I would like to hear more, but this is a nice tease.
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Devon with Sadowsky Preamps
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
I would like to hear more, but this is a nice tease.
Yes, love the tone but..... it sure looks to me like he's really struggling with that instrument. He's throwing it around in exactly the way I recognize... when I was gigging with neck-diving basses I tossed em around like that too... 
It's a 5 string so that's kind of an excuse, since 5+ strings are notorious, but.....
Otherwise yes that's a lovely tone.....
L
It's a 5 string so that's kind of an excuse, since 5+ strings are notorious, but.....
Otherwise yes that's a lovely tone.....
L
Thanks for noticing that!Yes, love the tone but..... it sure looks to me like he's really struggling with that instrument. He's throwing it around in exactly the way I recognize... when I was gigging with neck-diving basses I tossed em around like that too...
It's a 5 string so that's kind of an excuse, since 5+ strings are notorious, but.....
Otherwise yes that's a lovely tone.....
L
If it's the bass in the OP it does, but you've just gotten so used to it you just think it's balanced... . In fact, most Fender style instruments are infamous for their poor balance, though there are ways to make it less bad. G&L has the saddle lock bridge on the butt-end and aluminum tuners in the headstock. Even Fender's higher end basses have their smaller lightweight tuners on them as a way to help treat neckdive.
Also, I don't mean to imply that neckdive is a reason not to get a particular bass. Unless it's really bad, it's something players have lived with forever, going back to the days when Fenders and Rickenbackers were the main kids on the block.
Even I now play a jazz bass, even though it's generally a replica of a '62 JB with the humungous tuners on it that weigh a ton. So it has pretty decently bad neck dive. Its otherwise an instrument that I really like playing so I just sit on the strap when I play it seated. And when/if I get round to playing it standing up, I'll just break out the strap and the sew-in weights like back in the Good Old Days....
Anyway, just so guys don't get the idea I'm condemning the bass just because of neck dive. Only that it's kind of painful to watch the OP, and would suggest he sew some weights into his strap.
L
. In fact, most Fender style instruments are infamous for their poor balance, though there are ways to make it less bad. G&L has the saddle lock bridge on the butt-end and aluminum tuners in the headstock. Even Fender's higher end basses have their smaller lightweight tuners on them as a way to help treat neckdive.Also, I don't mean to imply that neckdive is a reason not to get a particular bass. Unless it's really bad, it's something players have lived with forever, going back to the days when Fenders and Rickenbackers were the main kids on the block.
Even I now play a jazz bass, even though it's generally a replica of a '62 JB with the humungous tuners on it that weigh a ton. So it has pretty decently bad neck dive. Its otherwise an instrument that I really like playing so I just sit on the strap when I play it seated. And when/if I get round to playing it standing up, I'll just break out the strap and the sew-in weights like back in the Good Old Days...
.Anyway, just so guys don't get the idea I'm condemning the bass just because of neck dive. Only that it's kind of painful to watch the OP, and would suggest he sew some weights into his strap
.L
Really? My 3 have no balance problems at all.
Like I said, they do, you're just so used to coping with it you don't notice it anymore.
For example, Allen Holdsworth said the same thing before he switched to headless guitars - having to hold onto the instrument had become so second nature to him that it was integrated into his playing. He literally had no idea that neck dive on his guitars was there and was even a problem until he got an instrument that didn't require it.....
L
I see/hear no struggling - just playing habits. NICE bass.... NICE playing... cool vid, Dr. C.
Neck dive was the first thing I noticed, he is moving the bass around and does not seem comfortable playing it. Nice bass with nice sound though !
Nice tone and nice playing, but it did seem to miss some of the high end zing that Sadowsky's and most Fenders have. I'd be interested to know what Barts were in it. My experience is a lot of the Barts sound a bit rounder then especially the SC Sadowsky pickups which I believe are Nordstrans. I love that tone soloed, but I'm not sure it punches thru the mix as well. Also in fairness I did listen with my laptop speakers.
I also noticed the nick dive issue too. It might be the particular bass. My Sadowsky's don't neck dive, but my Carvin does a bit. The Warwick six I had was notorious for it, it was also a VERY heavy bass, I mean boat anchor heavy.
I also noticed the nick dive issue too. It might be the particular bass. My Sadowsky's don't neck dive, but my Carvin does a bit. The Warwick six I had was notorious for it, it was also a VERY heavy bass, I mean boat anchor heavy.
Hey, you know more about my basses that I do! Except you don't. I just put them all on and sorry, no neck dive.
I didn't really notice neck dive either or knew it was a "thing" until I got my first Bunny Brunel 4-holer (Carvin) some years ago. I'd never had a bass I could strap on and not have to hold it in position before - I almost thought something was wrong with it. I liked it so much I then bought a Bunny 6 string and then later a Bromberg 5 right after the Bromberg came out. That bass is the most amazing bass ever designed: it looks like it'll break every bone in your body, but it's the most comfortable bass I've ever played. And it didn't need holding either, even seated and thrown over the right leg. It just sits there perfectly balanced in playing position. I was astounded, and couldn't figure out why I'd never noticed it with my other basses.
Now I play jazz basses and of course, the neck dive is now completely noticeable. But still it's easy to treat and work around with weights and different things with straps, so I just don't mind it that much these days.....
But it did take owning a truly balanced bass, 3 of them actually, for me to see it in my other instruments. I might not have ever figured out what all the hubub about neck dive was on TB if I hadn't...
..L
Yes, love the tone but..... it sure looks to me like he's really struggling with that instrument. He's throwing it around in exactly the way I recognize... when I was gigging with neck-diving basses I tossed em around like that too...
It's a 5 string so that's kind of an excuse, since 5+ strings are notorious, but.....
Otherwise yes that's a lovely tone.....
L
Doesn't he usually play basses sitting down in the "da gamba" style, between his legs? If so, that would explain the shifting standing up. I never really understood why people choose to play basses sitting that way.
He is not just a demo player. He has toured and done club work too. I imagine that he used to playing while standing.
Doesn't mean anything... his shoulder could be bothering him, or the strap is pulling on his shirt, or whatever. It looks to me like a petit jazz body style. There shouldn't be any big mystery in how those type of basses balance.
Actually, the rear strap button seems to be set quite high. So maybe he's playing that bass a bit lower than he typically would because he didn't have time to reach for a strap that was a bit shorter.
I think you're reading into the video too much. How about you ask him why he put so much shoulder acrobatics into the demo if you want to really know?
Looking at the video again, I do not think anyone can say definitively that Andy Irvine was moving that way because of neck dive. That could just be his body language when he is getting into his playing. We would need to ask Andy or take the time to watch lots of videos of him playing and standing.
Funny...none of my jazz basses neck dive. At all. And I’ve owned and gigged Warwick Thumbs in the past, so I’m well aware of what neck dive is. My J 5’s stay exactly where I put them.
He doesn't answer any questions so that's not an option. I have no dog in this fight, I just noticed he looked very uncomfortable but don't know why.
Andy plays with a really heavy touch. I've watched him demo a lot of different instruments on all the settings but he always sounds like himself for that reason. I do think his left hand is heavy too pushing the neck around.
I sold a bass with neckdive, so I am aware when a bass neckdives. The four basses that I own “don’t neckdive” (2 Fenders, 1 Squier and a Bass Mods). Heck, I’ve gotten use to not wearing a strap because my basses don’t neckdive!
FWIW, not all basses neckdive and I won’t ever own another bass that does!
To each his or her own when it comes to neckdive!
