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RicheyLather · Jul 4, 2026

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and offers. I’ve got some great jumping-off points, time to get to work!

ric426 · Jul 4, 2026

Great color! If they still sold the Dub King model in orange, I'd already have one.

tb-player · Jul 4, 2026

Ostie said:
My ancestors were Dutch immigrants that settled in Kingston, NY.

Did they build upright basses?

Ostie · Jul 4, 2026

I tried to buy a Foundation S a couple months ago. I don’t need another bass, so my offer and my effort were somewhat lackluster. The owners ad is still up on FB, marked “pending”.

I bought a Foundation new back in 1992. Played it for a good ten years. It was a really good bass. Not flashy, but well made in USA and good tone. The neck never moved in ten years. Not one adjustment.

hieronymous · Jul 4, 2026

Wow! Just the finish with the cream pickups is amazing!

I am a long-time Alembic user - I have an Alembic Stanley Clarke and a 3 basses that have been Alembicized, one with a 4-string PJ set. One thing I will say - my PJ does not have a whole lot of output gain, but I have a bunch of different basses and find them to occupy a WIDE range - a '76 Ric 4001 that is really low output but that's part of the sound - a couple of Gibsons with INSANE gain - so I always have a compressor with input LED at the beginning of my effects chain so that I can match each instrument. There are plenty of boost pedals and/or preamps that you could use to get your Alembic up to where you want it. Though of course you may not be into effects!

One viewpoint is that an instrument of this caliber should have gain comparable to other more "standard" instruments, but another view recognizes that an Alembic is not a standard instrument, they have quirks but they also have an entire philosophy behind and in them. I am of the mind that Alembics should be left as Alembics - the pickups and electronics are such an important element in that. (Of course anyone can do what they want with their own instrument)

It looks like you have found a solution, at least for the time being. Remember too that, as an active instrument, having a pickup turned down below 10 doesn't change the sound, unlike a passive instrument. Of course, there is the possibility of increased noise if the signal to noise ratio is too low - I have been the victim of that! But hopefully you can introduce some gain after the instrument and let the bass become part of your voice.

trout fishing · Jul 4, 2026

Shameful plug: I’ve (tentatively) put mine with the mini bias control on top in the classifieds. It’s in dead mint condition and comes with box and goodies.

Sounds so good—subtle grit with something going on in the high miss—but I’m trying to gather funds for another bass

https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/wren-cuff-phat-phuk-b-v2.1684747/

mpdd · Jul 4, 2026

96tbird said:
That’s is 100% dependent on the players wants and needs, and how they attack the strings. Plenty of people play with no relief. Blanket statements just don’t work in life.

we are heavy handed finger style fellows, should have prefaced that i suppose

edmidlifecrisis · Jul 4, 2026

This guy came to visit my yard a few months ago, He set out to destroy a couple of dead branches

SteveCS · Jul 4, 2026

Greenman72 said:
Hi. I currently play a 4-string and I play tabs.
I want to change to a 5-string and read music.
What's the best way to do that successfully?

I voted stick with 4 as you start to learn standard notation, at least for a while. The main line of reasoning is that there is comparatively little contemporary SN out there for contemporary music, which is where most 5-string bass music exists. If you want to learn to read, and ultimately sight-read, you will need access to as much music in standard notation as you can lay your hands on. Learning to read burns through material at quite a rate - add in specific sight-reading exercises that you rarely play more than a handful of times increases that burn rate. There are vast quantities of graded material available from classical literature for the 4-string in standard tuning.

Obviously anything written for 4 can be played on 5, and 5 offers a few additional fingering options, but for the most part the low B string is redundant.

Dropihot187 · Jul 4, 2026

Have a D -rock never known of Payson string till now ..45-135 need .135 for low B ,tune to E flat so B string in .130 is bit floppy for my taste.

R Briere · Jul 4, 2026

Steve was a Great friend........and I miss him to this day......He contributed greatly to the World of Bass.....as well as Kindness

skygazer · Jul 4, 2026

In a moment of whimsy, I gave the headstock an emblem. FN in this case means "Faux Novax", rather than Fabrique Nationale.

ectoflanger · Jul 4, 2026

Balok said:
I'm in my 60's (yeah I'm an old fart!) and unfortunately arthritis has begun in my fingers and it makes stretching 4 frets on a 34 inch scale bass both difficult and painful. As a result, I picked up a short scale Fender Mustang to noodle around on, and a 32 inch scale Ibanez Mezzo 5-string as well. I saw this bass on reverb and picked it up since I wanted a regular 32 inch scale 4-string. I love the unique single cut design and I don't have any sunburst's at all so it fits well into my collection.

My question does anyone have experience with these instruments in terms of tone and playability?

Corbomite anyone? I have to tell you that your avatar is totally awesome and funny at the same time. Sorry I can't give you any advice on that specific Aria Pro II bass. The only experience have with medium scale Aria Pro II basses are a pair of 1985 Explorer style ZZB Deluxes made in the Matsumoku factory in Japan, and they came with a type of P-Style soapbar pickup. These were kind of meh for me so I had some custom ones made for them. The necks are fast on mine with a 2.0 mm action of the E string at the 17th fret. According to my internet searches, the neck radius on mine is 12, flatter than your standard Fender.

Best wishes to you in finding the info you need. And kudos for the cool avatar!!

ahbass2500 · Jul 4, 2026

Musicpro insurance looks like they cover.

MusicPro Insurance -- Affordable Insurance for the Music Professional

I have Musicpro, but have never filed a claim. Easy to apply and update equipment lists at least.

SharpCat · Jul 4, 2026

Sorry, still no pics.

After measuring, a set of what I think are GHS precision flats juuuust fit top load on the Omen Extreme. I had them on my Yamaha BB735a.

OMG do they sound good. So low and smooth. Actually turned down the bass knob a bit. Very nice B.

funkinbottom · Jul 4, 2026

Just looking at the site, it doesn't seem to be a big difference. Though not neck thru (bolt on), but has active 3 band eq with passive pickups, 34" scale. I would imagine it sounds pretty much the same as the B4 E.

sunbeast · Jul 4, 2026

There's a guy I saw on Instagram with some MEC soap bars in place of the Nordstrand Big-Splits in his Ibanez EHB1506MS and he sounds fantastic (a fatter and more traditional sound than the stock Nordstrands). Its definitely made me curious about MECs

Michedelic · Jul 4, 2026

Back when Morrissey was tolerable(more or less)…Rourke drives this home…
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JBarz · Jul 4, 2026

DoubleMIDI said:
Currently IMHO the string does not fit well to the next lower string soundwise.

I agree - the last one he made fit the set much better. A tiny bit thicker gauge made those fingerboard issues go away, too. I probably should scoot the bridge up a little bit, too, tbh.

I’ll make another demo when the new thicker one gets on there.

I’ll definitely try the mute for the open string- hadn’t considered that - thanks!

Passinwind · Jul 4, 2026

S-Bigbottom said:
It is that dang ol' toll bridge that scares everyone from this area from going to your hood.

There’s finally a new one going in, and we can’t wait to hear how much the toll is inevitably going up. I wrote a song when it went from a quarter to fifty cents many years ago, which got lots of local radio airplay and even a few cover versions. I still bust it out at open mics every once in a while.

Gusdfunk · Jul 4, 2026

Agreed, CR = Crunch Resonator (citing the Ken's Corner video posted on page 2 of this thread 13:55-14:30)... I'm guessing the Chuck Rainey model is specifically a 6 string (necessarily a bolt-on?).
(Crunch meaning bolt-on? Resonator meaning more "reflections?" (in the Ken's Corner videos, he talks about the sound "reflecting" at all places where woods join together. So the bolt-on is just more of that. Not better or worse that neck throughs, just different, brighter.

Jeff Scott · Jul 4, 2026

It's not a big deal to do, really.

Marihino · Jul 4, 2026

There is a beautiful blue 434 in the BB Club with white or cream Geezers and a bunch of other mods.

BobKay · Jul 4, 2026

Yes, I see that now. Apparently I am as dumb as I look, although someone once remarked "no Bob, no one could be that dumb!"

mtdkingstonheir · Jul 4, 2026

Joe Nerve said:
Partridge Family
The Archies
The Defranco Family
Josie and The Pussycats
The Osmond Brothers
The Banana Splits
Bobby Sherman
Spinal Tap
1910 Fruitgum Company

and of course...

Uriah Heep

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