PRS basses

[davidAaronCarte]

Sorry to bring an old thread back from the dead, but anyone get their hands on one of the new private stock Grainger basses lately?
There are a couple on their way to a local dealer and I'm getting excited to put one through its paces

 

[BassHappy]

Hey PRS Bass haters and lovers...

Don't know if this is the right place to post this - but I met Paul Reed Smith back in 1976 shortly after my band was signed to Arista and I had him make me a bass - the seventh instrument he ever made. Literally, serial number 7. I was playing a Rickenbacker at the time and I wanted him to copy the slim width of the neck, only to make it a bit shorter, as i have a small hand. It ended up being about a 32.5" scale but unfortunately the neck warped. I gave it to him to repair - I had waited almost a year, Paul did everything by hand in his small shop at 33 West Street in Annapolis then - and he loaned me serial #11, which was really pretty much a twin. The only differences were that the wood was darker and had a dark stripe through the Honduras mahogany body, and Paul had shaped the neck more to his liking, with a little more wood on it. In his defense, he had really only made a couple of basses previous to mine and he didn't really have his truss rod thing together yet, especially on a VERY thin neck like #7. I will say that I refused to give the #11 bass back to him - even though he needed the rent money. He was pissed and didn't talk to me for several months. It has a Bartolini Hi-A Beast in the bass position and I had him install my Rickenbacker treble pickup in the treble position, which he re-wound for me to get rid of some of the clackiness - but retained the crunch. I am proud to say that when Ken Scott (Bowie, Supertramp, Jeff Beck, Stanley Clarke, Mahavishnu) was producing our records he wouldn't even let me pick up any other basses, including Stanley Clark's vintage jazz bass. Stanley was working at A&M at the same studio and we met and he told me to feel free to use any of his basses. (He took the Alembics with him at the time!) strapped on the jazz bass and went to plug it in and Ken simply shook his head no and pointed to the PRS. He adored the warm woody sound and the "dial-a-brew" tones, as he called it with the 9 position rotary switch.

I can't deal with photos on here, they always turn out to be thumbnails, but you are welcome to see the bass and the article from Vintage Guitar Magazine, along with the rest of my medium scale bass collection here:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

When Paul decided to move to the 34" scales I lost interest, and although we remain friends, I know I have the only PRS bass i will ever need. It still sounds and plays like a dream but doesn't leave the house.

BassHappy

 

[MikeBass]

Ok... I think I may have kinda sort figured out the pre-amp.
Well, I did, just still don't know if I'm liking it or not.

It functions, and this is just for descriptive purposes, but it's a "filter" of some sort like Alembic has.
But it doesn't do the "Q" sweep like an Alembic pre.

It actually has some interesting tones in there once you start adjusting pick-ups and such.

I'm convinced it's a whole system electronics package. Meaning the pick-ups work in conjunction with the pre.
Exactly how and such, I dunno, but it's kinda cool with the rear pick-up solo'd and it rolled back about 60%.

 

[One Drop]

Hey PRS Bass haters and lovers...

Don't know if this is the right place to post this - but I met Paul Reed Smith back in 1976 shortly after my band was signed to Arista and I had him make me a bass - the seventh instrument he ever made. Literally, serial number 7. I was playing a Rickenbacker at the time and I wanted him to copy the slim width of the neck, only to make it a bit shorter, as i have a small hand. It ended up being about a 32.5" scale but unfortunately the neck warped. I gave it to him to repair - I had waited almost a year, Paul did everything by hand in his small shop at 33 West Street in Annapolis then - and he loaned me serial #11, which was really pretty much a twin. The only differences were that the wood was darker and had a dark stripe through the Honduras mahogany body, and Paul had shaped the neck more to his liking, with a little more wood on it. In his defense, he had really only made a couple of basses previous to mine and he didn't really have his truss rod thing together yet, especially on a VERY thin neck like #7. I will say that I refused to give the #11 bass back to him - even though he needed the rent money. He was pissed and didn't talk to me for several months. It has a Bartolini Hi-A Beast in the bass position and I had him install my Rickenbacker treble pickup in the treble position, which he re-wound for me to get rid of some of the clackiness - but retained the crunch. I am proud to say that when Ken Scott (Bowie, Supertramp, Jeff Beck, Stanley Clarke, Mahavishnu) was producing our records he wouldn't even let me pick up any other basses, including Stanley Clark's vintage jazz bass. Stanley was working at A&M at the same studio and we met and he told me to feel free to use any of his basses. (He took the Alembics with him at the time!) strapped on the jazz bass and went to plug it in and Ken simply shook his head no and pointed to the PRS. He adored the warm woody sound and the "dial-a-brew" tones, as he called it with the 9 position rotary switch.

I can't deal with photos on here, they always turn out to be thumbnails, but you are welcome to see the bass and the article from Vintage Guitar Magazine, along with the rest of my medium scale bass collection here:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

When Paul decided to move to the 34" scales I lost interest, and although we remain friends, I know I have the only PRS bass i will ever need. It still sounds and plays like a dream but doesn't leave the house.

BassHappy

Fascinating, thanks!

 

[Braddock]

I have been told that PRS custom made a bass for Mike Oldfield and that he used that PRS bass in the recordings of "Amarok". So far I have found zero information anywhere on the internet or forums about this bass. Does anyone have any information on this PRS bass?

 

[Grand Wazoo]

I have been told that PRS custom made a bass for Mike Oldfield and that he used that PRS bass in the recordings of "Amarok". So far I have found zero information anywhere on the internet or forums about this bass. Does anyone have any information on this PRS bass?

I am not aware of a custom made one, but... many years ago around 1992, when Mike Oldfield recorded TBII he used a PRS 5 Strings in whale blue which he sold back to the UK distributor at the time, and I ended up buying, unfortunately PRS got the 5 strings neck very very narrow almost unplayable in fact if you look at the 4 and 5 together (that 4 strings I still own to this day) the pickups are the same size, the neck width and headstock are same size the only thing that PRS made bigger was the bridge to allow for a 5th string and of course a nut with 5 slots and the extra peg, but other than that the 2 necks on the 4 strings and 5 strings were identical.

I have kept it for as long as I could but ended up selling it because really it was difficult to play with my big hands.

 

[Braddock]

I am not aware of a custom made one, but... many years ago around 1992, when Mike Oldfield recorded TBII he used a PRS 5 Strings in whale blue which he sold back to the UK distributor at the time, and I ended up buying, unfortunately PRS got the 5 strings neck very very narrow almost unplayable in fact if you look at the 4 and 5 together (that 4 strings I still own to this day) the pickups are the same size, the neck width and headstock are same size the only thing that PRS made bigger was the bridge to allow for a 5th string and of course a nut with 5 slots and the extra peg, but other than that the 2 necks on the 4 strings and 5 strings were identical.

I have kept it for as long as I could but ended up selling it because really it was difficult to play with my big hands.

WOW! Thats insane! Thanks for sharing! I seriously wonder if that was the bass used on "Amarok". That album was released in 1990 I think, I seriously wonder, I doubt Mike Oldfield had alot of PRS basses, I have only ever heard of him having only one, and that could be it. I could be wrong though. Seriously thanks again for sharing, that's crazy.

So what kind of pickups are those, are they passive?

Me and a Pianist friend of mine are performing "Amarok" in its entirety on the 27th of this month, I have been trying to get pretty close to that sound he had.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

WOW! Thats insane! Thanks for sharing! I seriously wonder if that was the bass used on "Amarok". That album was released in 1990 I think, I seriously wonder, I doubt Mike Oldfield had alot of PRS basses, I have only ever heard of him having only one, and that could be it. I could be wrong though. Seriously thanks again for sharing, that's crazy.

So what kind of pickups are those, are they passive?

Me and a Pianist friend of mine are performing "Amarok" in its entirety on the 27th of this month, I have been trying to get pretty close to that sound he had.

Pickups are active and a very close copy of the Bartolini's that PRS used to fit to his first prototype basses but it's the way that they are placed and conbined with each other that give you a couple of very unusual sounds which probably attracted Mike Oldfield's interest, for instance one of the settings on the 5 position rotary switch combines the neck piclup and the bridge pickup which are so far apart and give a very woody yet marimba like sound, the other is the neck one on its own which sounds pretty close to an early Gibson EBO.

 

[Braddock]

Pickups are active and a very close copy of the Bartolini's that PRS used to fit to his first prototype basses but it's the way that they are placed and conbined with each other that give you a couple of very unusual sounds which probably attracted Mike Oldfield's interest, for instance one of the settings on the 5 position rotary switch combines the neck piclup and the bridge pickup which are so far apart and give a very woody yet marimba like sound, the other is the neck one on its own which sounds pretty close to an early Gibson EBO.

In that case, I am pretty sure that was the bass on "Amarok", because he gets sounds on there that can differ from each other like night and day. One sound can be the brightest most high output sound ever, later in the song it can be so thick and deep it's crazy.

 

[wolfrunmusic]

In fact, I have 2... a 4 and a 5. These are the first generation and I have found them to be well-made, comfortable to play and the preamp with the 5-position tone control to be very versatile. It does have a hot output and must be used judiciously with the proper input gain. But with a high-power amp when you roll in the bass boost just a little, it can produce a huge piano string-like tone. I don't see how anyone could call them "thin-sounding."

You can listen here if you like:
Badge.mov - YouTube[/FONT]

or here:
Link Removed

 

[wolfrunmusic]

Ok... I think I may have kinda sort figured out the pre-amp.
Well, I did, just still don't know if I'm liking it or not.

It functions, and this is just for descriptive purposes, but it's a "filter" of some sort like Alembic has.
But it doesn't do the "Q" sweep like an Alembic pre.

It actually has some interesting tones in there once you start adjusting pick-ups and such.

I'm convinced it's a whole system electronics package. Meaning the pick-ups work in conjunction with the pre.
Exactly how and such, I dunno, but it's kinda cool with the rear pick-up solo'd and it rolled back about 60%.

From the PRS website:
Bass (1987-1991) 5 Position Rotary-Hybrid Pickup System

ROTARY POSITIONS

Position 10: Middle pickup
Position 9: Bass pickup
Position 8: Treble and middle pickups
Position 7: Treble and bass pickups
Position 6: Treble pickup
CONTROLS

Volume: Self explanatory
Deep Control: Adds depth below normal "Bass"
Clear Control: Adds clarity, not fret noise
Pre-Amp Bypass Switch: If the battery goes dead (approx. 200 hours life), you can still play
Internal Jack Switch: Unplug jack cord to turn off battery

The trick is to start with the treble pickup only setting and the Deep and Clear controls all the way back. Then moving up through the settings and bringing up the Deep control makes the sound bigger and bigger. Some on here have described the sound as scooped... and it certainly is if all the knobs are up full-clockwise.

 

[BurningSkies]

That's not the model that Mikebass has.

 

[wolfrunmusic]

That's not the model that Mikebass has.

Thanks for letting me know... guess I didn't read back far enough. Now that I have, I saw your posts and pics. Very cool!

 

[MikeBass]

From the PRS website:
Bass (1987-1991) 5 Position Rotary-Hybrid Pickup System

ROTARY POSITIONS

Position 10: Middle pickup
Position 9: Bass pickup
Position 8: Treble and middle pickups
Position 7: Treble and bass pickups
Position 6: Treble pickup
CONTROLS

Volume: Self explanatory
Deep Control: Adds depth below normal "Bass"
Clear Control: Adds clarity, not fret noise
Pre-Amp Bypass Switch: If the battery goes dead (approx. 200 hours life), you can still play
Internal Jack Switch: Unplug jack cord to turn off battery

The trick is to start with the treble pickup only setting and the Deep and Clear controls all the way back. Then moving up through the settings and bringing up the Deep control makes the sound bigger and bigger. Some on here have described the sound as scooped... and it certainly is if all the knobs are up full-clockwise.

Yeah, I have the "Jazz BAss" version. Or second generation as I call it.

I seem to recall that someone said the first gen bass was built to work in conjunction with the switches and whatnot on an SVT head.
Anyone else hear this?

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Yeah, I have the "Jazz BAss" version. Or second generation as I call it.

I seem to recall that someone said the first gen bass was built to work in conjunction with the switches and whatnot on an SVT head.
Anyone else hear this?

No I've never heard that one... gee sometimes rumours gets so weird as the time goes on.

What I can tell you is, having known Paul Reed Smith in person way back when he introduced these basses was that since he was not a bass player, he had asked all the people he knew that played bass what they wanted in a bass, and what the majority of people asked was to have a combination of Jazz Bass tones and P Bass tones, all in one instrument. Also PRS had no idea on how to build a preamp for it, so he "borrowed" alledgedly a schematic from an Alembic Bass and used it for these earliest 3 pickup basses.

Finally the neck c shape, width and profile were matched to the exact specs of a truly road worn P Bass that one of his friends had.

That's all I know.

 

[Doctor J]

Dead threads can never rest!!!!

Bringing this one back to life to say I've had the opportunity to spend some time with a 2001 Electric Bass, the second generation model with the twin Js and active circuit and, I have to say, I think it's actually rather good.

This one has a maple top and birds, it's easy on the eye, but there's a lot beyond that to like with these basses. First, it balances very well and the way it sits feels like it's shorter than 34" scale, the lower frets are put right there in front of you. The neck is closer to J than P but a little chunkier than a proper J size. It's comfortable and sets up very nicely. Low mass tuners with a high mass locking bridge fits in with current thinking. Acoustically, it really projects, it reminds me of my Alembic playing unplugged. Construction is, as you'd expect, bang on.

So plugging in, and leaving the active circuit out of it for the time being, the impression I'm left with is that this is to J's what the Yamaha BB is to P's. It's got a lovely top end, with real zing to it. There's meat on both pickups, but it's tight and controlled. The neck pickup is open sounding, more usable than most neck J's I've heard and the bridge has more than enough meat and growl to be used solo. It's tonally aggressive and the tone control covers a lot of ground. Played just as a passive J type, I'd struggle to find anything to complain about. Then there's the active circuit. Having read through quite a few of the threads here I was expecting something dreadful but, while it's not quite what I would have done myself, it does have practical uses. I usually play every bass with the EQ flat. If I can't get a bass to work for me with flat EQ, it goes out the door an never comes back. The PRS sounds great without EQ, it's a naturally good sounding instrument. The EQ, quite accurately called a slap switch earlier in the thread, boosts lows and highs, the old disco smile. It's probably great for dub on the neck pickup alone, but I'm not a dub man. Given that i run a flat EQ, I don't find the low boost overwhelming, it's more low than I'd use, but I think it's a musical low end and probably sounds great on a recorded track. Where it does shine is with the bride pickup soloed, where it has growl and big, big balls, it's a lovely sound to have.

True, the RRP is probably what priced this thing out of the market originally for what you got, but at the prices they tend to go for now, I'd really urge everyone to take a second look. There's a lot to like on these, perhaps originally unfairly maligned, in my opinion. This thing ain't bad at all. Not bad, for something designed by a guitar player.

 

[BassHappy]

Dead threads can never rest!!!!

Bringing this one back to life to say I've had the opportunity to spend some time with a 2001 Electric Bass, the second generation model with the twin Js and active circuit and, I have to say, I think it's actually rather good.

This one has a maple top and birds, it's easy on the eye, but there's a lot beyond that to like with these basses. First, it balances very well and the way it sits feels like it's shorter than 34" scale, the lower frets are put right there in front of you. The neck is closer to J than P but a little chunkier than a proper J size. It's comfortable and sets up very nicely. Low mass tuners with a high mass locking bridge fits in with current thinking. Acoustically, it really projects, it reminds me of my Alembic playing unplugged. Construction is, as you'd expect, bang on.

So plugging in, and leaving the active circuit out of it for the time being, the impression I'm left with is that this is to J's what the Yamaha BB is to P's. It's got a lovely top end, with real zing to it. There's meat on both pickups, but it's tight and controlled. The neck pickup is open sounding, more usable than most neck J's I've heard and the bridge has more than enough meat and growl to be used solo. It's tonally aggressive and the tone control covers a lot of ground. Played just as a passive J type, I'd struggle to find anything to complain about. Then there's the active circuit. Having read through quite a few of the threads here I was expecting something dreadful but, while it's not quite what I would have done myself, it does have practical uses. I usually play every bass with the EQ flat. If I can't get a bass to work for me with flat EQ, it goes out the door an never comes back. The PRS sounds great without EQ, it's a naturally good sounding instrument. The EQ, quite accurately called a slap switch earlier in the thread, boosts lows and highs, the old disco smile. It's probably great for dub on the neck pickup alone, but I'm not a dub man. Given that i run a flat EQ, I don't find the low boost overwhelming, it's more low than I'd use, but I think it's a musical low end and probably sounds great on a recorded track. Where it does shine is with the bride pickup soloed, where it has growl and big, big balls, it's a lovely sound to have.

True, the RRP is probably what priced this thing out of the market originally for what you got, but at the prices they tend to go for now, I'd really urge everyone to take a second look. There's a lot to like on these, perhaps originally unfairly maligned, in my opinion. This thing ain't bad at all. Not bad, for something designed by a guitar player.

Hey Dr. J

Thanks for your post and I am happy to hear that you found a great PRS!

As an overall comment - it is true that Paul has been hit and miss on his basses over the years, without a doubt - for reasons the Grand Wazoo describes above. Paul is a guitarist and a good one, but he doesn't play bass. Unlike his guitars - he has always had to lean on friends or bassists inside the company or even outside folks like Grainger to try to come up with his production bass designs - but unlike his guitars - the basses are unfortunately always a bit of a compromise on one level or the other. It's design by committee.

Having said that, there have been some amazing models and instruments trickle off the line over the years, and when you finally stumble on to a really REALLY GOOD one, believe me - it will go in the coffin with you. You will never abandon it and it will become one of your go-to's.

Paul hand crafted two basses - both the seventh and the eleventh instruments he ever made for me - and my wife swears #11 will be in the coffin with me.....

I have no choice but to believe her....

 

[Doctor J]

Yours are very sweet indeed. This one is different, but personally I like that it's different, that it's not just another run of the mill J. There is enough in it to tie it back to its Fender roots, but it does have a personality of its own. Genuinely, I think it's a solid instrument with enough about it to cover a whole lot of ground.

 

[Doctor J]

I think... I think I finally am getting to grips with the active circuit. You've really got to think about it entirely differently, but it turns out it's actually very useful. In Active mode, the tone control acts like a low pass filter. With the tone rolled off, all you get is the lowest of low frequencies, it completely removes high frequencies, not just a shelf turning them down as in passive mode. You can't just leave both pickups up full, as you might in passive mode, the pickup volumes almost act like bass and treble controls, the neck pickup becomes your low end, the bridge pickup your high end and you balance to taste. Running both up full is just a huge low and high end wall of sound, not really a practical thing at all, like if you run your EQ up full on a traditional active bass. If you run them around the 50% mark and adjust to taste, this thing suddenly comes to life and there's a huge amount you can do with it, all the while getting a very nice, modern jazz tone out of it. It's not a baked in curve, as suggested, it's entirely adjustable but works in conjunction with the pickups. Fair play, PRS, this is actually quite clever. I'm impressed.

 

[BassHappy]

I think... I think I finally am getting to grips with the active circuit. You've really got to think about it entirely differently, but it turns out it's actually very useful. In Active mode, the tone control acts like a low pass filter. With the tone rolled off, all you get is the lowest of low frequencies, it completely removes high frequencies, not just a shelf turning them down as in passive mode. You can't just leave both pickups up full, as you might in passive mode, the pickup volumes almost act like bass and treble controls, the neck pickup becomes your low end, the bridge pickup your high end and you balance to taste. Running both up full is just a huge low and high end wall of sound, not really a practical thing at all, like if you run your EQ up full on a traditional active bass. If you run them around the 50% mark and adjust to taste, this thing suddenly comes to life and there's a huge amount you can do with it, all the while getting a very nice, modern jazz tone out of it. It's not a baked in curve, as suggested, it's entirely adjustable but works in conjunction with the pickups. Fair play, PRS, this is actually quite clever. I'm impressed.

Hey Dr. J

There are many subtleties in the PRS bass designs, always nice to see them pointed out.

By the way, the previous link I posted is busted, but the full story on PRS #11, and to read the article from Vintage Guitar Magazine, please ignore the link above and go here:

Custom Paul Reed Smith #11