Any Jazz bassists trading in their carved basses for plywood?

[roswell1965]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

We'll never know now, since the OP was edited at least once yesterday.

Pwned!

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

But the thread is still in the vicinity of the topic, with some people saying "yes, I've done that, and here's why" and others saying "no, I didn't do that, and here's why".

Exactly.

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

In internet discussions, that's how it goes.

Bump

[kerrycares]

Originally Posted by travshorts

Hey Kerry,

I used to own a christopher 400 full solid (carved) bass. It was a good sounding instrument and I loved it. The pick of the litter from the shop I was working at for sure. (And I had 3 of the same model to choose from.)

Then about 2.5 years ago an older gentleman called me at the shop that I currently work at. Conversation went something like this:
Him - "Hello young man. I am too old to play the double bass anymore. Do you know any bass teachers that could you an extra bass for teaching?
Me - "Yes. Yes I do. What would you like to sell it for?"
Him - "Oh nothing. I'll just drive it over."
Me - "Whuuuut?.... "
Him - "See you soon.
"click"
Me - "Thank you Jesus"

The instrument turned out to be a nice German factory ply bass from the 50's in mint condition and it had a really unique tone. Nice pizz and really nice arco. The bridge and fingerboard were shot and the projection had sunk over time. I decided invest some loot to getting it up to snuff. I took it to local luthier James Ham here in Victoria. I would have done the work myself but I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn some cool things from a pro.

Flash forward. The combination of new neck angle and new fingerboard took away something that was cool about the old sound (old board was maple) but after I was done the final setup the bass played like a dream and still sounded pretty sweet. It is one of the easiest basses that I have ever played physically thanks to my OCD on the fingerboard dressing. I enjoyed playing it much more than my Christopher so I decided to sell the solid.

As far as real world gigging conditions it has worked out a lot better for me than the Christopher. Since the resonance is a little quashed compared to the carved, I have no feedback issues at all. And the fact that it is a bit more mid rangy in nature, it helps to cut through a bit more in the mix. Take this with a grain of salt as my electric setup is pretty mediocre. (Realist with GK combo - gets the job done.)

Overall do I miss the big blooming dimensional sound of a solid? Yes. I set up and play lots of basses for rentals and for customers and every time a solid bass is done I go "Man that sure sounds good. It's what I have been missing." I think my old Christopher bass had a better sound over all compared to my German ply. But I agree that so much of that is lost once our instruments become electric. I am saving my roubles for that dream solid but for now I am "HAPPY" and don't regret my decision. If you love the Juzek and the only concern is transport and live sound issues I would agree with others and say don't sell it. A good old carved bass is a thing of beauty, a better choice for the studio (most of the time) and harder to come by. Keep the Juzek and buy the Shen if finances permit. Also, the Shen 80's and 100's are the most common basses I set up for our store and I think they are fantastic for the $.

A final thought. Like I said, almost every time I play another solid bass I think it sounds way better than my ply. Then every time I get friends, with ears I trust, to tell me which bass sounds better they always say my ply. And I never believe them!! haha. That is until I hear my bass recorded and it sounds just fine. Funny what you hear on top versus out front.

hey , thanks for the great input, deeply appreciated.
since i started this thread i have tried shen ply, romanian carved and am looking at a few other basses.
i have been pleased with the sound and quality of the newer plys vs. the older plys .
i have also heard that the shen basses do very well in this michigan climate.
the thing that surprised me the most is the price of the newer plys as some of them are as expensive as carved basses.
oh well the search continues.
one thing is for sure, a great set up makes objectivity really tuff.

[travshorts]

Ahh the eternal search for the sound. My only problem with the ply is like what others alluded to earlier, that the sound is often 1 dimensional. It's functional but a touch on the uninspiring side. My Christopher bass had a huge warm sound and was real nice acoustically. But put a pickup on it and all definition was lost and this particular bass wanted to feed back like crazy. But I have learned a lot more about getting functional sound live since owning that bass. Which make me want to come back to the carved side to find out what I've been missing.

[drurb]

I sure don't agree with the notion that, once a pickup is used, the advantages of a carved bass are lost. I think it depends on the pickup used, the rig used, and the expertise in setting it up. One thing not lost, as I've said before, is the feel and feedback offered to the player by a carved top.

[travshorts]

Originally Posted by drurb

I sure don't agree with the notion that, once a pickup is used, the advantages of a carved bass are lost. I think it depends on the pickup used, the rig used, and the expertise in setting it up. One thing not lost, as I've said before, is the feel and feedback offered to the player by a carved top.

Agreed. I said "this" particular bass and setup. So many different experiences.

[Don Higdon]

Originally Posted by hdiddy

DURRL advised me way back during a bass purchase (now my current bass) that you shouldn't "downgrade" unless you really have a good reason. The only instance I've heard someone doing that is Michael Moore going to a ply Christopher but I guess other folks would know if he's still playing that bass.

Last I saw, he was playing a Gage Czech-Ease. I played his Christopher. It was a good sounding bass. He was playing amplified in large concert venues with Brubeck. In my opinion, the nuances of a high end carved would be lost. He also liked the idea of not having to worry about theft or damage.
One observation from another thread: a great bassist can make any bass sound good. So, if you're as good as Michael Moore, you have nothing to lose dumping the carved.

[kerrycares]

Stanley Clarke came to town earlier this year and did a workshop at Motor City Guitar.
Played his butt off.
When asked about his bass he said something like this.
"i play cheap $600 chinese basses on the road, i bought 6 ,gave a few away and kept the best 2"

[gottliver]

Originally Posted by kerrycares

Stanley Clarke came to town earlier this year and did a workshop at Motor City Guitar.
Played his butt off.
When asked about his bass he said something like this.
"i play cheap $600 chinese basses on the road, i bought 6 ,gave a few away and kept the best 2"

I saw him at blue note in nyc with Hiromi. He was playing one of those with an underwood into some ebs pedals into an svt and 4x10. Sounded awesomes.

[Thumpie]

Originally Posted by shwashwa

or you can be like me...

Where did that stand come from? Custom built?

[Don Higdon]

Originally Posted by shwashwa

or you can be like me...

Actually, I had you beat. Seven. Now, two.

[nsams73]

I think at some point it was mentioned that someone had the ply in the closet and only played the carved but wanted a better carved. So why not just sell both and replace with that better carved?

[shwashwa]

Originally Posted by Thumpie

Where did that stand come from? Custom built?

yeah, actually me and my mom built it together. she's good like that. at the time i never thought id need space for more than 3 though!