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Club Alleva-Coppolo (Part 16)

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#781
Cool! I don't know much about tubes but what will do those tubes you mention (5751 12AU7) add to the Streamliner?


bassdoubler said:
YES! I am....I'm a serious tube guy and I'm really curious to hear how the amp would react if I swapped out the 3 12AX7s with a 5751, a 12AU7, etc....I'm loving my EA IAmp Pro still as far as portability is concerned but I'd LOVE to get my hands on the 900 watt SL and get some more tubes in my life!
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#782
Well GB talks about 6 stages of gain using 3 12AX7 preamp tubes which are interchangeable with several other 9 pin tubes. A few years ago I went tube crazy and bought tons of different 9 pin preamp tubes to find the best sounding ones and realized that in a multiple gain stage circuit, different tubes in different places in the circuit totally affect the sound. Like in a Fender Blues Junior, by replacing the first 12AX7 with a 5751 you get this way smoother breakup with a greater variety of sounds on it's way to completely overdriven. I'm just saying if I owned a Streamliner I would do some heavy experimenting haha
 
#785
Spalted is just a fancy way to say rotten and usually only a very thin slice is used as a top, since it's super lightweight and not dense enough to make a suitable body, due to it being so rotten and porous. Those bookmatched slabs you see people posting, bragging about how great their new Fodera is gonna look actually weigh next to nothing! I was really surprised the first time I picked up a fancy piece, it was like holding more air than wood. I guess my point is "Spalted" anything is generally not a tone wood. I don't know how the hell Jimmy made a whole bass outta that stuff.

But maybe when you change the properties of the regular alder, by slimming it down enough to put a fancy top on it, you get some tonal differences. Maybe it was just the amp and the bass settings and the recording device. Which may be what you may be hearing. FWIW
 
#786
Spalting is actually the pigment left from a fungus that went through the conductive vessels in the wood. The wood does not always get punky from the process and can be as solid as any other piece of wood.

Dan K.
 
#788
Dan Knowlton said:
Spalting is actually the pigment left from a fungus that went through the conductive vessels in the wood. The wood does not always get punky from the process and can be as solid as any other piece of wood.

Dan K.
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True, except in the case of the solid spalted alder AC's, I remember Jimmy saying how hard it was to work with this wood and have it stay together, so in this case, I think it's the less than perfect wood... at least for anything I'd want.
 
#789
Vic said:
True, except in the case of the solid spalted alder AC's, I remember Jimmy saying how hard it was to work with this wood and have it stay together, so in this case, I think it's the less than perfect wood... at least for anything I'd want.
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+1 Rob Allen always uses a second piece of hardwood veneer for stability when someone spec's a spalted top.
 
#790
I've seen a few builders, but not many, use spalted alder as a body wood. The people that have two of these basses (Miko is one, and jp the other) rave about their instruments, and the clips I've heard have a tone that is clearly distinct from either the LG4 or LM5 that I've had. Not really a standard 60s jazz bass sound, even though it's probably closer to that. I'm not entirely sure how much is the body wood or the fingerboard paired with it, but there must be some reason that Jimmy has been really happy with his full body spalted alder bass.
 
#791
climb said:
Tone question:

Does spalted alder body wood have a different tone than regular alder? The two ACs I've heard (on YouTube)with spalted alder bodies really had a distinct, punchy vibe that I'm digging.
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Well, having had a regular alder LG4, and now having a spalted LG4, I can tell you that I think the spalted one has a little more punch than the regular alder did. I'm not sure that my spalted is any lighter though - it seems like a regular 9 lb. type of bass.

I don't think Jimmy makes a ton of spalted basses so I'm guessing that either he doesn't get a lot of call for them, or suitable body wood isn't available in large quantities. Maybe both?
 
#793
climb said:
Interesting. What fingerboard wood do you have and was it the same for both of your LG4s?
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This is going to sound a little far-fetched but you can check it with Jimmy...

The old LG4 had an Indian rosewood board. My spalted LG4 has wood from Jimmy's old workbench, which was identified by a wood specialist at NAMM 2010 as being a Polynesian/Dalbergia cross. Yes, it sounds wacky, but apparently trees can cross pollenate in bizarre ways, and that's what this is. Again, check with Jimmy if you like ('cuz I know there's a few of you wanting to call B.S. here). It exhibits pretty much the same sonic characteristics of Dalberigia, and more importantly to me feels the same.

Other differences, the old bass had stainless steel frets, and a Poly finish. The old LG4 had a really "big" sound to it, and was pretty aggressive with the Indian board and SS frets.

The new bass has normal fret wire, and nitro. It also has a very distinct low-mid "sock". In point of fact it is a pretty versatile instrument and I'm not sure exactly what to attribute that too, but considering that it's a nitro/alder/rosewood instrument, it seems to have a little more bounce to it than it should. The spalted body seems to be as good a reason for this as any, but of course some "expert" who has never spent any significant time playing a spalted bass will be along shortly to claim definitively why this can't be so.

I quiver with anticipation.

In the meantime, I suggest you try to find a spalted AC sometime and try it for yourself - really the only way to know for sure. I sure do like mine.
 
#795
climb said:
I'd love to try one! If anybody has one, please let me know...

There are not a whole lot of them. I'm most interested in the bocote fingerboard one based on the limited clips I've heard. Do you have any clips of yours?
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Sorry, no clips. And though I'm lucky enough to now have played well over two dozen of Jimmy's basses, not one has had a Bocote neck. I haven't a clue what those sound or feel like.
 
#796
hey guys sorry to veer off topic, but maybe someone can clear this up for me. So I noticed on the website that Jimmy is now offering a "capped fingerboard" as a new option. I always just assumed that slab boards were just the way Leo did it until they realized they could make more fingerboards by doing thinner "capped" veneer boards, but based on how they're described, I can't really tell whether my ACs' boards are slabs or capped. I would assume they're slabs since Jimmy is just now offering the capped board as an option, but what possible benefits would you have from having him put one on your bass other than trying to be period correct?
 
#797
And it begins...

LM5 Deluxe "Limited Edition" (1 Piece Body)
Thanks to Jimmy for a tour of the shop!

219337_10150151508870373_650700372_6995077_7276482_o.jpg
 
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