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How you spell fun...R-o-b A-l-l-e-n M-B-2

Jerry J

Jerry J

Supporting Member
Mar 27, 2000
5,484
767
P-town, OR
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#1
I just got this in a trade with banditcosmo.

What a fun time this bass is and I don't even have to buy her dinner. It's almost a sin at how easily it plays thanks to the very faint lines. Even a fretless dolt, like me, can sound good with this bass.

These basses are worth checking out. :hyper:

If I could figure out how to post a photo I would...fangled new software. :rolleyes:
 
#4
Agreed. The Rob Allen's are a joy to play. I love gigging with them because they are incredibly light wait and sound awesome. Plus, people always want to know how you're getting that great upright sound out of an electric bass.

They're also very well crafted basses; Every one that we get is as good as the last.

Enjoy it.
 
#6
I'm not having any luck with the attachment so I'll have to figure out what is going on before I can get a picture up.

It sure does have an upright vibe. And it IS very light weight. But it sure isn't light in the volume department. It over loads a preamp if you aren't careful. It's amazing how much you can vary the tonal character by where you pluck the strings. I haven't fooled around with the tone control yet as I've liked where it is set.

This one looks to be crafted extremely well. I can't find a single issue with it. The redwood burl is outrageous and the Coco bolo board is beautiful.

Jeff, you are way too kind. :) I do have a lot of work to get the fretless thing where I can play in front of anybody. But this bass makes it way too much fun.

Fred, I'm sure that Jake is going to love this bass even though it isn't a Conklin. ;)
 
#7
Jerry J said:
It sure does have an upright vibe. And it IS very light weight. But it sure isn't light in the volume department. It over loads a preamp if you aren't careful.
Click to expand...

Jerry,
They have a ton of low end so they will overload your pre if you're not careful. I usually gig with it through the second channel of a Walter Woods EQ'd with less bottom and less volume.

The upright vibe is extremely convincing. They're a ton of fun to play!
 
#8
Joelc73 said:
Jerry,
They have a ton of low end so they will overload your pre if you're not careful. I usually gig with it through the second channel of a Walter Woods EQ'd with less bottom and less volume.

The upright vibe is extremely convincing. They're a ton of fun to play!
Click to expand...

I can't even imagine what the 5 string version would sound like. I've bee running the MB2 through a Fafner (set flat) into two Bergantino HT112's and it sounds killer. I'd imagine the WW would be sweet and out of this world.

I can't wait to play this bass out. But I've really got my work cut out for me with this fretless thing. I'll get there, though.
 
#9
Jerry J said:
I can't wait to play this bass out. But I've really got my work cut out for me with this fretless thing. I'll get there, though.
Click to expand...
Jerry,
You'll be just fine. Go into it believing that you can do it and you will be able to. Keep your ears open (and eyes - thank god for fret lines!) and you'll wonder why you didn't try it sooner! It is a cool feeling when you pull of a fretless set the first time. It's somewhat of a bass playing milestone!

Good luck!
 
#10
I have had my MB2-5 for 9 months and this is the most incredible sounding instrument I have ever owned. I have recorded with this bass numerous times and it sounds awesome! Everyone is knocked out by this voice. Recently two students of mine ordered theirs.

In February I recorded for an upcoming cd, seven tracks using the Rob Allen.
 
#12
Congrats, Jerry.

I really liked the Rob Allens I've played and have kept an eye out for a deal on one for quite a while now. What I ended up surprised me as far as how well it nailed that vibe.

I got a singlecut bolt-on fretless Stambaugh 5 about a year ago direct from Chris Stambaugh. Excellent fretless, even moreso for the money. Bartolini MM pickup in the sweetspot, coil taps, two band EQ. Had it strung with nickel rounds like all of my fretlesses.

I also had a set of LaBella black tapewound strings around here for about a year. I wanted to try them on a fretless but couldn't make up my mind on which one to put them on;)

I finally decided to bite the bullet and put them on the Stammie. Couldn't believe how good it sounded and how different. Kills on Jamerson-esque stuff, has a serious acoustic bass vibe AND an early Louis Johnson slap vibe.

Masterfunk has gigged with the bass with the rounds and most recently with the LaBella tapes, he might concur with my experience:)
 
#13
KONG said:
I was always interested in Rob Allen basses, do most of these basses sound like the clip thats on his site? Perhaps it's a good thing that I don't play one, I can't spend any more $$$. Best of luck with your new bass!

Has anyone ever played a Deep5? The specs sound impressive but so does the price!
Click to expand...

Yes, it sounds just like the clip other than the one in the clip is a 5 string. :hmm:
 
#14
James S said:
I have had my MB2-5 for 9 months and this is the most incredible sounding instrument I have ever owned. I have recorded with this bass numerous times and it sounds awesome! Everyone is knocked out by this voice. Recently two students of mine ordered theirs.

In February I recorded for an upcoming cd, seven tracks using the Rob Allen. Here are (attached) a couple of short mp3s.
Click to expand...

James, cool clip. The bass has a very horn like quality. Almost like a trombone.
 
#15
Brad Johnson said:
Congrats, Jerry.

I really liked the Rob Allens I've played and have kept an eye out for a deal on one for quite a while now. What I ended up surprised me as far as how well it nailed that vibe.

I got a singlecut bolt-on fretless Stambaugh 5 about a year ago direct from Chris Stambaugh. Excellent fretless, even moreso for the money. Bartolini MM pickup in the sweetspot, coil taps, two band EQ. Had it strung with nickel rounds like all of my fretlesses.

I also had a set of LaBella black tapewound strings around here for about a year. I wanted to try them on a fretless but couldn't make up my mind on which one to put them on;)

I finally decided to bite the bullet and put them on the Stammie. Couldn't believe how good it sounded and how different. Kills on Jamerson-esque stuff, has a serious acoustic bass vibe AND an early Louis Johnson slap vibe.

Masterfunk has gigged with the bass with the rounds and most recently with the LaBella tapes, he might concur with my experience:)
Click to expand...

Brad, have you ever posted a photo of your Stambaugh? If so I missed it. It sounds like a very cool bass.

The LaBellas feel so nice. I can't imagine using any other string on the MB2.

It's funny but I think that I just noodled around on the MB2 for about 3 hours and I came up with all kinds of different bass lines that I never would have come up with on my fretted basses. I guess not having speed bumps opened some doors to the creative side. But it's still nothing that I would want to commit to a sound clip, yet.

I was able to post a photo but not sure of the quality. I used Microsoft photo editor and when I made it small enough to fit I noticed a drop in quality. This one of banditcosmo's photos.
 
#17
I bought a 5 string Rob Allen earlier this year. It's got a flamed Koa Top/alder body with the ebony fretboard. I've run into quite a bit of bad luck financially and tried to sell the bass a couple of times....tres cheap....but no one bit.

I can't believe how thankful I am that no one wanted the guitar at that time. Now...I'm actually playing it in a classic rock/newer rock band. Played fretted bass for the first 5 tunes of the initial job...switched to play Gary Wright's "Love is Alive", didn't take it off the rest of the night.

I've used the bass on 4 piano trio Jazz gigs in the last month and 1/2 also and am trying to fit it into my 8 piece horn band's repitoire to, but we play a lot of pattern type songs where I think not having a little "leeway" will basically cramp my left hand real quick (Give it to me --- Rick James, same old song, Sugar Pie honeybunch....you know, the same pattern over and over for 10 minutes straight!!!). Whereas, this rock group you're moving all the time.

You can see a picture of mine still up on www.bassexchange.com. I bought it pre-owned. I've found it being a little profundus bassotto...really bottomy and just adjusted the compressor balance control on my sunn head to compensate without having to change the whole graphic or my outboard graphic's tone settings. I also found that with my Epifani 212 cab which I'm now selling, that this bass my head and style were not tone wise compatible. What I did on this first gig was use my practice amp, a Yorkville Block 80 with a direct box to our PA and got a great tone. On our second gig, I used my LowDownSound 208's which made the bass sound tremendous....along with my G&L Tribute 2500. The days of high end basses are gone for the near and medium term future for me. Light cabinets, hi powered but "less expensive heads" and used USA and new Korean is the best mix I can afford now a days.

The Rob Allen is a great sounding instrument, and yes it can be string bassy or P-bassy and a buncha stuff in between depending where and how you pick it. I really like the feel of the black LaBella's too. Do you have any suggestions where to get a spare set?

Larry
 
#19
If you're really looking for some fun, it's hard to beat the Rob Allen "Mouse" 4-string fretless with 30" scale. It's a ball to play, and you can do a lot with that short scale. I replaced my MB-2 fretted 5-string with the Mouse and have had no regrets at all -- though I might someday pick up a fretless MB-2/5 if one comes available at the right price.
 
#20
Larry, I'm very sorry and saddened to hear about your bad turn of luck. I know that it would break my heart to have to sell off my basses. I hope that this is a short term issue.

I'm glad to hear that your beautiful MB2 is remaining in your hands. I feel that everything happens for a purpose and since you were unsuccessful at selling it must mean that you are supposed to keep it. It sounds like you've integrated it well into you music.

Brad, thanks for the tip on Carvin. I just checked the site and they are offering free shipping right now. I will go ahead and pick up a set of the LaBellas. Which brings up a question. Do these tape wound strings go flat or break? This is my first experience with them.
 

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