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THE bass

Classical_Thump

Classical_Thump

Jan 26, 2005
240
0
#1
I'm a jazz player, currently in the market for a new bass. I am looking for something of an all around jazz bass. I want to be able to cop some warm, bassy upright tones, but also be able to get some clear bright mids and highs with sustain for soloing and maybe some chordal stuff. Any suggestions? I am open to fretless and 5-6 strings. Thanks!:bassist:
 
#3
Lots of options out there, but the Roscoe recommendation is an excellent one. At a minimum, it's a great starting point. I use mine on nearly all of my jazz gigs, and I capture all of the EQ options you describe with everything set flat. Palm-muting lends some uprightesque tones, and for everything else it's just a matter of moving my picking hand horizontally. Caveat...my Roscoes have Bartolini electronics. I've played a number now with various options (Nordstrand pickups and Aguilar pre-amps) and haven't been able to find a voice on them.
 
#6
hey thanks for the suggestions guys! I have checked out Roscoes in the past any the always seemed very nice to me, gotta play one soon. Laklands also seem really nice. How is the playability of the Rob Allen, I have a Michael Kelley acoustic now which I can't seem to get comfortable on.
 
#9
Yea, I don't think the acoustic is exactly what I want, but I will be sure to check it out. What about Fenders? Anyone play the Vic Bailey 5er? What about Modulus fretless basses, anyone have any comments on the sound, playability etc. of these? Thanks!
 
#12
Rob's got quite a few basses, all with an upright-y sound. He does the Deep series in a 4 and 5, and probably a 6 if you want. I know he has made the MB-2 in a 4, 5, and 6. I'm sure he could make a Mouse 5 if you wanted. Give him a call.
 
#14
I have both the Fender Victor Bailey 4 string and 5 string. I have to say they are both LOTS of fun to play, especially the four string. I think the five string design wasn't quite as well thought out as the 4 string. The heavier neck hinders the sound and funness a bit, but not too much. I string my 5 with a high C instead of low B. On the four string the phosfor bronze strings are fantastic! No one makes a high C in bronze so on the 5 I use roundwounds (not as fun).

Things to consider:
-The four string bass came with a noisy truss rod. It rattles. Fender told me they would not fix this under warranty because the noise is not amplified. Can you believe that?? In an ACOUSTIC bass guitar. Yes, very, very lame of them. I dealt with the biggest jerk at Guitar Center in Manhattan (the head of the repair shop) who first said he heard the problem, and then after speaking to Fender suddenly stopped hearing it. When confronted with the OBVIOUS noise, he told me to get lost.

-Both basses NEED a preamp upgrade (Fishman says the one they put in these basses is not for sale, doesn't meet their standards) so you'd pay another $240 or so for the "good" fishman preamp. It fits, but you have to route the side of the bass a little.

-The piezo pickup is also a problem. They went for the cheapest of the cheap.. it's something that hasn't been used in over 20 years I'm told. The fishman replacement pickup will cost you $100 + instalation.

These basses are quite fun to play at home but it's sort of hard to find musical situations where these basses fit better than a solidbody, chambererd, hollowbody, upright or electric upright bass.
 
#15
Hi Classical thump,I just read your post. Concerning the VB5 I own one. IMO, that bass has more of a passive vibe to it, as the internal preamp is very transparent (except for the mids). When you pump up the bass knob+ you play the neck pick up, you are assured to get almost an acoustic sound. The natural sound of the bass is warm du to the lamination of mahogany, rosewood and Koa on top+ Rosewood fingerboard.
Check this clip I made weeks ago:


Classical_Thump said:
Yea, I don't think the acoustic is exactly what I want, but I will be sure to check it out. What about Fenders? Anyone play the Vic Bailey 5er? What about Modulus fretless basses, anyone have any comments on the sound, playability etc. of these? Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
#16
This is a non-jazz bass suggestion, but I play a lot of jazz gigs with a combination of my Warwick Triumph upright and a Status-Graphite Streamline. The Streamline gives a very upright like tone when played over the end of the fingerboard. I found this very surprising for a graphite instrument. Try one if you get a chance. They're an amazing, do anything bass.

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#17
I play Jazz almost exclusively these days(mainly on the upright, but some electric). I would strongly strongly recommend checking out a Rob Allen. The Mouse is a short scale(30") bass, but the MB2 is a standard 34" scale. They have a killer sound. They have a bloom to the sound that you don't usually find and I think you would find that you can swing pretty hard with one. They are also very articulate sounding. I don't want to sell you just on these as there are so many great instruments out there. However if you aren't going to be playing a DB, I think these are as close as you can get. Another bass to check out would be the Rick Turner basses. They again are a chambered design.
 
#18
Given since the OP hasn't posted since April, I think he made his selection by now. ;)

In regards to the Rob Allen questions, I don't believe the Deep is available as a 6er. I tried to get a Mouse 5 string going, but ultimately gave up because nobody was serious enough to go in to split the design and tooling costs. Both the MB2 is available in 32" scale as a 5er (high C) and supposedly sounds about the way a Mouse 5 string would sound. On a Deep or MB2 with the active 2 band, you can really nail the Mouse 30 sound anyway.
 

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