Why isn't graphite more popular?

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by Juneau

Because it sounds like graphite...

... and the clarity across all strings and the entire neck REALLY shows up sloppy or amateurish playing.

[basswave]

Originally Posted by bassybill

... and the clarity across all strings and the entire neck REALLY shows up sloppy or amateurish playing.

+100
I always said its not for those with less then stellar technique.


Edit: That is not a dig to wood only folks...Just a statement about playing full on graphite necks.

[spade2you]

Originally Posted by bassybill

... and the clarity across all strings and the entire neck REALLY shows up sloppy or amateurish playing.

...and these are the people who swear up n' down that tone is ALL in the fingers.

[GBassNorth]

This thread is cracking me up. "I love the sound of wood".
Yep, so do I. And when I'm hungry I love the sound of peanut butter.
Every bass I've ever played sounds different. A Warwick thumb sounds different than a Fender Jazz and last I checked they're both made of wood. Ok you say, a Warwick has the wenge thenge goin on. Well, even basses made of the exact same wood sound different to me - case in point - Sadowsky swamp ash/maple combo vs a Fender swamp ash/maple combo - very different sounds to my ear.
For s@#*s and giggles, go to a guitar store and find two identical acoustic basses (acoustic should accentuate any differences in wood and construction) and play each of them side by side. I did this at multiple stores and with multiple brands and what I found was no two sounded exactly the same even though they were identical (same brand, strings, wood, storage, age, model, price and player). So if I can get two completely different sounds from two identical basses can I really make the claim that the tone is in the wood or that graphite sounds sterile - nope. However, I can claim I don't like the sound of that particular bass or I do like the sound of another one I tried better.
Here's a link to a graphite guitar and bass builder. http://flashguitar.co.il/guitar5.html
I'm not sure which country or what language the site is in but click on the button at the top center of the page to hear a sound clip of the bass he builds and sells. Does it sound different than my fender, yep. But then again so does my Alembic and for that matter my Pedulla and my Warwick and every other bass I own. The lows sound creamy to me (not what one would be lead to believe they should expect from a graphite bass) and the highs sound plenty crisp (exactly what one would be led to believe they should expect from a graphite bass) hey, maybe the neck is wood on the A and E strings and graphite on the G and D strings. That might also explain why the slapping sounds like c@#p.
Bottom line - all basses sound different because when dealing with wood there is no such thing as exact consistancy. Even with dealing with carbon fiber there's no exact consistancy, it's probably more consistant but maybe not as much as you would think.
Just enjoy the bass that sounds best to you and pass on the ones that don't.

[bass12]

Originally Posted by bassybill

... and the clarity across all strings and the entire neck REALLY shows up sloppy or amateurish playing.

[bass12]

Originally Posted by spade2you

...and these are the people who swear up n' down that tone is ALL in the fingers.

Touché.

[Bottoms_Up!]

Originally Posted by Jay Terrien

No way! I spoke to a Rainsong employee at NAMM one year and he said that they never had a bass model. I'll have to keep my ears and eyes open in case one of these pops up on EBay.

These look like really nice alternatives:

http://www.emeraldguitars.com/index....d=56&Itemid=80

[sleepy_monkey]

There is no magic formula. If there was, we would all play the same bass (how crazy would that be?!) . Some of the comments here are pretty laughable. 'sterile' 'colorless' 'sounds like a graphite' etc....

And I will agree that all of the graphite necks I have played are very unforgiving when it comes to technique and...gasp..skill...if you are not up to par, it will show it. Maybe that is why some guys don't like it?

[OlafR]

Why play on the person? Can't you win otherwise?

This is a discussion, not a contest!

[lindseyp]

Originally Posted by renniw

A used peavey G-Bass (or the G-V) is the key to get graphite bass for the less fortunate of us...

Beat me to it. Too bad Peavey didn't make more of these.
This isn't mine, but it's what mine looks like:

[johhn smith]

Originally Posted by Bottoms_Up!

These look like really nice alternatives:

http://www.emeraldguitars.com/index....d=56&Itemid=80

wow that is freaking cool looking ... thanks

[basswave]

Originally Posted by lindseyp

Beat me to it. Too bad Peavey didn't make more of these.
This isn't mine, but it's what mine looks like:

Those G basses where damn good.
I think an nice ebnol or ebony fretboard would complement it well.

[spade2you]

Originally Posted by sleepy_monkey

There is no magic formula. If there was, we would all play the same bass (how crazy would that be?!) . Some of the comments here are pretty laughable. 'sterile' 'colorless' 'sounds like a graphite' etc....

If you hadn't noticed, most bassists tend to play the same two basses

Originally Posted by sleepy_monkey

And I will agree that all of the graphite necks I have played are very unforgiving when it comes to technique and...gasp..skill...if you are not up to par, it will show it. Maybe that is why some guys don't like it?

I think that could be said about anything with more than 4 strings, active electronics, etc. It's really not that difficult, unless you fight change.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by sleepy_monkey

There is no magic formula. If there was, we would all play the same bass (how crazy would that be?!) . Some of the comments here are pretty laughable. 'sterile' 'colorless' 'sounds like a graphite' etc....

And I will agree that all of the graphite necks I have played are very unforgiving when it comes to technique and...gasp..skill...if you are not up to par, it will show it. Maybe that is why some guys don't like it?

That's one of the reasons I sold my Zon 6- it showed off every slight error I made. I'm certainly not too proud to admit it. But that clarity also has an impact on tone- it wasn't as round as I prefer. So even if my technique was flawless, I still wouldn't have enjoyed the tone of that bass as much as I do other basses (and the graphite neck seemed to be the main factor in it).

[zac2944]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

That's one of the reasons I sold my Zon 6- it showed off every slight error I made. I'm certainly not too proud to admit it. But that clarity also has an impact on tone- it wasn't as round as I prefer. So even if my technique was flawless, I still wouldn't have enjoyed the tone of that bass as much as I do other basses (and the graphite neck seemed to be the main factor in it).

I hear ya BRT. I switched to a Q5 about two months ago and it has taken some getting used to.

Compared to a passive with flats, most any high end bass with active electronics will expose more "detail" in your tone. My only real graphite/carbon neck bass experience has been with a Modulus Q5 I recently picked up. It certainly has a little something different compared to all the other high end basses I've owned. A certain "clarity" if you will. I'm assuming that extra something is due to the physical properties of the carbon/graphite neck.

Either way, all that extra detail has had an effect on how I play. On my passive Fender Jazz I like to dig in hard to get a real grindy or funky tone, but on the Q5 I find I'm playing with more subtlety and nuance. I hear an amount of detail from the Q5 that I've never never heard in another bass before. It certainly is not forgiving, but it allows for different technique that can utilize the extra detail.

[sleepy_monkey]

Originally Posted by OlafR

Why play on the person? Can't you win otherwise?

This is a discussion, not a contest!

Win? Did I ever say that Graphite is the end all be all king of everything playable? No. Did I single anyone out? No.

I merely said that comments like 'sterile' and 'colorless' sure do seem to get thrown around a lot...usually by people that have no clue or who have never owned a graphite neck, but not always. I don't care what you play... if it sounds good to you then that is all that matters.

[OlafR]

Originally Posted by sleepy_monkey

Win? Did I ever say that Graphite is the end all be all king of everything playable? No. Did I single anyone out? No.

I merely said that comments like 'sterile' and 'colorless' sure do seem to get thrown around a lot...usually by people that have no clue or who have never owned a graphite neck, but not always. I don't care what you play... if it sounds good to you then that is all that matters.

I was referring to this:

Originally Posted by sleepy_monkey

And I will agree that all of the graphite necks I have played are very unforgiving when it comes to technique and...gasp..skill...if you are not up to par, it will show it. Maybe that is why some guys don't like it?

You have to agree that this is under the belt.

[Brad Johnson]

Not really. Some basses do highlight what lots of players don't want highlighted. Given the choice between blaming the instrument and admitting that they might be culpable... well, just look at the classifieds. My MTD 635 did... so I practiced and worked out what I didn't want amplified. What was left was pretty impressive tone.

I've also figured out how to play most basses, graphite or wooden-necks without extraneous noise. Practice made that possible. Also, all graphite necked instruments don't sound the same so lumping them all together, while easy, usually doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

[OlafR]

Ok. I don't want to say this, but you guys are forcing me to make a point.

I hate plastic sounding basses!

[spade2you]

Originally Posted by OlafR

Ok. I don't want to say this, but you guys are forcing me to make a point.

I hate plastic sounding basses!

Clarification: you hate basses that aren't a Fender.