Club Alleva Coppolo (Part IV)

[XavidmanX]

I need to do some more listening, but if I had to make a choice right now, it'd be the LG... believe it or not. That LM is a really great bass, but the LG just has something more. It seemed to cut the mix a little better, and have a bit more "life" to it in general. Tony, that's an amazing bass.

I was hoping you would say that. Of course, I knew it the minute I put it in my hands and played the first note. My gut reaction was "holy s**t!!" (and I don't really curse at all, so that should say something). I've never gone so crazy over a bass so quickly.

I hope the one I get has the same magic.

Magic = Jimmy+Vintage bridge+Dalbergia Negra...IMHO

Here's the thing... I've spoken to Jimmy many times on the phone and been very honest regarding the stuff I've generally liked (woods, basses, tone) and he also recommended I go with the LG. Well, so far, he's right.

Well, that just goes to show you that I really don't know anything. I would have suggested the LM5 to you and thought Jimmy would have done the same. Your other comments about the LM5 not having as much midrange magic surprised me as well. I didn't have a chance to play that Teal LM5 as much or as loudly as I would have liked while I was there (not because of Jimmy but because I kept staring at the LG ). I wish I would have spent more time with it. Of course, all of the other basses I got to play were a heck of a whole lot of fun!

Right now, my only regret is not discovering these sooner.

Me too. I wrote them off very early on as being "just another J copy" or "too vintage sounding to keep up with the more modern basses" but boy was I wrong. I also couldn't get over the headstock but I know actually kind of like it. Hearing that LG changed my mind about the headstock real quick.

You should be very happy. I might, however, be a bit concerned for your VJ's.

LOL...

I know that my J GAS is cured for the time being.

At the risk of drawing a bit of fire here, the Sadowsky, as most know, is a more aggressive instrument, so it cut the mix a lot better and was my favorite of the three...

I was guessing that the Sado might have cut the mix better than the AC, which is why I asked the question I did in my post on page 19 about which of the three, LG, LM and MV, people thought did better at recording vs. live, etc.

, BUT, also as many have said, the AC's are designed with different goals, to remain faithful to a traditional tone, and they do this in spades. I simply must have one of these. It just felt so great to have such a sweet, pure, and honest J tone, and also have all the playability and consistency improvements afforded by the attention to detail of a luthier like Jimmy.

Jimmy is the man. Let's all say it together..

Jimmy is the man.

 

[Vic]

im suprised too that teal bass is 9.5. i played it a couple months ago and also thought it felt lighter than that. that one didnt really do it for me. even with the dead strings, i liked ethan farmers custom lm5 a lot more. that teal sounded alot like my old hotwire 5 string when it had aeros and a j retro in it. great sounding basses, but sounded light to me. im looking forward to him building an 11 pound lm5

So YOU'RE the guy! LOL!

 

[XavidmanX]

BTW Vic, what rig did you use?

 

[narud]

So YOU'RE the guy! LOL!

im scared to ask

 

[Vic]

BTW Vic, what rig did you use?

Ken's recommended... LMII/UL410. I love that rig.

 

[XavidmanX]

Ken's recommended... LMII/UL410. I love that rig.

Cool. How many more gigs do you have with all 3 basses?

What other rigs do you plan on playing them through?

Thanks for the detailed reports, btw...they've been extremely helpful.

 

[XavidmanX]

Doin' a happy dance! ...because my LG5 completion should be right around the corner!

What were those specs again, Gary?

 

[GRoberts]

What were those specs again, Gary?

LG5
Alder/Indian Rosewood
Three Tone sunburst / Nitro Body and neck
(By the Fender guy if it got done before he got ill?)
Tort Pickguard
Alleva Preamp with Passive tone
FB Binding with Dot position markers ('66 Transition vibe - Cool huh?)
And I've decided it must have the Bent plate bridge!

 

[LiF]

I tried to fit some Ernie Ball strap locks to my LG5. The screws that come with them are too big and the screws on the LG5 won't bite enough so the button just rotates. Anyone else have a similar problem? If so, how did you solve it?

 

[XavidmanX]

LG5
Alder/Indian Rosewood
Three Tone sunburst / Nitro Body and neck
(By the Fender guy if it got done before he got ill?)
Tort Pickguard
Alleva Preamp with Passive tone
FB Binding with Dot position markers ('66 Transition vibe - Cool huh?)
And I've decided it must have the Bent plate bridge!

Nice...

Can't wait to see pics of that beauty.

 

[biggreddbass]

I tried to fit some Ernie Ball strap locks to my LG5. The screws that come with them are too big and the screws on the LG5 won't bite enough so the button just rotates. Anyone else have a similar problem? If so, how did you solve it?

The only solution is to make the holes bigger for the larger screws.
I usually have Jimmy do it for me.
I'd ask him how to do it, if I were you.

 

[Big String]

Went to a Robert Cray and Shamika Copland concert last night. Both band were great. Ms. Copland's bassman was playing a blue LM5 sounded awesome. It had pearl blocks and I think binding. He was a thumb player via SVT rig. Anyway the other couple we were with and my lovely Lady got to hear about AC's most of the night... yadda.

Of course there was a big FOH and I didn't see a mic in front of the SVT, so I don't know what the stage rig sounded like, but the DI carried the LM5's lucious tone into the mix faily well. I wanted to slap the soundman though as he just had the kick way too loud and I struggled to hear the bass in both acts. Cray's bass player was using a Fender PJ and he was totally swallowed up ... sounded like one big blurr, too bad.

I don't know were some of these big acts get the sound engineer these days ... some of them really suck IMO.

I will say that Robert Cray was just phenomenal the sound for his vocals and stupendous + dynamic guitar work was very good, it was just that annoying (way too loud kick) made me want to throttle the sound guy ... ok I'm done complaining.

 

[Big String]

Just for the record, if anyone is interested in selling (gasp!) either there LG5 or Std4 please contact me. I'm pretty sure from what I've read I would prefer the Alder and Rosewood combination. I may in time just order a new one.

I needed to edit:
I've already received a couple tentative sales offers. I didn't really expect to be contacted so quickly.
I have actually spoken with Jimmy about 2 months ago and decided to wait. I still don't know if I'm ready to move ahead with an AC since I haven't audtioned one, just like most of you too. I may have an opportunity to check one out in the near future so I really want to do that first. I do appreciate the offers and will keep them handy. Many thanks.

 

[XavidmanX]

Went to a Robert Cray and Shamika Copland concert last night. Both band were great. Ms. Copland's bassman was playing a blue LM5 sounded awesome. It had pearl blocks and I think binding. He was a thumb player via SVT rig.

Would it have been Jason Langley? I saw on his web page he has credits for Ms. Copeland.

 

[svtb15]

That wasn't a LM .
It was my old original Lake Placid Blue LG5 with a replacement custom maple FB neck that Jimmy made for me. It had Pearl Block Inlays with Binding and probably the original satin hipshot tuners that Jimmy used to use on the first few 5 Strings..
I think Biggreddbass had those same tuners on his BigRed LG but switched them to the clovers once Jimmy updated.

That LPB LG5 bass was lighter than air in weight.. It almost floated. We spent some time going through a pile of wood for that body... Just Killer . Thats one i never should have gotten rid of. I now have a new LG5.
I have a pic i took of it in my studio back in the statrt of this thread.. post #28 about half way down the page
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6241491&postcount=28

here is what it looked like before all the Alleva factory updates, including the new Alleva Bridge, Vintage Tone Control and Maple Neck.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Went to a Robert Cray and Shamika Copland concert last night. Both band were great. Ms. Copland's bassman was playing a blue LM5 sounded awesome. It had pearl blocks and I think binding. He was a thumb player via SVT rig. Anyway the other couple we were with and my lovely Lady got to hear about AC's most of the night... yadda.

Of course there was a big FOH and I didn't see a mic in front of the SVT, so I don't know what the stage rig sounded like, but the DI carried the LM5's lucious tone into the mix faily well. I wanted to slap the soundman though as he just had the kick way too loud and I struggled to hear the bass in both acts. Cray's bass player was using a Fender PJ and he was totally swallowed up ... sounded like one big blurr, too bad.

I don't know were some of these big acts get the sound engineer these days ... some of them really suck IMO.

I will say that Robert Cray was just phenomenal the sound for his vocals and stupendous + dynamic guitar work was very good, it was just that annoying (way too loud kick) made me want to throttle the sound guy ... ok I'm done complaining.

 

[biggreddbass]

Would it have been Jason Langley? I saw on his web page he has credits for Ms. Copeland.

Nope ... wasn't me.
Kevin Jenkins is Miss Copeland's bass player these days.
I was in her band from 2001-2004.
Unfortunately, there were no AC basses back then.
I received the first AC about a month after I left the gig.

I just posted a new video clip on my website using the LG5 for anybody interested in hearing one live.
It's the clip of me with Coco Montoya.

 

[Basseroni]

Here is a clip of my friend, Walter Cosby, playing his LM5. Sounds Marcus Millerish to me. It's the first clip, "Slide."

Link Removed

 

[Ace Of Bass]

Here is a clip of my friend, Walter Cosby, playing his LM5. Sounds Marcus Millerish to me. It's the first clip, "Slide."

Link Removed

Walter was my first teacher many moons ago........Definitley one of the best players I have ever heard........ I can only imagine how sick he is with that LM live.......

 

[Vic]

Cool. How many more gigs do you have with all 3 basses?

What other rigs do you plan on playing them through?

Thanks for the detailed reports, btw...they've been extremely helpful.

I have small ensemble worship just with your LG tomorrow, with a small combo amp, then I'm taking just the two AC's to the larger worship rehearsal where it's the full in-ear system. The sound guy there has a great ear for bass tone in a mix. Trust me. He'll be honest. I still think the LG is going to win tomorrow night, but again, it's not a huge margin... the LM is a really great bass. It's just that the LG has something extra to my ears.

Disclaimer:
----------
One thing to keep in mind... Jimmy's a luthier, so his instruments will be somewhat individual, so hopefully nobody's reading this as all LG's vs all LM's. This is just this one vs that one, and only MHO for my personal prefs and style.

That said, I do feel all LG's will categorically have a bit warmer and fuller tone than LM's at least due to the bridge pickup location difference, and I'm sure the Alder as well.

 

[KJung]

I have small ensemble worship just with your LG tomorrow, with a small combo amp, then I'm taking just the two AC's to the larger worship rehearsal where it's the full in-ear system. The sound guy there has a great ear for bass tone in a mix. Trust me. He'll be honest. I still think the LG is going to win tomorrow night, but again, it's not a huge margin... the LM is a really great bass. It's just that the LG has something extra to my ears.

Disclaimer:
----------
One thing to keep in mind... Jimmy's a luthier, so his instruments will be somewhat individual, so hopefully nobody's reading this as all LG's vs all LM's. This is just this one vs that one, and only MHO for my personal prefs and style.

That said, I do feel all LG's will categorically have a bit warmer and fuller tone than LM's at least due to the bridge pickup location difference, and I'm sure the Alder as well.

In comparing my LM to the LG Mikebass had, while they were quite similar, the differences were as you describe, and as one would expect. The LG had just a touch more fatness down low, while the LM was a touch brighter in the upper mids.

As I've posted before, Jimmy's 'vintage' sort of vibe seems to really blossom with the more 60's spec'd instruments like the LG. I think most of us associate 'classic, vintage' Fender tone with those pre CBS 60's J basses, and that is the vibe of the LG. The LM's do a great job with the more 70's sort of J Bass thing (especially given their light weight), but there is something especially sweet about the LG's mimicing that pre CBS thing.