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Big Al in Church: It Sounds Great!

Such a good rhythm section. The drummer kills but Dr. Cheese is laying down the slaps!

Just kidding I know it isn't you but we can keep it going for a while.

That is a joke that I don’t find funny. I’m not mad at you, but being confused with someone who does not really look like me is annoying.
 
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I know EB quality, so I know these are great basses, but I hear nothing in this video to convince me that this bass is exceptional. I do admire the player and his timing, though.
The entire purpose of the big al was to sound like many other basses. It does that well. It doesn't really do anything unique other than sound like nearly every popular bass. Plus the build quality and necks are outstanding.
 
The entire purpose of the big al was to sound like many other basses. It does that well. It doesn't really do anything unique other than sound like nearly every popular bass. Plus the build quality and necks are outstanding.
I guess I shouldn’t have said “exceptional.” That was the wrong word. I’m sure that bass is of exceptional quality - I’ve never seen an EBMM that wasn’t. I should have said “unique.” For a bass with such a unique appearance, I was a little struck by how much it just sounds like a regular bass.

To your point, I can easily call that a good thing!
 
The entire purpose of the big al was to sound like many other basses. It does that well. It doesn't really do anything unique other than sound like nearly every popular bass. Plus the build quality and necks are outstanding.

Well, I would disagree on this one, the standard set up in passive of the Big Al (passive + the 2 rear pickup) is pretty unique and not common, it gives a huge fat sound, not stingray like but very unique to that set up.

That's how I basically play mine all the time and I love it
 
Well, I would disagree on this one, the standard set up in passive of the Big Al (passive + the 2 rear pickup) is pretty unique and not common, it gives a huge fat sound, not stingray like but very unique to that set up.

That's how I basically play mine all the time and I love it
To each their own. It's somewhat unique but still similar to a jazz or Thunderbird sound, but with more upper mids.

The neck and bridge together is also fairly unique, but not usable to me.

I love my big al, it's a phenomenal bass, but I'd never say "that is the big al tone!". It's a chameleon of sorts, and I believe that was the point.
 
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I guess I shouldn’t have said “exceptional.” That was the wrong word. I’m sure that bass is of exceptional quality - I’ve never seen an EBMM that wasn’t. I should have said “unique.” For a bass with such a unique appearance, I was a little struck by how much it just sounds like a regular bass.

To your point, I can easily call that a good thing!

There is no TalkBass bylaw that every bass has to put wind in your sails.:thumbsup:
 
That is not me.

My apologies for misidentifying you, which in the case means assuming that the Black guy playing the sh*t out of that Big Al 5, who is in fact the epic Johnny Lee Long, is the same Black guy as Dr. Cheese, whose contributions to Talkbass I find so valuable and whose public presence is always humble and welcoming. The error is all mine, I apologize, and I will try to do better.
 
The aesthetics of the Big Al are not for everyone, but it was a good bass. I had a 5SSS for a while. I appreciated its versatility, but I liked the middle pickup solo sound the best (aka P-Bass sound). In the end, I just played another bass most of the time and so moved it on.

I have a feeling Johnny Lee Long could make just about anything sound good!