Chris2112

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1501679550' post='3346503'] A generically weak front pickup should have been fixed a long time ago ( it's not like it's a cosmetic change) on an instrument as premium priced as this [/quote] But it hasn't been fixed... because character.

I have owned Trace Gear in the past and played a lot of their old range. I had a 7-band head and a 4x10" cab. Jesus wept, that thing would go bloody loud. In the end I shifted it for an Ashdown MK500. I read that when Mark went to Ashdown, he asked them to recreate the sound of his old TE kit. How true that is, I don't know but the MK500 had all the cut and sizzle of the TE but it was less than half the weight. The world has moved on from giant green Trace rigs to a trend for smaller, lighter stuff. Given that everyone seems to use bass amps for monitors and DI to the board when playing live so there is no need for the blowaway power of a Trace Elliot rig nowadays.

Getting a good sound for the room is more important than slavishly replicating the sound of the original record IMO, because the average punter won't really notice if you use a Jazz bass when the original was recorded on a Precision but they'll surely notice if your sound doesn't suit the room. Imagine covering a motown gig in a room where a P bass is just giving a floppy, droning 'boom' instead of the tight, middy punch of the original record. The professional musician must think on their feet and adapt to the room. Play closer the bridge, cut back some low frequencies, whatever it takes. I'd focus less on the tone you're seeking to replicate and spend that same energy making sure the performance is nailed-on brilliant.

It's a bit of a funny one. Warwick's grasp and domination of the professional market continues to expand. They seem to have a new endorser every day. I'm sure they offer a decent compensation package to the artists which is where the appeal is. There are some artists that moved to Warwick and their tone took a serious dive. I watched the video of JC playing a Warwick (the Aenima one) and the tone was pretty dump but I appreciate it was recorded with a small microphone and probably no real mix or mastering. On the other hand, JC's playing is great but his Wal tone is nothing special and I've long maintained that it doesn't even sound much like the Wals we know and love. It's so buried in effects and pick noise that it could be almost any humbuckered bass one the record is played back, and i say this as a huge Tool fan and a tone-enthusiast.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1500125718' post='3335781'] As curiosity, what is YouTube doing that others aren't? [/quote] It has an absolutely massive reach and huge advertising clout that Soundcloud could not even dream of. However, even Youtube has issues with disappointing returns on advertising investment. I feel as though the internet is absolutely saturated with sh*t adverts.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1499891209' post='3334398'] Fair enough. It was a genuine thought as I have seen it mentioned on some pre-owned stock. [/quote] Yes, I have seen them mention that some preowned basses come with new strings. The fact they advertise it as a selling point on some instruments tells me that not every instrument gets this treatment. I expect the customer pays for it on SOR guitars.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1499778345' post='3333532'] Does the £30 not include a re-string? I've seen that mentioned in their ad's before. If that is the case, then it's probably not that unreasonable. Is it? [/quote] Definitely not, I bought my Ibanez SR3006 from them as a used bass and the strings it came with were sh*t and completely knackered. Fantastic bass though, can't grumble too much.

In fairness, the end of the cash-in-hand economy would benefit us all as there would be a fair tax paid on everything (much like every time we do the shopping, fill up the car, buy a record). Landlords are already reluctant to pay for bands. I don't suppose those who really value live music will change their tune if they can't pay cash in hand. Similarly, as long as musicians are prepared to play by the rules, they'll still find places to play.

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.