a look at the Sage basses website. Lovely looking things they are too. Did you know you can have drop tuners on all strings as an option? Cool! Rich.

Sounds like you need a Warwick Corvette standard passive. Every one I've picked up has been a great feeling & sounding bass. You can always add a preamp (either onboard or outboard) later if you're wanting more output. As for my tastes, most of my basses have a preamp with 3-band eq. I don't twiddle at all. I have one setting. Treble & bass at full boost, mids flat & pickup pan in the centre detent. Easy. Just plug in and go Rich.

Wow! Counting down the days, eh? Best of luck with that one! Rich.

That Spector is a real looker, Steve! I've played a few of these & although they're not to my taste, they are great basses!

Nick, if you stop eating the kebabs your death may be delayed somewhat. But then again, I can't talk!!! Rich.

LOL! It's a headed version of the bendwell. Designed for vibrato effects. I do like the sausage roll suggestion, though! Rich.

People are going to tell you different, but every Highway One I've played has seemed dull and thuddy to me. I don't know if it's the different pickups or the nitro finish, but I just can't get along with the sound they make. If you find a good Mexican model, they really do seem to sound very different. A much more modern, glassy sounding instrument. The last couple of new MIM Jazzes I've played have been excellent, as is the current MIM Precision I have. I guess it's down to the sound you prefer. If you want that old school thud, go Highway One. If you want something a little more modern sounding, a good Mex is the place to be in that price range of Fenders.

It's a well documented problem on Fender Geddy Lee basses, due to the amazingly shaved thin maple neck. I've never heard of it on a Lakland, though. Are you running it on very thin-guage strings? The other thought I had was that perhaps the truss rod is damaged in some way?

LOL Andy, it's the same with the current KingBass' bendwell. The neck is so thin at that point that you almost can't believe that it's able to take the tension of the strings!

As for gigs, there's been a downturn since late 2006 in the pro scene. I get a lot of show work these days & some good jobs, but functions have certainly been thin on the ground over the last couple of years. People are spending less overall on their weddings & parties of various kinds. If you keep your pricing reasonable (say a wedding band for around £4-600) there's work around, but if you're charging £2-3k then forget it. People just aren't spending at that rate anymore. Corporate functions aren't seeming to be hit as bad, but they're still a little less frequent these days. Like others have mentioned, we're getting a lot of late bookings. People aren't booking for nextr year. I'm getting a lot of local functions at one and two weeks' notice. It's a pain in the arse to book, but it's work all the same. The biggest killer to pub bands has been the smoking ban. There's no quicker way to empty the local! But with the credit crunch, people are tending to spend on little treats like a night out as opposed to bigger things like cars & houses. Perhaps the crunch will bring the local pub/club audience back? Who knows? Rich.

Excellent looking setup! Enjoy Rich.

All great numbers! Our version of Delilah goes into a Quo-esque shuffle for the chorus each time Rich.

I'm going to say Sadowsky Metro as well. I know they're expensive, but that sound!

Yes, the TRB-6 is usually 18mm. Weird how that one millimeter feels so different compared to a bass with 19mm spacing!

LOL - That'll count me out, then. I would like to hear one with a P/J combination, though.