EMG456

Interesting... I watched the Graceland Imagine documentary on the Beeb recently and while I remembered Mr Kumalo using a Washburn fretless at the time, I didn't know what the model was. If you look at the footage carefully, you will see that whilst the body/ neck is basically the same as the beautiful example pictured above, the pickup positions are quite different. the Jazz pickup at the bridge is very close to the bridge - much closer than this B-40- and the Precision pickup on Bakithi's bass is much closer to the end of the fingerboard with the orientation reversed - ie the E and A string pickup is closer to the neck than the D and G one. You can see this during his solo at around 2:17 in the video above. Bakithi himself says it's a B-20 - see this interview at [url="http://www.fretlessbass.com/KumaloBakithiInterview-01.html"]www.fretlessbass.com[/url] Either way, there seem to be very few of these around - nice basses. Ed

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1381259337' post='2236682'] it was the quality of the jv's that led to the avri series [/quote] I worked in a music shop at the time and I had one of the first AVRI 62 Jazz's for a while. It was a great bass - much better than Fender had been turning out up to that point. I may be wrong here - after all it's a long time ago - but my memory tells me that the US production was stopped dead and all Fender production came from Japan till they sorted out all the issues in the states. I think that the first AVRI's may have been assembled in the states from Japanese necks/ bodies and US hardware. I also think that the Fullerton plant was where they turned it around and started producing nicer instruments again so for me, I would look far more favourably on an 80s Fullerton Fender than a 70s one. Cheers Ed

Well, the Seymour Duncan pickup at the bridge position on my Jazz 24 stopped working. On investigation, the winding wire had broken at the solder joint with the wire which leads off to the pot. I had to judiciously unwind one turn and re solder the joint - it's been fine ever since. Note, this is not for the feint hearted but I figured that at worst it would still not be working and at best it would be fixed! So pickups can fail. Cheers Ed

I have a Wal 5 string midi bass which I ordered from Pete back in the early 90's. It uses Steve Chick's fret sensing system but was created before he had put in the string tension sensors to detect string bends and vibrato which were on the Peavey Cyberbass and now on the IR basses. It was the best system at the time and may well still be but you still have to play very cleanly to avoid embarrassing glitches - Pete would not take my order until I had reported for duty at High Wycombe so he could see whether or not he thought I could handle it - too many complaints from folks who had sky high expectations! Of course I expect it will be much better now - after all 20 years have passed and the speed of processing has increased exponentially since then! I rarely use the midi on it these days but it's still a nice Wal so my logic back then has held true. Also, re the comments about just using a keyboard- yes that's valid but I'm much more fluent when improvising on bass than I am on keys. Plus it's just plain good fun playing strings, Fender Rhodes drums or trumpets on your bass! Cheers Ed

To be clear, the USA Subs were made from Stingray parts, on the Stingray production line by the people who were making the Stingray bass. That more or less makes it a genuine Stingray in my eyes and the example I own certainly lives up to that reputation. The only differences between the Sub and a Stingray were the solid colour (black) neck finish, solid colour (textured) body finish, cheap scratchplate and poplar body with no contouring. The pickup coils are wired in series like the Sterling bass at that time. I really like mine - it has that feel of a real quality instrument the moment you pick it up and at the price they command at the moment, I may well add a 5'er and a fretless version over time. Cheers Ed

It's an advert, trying to sell something - I would expect some kind of enthusiastic hyperbole. The bass is not going to attract a buyer if it's described as "absolutely average" or "the worst bass I've ever owned" Like all sales speels, treat with a pinch of salt. On the other hand, I do always wonder about the "best bass I've ever owned" ones. If that's really true, why would you be selling it? Ed

[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1378918480' post='2206529'] Still, I can't believe I want to buy some sort of keyboard thing and I'm quite excited by it. [/quote] Taurus pedals are different - everyone's excited by Taurus pedals! Well I am, anyway. Ed

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1378332960' post='2198936'] It won't be anything visual of any use or ornament. I reckon it might, in fact SHOULD be, adjustable neck relief along the LENGTH of the neck so you can set the apex and profile of the neck curvature between about the 9th to the 16th frets. I think that would make it possible to set up the bass in a much more comfortable way to suit the string gauges, scale length and tuning. Necks bend at different places so a new truss rod system to control that bend could mean better feel and playability and above all, consistency. It may have been done already, never heard of it though. Not convinced I've explained it well either [/quote] The latest Chapman Sticks have a dual action, dual zone truss rod which can apply forward or backward bow over two separate parts of the neck. On a Stick it's pretty crucial to have a *very* low action so you tend to want the fingerboard as flat as possible. Combining this rod with the fully adjustable nuts and bridges of the Stick will make for a pretty fine- tunable action set up which would be great to have on a bass. Cheers Ed

Dee Murray Jon Camp

I've used full range PA cabs almost forever for my bass rig. You need to be careful - cheapo cabs don't tend to handle the bottom end too well and can be harsh sounding but good full range cabs coupled to a clean sounding head is the closest you're likely to get to the sound of a bass DI'd into the desk in the studio. Tends to not be so good for folks who don't like too much top end zing in their sound. I now use Acme Sound LowB2's which *are* purpose built bass cabs but very much fit in with the full-range, hifi ethos. Cheers Ed

[quote name='MisterFingers' timestamp='1376429164' post='2173983'] It's going to cost a lot more to get a new finger board than get a re-fret - and metal wears a lot slower than wood, but I get ya. [/quote] You're right there but it shouldn't be prohibitively expensive and it does take an awful lot of playing before a new board becomes necessary. I have been playing fretless since 1978 but usually only for 2 or three songs each gig and there were long periods in the '80s and '90s when it was unusual for me to take a fretless along. I have owned four fretless basses during that time but only 2 for more than three or four years. None of them have had to have the board replaced yet and I'm thinking they'll probably see me out! That said, the Antoria fretless P that I bought in '78 has a lacquered maple board and the lacquer finally wore through to the wood 5 or 6 years ago. A swift visit to local luthier Jimmy Moon and hey presto, it's gleaming again ready for the next 30 years! Put whatever strings you like on it and as they say around here, "Gie it laldy!" i.e. give it a damned good thrashing. Ed

[quote name='MisterFingers' timestamp='1376228132' post='2171010'] Apologies if this has been covered many times in the past, or is in the wrong section... [/quote] This does come up regularly and I must admit that I don't understand what the issue is. If you like the sound of flatwound or tapewound strings on your fretless, use them. I personally don't and my fretless basses have never been strung with flatwounds. This causes wear on the fingerboard, just like it does on frets. After a while, if there are softer spots on the board, it may need dressing. If you play a LOT on that one bass, the fingerboard may eventually have to be replaced - a decent luthier can do that easily. I just kind of view a fretless fingerboard as a consumable which can be fixed or replaced if it wears out. My bass is for making noises with and the fretless noises I like to make are made with roundwound strings. Just my 2p Ed

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1373707584' post='2140735'] does something 'have' to happen - this song is all about the lyrics and the ethereal feel created by JM's strumming and open tuning - the clarinet and bass (nice as it is) is just the icing on the cake i think PP is great on this even if you do draw comparisons with JP - and as ezbass said above what bassist in their right mind would be brave or stupid enough to even want to attempt this [/quote] Are you kidding?!! The chance to play for JM and in the band with the likes of Shorter et al - I would say yes in a heartbeat! Brave or foolish? Yep, I try to be! Seriously, I wasn't aware that Pino had been hired by Joni but it makes sense - he would have been a great fit for covering all those great JP and LK lines. I thought he did a really good job here - much mellower tone than Jaco but then again Pino's been pretty much mellowing out ever since the early days. Cheers Ed

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1372887742' post='2131341'] Any one remember lugging these about with a P or a Jazz? And taking out the passenger front seat to get it all in.... [size=4][url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/hqa4.jpg/"][/url][/size] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/842/9jm4.jpg/"][/url] [/quote] Absolute classic rig - I loved my 371 rig in the late 70's/ early 80's. Effortless volume and power with a truly great sound. Actually very easy to move around with the wheels on the back and big cast handles. We used to play a club that had a grand carpeted stair and at the end of the night I'd wheel the 301 cab out and when no one was looking slide it down the stairs on its back! Wheel out to the estate car, tilt back, load in, done! Feeling quite nostalgic now... Ed

Once again, ACG. It's more like the Wal than the Alembic in that once you've filtered out the highs using the low pass filters, you can add selected ones back again using the high pass filter. Unlike the Wal, the amount of Boost at the Q point and the frequency and amount of high pass filter are continuously variable rather than pre-set switched. And the Alembics didn't have that Wal "Pick Attack" or high pass filter capability. I have an EQ01 in my Status 6 and would absolutely recommend them. As Luke alludes to it's not as simple to use as a more straight forward pre amp but infinitely more versatile. Ed

[quote]you cant beat fender, They got it right.....[/quote] The trouble is... they don't have enough frets! (Usually) Ed (running away laughing)

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1372428227' post='2125664'] Same here. I have heard some people say that they are exactly the same as EMG's more expensive pickups, just in a different casing. I doubt that very much. But they weren't as dire as some people make out. [/quote] The original EMGs are low impedance "active" pickups. They have a low magnetic pull on the strings and a preamp built into each pickup. they are pretty hifi sounding, totally noiseless and you can run very long leads with little signal degradation. Oh, and there's no need to earth the strings so you can be a bit more protected from electric shock through a faulty amp than normal. Selects are the budget range and include none of those features - they are just bog standard pickups. Still good though. Ed

Yes, alembic Essence. Presumably ordered with the control cavity on the "wrong" side of the body to suit a lefty who originally learnt to play on a righty bass!

Hard work ,weddings and things don't always go to plan... My favourite, a good few years ago now happened about November time. The venue was a country house hotel just north of Glasgow. We were a four piece band - vox, keys, guitar, bass using programmed drums. Setting up the gear we got the usual comments from the management - "Far too many speakers", etc. etc. and then during the soundcheck, the power went off. We were getting the blame for it - too much current being used etc. - till someone arrived at the hotel saying that the power was off for miles around. Some electricity sub station had gone down and no one could say when it would be fixed. All we had which would actually make a noise was one acoustic guitar! The evening was due to commence and the bride and groom came through to see us - the video guy had about 15 minutes worth left in his batteries - is there anything we could do to let them have their first dance on the wedding video? Well, as has been said, it's one of the biggest days for many folks, we had to try and do something so we said yes, we'll do three songs in some shape or form. What to do? Sing your part! Stamp your feet, clap your hands, join in with harmonies. make it up as you go! We went on, the hotel had decked the stone walled room out with loads of candles around the window ledges and it was looking great. We did their requested 1st song and two others. It was hilarious and it went down a storm. So much so that they came back to see us and begged us to go back on as everyone had enjoyed it so much! We worked out two 45 minute sets - some songs we did normally. many we didn't and it turned out to be a great night for all concerned. Highlight of the night? That little gap in the Commodores "Easy" just before the whole room, to a man it seemed, joined in with a perfect full on rendition of the guitar solo! Best wedding I ever played. Cheers Ed Oh, and the power didn't come on again till the next day!

Rob, I have a couple of basses that are similarly commemorative. I'm not selling them but then again I made a deal with myself a long time ago that unless I desperately needed the cash, I would not sell a bass that i I liked ever again. Do you need the cash? Are you the sort of person who regularly changes guitars or are you usually in it for the long haul? If you commissioned that Alembic, chose the woods and options etc etc then I think you may well regret selling it later on. As has been pointed out, it would be expensive to replace in the future should you want it back. If you really like it still and it's just the weight then I would have to say keep it and use it in the house and for recording. If you are looking for an alternative to the Warwick for gigging, there are many very reasonably priced instruments available these days that after a little fettling can be terrific basses. I suspect that you could easily buy something like that for less than your depreciation loss would be on the Alembic. (Maybe even two!) The wide strap is a good idea and I believe there is also a strap available that spreads the weight over both shoulders- that might be worth investigating too. Choose carefully. All the best. Ed

Remember there's the Antoria badged verson as well - identical guitar. And the even rarer White Eagle. Good luck finding one. Cheers Ed

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1371632358' post='2116318'] Pic for EMG456. [/quote] Lovely! Nice Arias too! Ed

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/eddiem/9073738891/][/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/eddiem/9073738891/]L2[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/eddiem/]emg456[/url], on Flickr Ha - wrong thread I hear you shout but wait... Underneath the rectangular covers of the EMG SS and HB pickups installed in most L and XL basses lies an actual EMG P pickup - offset split coil and all. Coupled with the fact that the neck pickup is positioned almost exactly where a Fender P has its pickup, this explains why my Steineys can do a very convincing big airy P sound using just that pickup. Cheers Ed

Flateric, I asked you on another thread if you had pictures of your Oddysey but I think you must have stopped reading that one after posting. Anyway, here it is and beautiful - I loved Oddyseys. I have no cash just now but if you're ever selling...etc. etc. Cheers Ed PS Any bigger pics of the whole bass?