Renaissance/Turner Basses Club

[EdwardofHuncote]

Lo and behold, I have an actual, bonafide gig coming up next weekend...

I was asked a while back to sub-in on bass for the guy who replaced me in the newgrass/jamband I had been playing with for several years. I had been his replacement those years before so the hand-off was more or less easy and seamless. My default answer is yes anymore, and it's fun to reconnect with the guys... plug in and be loud.

I'm thinking the Turner Electroline fretless is going on this one for sure, and I'm hinging between the Model One bass or my old Michael Tobias Basic 4 for a fretted switch-up. The two black basses make a nice pair.

I'll get some pics from the gig... a little brewery in Franklin County Virginia. Played there many, many times.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

The load-up...

 

[Jeff Scott]

I am currently borrowing a '24 Mazda3 hatchback. If I get less lazy than I currently am maybe I'll see what I can stuff into it.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I am currently borrowing a '24 Mazda3 hatchback. If I get less lazy than I currently am maybe I'll see what I can stuff into it.

This is my weekend vehicle... a '19 Mitsubishi Outlander. It's an okay vehicle, comfortable, good mileage, AWD, good power too, most importantly paid-for.

But my '03 Outlander just kills it for utility use and cargo space. That ol' girl's got over 250K now, still runs great. Got a few rattles, a little rust, but I drive it to town and back a couple-three days a week. It's been hands-down best vehicle I have ever owned, and my only regret is that I didn't buy another one of the first-gen models as a backup.

 

[RVBASS]

I guess I need an SUV

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

The Harwell-Grice Band are the hometown boyz in Rocky Mount, Virginia. The band's frontman is actually the assistant principal at Franklin County High... the bandleader and him went all through school and grew up here, went off to college and started the band together 20-some years ago.

It's been an unbroken streak with very few substitutions ever since... no one has ever been fired, just circumstantially left, often return as a guest. I was subbing last night for my own replacement for instance, and I replaced him for 7 years before that. It's just all about the fun with these guys, so when they put on a throwdown in town the fans come out. Last night we were at Living Proof Brewing Co. Taproom playing for a full room and deck.

I played that Tobias Basic 4 during the first set, but felt pretty good after the break and the Turner Electroline fretless came out to finish the night. Those two make a good pair... remarkably similar, but different enough that they complement each other. The guys didn't even notice I switched basses.

[Tobias Basic 4]

 

[Jeff Scott]

I guess I need an SUV

My Honda Fit holds a ton of gear with the rear seats down.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

My Honda Fit holds a ton of gear with the rear seats down.

Those things Fit an amazing amount of stuff! Our guitar player had one for years.

 

[Jeff Scott]

We're on our second one. The first one ('09 model Fit Sport) we got in October '08 with 5-speed manual gearbox). Had that for 14 years and traded in in on a secondhand (our first used car) '19 Fit EX in December '22. Sadly, no manual; it has a CVT, which is pretty nice but we would have preferred the 6-speed gearbox (the car was discontinued in '20).

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

One thing became quickly evident this morning... I am not in any kind of shape to play a 3-hour gig anymore.

I knew I'd be tired, so I backed up to the porch and left the load-in for this morning. There was lots of sadness at the casa de Ed & Jeannie this morning. Her Highness said something pithy about the hooting with owls at night being in conflict with the soaring of eagles by morning. I had a response ready but deep down... I knew she was right.

 

[RVBASS]

I cram my stuff into a Prius

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Turner Electroline alert; there's a red piezo-only fretless one on RipoffVerb. 1995, low serial number (311?) signed by RT.

RICK TURNER 1995 Electroline 1 Lined Fretless Bass Guitar - Piezo Pickups, only 7.7 lbs! | Reverb

This rare 1995 vintage Rick Turner Electroline 1 4-String lined fretless bass is Used and in Excellent Condition: just one tiny ding on the back body edge, near Mint otherwise. No cracks, major dents or other wear. The back of the neck is smooth with no wear, the fingerboard has been cleaned and ...

reverb.com

If you're shopping, pitch a reasonable offer. My observation is the market is soft. I've about decided to just keep my 5-string until things straighten out.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Call me crazy...

The Model T bass has been around a while. I do like this barebones model here, as well as the short-scale one with the single Novak Bisonic equipped one a while back.

Rick Turner Model T Bass - Natural | Reverb

But quite honestly I think there's a missed opportunity here... and I bet they'd be happy to build it if somebody ponied-up. What if they fit one of these with a Model One hot humbucker and the simple coil-tap/treble-cut circuit. I could easily do without all the muss-and-fuss of the semi-parametric eq.

Do more with less. The more I play single pickup basses, the better I like 'em.

 

[RVBASS]

Looks like the one in that link has a trapezoidal pickup.

I thought I saw one with the Model 1 hot humbucker on reverb sometime over the last couple of years. That would be a good idea

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Just bumping our thread... )))))

I had a couple gigs this week but had to sub them out for health reasons. I was really looking forward to the Independence Day Celebration at Franklin County High School football stadium with Harwell-Grice Band. I was just going to sub-in with the guys. Maybe next year.

Since the last update, my Model One went to another clubber here who tells me it's getting some play time with his jazz jam. That leaves me the Renaissance fretless 5, the Electroline 5-string and my Electroline fretless 4. I would actually love to have a fretted Electroline 4 if someone came along with one and wanted to swap it for the 5-string. It's crossed my mind a few times to just make a fretted neck for mine.

Hopefully you're all surviving this hot summer. Do like the old dogs do... lay up under the porch!

 

[Jeff Scott]

Just bumping our thread... )))))

I had a couple gigs this week but had to sub them out for health reasons. I was really looking forward to the Independence Day Celebration at Franklin County High School football stadium with Harwell-Grice Band. I was just going to sub-in with the guys. Maybe next year.

Since the last update, my Model One went to another clubber here who tells me it's getting some play time with his jazz jam. That leaves me the Renaissance fretless 5, the Electroline 5-string and my Electroline fretless 4. I would actually love to have a fretted Electroline 4 if someone came along with one and wanted to swap it for the 5-string. It's crossed my mind a few times to just make a fretted neck for mine.

Hopefully you're all surviving this hot summer. Do like the old dogs do... lay up under the porch!

The sauna we are experiencing at the moment has been tolerable so long as I stay inside.

Make the neck.

 

[J.Wolf]

Hey Renaissance owners: I'm thinking about picking up a four or five string fretless used Renaissance and I'm looking for advice. I bought a friend which was seemingly a cedar top with a (cant remember) body. I really liked the bloom and depth and while it doesnt sound quite like an upright, it has a note envelope and bloom which kinda gets in that zone, esp with the TI nylon core strings.

My question is: If I want something that gets close to emulating that upright type envelope and feel, are there certain body or top woods I should look for or stay away from? I imagine it has a big effect on these basses, since the bridge piezo is so sensitive and transparent.

thanks for any advice, and let me know if anyone has one they might consider parting with. thanks!

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Hey Renaissance owners: I'm thinking about picking up a four or five string fretless used Renaissance and I'm looking for advice. I bought a friend which was seemingly a cedar top with a (cant remember) body. I really liked the bloom and depth and while it doesnt sound quite like an upright, it has a note envelope and bloom which kinda gets in that zone, esp with the TI nylon core strings.

My question is: If I want something that gets close to emulating that upright type envelope and feel, are there certain body or top woods I should look for or stay away from? I imagine it has a big effect on these basses, since the bridge piezo is so sensitive and transparent.

thanks for any advice, and let me know if anyone has one they might consider parting with. thanks!

Not a huge difference. I've played several A/B/C between the cedar top, all-maple, and and all-mahogany one. I'd have to go back and do it again to say with any degree of clarity, but of the three, the cedar-topped one was the most resonant. The pickup is key. Contact from string to saddle to element. It makes sense that if the whole instrument is resonant then a better sound results. The all-mahogany 5-string I had was a killer.

Here's where I run afoul of some folks. I've played upright bass for going on 40 years. I love my Turners, but they don't do that. They are a decent substitute in some circumstances. If I wanted to get them closer I definitely would not use the TI Acousticores, I'd switch to some low tension flats. The Renaissance bass in my opinion does it's best with those Acousticores. That's just part of its appeal. They were designed for it. Changing them changes how they respond.

Be sure and post back in! Good luck!

 

[J.Wolf]

Thanks for that advice, that’s really helpful. I honestly don’t think anything sounds like an upright or more importantly, behaves like an upright in terms of note envelope in an electric base format. Or even acoustic electric. The Rob Allen’s I have owned were their own thing and not necessarily very upright like, although the deep four was really compelling in a similar way.

For extra points though, the one that I’ve heard that sounds the closest is the benevolent. It’s shockingly close sounding, from the clips.

 

[porterbass]

I agree with everything @EdwardofHuncote posted in his reply. I had two Ren fretless basses at one time and experimented with different strings and devices with them. I liked TI Jazz flats a lot, including their low tension, and I made a foam mute out of an insulation strip that I could place on the strings near the bridge. I also like Sadowsky Black Label flats for this, but they aren't available any longer. I didn't like black tapewounds as they could be a bit "zingy".

One item you might look into that allows you to customize attack/bloom/decay is the Malekko Sneak Attack pedal. There's a lot of info online about it and a few posts here on TB. Good luck!