New Bass Day

[Harley Hexxe]

   Hey Gang,

              I just got my new bass guitar today, so I'm sharing that here.

              It's a Fender Deluxe Active Precision Bass Special, made in Mexico, and I got it for $150 below the going rate for them.

              I spent about a half hour doing a little bit of minor tweaking to it, then tried it out in the AUX input of my GK 250ML, just to get a quick idea what it sounds like. So...what is my impression of it so far?

                                                       :whoohoo!:


              Bear in mind the AUX input of the GK has no volume, tone or any kind of controls at all. It's just a fixed level input really designed to plug in a Sony Walkman, or something similar.

              This bass is a TONE MONSTER!  It's definitely a lot of bang for the buck. Just by using the volume, blend and EQ controls on the guitar, I can dial in a wide palette of bass tones, and it sounds delicious!

              I've always wanted a P-Bass, but never owned one until now. Up until about 8 years ago I did have a Gibson Victory Bass, just to use for tracking bass guitar, but the tone never really did anything for me, so I didn't regret getting rid of it. This bass gives me the classic P-Bass tones and a whole lot more, with just small adjustments to the controls.

              I'm digging it

Harley 8)

[rnolan]

Nice one Harley  :whoohoo!: .  When you get your MB-1 rig working you'll be in bass heaven.

[Harley Hexxe]

I'm already having fun jamming to some of my favorite classic rock tunes with it :banana-guitar:

[Zilthy]

I used to have an American Fender P-Bass some 30 some years ago, and that is one of the few guitars I wish I still had.   That one, and the Nuno N4 I had in the early/mid 90s.   Still kicking myself over those two.

But a good P-Bass is just a plain joy to play.

[Harley Hexxe]

   Hey Zilthy,

               You're absolutely correct. A good P-Bass is a joy to play. I wanted the classic P-Bass sound though, which so many other basses are lacking. It does make a difference in recording and composition. It kind of strange really, you don't really think about it until you get the right instrument in your hands and use it, then the light bulb goes on in your head and you say to yourself: "Yeah, that's what was missing!"
               If there was any downside to this bass at all, to me it would be the Pao Ferro fret board. This is the first, (and last), instrument I will ever own with a fret board made of this wood. It sounds good which is the most important thing about this bass, but the fret board feels dry, and a bit rough, with a grainy feel to it. Almost like someone made the fret board from wood taken off the side of an old abandoned barn, like the kind you see on the side of a country road that is still barely standing. Other than that, it's a killer instrument.

Harley 8)

[Peter H. Boer]

Nice one :D Happy bassin'

(are those flatwounds?)

Peter

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, interesting you don't like Pao Ferro, my Anderson has a Pao Ferro fingerboard and I love it.  It also doesn't suck tone like rosewood does.  Maybe it could use a good dressing with 1200 paper and a really good drink of FB oil.

[Harley Hexxe]

Nice one :D Happy bassin'

(are those flatwounds?)

Peter

Hey Peter,


               Thank you.  No, they are round wound. I am thinking of building a Jazz Bass from a kit, and putting flat wounds on that.


Harley 8)

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Harley, interesting you don't like Pao Ferro, my Anderson has a Pao Ferro fingerboard and I love it.  It also doesn't suck tone like rosewood does.  Maybe it could use a good dressing with 1200 paper and a really good drink of FB oil.

     Hey Richard,

                  FB oil?

Harley 8)

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, finger board oil (conditioner).  I've been using the Jim Dunlop one on my guitars (there was a better one but you can't get it anymore, forget what it was called, the guy who made it stopped many moons ago  ).  Alembic say use lemon oil, so I do on the Alembic (ebony board) but you need to be careful which one you get.  I've been using the Jim Dunlop 65 lemon oil and it seems pretty good. Some lemon oils leave a white coating, not good...  Prior to the Alembic I only used lemon oil (small dab on a cloth) to clean the guitar(s).  I give the board a good couple of drinks and then a final drink, go for a smoke (and a pancake) then wipe it off.  I get what you mean about the grains in Pao Ferro, they do seem larger than rosewood, and ebony is downright slippery and even finer grained.  I like that it resist me a bit and doesn't get slippery when you are sweating under lights etc.

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Richard,

            I have a lemon oil that my local Luthier recommended a long time ago. Homer Formby's. But that's good for re-hydrating wood that has lost it's moisture content, and is splitting. I used that on my 1967 Vox guitar fretboard because it had developed a 4 inch split from the end of the fretboard. After a week of applying that, it closed up and you couldn't tell it had ever split.

           I suppose it can't hurt to treat it with that.

Harley 8)

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Peter,

        You got me thinking now....

         Do you have a bass with flatwounds on it? If so, is it active?  I'm wondering what an active bass would sound like with flat wound strings, or how that would change it's personality from round wound strings?

         Maybe you can shed a little light on that subject?

          Thanks,

Harley 8)

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, the lemon oil you have will be fine.  You should oil all your unfinished finger boards at least every 6 months and more often in really dry climates, I generally do it whenever I change strings.
A friend of mine bought a nice jazz bass which sounded great, (IIRC it was a made in Mexico one).  He got me to put flat wounds on it for him for finger comfort.  Totally ruined the sound, he maintained he could just turn up the treble on his amp, didn't help much.  If you want it to sound lifeless, put on flat wounds....  You could try Alembic strings, the have some with elliptical windings so easier on the fingers and frets but keeping the lovely resonances.

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Harley, the lemon oil you have will be fine.  You should oil all your unfinished finger boards at least every 6 months and more often in really dry climates, I generally do it whenever I change strings.
A friend of mine bought a nice jazz bass which sounded great, (IIRC it was a made in Mexico one).  He got me to put flat wounds on it for him for finger comfort.  Totally ruined the sound, he maintained he could just turn up the treble on his amp, didn't help much.  If you want it to sound lifeless, put on flat wounds....  You could try Alembic strings, the have some with elliptical windings so easier on the fingers and frets but keeping the lovely resonances.

Hey Richard,

          Okay,...let me expound a little bit on where that notion came from.
                As a guitar player, like many over the years, I was profoundly influenced by the sound and stylings of Jimi Hendrix. I'm sure Jimi must have left some sort of impression with you too.

           Well then, much in the same way Jimi affected and influenced so many guitarists around the world, I was also affected and influenced a couple of years later by a bass guitar player in the same way. His name was Gary Mervyn Thain.

           Gary always used a Jazz Bass with flat wound strings on it, and he always played with his fingers, never a pick. He said this is the way you get a "true bass" tone. If you ever listened to Uriah Heep's classic line up, or even The Keef Hartley Band, there's no way I could ever call the tone of that bass guitar lifeless.

           What sort of rig did this friend of yours play his bass through? Gary played through Ampeg V-4B's and SVT cabs, but his tone came from his fingers, and his heart. I loved the tone he had with Uriah Heep. It Rawked   :headbanger:

            I'm not bothered by the finger comfort aspect of it, the round wounds on my P-Bass don't bother me in the least, and I am fascinated with the range of tones I can get from this simple little bass guitar. It's really worth more than I paid for it IMHO. I'll admit though, I've tried to mimic Gary's tone with it, and I can't seem to dial the EQ back enough to quite get there. So, I've come to believe that if I want to get that tone, I need to start with the instrument that made that tone in the first place. My fingers will find the way.

Harley 8)

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, ahh, I totally get where you are coming from now  .  Yes I was very influenced by Hendrix, particularly when I was first learning to play.  I used to play the star spangled banner thing and bash my guitar into wall and stuff to try to emulate his version (didn't have a whammy bar on that guitar).  Gary Thain (RIP) was one of my favourite ever bass players, I love Uriah Heap, particularly the Live album... Friday Night in Birmingham....  I didn't realise he played flat wounds but that makes sense now I think of his tone (a little bit flat for my taste but he made up for that with shear brilliance).  I've always wondered what Mick Box's guitar would have sounded like through an ADA MP-1 /2, I like his sound, but it could be better... as in I like my '73 Marshall 50 but the MP1/2 sound way better IMHO.
My mates amp is a Behriger but my problem with it all was it lost all those lovely piano style rings and harmonics you get from round wounds.  He wanted flat wounds for comfort and couldn't really hear the difference  and he can't play anything like Gary Thain.