What do you mean "by so much more than that"? I'm definitely looking for a very upright sounding bass, but am afraid the Mouse 30 will look and feel way too small on me.
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Show us the Rob Allen basses!
- Thread starter spade2you
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What do you mean "by so much more than that"? I'm definitely looking for a very upright sounding bass, but am afraid the Mouse 30 will look and feel way too small on me.
I think Rich meant that the Rob Allens are quite capable of a fairly wide range of tones. You could check out my Myspace page for an example of the various tones you can get with the Rob Allen basses. The Fishman piezo comined with Rob's construction and LaBella strings can get a fairly wide range of tones without having to touch any electronics. A lot of bassists will say that tone is all in the hands while using passive basses with magnetic pickups. Fretless piezo basses have much more sonic range and response, by a lot.
As for the size, it would be like you were playing guitar with the Mouse 30. An MB2 4 string would probably do alright, as his website clip was an MB2. The 35" scale and ash body of the usual 5 strings kinda takes away from the upright tone a bit.
Pretty sure it's Prelude in G and Ragu, but myspace is blocked at work. I think that's what I left up there. Alloy Jim was the Conklin and STA Swan Song was on the CB. The other 2 were probably Peaveys.
hi tony,
haven't been online...Thanks Spade2You....exactly what i meant.
A nice 4 string mb2 will give awesome upright vibes. One major difference I find with the Deep 5 is it has a longer decay/sustain profile than a standard MB2. Consequently it ultimately might be less "upright-ish" of the two (but i'm splitting hairs)
BTW...love my mouse (note the spade2you-edition fingerboad extension and hipshot drop-tuner), but it really is about the size of a telecaster guitar. On my 280lb body it looks like a ukulele.
Rich, did you have a chance to play it with the aforementioned EQ change? Just curious. I'd like to consider ordering a 34" scale high C Deep 5 sometime in the next couple of years.
As a 5'6" 125lb guy, the Mouse 30 is one of the few basses that doesn't dwarf me. My 35" scale Conklin 6 makes me look tiny.
As a 5'6" 125lb guy, the Mouse 30 is one of the few basses that doesn't dwarf me. My 35" scale Conklin 6 makes me look tiny.
I think Deep would be a nice addition to your collection.
I'll try tonite (i was away all weekend...)
Gotcha. Keep us posted. I'm very curious.
LOL, now that I'm engaged, I wonder if my bass buying days are numbered. Glad I already stocked up.
For those of you who have played both lined and unlined Rob Allen basses, or just unlined, or other markings:
I ordered a custom Rob Allen about a month ago and I'm trying to decide what to do about markings. I currently have a MB2-5 with lines. I use the lines quite a bit to help my intonation and find my way around, especially when soloing or playing fast passages. They definitely help as a quick visual check when sight reading. Originally I had planned to get lines on my new bass but I'm having second thoughts and considering other options for markings.
How is soloing above the octave without lines? Can you find your position just as well with just the side dots on the neck?
Also, I saw a Rob Allen bass earlier in this thread that had lines just on the E string side for about 1/4", wonder how those work relative to just side dots? Kind of the opposite of what F-bass does with lines on the G string side above the octave, but all the way up the neck. here it is.
Anyway, I'm looking for thoughts from those who have experience playing both the unlined and lined fingerboards on Rob Allen basses, or those with unlined fingerboards. I have come to the conclusion that I definitely need some sort of markings as a visual reference. It seems that, in playing position, one is mostly looking at the edge of the neck on the E string side anyway...
My new custom bass will be a MB2-5, 34" scale, strung E-C, swamp ash body, koa top, walnut neck, ebony fingerboard, arm contour with no binding. It will look similar to the Pino Palladino bass but fretless.
Cheers,
Jeff
I ordered a custom Rob Allen about a month ago and I'm trying to decide what to do about markings. I currently have a MB2-5 with lines. I use the lines quite a bit to help my intonation and find my way around, especially when soloing or playing fast passages. They definitely help as a quick visual check when sight reading. Originally I had planned to get lines on my new bass but I'm having second thoughts and considering other options for markings.
How is soloing above the octave without lines? Can you find your position just as well with just the side dots on the neck?
Also, I saw a Rob Allen bass earlier in this thread that had lines just on the E string side for about 1/4", wonder how those work relative to just side dots? Kind of the opposite of what F-bass does with lines on the G string side above the octave, but all the way up the neck. here it is.
Anyway, I'm looking for thoughts from those who have experience playing both the unlined and lined fingerboards on Rob Allen basses, or those with unlined fingerboards. I have come to the conclusion that I definitely need some sort of markings as a visual reference. It seems that, in playing position, one is mostly looking at the edge of the neck on the E string side anyway...
My new custom bass will be a MB2-5, 34" scale, strung E-C, swamp ash body, koa top, walnut neck, ebony fingerboard, arm contour with no binding. It will look similar to the Pino Palladino bass but fretless.
Cheers,
Jeff
I have dots at every position. I'm not saying it's the best config out there, but my first fretless had been modified by the original owner in that way. On a 6+, I like to have a dot between the G and C string, although the G tends to block the dot most of the time. It comes in handy since I'm always playing various basses with various scale lengths.
I have a MB-2 5 strings with walnut and paduk top and I love it.................so much that I want a fretted one.
What kind of wood combination would be good for that?
Sly
What kind of wood combination would be good for that?
Sly
Yeah, if I went with just side dots they would be at every position.
Have you been able to compare a Rob Allen with just the dots to one with lines?
I'm not sure I understand your comment about a dot between G and C. Do you mean on the fingerboard surface? Where along the length?
Here's an example of the dots on the face, although I personally don't think it's to necessary on a wide 5 or less. I have them only above the 2nd octave, where things get a bit sensitive.
Compared to lines, it's about the same from the top view, but a bit less "busy". I usually get big dots in the usual spots and small dots in between. Something like MOP or abalone, depending on the color of the FB. Since nobody else can see it, go for maximum contrast. I've noticed that some lines are hard to see in an effort to blend in, but not easy for the musician. Like I said earlier, it's also very easy to switch between scale lengths, too.
Here's an example of the dots on the face, although I personally don't think it's to necessary on a wide 5 or less. I have them only above the 2nd octave, where things get a bit sensitive.
Compared to lines, it's about the same from the top view, but a bit less "busy". I usually get big dots in the usual spots and small dots in between. Something like MOP or abalone, depending on the color of the FB. Since nobody else can see it, go for maximum contrast. I've noticed that some lines are hard to see in an effort to blend in, but not easy for the musician. Like I said earlier, it's also very easy to switch between scale lengths, too.
Ok that makes sense now
That's similar to the Fbass markings:
At this point I think I'm convinced that side dots or side lines will be fine instead of full lines. I was just playing my MB-2 5 and from a player's position you can't see the lines past a spot between the B and E strings anyway without rotating the bass toward you.
Yes, the lines on my MB-2 definitely tend to be hard to see in low light situations.
Yeah, my idea was kinda based on the F-Bass. I do alright with my usual dot config, but wanted some dots on the face of the fb to help avoid parallax on wider fingerboards. Since I already have dots above indicating spacing, I didn't feel that I needed a dot at every position. Half-lines on the treb side wouldn't be bad, but part of why I'm not a line guy is that I didn't want the chance of the line or fb to swell or contract. I know it doesn't happen all the time, but I've seen it enough in person. IMHO, no real big deal on a 5er or less, but I like having them there on a 6er.
my Shuker Artist (RA cousin from the UK), has lines on the top edge of the fingerboards. From a playing position it fools the eye into seeing a line on the fingerboard. Just visible on the top of the fingerboard:
Works very nicely.
On my RA's I just went for lines.
Works very nicely.
On my RA's I just went for lines.
Hi Rich - thanks very much for your reply. Good to hear that you find the lines on the side effective. That's what I'm leaning toward, depending on whether it costs extra or not.
Cheers,
Jeff
Cheers,
Jeff
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