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Swiss Army Basses

#121
I had two L2500s, at different times. While I COULD get a lot of sounds out of it(which is why I sought it out originally), I ultimately never found any of them to be exactly quite right(for me), in particular in the studio. Not that I expected it to sound exactly like other basses, but I dunno, it just didn't speak/sit in the mix the way I'd hoped…. Too bad really, as it was one of the best-built, most comfortable to play basses I've ever owned.
If I had to pick a do-it-all bass now from my quiver (as I don't play fivers anymore) it'd be my J with DiMarzio Model J's (I can get "sort of" a P sound with the neck pickup solo'd) strung with Chromes, and then using a variety of techniques--pick, fingers, thumb, foam mute, different plucking/picking positions, etc.
 
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#122
Line 6 Variax Bass
LINE6VariaxKnobs.l.jpg
 
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#123
Honestly I think, despite never owning one, the L2000 is the best 'studio bass' I've ever played. I never bought one because I just don't like the look of them but they are incredibly versatile, really underrated basses.

I don't really bother with versatility any more. I buy jazzes and wire them in series and that works for me. I also really like Thumb basses which have such an idiosyncratic sound you couldn't call them versatile in any way, but I had to sell mine to put a deposit on a house last summer. So it goes. :)
 
#124
Fender Roscoe Beck, hands down the most versatile passive bass there is and the best production bass Fender has ever built. Not that many out there unfortunately, so not too many people know just how good they are. MM Sabre, Big Al SSS and Reflex HSS are are also very flexible actually any MM with multiple pickups is going to give you a ton of tones.
 
#130
I agree. Whenever I have a bass like an L2K or an HS-configured EBMM et al, I always end up saying "This is nice, but I wish it sounded more like an authentic P-bass or Jazz". Also I can't deal with a bass with too many switches, dials and selectors, I always get mixed up and end up craving a simple passive Fender that just sounds like itself.
 
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#131
Stranger Danger said:
Having owned a few so called Swiss Army knife basses, I can say that a bass that's supposed to sound like a lot of different things ends up sounding like nothing in particular.
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Honestly, that's what I found with the L2500. As I say, I had two at different times over the years(a USA and a Trib), so I certainly gave it a go! I REALLY wanted it to work for me--loved the feel of those basses. Built like tanks. I liked the bare-bones, workhorse look too. C'est la vie I guess. I know some folks love them (and of course L2000s) in the studio but I could just never dial it in quite right.
 
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#132
In my opinion, the less you screw around with your tone the better it sounds. I use a P bass plugged into a Bass Terror 500. I set things up at soundcheck and then leave it alone.
If i need different tones i switch between pick, fingers, and use hand position etc. I do use the tone knob a little.

Considering i have no way of knowing how changes i would make to my tone would affect front of house, i prefer not to do it.

A good friend of mine is a sound engineer, he tells me the only thing you achieve by constantly fooling around with your tone and EQ is annoying the soundguy and getting lowered in the mix.
 
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#133
pbass2 said:
I had two L2500s, at different times. While I COULD get a lot of sounds out of it(which is why I sought it out originally), I ultimately never found any of them to be exactly quite right(for me), in particular in the studio. Not that I expected it to sound exactly like other basses, but I dunno, it just didn't speak/sit in the mix the way I'd hoped…. Too bad really, as it was one of the best-built, most comfortable to play basses I've ever owned.
If I had to pick a do-it-all bass now from my quiver (as I don't play fivers anymore) it'd be my J with DiMarzio Model J's (I can get "sort of" a P sound with the neck pickup solo'd) strung with Chromes, and then using a variety of techniques--pick, fingers, thumb, foam mute, different plucking/picking positions, etc.
Click to expand...

Hey brotha' ..... My OP was really intended for live situations such as the ones I do that require fast changes to tonal variances. Yeah, my G&L is (so far) the best for this...but I agree with you: As great as that bass is to me live, it oddly isnt the best bass for the studio work that I do - It dooesn't seem to sit on tracks the way I want them to, even on sessions Im hired for. To make a long story short - I generally never use it in the studio (except on some personal demos like the link in my sig, which is all G&L), usually always first opting for my 2004 Jazz. My Yamaha TRBX - 305 for five-string (thats right, my $300 Yamaha sits better on tracks in most applications I do in a studio setting than my $1800 Carvin does for 5ver needs :D)...I usually bring a small gaggle of basses (is "gaggle" the plural form of basses?) for studio work anyway (usually always including one of my fretlesses) where speed isnt of the essence in dialing in sounds so Swiss Army basses arent really required

I guess what Im saying is, for me, playing in a "no dead time" function band live is a lot different than studio, and I agree with you about the G&L -- it is a mystery to me why its greatness for me as a live instrument isnt mirrored in the studio, so I feel ya there

For ppl reading this, YMMV of course
 
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#134
carlos840 said:
A good friend of mine is a sound engineer, he tells me the only thing you achieve by constantly fooling around with your tone and EQ is annoying the soundguy and getting lowered in the mix.
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thats a new one to me......I play bass for a living and Ive been doing that for the better part of 30 years and I usually get compliments from Sound Guys...........I cant think of one time Ive had a complaint <shrug>
 
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#136
My life is probably easier. I have a lot of different gigs where I like different sounds, but don't have a gig that requires a lot of different sounds in the same gig. I switch between upright and electric, which provides a lot of contrast. The only real variation on electric is going from pick/fingers/side of thumb and the tone knob seems to get me where I need to go. I've never been one to try to recreate say a MM tone on a Jazz or whatever. If you can cop the feel of the song no ones gonna argue what bass was originally used, I'm thinking. That's for my gigs at least :)
 
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#137
dukeorock said:
If you can cop the feel of the song no ones gonna argue what bass was originally used, I'm thinking. That's for my gigs at least :)
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I do agree with you here.......the four settings I listed in the OP are the ones I use the most, with the "both pickups dimed" on about 80% of it -- Its not like Im constantly tweaking for each and every song during a set....On the few songs punctuated throughout any given set that I do switch sounds, it usually takes me less than a few seconds to setup for a different tonal variance: Select a pickup, roll down highs (if required), step on Zoom B3 (if required)....When doing a song like "Smooth Operator" by Sade, or "New York Minute" by Don Henley, it does add to the flavor for me to dial in a "faux fretless" to make it really work - especially that the bass parts are so dominant - and its hardly any effort for me to do so. Switching a pickup to front, series switch- Boom - Instant P-Bass in less than a second for songs like "Tornado" by Little Big Town. Throwing the bass on my back to play "What Have You Done For Me Lately" by Janet Jackson or "Moves Like Jagger" on a keyboard to actually play synth bass patch isnt a big deal either.

Im sure if I just brought a Jazz Bass, put it on "Set It And Forget It", I wouldnt get fired from any of my situations, as this is what most players do.......but I do have reputation in my area for being able to cop all these things so if it aids in me scoring more gig$, helps me stand apart from the competition for the same gig$ or "hired gun" gig$, and it takes such minimal effort to do it, why not? :D
 
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#138
I've also found that in the studio, usually I'm getting asked for a somewhat specific tone - a P,
Rib 13 said:
Hey brotha' ..... My OP was really intended for live situations such as the ones I do that require fast changes to tonal variances. Yeah, my G&L is (so far) the best for this...but I agree with you: As great as that bass is to me live, it oddly isnt the best bass for the studio work that I do - It dooesn't seem to sit on tracks the way I want them to, even on sessions Im hired for. To make a long story short - I generally never use it in the studio (except on some personal demos like the link in my sig, which is all G&L), usually always first opting for my 2004 Jazz. My Yamaha TRBX - 305 for five-string (thats right, my $300 Yamaha sits better on tracks in most applications I do in a studio setting than my $1800 Carvin does for 5ver needs :D)...I usually bring a small gaggle of basses (is "gaggle" the plural form of basses?) for studio work anyway (usually always including one of my fretlesses) where speed isnt of the essence in dialing in sounds so Swiss Army basses arent really required

I guess what Im saying is, for me, playing in a "no dead time" function band live is a lot different than studio, and I agree with you about the G&L -- it is a mystery to me why its greatness for me as a live instrument isnt mirrored in the studio, so I feel ya there

For ppl reading this, YMMV of course
Click to expand...
I hear ya. Yeah, man, I could get A LOT of sounds out of the L2500. I can see that it could be a killer solution for live when you need a lot of variety on tap quickly - I just somehow never got to where I could land on the right tones consistently! I think if I had used it more for gigging at the time I would have gotten more familiar with it. I too have a beater that kills in the studio - a cheap Franken P that records often better than my USA Lakland Glaub.
But I LOVE G&L--I have my sights on a new LB100 for my next bass…..
 
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#139
Barry Bass said:
I agree with Emanuel. A also have an Adamovic and I can make it sounds like most 'normal' Fender sounds.


View attachment 773346
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Beautiful bass Barry. What´s the fingerboard wood?

I have an Adamovic Eclipse fretless buing built right now. It´s actually a Carte Blanche bass. The only spec I know about it is a 34" unlined fretless and the model, everything else I let Nikola to choose every thing. And I trust blindly in Nikola´s criteria, he really knows what he´s doing.
 

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