Chris2112

I've always been a fan of Howard's basses. I think the first one I played of his was a fretless 6, it was great! Glad you're enjoying your new bass.

[quote name='Stacker' post='1322855' date='Aug 1 2011, 10:45 AM']Sound Control up my way always let you have a strum without any pressure whatsoever; shame they went under.[/quote] Sound Control used to be alright but it was very much a case of who you spoke to in the Newcastle store as to what experience you'd get. Some were happy to let you play without pressure, plenty were content to hook you up to a crappy practice amp and hover around for five minutes before asking if you were buying it. I remember playing a nice Spector 6 string there and being quite impressed, and saying to my friend "I'll definitely be buying a Spector at some point" (having also played a great Euro 4 string the same day). The manager came over and he had a good chat about the bass, which he thought was great and we talked about how good the boatload of Czech Spectors the shop had were. One of the other staffers came past and said "If you can't do it on a P bass you shouldn't be doing it at all". Great sales technique there! As it happened, I did end up buying a Spector, from Sound Control in Preston!

[quote name='bartelby' post='1343386' date='Aug 17 2011, 05:05 PM']and this is where they fail.[/quote] To be fair, most of them have always seemed fairly poor at this but surely the rise of the internet would bring ths matter into sharp focus for them? I suppose a lot of shops these days sell online too. Guitar Guitar, for instance are happy enough to sell to you with very high prices in the shop or online!

[quote name='Beedster' post='1341247' date='Aug 15 2011, 10:11 PM']That's pretty much why I started this thread. We were listening to some great music on mp3 last night (through decent gear) and it sounded dull and lifeless, yet I seem to remember the same album having incredible dynamics back in the day, even on CD.[/quote] And don't forget that a lot of music production these days is geared towards being listened to through tiny headphones, or a mobile phone speaker etc etc. So not only is the general quality of available music declining, production values are too in order to chase loudness and noticeability. This nothing new either, even the mighty RUSH were a victim of it with Vapor Trails! If I listen to [i]Graceland[/i] by Paul Simon or [i]The Crossing[/i] by Big Country on my CD player and then put a more modern record in I'll be forced to turn it down. This records didn't have such a hot output and were dynamically much better for it.

I do like black Rics, namely because that was the colour of choice for Stanley Clarke, Tony Butler and Geddy Lee. The other colours...nah, not so much!

Might as well update this thread now too!

I'd advise going for the Rotosound .45's. They sound good, are readily available and they sort of sit right in the middle of the market as it were. If you want to pay a little less, look for some Elite steel strings, I've always had good experiences with Elites.

Three usually does me. Just a drummer and a guitarist to work with then. If there must be more people in the band, they better be playing keys!

I'd say that generally upwards of £800 gets you the best stuff on the used market. You can pay much more but then it's more about brand than differences in quality. My Series II cost me £1000, which is a steal considering it's probably worth a bit more, especially against the price of a new S2 - not to mention that they don't make them like that anymore! My ACG cost me £950 used, and is as fine an instrument as I've ever laid hands on. It's probably the ACG that makes me think "I can't believe I got this for that much cash!" the most.

Glad to here Jason is doing well. His strength throughout his illness has been incredible, as was his feat of composing an album of music using just his eyes to control a computer! Hope the gig goes well.

[quote name='muttley' post='1340752' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:17 PM']Which type?[/quote] I had Rotosound Steve Harris flatwounds on my first fretless bass. They sounded dreadful and they were the stiffest strings I've ever played.

For me, the only issue is the jazz covers of pop songs. There are enough great jazz songs out there to cover, as well as loads of fusion stuff you could 'calm down' into a jazz setting. I appreciate these songs are usually for the audience, to give them something they know, but in my vast experience of seeing jazz bands when I worked at a hotel I never once thought a jazz cover of a pop song was worth anymore praise than simply being 'quirky'.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='1340601' date='Aug 15 2011, 12:58 PM']Aren't Jaydees usually heavy? (I've never played one btw!)[/quote] The Series III isn't too bad but the Series I can be a bit of a 'boat anchor' because the body is quite large in the style of some Alembic Series I basses. That said, they don't balance badly so the weight isn't as much of an issue as it could be.

I remember someone telling me that the Select pickups were just proper EMG's housed in the 'Select' casing for marketing reasons, and they were really no different to a big money EMG pickup. Thats clearly rubbish, I had them in my Hohner Jack bass and they were serviceable, probably moreso than their reputation had suggested. But they weren't as good as proper EMG pickups so don't expect the world from them.

Here are a couple of quick photographs of my current collection, I decided to make best use of the fact it wasn't pissing down with rain and get the basses outside for a quick snap! First of all there is my Status Series II, a model dating from 1987/1988 with the serial #487. Funnily enough, my brother identified it as being the bass in this video: . I bought it earlier this year after having spent years wanting a Status Series II. I had always thought 'I want a Kingbass', but the Series II had always sounded a little better to my ears. I decided earlier this year I was just going to buy the best of either when one came up in my price range and I chanced across this one. It's absolutely wonderful, in amazing condition. Aside from a small patch of oxidisation on the bridge you would be hard pressed to believe it hadn't just came out of the shop! It was recently checked over by Rob at Status prior to me buying it, and I discussed it with Dawn over the telephone whilst they had it in the shop. She stated it was one of the nicest Series II basses around and had been well looked after, so I am quite pleased to see the previous owners have been careful! I absolutely love this bass, I think I'd be daft to let it go! It's got a lovely birdseye maple top, a mahogany body and a green accent stripe. This next bass is my ACG Harlot Singlecut. There is little I can say about this bass that I have not already mentioned in the review I covered in my signature, suffice to say that it is incredible and probably the bass closest to my heart, despite the Status getting played a little more as it's newer (to me!). I had to drive to Haltwhistle in my Focus to get it, which makes me realise how long ago it was that I got the bass, relatively speaking! Pete, the original owner, specced the bass very well and it's something that I believe Alan, the builder, is still very proud of. It's a stunning bass in every respect; stunning to look at, stunning to play and stunning to listen to. Of all my basses, it's probably my favourite overall tonally because it has that lovely burpy, middy character you get from the filter preamp. Think of a Wal bass and you're pretty much there, with a little more tonal flexibility. And here is my newest bass, an Iceni Zoot bass. The spec sheet reads like a 'dream list' of what you'd want from a fretless. The neck is a woven graphite item with an ebony fretboard and maple 1/4 fretlines. The body is sapele mahogany with a figured maple top, finished in aquaburst fading to black on the sides and back. The pickup is a Bartolini humbucker and the Schaller bridge is fitted with shadow piezo units. It's fitted with a Bartolini preamp for the magnetic pickup and a Bartolini item controling the piezo tone. It is wonderfully built and plays very well, but it's currently strung with ground wounds so I'm not getting the best tone from it. When I get back from holiday I'll put some roundwounds on to let it sing like it should! I've only had it a few days and I'm getting my fretless chops back together but I am very pelased with this. I had missed having a nice fretless in my collection and this one fits the bill perfectly. It is easily a match for the Alembic fretless I had last year...once I've got some roundwounds on it I'll see how much better it is!

IMO setup has always been the most critical factor in getting 'mwah' on a fretless bass. Too low and you'll choke it out, too high and you'll have too much tension for the strings to make that noise. Technique is a big factor too, playing nearing the neck and using a softer, more pliant vibrato with the left hand will bring that 'mwah' right to life.

[quote name='thodrik' post='1339910' date='Aug 14 2011, 07:12 PM']Is that a graphite/carbon-based neck? That is pretty cool. If so its funny that they would shift from those designs to the more standard wooden neck designs they have now. Mind you I really like the look of the XP basses, which kinda look a bit like Wals on a budget. Anybody have any knowledge of the history of the company? I'm guessing that there was a takeover of some kind, or there has been a change in designers.[/quote] Yes, that is a carbon fibre neck, although that picture doesn't show it. It's a shame, as German luthier Schack was doing the same sort of thing at the same time, namely great headless designs with carbon graphite necks. Both companies sort of moved away from that although Schack stayed with the high end of the market, making handmade basses of a more conventional design whilst Clover went down the 'super jazz' route. I'd say a change of designer or even owner seems likely, as they completely overhauled their business model from small, artisan items to these more mass produced basses we see today.

Really, I think chasing the tone is the most important thing. Getting a board resurfaced is a minor job and one that is usually only done every few years on the most heavily used fretless basses! I've just got an Iceni Zoot custom fretless in the post, which is currently strung with ground wounds and it sounds very underwhelming to me. It's got the recipe right; a carbon graphite neck, a Bartolini pickup and piezos but the groundwounds are spoiling it. I can hear that burpy sound wanting to come through, but it's not quite there yet! I'm going to put some roundwounds on it to get the sound right. Much better for the tone, which will make me happier and in 10 years of playing fretless basses with roundwound strings on them I've never had to get the board looked at. Mild scuffs from the strings is just par for the course!

Nice colour!

[quote name='chrismuzz' post='1339825' date='Aug 14 2011, 05:56 PM']Not a lot pisses me off more than people who judge you for the number of strings your instrument has. I don't think any more or any less of people who play a 4, 5, 7 string or more. It's an approach to playing that gives you a different feel, or more tonal possibilities. It's only pretentious if you never use the added options, and never plan to.[/quote] I've got to say, attitudes towards ERBs are much improved these days. I remember when Talkbass introduced a rule banning people from slagging off a bass just for being an ERB. Things are much more enlightened now, and that was only what, 5 or 6 years ago?