Chris2112

Most likely to be an imbalance in the pickup height, does the pickup slant upward towards the E string?

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1493058308' post='3285288'] Totally agree, I've ended up having some epic chats with folk in strange car parks whilst exchanging bass gear. BassChat is full of some very cool people. Anyone toting local beers gets my vote [/quote] The lad I bought my old Zon Sonus from was into his old Escorts (the cars, not the Wayne Rooney kind). We spent ages gassing on in the car park at Wetherby services as he had turned up in a vinyl roofed Mk2 Escort. I was in a considerably newer, but still old (17 years at the time) MR2 Turbo.

I had a Zoot fretless years ago, had a graphite neck on it, which is what attracted me to it. I mostly remember that it had an unbelievably heavy body.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1492629863' post='3281862'] And what a massive disappointment that turned out to be. Some of the music was OK but Deborah Hollands lyrics were bloody terrible, some of the most banal garbage I've ever heard. It's a shame the project with Holdsworth never happened. [/quote] I've got both Animal Logic records, I got them when I was about 17-18 and listened to them loads as I was mad about Stanley Clarke. Both records have some great songs, and 'there's a spy' is an absolute favourite of mine. The first record is the stronger of the two but really, both records could be condensed into one, retaining the bangers and dropping the dross. I agree about some of Holland's lyrics, they really are dire in places. Overall, I liked the style of the band for the most part. Stanley and Stewart cut some great tracks. If only they had got Joni Mitchell onboard, imagine that!

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1492692690' post='3282396'] I have a Cort Rithimic 5-string and it's by far one of (if not [i]the[/i]) most playable basses I've ever owned. I only wish I'd discovered it sooner! [/quote] Yep, they do set up very nicely to play cleanly with a very low action. I suppose Cort knew that they'd have to meet that requirement for Jeff Berlin as I know he espouses the benefits of a straight neck with just a touch of relief and really taking the pressure off your hands and just letting the bass sing. I remember reading a post from someone on Talkbass who had tried his personal USA-made Dean bass out at a tradeshow and struggled to get a clean note out of it because of his technique. With my Rithimic, I can dig in and play hard if I want to without clanking or buzzing but I just don't need to do that because it responds so well to a lighter touch.

I used to be a soft-hearted fool. I thought then, and I still believe it to be the right thing to do, that we all cut each other a good deal here. For instance, I was over the moon to get a used bass on here for a very great price. I won't go into specifics as I don't want to name names etc. The price was a real bargain because someone needed some cash quickly to pay for another toy. I thought I'd got the deal of the century, so once I'd had my fun I decided to sell the bass on the boards for the same as I'd paid for it. I made one stipulation when selling, that is if the bass were to be sold via the boards again, share the good fortune of this great deal and honour the original asking price. I was rather disappointed to see my good nature was ignored, when it turned up for sale a short while later for about twice what I had sold it for. I didn't make this stipulation to preserve some misguided sense of friendship between basschatters, but I did consider that we all benefit from good prices amongst each other, something that would soon slide if everyone became a mercenary. I've never sold a bass or amp for a price that I wasn't happy with, but a few years ago when the forum was maybe a little smaller there was more a sense that we could all benefit from trading gear for good prices.

Low action and a light touch suits me. I'm fairly adaptable, and I'll make a go of playing any sort of setup but I have really found that a low action and light touch works well for me. My Cort Rithimic has the lowest, cleanest action I've ever played outside of my old Alembic Epic fretless. It is easygoing on the left hand but still offers the same, if not more dynamic control than a bass which has a high action. My right hand isn't working as hard to produce the same sounds as it did on basses with a higher action.

I wipe a cotton cloth over the strings when I'm done playing, and always wash my hands before touching the bass. That seems to ensure my strings last a reasonable amount of time. I don't bother with any other cleaning method, I just replace them when they're done.

I'm happy with an unlined board. My first and best fretless basses have all been unlined, and once your hand and ear are settled in you should have no problem. I'd probably be faster and a little more accurate with lines, but I don't profess to be a wizard anyway. The important thing is to keep practicing with music, so that you can hear when you're getting your notes in tune. Playing with a perfectly intonated instrument like a keyboard is the real test of how good you really are!

Wait, you actually want to do a Morris dance? Or as it was known, the Morisse Daunce?

[quote name='Grassie' timestamp='1492417966' post='3279990'] He's also played with Level 42 (probably Gary Husband's influence there...) on 1991's Guaranteed album. Played live with them the year before at their 15 night run at the Hammersmith Odeon (as it was then) which is where I first heard him. Big loss. RIP. [/quote] I always thought it was funny that he had been with Level 42 for a period. Top player. His solo on the outro of 'if you were mine' is just masterful. It has all some really 'Holdsworth' moves in it, which I loved. He really brought his musical personality wherever he went. His stuff with Berlin and Bruford was top too.

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1492333708' post='3279415'] I wonder if this will last longer than SMV? They managed a year from 2008 to 2009. [/quote] SMV was never meant to be a long term thing. Stanley announced to a magazine interviewer that they were going to do it, as before that they'd only kicked the idea around. But once Stan said it was happening, it was on. There was no real chance of it going further as all three of them have other commitments, especially Marcus, I would say. It's a bit like Jeff Berlin, Stuart Hamm and Billy Sheehan doing Bx3, just a bit of good luck with a calendar and a one off project of good, wholesome fun.

RIP Allan. Truly, a legend of nearly peerless talent. I always wondered how the quiet and unassuming man from Yorkshire developed the most alien, otherworldly music language. I love his music, but his sense of harmony is so wildly advanced I have often struggled to follow the musicality of it, and I'm a paid up fusion-head. He did alright for someone who never considered his playing to be as good as he wanted it, and didn't really want to play the guitar. I'd say his voice as a guitarist is the most identifiable out there. He was a magician.

I had a look on google for it, only found the Basschat adverts but it is a great looking instrument.

I always wondered why Rob moved from a full carbon fibre 'cricket bat' on the earlier Series II instruments to a bolt on effort on the S2. I know the neck on the S2 goes further down than the appearance suggests but I have always found that the Series II sounded a bit brighter and a bit more articulate. I can imagine the S2 setup was cheaper, but then isn't the flagship supposed to spare no expense? Or perhaps Rob consciously wanted to move away from the classic Series II tone somewhat?

I've heard mostly good things about these Sire basses and Marcus seems really passionate about them. I do wonder what is going on behind the scenes with Fender's endorsee relations. I can understand that they might not have fancied keeping Stuart Hamm's Urge bass in the lineup, but the MM signature jazz bass seemed like a big seller and it was, after all, just a modified jazz.

Morning all, I thought now would be a suitable time to get onto posting something about my new rig. I've had it for a couple of weeks now which I thought would really let me get to grips with it and maybe say more about it than some honeymoon period gushing. Whilst both the bass and the amp are amazing, they're even better taken together. There is a reasonn for that; it's essentially Jeff Berlin's rig (albeit he uses two combos together). I'll explain: I started to get back into bass seriously at the end of last year. I've been playing since I was 13 and but after about twelve years, I started feeling burned out and I grabbed a guitar for a couple of years. I played on occasion with a couple of friends in 2015 using a borrowed bass rig, but other than buying an SR3006 from Bass Direct, I didn't really play bass that much. Getting back into bass, I started listening to loads of Jeff Berlin again. I've always loved his music and his playing but I started to really click with his passion for teaching. I wanted to pick up the bass again and improve my playing. The sound that I heard Jeff getting from his Markbass and Cort Rithimic was the tone that I had dreamed of for years. I decided to jump in with Jeff's rig. It's relatively affordable stuff, the Markbass CMD151P Jeff Berlin is about £850 new and the Rithimic runs at about £780 new. I ordered the amp through Guitar Guitar and I was lucky enough to grab the Cort from the classified ads here. The amp is a bit of a departure for me. Before I left the bass behind I had always loved the sound of bright, middy and modern 10" speakers with tweeters, so the Markbass with a 15 and no tweeter. That was Jeff's preference so I decided to cast off my previous notions of 15's as soggy, saggy, muddy sounding speakers. What a revelation this Markbass is. Tight, focused sound with outrageous bottom end punch and a really musical midrange and top end. With no glassy, piercing tweeter the whole thing sounds very articulate abd balanced. It'll fill a room without sounding mushy or flabby and there is plenty of wattage on tap for louder venues should you want that. I gather that Markbass are moving away from the Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator and the Variable Preshape Filter. That's a shame if true - the VPF is a pretty cool feature in the style of a 'slap switch' with added control. It cuts the mids and boosts the bass and treble. I don't have much use for it but it's a handy thing to have there. The Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator is much better, as it gently rolls off the highs at the touch of one control. I use just a touch, about 30% or slightly less, which really softens the top and gives that 'horn like' tone Jeff uses. The real blowaway item in all this is the Rithimic bass. I know that Jeff's insistence was that it have a name of it's own so as to appeal to a wider audience and this bass absolutely stands on it's own as a terrific instrument that deserves the plaudits I will heap upon it. It doesn't actually have Jeff's name on it anywhere but it fits his recipe for a good bass to a tee. I will say that it's the best bass I've ever owned or played, and I've had a lot! The specification is similar to Jeff's past signature basses (the Peavey Palaedium and the Dean JB) and ultimately, the modded P Bass he played in the 80's Alder body, a thin neck with Hipshot tuners, a high mass bridge and custom wound Bartolini humbuckers. The bass is passive. I believe it was this bass that saw the return of the true Jeff Berlin Bartolini humbuckers, derived from the original schematics that Bill Bartolini had in a workshop drawer. I rarely use the neck pickup - it's fair to say I've never known a bridge pickup to have the stomp or authority that this one does. It's got loads of middy burp but without being thin. This bass is the exact opposite of that; I have never known a bridge pickup running solo to have quite the grunt that this one does. It can carry off a heavy rock song with ease and just sounds so right, I know it'll be a dream to mix. It's got a similar tone profile to a jazz bass, scooped with both pickups running and a natural midrange that accents each note. Proof that you I don't need bells and whistles when I plug in. It's a joy to play too. The neck is very straight with a touch of relief and the action is the lowest, cleanest setup I have ever encountered. It responds well to a light touch and feels effortless on the left hand, so I've been practicing more legato stuff with the left hand and trying to improve my phrasing. The neck is thin, and very fast with a satin finish. The balance is superb, given the Hipshots. The instrument is very light. I haven't yet fiddled with the bridge and I doubt I will provided it always plays this well but Babicz picks up where Leo Quann left off and this bridge trumps even the Badass II. It's high mass and adds amazing sustain, and it looks to have been machined by the most discerning of craftsmen. Suffice to say, Cort have always impressed me with their instruments but with the cachet of a player like Jeff, they've taken licence to pull out all the stops and produce a brilliant instrument. If this wore a Fender badge, you wouldn't see change from £2000, I'm sure. So there we have it. I have returned to playing bass and bought a new rig off the back of some YouTube videos of one of my favourite players. It was a leap of faith but I was never in doubt that I'd love the final result. I'd like to extend my thanks to Basschatter Neil Murray for sending me this fine instrument. My next projects are probably collecting the earlier Jeff Berlin signature models...

I have always considered Bach and Scarlatti to be the true masters against their outrageously talented contemporaries.

I really like Bass Direct's site. They easily have the best stock in the country and seem like a much more contemporary store than something like the Gallery (which suffers from wild London pricing). I haven't been to Bass Direct, but I did buy my used Ibanez SR3006ESOL from them. Now, that was an instrument I'd wanted since 2001 or 2002 when I saw it in the back of the Ibanez catalogue. They're vanishingly rare in the UK, so when I saw it I knew I had to grab it. It was fairly priced, but I would have payed more for it to come with some fresh strings. Bass Direct is supposed to be premium, best of the best type stuff. The strings on this bass were f***ing crap. If they'd told me about that on the phone I'd have asked for a new set, and paid if they refused! If you look at somewhere like Cubo Moto, for instance, whether you trade your motorbike in or hand it over for SOR, they have it professionally detailed so that it's as good looking as the rest of their stock. It sets the tone and the brand image and gives the new buyer the thrill of seeing their new toy looking mint. Bass Direct shouldn't have let this bass go with awful strings on. Minor gripe aside, I would buy from them again.

I don't blame these guys. They have to do something to get their videos up the rankings and clickbait titles are one way of doing it. Janek put a video up the other day with a name about Jeff Berlin and using a metronome. It was about 30 minutes long and he spoke very briefly about Jeff and metronomes and said nothing more than "I disagree with him and I like them". But such a title guarantees hits as it now shows up in searches for Jeff and it's a bit controversial (even if the actual video content isn't). It's just a Q and A video but 'Q and A #228' isn't a compelling title.

I should expand further on my initial post now that I have time. Ken Smith, Yamaha TRB's and MTD's are ubiquitous in gospel music. Not because they are unique, not because they sound unique. For one thing, Smith are the 'name' in gospel music. This is probably because they have a fairly distinctive sound and in the 80's, when the modern gospel scene really got going, there wasn't anywhere near the choice in boutique kit like there is now. A core of gospel players found Smith basses to be high quality and sound good and they became the aspiration of every gospel player around, in much the same way as Fodera experienced a surge in popularity as the modern fusion player's bass in the mid 00's. It helps that Smith have a strong midrange and a softer top end that means they sit well in a mix. The TRB and Ibanez SR followed along these lines, being high quality ERB's at a time when that sort of thing was uncommon. MTD are a bit different, brighter and very modern. They have benefited immensely from having the endorsement of Andrew Gouche. They're the Smith of the new Millenium. As for what makes an ideal gospel bass, I couldn't name a famous gospel player that uses a 'piano' tone as you would expect from an Alembic, a Status or a Modulus. To me, the piano sound is characterised by a fast attack, very even frequency response with a slow, enduring decay where all frequencies represented in the initial attack fade in unison. Gospel tends to be a more organic modern sound; lots of midrange to overcome the booming organs and synths but a softer top end to sit sweetly in what is supposed to be pretty easy listening music. A boutique bass of your choice with humbuckers and nice top will look and sound suitably premium but if you're seeking brand cachet you have identified the big players already.

All of those basses will deliver in spades. I'm sure you know this as you've listed what are arguably the three top brands in Gospel music. My heart would want a Ken Smith but all three will do a tremendous job. I presume when you say Yamaha you are thinking of a Japanese neck thru TRB. Excellent instruments.

Don't forget the Cort Rithimic 5 string either. Fabulously appointed at such a reasonable price; with a Babicz bridge, customwound Bartolini humbuckers on a passive circuit, Hipshot Ultralight tuners and an alder body with a walnut top. In fact, someone is selling one in the for sale forum at the moment.

I had a 1987 or 88 Series II 4 string a few years ago. It was a delight. Knockout tone and effortless action. A truly marvellous instrument. This one looks like a real winner too.

Whoops, double post.