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I've tried almost everything ... whats next?

#63
Have you tried a Modulus Genesis? It's an often overlooked and under-rated bass - and thus reasonably priced on the used market.

Graphite/wood hybrid neck keeps the low notes tight and defined while the high notes aren't too brittle.

It has 19mm string spacing at the bridge - one of my biggest beefs with the Quantum 5's is the narrow spacing. Sure there is a wide spacing option for Q5's, but there aren't many out there, so finding one used is almost impossible, and when they do turn up they're more expensive.

The Genesis was designed in collaboration with Mike Tobias, so the feel and balance is excellent. And it's a damn fine lookin' bass IMO. Modern, but not excessive.

Tone, IMO, has a vintage-y base with a modern flavor. Not overly aggressive, but plenty of definition and bite.

Most have J-J pickups, but there are a lot with soapbars, also. The J's (Barts) are a particular size that doesn't have a whole lot of options for replacement, but the soapbars are the "standard" EMG/Bart size with lots of options out there.

Mine has Bart J's. When I first got it, I considered replacing them, but I gave it some time and learned and adapted to the "voice" that this instrument has......now I wouldn't change a thing. It's a sensitive instrument; slight variations in technique yield quite a lot of tonal qualities. So it's not a bass for someone who wants to be able to thrash away at it haphazardly and still get a consistent tone. It responds well to nuanced technique.
 
#66
pickles said:
Got any photos or links to an MM+J model?
Click to expand...

It's a fretless, but you get the idea.............

http://cgi.ebay.com/modulus-fretles...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There's also a couple of Genesis basses on ebay right now........one says it has a maple neck, but that's wrong - Modulus uses alder, cedar, and soma for the necks. Since the carbon fiber spine supports the string tension, they use softer woods to warm up the tone. So from the looks of it, it's probably actually an alder neck (cedar and soma are a somewhat darker color). It apparently has a maple fretboard (that is an option, mine has a maple FB).
 
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#68
Planetbass.com is bonkers for Flea basses. Almost pulled the trigger on the walnut. I could really dig an MM/J flea with a Badass5 bridge, bart w/bart pre.

I don't think modulus would do a wood board on a flea though...

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Me likey.
 
#69
AJ Brown said:
I'm a little confused about the observation of "too much" relief. Every Zon I've tried has had close to zero relief (a perfectly straight or close to perfectly straight neck). What models have you tried?
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Hey AJ -- could you measure the relief on your zon's for me? Or anybody else that has a zon in front of them?

The Flea thing looks kinda cool, but I really loved my Sonus basses other than the neck relief. If I could get a sonus that set up the way I like ... that could be gold.
 
#70
I don't know how often they come up in the used market, but I have been loving my Tyler 35" 5 string. The string spacing is wider than an MTD 535 but the range of sounds the Tyler gets is quite impressive (the custom Demeter 3 band preamp with switches that change where each band is voiced is incredible).

The strange thing about the Tyler is that it can sound as vintage or as modern as you want. I replaced an MTD 535 (alder body, maple top, rosewood board/maple neck) with the Tyler and could not be more satisfied. To add perspective, it did not replace my Sadowsky Metro RV5.
 
#71
pickles said:
Thanks ... those are what I'd call "open" mids. Maybe my descriptions suck ...
Click to expand...

Here is a pretty good example of what I mean by "modern mids", though the musical context is not at all what I do, thats the kind of focus and growl I like to hear on a modern bass. But this is of course much warmer than a Q5 (though less focussed).

http://www.mysteryfeet.com/_content/_news_pop.html

I'm gonna try me a Smith.

And a newer Zon ...

And a Roscoe, 34" and 35" scales ...

And a Flea 5 J+MM ...

Thanks for the fresh gear inspiration.

:hiding:

And a nod again to PhilBiker, who of course, is right that I should be spending this time practicing. My practice rig these days is bass->cord->cafe water-> sennheiser 555 ... so I hear it all, baby! The good the bad and the ugly. :bassist:
 
#74
cptnhook said:
I've heard good things about Tylers - they sure sound great when Neil Steubenhaus plays them. :)

But the MTD 535 has standard 19 mm (3/4 in) spacing. Do Tylers have wider spacing than that?
Click to expand...

To be honest, I have never measured the spacing on my Tyler. I did not realize the 535 had standard spacing. Perhaps the neck profile simply makes the Tyler feel wider.

Whatever it is, I have never played a bass with a more comfortable and effortless feeling neck than an MTD 535 whereas the Tyler definitely feels bulkier though nice in its own way.

For whatever it's worth, I have yet to find a playing situation in which the Tyler didn't sound exactly the way I wanted.
 
#75
All basses are different, even from the same makers. If you tried one and didn't like it, that doesn't neccessarily mean that you wouldn't like that model, it may just mean that you didn't like that particular specimen of that model. And how many different brands/types of strings did you try on each one, and how long did you let the strings break in? Did you also try a lot of different amp setups with them? I'm sorry if I'm sounding like a smartass, I'm really not trying to be. It's just crazy that you haven't found anything worth hanging on to. I wish you the best of luck in your quest.
 
#77
"All basses are different, even from the same makers. If you tried one and didn't like it, that doesn't neccessarily mean that you wouldn't like that model, it may just mean that you didn't like that particular specimen of that model....."


+ 1 It sounds like you have tried many excellent quality basses but have yet to find the perfect one. Could it be because you are trying to always get one better feeling bass than the last? My personal experience has made me realize that I will never like 100% of my bass 100% of the time. Sometimes it might be down to variables that have nothing to do with the bass itself ( weather, your mood, level of fatigue, your amp ) and other times it is down to the bass ( strings/setup needs tweaking). The only constant for me is that the bass always plays and sounds great. It's that level of greatness however that sometimes changes. Just my 2 cents.....
 
#80
pickles said:
I've been on a real bass trading binge for the last couple of years, buying and flipping ... and I havn't found a 5 string that has "stuck". I have a couple of Fender style 4 string basses that I love, and really thats the core of my sound, but I'm looking for 5 string that sounds like a cross between my old Quantum 5 and an MTD535.

The MTD (Wenge/Korina) had this amazing lush, crispy, juicy sound and effortless feel on the higher strings, but the B and E left me cold. The lows had to be added with the preamp, the natural sound of the bass was actually quite thin. It just didn't have that big core of oomph that I like in a bass. I also didn't like the balance with the super light body and the long, long neck. I felt like the 1st position was running away from me. I also felt like it had so much personality of its own that it wasn't allowing me to express myself ...



I've also considered trying roscoes, spectors, and especially Ken Smith.
Click to expand...

I can relate because for the last 2 years I've owned at least one of just about everything out there. I was very happy with my primary basses but I really wanted to see what all the buzz was about with the F-bass, MTD, Elrick...... I also went through the 6 string phase just to see how I'd like it (and may do it again) but in the end, nothing did it for me like a Roscoe SKB 3005. I've owned at least one for 11 years now. I just love the versatile sound and the neck fits my hand perfectly. It's always tempting to check out nice high end bass that you've never had the opportunity to own or even play. But in the end, it's all about finding an instrument that plays and sounds great and allows you to express yourself musically. Of course a bass is just one of the tools used to get the sound that you're hearing in your head. Obviously the amplification, strings, playing ability and general technique are huge factors too.
As satisfied as I've been playing primarily Roscoes over the last 11 years, I've never been happier than over the last 3 years when I finally broke away from my main stay amplification (primarily SWR amps/cabinets) and experimented with different brands of amps and cabinets.

I'm sure GAS will continue to attack but for now I've gone full circle and focused on Roscoe basses Eden and Thunderfunk amps and Berg cabinets. It won't be the answer for everyone but it certainly does it for me!:)

I'd definitely give Roscoe a try before I settled down though!;)

Good luck on your search!
 

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