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Show Us Your Rob Allen Basses Part II

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#666
Mouse fretless. Walnut neck, ebony unlined fingerboard, black hardware. Should make a good 1-2 punch with this

mf-1.jpg
 
#668
kai_ski said:
Rob should just switch to black hardware. I think it's just the perfect touch for these, and I'm usually not a fan of any color but silver/chrome hardware.
Click to expand...

I considered black hardware for my new D4 and discussed it with Rob. He feels certain woods and styles look better with brushed aluminum, but the final decision was up to me. After mulling it over I decided brushed aluminum was better for my bass and went with his suggestion.
 
#669
I'm actually trying to decide which color straplocks to put on my new to me Koa mouse. On a natural wood bass, I've been going gold :eek: because I like the way it compliments all the warmth. It has the brushed aluminum tuners which with the matching headstock I agree is good contrast (versus black). The "silver" straplocks listed on Musician's Friend are shiney nickel. Anyone know if there are "brushed aluminum" straplocks?

Would it be a terrible fou pas to have non-matching tuners and strap buttons?
 
#670
I think the straplocks are pretty subtle so different color wouldn't be the end of the world. Once you go black you can't go back...though the Solid 4 of course has aluminum bridge and chrome tuners. Though the bridge likely could be anodized black and you can get black cloverleaf tuners. Hmmm....

Naw...probably wouldn't fit the retro vibe.
 
#672
Took my Koa Mouse to jam with my Jazz combo today. The first thing they said when it came out of the case, "Wow, that thing is tiny." The first thing they said after the first number, "that thing's a keeper!"

Tone sat very well in the mix. Lots of puffy tone during walks in the choruses, nice mwah and bite during solos. A little rough still getting used to 20 "frets" instead of my usual 24 which gives me a whole new fingerboard above 12th position. 20 inch scale was very nice on the hands!:hyper::hyper::hyper:
 
#673
Last night I had a jazz gig and took all three (for a one-hour set - total overkill I know). I blame my g/f as I was only going to bring a pair and she said to bring them all. Then today funk rehearsal and took the Mouse and the Solid 4. I have video from last night that I'm cutting right now - audio is passable so it'll be an interesting compare and contrast.

I can say that the Solid 4 sounds freaking awesome. I haven't had a proper P-bass to compare it to, but recalling my Sadowsky PJ that I had (which I really liked), the tone of the S4 is very different. Rounder and more articulate whereas the Sadowsky had more bite and cut...which you'd kinda expect from the active preamp. For the funk stuff today I swapped back and forth between the two. Both work, with the Mouse being stupid-easy to play and manage, but without the edge of the roundwounds. The S4 just flat out killed. It just sits in the mix and support the music. I may have to find another P-bass or two...now I know why I've never liked J-basses :p
 
#675
JxBass said:
One reason I let the S4 go is that my fretted MB2 with an S4 pickup sounds virtually identical, so Rob's pickup design obviously has a lot to do with that nice tone.
Click to expand...

I'll have to ask Rob the story on a 5-string mag pup. Then I could really help raise the bar in out of control bass buying...

A compare/contrast from this weekend:

Deep5:
 
#677
Here are few Rob Allen clips for you guys. These are from rough mixes of my new project which I will probably complete next spring.

First up is the Deep 4:
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I'll probably do a bit of EQing in the final mix on the D4. It's a mix of both a DI as well as going into my B-15N.

Next is the Solid 4:
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This one is also DI and going through the B-15N.
 
#679
Joe Smithberger said:
Maybe I am biased because I have a fretless Mouse, but I thought the fretted Mouse was a real standout on those videos. I was surprised that the notes sill bloomed like that on the fretted version - very, very nice.
Click to expand...

I too am amazed how 'DBish' my fretted Mouse sounds in the right context. It won't growl and bloom on those big ballad whole notes, but once the band is swinging, there would be very few who would realize it is fretted (and many wouldn't realize it wasn't a DB in some live settings without a visual cue).

I prefer the tone of my fretless, but my intonation is just not up to par to use it in many settings (i.e., swinging up tempo while reading).

LOVE the fretted mouse. I posted a clip earlier in this thread of mine.... in case some haven't heard it, here is another example of the fretted Mouse tone:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#680
KJung said:
I prefer the tone of my fretless, but my intonation is just not up to par to use it in many settings (i.e., swinging up tempo while reading).
Click to expand...

Actually, this is where I thought my Mouse really performed. At the jam last Sunday, someone called "Perdido" which I maybe played once or twice before so my nose was definately in the book. He must have had a latte before we got together since he counted it in and we were off to the races. I did my usual MO of hanging as much as possible in first position and using as many open strings as possible (some good disipline from DB lessons) and it wasn't bad. As a matter of fact, I found it even easer to be in tune as I didn't have as far to reach for the next position.

But don't ask me, I still have that new Rob Allen owner smell.:hiding:
 
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