Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
- Status
Haven't thought about the 4th yet, Jimmy needs a couple more models first
LG, LM, RA and KBP = 4.
You have 2 more basses to buy.Jimmy also builds guitars.
I would LOVE to have one of each. But my RA-5 and my LM-5 will have to do for now.
Dan
Not a great picture, but you can see the 'shiny' neck/fretboard finish, and the color is closer to how it really looks, versus the more 'fire-engine red' look of Brian's pictures IMO.
LOOKING GOOD KJUNG. HOLD ON....I'M HAVING A MOMENT...OK I GOT MYSELF TOGETHER. LOL! ENJOY!
Nice color on that RA!
I think it will look good on a 4 string
All three that I have here ( LG, LM, RA) do what they are supposed to do so well, and I use/play all three. ..but the RA is usually the first one I pick up....
and then I pick up the LG..and then the LM...and what can I say....I love these basses.
I think it will look good on a 4 string
All three that I have here ( LG, LM, RA) do what they are supposed to do so well, and I use/play all three. ..but the RA is usually the first one I pick up....
and then I pick up the LG..and then the LM...and what can I say....I love these basses.
It happens at a casino. Had a drunk start yanking my Lakland 55-94 out of the stand without undoing the clasp.:scowl:Why? Someone other than you or your band getting close enough to knacker your bass?
I got nitro just to experience it. It looks great, and feels fine. I figured my second AC should match
I've got a nitro bass and it sounds great! The finish doesn't look very good though. It's 20 years old and has been through a lot!
Oh and congrats Ken on another beautiful Coppolo!!
Thanks guys. This bass really is a beauty. While it played nicely right out of the box, someone had done a relatively poor set-up on this bass (the classic 'too much bow in the neck and then lower the saddles to make up for it). Once I straightened the neck and then raised the saddles a touch so it played cleanly below the 12th fret, my gosh, this thing plays absolutely beautifully.... low action, but no buzzes, so you can really dig in.
Per the above comments on the LG, LM and RA, they really are all different beasts, so +1 again. It's hard to compare an individual bass to another individual bass and make 'global' statements about the models (since we all know that every bass sounds a bit different than every other one, even if they are spec'd the same), but this RA does really sit between my LG and LM regarding tone.
While I love my old school Nitro LG, it's not really my thing (I love playing it at home though, and it's my primary 'practice bass'). A little too polite and mellow for my personal tone goals on the gigs that I do though. But I must admit, that Nitro finish is just something, and really takes the look and the vibe and feel of that bass to another level versus the poly finishes on my other two. It's hard not to just stare at that bass. It glows!
My LM totally speaks to me, with that aggressive, bright, top end, and that 'bounce off the neck' feel when slapped, and a BIG, deep low end, just like the best of the late 70's J's that I have played.
The RA (at least this one), really is a different beast, combining a very aggressive 'mid to upper mid growl' (versus the more sizzly upper treble and lower treble grind of my LM) and a bit of that 'smoothness' in the low mids that I hear in the LG. I also feel that touch of 'compression' (i.e., the bass just slightly absorbing the front edge of the attack) that really results in that fat, smooth feel (versus the aggressive, immediate attack of the LM). Is this due to the fretboard finish, the alder body, the heavier weight of the bass, or a combination of all the above? Who knows?
I really dig it, and look forward to getting it in a mix this weekend. I can totally understand the guys who own the RA's and prefer them over their other models. If you compare the RA to my LM and LG, put in more 'negative' terms, the LM sounds a bit brittle and clanky in comparison and the LG just sounds a bit dull compared to the RA. So, the RA, in some sense, brings out the 'best' of the other two models... the aggression of the LM but the smoothness and 'creaminess' of the LG. Pretty nice.
Per the above comments on the LG, LM and RA, they really are all different beasts, so +1 again. It's hard to compare an individual bass to another individual bass and make 'global' statements about the models (since we all know that every bass sounds a bit different than every other one, even if they are spec'd the same), but this RA does really sit between my LG and LM regarding tone.
While I love my old school Nitro LG, it's not really my thing (I love playing it at home though, and it's my primary 'practice bass'). A little too polite and mellow for my personal tone goals on the gigs that I do though. But I must admit, that Nitro finish is just something, and really takes the look and the vibe and feel of that bass to another level versus the poly finishes on my other two. It's hard not to just stare at that bass. It glows!
My LM totally speaks to me, with that aggressive, bright, top end, and that 'bounce off the neck' feel when slapped, and a BIG, deep low end, just like the best of the late 70's J's that I have played.
The RA (at least this one), really is a different beast, combining a very aggressive 'mid to upper mid growl' (versus the more sizzly upper treble and lower treble grind of my LM) and a bit of that 'smoothness' in the low mids that I hear in the LG. I also feel that touch of 'compression' (i.e., the bass just slightly absorbing the front edge of the attack) that really results in that fat, smooth feel (versus the aggressive, immediate attack of the LM). Is this due to the fretboard finish, the alder body, the heavier weight of the bass, or a combination of all the above? Who knows?
I really dig it, and look forward to getting it in a mix this weekend. I can totally understand the guys who own the RA's and prefer them over their other models. If you compare the RA to my LM and LG, put in more 'negative' terms, the LM sounds a bit brittle and clanky in comparison and the LG just sounds a bit dull compared to the RA. So, the RA, in some sense, brings out the 'best' of the other two models... the aggression of the LM but the smoothness and 'creaminess' of the LG. Pretty nice.
Ken,
When you're ready to dump it, give me a shout. I'll be over in about 2.5 hrs.
Knowing your tone goals as I do, you would LOVE that bass. You are not getting it though
Excellent descriptive review (as usual) Ken...thanks for sharing.
Can't wait to hear your gig feedback.
Ken,
I was hoping you were going to give the opposite review and say it was overkill being that you have an LG and LM. With a LG5, KBP5 and an LM5 on order I was also hoping the blissful madness would slow down significantly or quite possibly stop....
In any case my own bank account aside I am glad your loving this bass and hope it works out even better on a gig....Just to confirm the pickup spacing is 70s not 60s?
I was hoping you were going to give the opposite review and say it was overkill being that you have an LG and LM. With a LG5, KBP5 and an LM5 on order I was also hoping the blissful madness would slow down significantly or quite possibly stop....
In any case my own bank account aside I am glad your loving this bass and hope it works out even better on a gig....Just to confirm the pickup spacing is 70s not 60s?
Correct.... it is my understanding that the RA is based on the 'transitional period' J basses of (not quite sure here), the very early 70's, when they were still using alder bodies but had moved the pickup spacing to that 70's position. I'm not a vintage Fender expert, so I'm sure one of the Fender fanatics can clarify this.
You got me jonesing to check out an RA...
\
I think I would go black poly-white perloid guard with black blocks and binding.
\I think I would go black poly-white perloid guard with black blocks and binding.
I'll let someone with more knowledge narrow this down, but it would definitely be the early 70's like you said. I'm guessing 71-74. My Geddy is modeled after a 72, and it's fairly heavy, as well as (of course) the 70's spacing, gloss maple board, alder body. I will say this tho, for not having an ash body, that thing just bangs out that 70's funk sound in a huge way. Maybe it's because of the alder being more dense... on the heavy side? Dunno.
Ken's acquisition of this RA is hugely serendipitous for me. I'm not close to making another AC purchase, but I'm pretty sure there's one more in my future at some point, and I was specifically trying to decide between the RA and LM, with my initial assumption being I'd still land on the LM. Well, Ken's comments have confirmed that. Even taking into consideration our preferential diffs (which to be honest are not that huge), if another AC lands on my radar, it will be the LM.
In the mean time, thankfully for me, my LG is way rockin' my world more than Ken's is his.
In the mean time, thankfully for me, my LG is way rockin' my world more than Ken's is his.
Ken's acquisition of this RA is hugely serendipitous for me. I'm not close to making another AC purchase, but I'm pretty sure there's one more in my future at some point, and I was specifically trying to decide between the RA and LM, with my initial assumption being I'd still land on the LM. Well, Ken's comments have confirmed that. Even taking into consideration our preferential diffs (which to be honest are not that huge), if another AC lands on my radar, it will be the LM.
In the mean time, thankfully for me, my LG is way rockin' my world more than Ken's is his.
If you dig that 60's thing, the LG is just wonderful (pure personal taste there... that has never really been my tone goal), and those LG's really do 'old school mellow' great (and can get a bit wider and more aggressive if you crank the pre a little, as I'm sure you know). However, 70's funk it won't do (duh!), and that is near and dear to my ear and heart. IMO, a maple board is the most key contributor to that tone, along with a bit of meat in the body (whether that be ash or alder). The RA is closer to the LM than the LG, just a bit more 'growl' in the RA, and a bit more 'sizzle and bounce' in the LM IMO and IME.
You got me jonesing to check out an RA...
I think I would go black poly-white perloid guard with black blocks and binding.
It is sweet! FYI, according to Jimmy, the one I have was a special order from Paul Taylor (who I guess didn't dig it... not sure), and is the only RA to date without blocks and binding. Jimmy seems to be considering an 'RA Basic' model (which is basically what this one is), which I assume would bring down the cost a bit.
- Status
