Interesting POV............ hopefully, one day you will have time to post a clip or two.........
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
Interesting POV............ hopefully, one day you will have time to post a clip or two.........
+1 Most of the 'old school J bass funksters' from Detroit who have played the LM pretty much react the same.... 'THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT'. They are a pretty picky bunch when it comes to their 70's J tone!
I wish I wasn't so clueless about recording. I did finally buy one of those little hand held digital recording units, so one of these days, I'll learn how to use it!!!! It looks pretty simple, although it would confound the tone of the amp and room with the bass (it is 'mic based' recording) versus really hearing the 'pure' sound of the instrument.
Maybe that will be a good 'between Christmas and New Years' project... to hurtle myself into 30 year old recording techniques that still confuse me!!!!
I would bet that an LM5 with the Bent Plate Bridge, run passive would sound like that.
Even with the regular bridge and preamp engaged IMO! I hear very little difference between passive and 'preamp flat' on the Alleva's, other than a slight gain boost, and MAYBE a touch more top end.
Edit: My comments are based on my experience with quite a few mid to late 70 J basses through the years. While there was a general common tone among them, there was quite a wide range of tonal variation (i.e., a distribution of subtle differences in tone like within any other bass line). So, does my LM sound like any single later 70's J bass... maybe yes and maybe no. There are some I've played that have more balls than my LM, and others that I've played that sound dull and/or clanky. My point here is that the LM I have (which I assume is at least somewhat representative of the 9-10 pound LM's that Jimmy produces) is WELL within the range of what most would describe as a classic, passive 70's J tone. However, if you have one particular instrument that you love and are tying to match, that's very difficult for anyone, whether it's a particular 70's J, a particular MTD, or a particular Fodera, etc. IMHO!
in playing the feather weight ash basses and the boat anchors, theres definitely a huge difference in tone between the different weights in ash. the time i visited jimmys shop, he mentioned to me that he thought alder basses sounded better lighter and ash sounded better heavier.
there was an lm5 on ebay recently that looked pretty dope that i was interested in until the owner told me it was in the 7 pound range
in playing the feather weight ash basses and the boat anchors, theres definitely a huge difference in tone between the different weights in ash. the time i visited jimmys shop, he mentioned to me that he thought alder basses sounded better lighter and ash sounded better heavier.
there was an lm5 on ebay recently that looked pretty dope that i was interested in until the owner told me it was in the 7 pound range
+1 That 9-10 pound range is in the 'sweet spot' for me on ash... heavy enough for tonal balls, not heavy enough to bust the players balls
My Alder Sadowsky and now Alder Alleva are both about one or one and a half pounds lighter than their ash cousins, and that seems to work really well for my tone goals and ergonomic requirements!
+1 That 9-10 pound range is in the 'sweet spot' for me on ash... heavy enough for tonal balls, not heavy enough to bust the players balls
My Alder Sadowsky and now Alder Alleva are both a one or one and a half pounds lighter than their ash cousins, and that seems to work really well for my tone goals and ergonomic requirements!
my shoulder definitely feels it after all these 4 hour gigs every weekend but so far i can still put up with it. i was bummed about that ebay alleva and its weight. it was right in my current price range. i could have swung a new one around 6 months ago, but as with everyone else in world, common sense has to prevail right now when it comes to finances
in playing the feather weight ash basses and the boat anchors, theres definitely a huge difference in tone between the different weights in ash. the time i visited jimmys shop, he mentioned to me that he thought alder basses sounded better lighter and ash sounded better heavier.
there was an lm5 on ebay recently that looked pretty dope that i was interested in until the owner told me it was in the 7 pound range
I have recently had the experience to test a few '70s J with different weights and definitely hear a very noticeable difference in the tone.........the impact of the notes "hits way harder" (someone said that recently and it's a good description to me) with the heavier ash bodies........I recently picked up a '78 Jazz that is 12 pounds and "hits harder" than any 9-10 pounder I've heard so far.......
I do agree that there is something about some very heavy basses (ash, mahogany too) that really give the low notes some heft and the slap technique a really nice 'bounce' off the board. If that's your tone, heavy is good!
I ended up rolling a lot of low end off my Celinder (which REALLY had it going on down low and was about as heavy ash as you can get.. the body is actually an oversized, not undersized J!!!), and like a more 'hear the windings of the E and B string' type tone than the big, big low end. So, that 8.5-10 pound range is the perfect combination of enough low end to feel it and but not so much to be a drag to strap on.
And again, IMO and IME, the Alleva preamp is the only one I experienced to this point that really does seem to provide more 'low end presence' that to 'add active sounding low end'. So that's been a huge win for me. I totally get the 12 pound ash thing though. Luckily, I don't miss what that gives you... thank god, given my long gigs and advancing age
+1 That 9-10 pound range is in the 'sweet spot' for me on ash... heavy enough for tonal balls, not heavy enough to bust the players balls
My Alder Sadowsky and now Alder Alleva are both about one or one and a half pounds lighter than their ash cousins, and that seems to work really well for my tone goals and ergonomic requirements!
Very cool things seem to be working out for you so far, Ken...........buying that LG was a bit of a gamble, I know, but so far, so good.........
Very cool things seem to be working out for you so far, Ken...........buying that LG was a bit of a gamble, I know, but so far, so good.........
I've been pounding on the LG today (it's sitting on my lap right now!), and as the initial sizzle of those Hi Beams starts to fade a bit, it's sounding DARN good and growly
There's a few on the Alleva site. Our buddy TBer Mikebass has a nice recording up there of the LG that Pete now has. Edit: Looks like Mike deleted that clip.. there are others up there though that will give you a feel for these basses IMO.
K
The Jamiroquai Intel concert with Paul Turner playing is the reason I bought an Alleva, end of story. First time I heard it, I was hooked and had to have one! Hence why mine's pretty much an exact copy of his bass hahah
- Oct 17, 2006
- 731
- 21
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Aguilar Amplification, Dunlop/MXR
My friend, Walter Cosby, has some clips of the LM-5 from an upcoming live CD. He used it on Yearning for Love and Slide.
You can check it out here: Link Removed
Thanks for the link. 
I've been pounding on the LG today (it's sitting on my lap right now!), and as the initial sizzle of those Hi Beams starts to fade a bit, it's sounding DARN good and growly
Do you find that the growl comes 'in place of' instead of 'in addition to' grind?
First, the 'slide' track is just some good old funk a wunka wunka. I like it!
Man, that's getting even too subtle for me to wax poetic about
I guess when I talk about grind, I'm talking about that upper mid sort of 70's 'hear thewinding on the E string' sort of thing. When I talk about growl, it's more about the lower mids. But gosh, that's getting pretty subtle.With those caveats (you knew I'd was going to wax poetic anyway), I'd say 'in place of'... i.e., different things. Listen to the 'slide' clip at 5:40 or wherever the slap solo comes in (don't worry, it's goovin' not wankin'). That's the grind that I like, and sounds like my LM to me, and also many passive 70's J's with ash bodies and maple boards that I've played. I call that grindy.. that maple upper mid, well, 'grind'
in the slap tone, and when you dig into it with fingerstyle. An exteme example of this is the clip with Tal Winkenfeld and Oteil in the 'recordings' section of the site, where she's really digging in close to the neck and, again, grindingPaul Turner's clips on the Alleva site, on the other hand, with his LG have that nice low mid growl thing that is more organic, and I'm hearing a lot of that with my LG also.
IMO.. hard to describe, but that 'slide clip' is the LM all the way... he comes out front at around 7:30 again. Smokin'
- Status
