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narrowed down to mtd, sadowsky, lakland
- Thread starter johnbkim93
- Start date
- Oct 3, 2004
- 536
- 616
- Disclosures
- Jackie endorses Sire guitars,EBS amps and pedals,Dunlop Strings,Evidence Audio cables,and iGiG cases
John,I think you should go ahead and talk with some luthiers about this to help speed the process...you'd be on TB til who knows when asking us...especially with some of us having such strong opinions without really trying to help.
Lookup a few numbers and make some calls and tell them specifically what you're looking for and what they offer in your price range.I think you'll find something close to what you're really looking for without all the extra confusion.
Again,good luck!!!
Lookup a few numbers and make some calls and tell them specifically what you're looking for and what they offer in your price range.I think you'll find something close to what you're really looking for without all the extra confusion.
Again,good luck!!!
I would prefer sadowsky lakland or mtd becuase i know i cant go wrong with them and custom builders that quite famous here are good but not really at the level where i can rely on as the ones ive mentioned. However, i can still try the custom builders here but i would like to have an idea of what kind of electronics make what kind of tone in general first. How are the soapbars different?
Btw all of you guys have been giving me some great opinions and infornation. I really appreciate them. I know i'd have to make a decision and find my bass my own but your opinions especially the ones really trying to help are very helpful and thankful!
- Oct 3, 2004
- 536
- 616
- Disclosures
- Jackie endorses Sire guitars,EBS amps and pedals,Dunlop Strings,Evidence Audio cables,and iGiG cases
I know for fact you can talk with Mike Tobias...he's a really nice guy and he's really passionate about his craft.I"m not sure about Roger Sadowsky,I've met him but,didn't speak with him long enough to get an idea of the type of person he is.I'm sure he's probably cool too.
As for Lakland,I used to know all the guys there when I was an artist but,I'm not sure who still works for the company since they sold to Hanson a few years ago.They used to have great customer service!
I'd say MTD,probably. IMO, The true active soapbars of an MTD will get you closer to the open mid character of a pair of P's (2 coils in series) than the others. The other builder's soaps and humbuckers are passive and have their internal coils wired in parallel which pulls in the mids/upper mids. To clarify....all the basses are "active" just not all the pickups are.
BTW Lenny in Hargrove's band is a monster bass player. I saw him play many times Boston at Wally's Cafe when he was coming up...probably around 1998-99. He was a monster back then! We were all kids.
The guy in the video i posted is reggie washington. I thought it looked like j pick ups and heard that he has bartolini pre amp. I might be wrong.
Just wanted to say I have done business with Roger Sadowsky and even though we are separated by 3000 miles of ocean, I got exactly the type of instrument I was wishing for. We had several telephone conversations, emails and I was treated very well. Roger is a gentleman in my book and needless to say a top class builder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW6gDOSVVCw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Im sorry, my mistake. This was the video i meant to post.. this was the tone i was describing. The low.
Can believe i did that.. thats why i was keep saying it looked like j pick ups. Now it all makes sense..
Im sorry, my mistake. This was the video i meant to post.. this was the tone i was describing. The low.
Can believe i did that.. thats why i was keep saying it looked like j pick ups. Now it all makes sense..
I have an mtd 635 with wenge neck and mahogany, a vintage 5 rw/alder sadowsky nyc and a rw/alder usa lakland bg.
I cherish all three and all have there best nitch. For groove r and b all three can fit. Old school my lakland bg with flats is great. Craftmanship on all three is near perfect. The mtd is a more unique work of art and has a more hand made feel.
Customer service at sadowsky and lakland is pretty good. Mike Tobias is at an entire different level for support. He makes you feel that you are the only customer he has ever built a bass for. Definately the most knowledgeable and helpful of the three in my experience.
If I could only keep one bass my mtd 635 would stay. I can cover everthing from jazz to rock to solo and sweet r and b vibes.
I cherish all three and all have there best nitch. For groove r and b all three can fit. Old school my lakland bg with flats is great. Craftmanship on all three is near perfect. The mtd is a more unique work of art and has a more hand made feel.
Customer service at sadowsky and lakland is pretty good. Mike Tobias is at an entire different level for support. He makes you feel that you are the only customer he has ever built a bass for. Definately the most knowledgeable and helpful of the three in my experience.
If I could only keep one bass my mtd 635 would stay. I can cover everthing from jazz to rock to solo and sweet r and b vibes.
That is a great take.
I think what you are mostly hearing is the result of a technique called Palm Muting. You can get that from any of the three instruments you listed; though I would tend to favor the Sadowsky for its circuit with that particular method. Lakland as a close 2nd; but, really any of the three would do it.
Here is a link to an Ed Friedland tutorial. Ed is a master at demonstrating it.
I can't see the bassist's right hand in the vid; but, that is the vibe he is getting. This is technique way more than bass. IMO.
Yeah i know palm muting and it sounds like it. But later, he just plays with fingering. And even when it sounds like palm muting, the low tone of it is what i want
I love my Sadowskys and my MTDs equally. Honestly though, I think that with an MTD you're going to be more "at the mercy" of the wood. The Sadowsky, because of the nature of the preamp, is, to my mind, a safer bet. Variations in the wood will colour the tone slightly, but not nearly as much (in my opinion - and there are people here who have played more Sadowskys than I have) as with an MTD.
- Oct 3, 2004
- 536
- 616
- Disclosures
- Jackie endorses Sire guitars,EBS amps and pedals,Dunlop Strings,Evidence Audio cables,and iGiG cases
John,the bass Reggie's playing is a total custom job...I forgot the name of the builder but,I've had the pleasure of playing that bass on a jam session in France! That bass is a monster!!! you won't get that sound with a standard Sadowsky...plus,he's tuned down to C,F,Bb,and Eb...that has as much to do with the tone as well...Reggie plays upright as well and his touch has a definite impact the sound....there's a lot of variables happening on this clip!!!
I think it has Bartolini pickups...I'll ask him and get back to you asap!!
p.s.-I have some video footage from their set in Nice,France...I'm gonna try to convert it and post it here one day!! Off the chain!!!
- Oct 3, 2004
- 536
- 616
- Disclosures
- Jackie endorses Sire guitars,EBS amps and pedals,Dunlop Strings,Evidence Audio cables,and iGiG cases
You're right,it's technique at the beginning but,it's definitely the bass as well..I've had the pleasure of playing it..he's also tuned down to C in this clip which lends itself to the tone you're hearing as well.
Here is an interesting comparison of lower register notes on lakland , sadowsky, mtd 535, and ken smith. My fav is the mtd from his test. Least fav is the lakland. Just IMO.
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Ps. Why do people in Japan always seem to be wearing surgical masks? Especially in videos.
Invalid Link Removed
Ps. Why do people in Japan always seem to be wearing surgical masks? Especially in videos.
Wow thats awesome! Yeah i probably wont be able to make it sound exactly like that but just want to know what kind of bass, pickup, etc has those kind of characters and can get close to that kind of tone.
That would be so great. Thanks!
