The Bass thread

[ElephantSack]

Originally Posted by mr dave

i have to say Warwick is one of those companies that really appeals to me but i just can't stand their trademark 'thumb' style for the top horn on most of their bass models. it's just so aesthetically unpleasing to me that i end up passing them by in the store. but i have looked at their electric uprights more than once.

Too phallic? hahaha

VocalsBass I would guess resting your thumb on the B-string is to kill the sustain of the string, at least that is the only reason I would do it, which I have done before when using certain bass effects. The attitude that only good bass players use their fingers instead of a pick arrived from the transition from stand up bass to electric bass, which is an untrue statement, and arrogent in my opinion. Using a pick for me gives me more speed, & I like the crisp dynamics I get better. I will use my fingers if I want a softer tone. Although, there are alot of bass players that are about as fast as one could be on bass that use there fingers only. Whatever works for you!, is what to apply.

Yeah, I never used a pick until we wrote a song that had a really fast, chugging part on the lowest string. I wrote that part with my fingers, but when it came to playing it with the guitar and drums, it just sounded muddy at the higher volume. So, time to adapt. I think the attitude that people have when they say that "only real players" use their fingers or only play four strings or whatever is just a product of jealousy or small sight. When they see somebody totally kicking ass with a 6 string bass and shredding with a pick, they just say, "Oh! Why doesn't he just play guitar?! That's basically all he's doing!" Bullshit. I say any instrument could and should be played in as many styles and methods as possible. No boundaries. Fuck it. If you can do a back flip while tapping an arpeggio and breathing fire, I say fuckin' go for it! In fact, that's my dream.

[mr dave]

Originally Posted by ElephantSack

Too phallic? hahaha

something like that i guess haha. it just seems to come out at a wrong angle or something.

[ElephantSack]

So. I might acquire a 1971 Blue Line Ampeg SVT sometime in the not-to-distant future. For those of you who are not familiar with this piece of equipment, let it be known that it is the holy grail of vintage Ampeg gear. I couldn't even find a picture of one. I feel almost like a mad scientist that is at the threshold of attaining his final component for the fruition of his plan for world domination.

I need to save some money.

[missinglink]

Howdy all

New on the forum ... been playing for many a year yet never paid much attention to the finer details, something that appears to be haunting me in my later years.

Any suggestions on best pick ups for bass ?

I'll tell you why ...

Ive got the following guitars at the mo and have changed both the strings to Flatwound Chromes for a tonal change - helps alot on low end notes.

Ive got the Ibanez SR5006E & the ESP Ltd F-5E.

Ive got this great idea right.

I wanna mod a slightly older 4 string i have lying around. Wanna rip out the electronics and do the following - replace both existing pickups with decent actives - ie the Bartoloni's on the Ibanez SR (Beautiful tone) . Wanna then mod a third pickup into the centre for a clean sound and run it to a seperate volume and output to link directly into my amp while the others are through an effects pedal giving me both clean and effects at the same time or one at a time (John Myung from Dream Theatre has been seen doing this - my favourite bassist)

Now i just dont know what would be best - i like the Bartoloni's but crap theyre expensive - got a quote the other day and nearly fell flat on my back.

The middle ones gotta be best for a clean low end sound but also not restiricting the highs and the other two are not as important.

Also can you but cello parts in individual pieces ?

Wanna cut the body off that old 4 string and mod the bridge to have a arc as a cello to allow for note selection with a bow and pop a cello spike on the bottom and play it with my violin bow - have tried already and sounds amazing through effects and what not ...

Looking forward to your suggestions

[ElephantSack]

Well, duder, I've got a Schechter Stiletto 5 with EMG-HZs, and they sound great. And I think they're reasonably priced. About $90 a piece. I don't know how much you're trying to spend. I have a Cort B4 with the Bartollinis, and honestly, I think the EMGs are just as good.

Flat wound, huh? That's interesting. I've only seen flat wound strings on things like cello-body basses and fretlesses. Personally, I've been jamming lately with either the Hybrid or the Power Slinkys.

[mr dave]

i've been using D'Addario flatwounds for years too, with and without frets. you lose out on the highs and your attack gets diminished significantly but it's great for a smooth low end. personally i was satisfied with my stock pickups, i'd tweak the EQ on my amp more than anything to keep the tone clean.

as for the cello stuff the proper term for a spike is an 'endpin' and they sell them like any other piece of equipment, average price seems to be around $40.

[missinglink]

ahhh an endpin ... thanks for that

Yeah im not trying to spend too much ... The old guitar i want to mod is in anyways an old ass Cort (i think) ... The current pick ups have an extremely tinny sound which is definitely not my cup of tea.

I have heard about the EMG's and have checked the prices on that, its about half the Bartoloni's ... will probably go for those ...

Another Question ?

If i want to run those dual outputs on one guitar into an amp would i require a seperate head ?

Im currently running into the Active line on my head and have the passive line available.

I havent tried to plug two intruments in at the same time as im afraid i blow the damn thing. I'd ideally like to run the two actives through my effects and into the active channel and then make the middle one a decent passive for the passive line (if that would work)

Just dont wanna blow anything up - have before and it hurts (my pocket that is)

[mr dave]

i'm really not 100% on this but i think the active / passive inputs are meant for an instrument and effect loop combo, not two instrument inputs. i think we might have tried it in my old jam room once a few years ago (guitar and bass into the same head - really not sober) and it just pretty much killed both signals.

[ElephantSack]

Originally Posted by mr dave

i've been using D'Addario flatwounds for years too, with and without frets. you lose out on the highs and your attack gets diminished significantly but it's great for a smooth low end. personally i was satisfied with my stock pickups, i'd tweak the EQ on my amp more than anything to keep the tone clean.

as for the cello stuff the proper term for a spike is an 'endpin' and they sell them like any other piece of equipment, average price seems to be around $40.

Yeah, I gotta have my highs and attack. I try to use as much of the neck as possible. Not all the time, of course.

[mr dave]

it's cool. my ridiculous dream custom bass has a fretless neck that extends way past the point where the neck and body join and actually goes over the neck pickup. not really sure if or how it would work, i'm thinking something along the lines of an embedded Piezo style pickup or something. someday, no rush.