So,we like hi-fidelity...well some of us do.

Why do we all have to agree on what sounds good?

 

My take on the Cirrus

Best feeling bass out there

Second worse sounding bass out there (to any Spector)

But that's why its a free world

 

While my main bass is a nice Warwick Bolt-on, I switch back to my Fender Frankenstein bass (all sorts of parts from all sorts of Fenders) all the time. It just plain feels good to play...

This thread's topic is better suited to my taste in amps. While I do have a good rig, I never complain about some crappy backlined amps (except when they're underpowered or inappropriately sized for the gig). Usually, the other bass players will whine about the equipment, whereas in the back of my head I'm always thinking "quit your whining and just play!"

 

I thought this was going to be about recordings...

Fidelity...

So someone was talking about how the production on the Beatles stuff sounds dated but the stuff like the Beach Boys and the Stones' stuff sounds better 40 years down the line. I don't agree with that.

There's a give and take with any sort of instrument/rig setup. For me, it's passive pickups and a high powered SS rig. I like active pickups in a live setting- more "cut." But as far as a recorded tone- that 'cut' doesn't translate into sitting in the mix where I want it to. By the same token, running any bass through a tube rig is just to "soft" around the edges for what I want to hear.

YMMV...

 

I don't need hi-fi when I play. I use it to listen to recorded music.

When I play, I want to be Duck Dunn or Jack Bruce. And if you've ever listened to Jack Bruce in his Cream days, he was the farthest thing from hi-fi you could imagine.

 

Man, I can't settle on one over the other. Sometimes a Spector into a GK w/a Schroeder cab is the coolest.
But, then hearing a '51 P on a Mesa amp pushing an EV loaded MB 2x15 just... HOO-YAH!

Am I alone in wanting everything??

 

What does hi-fi mean when it comes to bass playing ? I know what it usually refers to, but really ?
Hi-fi for a sound reproduction system means as true to the source as possible. No argument here.
What's the meaning of this for a bass system ? True to what ? The zingy sound of the strings ? The lowless tone of the unamplified instrument ? The output signal from the bass, regardless of what the pickup does ?
It is a vague concept isn't it ?

 

I tend to think of the phrase Hi-Fi, when attributed to cabs, amps, and basses, as the opposite of the Motown sound, and that's generally been a decent guide when I hear people discuss it or read threads on it. Uncolored is another way to put it, I suppose.

Which is why I disagree with the initial statement--if I woke up tomorrow with a hi-fi tone, I'd bawl my eyes out.

 

Good point.

I think a lot of bassists favor the vintage flavor and a small amount will favor hi-fi. An even smaller amount like me enjoys it all.

No doubt that the Cirrus is a very comfortable bass and is quite capable of action that's only available on boutique basses that cost twice as much. In the used department, there is no better value period!

 

The Cirrus is a great instrument, but they just don't work for me. A friend of mine plays a 5 string Cirrus, and I like what he does with it a lot. I'm not so enthusiastic about the tone when I'm the guy playing it however.

I guess I'm a lo-fi passive type of guy.

 

I always end up with a Modern Hi-Fi sounding rig. Right now GenzBenz NeoPak, Pedalboard, and two different modded Schecter basses with custom Kent Armstrong pickups and Aguilar OBP-3 preamps. One HH and one J/MM config.

Probably a combination of all the parts more than anything for me.

 

I know people that I consider Hi-Fi. They don't buy anything that isn't "boutique".

I mean, I know the owner of a $100 cable, saying it has a broader frequency range.

But has anyone lookied at the wire INSIDE your bass recently? It might be different on a really expensive Alembic or Fodera, but the wire inside is typically far from Hi-Fi.

 

To elaborate, I always think of this clip when I think of "Hi-Fi" bass tone.



Jeff's a fantastic player, to be sure, and his tone totally works for him, but, like Phalex, that sound doesn't work for me as a bassist.

 

We don't all have to agree, that's why there is so much gear out there. However, I was just thinking the same thing. All this talk about old school, tube, vintage, etc. makes me wonder if I'm the only one who likes my "hi-fi" or "modern" tone. Active bass, SS amp, etc.

 

I agree--I consider that hi-fi and for me as a bassist, that sound doesn't work. However, that is some of the most amazing jammin' I've ever heard!