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Baloney Balderdash

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  1. Baloney Balderdash
    Sorry for the spam but my question to Harley Benton about the conflicting information about the body and fretboard wood of the Harley Benton GuitarBass on their own homepage was finally answered by Harley Benton. The description on Harley Benton's homepage claimed it had a Nato wood body and a Macassar Ebony fretboad, while the spec list on the very same page claimed it had a Basswood body and a Roseacer (thermally treated, that is somehow bakes or roasted, Maple) fretboard. However my GuitarBass was unusually heavy, certainly a lot heavier than it would have been with a Basswood body, so that made the Nato wood, which is an extremely heavy wood type, seem plausible, but the grain of the fretboard certainly didn't look like neither Maple or Ebony, and Ebony further more seemed unlikely at the price point of this instrument. Well, so according to the answer I got from Harley Benton it is actually neither, the body is supposed to be a wood called Sungkai,. Not a lot of information on it to find on it on the internet really about this wood type, but compiled from different sources Sungkai is supposed to be a bit heavier than Mahogany on an average (that is to the heavier side of wood), with a hardness slightly harder than Poplar (that is to the softer side of hardwood, though still harder than Basswood), and a stiffness, that is elastic modulus, similar to Ebony (that is extremely stiff, which is good for stability), also it is supposed to look a lot like Teak wood, only a lot paler, almost white, and the tonewood qualities are supposed to be somewhat similar to Ash (that is to the brighter side of the spectrum, and with great sustain as well). Sort of fits both with the weight and how the grain and color of the body wood looks on my instrument , so seems that this actually likely is it. The fretboard according to Harley Benton's answer is supposed to be Purple Heart, which is similar in almost every aspect to Jatoba (not in looks though, somewhat a bit coarser grain, and untreated usually with a dark deep purple-ish brown hue), that is about as heavy and stiff as Ebony (among the absolute heaviest and stiffest of wood), a bit harder than Rosewood (that is to the absolute harder side of wood, softer than Ebony though, but considerably harder than Hard Maple), and the tonewood qualities is supposed be similar to Jatoba too, which is pretty balanced and neutral with great sustain. And the grain of the fretboard of my GuitarBass does seems to match this, definitely a lot closer than Maple or Ebony, only it will have had to have been treated somehow or dyed for it to be plausible, however other Harley Benton, as well as Ibanez, instruments with Purple Heart fretboards is almost a perfect color match to the fretboard color of my GuitarBass as well. So this piece of information as well seems very likely to be true. So all in all I think it is pretty safe to assume that current production Harley Benton GuitarBass Vintage Series, including mine, got a Sungkai body, and a somehow treated or dyed Purple Heart fretboard.
  2. Baloney Balderdash
    Something to make sure of before you order this Harley Benton JR-Baritone is whether it is 30" scale as the spec list says (both on Thomann's and Harley Benton's own homepage (762mm = 30")), or 27" scale as the description for this instrument on Harley Benton's own homepage says (exact same page as the spec list with conflicting information) : https://harleybenton.com/product/ja-baritone/# My guess though is that it would be the spec list that got it right, and that it indeed is 30" scale. It is also listed under the Vintage series of instruments, even if it clearly says Classic on the headstock in the pictures of it : https://harleybenton.com/electric-guitars/vintage-series/ , and to add to the confusion their JA regular guitar models are indeed part of their Vintage series. Not the only instrument on Harley Benton's homepage with conflicting information between their description and the spec list of it, a bit odd and frankly rather annoying and confusing.
  3. Baloney Balderdash
    I don't agree. I had a 28 5/8" scale 4 string bass, made out of Warmoth Baritone parts, and the Seymour Duncan Rickenbacker pickup in the far neck position sounded absolutely beautiful soloed, and very much like a Bass VI (really regret being stupid enough to sell it at some point). You make it sound like it's an objective absolute truth.
  4. Baloney Balderdash
    I can play chords perfectly well on my harley Benton GuitarBass tuned in F# standard tuning, and it sounds beautiful, but admittedly I do roll off some low end in my setup. Guess it depends on you setup and personal preferences and not least application, rather than being an absolute.
  5. Baloney Balderdash
    Yes, but it is 30" scale length, so could absolutely be used as a Bass VI. And with the thickest string I use for the F# standard tuning, rather then E standard tuning, being a gauge .080 string I am sure fitting it on this instrument will be no issue, for me at least. But yeah, the lowest thickest gauge low E string could potentially cause issues to get to fit, if you need to tune it to E standard tuning and want higher tension strings than I personally prefer.
  6. Baloney Balderdash
    Wouh! That looks amazing! Definitely need to get this one as well!
  7. Baloney Balderdash
    A P Bass I can get behind, though I do prefer a narrower fretboard and a reverse oriented P pickup, and Tortoise pickguard used to be on my top bass aversions list too. That is until recently at least where I bought a Harley Benton GuitarBass (their take on the Fender Bass VI concept), which only comes in sunburst finish with a tortoise pickguard, and it has actually been growing on me, as in now I actually think it is a pretty nice looking instrument, depsite the less favorite finish and the previous much hated tortoise pickguard, mind I would still have preferred a matte black finish, black hardware, and maybe a 3 layered white/black/blood red pickguard, but I can totally live with it as it is.
  8. Baloney Balderdash
    Bizarre for sure, but I actually kind of really like it. Like a piece of modern art. As for ugly, by far most "whale hump" single cut basses, only ever seen a couple of those that I actually liked the look of, otherwise they usually look like something that has been deformed by some sort of horrible decease to me, like suffering from elephantiasis at an advanced stage, also those kind of speckled/splashy/smeared color finishes, which gives me bad amateur abstract painter with absolutely no sense of aesthetics, or "fresh" mass produced 80's wallpaper, vibes, especially when the colors used are blue and yellow mixed, which seems to be a very common choice for some reason for this kind of finish, strangely enough most often seen on high end boutique basses, I also have kind of an aversion against very pronounced flamed maple top basses as well. To me the above mentioned looks like very bad and somewhat kitschy, in the worst possible sense of the word, taste, like wannabe artistic, but being a completely talentless absolute cliché utter failure at it. Like these: Especially the first one though. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I couldn't find a picture of the one that had me banned from Talk Bass for speaking my honest mind about it looking horribly ugly (it wasn't even owned by the poster, just a random image they found on the internet ), trust me it would have beaten any of the above pictured basses in butt ugliness, however that is even possible. Also this thread would have earned everyone participating in it a permanent ban had it been on the Talk Bass forum.
  9. Baloney Balderdash
    I use a very subtle compression to actually slightly enhance the attack and actually also overall tone and playing slightly as well. With a sufficiently long attack time this is what a compressor will do, let the transient through fully intact, then slightly decrease the level of the signal after the initial attack, enhancing the attack, rather than muffling it, and if the release time is set just right as well overall make the signal more equal in level as it fades, that is make for a more smoothly/gradually fading consistent sustain, and rather actually enhancing your tone and playing dynamics than limiting them. I don't really like compression either outside of being very subtly applied, the slight compression you get from overdriving your signal, and then in context of recording/mixing post production to make it sit better in the mix. The trick is not to overuse it, unless you want an obvious effect of course, and just use it to slightly enhance your playing and tone, rather than limiting it, by dialing in a relatively low compression rate, something like just 2:1 to 3:1, and with the threshold, attack and release set just right, that is respectively: relatively high/ relatively slow, something like 20 to 50 ms or so/relatively fast, something like 50 to 100 ms or so.
  10. Baloney Balderdash
    Depends if your primary incitament to be at the concert is to listen to live music or you are there to be entertained. Personally for me music should first and foremost be music, as in the artform music, and if it then also is entertaining that is a nice bonus, but not if it is at the expense of the actual quality of the music. Also I for one love when my favorite band comes out with something new.
  11. Baloney Balderdash
    Sounds great. Not to brag or anything, but, even though the music I make doesn't have a lot in common with this, my playing style is actually somewhat similar, the sort of hybrid guitar/bass thing, on my main instrument, a Harley Benton GuitarBass (a take on the Fender Bass VI concept, though being closer related to the Schecter Hellcat VI) tuned in F#1 standard tuning (that is 10 half steps bellow regular guitar E2 standard tuning, or 2 half steps above regular 4 string bass E1), which I think is a perfect match for this kind of instrument, so to me it totally makes sense that she would tune her guitar down to C for this. However, even though I do sing fairly decently, and have done so in several musical project, I couldn't play like this and sing at the same time, and, as the guy in the video note, I don't understand how it is possible either, even though I did play bass in a math rock band at some point where the guitarist, who was also the vocalist, could do this as well. To me it's a mystery, almost on the same level as if one could have an unrelated conversation while writing something entirely different simultaneously. And yes, the guy in the video is also right about this song (haven't heard any of her others) having a very Joni Mitchell-esque vibe, but maybe with a slightly more mathy, instead of Joni's jazzy, quality. Math folk?
  12. Baloney Balderdash
  13. Baloney Balderdash
    Is that a black version of the GuitarBass, but in the Classic series, does that mean that there is also some updates to it, beside being black, or is it a baritone guitar, what is this and how did you find that picture/where is that picture from?
  14. Baloney Balderdash
    Bizarrely absurd. Why, just why, it should be obvious to anyone that that there is completely unplayable.
  15. Baloney Balderdash
    Run (the Japanese bass and drums duo Ruins)
  16. Baloney Balderdash
    This Japanese bass and drums duo:
  17. Baloney Balderdash
  18. Baloney Balderdash
    Personally I like mids and have always done and never understood what exactly is supposed to be so appealing and attractive about an inarticulate undefined mess of mud and hiss. Taking the above two replies by @Beedster into account I guess that must mean that I am on a higher evolutionary step than most.
  19. Baloney Balderdash
    So if you use a pick to pluck the strings of your bass, whether that be always or occasionally, which pick do you then prefer to use? Personally I prefer the tone a pick gives me, that specific snappy emphasis on the attack that only a pick will give you, and while I do actually know how to use my fingers, even several different fingerpicking techniques, I will use a pick 90% of the time. After trying out a lot of different picks, materials and thicknesses, I always come back to the standard gray Dunlop Nylon USA .73mm one, either using the tip, after having pre rounded it slightly with fine grained sandpaper, or one of the round corners, depending (picking with one of the round corners gives a fuller tone with a cleaner attack, but is not as nuanced and snappy sounding. And the slight pre-rounding of the tip improves my control over the pick slightly, and allows for slightly smoother up/down stroke strumming). Just what feels and sounds best to me, the one pick that allows me to pick fastest, and for most dynamic range and nuances, and overall just giving me most control over my picking, while at the same time giving me the tone I desire. This one, as said though with a slightly pre rounded tip:
  20. Baloney Balderdash
    What I learned from this thread: 1. Everyone hears something different! 2. Ergo there is no flat! 3. Ergo EQ is a lie, an illusion, and doesn't matter, in fact nothing really does, we are all going to ultimately die anyway, so why not just get it over with, no one is going to care or be able to tell the difference in the bigger picture of things, your life is meaningless, stop lying to yourself and snap out of the delusion that anything matters, admit the pointlessness of everything, give in to the fact that it is in fact all totally meaningless and let the void consume you, it's better to burn alive than die trying!
  21. Baloney Balderdash
    No you was not saying that, but it does limit your options, and potentially might very well be at the expense of the absolute perfect effect for you from a tone perspective. But of course that depends on how specific you are in your taste when it comes to sound, if you just want a generic good sounding effect, and not the one absolutely perfect for you, then of course it wouldn't really limit your options. And that was kind of my point, beside most of all just being humorous in my initial reply and not too dead serious about it in the first place.
  22. Baloney Balderdash
    Eric's Rip O Depeche Ode Back Sabbath Lack Sabbath Pubic Enemy Ink Floyd Fathers Grizzly Bar Avid Bowie Age Against the Machine Earl Jam I think this game is kind of limited, but not my thread, I just think it would have been more fun to replace a letter in the name for another one, instead of just removing one, more fun possible outcomes, instead of just nonsense.
  23. Baloney Balderdash
    If it was me I'd get a '51 P Bass single coil pickup, perhaps the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder if you want something high output, which unlike all the other Quarter Pounder pickups for some reason actually is not muddy at all and also fairly mids heavy. And it should even be a direct drop in, without further routing needed. Then again I do personally really love that 51' P single coil tone.
  24. Baloney Balderdash
    I guess it is designed to only intonate perfectly with one particular type, brand and gauge of strings, and in E standard tuning. Or just never change the stock strings and you are good. But yeah, that still doesn't sound like the brightest idea to me either. Same concept as the wooden "bridge/1 piece saddle" of the Danelectro Longhorn bass though, but at least that actually allows you to at least adjust the angle of it.
  25. Baloney Balderdash
    EHX's 9 Series of pedals. For classic analog synth tones the EHX Synth9. Somewhat limited tweaking options, but it tracks flawlessly (or that is at least down to the low A, these weren't really made with bass in mind) with practically no detectable latency, and the sounds they are capable of all sound no short of absolutely amazing (way better then the Boss SY-1 in my opinion, which kind of sound like a toy to me in comparison). As for what I personally use, as of currently, though I do plan to get some dedicated more straight out synth oriented pedals, I use a combination of all analog modulation effects and digitally based reverb and delays to get my synth like sounds, though I do ponder on maybe adding my other TC Electronic Sub'N'Up Mini pedal, loaded with a slightly custom tweaked version of the Organ Toneprint Template as well for this kind of purpose. But even if I did get some dedicated somewhat more synth-esque pedals like the Digitech FreqOut, EHX Attack Decay and EHX Superego+ (or maybe rather really just the EHX Freeze), which in fact I do all plan to get at some point in the future, and all 3 of those pedals also actually being rather high up on my musical gear gear acquisition priority list, I would still end up predominantly using a combination of different effect pedals for my synth tones. Personally I am just not all that interested in premade standard synth tones and much rather create my own totally unique ones by combining several effects (I could really use a non nonsense classic organ sounding one though for one of my projects, which the EHX B9 Organ Machine would actually be perfect for). Still the EHX 9 Series of pedals does intrigue me, especially the mellotron, organ and classic analog synth one, but they are just not really on the horizon of my musical gear acquisition priority list, so not likely I'll get any of those in any foreseeable future.
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