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Show Us Your Rob Allen Basses Part II

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#581
nostatic said:
For me I'm trying to cover all my sonic needs with the minimum number of instruments.
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I don't think anyone would consider reducing your instruments down to key essentials is weird. The simplicity of a brilliant fretted and fretless is great. My guess is that for many music genres it will be hard to replace the mag/fretted/unwrapped strings 100% with an RA piezo. Cool experiment though.

I on the other hand keep trying to trim back to an essential few, but inevitably end up expanding the collection instead.
 
#582
richnota said:
I don't think anyone would consider reducing your instruments down to key essentials is weird. The simplicity of a brilliant fretted and fretless is great. My guess is that for many music genres it will be hard to replace the mag/fretted/unwrapped strings 100% with an RA piezo. Cool experiment though.
Click to expand...

It has been interesting so far. Part of the challenge is the difference in how the instrument sound alone vs in a mix. With the RA, the biggest issue for me is the huge low end, and as a result, relatively absent midrange. The other thing is the softer attack of the flatwounds/fretless. Of course both of those things are great for the "upright vibe" so you kind of pick your poison. However I've been able to push the tone around with a combination of an FEA dual band comp (to tighten up the low end which lets the mids come through a bit more), and a Paradriver to give a little midrange kick around 350hz. It still doesn't sound like fretted roundwound setup, but I was happy with what a fretless RA could do in this type of song:

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Then again, a P-bass with flats would work there so not that big of a stretch. For something like "Kid Charlemenge", a little harder to replace the roundwounds/frets.
 
#583
Talked to Rob today and we finalized the details on my new Deep 4. I'm going to drop a deposit in the mail, and it'll take about 6 months. It's going to be built along with the new batch of Solid 4s (which makes sense ... read on).

I'm pretty excited. If it comes out as I hope it will, it's really going to be a hybrid of Solid 4 meets Deep 4 meets P bass. There's quite a bit of customized stuff that will be done (which unfortunately increases price).

There's only one thing he couldn't do (the upright stand idea), but that's OK. Everything else was doable.

Once this one is done I'll sell the old one since I really don't need two.
 
#584
For those interested in the sound of a Mouse vs. a Deep 5 in context, I offer the following. Signal for the recording is bass into FEA dual comp, Paradriver (though off most of the night), then direct to FOH at the club. This is a stereo mix from the house board (and the first gig with the keyboard player).

Mouse: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

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-----

Deep 5: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] (warning - 11min medley)
 
#585
richnota said:
This makes me want to order another fretted RA; Perhaps an unbound MB2 in the Pino style? Anyone else notice the split saddle on Pino's bass? Is this standard on fretted RA's?
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I asked Rob about this today while sorting some upcoming options - certainly not standard on the fretted RAs. Rob has found that the one piece saddle can get pretty close for intonation, and in reality you can get an instrument *perfect*, and then change strings and it may be out. Or just over time it can drift.

I always thought that fretless was really what RA basses were about, and while I still think that is the signature sound, I'm finding a lot more love for frets on one as well. I think the key is the piezo - it speaks differently than a mag pickup. When I listen to my RAs in a mix, I notice that while I don't have the grind aspect of the roundwound attack, I actually have a quicker and more pronounced thump from the RA. I find that ghost notes kick more, but more from a feel than sound if that makes sense.

At any rate my new Mouse is moving along, so my current one will likely find a new home soon. Then I'm pondering a Solid 4 and maybe a fretted MB-2 5-string. Then I'd sell both my Zons and just have a quad RA attack. Good thing I sold the XITS guitar amp for a profit :p
 
#586
Are either your current or future Mouse fretted? I'm lovin my new Mouse and am just imagining what a fretted Mouse wold feel or sound like.

Unfortunately, I have a moratorium on bass purchases.

nostatic said:
I asked Rob about this today while sorting some upcoming options - certainly not standard on the fretted RAs. Rob has found that the one piece saddle can get pretty close for intonation, and in reality you can get an instrument *perfect*, and then change strings and it may be out. Or just over time it can drift.

I always thought that fretless was really what RA basses were about, and while I still think that is the signature sound, I'm finding a lot more love for frets on one as well. I think the key is the piezo - it speaks differently than a mag pickup. When I listen to my RAs in a mix, I notice that while I don't have the grind aspect of the roundwound attack, I actually have a quicker and more pronounced thump from the RA. I find that ghost notes kick more, but more from a feel than sound if that makes sense.

At any rate my new Mouse is moving along, so my current one will likely find a new home soon. Then I'm pondering a Solid 4 and maybe a fretted MB-2 5-string. Then I'd sell both my Zons and just have a quad RA attack. Good thing I sold the XITS guitar amp for a profit :p
Click to expand...
 
#587
I found a used fretted, and the one I have on order is fretted. My goal was to cop a sort of P-bass vibe and have a short reach to the nut (and light weight). I've played one or two fretless mice and I'm not sure I'd do well with intonation on that scale length, especially swapping between that and 35" on the D5. That said the mice I've tried were lined fretless and those always give me fits. I did ask about putting a fretless neck on the Mouse I currently have and Rob said he'd have to check it as the bodies are done differently. You can't put a fretted neck on a Mouse that was built fretless but you sometimes can go the other way.
 
#588
I finally got a chance to use the Solid 4 tonight on one track in the studio for my upcoming project. It records very well and the single coil has that inherent "P-ness" but is different from any of my other real Ps. All of the basses actually got used at one point or another on this session; the only one that didn't was my Deep 4 (and that was the only one I used on the final tracks last time).

My hotter than normal pickup winding did cause a few problems over the DI with certain notes, so we had to watch the input level. We also ran it in parallel through my '63 B-15. It's a great match.
 
#589
Just pulled the trigger on this...

Rob Allen MB2 5FL Burl Walnut.jpg

I've been looking for something in the pre-owned market for the last 8 months or so and couldn't resist!

Cheers,
LR
 
#590
Congrats! Funny, but I just saw that today on the bassnw site. Beautiful top. Hopefully I'll have pics of a new Mouse within a week or so. Then I think I'll have to play what I've got - my bank account is hurting. Though I guess I could manage another deposit... :D
 
#591
nostatic said:
....I think the key is the piezo - it speaks differently than a mag pickup. When I listen to my RAs in a mix, I notice that while I don't have the grind aspect of the roundwound attack, I actually have a quicker and more pronounced thump from the RA.
Click to expand...

Agree! I'm not sure of the technical proof... it but to me the piezo seems to offer a tiny advantage in attack over a mag...maybe its a dynamic range? But it sounds pretty cool in the mix.
 
#593
richnota said:
Agree! I'm not sure of the technical proof... it but to me the piezo seems to offer a tiny advantage in attack over a mag...maybe its a dynamic range? But it sounds pretty cool in the mix.
Click to expand...

Rob thinks quick attack. My guess is probably a little of both. The one thing that you don't get is the grind of a roundwound string, but beyond that I'm finding that with a couple of pedals I can cover a lot of ground. I just picked up a VT Bass pedal and that is really interesting with a RA. I'm dialing towards a fliptop sound on the pedal, and it adds some clack and bite to the sound. Between the FEA dual comp, VT Bass and Paradriver I can get varying degrees of midrange cut and bite. Or I can turn everything off and have the huge bloom that is inherent in the instrument.

My take-home lessonis that people usually will pigeonhole a RA as "doing the upright thing." But I'm using it now for everything except for the tunes where I really need the roundwound grind.
 
#595
So here it is...

Big ass box!
IMG_0118.jpg


Outstanding packing job!
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My 3 1/2 year old daughter ready for the reveal...
IMG_0123.jpg


Money shots...
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IMG_0125.jpg


IMG_0128.jpg


Truly a work of art and it's absolutely mint! The was only possible because it was pre-owned. New, it would have cost somewhere in the $3400 + taxes range and that just wasn't gonna happen. I paid quite a bit less than a fairly standard MB-2 5 string (without the upgrades) would have cost new.

Gotta get to work on my intonation as it's been quite a few years since I've spent any serious time on a fretless.

Cheers,
LR

PS: Sorry for the iPhone pics.
 
#596
Buying used with anything is always a good deal. With Rob's basses I think it is ideal if you're on the fence about his instruments and are patient. Once you're hooked though, you can order exactly what you want, and assuming you keep it a long time, the cost washes out. In my case I ended up finding used examples while I had instruments on order, so I got to play while waiting.

Congrats - beautiful bass.
 
#597
Well, sent the money for the deposit on the new Deep 4. That means the old Deep 4 will go around the time of the new one coming in. It'll be a bit sad to see it go as I've had it for 7 or so years now, but I don't need two Deep 4s :)
 
#600
lgrankin said:
I want to pick up an extra set of strings. Does anyone know if the Carvin/Labella tapewounds work on a Rob Allen? Are they long enough?

Just curious as they're about half the price of the version that Rob sells.

Thanks!
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I know for sure the strings worked on my 34" scale Rob Allen basses, cant remember if I put them on my 35" MB2

The 4 and 5 string Carvin basses are 34" scale with strings through a 1.8" deep body--The strings they sell are the same Labella tapewounds you get everywhere.

So while Im not sure if they're 37" or 38" total scale...I'm pretty sure both actually work.

Im about to order a few sets will let you know.
 
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