Chris2112

Clientèle is important. Okay, you're never going to be 'country club' selective but I've often found rehearsal rooms trashed when going in after young bands. Student indie type bands in particular, where larking about and making a mess has obviously come before the actual rehearsal. But my main gripe would be the amenities. Something like a clean, well looked after toilet makes a big difference. A well lit car park. There is nothing worse than a scruffy rehearsal room.

Recently traded my Jaco Pastorius Jazz bass to Clarky for a Warwick Thumb 5 string. A pleasure to do business with!

FGTH's first album has some amazing basslines on it. 'Welcome to the Pleasure Dome' is particularly amazing.

That is absolutely hideous.

A graphite necked energy was worth around £400-500 when I saw one for sale a little ago. There aren't that many of them around, I think Rob had a few graphite necks going spare so he upgraded a few Energy basses with them. Definitely going to deliver on your tonal needs too.

As much as I liked my 4 string, and it was a fantastic bass, I am really loving having a low B again. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but the only other low B strings I've heard that can touch a Warwick Thumb are on Status and Alembic basses! When I was growing up, the Thumb 5 string was a hugely aspirational bass. The broadneck option I find a bit odd though. It was quite expensive when ordering a bass new IIRC, but it doesn't feel that different in terms of size, weight or balance than a normal Thumb 5 string. But someone obviously felt enough of a difference to pay the extra dough...

I've just had a great old ditty on the Thumb 5 string broad neck I received this week. What a great sounding bass. It's my second Thumb (the first was a Thumb 4 string). If anything, it sounds even more outrageous than the 4 string did, as this has the two big MEC humbuckers at the bridge, whereas the Thumb was a a slanted singlecoil arrangement. This bass just sounds like a slegehammer. That is the only way I can describe. The low end and midrange punch is startling, it is the absolute in terms of presence. Thats why I love using Warwick basses live. Sound engineeers love them too. Unlike some basses that can be difficult to mix in, the Warwick always stands out, it always fills the bottom end in nicely and is never harsh or offensive. And unlike some basses, the bottom end isn't boomy or floppy. It's tight and articulate; you really have control of it with your fingers meaning you can get your playing really tight and accurate. I subscribe to the Anthony Jackson school of thought, that the bass should be viewed as an equal to the guitar. In that, it isn't just a root note plodder. It should be used to create rhythm and harmony but also melody. To that end, I like to have basses that I would be happy to listen to on their own, or high up in the mix. Because I tend to play melody lines, some chords, root notes and rhythm parts, comping etc etc. So my bass needs to sound good on it's own as well as in the mix, and this is something that Warwick have always delivered on for me (I've had three now). Plus, there really is nothing else that sounds like a Thumb.

[i]The Pusuit of the Woman in the Feathered Hat [/i]is also a great number. It has some serious grooves. The reason there is no love for that album is because it is so experimental. The eponymous 'Mr Gone' is clearly Wayne Shorter, who puts in about two appearances on the whole record. Most of it just seems like Joe Zawinul flexing his composition skills and trying out various synth sounds. The songs and sounds are glossy. It is jazz fusion, but not as we know it and not as it was known then. It got a lot of flak at the time for sounding 'commercial'; criticism was even directed at the disco-esque handclaps! In comparison to other Weather Report records like 1982, it does seem to lack the firey improvisation WR were so well known for.

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1346256109' post='1787105'] The person I see in this video is not really the company I would be looking for.. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhPVi2FY-Q4&feature=player_embedded[/media]#! [/quote] He had well and truly lost it by then.

It's always just been an expensive advertising pamphlet to me. I used to occasionally pick up a copy if there was a particularly interesting article or player in it. But as far as information on the subject goes, I've always found internet forums better.

[quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1345297803' post='1776024'] WAL !! i mean WOW !! [/quote] Quite. I have always enjoyed the live Rush stuff from the late 80's. The band at their peak, and Wal tone too - Geddy's best tone! It's cool to hear the old songs spruced up with the Wal.

[quote name='Bill' timestamp='1346088491' post='1785121'] Thanks man, I used to want bart's in my Warwick but when I heard the Nord's there was no going back! [/quote] Some lovely playing in the second video there! I must say though, Barts in a Streamer is one the best bass tones I have ever heard. My old Streamer Ltd Edition 1990 had them, simply amazing.

We often take drummers for granted here but they really do make or break the band (along with singers). Talented guitarists and bassists are ten a penny. Same for passable keyboard players. But to get a good drummer is a magical thing. I find every drummer is a bit different, so you need to take time to get to know their style and the whole band needs to adjust to their sense of time. But when it clicks, it's great!

The thing for me is, I don't like much about Thunderbirds as it is. But the sound is a real downer for me. A new electronics package could be a hefty chunk of change, especially if you can't do the fitting work yourself. But if the bass isn't delivering on tone, then you can either dive in and see if you can improve it to the point where it is going to be of use to you or just let it go.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1346078283' post='1784929'] Great stuff, thanks....will check it out. BTW, are the Wiki rumours true about him living on the streets around the time he died? Did he give up playing? [/quote] Yes, by the end he was living on a park bench. Sadly, he'd become estranged from his family, been the focus of attention of undesirables who wanted to use him for their own gain and was often sleeping rough. He lost the bass of doom too. His behaviour was such that he was pushing his friends away, Joe Zawinul describes how he took him under his wing in Weather Report, only to see him spiral downwards in his later days. He became erratic and unreliable, something which seriously impacted on his ability to get work. My favourite Jaco record would be 'Dara Factor One' from the 1982 Weather Report album. Joe described Jaco as being in a bad place when they made that album, but still able to turn up and put on a world class bass performance. That track is the absolute highlight.

It is often said that you can't polish a turd, and this is often true. I would maybe go out and try some different basses and really get a feel for what you're after. If you still keep coming back to the Tbird, then think about maybe getting some new pickups and an active preamp. Though I really do think you'd be better off looking at a different bass entirely.

Because only prats smash their instruments.

I've always thought of the German Warwick basses as having that quality of never sounding out of place. Like a Fender Jazz Bass, you can get away with using them at any gig and they still sound great!

Old as the hills.

Never having to hear 'Sex on Fire' would be pretty good, actually.

There are plenty of basses that will do a decent, honky back pickup sound, but for an authentic Jaco sound you need a passive bass, I think, or some very transparent electronics. It may seem obvious, but the most apt bass for that sound is a Fender Jaco bass. I've got one currently (soon to be traded to another forum member) and it has [i]that[/i] sound. As in, the sound you hear on the records. Not an approximation of that sound, not a passable impression of that sound. Just that sound. But then, it probably won't deliver on the other side of what you want. The neck pickup blend adds depth and bass, I suppose.

Nice one, it came quickly too! I have heard some horror stories of people waiting for Zon basses over the years! I used to have a Sonus myself, and it was very good.

[quote name='x_Morning_Star_x' timestamp='1345806977' post='1781752'] i know that 90% must be his bass that accomplishes that tone so im guessing its a long shot but worth asking about :-P [/quote] The Musicman Bongo will get you very close with the right effects. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but there isn't much of the typical Wal sound in Justin's tone. He is so often souped in effects, which swamps most of the tone and then the pick gets it to 'clang' without the typical burpy mid/soft treble sound you might hear from a Wal. The Bongo is a great choice, especially as it's dual band mid controls give you a lot of flexibility. My old ACG was also a good one for getting that big, fruity Wal sound. Mind you, it was all that and more. The ACG circuit is a much newer design than the Wal circuit, and it shows.

Nothing else really sounds like a Warwick, does it? The Thumb especially. Instantly recognisable! I couldn't stay away from the Warwick sound for long. I have one coming to me now, a Thumb 5 string.