All roads lead to here

[The B Keeper]

After getting back into playing bass last February coming off about a 15 year hiatus I've had plenty of questions, most of which have been answered here during various web searches so I figure it's time to join the party. There are a few ideas I'm tinkering with that haven't turned up anything because it's almost impossible to web search certain things with specific enough wording to find useful results.

This passion was reignited after finding a DeArmond Pilot V for $95 and a Peavey 112 for $45 on FB Marketplace last year, and soon after a Dean Edge Q5 with hard case for $250. Fast forward to this month and the two I reach for the most are a Sterling Ray24 with a SD pickup, vintage style preamp, wearing GHS Precision Flats, and an Ibanez SR2605 wearing Ken Smith Bass Burners in nickel.


Ended up selling this to a local shop, the string spacing at the bridge and ironing board flat fretboard wasn't for me

Surprisingly good bass for the money, and it was a case queen its entire life so still in great condition. Sounds great with Lo-Riders

The funk just oozes out of the speakers with this thing



Late Christmas present to myself, wearing some mystery strings in this picture. Tapered B, E, and A strings but no silk, taper is shorter than Bass Burner tapered core strings

 

[BassicJazzy]

Nice basses! I too took a long hiatus, put my Fender and ABG in long term storage for 25 years, came back 2 years ago and bought two SRs and a Sire P5R. One of the SRs is fretless, started that 6 months ago, cannot put it down.

Perhaps you have found, as I have, that there is so much more out there online to learn from these days? Also kinda a void in present day music world, so there's a hole there that somebody needs to fill, might as well get to it!

 

[The B Keeper]

Perhaps you have found, as I have, that there is so much more out there online to learn from these days?

The amount of knowledge and improvement gained just from last year surpasses the total of everything learned in all the years prior. Back then if you told me I'd be running through backing tracks on YouTube being able to improvise bass lines based on the key and chord progressions, without having to guess which notes will work, I'd probably have asked you what the hell a chord progression is. Endless videos to watch about technique, sheet music and tabs are everywhere for everything, how-to videos to do almost anything yourself, the times have changed. And it's good to be back.

What SRs did you get?

 

[BassicJazzy]

The amount of knowledge and improvement gained just from last year surpasses the total of everything learned in all the years prior. Back then if you told me I'd be running through backing tracks on YouTube being able to improvise bass lines based on the key and chord progressions, without having to guess which notes will work, I'd probably have asked you what the hell a chord progression is. Endless videos to watch about technique, sheet music and tabs are everywhere for everything, how-to videos to do almost anything yourself, the times have changed. And it's good to be back.

What SRs did you get?

Bought the SR1350B about 15 months ago to fill a niche I lost when I donated my '92 Japanese-built "Bass Collection" 310 to a charity back in '97. I wanted a bass with a thin fast neck and the SR1350B filled the bill, and was premium quality, better than the bass it replaced. Six months ago I decided I'd try out fretless, wasn't sure how I'd like it so I got the budget SR370EF, put chrome flats on it, and it blew me away. I do not know for the life of me how Ibanez manages to build a bass as good as the 370EF and sell it for $475. It may not have the finish, the exotic woods, the more complex EQ, or the neck stabilizers of the Premium SR, but it plays just as well. Here are the two basses side-by-side.

 

[The B Keeper]

I do not know for the life of me how Ibanez manages to build a bass as good as the 370EF and sell it for $475

And then they go mount the monorail bridges too far from the neck causing intonation issues on the more pricey models. They'll probably always be my favorite producer but a $1.9k bass shouldn't have that issue. If you can't seem to get yours to intonate, the Ken Smith Bass Burner taper cores just barely work for me even though the Dunlop Super Brights (I think) also have tapered B, E, and A and still had some flat notes at the 12th fret with saddles maxed out. Found out about the intonation problem after already buying the Burners, luckily they work out and sound great.

Those are some nice looking basses you've got there, hard to pick a favorite just based on the looks. How do the Big Singles compare to the Power Spans? Or how did they compare before switching to Chromes?

 

[BassicJazzy]

And then they go mount the monorail bridges too far from the neck causing intonation issues on the more pricey models. They'll probably always be my favorite producer but a $1.9k bass shouldn't have that issue. If you can't seem to get yours to intonate, the Ken Smith Bass Burner taper cores just barely work for me even though the Dunlop Super Brights (I think) also have tapered B, E, and A and still had some flat notes at the 12th fret with saddles maxed out. Found out about the intonation problem after already buying the Burners, luckily they work out and sound great.

Those are some nice looking basses you've got there, hard to pick a favorite just based on the looks. How do the Big Singles compare to the Power Spans? Or how did they compare before switching to Chromes?

Yeah, I've heard about that problem with the monorails. Seems to happen sometimes on the 5 string Premium models. Lots of theories why, but my personal fav is that they just run out of room on the curved top, and cannot mount the B rail properly, so everything up the line gets mis-mounted too.

The Power Spans have twice the output of the Big Singles. Hottest p'ups I've ever experienced. I think on a fretted bass I prefer the Big Singles, but for fretless the Power Spans give me lots of color and deep mwah when I want it. Usually I use them in hum bucker mode, but the Power Tap mode sounds good too. Single coil setting is a little on the weak side, no where near as good of highs as the other two modes.

The bass arrived with D'Addario XL rounds and had been played poorly, obviously returned by another customer at GC, and the board had some wear near the 24th position. Therefore I did not play it before taking it to my luthier to be set up with the chromes, and he treated the board with Tru-Oil, so it has a hard coating on it now that it did not come with. Perhaps it sounds slightly different now too? I guess I'll never know for certain.