Chris2112

As an academic point, his pedals are of interest. Tone-wise, I have never found him to have a particularly distinctive tone or style. Even when he was playing Ken Smith bass guitars, his tone wasn't hugely identifiable.

The soundguy is always hugely important. I've seen Steve Vai live a few times and Thomas Nordegg always delivers on an incredible sound. I saw Big Country live at the same venue a couple of years ago and the mix was complete garbage, to the point where some of the songs were hard to follow. It was a huge shame, being a band I love so dearly.

Sound quality at these big events is always crap. Plus, I suspect the soundguys don't put all that much effort into mixing the bands, as the average punter at at event of over 100,000 people doesn't really care about the sound quality.

I have had one or two of these in the past. I paid about £550 for mine maybe six or seven years ago, so the price you suggest probably isn't too far off the mark. I recall them having a great slap tone and playing well. Very much a middle-of-the-road Status, good at everything.

I thought this was going to be a thread about variable valve timing...

If you're deliberating over whether or not to accept two weeks paid work and a free cruise because you can't have a beer after the show, you either don't really want the job or you have a bigger problem with alcohol than you can admit.

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1499000366' post='3328449'] I'd certainly like to visit but I think that Mk3 demo bass you refer to was sold last year. Dangerous to visit though...because if I ordered a new fretted MK3 that means two years of hard saving plus digging into existing savings...or selling my car or a kidney or two. At £5500 for the standard model it's nudged into that area I consider overpriced - especially as they are made like bolt-on Fenders without angled headstocks. Incredible pickups and electronics and well built of course but now a bit too pricey IMO. [/quote] I could weep for the days when you could find a decent used Wal for less than £1000. I recall seeing a good mk2 at the Gallery in London for £1250! Sadly, the priced rocketed into the stratosphere when the original Wal operation closed it's doors. Now that it has restarted, prices haven't adjusted to counter that inflation.

We'll see plenty of this sort of thing, I'm sure. Builders are going to have to start being clever with their woods now that the Indian rosewood is on lockdown. I expect pau ferro will become very popular as it's not that far from the rosewoods we know and love. Other woods like jatoba, locust and chechen will come to the fore as they're already used in building on a much smaller scale. One thing that does make me chuckle is the amount of dodgy looking ebony out there at the moment. I recall reading an interview with Phillip Kubicki where he talked about the difficulty he had in getting clean Gabon ebony blanks for his Ex Factor basses. This was like, 30 years ago. Now, IIRC Taylor own most of the world's Gabon ebony stock and they sell at a high price, leading to companies like Kiesel putting marketing spin to work on things like 'tiger stripe ebony' etc. Basically, all the off-colour and impure blanks that wouldn't have made the grade a few years ago on the open market!

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1484078970' post='3212549'] I really don't think he needs to make them. Unless for a specific order. Maybe he's just showing what he can do.. Which is pretty astounding imo. How he makes basses so amazing for the price is anyones guess. [/quote] I've always thought that the Maruszczyk range looks like tremendous value for money. I'm also at a loss to explain how the prices are so reasoanble for what you get.

I just can't see the point in acoustic bass guitars for the most part. They do have a distinctive sound with fresh bronze strings, but that 'twang" quickly gets swallowed up in any kind of mix. Inevitably, you'll have to plug it in and make use of a rudimentary pick up or piezo system, battling against feedback issues that you wouldn't get with an electric solidbody. That's before you even consider that even expensive, handcrafted acoustics that play 'well' still don't play or sound as good as a cheap electric bass. Leo Fender invented the Precision to do away with the problems of using an upright bass in a live setting. If he can defeat an instrument as big as a grown man with hundreds of years of history behind it with a simple P bass, what hope does a chatty ABG have? Part of the problem now is that sh*t acoustic guitar stuff is popular in the charts and bandleaders with no real musical knowledge or experience want to see the acoustic bass guitar simply for 'the look' or 'the brand'.

Why would I avoid getting a Rickenbacker? Awful tone unless you're playing through a Sansamp is one thing. The cheap and ugly looks are offputting too, but the strides the company has made over recent years to prevent foreign copies of their basses, constructed 30 years ago, being sold privately is as mean spirited as it gets. I know some players covet the Ric look, but objectively I find everything else about them quite dire. Aside from looking like a Rickenbacker, which Rics are really good at, they're like a bad Jazz bass and even a half decent Jazz makes them look, sound and feel hopeless.

[quote name='kumimajava' timestamp='1498148074' post='3322816'] Just out of curiosity, a question to anyone who's played the Mk2: how comfy is the access to the highest frets (22nd-24th)? [/quote] Not very. The heel block is quite large so even though there is space to get in round the front, that big squared-off edge at the back of the body means you can't really get your hand right up to the joint. It's a rudimentary design that doesn't feel particularly finessed or ergonomic but I don't suppose many Wal players flew up the neck.

[quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1498205199' post='3323064'] A rut I suspect we would all like to be in. Bear in mind he is a working player, same as the rest of us. He lives off giving the people what they want, not what HE wants. Every great "arse showing" bass player out there showboats for the audience that wants it, but can be found playing great, simple pocket in a band situation when that is what it needs. None of them do this bullshit bass-day stuff because they LIKE showing off their chops in isolation.(except maybe Randy Coven ) [/quote] The rut I was talking about is a musical/creative rut that I feel Victor is stuck in, with regards to his solo work. I feel aa though some of the really creative 'spark' that he once had has faded, and a slew of his solo records have lacked really great songs. I'm not so interested in outright chops as I am in hearing good chops in great music. I respect Victor as a tremendous solo player but even more as a sideman. I have never found his solo playing distasteful, since he always focuses on melody and the song rather than any 'athletic' aspect of his technique. However, his ability as a sideman to support a groove, project harmony and melody and drive a song is superb, world class.

A friend of mine in America copied me a disc of Stuart Hamm's first instructional tape when it was all but impossible to find a VHS copy in the UK. After sending it he refused payment. Top guy, and the gesture meant a lot to me.

[quote name='Captain Bassman' timestamp='1492968801' post='3284486'] Short scale series 2 built in 1982 and with a partial refurb from the Mothership back in 2010. The wood finish is original though and is the lovely satin lacquer that Alembic used to use before going all glossy. Acquired from Stefano (Steno) on this forum, credit to him for the pics. [/quote] That is incredible. One of the best looking Alembics I've ever seen.

The first Urge bass used a Kubicki preamp. The Urge II used a Fender preamp, I don't think they ever specified which one it was.

This thread should begin and end with Mohini Dey. She is amazing.

Someone who lives in Milwaukee would be a great fit.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1498082471' post='3322489'] I've heard him give that lesson before. And now when I play the wrong note, I just slide to the right one and people think I meant it [/quote] I had his Bass Day '98 DVD (or was it the Bass Extremes DVD?), which featured an interview/lesson section. He talked about the concept of never being more than a half step away from a 'right' note. He's been preaching this for 20 years, but it's good advice. I quite like Vic's musical philosophy but I don't agree with all of his teaching methods. A lot bass teaching is based on ephemera and frippery, and other feel-good nonsense, with very little focus on proper musical theory. That's a wider issue, and I'm sure Vic feels like his methods have some value. Musically though, I wish he'd get himself out of this rut he is. I used to deadly love his first couple of solo records but his recent efforts just haven't hit the heights I expected.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1496742248' post='3313511'] Not sure if this has been covered, but right hand grip can be the problem when it comes to 'sticky glossy necks'. If your hand is sticking to the neck, then the chances are your grip could be improved. I've un-taught 'broom handling' to many bass players and they have found that they can play more fluidly and have less problems with shiny necks on hot sweaty gigs. Just a thought which might be helpful! Dooooood. [/quote] In spite of my constant attention on left hand position, even with a light touch and proper thumb positioning on the back of the neck, the drag of a bad gloss finish is perceptible. Unless you completely detach your hand from the back of the neck when you change position you'll notice it. Whether or not it bothers you is another matter. On some of the horrors I've played, you'd struggle to get a tune out of them if you played 'broom handle' by wrapping your thumb over the lowest string because the increased surface area of skin in contact with the neck, along with the clubby and imprecise grip would create terminal drag.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1496661866' post='3313001'] Anybody else with me that thinking the dead spot problem is wildly over exaggerated? Yes, there are basses with dead spots... but there are not in abundance like basschat folklore would suggest? [/quote] It's not like every other Musicman bass is littered with dead spots. Some suffer only mildy, which many owners might never notice. Some are quite obvious. Some basses don't have any obvious dead spots. It's the luck of the draw, and why I'd always be hesitant to buy a Musicman bass I hadn't played and tested. And I like Musicman basses! More prevalent on the Stingray is the issue of a weak sounding G string. That really does jump out at you in a way that dead spots don't and I've found it to more common than dead spots. I should note that of both of these issues, I've found them to be more of an issue in the Stingray 4 string than the 5 string, or the Sterling, or the Bongo.

[quote name='Johnny Wishbone' timestamp='1496601391' post='3312612'] I believe the fact that MM repeatedly refused him a sig model is the reason he stopped using them and went to Modulus. Can't remember where I read that though. [/quote] I think he was just after a Musicman style bass without a load of deadspots on the neck.

I had noticed quite a number of them for sale. I doubt there is anything wrong with them, more that mild buyer's remorse can strike in these hasty purchases. I have seen one up close and it looked good. However, that naff bridge piece irritates me. The Classic Vibe Squier Jazz with the brass bridge saddles had a better bloody bridge.