How much would you put up with for the perfect sound?

[Camaro69]

Did anyone else catch the sound clip for this bass?

 

[FunkHead]

You don't have to spend a specific amount of $$ to find the sound that blows your mind.

I just found something I have been searching for for many years. I have been trying to love Flats but I have failed repeatedly to make them work 100%. Until this very night. I ended up with the following setup>>
Mayones Slogan MBC5 Gothic Strung with EB Slinky Flats > DOD BoneShaker > Hartke LH1000 > Avatar B210 Neo.

I haven't tried this into My Traynor YBA-300 > Barefaced SuperTwin yet but I imagine it's going to be even better.

I have put up with a few issues from these components: I had to repair my Input Jacks on the Hartke. I had a loose saddle screw on the Mayones($3500 bass). The Avatar B210 blew it's Ceramic Resistor which I replaced but never put back into the Cab because I don't use the tweeter.

So in summary, I guess I will put up with problems from my rig but I am pretty skilled at repairing many things.

 

[Liko]

Title is the question. Spurred by my ownership of a boutique instrument that sounds incredible, but I've experiences numerous issues that I'd normally consider unforgiveable on an instrument of $500, let alone 18x that.

But... I put up with it, because in 30 years I've never heard a bass that gets the sound in my head so effortlessly.

In retrospect... I'd do it all again, but I'm curious how much TBers would put up with?

Depends on the issues. A decade into the craft, I have enough basic luthierie skill to fix most of the things the average GC wall-hanger or pawn shop special might have. A full-on fret leveling or anything involving the nut that requires more than lubing it is stuff I have to leave to a true pro, and that's the point where I seriously consider whether it is something I can live with, or that is worth taking to a luthier for $100+. If it's neither, honestly I haven't met a bass tone I liked that I couldn't get from another instrument.

And on that note, if you are paying $9000 for an instrument, and having problems with it that you wouldn't tolerate from a $500 instrument, methinks you got ripped off. These days, anything over $2k had better be flawless in terms of build quality and function, because I can pay about half that for an instrument that's as good as, with a tone that will make me overlook what few flaws it may have. $9000 in the bass world buys perfection IMO; if my choice is between a musical instrument and a nicely-apportioned adrenaline machine like a motorcycle, jet-ski, quad bike etc, that bass better give me the same rush every time I pick it up. As much as I like playing bass, hammering the throttle on a jet-ski is a little more of an immediate rush, so, priorities.

 

[Lackey]

I'll be blunt - my guess is this was a Fender Custom Shop offering. Amirite?

 

[dmt]

I am comfortable with wood and finish work and have a good deal of electronic experience, so I was able to satisfactorily remedy the issues marked with a *.

1. Bolt-on neck was set crooked - At the end of the fretboard, the neck was shifted about 0.050". This required a modification to the neck pocket, but the end result is dead-on now. *
2. Very poor wire stripping - all wires in the electronics cavity had frayed ends and were not fully attached at solder points.*
3. Wiring was not correct - Requested a company standard wiring. A switch was wired backwards and two switches were in the incorrect holes.*
4. Mark in finish - Deep hairline gouge in the finish. Unfixable, but repaired to be noticeable only up close or by feel.
5. Hair in finish - Unfixable.
6. Jack shorted on shielding - Jack was shorting on grounded shielding, causing preamp batteries to run out in a week.*
7. Unevenly set fret - 1st fret was not fully set, but neck edges were filled. Took me 3 full days to carefully excavate the material, reset the fret and then a few more days to clean up the finish.*
8. Mark in on bridge - Mark on the bridge where a screwdriver clearly slipped during install.

A potential 9th issue is that the pickup heights were not at factory specs when it arrived.* Neck was ridiculously high (just barely out of range of being slapped to death) while bridge was at normal moderate factory level. Easily fixable..

Well, overall, you said the sound is perfect and the feel is just what you wanted. I assume the basic looks are there, too. And the bass is in hand (important) and you've fixed every issue except a dent, the hair in the finish and the mark on the bridge. Oh man. I mean, it's basically there now - just what you wanted, except for a few small cosmetic issues that only reveal themselves upon close inspection. That you paid a premium for

Well, you could always simply replace the bridge with an unblemished identical part if it bothers you (possibly get the builder to replace it), and the dent - well, dents do eventually happen anyway. Sucks, but...

It's down to the hair. I mean, I have a little herd of different kinds of instruments at a wide spectrum of price points that were built in various countries, and somehow they all made it to me without someone's hair in the finish. Depends how prominent it is. If the finish is nitro, you might be able to melt the finish there and fish it out, then repair. If it's under the pickguard or something, just let it go. Yeah, tricky - shipping it back and getting a refin could take weeks. Meanwhile, a replacement body (assuming it's in the body) might not sound exactly the same. Could sand it out and, in combination with the bridge mark and the dent, you'd have a light relicing going on (when life gives you lemons...)

 

[JW56789]

After thinking this over, vis-à-vis the 'perfect sound':

It WAS perfect today.

Don't touch a thing, don't turn a knob, don't move the amp, don't change strings, use the same cord.

Tomorrow . . . . . it sucks.

Ah, the wonder of playing electric bass.

 

[AdmiralBumblebe]

After thinking this over, vis-à-vis the 'perfect sound':

It WAS perfect today.

Don't touch a thing, don't turn a knob, don't move the amp, don't change strings, use the same cord.

Tomorrow . . . . . it sucks.

Ah, the wonder of playing electric bass.

I think it somewhat depends on what your reference is.

• If you have a specific recording that embodies that sound, then it's an unmoving target unless/until you change your goals, or change your reference listening system.
• If it's a memory of a performance then there's a soft-target that might change depending on your recollection.
• If it's a sound developed in your own mind, then it will probably change over time. Depending on your thought processes, it might change frequently or slowly.

Mine is the first. I have a very specific recording that I reference in a specific room on a specific listening system. It hasn't changed for at least 19 years. The alternate side of this is that since I have a tightly-controlled reference, I end up with extreme nitpicks in terms of the recording, processing, instrument and the player. This thread brought up the instrument, but my quest towards emulating the specific player's technique and the processing chain have been much more ridiculous. More so since my physical capabilities are limited and I've had to come up with workarounds to deal with the technique differences.

I don't think that's better or worse than any other person's ideas of a/the sound that they are chasing. I, in fact, wish I could wake up in the morning and suddenly have new ideas of what I wanted, that would be much more interesting

 

[JW56789]

I had not realized this search was in a recording environment. How you have managed to search for 'that tone' for 19 years in such an unforgiving, no-retouch setting is beyond me. I honestly don't know whether to admire you or feel sorry for your unbelievable single-mindedness.

But regardless, best of luck to you, and I hope you one day nail it and can summon it on demand.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I'm a Ric player so.... a lot

 

[chris_b]

. . . . . . I'm curious how much TBers would put up with?

There is nothing I wouldn't put up with if I could own the bass with the most perfect and easily obtainable tone. I'm not far off that with my current P and J basses, but weight is an issue. If this "best sounding bass in the world" weighs more than 9.5lbs I'll be playing it sitting down.