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Club Alleva Coppolo (Part 10!)

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#181
Andrew Jones said:
Guys who were at Namm,,,,,,How heavy (please guess) were the Red LM's? Specifically the four string but I listen to any.

I asked Jimmy about the weight of that one and he'd said probally 13 Lb's:eek::eek: now said that kinda Joking and said he didn't know for sure and that he'd weigh it. The he said that the black one was the heaviest and that nobody would buy it, so it's a shop bass.


Aj
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My best guess is right at 10, maybe 10.5... It wasn't bad at all.

And about the black one, maybe Jimmy changed his mind about it but as far as what he said to me, the black one is exactly how he wants the LM4 to sound so that was the reason it's a shop bass, not because nobody bought it... But then again if someone made him an offer then maybe he would've let it go.

simongpaez said:
Maybe this has been discuss before iots long post :)
Any information on the short scale ones?
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The shortscales (Shorties) are prototype NAMM basses, 30" scale with a new and totally original body shape. Jimmy said he has been working on the pickup for almost 10 years now and in my opinion it's a home run. The 2 that were there were wound the same just with different wire which resulted in a different tone - the pink being bigger and ballsier with a lot more low end, and the blue one being closer to a P style tone but still fatter in my opinion. Both were a joy to play due to the size of them. The pink on was sold at NAMM, the blue one should still be there.

Basseroni (Robin)... You know you wanna chime in on these!
 
#186
jonno1707 said:
That's not a bad weight at all and minimal entry weight for the real deal late 70's jazz bass tone...
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+1 My FBass VF5 70's version ash/maple weighs about 10.5 pounds. It feels 'heavy but not stupid heavy' and really isn't a big problem. That 11 pound thing really seems like the threshold to entering 'boat anchor land'.
 
#187
theres gotta be a correlation between bass players that sit at a computer on talkbass and guys that need light basses. i know when i was bugging him to use heavier ash (and generally complaining about his basses:D) he said he had some other players who wanted heavier lms. i dont think any of them were internet guys though:smug:
 
#188
narud said:
theres gotta be a correlation between bass players that sit at a computer on talkbass and guys that need light basses. i know when i was bugging him to use heavier ash (and generally complaining about his basses:D) he said he had some other players who wanted heavier lms. i dont think any of them were internet guys though:smug:
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I think the main correlation is with guys who spent decades playing 6 nights a week 4-5 hours a night, and through that experienced realize:

1) Heavy instruments can really be a drag and a bummer over many hours and many nights, and...

2) If you can really play, there isn't a person in the universe who can tell if you are playing an 8 pound instrument or a 12 pound one in a mix in a live setting (coming from one who has owned and gigged at both ends of that extreme a few thousand nights or so)

:D:hiding::cool:
 
#189
narud said:
theres gotta be a correlation between bass players that sit at a computer on talkbass and guys that need light basses. i know when i was bugging him to use heavier ash (and generally complaining about his basses:D) he said he had some other players who wanted heavier lms. i dont think any of them were internet guys though:smug:
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Probably as much a correlation between bass players with bad backs and the need for light instruments ;)

When I was a whippersnapper I'd think nothing of a 20lb six string monster ....... ahh the memories :rollno:
 
#190
KJung said:
I think the main correlation is with guys who spent decades playing 6 nights a week 4-5 hours a night, and through that experienced realize:

1) Heavy instruments can really be a drag and a bummer over many hours and many nights, and...

2) If you can really play, there isn't a person in the universe who can tell if you are playing an 8 pound instrument or a 12 pound one in a mix in a live setting (coming from one who has owned and gigged at both ends of that extreme a few thousand nights or so)

:D:hiding::cool:
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i dont know, the other guys getting on him were all from your age bracket:eek:

and come now, no one in the universe is really going to be able to tell youre playing a multi thousand dollar a-c or a mexican fender in your average live mix either. we do this stuff for ourselves!
 
#191
There are some guys who will swear some of the tone comes from the density of the wood.
There are some guys that won't wear a heavy bass.

It's just smart business to build whichever one the client wants when you're a small luthier.

Jimmy may be at the point where he's selling everything he builds, and doesn't need that kind of user input; but I'd also wager he's the kind of guy that will keep building for the individual buyer.
 
#193
narud said:
i dont know, the other guys getting on him were all from your age bracket:eek:

and come now, no one in the universe is really going to be able to tell youre playing a multi thousand dollar a-c or a mexican fender in your average live mix either. we do this stuff for ourselves!
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+1 These type of basses speak to me regarding playability and feel (totally for myself). I've always been happy with the tone of most basses, it was the feel, playability, dead spots, fretwork, neck profile, quietness/quality of electronics, neck stability, reliability, shielding, availability of 5 string version with a B that sounded and felt good,etc. that always made the high end 'worth the money' for me personally. Never had a problem with the basic sound of a J bass or a P Bass.

That's all on the positive side of 'it matters to me as a player and does the audience no harm'. Regarding weight, that is on the negative side for me (i.e., it doesn't impact the tone in a meaningful way in a mix IMO and IME, the audience doesn't care, and it makes me less happy):)

Sometimes, you actually do learn a bit from 30 years of gigging:D

Per Chef's comment, it makes TOTAL sense for Jimmy to offer a boat anchor LM model that really feels like one of those 70's J's for those that want that. However, if he is changing the spec to only that, IMO, he is making a mistake regarding sales potential. Of course, that's his decision to make.
 
#194
PS I think discussion like this are good, and maybe (hopefully) helpful to guys and gals saving up money for their 'dream bass'. Lot's of decisions, lot's of spec decisions, and no 'my way is the best way' suggestions that guarantee happiness and satisfaction.

Only through weighing (pardon the pun) what is important to you can you at least have the possibility of getting an instrument you love, since it is rare for any of us to be able to try before you buy (I haven't played a bass before purchase for probably 20 years at this point).:)
 
#195
narud said:
and come now, no one in the universe is really going to be able to tell youre playing a multi thousand dollar a-c or a mexican fender in your average live mix either. we do this stuff for ourselves!
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True, but it does actually affect the audience at least in the whole of the experience tho... at least in my situation... simply because a better playing and sounding bass is going to inspire me to play better, which in turn makes the music better and the audience experience better.

That said, at least as one example, I've seen vids of Vision just friggin' tearin' it up on a Mexican Fender J5 and it sounded great to me, so I do agree with your core point.
 
#197
KJung said:
PS I think discussion like this are good, and maybe (hopefully) helpful to guys and gals saving up money for their 'dream bass'. Lot's of decisions, lot's of spec decisions, and no 'my way is the best way' suggestions that guarantee happiness and satisfaction.

Only through weighing (pardon the pun) what is important to you can you at least have the possibility of getting an instrument you love, since it is rare for any of us to be able to try before you buy (I haven't played a bass before purchase for probably 20 years at this point).:)
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Totally agree. Within all these discussions are talking points that help guys, myself included, in pointing you in the right direction of understanding which specs are important and meaningful. Many times things you wouldn't think of.

If you don't have a degree in bass gear nerdiness like most of us, you call a guy like Jimmy and say I want an LM and I want it as little as humanly possible. Then you learn later that it "may" have sacrificed something tonally in a request that you thought only impacted your shoulder. Having this knowledge simply helps you make a better educated decision.
 
#198
At first Jimmy didn't know what to charge for the Shorties... It's a tough one cause they use only slightly lesser material but take the same time and effort to build as regular basses.

But one was sold so I guess he figured something out.
 
#199
YCBass said:
At first Jimmy didn't know what to charge for the Shorties... It's a tough one cause they use only slightly lesser material but take the same time and effort to build as regular basses.

But one was sold so I guess he figured something out.
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Yeah, I really see this as a huge problem with that product, to be very blunt. I think the market for a fairly special purpose bass at the very high end would be highly limited, myself.

Even more problematic in many ways, is the Marleaux Consat Sopran, 24 frets, 57cm (21.25") scale (yeah, that's TINY). I think it had an MSRP of around 4K!!

IMHO of course, as always, I wish Jimmy the BEST of success!
 
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