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I always associated slap sound from strings hitting frets. 5 minutes on YouTube tells me that it's definitely doable. Different, but definitely possible.
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Jun 27, 2011 19:18
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I always thought Price is not an issue, this is going to be my university grad gift for myself by saving up a bunch of my spending cash to splurge on an instrument I'll play more often. I won't graduate for another couple years, so it can be as expensive as a Rick for all I care.
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Jun 27, 2011 20:24
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FrancisYorkPatty posted:
MAH NAME IS GALT I'm sensing a crossover project here
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Jun 27, 2011 20:49
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FrancisYorkPatty posted:1. It must be fretless
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Jun 27, 2011 23:50
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DrChu posted:What are you hoping to accomplish with it being acoustic or semi-acoustic? Yeah, acoustic basses and slap don't really mix... at all. To be clear, are you talking about acoustic or simply a hollowbody bass? I've personally never found an actual acoustic bass that I liked. They're incredibly quiet when simply played acoustically, and don't really dig the sound of an electrified one. And yes, I have a Lakland hollowbody (fretted), it has a wonderfully warm, full, and vintage sound to it. Not great for slap, primarily due to it's pickup configuration, but it can pull it off when strung up with some roundwounds. But it's always been my personal opinion that hollow and semi-hollowbody basses just BEG for flatwound strings. To each their own though. But if you're really interested in hollow/semi-hollowbody basses, here are some other good, and more affordable basses: Epiphone Jack Casady signature bass Epiphone Rivoli bass (discontinued, but you can still find them used) Epiphone Rumblekat (Allen Woody signature, Semi hollow) Eastwood Classic 4 Hofner violin basses are semi-hollow I believe I know there are a bunch of other ones, I just can't really think of any more off the top of my head at the moment. EDIT for hollowbody awesomeness: 
Scarf fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Jun 28, 2011 |
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Jun 28, 2011 00:21
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Hey Scarf, as resident Laklander what do you think of the DJ5? I'm just browsing 5-stringers really but this is a pretty thing... http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=142383
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Jun 28, 2011 00:29
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baka kaba posted:Hey Scarf, as resident Laklander what do you think of the DJ5? I'm just browsing 5-stringers really but this is a pretty thing... I always thought they were great* and was pretty bummed when Lakland discontinued the DJ basses. Darryl went back to A Bass (which is actually what the DJ model is based of), so Lakland dropped the design. I saw a picture last winter of what was rumored to be the replacement to the DJs. Not sure if they're gonna pull the trigger on putting it out or not, but in the meantime, they have the AJ line out now, which are close enough I guess. http://www.lakland.com/44-55-AJ.htm The DJ plays like a jazz bass but carries a smaller (and to me, more comfortable) body and has a more contoured shape. The sound depends on what electronics you get in it. I only ever played one with Aeros installed in it on a show-floor. If you check over at Talkbass in the Lakland thread, there are a ton of DJ players who have played all of the combinations of electronics and can give you a better idea of how each sound. *For full disclosure I'm an endorsing artist for Lakland. So take my opinions as you will. Scarf fucked around with this message at 00:50 on Jun 28, 2011 |
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Jun 28, 2011 00:42
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Serious suggestion for FrancisYorkPatty: a fretless Stingray with the piezo option. The piezo will give you an acoustic-like sound, which you can blend with the regular pickup and get a decent range of sounds. Here's some guy showing off his SR5 with some mediocre playing, but he gets through a variety of the sounds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDqRKANFlcg And here's someone with a regular fretless Stingray who slaps a lot, doesn't sound too far off a regular one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMVAwUYCn3A&feature=related
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Jun 28, 2011 02:45
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DrChu posted:What are you hoping to accomplish with it being acoustic or semi-acoustic? I'm looking for the tone of an acoustic bass, plus something I don't need to plug in to play. The fretless goes hand-in-hand with that for tone, as I want more control over how I voice notes. Still doing slap is just a bonus because I like having a pretty wide range of options when I play Jazz. If push comes to shove I can try doing things in more of a slap-upright style instead of a slap-electric style and see if it works. I think I'll try out a few Hofner violin basses and see how I like them, else I'll keep the other suggestions in mind as well. Thanks Scarf!
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Jun 28, 2011 02:46
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FrancisYorkPatty posted:I think I'll try out a few Hofner violin basses and see how I like them, else I'll keep the other suggestions in mind as well. Thanks Scarf! Check out the Piezo option DrChu mentioned. Pretty much the closest you can get to the sound of an upright bass. I wish I had one on my hollowbody.
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Jun 28, 2011 03:00
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If you want the sound of an upright, the closest I've discovered in a bass guitar is Rob Allen. I couldn't really find any good videos showcasing the sound, but the closest one has a fretted version of his short scale model: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpB4P5HllVY And yeah, these are custom made instruments made by Rob Allen in L.A. So they cost a pretty penny new, but used you can get them between 1500-2000 I think. I have one of his early MB-2 models (which he said was a good one!). And Scarf, why don't you look into Graphtech? They make replacement piezo equipped saddles for Fender style bridges. I think they even have a passive wiring system so you can just change the jack to a stereo 1/4" and route the piezo through that.
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Jun 28, 2011 03:18
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FrancisYorkPatty posted:I'm looking for the tone of an acoustic bass, plus something I don't need to plug in to play. The fretless goes hand-in-hand with that for tone, as I want more control over how I voice notes. Still doing slap is just a bonus because I like having a pretty wide range of options when I play Jazz. If push comes to shove I can try doing things in more of a slap-upright style instead of a slap-electric style and see if it works. Have you just considered two high end basses? Unless you're playing solo you're never going to be heard acoustically with anything short of an upright bass. Acoustic (guitar style) basses are really quiet and IMO, unusable outside a jam session with a single acoustic guitar. Anyone is free to chime in with stories of how it's worked in other scenarios but it just seemed a little pointless to me.
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Jun 28, 2011 03:23
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Rifter17 posted:And Scarf, why don't you look into Graphtech? They make replacement piezo equipped saddles for Fender style bridges. I think they even have a passive wiring system so you can just change the jack to a stereo 1/4" and route the piezo through that. Hmm, I'll look into it, but Lakland's bridges are pretty unique... Thanks though, maybe it can work with it.
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Jun 28, 2011 03:41
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If you want an acoustic sound, before you go out and buy a new bass you owe it to yourself to try some tapewounds like Rotosound 88s. This video is an alright demo as well as being one of the stranger song choices I've run across on youtube bass videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnQAgI1aeTo Note that the E sting on the Rotos is .115, which is pretty big. I tried them on two basses and didn't run into any nut problems, but YMMV. Other companies make smaller tapes, but the tension is also a lot lower.
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Jun 28, 2011 04:12
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I'm picking these up for my birthday in a few weeks. I played on a friend's Stingray that had black beauties on it, and it sounded fantastic and felt really smooth, which is part of what I'm looking for with the new bass. As an added bonus, he played Sweet Child O' Mine with that set-up and I've never heard a bass sound like pure black liquorice until that day. If I really enjoy the sound of these strings on my Peavey, I'll probably keep them and transfer them to the other bass. In all honesty I'm probably better off selling my Peavey and picking up a cheap mexi-made J-bass with some boomers on it, but slap is something I'll still try on flatwounds, if only to have a different style of slap to play. I think it will work too. Listening to this iconic song, I'm almost 99% positive Larry Graham is slapping on flatwounds. It's doable, so I guess this will be a little experiment to come back to the thread and show how it works out. Since the probability of finding a good acoustic bass isn't exactly stellar, I'm going to go with the Hofner 5000/1 Deluxe. It's around three grand, but working for another three years doing music gigs and tech support should get me enough leftover cash, provided I save as much as I can. So, basically: Three years time I post an update with a Hofner bass, black beauty strings, and then we can all giggle at what slap bass sounds like on it? 
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Jun 28, 2011 08:22
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Scarf posted:Hofner violin basses are semi-hollow I believe Fully hollow. FYP: They're great for playing by yourself or playing along to quiet music. Just a tiny amplifier will put you on the same level as acoustic guitarists while still sounding natural. The quality was never bad - I have an old prototype I've played constantly for +20yrs now and it's still in good nick - but today's standards are really impeccable. Here's a modern incarnation available as fretless: http://www.hofner.com/gab/en/phpshop/43/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.zupf_flypage/product_id,10/category_id,10/ If you're not a bulky kind of guy, it's a joy to play, because there's so little weight; can play for hours and hours standing up, and in any position you want sitting down, and without a strap. If you're tall and heavy it'll feel too dinky.
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Jun 28, 2011 08:32
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"Underflow" posted:Fully hollow. FYP: They're great for playing by yourself or playing along to quiet music. Just a tiny amplifier will put you on the same level as acoustic guitarists while still sounding natural. Except the Contemporary series, which are the ones that are made in China but use the same parts as the high end German ones. They are semi-hollow for some reason.
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Jun 28, 2011 11:54
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Scarf posted:I always thought they were great* and was pretty bummed when Lakland discontinued the DJ basses. Darryl went back to A Bass (which is actually what the DJ model is based of), so Lakland dropped the design. I saw a picture last winter of what was rumored to be the replacement to the DJs. Not sure if they're gonna pull the trigger on putting it out or not, but in the meantime, they have the AJ line out now, which are close enough I guess. http://www.lakland.com/44-55-AJ.htm Cool cool, thanks! Honestly I just really like the look of that one I linked, the white and silver along with the maple fingerboard and blocks and headstock...  helps that it matches the amp too. It would be nice if I could actually play one but I think it would be hard to track one down.Out of interest (if you don't mind talking about it) what does being an endorsing artist get you? I'm guessing they don't throw guitars at you unless you're highly visible, is it more of a service/advice/inner circle kind of thing?
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Jun 28, 2011 22:40
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baka kaba posted:Cool cool, thanks! Honestly I just really like the look of that one I linked, the white and silver along with the maple fingerboard and blocks and headstock... Well it's nothing free, I can definitely tell you that. And you're right, it's kind of on an artist-by-artist basis, and the amount of exposure you have can determine what they'll do for you. I get a percent discount off of the list price. I don't really want to go into what it actually is, but obviously it's a better deal than buying from a retailer. It can depend on the company too. My old drummer had an endorsement deal with a pretty well known manufacturer and got a percent discount off of RETAIL price. It was actually pretty insane... like a close to 50% off of retail. But the stuff he was looking at getting was so expensive, he still paid a pretty penny. As for service/advice/inner circle stuff... Well Lakland has always had PHENOMENAL customer service, so that kinda stuff came when I bought my first one on my own. As for inner circle, well I guess if I was a big enough artist I could get passes to NAMM or something. But there isn't really a whole lot else. Lakland has a pretty open-door policy to their factory if you give them a heads up you're coming and want to drop by and try out a few things. The Lakland Owners Group that originated on TalkBass has taken group trips there several times and had Dan and his crew talk to them about all sorts of stuff related to the basses. It kinda opened the door for one of my old guitarists to talk to Hanson Guitars (Lakland's sister company) about a deal as well. So that's a benefit as well if you're all just starting out. It gives you some confidence and some (at least self-perceived) clout. But make no mistake about it, when push comes to shove, it's all about marketing and the company getting their product out there. I had no delusions about Dan Lakin really digging my playing and deciding to cut me a deal on basses... I was playing in front of sizable audiences in a region where Lakland didn't really have much exposure, so I was a good fit. Scarf fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Jun 29, 2011 |
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Jun 29, 2011 02:35
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When I had my Warwick deal I got 40% off dealer cost. It owned.
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Jun 29, 2011 20:13
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DEUCE SLUICE posted:When I had my Warwick deal I got 40% off dealer cost. It owned. Oh wow, that's almost at-cost...
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Jun 30, 2011 03:01
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You could still get me one, right? 
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Jun 30, 2011 03:23
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I don't entirely seem to find the difference between the Fender Jazz Standard vs. Special - could someone give me the tall skinny? I played a MIM Jazz today and really enjoyed it so I'm looking to pick up an MIA, but I would really appreciate if I could narrow down exactly what's different between them? It seems that the Standard has a glossy neck, the Special has a satin neck which is faster and the Greasbucket tone control - Is that it? What tangible difference is there other than the Special having a 'faster' neck? Should I be looking at a particular era or are the newest batch 'better' with the greasebucket circuit? Is it just white/red/sunburst? I was thinking of buying this: http://www.dv247.com/guitars/fender-american-special-jazz-bass-guitar-3-tone-sunburst--82140 from the US (since it works out about £200 cheaper) but if I can get a more interesting colour, then I'd be pleased.
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Jul 3, 2011 01:06
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I don't recall ever reading a positive review on the greasebucket tone control. But, I also pretty much never use the tone control and wouldn't miss it on a single bass I own. So, I guess it comes down to how important that is to you, and whether you feel a satin finish on the neck is better or not. If you don't care about the tone control thing at all, you could always just use a very fine sandpaper to take off the gloss finish on the back of the neck to get the satin feel if that's your thing.
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Jul 3, 2011 03:58
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You could also get the one with the preferred neck and restore the normal config, no? Or swap out the entire harness for a normal circuit if you're worried about reselling the bass later. My '72 Jazz has a satin neck by the way, feels very comfortable even after hours of playing.
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Jul 3, 2011 12:46
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Crikey, I don't think I'd want to break out the sandpaper on a thousand pounds worth of guitar! I guess going with the American Standard for my big purchase means I'm alot less likely to feel the need to 'upgrade' - I want to keep this baby for the foreseeable future.
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Jul 3, 2011 23:39
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Southern Heel posted:Crikey, I don't think I'd want to break out the sandpaper on a thousand pounds worth of guitar! My guitar is $3000 and the neck had a satin finish which glossed up when being played so I sanded it with 600 grit and it's great so I mean to each their own, but it's not a big deal... and it's not like I've got any experience sanding... anything. If anything I hope it keeps getting glossy over and over until I could just sand the finish right off and have bare wood eventually after a few years; if it hasn't warped by then, it isn't ever going to do so, esp. not with a double truss rod
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Jul 4, 2011 01:27
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I've been offered an Ampeg V4BH for about 650€. Is this a good price? Can't find any for sale.
Dyna Soar fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Jul 4, 2011 |
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Jul 4, 2011 13:44
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Scarf posted:insight for Lakland lackers That's cool, with the inner-circle stuff I was thinking more along the lines of 'hey guys, here's a sneak peek of some of the stuff we've got planned'. What happens if they see a photo of you on your Facebook wielding a Warlock at last night's gig? Also is this a typical Jazz tone, or anyone got any tips for getting a similar sound? Mainly the slide and high note at the start, got a nice mroww to it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zXgCU9TcCQ AND is sliding up and down one fret very fast a typical bass move? I see it done a lot, coming from guitar I'm more used to hammering on and pulling off instead of shifting position. Not saying that's not done on bass and no guitarist slides, just seems that the slidey one is way more prevalent on bass
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Jul 4, 2011 18:22
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baka kaba posted:Also is this a typical Jazz tone, or anyone got any tips for getting a similar sound? Mainly the slide and high note at the start, got a nice mroww to it quote:AND is sliding up and down one fret very fast a typical bass move? I see it done a lot, coming from guitar I'm more used to hammering on and pulling off instead of shifting position. Not saying that's not done on bass and no guitarist slides, just seems that the slidey one is way more prevalent on bass
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Jul 4, 2011 21:31
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I think he means finger vibrato or whatever it's called. On fretless, and all stringed classical stringed instruments, one can rock their finger back and forth to get a vibrato sound. Although you can get something similar with bending the string while you sustain.
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Jul 4, 2011 21:51
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Part of the sound I mean is from vibrato from the looks of things, he just has this very smooth sound to it. It almost sounds fretless, except that guitar's fretted. He obviously has a lot of control but I was wondering if there's a secret to dialling in that kind of sound (I have flats, except they're on a cheap Aria P/J with very high action running through a Micro Cube ahahaha) or some technique that makes a difference. Unless FYP's talking about the second question, in which case I mean this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQsErVjvx8s After that chromatic descending part he does a quick downward run and then goes B-C-B by moving his hand instead of doing a hammer-on and pull-off with his pinky. He's in position for it too (I know it's the same guy but that's what brought it to mind, I've definitely seen a bunch of bassists doing something similar and I'm just wondering if it's a common move)
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Jul 4, 2011 22:09
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Huh. Well, if I had to hazard a guess, it's either slick enough for him to do that without much consequence, or he's played upright longer than he's played electric. My ex-girlfriend plays upright, and she's been taught to do little turns like that (B-C-B-Bb etc.) with one finger so that she can easily leap off of it into a different position or different string. That's just a guess, though.
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Jul 4, 2011 22:32
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baka kaba posted:That's cool, with the inner-circle stuff I was thinking more along the lines of 'hey guys, here's a sneak peek of some of the stuff we've got planned'. What happens if they see a photo of you on your Facebook wielding a Warlock at last night's gig? The "Hey check out this new stuff!" is usually pretty transparent, what with TalkBass and the LOG (lakland owners group). But hell, there may be some super secret club of high-level endorsers who get a super advanced sneak peek at stuff, but I dunno =) As for using other equipment, I think it depends on the level of your endorsement. Sometimes the term "Sponsor" gets thrown around... and I may be mistaken, but if a manufacturer is SPONSORING you, you better pretty much JUST be using their stuff. Like if they have a signature instrument made for and named after you. For example, you probably won't see Marcus Miller playing anything except a Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass. A lot of endorsing artists use a multitude of gear, often including basses from different manufacturers. And I think most companies expect that, and I'd imagine most don't really care as long as you don't start dissing the gear.
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Jul 4, 2011 23:59
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Thanks all for the advice regarding which Jazz bass to look into – I went into Wunjo Guitars on Denmark street and played the crap out of a whole bunch of them in all permutations of standard, special, Highway, Precision and Jazz – the two front runners were the American Standard Precision and the Jazz – in the end I went with the J for its looks and versatility. The sound of the P wasn’t as bad as I’d remembered from playing before, but it couldn’t match what I could coax out of the Jazz. So, thanks all for the advice, this is what I walked home with, a 1999 American Standard Jazz with a natural finish and white pickguard:  Rather than going for a brand new one, I went “pre-loved” (which makes me a little sick from the saccharine sweet connotations). I re-strung it as soon as I got home with Ernie Ball regulars. I’m struck by how heavy it is in comparison to my old SR300 and how substantial it was. While glossy the neck is fast and there’s no fret buzz, and sounds amazing through my ’73 WEM Dominator. I hope to get some videos up soon.
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Jul 5, 2011 12:07
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So, stupid question that can probably be solved simply by getting a proper setup, but my strings aren't all the same height. I don't notice it on the fretboard but it's pretty significant at the pickups. Is this something some players prefer (E and A higher with D and G closer to the body), or should they all be on the same plane and whoever owned my bass first jazzed up (no pun) the saddle heights? PS anyone in the Seattle/Everett area know a decent place to get my bass set up for relatively low cost?
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Jul 5, 2011 15:18
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I sometimes feel like one of the few people who like glossy necks. I've had my ATK for about 5 or 4 years now and the neck is getting that great uneven shine all over it. My thumb just sticks right where it's meant to  Anyone had any experience with just preamp into PA? I'm thinking of joining a local church band and this would be the most practical way to do it. Any big dangers/tips?
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Jul 5, 2011 15:22
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Pehther posted:So, stupid question that can probably be solved simply by getting a proper setup, but my strings aren't all the same height. I don't notice it on the fretboard but it's pretty significant at the pickups. In theory they should be the same height, but this is not possible on every bass. Reasons could be that he wanted to go as low as possible without fretbuzz, and depending on the fretwork this might be the result. Or maybe there was is no way to adjust pickup height and he used the string height to get equal volume of all the strings. Also... since the stringhts have different thicknesses (quite substantially different in case of bass strings) not everyone considers "same height" in the same way.
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Jul 5, 2011 15:36
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Pehther posted:So, stupid question that can probably be solved simply by getting a proper setup, but my strings aren't all the same height. I don't notice it on the fretboard but it's pretty significant at the pickups. I follow the contour of the fingerboard radius in terms of my string height. But it's never more than just a few millimeters difference from string to string. So my E and G strings are closer to the fingerboard than the A and D strings. Basically it's like a rainbow, but not very dramatic in difference between each string. And again, it depends on the amount of radius of the fingerboard. One thing that you should do though is make sure that the saddle itself is level. Assuming you have a regular Fender/Quan/Whatever bridge with two adjustment points on each saddle, make sure that they're level, regardless of how high or low you're going to set the saddle itself. Isnak posted:Anyone had any experience with just preamp into PA? I'm thinking of joining a local church band and this would be the most practical way to do it. Any big dangers/tips? At least to start, run with the EQ flat on the preamp. Just watch your gain and you should be fine. I'd assume they have a somewhat competent soundtech running the board. He/she will be doing most of the EQ'ing and getting you the right sound for the mix. Then if any tweaks need to be made on your end, you can do so, but do so sparingly.
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Jul 5, 2011 15:40
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| # ? May 12, 2024 23:56 |
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It's safer to bring a little bass amp and use that for the low end while you run a parellel line (or the amp's lineout) to a PA channel where you roll off bass almost completely and cut enough high end to let the vocals shine. You'll have an audible but discreet presence. The amp doubles as your personal monitor. If you go straight into the PA without one you might find yourself in trouble when things get louder.
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Jul 6, 2011 09:23
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