How good are High End Basses?

[LukeFRC]

Question, somewhat related.
Say you have a bass, and a good bass too- how do you decide to sell so you can afford a high end bass. Esp as a lot of this stuff is custom or rare. Surely the risk could be that you end up without the goodbass and something techniccally better but suits you less?

[4000]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' timestamp='1324911639' post='1478411']
A few minutes with a set of allen keys might get them playing the same though. A tiny variation in the relief on the neck can make a massive difference to how a bass feels.
[/quote]

Agreed. However I've now owned 14 Rics, mainly 4001 basses. All very, very different. I've loved 2 or 3. Liked 3 or 4 more a great deal. Liked a couple more quite a lot. The rest? From pretty good to meh, with a couple of don't really likes thrown in for good measure. Even when you get the set-ups the same, everything is not necessarily equal. This goes for any other make/model too.

[4000]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1324923416' post='1478519']
Question, somewhat related.
Say you have a bass, and a good bass too- how do you decide to sell so you can afford a high end bass. Esp as a lot of this stuff is custom or rare. Surely the risk could be that you end up without the goodbass and something techniccally better but suits you less?
[/quote]

Absolutely. None of my boutiques - with the exception of my Alembic Triple O, barring the weight - have suited me as well as the pick of my Rics, which are essentially much cheaper basses.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1324925586' post='1478546']


Absolutely. None of my boutiques - with the exception of my Alembic Triple O, barring the weight - have suited me as well as the pick of my Rics, which are essentially much cheaper basses.
[/quote] which is a good answer to a question I've been asking myself

[jazzyvee]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1324923416' post='1478519']
Question, somewhat related.
Say you have a bass, and a good bass too- how do you decide to sell so you can afford a high end bass. Esp as a lot of this stuff is custom or rare. Surely the risk could be that you end up without the goodbass and something techniccally better but suits you less?
[/quote][quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1324923416' post='1478519']
Question, somewhat related.
Say you have a bass, and a good bass too- how do you decide to sell so you can afford a high end bass. Esp as a lot of this stuff is custom or rare. Surely the risk could be that you end up without the goodbass and something techniccally better but suits you less?
[/quote]

I had that scenario. I'm primarily a guitarist but fell onto being a bass player more by chance than desire so get more gigs playing bass these days really. But a few years ago I decided I wanted to get a decent bass for recording and to learn on so got a MM Sterling bass because the body was compact, the neck was slim at the nut and I liked the sound of it. I only ever used it at home and on my music course. Then after a while I started to feel that it only had one sound that I really thought was good and whenever I rolled off any of the top end or bottom end it just sounded lifeless.

Then after about a year I decided to take big step and buy a short scale Alembic 4 string. The leap of faith was cushioned by the fact I loved the sound Stanley Clarke was getting from his so I felt confident that the bass would not give me a bad sound even though I knew I wasn't gonna sound like him using the signature model.

I have to admit that when I first got it i felt the neck was too wide at the nut but as it has very little taper down to the body it felt more comfortable everywhere else and I loved the sound and the action was low. Eventually I got used to the neck and the different approach to tone control took a while to get used to. Soon after that I started gigging and loved the alembic sound so sold the Music Man.

Ironically, in recent years I've done a lot of tracks on gigs where the bass parts were originally by Marcus Miller so now that Music man would have been perfect for that kind of Fendery sound.

Fortunately for me the decision worked out perfectly but it is a risk and certainly the alembic tone is not everyones cup of tea and the controls are very sensitive and do take a while to really be able to dial in the sound you want consistently.
I think for me, the fact I wasn't gigging, I was only playing bass at home, meant I had less pressure and no reputation to maintain as a bass player so I had less to loose by making a bad choice.

The thing is, If you go down the custom build route you can always get the builder to match your existing neck profile and string spacing so you have at least a familiar feel to the bass. There is always gonna be some level of risk if you are moving into unfamiliar territory especially if it is a custom build that you can't physically interact with during construction.

What bass are you thinking about then?

Jazzyvee

Edited December 29, 2011 by jazzyvee

[JTUK]

[sub]It will always be a risk selling a good bass and thinking an upgrade will work better....[/sub]
[sub]You have to be 200%...and I buy and then sell as it will take a few months to get really into the bass or other kit, for that matter...[/sub]
[sub]so you can't play one off against the other..you have to be prepared for an addition and then a cull..hopefully.[/sub]

[sub]It took me years to decide to and actually sell my custom...and I know I made the right decision now..but it was still VERY hard.[/sub]

[4000]

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1325124616' post='1480129']
I had that scenario. I'm primarily a guitarist but fell onto being a bass player more by chance than desire so get more gigs playing bass these days really. But a few years ago I decided I wanted to get a decent bass for recording and to learn on so got a MM Sterling bass because the body was compact, the neck was slim at the nut and I liked the sound of it. I only ever used it at home and on my music course. Then after a while I started to feel that it only had one sound that I really thought was good and whenever I rolled off any of the top end or bottom end it just sounded lifeless.

Then after about a year I decided to take big step and buy a short scale Alembic 4 string. The leap of faith was cushioned by the fact I loved the sound Stanley Clarke was getting from his so I felt confident that the bass would not give me a bad sound even though I knew I wasn't gonna sound like him using the signature model.

I have to admit that when I first got it i felt the neck was too wide at the nut but as it has very little taper down to the body it felt more comfortable everywhere else and I loved the sound and the action was low. Eventually I got used to the neck and the different approach to tone control took a while to get used to. Soon after that I started gigging and loved the alembic sound so sold the Music Man.

Ironically, in recent years I've done a lot of tracks on gigs where the bass parts were originally by Marcus Miller so now that Music man would have been perfect for that kind of Fendery sound.

Fortunately for me the decision worked out perfectly but it is a risk and certainly the alembic tone is not everyones cup of tea and the controls are very sensitive and do take a while to really be able to dial in the sound you want consistently.
I think for me, the fact I wasn't gigging, I was only playing bass at home, meant I had less pressure and no reputation to maintain as a bass player so I had less to loose by making a bad choice.

The thing is, If you go down the custom build route you can always get the builder to match your existing neck profile and string spacing so you have at least a familiar feel to the bass. There is always gonna be some level of risk if you are moving into unfamiliar territory especially if it is a custom build that you can't physically interact with during construction.

What bass are you thinking about then?

Jazzyvee
[/quote]

Actually, one of the good things about Alembic is that although they'll build you petty much anything you want, most of the neck-throughs that you come cross will either have classic or comfort taper necks and pretty similar electronics. Having played several Mark Kings (and indeed another Triple O) I had a pretty good idea what mine would feel and sound like as I specified the same neck (classic taper) and electronics (signature). Of course the sound is going to be subtly different, but at least you've got a pretty good idea. If you tried to do the same with a Sei or something it wouldn't work, because each has been built uniquely; there is no "standard" as such. Alembic can do unique - indeed they'll go further than most - but you can play one that is a "typical" Alembic and work from there.