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Club Alleva-Coppolo (Part 13)

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#341
For the record, I hope I'm not coming off as bashing at all. I think Jimmy is VERY gifted, and you'll NEVER meet a nicer guy... ever... and my LG takes a back seat to NO bass in my collection! I just feel bad for him because I really feel he's made some choices that unnecessarily complicate things. That's all. :hmm:
 
#342
Vic said:
For the record, I hope I'm not coming off as bashing at all. I think Jimmy is VERY gifted, and you'll NEVER meet a nicer guy... ever... and my LG takes a back seat to NO bass in my collection! I just feel bad for him because I really feel he's made some choices that unnecessarily complicate things. That's all. :hmm:
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I think for 99% of the people that read this thread, you're preaching to the choir. :) I believe we all have an appreciation for the talent level and huge amount of dedication that Jimmy possesses. His incredible basses are representative of that.

And when you talk to Jimmy on the phone, it's like talking to an old friend. A great guy.
 
#343
A list of 2009 , hope this helps guys, no prices available.
Please check with Jimmy.

NF5: oil finish maple neck maple board, import hardware, black finish only, vol./vol. Aguilar 3-band E.Q.

KBP4 & 5 Basic: natural Satin finish rosewood board maple neck, standard color poly finishes, choice of available guards, Vintage bridge for KBP4 and Hipshot for KBP5

KBP4 & 5 Standard: tinted or natural gloss or satin finish rosewood board maple neck, matching headstock, standard and metallic poly finishes, choice of available guards, Vintage bridge for KBP4 and Hipshot for KBP5

KBP4 & 5 Classic: Nitrocellulose lacquer finish rosewood board maple neck, matching headstock, standard and metallic finishes, choice of available guards, Vintage style bridge for both KBP4 & KBP5 Classics

KBP4 & 5 Classic Supreme: Nitrocellulose lacquer finish, Upgraded private select fingerboard , matching headstock, standard and metallic finishes, choice of available guards, Chrome p.u. cover, Tolex hardshell case, Vintage style bridge for both KBP4 & KBP5 Classic Supremes

LG4 & 5 Basic: natural satin finish rosewood board maple neck, standard color poly finishes, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Vintage bridge for LG4 and Hipshot for LG5 Basic

LG4 & 5 Standard: tinted or natural gloss or satin finish rosewood board maple neck, matching headstock, standard and metallic poly finishes, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Vintage bridge for LG4 and Hipshot for LG5 Standard

LG4 & 5 Classic: Nitrocellulose lacquer finish rosewood board maple neck, matching headstock, standard and metallic finishes, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Vintage style bridge for both LG4 & LG5 Classics

LG4 & 5 Classic Supreme: Nitrocellulose lacquer finish, Upgraded private select fingerboard , matching headstock, standard and metallic finishes, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Chrome p.u. cover, Tolex hardshell case, Vintage style bridge for both LG4 & LG5 Classic Supremes

LM4 & 5 Basic: natural satin finish maple board or rosewood maple neck, standard color poly finishes, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Vintage bridge for LM4 and Hipshot for LM5 Basic

LM4 & 5 Standard: tinted or natural gloss or satin finish maple or rosewood board maple neck, standard and metallic poly finishes, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Vintage bridge for LM4 and Hipshot for LM5 Standard

LM4 & 5 Deluxe: Bound and block inlayed maple or rosewood board maple neck, standard and metallic finishes, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Chrome p.u. cover, Vintage bridge for LM4 and Hipshot for LM5 Deluxe

RA4 & 5 Standard: Bound and block inlayed maple or rosewood board maple neck, standard and metallic poly finishes, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Vintage bridge for RA4 and Hipshot for RA5

RA 4 & 5 Custom: Bound and block inlayed maple or rosewood board maple neck, standard and metallic finishes nitrocellulose lacquer body finish, choice of available guards, passive tone, Alleva-Coppolo two band EQ, Chrome p.u. cover, Vintage style bridge for both RA4 & RA5 Custom
 
#345
Vic said:
Jason, thanks for the great info! Just one question. If primavera is fairly close to alder, why not just (continue to) use alder... especially if alder is easier to get? Some sort of export issue with alder that didn't apply to primavera? I guess the related question is, if it wasn't an export thing, what was it about primavera that caused Jimmy to buy it up while he could?
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No big mystery Vic ... Jimmy got a deal from another builder friend who was moving some primavera and wanted to try something different .. nothing more, nothing less ... call it luthier's curiosity, i guess ... i doubt he'll get more when this supply is gone, unless there is a sudden demand. IMO, Primavera is warm like alder, but has a noticeable bump in the mids. To me, this was enough to make the distinction between the sound of the two woods.
 
#346
biggreddbass said:
No big mystery Vic ... Jimmy got a deal from another builder friend who was moving some primavera and wanted to try something different .. nothing more, nothing less ... call it luthier's curiosity, i guess ... i doubt he'll get more when this supply is gone, unless there is a sudden demand. IMO, Primavera is warm like alder, but has a noticeable bump in the mids. To me, this was enough to make the distinction between the sound of the two woods.
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Ok. Didn't know if there was more to it than that.
 
#347
biggreddbass said:
Hey George,

Well ... I played both of the first EUT's that Jimmy made for winter NAMM 2009. I'm not a huge fan of maple anyway, so the 70's one didn't really do much for me. (No offense rodl2005, i know you have a great axe, just not my thing)
The 60's spacing w rosewood was the closest AC to my bigg redd bass that i've played since Jimmy started building. It had a weight like alder and a tone very similar, but most definitely had more happening in the low mids. It growled like crazy playing finger style & had a bit more "ping" than my LG5 for slap. By the time I got to it, it was sold, but I never forgot about it & now that I'm in the market for a 4 string, i thought it would be perfect.
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NO probs Jason. Interesting - the description of KULA wood 'Primavera'.
Mine sure seems similar to ALDER & I have noticed a pronounced low mids in the EUT5.
Mine is a maple board- which I LIKE- & does as you say- GROWL like crazy!!
I didn't 'CHOOSE' a new AC, & unless I catch the LOTTO No's - won't be able to, but I do like the 70's pup spacing. I s'pose my playing a lotta '70's Funk helps here.
Interesting to hear there are only 3 made?!?!? :eek:
What matters most to me is that I certainly DIG the bass :hyper: & hopefully it'll do me for YEARS!!
 
#350
KJung said:
.........
It seems like you are still really searching for that 'tone in your head', which can be frustrating... been there, done that. It took a lot of years and a lot of basses to finally understand the exact tone(s) I was looking for. Once you match up an instrument with that 'sound in your head', GAS pretty much goes away.

Of course, strings, amp, technique, everything makes such a huge difference that it just takes a while to try a bunch of stuff out. Also, since there is so much variability from one instrument to the other, your final 'dream bass' might actually have a spec that is a bit different than what you would have originally thought!
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I've actually been giving this a lot of thought over the past few days:rollno:

Is there really one sound I hear in my head that I am after? And I honestly don't know that there is.

I do know when it comes to playing jazz I really prefer to play the upright. I used to have a fretless musicman that I liked for jazz and have from time to time considered a Rob Allen deep5 but never could pull the trigger. When it comes to jazz playing I pretty well know where it's at for me.

As I mentioned I gave up on the club date / wedding / corporate band about six months ago now. It was a mix of been there done that and wanting to free up my time to be home with my son and wife more. The LG5 served a very nice role in that context and since I am out of that for the time being I can't say for sure but the LM5 seems to be a better fit. In the few electric gigs I've done with the LM5 it can be very smooth, tame and sit nicely in the mix but it can also crunch and grind when I need it too. And the slap sound is to die for, although I will admit I spend more time at home wanking around with my slap technique more then I should based on the actual time I use that on gigs.

I am still a little gun shy on the weight of the LM5 (10.75lbs) although I haven't had any fatigue issues with it. And I have a hard time disconnecting the weight of the body, chunky neck with the tone and feel which just seems perfect.

Still playing the string change game with the LG, I've pretty much settled on Hi Beams on the LM5...
 
#352
Vic said:
What have you tried so far, what most recently, and what is your current fave set on this bass?
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Ernie Ball slinky's
Jimmy's nickels
Sadowsky Blue Steels
DR Low riders
DR Hi Beams
DR Sunbeams
TI Jazz Flats
Labella Original 1954 "Jamerson Set"

The EB and AC nickels were to long ago to give a good recap of. Recently got a set of AC nickels which I may go back and try again.

The Sadowsky blue steels and DR low riders sounded very similar to me and on this bass with the inherent mid content it is just a little to much of a good thing.

The TIs are just to midrange honky and not enough thud.

The Labellas sounded nice but feel a little funny, Bass doubler is bringing that set over for me to try again soon, it's been a while.

I recently had sunbeams on for the last week and they seem to work pretty nicely. As with the EB and AC nickels they never seem to get to that super smooth dead tone, that Honduran board just keeps them very lively. (didn't give them a ton of time to break in)

I did most of my gigging with Hi Beams on this bass and they have thus far seemed to work the best. I will likely slap another set on tonight, I haven't had Hi Beams on this bass at the same time as I've had them on the LM.

I am constantly fighting the honduran board, sometimes I just love it and other times I want to throw it in the trash.
 
#354
peterpalmieri said:
I recently had sunbeams on for the last week and they seem to work pretty nicely. As with the EB and AC nickels they never seem to get to that super smooth dead tone, that Honduran board just keeps them very lively. (didn't give them a ton of time to break in)

I did most of my gigging with Hi Beams on this bass and they have thus far seemed to work the best. I will likely slap another set on tonight, I haven't had Hi Beams on this bass at the same time as I've had them on the LM.
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So, if I have this straight, so far, the HiBeams seemed to have been the best for you, but you said you tried SunBeams, but they never got to that smooth stage, tho you admit you didn't leave them on very long.

I'm gonna' call "FAIL" on you for that. :)

IMHO, you made a critical mistake pulling those SunBeams off before they'd gotten to that magical smoother stage if that's more of what you're looking for... as think I'm hearing you say the HiBeams are good, but you still want something smoother.

Seems like the SunBeams should be the perfect strings for ya, and second to that, maybe the LoRider nickels (I'm assuming you've only tried the SS LoRiders so far, tho you don't specifically say).

I am constantly fighting the honduran board, sometimes I just love it and other times I want to throw it in the trash.
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This is sad. Have you played an LG with the standard Indian board? If so, how would you compare? Or, are you more speaking rosewoods in general on this?

I really don't have a lot of experience with different rosewoods, so it's hard for me to keep track of what kind of rosewood has what tonal character, but I do know my LG just seems dead solid perfect with it's standard Indian board. Perfect balance of smooth and sheen at least for my prefs in a more classic sounding J.

I've currently got LoRider nickels on mine, and I'm definitely loving them, though I may still go back to SS's. Currently, my two top choices for SS strings are Jimmy's and LoRiders.

Anyway, FWIW/IMHO, etc... :)
 
#357
Vic said:
So, if I have this straight, so far, the HiBeams seemed to have been the best for you, but you said you tried SunBeams, but they never got to that smooth stage, tho you admit you didn't leave them on very long.

I'm gonna' call "FAIL" on you for that. :)

IMHO, you made a critical mistake pulling those SunBeams off before they'd gotten to that magical smoother stage if that's more of what you're looking for... as think I'm hearing you say the HiBeams are good, but you still want something smoother.

Seems like the SunBeams should be the perfect strings for ya, and second to that, maybe the LoRider nickels (I'm assuming you've only tried the SS LoRiders so far, tho you don't specifically say).

This is sad. Have you played an LG with the standard Indian board? If so, how would you compare? Or, are you more speaking rosewoods in general on this?

I really don't have a lot of experience with different rosewoods, so it's hard for me to keep track of what kind of rosewood has what tonal character, but I do know my LG just seems dead solid perfect with it's standard Indian board. Perfect balance of smooth and sheen at least for my prefs in a more classic sounding J.

I've currently got LoRider nickels on mine, and I'm definitely loving them, though I may still go back to SS's. Currently, my two top choices for SS strings are Jimmy's and LoRiders.

Anyway, FWIW/IMHO, etc... :)
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All the strings I've mentioned I have cut for an AC so mostly they come off and go back in the packaging for a later trial. I am now confused I am pretty sure I have Low Rider stainless and not nickels.

I should have left the sunbeams on longer and maybe I should get them back on the bass instead of pulling out a fresh set of hi beams.

In any case I bought the LG5 used and in retrospect I'd probably have preferred an Indian rosewood board. At the time I didn't think it would have had such a significant impact. That being said as a do it all kind of bass the LG with the honduran board with hi beams cops a nice arsenal of tones. It just doesn't scream old school 60s to me.

EDIT: I should add the LG is the only bass I've ever really gone crazy with so many different strings.
 
#359
Pete, I think you should just leave those Sunbeams on and let them die a little....or try some other flats on there if the TIs aren't cutting it....cause that bass can DEFINITELY get old school, you just have to tame the natural mid-ness of that board. I think hi-beams are the wrong way to go....just my opinion haha....can't wait to try the valenti in comparison!
 
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