EBS_freak Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) [quote name='molan' post='365914' date='Dec 30 2008, 12:29 AM']PS - If there are any Bass magazine journos on this site then I'd recommend a new proof reader, every issue has mistakes in it and, in these days of computerised checking processes, it's a bit crap to spot typo and layout mistakes every month - apologies if this makes me sound a pernickety old git :blush:[/quote] Why? That's half the fun - spotting the all errors in the latest edition of the bass comic! [quote name='mcgraham' post='365674' date='Dec 29 2008, 06:41 PM']For example, the review mentioned that the satin finish on the W&T made it feel cheaper and less exotic than the price suggested; however I'd rather have a bass with satin than gloss (most of the time) as there's other drawbacks I find with having gloss finish that satin completely sidesteps.[/quote] As an aside, GBs generally come (unless of course you specify otherwise) with a satin finished neck for non-stick playability. What are your drawbacks with gloss finish? Apart from fingerprints of course! (even worse if you have a black gloss finish!) Edited December 30, 2008 by EBS_freak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 Gloss finish often looks cheap and plasticky, it also sticks more often. Some gloss finishes are absurdly adhesive. For instance on one of my guitars within minutes of playing my arm is securely anchored to the guitar by my natural skin secretions. I don't even seem to sweat noticeably when I play, just due to contact with the guitar body. I actually prefer somewhere between a gloss and satin finish. Satin is sometimes too dry, and gloss sometimes too sticky. When Jon made me my replacement neck I asked for somewhere between and it's perfect. Dry enough for non-stick playing, but enough gloss to feel pleasant when playing it. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 With the right products there is absolutely no reason why a high-gloss finish should be any more sticky than a satin one. My Sei and my two gloss finished Gus basses don't have sticky necks at all, whereas I've played some satin finish necks that feel rougher than a really rough thing. Also I really don't like the look of basses where the neck and the body don't match. To me it's cheap and nasty. Back onto the main topic: comparative reviews of basses costing in excess of £1500 where more than 50% of the instruments produced are built to order is fairly meaningless. Any decent luthier will be able to produce a fine playing and sounding instrument at that price. After that everything else is personal taste, and that's what you pay for those little extras that make it EXACTLY YOUR bass and not something that just happens to suit about 90% of your requirements. All my custom guitars and basses were made for ME. To expect someone else to be as happy as I am with them is pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 [quote name='BigRedX' post='366364' date='Dec 30 2008, 04:22 PM']All my custom guitars and basses were made for ME. To expect someone else to be as happy as I am with them is pointless.[/quote] Good comments. I agree... ...but if you became famous and worshipped for your bassplaying (or image) around the globe and your bass became a signature model, all of a sudden all the sycophants wouldn't be able to get enough of it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 (edited) Do you reckon, to justify buying something like this, you should be a pretty fabulous bass player? Or, if you appreciate and can afford this sort of sublime craftsmanship, playing ability is secondary? If you were a maker of these sort of basses, would you feel like selling one to a substandard player, or for someone to put in a display case and play at home three times a year? My feeling is, if I won the Pools, I would still not buy something like this because I am simply not a good enough player - I would feel overawed by it and scared shitless of putting a ding in it. Edited March 31, 2009 by silddx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 (edited) [quote name='silddx' post='450572' date='Mar 31 2009, 03:03 PM']Do you reckon, to justify buying something like this, you should be a pretty fabulous bass player? Or, if you appreciate and can afford this sort of sublime craftsmanship, playing ability is secondary? If you were a maker of these sort of basses, would you feel like selling one to a substandard player, or for someone to put in a display case and play at home three times a year? My feeling is, if I won the Pools, I would still not buy something like this because I am simply not a good enough player - I would feel overawed by it and scared shitless of putting a ding in it.[/quote] I don't know if I a "pretty fabulous" bass player. There are certainly a hell of a lot of people (a hell of a lot) of people out there better than me out there. The reason I have GBs is that I particularly like the way they feel. They were genuinely the first basses that I picked up and the neck and action was exactly like I wanted it. Everything fell into place. Everything felt right. Then the sounds... They have all the sounds I need and a lot, lot more. The preamp and pickup system in a GB is pretty special. There are sounds in it that just can't be found elsewhere. Yes, there are lots of aftermarket preamps, and some great ones at that... for me, they just don't do as much as a GB system does. Go and try a GB out and see what I mean. Everybody has their favourite maker granted... but I can guarantee nothing has the amount of usable sounds as the GB. I've spoke to Bernie about selling his basses to all sorts of standards of players. At the end of the day, he loves his job. He loves making basses and he loves the look on peoples faces when they come to pick them up. It's what gives him the icing on the cake with regards to his job. Basses like these rarely end up in the hands of working pros. Why do most jobbing musicians use jazzes and stingrays? Because they are ten a penny and replaceable. Things like GB, Sei, Ritter, Alembic basses etc are quite a rarity to see out and about because they are often very personal and difficult to replace without a lot of headache. Bernie has a considerable amount of GB players out there - pro ones at that... Laurence is an owner, obviously Mark King back in the day, Stuart etc... but to him, its a business and of course, he has a mortgage to pay... so he has two things on his mind, the money to keep him afloat and customer satisfaction. He is the busiest he has ever been - despite the economic climate - so he is happy enough. (although his boat time has taken a bit of a beating!) I love all my GBs and gig them. That's what I enjoy. That's what I do... and the GBs are the basses that make me play and enjoy what I am hearing out of the amp behind me. Some people spend their money on weekend sports cars and are arguably, they would be p1ssed off if they dinged those... but these things are meant to be used so I guess that's why I do take them out and gig with them. Edited March 31, 2009 by EBS_freak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 That's totally cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='silddx' post='450572' date='Mar 31 2009, 03:03 PM']Do you reckon, to justify buying something like this, you should be a pretty fabulous bass player? Or, if you appreciate and can afford this sort of sublime craftsmanship, playing ability is secondary? If you were a maker of these sort of basses, would you feel like selling one to a substandard player, or for someone to put in a display case and play at home three times a year? My feeling is, if I won the Pools, I would still not buy something like this because I am simply not a good enough player - I would feel overawed by it and scared shitless of putting a ding in it.[/quote] That's quite a depressing PoV. I'm an incredibly average bass player, but the custom basses I own allow me to be slightly better because I'm not struggling to cope with an instrument that isn't right for me. My priorities in life revolve around music therefore that's what I spend my money on Having nice instruments makes me play that little bit better because it's less of a struggle and therefore that makes me happy and after all being happy should be what life is about. And I take my expensive basses to gigs in order to play them. That's what they are for. I look after them but it's not the end of the world if they pick up a ding or two, and besides if they start looking too scruffy then I can always have them refinished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='BigRedX' post='450605' date='Mar 31 2009, 03:30 PM']I'm an incredibly average bass player, but the custom basses I own allow me to be slightly better because I'm not struggling to cope with an instrument that isn't right for me. My priorities in life revolve around music therefore that's what I spend my money on Having nice instruments makes me play that little bit better because it's less of a struggle and therefore that makes me happy and after all being happy should be what life is about. And I take my expensive basses to gigs in order to play them. That's what they are for. I look after them but it's not the end of the world if they pick up a ding or two, and besides if they start looking too scruffy then I can always have them refinished.[/quote] +1 to all of the above Although in my case you can probably add the word 'below' in front of average Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='BigRedX' post='450605' date='Mar 31 2009, 03:30 PM']That's quite a depressing PoV.[/quote] I don't know if it's depressing, it's just how I feel. Even though I'm an attention-seeking exhibitionist on a stage, and for all my opinionated gobbiness, I'm actually a self-deprecating, self-loathing approval seeker, constipated with inhibition. If I strapped on one of these I would be thinking people would want to see me live up to that bass and play like Victor Wooten. I would die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='silddx' post='450630' date='Mar 31 2009, 04:09 PM']If I strapped on one of these I would be thinking people would want to see me live up to that bass and play like Victor Wooten. I would die.[/quote] Unless you are planning on playing a bass clinic somewhere i reckon the average audience punter wouldn't know a 'boutique' bass if it jumped out & slapped him/her in the face They certainly wouldn't know who Victor Wooten was :lol In fact I played a gig recently with my, pretty expensive USA MTD 535, and had the one person in the audience who was a bass player told me that I could get a decent MIJ Jazz bass instead as I obviously couldn't afford an American Fender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 (edited) [quote name='molan' post='450637' date='Mar 31 2009, 04:17 PM']Unless you are planning on playing a bass clinic somewhere i reckon the average audience punter wouldn't know a 'boutique' bass if it jumped out & slapped him/her in the face They certainly wouldn't know who Victor Wooten was :lol[/quote] I guess that's true, but [b]I [/b]would know. [quote name='molan' post='450637' date='Mar 31 2009, 04:17 PM']In fact I played a gig recently with my, pretty expensive USA MTD 535, and had the one person in the audience who was a bass player told me that I could get a decent MIJ Jazz bass instead as I obviously couldn't afford an American Fender.[/quote] How did you react? Edited March 31, 2009 by silddx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='silddx' post='450652' date='Mar 31 2009, 04:31 PM']I guess that's true, but [i]I [/i][b][/b]would know. How did you react?[/quote] I said that the MTD was quite a nice bass & that he should look out for one to give a try & casually let slip that the USA ones like mine were about £3K new but if he shopped around he might find one for about £2,250 on the used market. His jaw dropped and he quietly slid into the background. . . Bit crass of me really but I couldn't resist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='molan' post='450653' date='Mar 31 2009, 04:34 PM']I said that the MTD was quite a nice bass & that he should look out for one to give a try & casually let slip that the USA ones like mine were about £3K new but if he shopped around he might find one for about £2,250 on the used market. His jaw dropped and he quietly slid into the background. . . Bit crass of me really but I couldn't resist [/quote] I doubt I could have resisted either. Superb! Credibility - zero in an instant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote]In fact I played a gig recently with my, pretty expensive USA MTD 535, and had the one person in the audience who was a bass player told me that I could get a decent MIJ Jazz bass instead as I obviously couldn't afford an American Fender.[/quote] [quote]I said that the MTD was quite a nice bass & that he should look out for one to give a try & casually let slip that the USA ones like mine were about £3K new but if he shopped around he might find one for about £2,250 on the used market. His jaw dropped and he quietly slid into the background. . . Bit crass of me really but I couldn't resist[/quote] Nice one, Barrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunsfreddy2003 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I'm a crap bass player but sure look good with my GB Rumour!!! Sometimes in life, like EBS Freak says. you just find something that you love and then you just have to buy it. Anyone can appreciate the beauty and sound from a GB whether Stanley Clarke or John Smith from down the road. Mark [quote name='silddx' post='450572' date='Mar 31 2009, 03:03 PM']Do you reckon, to justify buying something like this, you should be a pretty fabulous bass player? Or, if you appreciate and can afford this sort of sublime craftsmanship, playing ability is secondary? If you were a maker of these sort of basses, would you feel like selling one to a substandard player, or for someone to put in a display case and play at home three times a year? My feeling is, if I won the Pools, I would still not buy something like this because I am simply not a good enough player - I would feel overawed by it and scared shitless of putting a ding in it.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 95% of instruments will get you 95% the way there if you have the ability. If you want the additional 5% you better be prepared to search for it, wait for it or pay for it but, once you find it, you wont look back. This statement is true of pro audio, studio gear, basses, guitars, amps, kitchens, holidays, food etc.... etc..... etc..... G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='slaphappygarry' post='450743' date='Mar 31 2009, 06:21 PM']95% of instruments will get you 95% the way there if you have the ability. If you want the additional 5% you better be prepared to search for it, wait for it or pay for it but, once you find it, you wont look back. This statement is true of pro audio, studio gear, basses, guitars, amps, kitchens, holidays, food etc.... etc..... etc..... G[/quote] ...and women. (or men if you are woman) (or men if you are a gay man) (just doing my sexist covering my own back thing there...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='EBS_freak' post='450749' date='Mar 31 2009, 06:23 PM']...and women. (or men if you are woman) (or men if you are a gay man) (just doing my sexist covering my own back thing there...)[/quote] what about lesbians or transgendered? sexist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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