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Marcus Miller bass?

#42
I used to see Marcus play when he was only 17, he was yet to have a preamp put in his bass.....but he still almost had that sound that he has today. I met him a few times and asked him how he got the sound on the old Lonnie Liston Smith albums, and he told me it was just his jazz with all the knobs full up because he thought that was what the engineer wanted:D Marcus just always had the grease!
 
#43
I guess I could put up a question on the www.marcusmiller.com site with the disclaimer that yes, I have read the FAQ section where he explains what was done;)

The question already on that site is: "Who is Roger Sadowsky and what has he done for you?"

"That's what he originally did for me. One day he suggested I change my bridge from the standard Fender bridge to a "Bad-Ass" bridge. He also suggested he install an on-board pre-amp in my bass to boost the highs and lows. He installed a Bartolini pre-amp back then (1981)."

Since Marcus frequents that site almost daily and has updated out of date info like what gear he uses (EBS), why exactly is there disbelief in what he himself is saying there? Is he a Bartolini endorser? If so and he won't tell the truth on his website, why would he tell any of us?

This may really be "inner circle only" info. If he tells me and I blab, someone may lose their job.
 
#44
Brad it's not an issue of if he is endorsing Bartolini or not.this all started with me mentioning the fact that he had the Stars Guitar pre amp in his original Jazz.since you know he will E-mail with an answer to questions,all I can say is do that and ask him about his connection with his use of the Stars Guitars Preamp.and that will settle the whole matter.this is just burning you up and I mean this in a fun way.:)
 
#45
Actually I don't think it's me that this is burning up:D

You said he "has" a Stars preamp in his bass. That sounds like present tense to me...

For the record Marcus has a Stars Guitar preamp in his Jazz not a Sadowsky preamp.the misinformation comes from Marcus having Sadowsky early in his career do repairs and some modifications for him.at the time Sadowsky didn't even have his own basses or for that matter his own preamps.
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Let's get this straight before I contact him. "You" are explicitly saying that he has a Stars preamp in his bass...now. Is that correct?

Marcus says otherwise. I believe him. You don't.

Doesn't sound like "I" have a problem, does it?

I mean all of this in a fun way too. It's just one more thing to talk about ;). Hey, at one point BP mag even said he had a Sadowsky preamp. Everyone seem to have their own idea of what's in it.

I only mentioned Bartolini in my last post because you seemed to hint that if the truth came out someone might lose their job. Just trying to solve that puzzle and guess who that might be.

BTW... Marcus' sound is mainly Marcus, not a preamp IMO.

Next, we tackle the secret of the 11 herbs and spices.
:D
 
#46
Brad I never said I did not believe Marcus.I remember very clearly at one time he had the Stars Guitar Preamp in his Bass.I have never thought about it again untill this post.it is possible that he did change it to A bartolini.Im just basing my coment of the SGPreamp to be a fact.once again E-mail him or I will call him and ask him.and the issue of people losing jobs over this is,is not what I was hinting at at all.this is getting to be fun.Im sure when we meet in person we will have a big laugh between us.
 
#47
Originally posted by JAUQO III-X
Brad I never said I did not believe Marcus.I remember very clearly at one time he had the Stars Guitar Preamp in his Bass.I have never thought about it again untill this post.it is possible that he did change it to A bartolini.Im just basing my coment of the SGPreamp to be a fact.once again E-mail him or I will call him and ask him.and the issue of people losing jobs over this is,is not what I was hinting at at all.this is getting to be fun.Im sure when we meet in person we will have a big laugh between us.
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We probably will, Jauqo. All I think I'm doing is reading what you're saying... and you're saying two different things though I don't think you realize it.

If Marcus says he "has" a Bart (on his unofficial website) and you say he "has" a Stars... then you "are" saying you don't believe what he's said on his site. OTOH you may have noticed, I didn't say he never "had" a Stars preamp, I'm saying he "has" a Bartolini in there "now" and has "had" it for a long time. Apparently we disagree. Cool.

Anyway, it seems that the base of all of this confusion is that there may be a problem on your end with "has" vs. "had".

Sorry but when I get confused I tend to ask questions, especially when the answer seems as obvious as it is in this case. Let us know what he says;)

One last question... what "did" you mean by this: "...but the best I can do or suggest with out puting certain people business out is to E-mail Marcus"
 
#53
Here ya go deadhead.....White MM Fender Jazz w/plexiglass pickguard around the pickups and mirrored pickguard over the knob cavity. Lindy Fralin pickups and J-Retro Deluxe preamp. Beastiality @ its finest :D LJ (this pic taken b4 J-retro installed)
 
#57
FL Knifemaker said:
Interesting thread! I just downloaded (from Itunes!) MM's Silver Rain CD. His tone is incredible. I've been trying to duplicate it with my Jazz bass (with Bart preamp) and my Line6 XT Live. I haven't found it yet :confused: :hmm:
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Hard tone to get... and it's rough even with a Marcus Miller bass. Largely his technique, but that's one hell of an album. Constant rotation with me.
 
#58
Roger Sadowsky gave the final word on this back in 2005...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2377843#post2377843

The original preamp I gave Marcus in 1979 was a Stars Guitars preamp. It died about two years later. Stars was out of business by then, and I had moved on to the Bartolini TCT. This circuit in Marcus' bass has survived the last 25 years! In 1990 I moved onto my own circuit which is very similar to the original TCT, which is no longer made by Bartolini.
Every instrument I have built for Marcus has the Sadowsky circuit in it.

Roger
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