What's the most over-rated bass, or bass related product???

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='peted' post='375273' date='Jan 9 2009, 03:24 PM']I would have to say Fender basses and Ampeg amps.

Don't get me wrong, they're good, but somehow they seem to attract a rating which would make someone think that other brands don't exist.[/quote]


There are other brands ?

[bremen]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='375280' date='Jan 9 2009, 03:29 PM']There are other brands ? [/quote]

Yup: Warwick, Hartke and Line 6!

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='bremen' post='375329' date='Jan 9 2009, 04:18 PM']Yup: Warwick, Hartke and Line 6![/quote]


Oh those

OT save me from PMing you I've been held up this week the compressor will be in the post Monday.

[EBS_freak]

Nordstrand single coils.

[Josh]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='377486' date='Jan 12 2009, 11:16 AM']Nordstrand single coils.[/quote]

Nordstrand Big Singles and Fat Stacks also.

They are far from the "Super Jazz" Bass tone they claim to be.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Josh' post='377558' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:20 PM']Nordstrand Big Singles and Fat Stacks also.

They are far from the "Super Jazz" Bass tone they claim to be.[/quote]

Got to love the hype of the internets.

It'd be interesting to hear the preamp. I loved the fact that everybody gets excited about a preamp they haven't heard.

The pickup game is full of BS. All these guys who reckon that brand x sounds wicked and has some sort of special mojo in it etc... I'm not going to even start on the science of pickups... because some know it all will probably argue blue that I am wrong...

[Rich]

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='375041' date='Jan 9 2009, 01:05 PM']Anything endorsed by Nathan East.[/quote]
Problem with Nathan East, or his choice of kit?

[Josh]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='377569' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:28 PM']I'm not going to even start on the science of pickups... because some know it all will probably argue blue that I am wrong...[/quote]

Thats because you are....apparently .

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Rich' post='377570' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:29 PM']Problem with Nathan East, or his choice of kit? [/quote]

I wonder if Prince Harry has a friendly nickname for Nathan East.

I love Nathan East's playing and his signature bass is awesome. I'm not too big a fan of the bridge pieces though. I just wish he had a signature 6 like the one he actually uses. Still reckon white basses are the ultimate stage basses. Will get another one one day.

His kit - if memory serves me right, is currently Avalon, and Aggie. Not too shabby if you ask me.

His parametric EQ is pretty useful piece of kit for the price. Alot better than some of the BS put out by these big name companies.

Plus he co-wrote Easy Lover.

Dont know about anybody else... but I'm a fan!

Edited January 12, 2009 by EBS_freak

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Josh' post='377572' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:32 PM']Thats because you are....apparently .[/quote]

Probably. One man's tone is another's sh*t heap so it's all subjective I guess.

[Josh]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='377575' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:37 PM']Probably. One man's tone is another's sh*t heap so it's all subjective I guess.[/quote]

Exactly, but when ones tone is backed by a mountain of hype and it falls short of the mark by a long way, you suddently become the enemy. Go figure.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Josh' post='377585' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:44 PM']Exactly, but when ones tone is backed by a mountain of hype and it falls short of the mark by a long way, you suddently become the enemy. Go figure.[/quote]

Teh Internets hype. Got to love it.

[Josh]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='377750' date='Jan 12 2009, 02:50 PM']Teh Internets hype. Got to love it.[/quote]

I love it as much as the thought of french kissing Ricky Gervais during a Christian Worhship Service in Alabama, all whilst wearing a tight leather gimp suit.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Josh' post='377755' date='Jan 12 2009, 02:53 PM']I love it as much as the thought of french kissing Ricky Gervais during a Christian Worhship Service in Alabama, all whilst wearing a tight leather gimp suit.[/quote]

with butt plug?

[tauzero]

[quote name='ARGH' post='373679' date='Jan 7 2009, 11:32 PM']People that cant see the need for 6 string bass's,TRY one.......really try,and if you cant play it you are a thickie and deserve to stay in the remedial class and learn how to make tea with the rest of life mental failures...yeah thats you..your Auntie Jean,and a wheelie bin.[/quote]
There's no [b]need[/b] for six-string basses. They have a niche. Most bassists can live without reaching into that niche.

[tauzero]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='377574' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:35 PM']Still reckon white basses are the ultimate stage basses.[/quote]
Bloody white supremacists get everywhere.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='377569' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:28 PM']The pickup game is full of BS. All these guys who reckon that brand x sounds wicked and has some sort of special mojo in it etc... I'm not going to even start on the science of pickups...[/quote]

I think you're probably right about most pickups because they're all so similar in design. The Q-Tuners are very different, as are Wal pickups, and a few others, and to my ears achieve something that few of the others can - high ouput, even response, extended treble and no hum.

[quote name='tauzero' post='379062' date='Jan 13 2009, 02:30 PM']There's no [b]need[/b] for six-string basses. They have a niche. Most bassists can live without reaching into that niche.[/quote]

Indeed - even Anthony Jackson says that and he invented it! Use them if you find an advantage, don't if you don't.

Alex

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='379089' date='Jan 13 2009, 02:53 PM']I think you're probably right about most pickups because they're all so similar in design. The Q-Tuners are very different, as are Wal pickups, and a few others, and to my ears achieve something that few of the others can - high ouput, even response, extended treble and no hum.

Alex[/quote]

I wouldn't go that far... whilst the theory in which they work is very similar, how you implement the design has a massive influence on how they sound. The neo magnetic thing is a huge marketing hype also... like most things.

You mention high ouput, even response, extended treble and no hum... but does that actually mean you get a good tone? For me, I can't get past the ugliness of the Q-Tuners.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='379214' date='Jan 13 2009, 03:48 PM']I wouldn't go that far... whilst the theory in which they work is very similar, how you implement the design has a massive influence on how they sound. The neo magnetic thing is a huge marketing hype also... like most things.[/quote]

The magnet material doesn't make much difference - there seems to be a tendancy with neo magnets to have reduced eddy currents within the magnet itself and therefore lower distortion but it's not a big deal. The bigger deal is the use of air core coils around a horizontal axis which manages to achieve a very high resonant frequency and low inductance despite achieving high output.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='379214' date='Jan 13 2009, 03:48 PM']You mention high ouput, even response, extended treble and no hum... but does that actually mean you get a good tone? For me, I can't get past the ugliness of the Q-Tuners.[/quote]

Well you can get normal looking ones if you don't like the transparent look. If your bass sounds good acoustically then the Q-Tuners will make the most of that. I honestly cannot get over how good they sound - big and fat and clear and dynamic - properly responsive to how you play.

If even and extended response didn't mean good tone what would it say about your bass and your playing?

Alex

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='379246' date='Jan 13 2009, 04:11 PM']If even and extended response didn't mean good tone what would it say about your bass and your playing?

Alex[/quote]

A synth which theoretically could produce extended and even response doesn't mean that the sound that is produced is tonally pleasing does it...?

[ARGH]

[quote name='tauzero' post='379062' date='Jan 13 2009, 02:30 PM']There's no [b]need[/b] for six-string basses. They have a niche. Most bassists can live without reaching into that niche.[/quote]
Is that a wheelie bin in the corner of your classroom?

Edited January 13, 2009 by ARGH

[alexclaber]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='379278' date='Jan 13 2009, 04:35 PM']A synth which theoretically could produce extended and even response doesn't mean that the sound that is produced is tonally pleasing does it...?[/quote]

The pickup does not synthesise the sound, it picks up the sound of the instrument. If the instrument sounds good (with the given player) and the pickup is transparent then you'll get a good tone.

A synthesiser on the other hand creates the sound - you can't really use that kind of processor/mic/speaker response terminology to describe it, you instead need to look at the overtone balance and the envelope.

Alex

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='379647' date='Jan 13 2009, 08:43 PM']The pickup does not synthesise the sound, it picks up the sound of the instrument. If the instrument sounds good (with the given player) and the pickup is transparent then you'll get a good tone.

A synthesiser on the other hand creates the sound - you can't really use that kind of processor/mic/speaker response terminology to describe it, you instead need to look at the overtone balance and the envelope.

Alex[/quote]

Its all sound. Theres more to a bass than sound, if it plays and looks awesome but its acoustics are crap, a pickup that ignores that, and just sounds good whetever its stuck in is going to be a good sounding pickup, and make a good sounding bass. Same pickup might totally waste your custom built to a thesis sized spec bass.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='379659' date='Jan 13 2009, 08:53 PM']Its all sound. Theres more to a bass than sound, if it plays and looks awesome but its acoustics are crap, a pickup that ignores that, and just sounds good whetever its stuck in is going to be a good sounding pickup, and make a good sounding bass. Same pickup might totally waste your custom built to a thesis sized spec bass.[/quote]

Indeed. I think all the "tone wood" theories are not as applicable on electric instuments where the majority of the tone is generated by string interacting with the pickup. Acoustic instruments on the other hand...

Just a thought like.

[Buzz]

I'd argue the wood point, as for some reason people assume that once you pluck a string that's it, the vibration starts and stops there. That isn't true, the vibration (*simplified view ahead*) echos through the body and importantly [b]back[/b] to the strings. That's what contributes to sustain and overall tone from the strings. The wood does make a difference, as does hardware, which is why people generally notice more sustain when fitting for example, a badass II in place of the Fender Bent Tin bridge, it's much better at transferring the vibrations to and from the strings and the body.

How much difference is the question that needs to be solved, I think electrics make a bigger and much more noticable difference.


Either way, to swing back on topic:

This is bass related, I hate inconsistancy on mass produced instruments in regards to crucial items like lining the neck up (or the bridge) properly with the other main components.

I'll put a warning up on BC if my T-Bird goes on t'bay so I can pass it off to someone else, it's playable, it just narks me and makes playing it a bit harder.

Edited January 14, 2009 by Buzz