Fionn

Good to see so many folks breaking the crust and getting back into it after ages away. I also had a break of over 18 months without gigs, went straight back to a massive show/ live recording, the biggest of my life really. That was a bit of a shock to the system, after being a cave hermit in the Outer Hebrides for so long. It made me hungry though. Our next show isn’t until December. I might have eaten my hands by then.

Awesome. It’s something I look forward to also. I’ll be seeing them soon after that at Tuska in Finland. I can hardly wait 🔥

Igorrr, in the Netherlands in December, shortly after performing there ourselves. Igorrr 👌🏻 … https://youtu.be/-VmaTdnL0ek

Sure. This is the back of the thing, in all its wenge-tastic glory ...

Nigel is a good guy to deal with. All easy and no messing around 💪🏻

Just had a smooth and easy deal with Gareth. All super-duper 🤘🏻

@Skybone The SB Special was made from 82-84, then superseded by the RSB line.

Talking of lovely pairs ... The SB900’s last partner was more suited in the aesthetic sense (another ‘81 with walnut finish), but it didn’t stick. I’m a sucker for the passive twin pickups and that control set. Ahhh, I love that set up. I appreciated the SB1000, but wow, it’s not my thing. Horses for courses, n that.

I took some better photos today. The fretless is in standard tuning with light strings, flat neck, and very low action. The black fretted one is the demon, tuned down to drop A, heavy strung and set up for a pounding. 1981 Aria SB-900 (factory fretless) 1984 Aria SB Special-II

Hi there John. I’ve not really been on BC for a while. Did you end up moving to the Neuk?? I’ve had this for about five years, but I bought it here from a guy who goes by the name ‘Bamboo’. I think I recall you saying you were eyeing it up though. So far as weight goes, I can’t weigh it for you unfortunately as I don’t have scales, but it’s significantly heavier than the ‘87 Streamer I had (which is your kind of target weight, right?).

Yes, it is ... And you’re correct about the controls. When the preamp is bypassed the pan becomes the sole tone control. Yeahhh, the twin-j pickup is a bit of a Pandora’s box. MEC did something very good there. Mine is one of the rarer early models with the wenge neck and single preamp (those are from the first year of production). Sometime in 1998 they changed to ovankol necks and the twin-preamps. Most Pro M’s are like that.

Some uncluttered curvy goodness 🖤

Halo again folks. I’ve been away from Basschat for a while, but I picked up another Matsumoku gem in the interim. Aria SB Special-II. I’ve read that only 1000 of these were made, between 1982-84. The SB Special came in single and dual pickup versions, in either black or sunburst. These were the pre-cursor to the more common ‘RSB’ basses, though there are a few defining differences. The SB Specials have ash bodies whereas the RSBs are alder, the necks on the SB Specials are clear-coated whereas those on the RSBs are painted. The most notable difference is the bridge pickup on the dual pickup versions. The SB Special-II has a MB-III unlike the RSB, which sports a single coil MB-J. These may be among the ‘poor siblings’ of the Matsumoku Aria output, but they’re truly excellent instruments none the less, well made, beautifully balanced, and just oozing with Matsumoku mojo. I find this one more comfortable to play than either of my ‘full-weight’ SB’s, and it sounds amazing ... really clean, bright, and articulate, super smooth tones, fat thru glassy, with the same control set as on the SB900 and SB-R80 so, yes, very versatile. I’ve got a ton of love for this bass.

I use light gauge (40-60-70-95) Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on all my basses. This gauge/ tension is perfect for me. I’d like to drop tune one of my basses to C-F-A#-D# (standard 34” scale). I love the specific character of the EB Cobalt flats, so I’d like to stick to this brand. I can’t use their 5-string set as their only available gauge is too high. Their heaviest 4-string set is 55-75-90-110. I wonder how this set would work at that tuning? Specifically, would the 110 go down to C without losing definition? I reckon I could live with that tension. Are there any other factors that I’m failing to consider here? I could switch brand and put the low-4 of a light gauge 5-string set on there, but I’d rather not. There’s no string like the EB cobalt flats. Just wondering what I can get away with, tuning down that heavy set. What do you reckon?

The old 90’s Boss RV-3 has a cult following among guitarists. Johnny Greenwood and a fair few other tone-lords of that instrument use them ... and it’s absolutely fantastic with bass too. The guitarists who don’t like it say the reverb sounds ‘sterile’. Well, on bass it’s definitely digital sounding, though not cold nor hard by any means. Any of that perceived ‘sterility’ translates well with bass anyway, as the reverb isn’t muddy at all, and the delays are clean. The low end always stays thick and together. Some more details about the pedal here ... https://www.modulargrid.net/p/boss-rv-3

EHX Freeze pedal ... Does anyone know the type of switch that’s in there (the toggle switch)? 6 pins, straight onto the circuit board. Advice much appreciated 👍🏻