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Mustang Bass for Reggae?

#23
DogBone said:
Oh wow, do you have pics? I'd love to see that. :hyper:

I love DeArmond. I have a DeArmond <cough cough> guitar <cough cough> but I won't talk about that on a bass forum. :ninja:

Peace. :bassist:
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DeArmond instruments are indeed nice, and yes, I do have a few pictures of my Starfire, but no good ones. :(

Here it is:
starfireh1.jpg

starfirel1.jpg


Sorry for the OT...
 
#27
unclekebm said:
I think a Mass of rrrrRastafari's dancing to Reggae music aren't concerned with the intricacies of your tone
any Bass will work
just have tons of headroom and use your EQ
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I think of all people they would be the most concerned!

That doesn't mean the Mustang wouldn't sound fine, of course. I know a Montreal reggae bassist who rocks one, with old labella tapes on it. Sounded huge and warm, very round, nice tone.
 
#28
concerned about intricacies? nah...
Like you said, If the tone is huge, warm & very round, I think the audience will be fine

they're not going to say, "he's got the wrong bass for Reggae" or "wrong strings"
they might say, "what no dreads?"

As long as the atmosphere is Iree and the bottom is vibrating and shaking, no problem
 
#29
Agreed- vibes are good, playing is soulful, the bass has got booty and moves the room, you're good. Nope, no dreads here, but our job is to transcend the trappings.

Nice Bronco! Sweet DeArmond!

For the moment I've alleviated my issue by detuning to "D-G-C-F". The heavy LaBella flats slack up and everything moves up the neck by two frets. Just like playing a short-med scale, and the tone has mellowed into a nice, dark "Thud" kind of sound. And I still retain the familiar balance of my Ibanez... very nice. :cool: I'm still looking, but now the dust can settle.

So call me slow... :D
 
#32
I just saw Matisyahu play (:o I know, I know) and his bassist ROCKED the house with a Fender J. I've never heard such thick tone coming from one. +1 to the headroom, eq, house processing, etc.

And yeah, those reggaeheads do care quite a bit about your bass tone - it's all they're listening for! Why else do you think dub MC's get away with such garbage on the mic? :D
 
#33
honestjohnny said:
A Hofner-esque bass would be more authentic. Both Fams and Robbie used a Hofner for the first part of their careers.
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thats what i was going to say--robbie Shakespeare used a hofner bass for some good dub sounds.

otherwise if you are worried about a mustang, why not kick a darkstar in the neck position on the mustang? that should be a good insurance plan for a deep round tone :)
 
#34
2 years ago I saw Quebec artist Ariane Moffatt live at a small (about 3000 seats) theatre in Montreal. The bass player was playing a late model Mustang through a pair of 810s and an older fender tube head. Not sure how she fed into the PA, but that setup produced the fattest, dubbiest tone I have ever heard. She was a petite chick who also played synth bass on several tunes, but the Mustang through her rig absolutely killed when it came to shear fatness!
 
#35
superbassman2000 said:
thats what i was going to say--robbie Shakespeare used a hofner bass for some good dub sounds.

otherwise if you are worried about a mustang, why not kick a darkstar in the neck position on the mustang? that should be a good insurance plan for a deep round tone :)
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"Kicking" a Darkstar into a bass is more bread than I have. In fact I have to sell a bass to do this, so it's going to have to be a good bass and MOJO to get it done.

I could also get hold of an Icon Series Hofner. That or even the "Rogue' version (gets slammin' reviews) could do a close job... but the Mustang that's available is an older one, and in my mind that is meaningful. Call me a sap...
 
#39
I'll probably get slammed for this, but I use a SX shorty strung with LaBella "Deep Talkin" flats and you definetly get that deep duh-duh-duh thump. The reason I bought the SX is that I didn't want to spend much cash until I was sure I wanted a short scale. I like the high tension of the LaBellas, although it took awhile for the strings to set in, and after using the SX for about 6 months, I have to admit, I'm hooked.
 
#40
becker4567 said:
I'll probably get slammed for this, but I use a SX shorty strung with LaBella "Deep Talkin" flats and you definetly get that deep duh-duh-duh thump. The reason I bought the SX is that I didn't want to spend much cash until I was sure I wanted a short scale. I like the high tension of the LaBellas, although it took awhile for the strings to set in, and after using the SX for about 6 months, I have to admit, I'm hooked.
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Sounds like a really good setup to me. My 30" is a pawn-shop cheapie, I bought it for the exact same reason. :)

Thanks for sharing your opinion of the LaBellas, I may need to try a set.
 

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