OutToPlayJazz

Now that's a P I'd play Utterly stunning looking bass. Are you planning on buying this one?

Hey Mart, I'm talking about just using the humbucker. The piezo is a different story altogether. Bass of two heads!

Okay, if we must descend to such depths, here's mine Epiphone Les Paul '56 Gold Top with P90's & Grover tuners. It's the only geetard I own & it's for teaching purposes only. There, I admitted it.

New one on me too, Michael. I just had a look and a couple of mine have that "V" in the grain in that area. [url="http://www.ryanguitars.com/theworkshop/Building%20a%20Guitar/Rough%20Ducktail.htm"]http://www.ryanguitars.com/theworkshop/Bui...%20Ducktail.htm[/url]

As far as I understand it, a DoveTail (as Andy.T says) is a specific type of neck joint, mainly found on classical/acoustic guitars where the join across the "shoulders" of the instrument tapers down in a sort of "V" shape. As for "duck tails", I can only assume he means an almost "surformed" V shape which would indicate a weakness in the structure of the wood...? Edit: Okay, I just did some reading & it's where they add a strengthening piece of wood in the transition area between the headstock and the 1st fret area of the neck. Basically, if you can see a "V" shape near where the neck ends and the headstock begins, it's been added during the manufacture process as a strength-adding piece of wood at a weak point, if I understand correctly.

I think Dave, that once you find a really good MusicMan that blows your socks off, worries about tone will be a thing of the past. As a strict comparison, the Sandberg PM Supreme I mentioned was a very hifi sounding bass with a lot of punch, but my Stingray is in a different league altogether. Masses of tone even at low volumes right across the range & sustain like you wouldn't believe. I don't know if mine is a one off, or is perhaps richer sounding due to it's age (June 2000), but as you can tell, I really am impressed.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='659616' date='Nov 19 2009, 08:33 PM']Maybe there's a quack somewhere.[/quote] Indeed, but then again you are the Bass Doc

Hi Wayne, I'd say either a Steinberger Spirit or a used Hohner B2. There are various versions of the B2 around & the ADB model has the drop D tuner on the E string and a very good preamp, too. Rich.

Very nice basses, mate. The CIJ's really are lovely quality. Only thing I don't like is the earthing on my 75. I think it's the pickups. Hum a plenty!

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='658870' date='Nov 19 2009, 08:22 AM']Going off in a wild, tangential sort of way, had you considered getting a violin bass? There are all sorts of cheap copies out there, up to and including the Hofner Contemporary (CT). A short-scale hollow-body strung with flats = instant reggae nirvana I'd have thought. And it would weigh about 6lbs. [/quote] I was thinking the very same thing as Happy Jack here... One of the lovliest, deepest tones I've had was from my Hofner Contemporary Series Violin Bass with Roto Jazz Bass 77 flats. That would be an awesome bass for reggae.

Nice link & some nice stuff on there, too. I especially like the '77 MusicMan. That's a very good price. A couple of the Jazzes seem to be priced a little on the optimistic side, though, especially the '65!

Quite true, it's not a jazz bass anymore (apart from the neck and electrics.) But the owner obviously likes the instrument a lot. Doesn't that count for something?

That's why I have the outboard Sadowsky preamp. No need to modify my bass & I can still play it passive.

Yes, it can be stage lights. I seem to suffer a lot at venues with dimmer switches on the lights. When the lights are dimmed down, I get a huge amount of 60 cycle hum at one place in particular.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='658110' date='Nov 18 2009, 02:10 PM']Cheers for the heads up, ill put my Teflon coat on and pop in at some point. I work just down the road so its nice and local. Im also thinking about trying out a Sandberg California PM4/5 as well. Looks like it could be the best of both worlds.[/quote] Yes, make sure you have a play on a California PM "Supreme". They are truly excellent basses, Dave.

I often tell pupils to "play it how they'd sing it" - This often helps them to understand that it's not just a series of notes to be played, but that the music also needs an overarching feeling and their own interpretation. Musicality is so difficult to explain to people in simple terms, but the often misused term of "grooving" basically means to "fit in" with the other instruments and to give the piece/line some shape out of the blandness of the notation or the given sequence.

I remember mentioning this somewhere in the past few days (could have been here, who knows?!), but the necks are very variable. Some are huge (thumb-fingers-wise) and others like the $$ are much thinner and faster. The wenge necks have a great feel to them as well.

You can usually fit the smaller ones into the control cavity okay, but sometimes need to rout out the cavity a little more to compensate for the size of the 9V battery. Some will rout out a specialized battery cavity in the back as well.

Lots of truth in these last few posts, guys Yes, the prices have dipped, but then again we have just been going through the worst recession since the 1920's depression! But I can see how instruments come in and out of fashion as well. Perhaps a lot of it is down to what people are posting about around here as well? The MusicMan range seems to be back on the up again around here, which can only be a good thing, methinks. So are you going out to try a few Rays, Dave?

Interesting history that bass has, or should I say, that neck has! So all in all, there's not much left of the original bass. Sounds like you need to keep it and buy your stool, being as you like the sound & all.