Chris2112

The high point for me was his collaboration with Queen on 'Under Pressure'. Magnificent. The low point, I'm not so sure on. His music isn't to my taste and I detest glam rock in general. However, he was clearly a motivated and talented bloke so more power to him doing what he wanted.

[quote name='40hz' timestamp='1489665698' post='3258739'] Geddys Wal sound is one of my favourite tones of all time :/ [/quote] Yep, I love Geddy's Wal sound. One of my favourite bass tones. It doesn't sound like a box strung with rubber bands to me, I would reserve that description for P basses and Gibsons (like that dreadful bass tone in 'Handy' by Wishbone Ash).

The pics don't seem to be working...

I believe Mark's Alembic basses were 34" scale, but of course, strung with light strings. One of the key elements for low action setup is straightness of the neck. For good low action, I look for as straight a neck as possible with just a touch of relief so that the strings don't ground out at the higher frets. This was something I got from Jeff Berlin, who typically has a super low action. You'll end up with a bass that needs a more sensitive touch to play cleanly, but once you've got the touch you can really get it working. A good tech will be able to address this, but so long as the actual neck and fretwork are up to the task, a straight neck with adjustments to saddle height and the pickup height would be the way I'd tackle it. If you want less lateral tension for big bends like Mark does, lighter strings are handy.

I'm hoping to order the Jeff Berlin combo this Thursday from Guitar Guitar (the CMD 151P Jeff Berlin, not the Players School amp). I had also considered the Alain Caron combo but I am in love with Jeff's tone. Going to a tweeterless 15" speaker is a bit of a departure for me but if it gets me half as good a tone as Jeff manages with his, I'll be happy.

Wal basses are a bit of a funny one. Many here will be able to remember they were in the doldrums, price and image wise! I remember a Basschatter describing how, in the 90's they were thought of as rather naff, thought of as the dream bass of the pub player who was still playing the hits of the 80's. It was the sort of bass a boy done good with a pools win might buy. Rather dated, by that age. I never bought into that viewpoint because I worshipped Geddy Lee and to a lesser extent, Jonas Hellborg. I do remember when just over £1000 would secure a decent 4 string Wal from a trader though, never mind a private sale! Of course, their fortunes changed dramatically, and the demand from America grew massively off the back of this 'well kept secret', and we are now at the stage where I genuinely feel, for all the love that I have for these unique and amazing instruments, that they can change hands for rather more than they are really worth. At a time, they represented, to me, a good standard of woodworking and playability with an astounding set of electronics and a tone to die for. Now other builders like ACG offer options that to my mind, do 'all that and more' of the Wal filter preamp tone. Don't get me wrong, I love them and I covet them but their deification still rather mystifies me. As for other basses you won't lose money on, Kubicki basses remain a topic of interest to me. I note that since the unfortunate passing of Philip Kubicki, the rarest of his Ex Factor basses are quickly becoming more valuable. Early serial numbers and late serial numbers (essentially basses built outside of the period when Fender supported his operation and distributed his guitars) are trading for higher values now. This to me, suggests that some speculation continues to be involved in the market values as the Fender era instruments should be no less valuable as they were no less of an instrument.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1488488780' post='3249482'] OMG, that would win an award for the body too! Ned must have been broke! [/quote] It has the look of Ned's LS type bass after ten rounds of Gibson bean counter cost-cutting. No graphite, no expensive headless design, no charm etc etc...

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1488202001' post='3246694'] The Ibanez Gerald Veasley model is very tight, [/quote] It's also hugely expensive. Handmade in Japan, like the Adam Nitti bass. I believe it is 14mm string spacing, which is tight!

I haven't read any of these bass publications for years. I don't tend to bother, they're usually worthless - I can't remember the last time something got a bad review (though I accept the quality of gear these days means not much is truly 'bad', just suited to different tastes). That said, I did once own a Zon Sonus bass and it's one of the few instruments I dream of at night...

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1374424460' post='2148564'] Can a song really be so dire if it can emotionally connect to so many people? [/quote] It has all the integrity of a Justin Bieber song, who has also sold millions of records which emotionally connect to their audience.

Urgh, what an awful song. It was dire then, and is dire now.

Looked great with those gold strings.

Ho, these parody threads never get old, do they?

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1373358701' post='2136526'] They turn Rock n Roll into Cabaret and should be ashamed of themselves. My publishers, Equinox, have a release by Georgina Gregory called 'Send in the Clones: a cultural study of the tribute band. [/quote] These vanity publishers, I expect they'll be lucky if they sell ten copies of that!

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1373297053' post='2135803'] I don't feel an urge to drive a Ferrari. My Volvo does all that I need of a car. You can see where I'm going with this! [/quote] Your Volvo does not have a screaming V12 in it, are you sure you don't want a go in a Ferrari?

I doubt it. Most major acts will never play to a bar full of 20 half interested drinkers, so it's not like tribute acts steal their gigs.

The Tung basses always looked nice but with so few made, finding one would be a real challenge!

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1373202470' post='2134616'] I like their Jeff Berlin signature model too - another one that if they'd made it in a 5 I would have bought. [/quote] The Palaedium? Fantastic bass. I'd buy one if I saw one going. The B Quad was an amazing bass too. Lets see those rare Peaveys!