Chris2112

I may be able to offer some insight on this as I am something of an obsessive on the Jeff Berlin sound. It's always been a sound that I loved and since returning to bass full time in 2015 after a couple of years off, it has been the sound that I craved and sought to recreate in my playing. Of course, there are different eras of Jeff's sound but the key ingredients in getting his basic tone remain the same. Essentially, it's 15" cabs with no tweeters, an alder bodied bass with Bartolini pickups and a high mass bridge. Sometimes, but not always using a bit of chorus and almost exclusively using the bridge pickup with the tone rolled slightly back (it's worth noting that his 'blonde' bass had the neck pickup disconnected for many years before it was stolen). For reference, my rig is the Markbass CMD151P Jeff Berlin combo, with a Cort Rithimic 4 string and Peavey Palaedium in amber, as per what Jeff played from the early 90's until he signed with Dean Guitars. I also use a TC Electronic Corona Chorus pedal, I am reliably informed that this was Jeff's chorus pedal for years, although Jeff now uses an EBS Unichorus. You can read interviews where Jeff talks about why he no longer endorses the brand, though he never names TC Electronic directly. It boils down to a dispute over loaning a pedal at a trade show where Jeff was demonstrating for them, and I do not propose to expand on this matter here. I will note the varying eras by which I define Jeff's tone: Bruford era - black Jazz bass and 'Blonde' bass. Due to the production techniques of the late 70's, the early Bruford tones aren't massively defined. The black jazz bass was retired at some stage and by the early 80's Jeff was recording almost exclusively with what I call the 'blonde' bass. This was an alder precision body with two Bartolini humbuckers. The neck pickup became static at some point and was disconnected and in later years, the control knobs for this pickup were removed from the bass. The neck was a Fender Jazz neck reprofiled by Michael Tobias (Jeff used a Tobias bass for the live shows with AWBH band). The Bartolini humbuckers were wound by Bill Bartolini to Jeff's specification and sounded tremendous. The tone was middy, but the recordings of the day don't capture the 'nasal' upper mid quality which later records did. This same bass was used on Jeff's first two solo records. Around this time, Jeff was playing Yamaha amps and appeared in some promotional material with Billy Sheehan. The 90's - Peavey years - Jeff signed with Peavey and had the Palaedium signature bass made. The earlier basses used a different logo to the later instrument - look for the difference in a cursive, scrolled 'Palaedium' script against a more angular font. it is still unclear as to whether or not the pickups inside the basses are Bartolini. It is my belief that they are Peavey pickups. They are rather brighter and clearer than the Barts, with a little less warmth and a bump in the upper-mid character. For 1997's 'Taking Notes', Jeff noted that the bridge pickup was a little too close to the strings and created some interference on the record, though this is barely perceptible. By the end of this era, Jeff was getting more heavily into chorus. For whatever reason, by the end of 90's his Peavey basses had black tape over the Peavey logo. The 00's - Dean Guitars - The Dean instruments sounded very bight and nasally. They had an ebony board (like the Palaedium) but also Bartolini pickups. They had a beautiful singing quality to them. I understand that Jeff's instruments were made at Dean Guitars in Florida by someone called 'Mike', but I have been unable to find further info on this to date. There was a 'Grinch' bass, which had a slightly thicker than normal body. This had a top compromised of many different exotic woods. One ended up being sold to a TB'er in Florida (this was an early prototype) and another was sold by Jeff as part of his fundraising for the Jack Bruce project. Current day - Jeff now uses the Cort Rithimic. This includes Bartolini pickups wound to the original specifications of the pickup he designed with Bill Bartolini, after the original schematic for the pickups was recovered after many years being lost. The BadAss II bridge was replaced with a Babicz. It hangs on the body more like a traditonal jazz bass whereas the Palaedium and Dean tend to sit a little more in-board on the body. If you listen to 'Joe Frazier Round 3' you'll note that the bass sound is a little darker and punchier in the low mids. The Cort sound has serious balls, with a little more 'thump' than the earlier Palaedium and Dean. I think it sounds more like the 'blonde' bass and so it suits me to have both. One notes that Jeff does set his tone rolled back slightly, as in the instructional videos for his reading course, he has purple tape on the bass to keep the tone knob in the right place (ie, neither fully open nor closed). Over years of owning many, many basses, I am convinced that the Rithimic and the Palaedium are the best basses I have ever played and I would struggle to choose a favourite between the two. The trick is to use hand positioning to modulate your sound. When Jeff walks, he plays closer to the neck and returns to the bridge for superior control over the length and tone of the note. Jeff has always played with a low action and light strings (DR DDT .40 - .100). I recall a post from a Talkbass user who had played one of Jeff's Palaediums at a trade show and recalled that the action was so low he struggled to get a clean note out of it, but Jeff was able to make it sing with his controlled touch. I note that his touch these days is more refined than it has ever been. The bridge pickup is absolutely key.

I don't think that playing demo served the bass particularly well.

I really liked my old ACG Harlot S Type and I loved the electronics but they were a serious detriment to my playing. They were so flexible and full of tones that I regularly wasted playing time just fiddling and crafting tones or trying to dial in the sound I had played with for five minutes the week before! That said, I'm maybe not as keen on the newer ACG designs. A lot of them seem to be made of very dark, almost muddy looking woods these days and the satin finishes tend to accentuate that because they don't reflect light like a clearcoat does. I would love to see Alan use more bright amboyna burl, sycamorr and flamed maple in future and put a bit of colour back into things. I suppose the choices are made by the customer, in the end.

I discovered Shawn Lane's music a couple of years after he died. I was annoyed that I hadn't realised I was sharing the earth with that sort of genius.

Surely Status would have sorted the delamination? That sounds like a manufacturing defect.

'Hold Your Fire' and 'Power Windows' are the ones for me.

I wouldn't say I hated It, but I did have a Zoot fretless for a while that was pretty disapponting. It had a maple body and a carbon fibre neck, with a single Bartolini MM style humbucker in the sweet spot and a piezo circuit. It sounded like a dream recipe, but the total was rather less than the sum of it's parts. The body was really heavy (even for maple) and the tone was a bit flat and dead sounding. It played nicely enough but it just wasn't the bass for me and I didn't keep it that long. I think part of my disappointment was fuelled by the fact it replaced a really nice fretless Alembic Epic 5 string bass that had a really vibrant sound and was simply but beautifully made. I missed the Alembic. https://i.imgur.com/scfWRYT.jpg

They may well do but they'd be overlooking the stunning Czech Euro basses. EBMM make a fine product, if a little middle-of-the-road and unexciting. However, the Spector Euro is an entirely different animal but I think, comparable in quality to a Musicman. At least their G string is as loud as the others! I must also commend the quality control at the Czech facility. It's always excellent. This was even more impressive a few years ago, when their basses cost about 60% of what they list for today. I can remember when I first played a Euro Spector, at Sound Control in Newcastle when they got two NT models in for £1000 each. They were really excellent and the novelty of playing an EMG P/J equipped bass was great. I was very much into Victor Wooten's 'A Show of Hands' tone and those Spectors just nailed that.

Great trade, Spector basses are excellent.

I always thought he was a good drummer who didn't really get a chance to shine in The Police because they were so awful. It was nice to hear him playing with Stanley Clark in 'Animal Logic'. He did the drums for Stanley's 'Night School' show a few years back and absolutely smashed the kit. As my mate likes to remind me, he also wrote the score for the PS1 game 'Spyro the Dragon'.

Here's hoping it can be sorted soon and then give you a few months without issue!

Is that Uberhorn fixed yet?

Shrieve is a very good drummer. Perhaps the most important record of his career is his solo album 'Two Doors' (incorrectly listed on Spotify as having been released in 1979, it was actually recorded in 1995). The first half of the album features eight songs where Shrieve plays in a trio setting with Jonas Hellborg and Shawn Lane. I recall that Lane had said that he and Jonas had composed the music, but due to the issues that Lane was having with his label, Warner Brothers, the album was released under Shrieve's name to circumvent the involvement of WB. The Shrieve/Hellborg/Lane side is really excellent, with a strong eastern/Indian influence on their high-stakes fusion.

I have never experienced anything like that. Like all the other graphite-necked basses I have owned, the Bogart has been uniformly stable. I've went through several sets of strings (following some great advice from another Basschat user on using pliers to pull the strings taut before locking them). I never take the strings fully off any instrument though, changing one for another as I go through the pack. However, I can understand the issues you have had. A few years ago, SKC Bogart folded. It has since been resurrected by the original builder, Stefan Heß. I have read posts from one Bogart owner in America who could not get some parts for his bass whilst the company was inoperative. They have been back up and running for a few years now and have expanded their model range beyond the Blackstone models that seemed to be their sole product the first time around. I have heard of graphite necks shifting, though it's very rare. Anecdotally, I recall accounts from Talkbass about a Zon and a Modulus (both pre-truss rod) where the neck had 'shifted' after fitting and produced an unacceptable bow. Certainly in the case of the Zon, the neck was replaced and the instrument went on. With the Bogart being a bolt on neck, I would imagine a replacement neck would solve the issue, as would the solution of having the instrument fitted with a truss rod, though neither is ideal. My bass is almost 25 years old so I think it will be alright. For the price I paid for it (£950) I think it's just sublime. The tone is just gorgeous and it sits really well, being articulate and clear without being too prominent or obnoxious in a mix.

Best: My SKC Bogart Blackstone. I spotted it for sale at The Gallery through the BC Commercial Sales forum and that was that, I had to have it! I've wanted a Bogart for years but my plans to buy one in years past have always fallen through. I have a different favourite bass in my collection every day but I think this one has had the most use so far this year. It makes me smile every time it comes out of the case. Graphite neck+Barts and a Noll preamp makes for a happy lad. Worst: Phil Jones Bass Bighead. It's an amazing little pocket preamp with loads of useful applications and tight, clean tone that really lets a bass sing. However, I've had so little time to use it I haven't even flattened the battery since I got it a few months ago! I need to make an effort to use it more as it's a great bit of kit and just the sort of thing I need.

Jeff Berlin is the master. I still consider 'Tears in Heaven' to be one of the best bass solo pieces ever written.

Yep, Geddy's best bass tone by far. 'Hold Your Fire' had the best songs but 'Power Windows' had the best production.

Jeff Berlin's 'Freight Train Shuffle': Just lush bass tone, so rich with midrange. Very articulate yet sits well in the mix and drives the music. The switch to a chorused sound for the solo tone is very cool. This is my absolute favourite and it's the sound I try to recreate when I play. https://youtu.be/PfwrcGLgwUU

That Modulus is very cool. Perhaps not rare in itself but fairly rare with all the original equipment. I do love a Quantum with a quilted maple top. Modulus had some of of the best quilted maple around. Is this one of your basses?

That shape is just sublime.