jakenewmanbass Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I have an MK sig deluxe balance K It's for sale! It's to die for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 You're selling it? Can only ask why......and say I wish I had the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozbass Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) Not much, well nothing, novel to add...just heavy, problematic balance and just the most beautiful tone in, what for me, are the most lovely basses on the planet (I realise others may disagree strongly). The Balance K represents an important development in terms of both balance and reach. If you want stereo, try Anniversary electronics (two volumes rather than pan too). If you want more of a Series-like tone, get an SF2. If you want real comfort, go for a Darling with sig, ann or series electronics (I'm assuming the bodies are large/thick enough to take that latter). Prices seem to hold-up well on the higher-end Alembics so a MK sig or similar isn't going to be cheap - what an investment though. Did I mention these are the best etc... Edited for a bit of an addition. Maybe slightly off-topic but I've been thinking about this quite a bit over the last 18 months or so. I've gorged myself on some of the world's most beautiful and desirable basses in the past 5-10 years. Only the Alembics remain (a few 'nostalgia' basses aside) - I've realised that opening the case of a new arrival - anything other than an Alembic - just leaves me feeling flat. I really struggle to get excited about the vast majority of basses - I've been spoiled and it feels like a bit of a shame. Edited January 19, 2014 by lozbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) [quote name='4000' timestamp='1390001793' post='2340548'] You're selling it? Can only ask why......and say I wish I had the money. [/quote] I'm selling for a bunch of reasons. I'm recording more these days, and believe it or not I encounter snobbery about it all the time, people want things they are used to. Now don't get me wrong I'm still a devotee, but I can't afford at this point to keep so much money invested in what is for me a tool of work that doesn't produce a good return. So my plan is to sell this, arm myself with an arsenal of studio/producer friendly basses, then when I have recovered my 'pleasure bass fund' (which I can do by selling an upright that I will have no use for at the end of 2014) I will buy myself a second hand series Alembic. Edited January 19, 2014 by jakenewmanbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozbass Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1390152181' post='2341996'] I'm selling for a bunch of reasons. I'm recording more these days, and believe it or not I encounter snobbery about it all the time, people want things they are used to. Now don't get me wrong I'm still a devotee, but I can't afford at this point to keep so much money invested in what is for me a tool of work that doesn't produce a good return. So my plan is to sell this, arm myself with an arsenal of studio/producer friendly basses, then when I have recovered my 'pleasure bass fund' (which I can do by selling an upright that I will have no use for at the end of 2014) I will buy myself a second hand series Alembic. [/quote] sounds eminently sensible - is the MK to be advertised on here? Think you'll be pleased too with the Series (when the time is right) - may sound weird but another step-up from the already stunning Sigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Sorry to veer off..but I find Jake's experience sad and slightly familiar. My Epic used to get some comments, even though it sounded fantastic. Some people just want see a Fender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyvee Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='lozbass' timestamp='1390152931' post='2342007'] Think you'll be pleased too with the Series (when the time is right) - may sound weird but another step-up from the already stunning Sigs. [/quote] Agreed Jazzyvee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='lozbass' timestamp='1390152931' post='2342007'] sounds eminently sensible - is the MK to be advertised on here? Think you'll be pleased too with the Series (when the time is right) - may sound weird but another step-up from the already stunning Sigs. [/quote] Now now loz I said it's for sale, I didn't say anything about advertising it as such Seriously though, I may try it out on here, although I might try a commission sale instead as I'm sadly loads better at buying gear than selling it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1390152181' post='2341996'] I'm selling for a bunch of reasons. I'm recording more these days, and believe it or not I encounter snobbery about it all the time, people want things they are used to. Now don't get me wrong I'm still a devotee, but I can't afford at this point to keep so much money invested in what is for me a tool of work that doesn't produce a good return. So my plan is to sell this, arm myself with an arsenal of studio/producer friendly basses, then when I have recovered my 'pleasure bass fund' (which I can do by selling an upright that I will have no use for at the end of 2014) I will buy myself a second hand series Alembic. [/quote] It's at times like this I'm glad I've never been a hired gun (well, for anything other than me being chosen for what I already bring to the table)..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 [quote name='4000' timestamp='1390162767' post='2342222'] It's at times like this I'm glad I've never been a hired gun (well, for anything other than me being chosen for what I already bring to the table)..... [/quote] I take your point but wouldn't you love to own a small business that could buy you alembics and make them tax deductible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I already do. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 [quote name='4000' timestamp='1390200705' post='2342451'] I already do. ;-) [/quote] Excellent work sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) [quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1390207395' post='2342493'] Excellent work sir! [/quote] Many thanks. The downside is I'm not currently earning enough (from either job!) to finance another Alembic. I live in hope! The upside is as one of the 2 main writers in the band nobody tells me what to do unless I ask their opinion. Which is nice. Of course if I was half as good as I gather you are I'd feel a lot better about the whole thing. Edited January 20, 2014 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcus bell Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Look at that price tag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 [quote name='marcus bell' timestamp='1390233089' post='2342909'] Look at that price tag [/quote] .................but it's Neil Murrays bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Marcus, I've got an idea for you. It's a bit radical and left-field and you may want to sit down as it could come as a bit of a shock. Here goes. Ready? OK. How about getting... [size=2]sitting down? good. here comes the shock bit[/size] a bass that... [size=2]ready? here goes...[/size] [i]isn't[/i] associated with Mark King? [size=2]Well, I did tell you it was a fairly radical idea.[/size] Edited January 20, 2014 by UglyDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 [quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1390229675' post='2342854'] Neil Murray's 20th Ann Alembic is still up on Bass Direct... [/quote] [quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1390234679' post='2342931'] .................but it's Neil Murrays bass! [/quote] It used to be Neil Murray's bass a[i] long [/i]time ago. I've seen that bass for sale at least once before, many years ago, I think at The Gallery, where I know Neil is a regular customer. I nearly bought one of those Alembic 20th Anniversary basses new in the summer of 1992 .They had one identical to Neil Murray's ( could even have been Neil that ended up buying it ) in the Bass Centre at Wapping and it was epic. It was just over two grand at the time , which was a lot of money in those days compared to most other basses , but in retrospect it would probably have been money well spent. I have never owned an Alembic due mainly to the fact that they are, for the most part, designed with overall playing comfort as an afterthought, but I am still just as fascinated and fixated by them as when I first saw them . At their best, they have got such a unique tone that nothing else will substitute for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 [quote name='4000' timestamp='1389987213' post='2340362'] Sorry, been listening to Mark since Level 42s first appearance on OGWT and I completely disagree. His KBs (certainly the ones I've heard, not heard the KB2) sound very different to me, as did the Jaydees. The Jaydees are typically more honky/grunty (technical terms, lol), the Alembics typically more fluid and twangy sounding with that lovely 'Alembicness' with the KBs simply very pingy and graphite-sounding IMO. My favourite-sounding of his Status basses was his red 2000. Of course I'm sure his different amplification was/is a factor as well; if you go back to the earlier days he was far less thin and glassy than now. I have quite a lot of live Level 42 stuff on dvd from throughout the years (including quite a bit transferred from old VHS tapes from performances on the telly) and although his style is far removed from mine, safe to say I've watched an awful lot of it an awful lot of times. Oh, have met him too. Very nice chap indeed. He was the first person I ever saw slap (that selfsame OGWT performance); scared the daylights out of me. Absolutely fell in love with the Starchild Jaydee though, still one of my favourite-looking basses. Always find it a bit weird when people criticise his slapping, which is integral to the music he plays; I vastly prefer his style to say Marcus's, which I personally find a bit leaden (yes, I know he's [i]laying it down[/i]). To me he plays bass almost like a jazz drummer, which I prefer (jazz drummers are the only real drummers IMO ). [/quote] Suffice to say that I don't agree with your assessment of Mark King's playing ability or indeed your description of his style - I think he is at his best constructing inventive basslines , which he does very well, rather than his slap histrionics- but any comparison between Mark King with Marcus Miller is a step too far for me to let pass without comment. Marcus Miller is in a different dimension as a musician to Mark King, and is so superior in terms of taste , feel and overall intellectual and emotional depth that it's not really fair to Mark King to make the mention him in the same context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 [quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1390235124' post='2342937'] Marcus, I've got an idea for you. It's a bit radical and left-field and you may want to sit down as it could come as a bit of a shock. Here goes. Ready? OK. How about getting... [size=2]sitting down? good. here comes the shock bit[/size] a bass that... [size=2]ready? here goes...[/size] [i]isn't[/i] associated with Mark King? [size=2]Well, I did tell you it was a fairly radical idea.[/size] [/quote] Heretic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcus bell Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 We all like what we like... I've had jazz basses, musicmans, ibanez, fleabass etc, just so happens I like the basses and sounds that marks had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 [quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1390238309' post='2342996'] Suffice to say that I don't agree with your assessment of Mark King's playing ability or indeed your description of his style - I think he is at his best constructing inventive basslines , which he does very well, rather than his slap histrionics- but any comparison between Mark King with Marcus Miller is a step too far for me to let pass without comment. Marcus Miller is in a different dimension as a musician to Mark King, and is so superior in terms of taste , feel and overall intellectual and emotional depth that it's not really fair to Mark King to make the mention him in the same context. [/quote] I love it when people think that their opinion on taste (and feel for that matter) is quantifiable, it always gives me a good giggle. FWIW I was ONLY discussing MK's SLAP. That doesn't mean I hadn't considered the rest of his playing, in the same way that talking about the bread in a sandwich doesn't mean you haven't considered the filling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) [quote name='4000' timestamp='1390255467' post='2343316'] I love it when people think that their opinion on taste (and feel for that matter) is quantifiable, it always gives me a good giggle. FWIW I was ONLY discussing MK's SLAP. That doesn't mean I hadn't considered the rest of his playing, in the same way that talking about the bread in a sandwich doesn't mean you haven't considered the filling. [/quote] It's not just a question of taste .Besides which,there is good taste and bad taste, and what constitutes good taste, contrary to popular fallacy, is not just a matter of opinion but also aesthetic awareness . We all make qualitative and quantitative judgements about all kinds of things hundreds of times a day, why would music be excluded from that? I'm not trying to have a row with you, my friend, but everything is quantifiable, or at least eligible to be assessed , including Mark King. If you enjoy MK's slap playing and prefer it to that of Marcus Miller then that is perfectly fine . Maybe what you say strikes a nerve with me because on more than one occasion I have heard Mark King in interviews compare and contrast his style with that of Marcus Miller as if he were Marcus' equal. He is not, and if he thinks he is in the same league as Marcus Miller as a bass player on any level then he is deluded. Edited January 24, 2014 by Dingus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Some Alembic porn here for you, Marcus. This clip really showcases that classic snappy Alembic tone that no bass can replicate. Fabulous playing , too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4kN01cY-Z0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 If you are going to buy one of these basses, Marcus, then I would try and get one of the slightly more upmarket versions with the purpleheart laminates in the neck. They help improve both the overall tone of the bass and structural stability of the neck . These full size Alembics just don't look right without the proper stringers in the neck-thru-body , either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcus bell Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 I've already seen a bass that I really want, unfortunately it doesn't have the purpleheart laminates but it'll still be a top bass , also it's at the top end of my budget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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