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08-10-2006, 06:44 AM
| | AES Fine Instruments | | Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Brewster, NY, USA | | | Have your soundpost moved closer to the bridge and refit. Then get the Velvet strings off. They sound NOTHING like gut, IMHO. Get a set of real gut strings, raise them up, and I bet you'll get a punchy, old-school sound.
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08-10-2006, 09:42 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: san francisco california | | | try digging in with your right hand... i find the way that i attack the strings on my bass has a huge effect on volume.. hand placement as well... you probably know that you will get a louder, clearer sound if you have your hand closer to the end of the finger board
re. juzek instruments: i have a juzek from prague, made in 1930. it's pretty beat-up and unremarkable...
i play without an amp, usually with a drummer, as often as i can and i feel that i can be heard pretty well...perhaps not as clearly as i would be with an amplifier, but i feel that the presence of the bass does not go unnoticed ...the bass does not have a huge bottom end and seems to speak more in the midrange |
08-10-2006, 10:07 AM
|  | Unprofessional TalkBass Contributor | | Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Brighton, England, UK, Europe | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by arnoldschnitzer Then get the Velvet strings off. They sound NOTHING like gut, IMHO. Get a set of real gut strings, raise them up, and I bet you'll get a punchy, old-school sound. | Don't tell Ed !! 
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08-16-2006, 12:01 PM
| | | | Hello everyone,
Thanks again for your time and information, and apologies for not replying sooner, I've had a crazy week of gigs and recordings.
I'll bear in mind all that's been said about soundpost placement, but in all honesty, I think these are fine tuning points, and they will only get me so far. The bass I have is a good instrument, and it gives a good sound, it's just not the right sound for what I'm doing.
As for strings, I'm not gonna get involved in a massive debate - I know the Velvets aren't completely authentic, but they were a massive improvement from metal strings, they're reasonably priced, and they avoid some of the disadvantages of plain gut. I found them to hold their tuning really well in a variety of climatic conditions, and they're pretty low maintenance, so I'm sticking with them for now.
When I have an instrument that will giove me the sound I need, then I might spend time and money finding "the" set that works best, but in the mean time, I'm digging the Velvets, so they're staying!
I'll be going round the London shops next week trying out everything I can get my hands on, so I'll post updates as I go along.
Take it easy!
Bas |
08-17-2006, 01:46 AM
| | Unprofessional TalkBass Contributor | | Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Brighton, England, UK, Europe | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by basterraz
I'll be going round the London shops next week trying out everything I can get my hands on, so I'll post updates as I go along.
| I'll be very interested to hear if you find anything - I have been distinctly 'underwhelmed' by the range of DBs available in London... 
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“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.”
Charles Mingus |
08-24-2006, 08:13 AM
| | | Well I've been to Thwaites & Malcolm Healey's and looked at all they had.
There are plenty of instruments available, but man, I don't know any musician who could afford most of them!
I tried a nice Meinel for £800, but it was reserved for a customer, who'll most likely buy it. Nice instrument, shame.....
I think I'm gonna go for a Hungarian bass from Thwaites, but its still £1350. And that's plywood front and ebonised fingerboard. But it packs a good punch, projects well and the response is even across the whole range, which is more than can be said for a lot of the cheaper instruments I tried.
So looks like for now, the search has come to some sort of conclusion.
Still looking though - anyone in England got a Juzek they want to sell???  |
08-24-2006, 10:12 AM
| | Unprofessional TalkBass Contributor | | Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Brighton, England, UK, Europe | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by basterraz Well I've been to Thwaites & Malcolm Healey's and looked at all they had.
There are plenty of instruments available, but man, I don't know any musician who could afford most of them!
I tried a nice Meinel for £800, but it was reserved for a customer, who'll most likely buy it. Nice instrument, shame.....
I think I'm gonna go for a Hungarian bass from Thwaites, but its still £1350. And that's plywood front and ebonised fingerboard. But it packs a good punch, projects well and the response is even across the whole range, which is more than can be said for a lot of the cheaper instruments I tried.
So looks like for now, the search has come to some sort of conclusion.
Still looking though - anyone in England got a Juzek they want to sell??? | That's what I found - either way beyond my price range - more than I would pay for a car!! 
Or that are things like ply and ebonised....
I did settle on a Fully-Carved Stentor with Ebony fingerboard that was only slightly more than the price you mention...but I would have liked to have had the chance to try a few more in the "reasonably-priced" area!! 
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