Da Man Bass?

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 10:11 am

these people spend a fortune trying to make basses out of all these weird materials,
and/or exotic woods. Why? Out of curiousity i listened to some sound samples on the makers websites and they sound awful. I know the sound aint thru a real amp most probably, but a Mexi Fender P is better sounding. Its a musical bass sound. All these things have that sterile "electricy" active flat sound. Rickenbacker ,Gibson &Fender etc etc are makers of good solid musicial instruments. All this is techno junk.

Im sure most of you would agree with me here?

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 10:54 am

I agree that most active basses have a generic sound that I don't like at all. The pickups are typically underwound for a wide frequency response and then boosted by a battery-powered preamp circuit. As a result, most of them sound the same. And to my ears, most have no character at all. But I wouldn't call it techno junk. Just somebody else's idea of what sounds good.

IMHO you use your instrument and your amp to CREATE MUSIC, not to get a wide flat frequency response. The flat response is what you want from your stereo so that you can accurately reproduce the music that's already been created and recorded.

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 11:01 am

"IMHO you use your instrument and your amp to CREATE MUSIC, not to get a wide flat frequency response. The flat response is what you want from your stereo so that you can accurately reproduce the music that's already been created and recorded."

you nailed it Dave - i totally agree

dano · Post by **dano** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 11:46 am

I also agree, most active basses do have a generic sound. Many have bolt on necks which may be why they sound so generic, but there are a few with neck through design that sound really good.

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 1:57 pm

Owen-- One can only hope that youngsters like you can keep the good traditions of vintage instruments alive far into the future. When I was lurking over at the dudepit it would make me cringe in disgust to read that most of the younger crowd was so heavily into those "techno junk" basses. As Dave Westheimer aptly points out, "To each his own."; I certainly do agree. Hey, it's their money and if they choose to spend it on those things then that is their right. However, it still amazes me to no end why they are so passionate about sterile, lifeless basses. The more expensive and bizarre looking the instrument, the more the owner takes pride in it. It's a mindset that is totally alien to me.

And like Dave, I have *never* seen one of these "techno junk" basses used in a real life playing situation in any club I've ever been too. I'm willing to wager (for the sake of knowing for sure) that the overwhelming majority of the "techno junk" bass owners have never played in a true cohesive band situation, and probably never will. It seems vastly more important to these guys that they've spent a large amount of money on something that looks like a reject from a hokey sci-fi museum from the early '60s. But hey, if it fills an adolescent emotional need for them.....................

Owen, I agree with every single thing you said in your previous post. It's a good feeling to know you haven't fallen into the dudepit trap. Even if you weren't necessarily a Rickenbacker fan I would still salute you. There are still enough worthy basses being made out there without having to go down that road of 9 volt active sterility.

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 2:23 pm

Jeffery - yep your right - my experience ofgigging on the London circuit proves your point of "I have *never* seen one of these "techno junk" basses used in a real life playing situation in any club I've ever been too"

I have never EVER seen a player with with an active bass, nor more than 4 strings (ok maybe like once). We kicked out our old drummer as he was more interested in his flashy Tama drums than playing tightly. See what i mean?

When i go in a guitar store i am dissapointed - its like a car showroom. All these shiny Fenders with plastic finishes (but older Fenders are of course great tho) and plasticy Stingrays and "toilet seat" style japanese - esque basses.

I walk into a used guitar store and theres like Ricks, and scratched up 60's Gibson EB-2's, and old Fender P basses. Its great!!!!

I like stuff that looks the part - and that you can make music with

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 10:55 am

God I was listening to a Jonny Lang CD the other night, and they were playing a blues thang (what else?) in B, and the bass player was just hitting his low B on the one, and it just gave out this flaccid farty bass tone that made me want to retch! Its like the bass player wanted to make it SOOOO clear that he was playing a 5 string bass. It ruined the song for me.... Now I know a lot of folks use five string basses here, and I'm not knocking them, but this was that "active 5 string" sound I find so revolting, and why I've given up even playing basses like Modulus, Warwick, etc., etc.
I don't know who that bass player is that plays with Jonny Lang, and its fine that he did it the way he wanted, but I just couldn't get over how much nicer it would've sounded using a Rick with flats, or even (gasp!) an old P-bass...

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 11:24 am

Gene - i know what u mean. I dont like those low B strings - as its like instant "whoa what a low bass note" type thing. I think good depth is gained from a bassy tone, not the depth or the note

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 12:26 pm

Gene-- I'm there, buddy. And I do mean to the hilt.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 2:57 pm

Some of those very strange basses are really being played in real band situations, just not the kinds of bands I listen to. I have no problem with what anyone else wants to play, it doesn't threaten me. But it's not my sound. Or my look.

I see guys, more at Talkbass than anywhere else, posting pics of their latest $5000 bass with spalted buckeye burl top and mutant upper bout, and it makes me laugh. Even harder when a bunch of others jump in to ooh and aah at something I think is OOGLY! But it's not about me. The money's coming out of their pocket, let 'em buy what they want.

I just talked about this in another thread, but remember, bass forums aren't a representative cross section of the real market. They consist of guys who are interested enough to talk about it and share experiences online. Dammann and Spalt are very very small niche market bassmakers. Don't blow their importance out of proportion. If people posted to bass forums in proportion to what was actually sold in the real world, then Talkbass would be full of pics of plywood Indonesian Squier knockoffs.

I've met some really nice people in person through the Dudepit and FDP. Some of those really nice people play basses I wouldn't buy and play kinds of music I don't ever listen to or play. So what? I still value their friendships.

This forum is much smaller but I hope to meet some of you too.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 5:12 pm

One thing I agree with is I hate these sterile sounding active basse that all the sound the same. I had two Jazz deluxes and got sick of them fast, and sold them.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 6:19 pm

There are a lot of ****** 5 string basses out there ... all those fat necked big soapbar active sterile basses ... they are ok for thumb slapping stuff ... but they lack warmth and growl ... a lot of bass manufacturers use active electronics to make up for an inferior design ... but it is not the same as a good bass with good pickups ....

Fender makes a nice 4 string jazz bass if you get the american version ... about $1000 ... but about 75% their 5 strings are substandard with flopply b strings and weak pickups and a wide fret board that only a lumber jack would like ...

When I play out with a 5 string Rickenbacker I have a real advantage over other bass players ... the Ric sound and a B string ...

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 6:41 pm

Yeah I had the 4 string American Jazz deluxes, one fretless, one fretted. I bought them for the 3 band onboard EQ. I got sick of the sound fast, they had great feeling necks though, but the fit and finish of a new Ric is far superior, and I think the 4003 necks are actually stronger and more stable than the Am. Jazz necks.
I'd like to get an old Jazz and an old P bass. I like the 50's and 60's Fenders, but the prices are outrageous right now, especially for the old Jazz basses.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 7:07 pm

I was talking about passive single coil american made jazz basses ... there aren't too many of these around but they are nice ... and you are right a 4003 is nicer ... the local GC has a black one with a maple fret board ... it rocks ... it is a whole lot better than the Geddy Lee model ... in fact I have played 5 or 6 Geddy Lee jazz basses every single one of them was a below average jazz bass ... too bad because they look so cool ...

So I am building my own jazz bass sorta similar to the Geddy Lee model ... I have a maple body with a black finish, an allparts neck with maple fret board and black block inlays, and I will use carvin passive electronics and Basslines 1/4 pound pickups .... and YES ... it WILL be a FIVE STRING on a 4 string neck ... this will be the 3rd jazz bass that I did a 4 to 5 conversion ...

but after all of this I still like my Ric's better ... they look better and sound better ... but when I do play something else I play P-basses and jazz basses with passive electronics and Seymour Duncan pickups ... I don't play any soap-bar, humbucking, active, 18v, sterile basses ...

Hey ... we have a new swear word ... HUMBUCKING ... that damn humbucking bass?

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 2:15 pm

Hey Jeff, watch that tongue! My 4002 has humbucking pickups! Maybe having "Rickenbacker" preceding "humbucking" will eliminate the negative connotation????