Sei Owner's Club (Part 2)

[kevin_lindsay]

That bass does look superb (although it does have my pet hate, exposed pole pieces !!).

It's strange how different people go for differing aesthetics, huh?

Myself, I can't stand pickups with fully covered polepieces. I know it probably doesn't affect the sound, but for some reason, I always think that the sound must be muffled. There again, it's probably more to do with my distaste of Bartolini units! hahahaha

Also, I really hate the way fully covered pickups age - I guess I am a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to how things should look - one of the reasons I had the polepieces exposed on my custom made mahogany / cocobolo covers on my Singlecut 5 fretted bass.

 

[7string]

I played a bass with exposed pole-pieces once and I caught my finger on them and it b***dy hurt. Ever since then I have to have pickup covers...

It's quite funny how small details affect different payers. Has anyone else got a pet love/hate that they had to have/couldn't stand to have on their Sei ??

 

[sei24bass]

I played a bass with exposed pole-pieces once and I caught my finger on them and it b***dy hurt. Ever since then I have to have pickup covers...

+1. I occassionally play a Musicman Stingray at the church I go to which has exposed pole pieces, two of which protrude above the top of the pickup. Bloomin' annoying as I love the sound of a Stingray played finger style over the pickup when you really dig into the strings...nice and funky!

Key things I would get on all new basses would include the quick release battery compartments and the battery status indicator Martin put on the Sei 8. As a fretless player my landing lights on the side of the neck are also pretty important.

I was tempted to say the one thing I can't stand on basses was frets....

Seriously though I get really annoyed with onboard electronics that don't stay clear and clean when you twidle the knob :scowl: :scowl:

 

[7string]

Well Jezebel made the return safe and sound from London (thank goodness !!).

It's great to have my Sei back. I did leave her in the room all day just to settle in a bit as it's been darn nippy up here for the last few days. Tonight's been great, just playing for the fun of playing.

It does remind me though, of the gulf that exists between the Sei and the other basses I have. They are all great and I'm proud of the little bass armoury I have, but the Sei is the first bass I head to nowadays. I've thoroughly enjoyed playing my fretless 7 as well. Funny thing is it sounds much better than it did with the frets in

Now that you mention "twiddling knobs", Ben reminds me that I have to clean a scratchy pot on my Jackson...

....time to go and practice/play/trying to write again !!

 

[matthewfoote]

Mark

Matthew, how you feeling and have you managed to get back to work again? Can be a very slow and frustrating process...

Ben

I went back to work very part time in June and have been building my hours and days up. The crunch came when a project I was working on became too much for me and the person in charge [only her and me in the team] took annual leave. I just cracked under the pressure so have been off 3 weeks recovering. I am due to go back to work next wednesday so hope that I can recover the ground that I lost.

Anyway enough of that, I was invited to sit in with a Jazz band last night and it was a real blast. Took my fretted Sei along and it just sounded so so good with a nice jazz tone mixed with the growl of the wenge body. It gave me a real lift!

Regards

Matthew

 

[melt]

Here's the 6 stringer Mike mentioned earlier - now with Nordstrand FatStacks in place, and a Demeter 3 band EQ as well (just like my Singlecut 5 - the one reviewed in bass Guitar Magazine)

Whoa........

 

[Essexbass]

7 speaking as someone who does not have a tatoo, that must have really hurt!!

As an aside, I walked into the front room and saw that my 2 dogs had taken over the sofa and I couldn't resist a photo.

Oscar os on the right and Lucy on the left with part of my rig creeping ointo the photo.

[/IMG]

Regards

Matthew

My wife was quite taken by the photo of the dogs - she now wants another Collie!

That is one cool photo (& the bass was quite cool too!)

Cheers,
Essexbass.

 

[7string]

I was invited to sit in with a Jazz band last night and it was a real blast. Took my fretted Sei along and it just sounded so so good with a nice jazz tone mixed with the growl of the wenge body. It gave me a real lift!

Regards

Matthew

It's amazing what music can do. Just being able to sit down and play has helped me through some tough times. It's almost a form of meditation...

Keep the thought of how it felt to be playing with that jazz band and return to it when you do need that lift....

 

[matthewfoote]

Paddy

How many days is it now? not that your counting of course

Matthew

 

[7string]

He must be hearing every tick-tock-tick-tock as the collection date gets ever nearer....

I had a bit of good news yesterday, I've won a 6 string set of Elixir bass strings and one of their t-shirts on a UK bass forum. Never tried Elixirs before because at £30 for a 4 string set they're a bit pricey for me. Unfortunately, I do have to go and get a .26 to complete the new set for Jezebel.

I've been really pleased with the set of DR's that my Sei 7 came with. They're really smooth and last extremely well, much longer than the Rotosounds or Elites that I usually string up with. When these Elixirs expire, I'll bite the bullet and get a set of DR's again.

I just hope I don't break a string when I'm putting the new Elixirs on......

 

[7string]

I received my copy of Guitarist today, the one with Jimmy Page on the cover..

My Sei bass is on page 14

 

[kevin_lindsay]

Ah - the ego massage has arrived!!!

Pity for us non-subscribers. I'll need to wait another week or so till I can get a copy myself.

Anyhow - your bass deserves a place in Guitarist (for those who don't know - it;s the largest guitar publiction in Europe). Can't wait to see it myself.

As for my Sei fretless Singlecut 6, the guys at Bare Knuckle are custom winding a set of jazz style pickups for it - I want a vintage style vibe to capture that classic jazz sound. May use the Demeter 3 band EQ also - the one I have installed in my fretted Singlecut is wonderful

 

[Paddy]

Been neglecting my posting duties - been laid up in bed for the last 4 days with the mother of all man-flu's, still not over it yet . Don't worry though I'm definately overplaying it.

Good news is that I'm at T-6(ish) days. Word from HQ is that all the bits are there and just needs installing. We're on schedule apparantly Anyone popping in is more that welcome to have a looksie.

That's some tatt 7 1 point of order though - why isn't your SOC membership number on there? I'll have to post a pic of mine when I get a decent pic. Had more work done so a lot of my upper left arm is covered.

 

[7string]

Ah - the ego massage has arrived!!!

Pity for us non-subscribers. I'll need to wait another week or so till I can get a copy myself.

Anyhow - your bass deserves a place in Guitarist (for those who don't know - it;s the largest guitar publiction in Europe). Can't wait to see it myself.

As for my Sei fretless Singlecut 6, the guys at Bare Knuckle are custom winding a set of jazz style pickups for it - I want a vintage style vibe to capture that classic jazz sound. May use the Demeter 3 band EQ also - the one I have installed in my fretted Singlecut is wonderful[/SIZE]

It's about a 1/4 page or so, but great to see it in print. It comes 10 years and 8 months after my last published piece in Bassist (my review of the Fender Urge Mk1).

I wasn't quite if I could post part of the publication on here, so I played safe...

I'd be really interested to hear what you think about the rewind from Bare Knuckle. I think that the Kent I have in Jezebel can get a little nasally and verges towards my bass tone anathema, the smooth jazz tone :scowl: It's a fantastic tone down low but gets thinner as the strings get thinner

Been neglecting my posting duties - been laid up in bed for the last 4 days with the mother of all man-flu's, still not over it yet . Don't worry though I'm definately overplaying it.

Good news is that I'm at T-6(ish) days. Word from HQ is that all the bits are there and just needs installing. We're on schedule apparantly Anyone popping in is more that welcome to have a looksie.

That's some tatt 7 1 point of order though - why isn't your SOC membership number on there? I'll have to post a pic of mine when I get a decent pic. Had more work done so a lot of my upper left arm is covered.

So you have a small cold then

Thanks, the tatt has healed great and does look cool (I did forget about the S.O.C number !).

So what have you had done to yourself... could it be that Fender commerative tatt to show your love of the brand

 

[matthewfoote]

This is a question to all the lurkers who have not posted on this thread yet.. Have any of you got a Sei bass or one under construction? If so do tell us about it and more importantly share some photo's with us.

Also if you don't own a Sei yet, do post and let us know your thoughts, favorite Sei bass, and questions etc. It would be great to hear from you.

Regards

Matthew

 

[gwx014]

What Basses would you guys say have similar feel/playability and tone to a Sei Bass? I am very interested in one, but don't have the opportunity to play one.

Thanks!

 

[7string]

No doubt others will chime in here, but I'll try to answer first !!

IMHO, there really isn't a Sei sound. Each bass is created from the wishes of the customer, so each Sei is different to the next. This does create a small problem when looking at used Sei's as you have to bear in mind that it was built expressly for someone else.

My Sei has only one pickup and no on-board EQ. Other Sei's have two pickups with 3 band eq of differing make so it really depends on what sound you're after.

Playability-wise Sei's are incredible, but again, the neck can be sculpted to your preference. Martin's standard carve, to me, is just spot on. It's a Goldilocks neck, not too deep, not too shallow or too wide or too narrow !!

Now over to the experts !!

 

[Mistahbenn]

Hi all, long time no posting...

I maybe crazy, but I maybe selling my Flamboyant 5 headless, thuya full face and back, wenge wings, ebony board, kents and schack, great bass as you all know. I have genuine, personal reason for selling.

Please PM me if interested.

 

[matthewfoote]

gwx014

Hi, as 7 string says, there is no Sei sound and Martin [the builder] has done this deliberatly so that people get their own sound rather than his, Martin's.

Martin will fit any make and combination of pickup and preamp to any wood choice to give you any sound you want.

It is bewildering when you first start the ordering process but Martin really does give great advice and will guide you though the whole process.

So to answer your question I am afraid there is no Sei sound except a Damm Good One!

Regards

Matthew

 

[sei24bass]

I suggest just about every decent established luthier will use high quality woods with good construction techniques and high quality hardware. Therefore the body of the bass itself becomes all about weight, balance, neck profile, finish and other factors that combine to make it “right” or not to the individual player.

I personally think SEI basses have a truly unique feel / playability (not necessarily better, just different). Whilst customer specified options make each Sei feel different, common to all of them for me is the feeling of a relatively compact, solid, beautifully crafted instrument that has been fastidiously designed from the ground up to inspire confidence and bring out the best in the player (German engineering at its best!). Common to this is the standard SEI neck profile, which is wonderfully slim but with just the right amount of depth in all the right places.

Martin fits just about any pickup / onboard electronics, which combined with the customer’s choice of woods and playing styles dictates what the bass will sound like. The comment I repeatedly hear is Martin’s ability to build a bass that meets the customer’s stated requirements.

Try a SEI if you ever get a chance…you might not like it but I can honestly say I have not found anything like it (despite trying basses from many of the top end / boutique makers).