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Hollowbody shopping

#27
Whoa! Should have read this thread sooner! That Univox violin bass is identical to my Realistic, and I had to do a little work to it to get it right but it rocks now. Wonder if the dude ever picked it up...
 
#28
jmjbassplayer said:
My $300 Eko violin shaped bass, for instance, has made it on piles of records and comes with gobs of character, sophisticated midrange, and amazing depth. Sure, it's a bitch, and the tuners don't work perfectly and the bridge sometimes moves around and it has the occasional crackle. Small price to pay.
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I think part of the charm (and probably a big part of the tone) of classic hollowbody basses is that they were cheaply made and a pain in the ass to play.

The Lakland Hollowbody I had for a while was the easiest playing, most comfortable, issue free hollowbody I've owned or played and while it had a nice clean sound and tonal variety it was just missing some grittyness or character. Still a wonderfully built instrument - it just didn't cop that vintage vibe quite the way I'd hoped. It's almost as if having to fight with the damn thing makes it sound better!

That said, Justin I was wondering how often you play your hollowbodies in live situations and how they work for you.

My experience has largely been that old hollowbodies sound great recorded but I struggle with them in a live mix. I think it's the plunky decay that makes it not quite full enough sounding for me.

Any tips or thoughts?
 
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#30
Felt the same about the Lakland. Transparent and tame sounding, especially when compared to others. Nice bass, though.

I play my hollows all the time live. Every Beck gig I've ever done, lots of other gigs too: big, small, tv, radio, whatever. I'm certainly never struggling to get them to sound full enough, so I'm not sure what to say there....

JMJ
 
#31
Speaking of Beck, I was listening to the radio and "Looking for a sign" from the Jeff, who lives at home soundtrack came on. Music nerd that I am, I focus on the bass tone and start wondering "Is this the Guild Starfire hollowbody with flatwounds?" instead of listening intently to the whole song.
 
#32
One Saturday morning a couple of months ago, a bandmate called from the guitar shop where he works and said I had to get down there. The shop's guitar tech was selling his late-60s Yamaha SA-70 hollowbody. I wasn't in the market for a hollowbody, or any bass, at that point. I bought the thing for a sinfully low price (under $500).

It's changed my life. I'm addicted to the tubby tone, and use this bass most of the time now in my main band. Very brief clip:
 
#33
soxhats said:
One Saturday morning a couple of months ago, a bandmate called from the guitar shop where he works and said I had to get down there. The shop's guitar tech was selling his late-60s Yamaha SA-70 hollowbody. I wasn't in the market for a hollowbody, or any bass, at that point. I bought the thing for a sinfully low price (under $500).

It's changed my life. I'm addicted to the tubby tone, and use this bass most of the time now in my main band. Very brief clip:
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Nice!! Good choice in tunes too. ;^) I’m still pretty bummed that Levon is not with us anymore, but as is apparent from the dancing going on in your video, the spirit of the music sure is!!

(Jeez. I sound like such a hippie. He he he.)
 

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