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The bass for now!

#161
Rip Van Dan said:
Well, turning corn into ethanol is also a big net loss of energy (takes more energy to make it than you get from using it) and on a much grander scale. Doesn't mean they don't do it. The Steam/Natural Gas Reforming method is currently used for 95% of current hydrogen production. Let's hope that solar/membrane conversion method takes off!
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Just because they do it does not mean it should be done. Ethanol is corrosive to fuel tanks and engines, particularly aluminum components.
 
#163
coyote1 said:
Just because they do it does not mean it should be done. Ethanol is corrosive to fuel tanks and engines, particularly aluminum components.
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I agree, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

You know, Ethanol cleans the heck out of the fuel system. During the first "gas shortage" back in the 70's there was a gas station in Oregon where I filled up on Ethanol. Did that twice before the car started cutting out (1976 Honda Civic 1200). Luckily, I did all my own work on cars (my brother and I opened a Tune-up/Car Repair shop a few years later) and I recognized it as fuel starvation. Checked the fuel filter first thing (easily accessible that year) and sure enough it was clogged. Replaced it and bought a second one and about a week later, had to replace it again. After that I used regular gas it ran just fine. So it really cleaned out the fuel system and when you looked down the barrel of the carburetor, it was clean as a whistle. Then I found out that habitual use would go well beyond the "cleaning the fuel system" stage and right into corroding it. I only used it for two fill-ups (12-gallon tank IIRC) and vowed, never again.

And I have to laugh a bit about ethanol/gasoline mix being used as cleaner-burning fuel than regular gas fuel. Yes it does burn 10% cleaner than gas without it, but there's a 10% mileage penalty for using it. So you have to use 10% more fuel to go the same distance you could with "normal gas". You use 10% more fuel producing 10% more emissions than the the non-ethanol gas. So much for the emissions savings!

And to top it all off, it takes more energy to convert corn to ethanol than the energy you actually get out of the ethanol. I actually drive about 40-miles away to get non-ethanol gas for my generator. I borrowed a nice Honda inverter generator that worked once just fine. Then a month later wouldn't start. Come to find out you not only have to use non-ethanol gas, you have to be sure to drain the carburetor after you finish using it. Otherwise it gums up the carburetor and clogs the jets. That was not a cheap repair. I have a Craftsman inverter generator now which says it can use regular gas, but I feed it the non-ethanol gas just to be safe. We can sometimes be without power for 4 or 5 days where I live in the Pacific Northwest, and a properly working generator is a must.
 
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#165
In my career as an electronic engineer I worked on some of the most modern electronic widgets.

In spite of all that modernity, as far as my basses go, I'm in more of an "If it ain't broke..." frame of mind.

Two of my favorite designs are the '51 P bass and early '60s Danelectro Silvertone 1444. However, I'm not a total luddite because I will allow a humbucking pickup and 4 saddle bridge on my '51 style bass.
 
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#166
retslock said:
I don’t care that my bass is the same shape and layout of so many other basses. I don’t care that it sounds similar to so many other basses or that it’s an old design. I didn’t pick it up to break new ground. I don’t have an issue with those who want to innovate but I started out for the sheer joy of making music. I just happen to be doing that on an electric bass. It does what I want it to very nicely. It might have been a piano except my parents traded ours in on a tv set when I was five years old. It’s music that interests me, not the esoterica of the bass guitar so the fact that the bass I play is quite an old concept sits fine with me. I imagine orchestral players might feel a similar way.
I’ve seen some very interesting and attractive new designs but I don’t have any desire to own one. They won’t make me play any better nor will they make me any more creative. The music is in me, not the the wooden thing with wires on it.
New stuff can be interesting but some old stuff is good too. The basic concept of the bass guitar has endured and I believe it will for a long time yet. The physical, tactile sensation of playing an instrument is alluring, has an expressive immediacy and is great fun. That part doesn’t demand innovation.
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Great post !
 
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#167
ficelles said:
That reminds me of the early Roland synth guitars - the bar was to damp neck resonance I think for better synth tracking.
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I remember selling that back in 1985 at a music store in Portland, OR that is no longer there. It had a pedalboard sized piece that you plugged it into so you could make it sound like just about anything...never did care for it personally and it wasn't cheap, but we did sell a 2 or 3 of them.
 
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#169
kodiakblair said:
I've no idea :D

After decades with bolt on/neck through , passive/active, 4/5/6 strings, pegheads/sans peghead, maple/mahogany/laminate necks, 1/2/3 pickups , carbon rods/no carbon rods, 100% graphite or 90/10 carbon/maple necks etc.

I'm back to the humble single coil P-bass :roflmao:
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Yeah, I still play my passive PJ. I have had active (Sabre) but still prefer passive at the end of the day.

I think that the future might actually be more in the hands of the player rather than minor technical innovations. Perhaps a new Jaco will emerge and we will all try to play like him. Or Joe Dart - his technique is innovative and flawless - maybe he is the future of bass? I sure like to think so.
 

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