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The Knuckle Quake 39.5" Scale Bass Thread

#41
I'm not being sarcastic or mean but that track does not have a great mix at all(and since it was mastered that's even worse) If the track is to show case the low frequency capabilities of what Skips basses are capable of achieving then it doesn't do it there. The bass is totally lost in the mix, almost to the point that there is no bass in it.

That's one of the problems I noticed with a lot of engineers and producers when it comes to dealing with extremely low frequency levels. They just don't get it.

Do you mind me asking, what was your recording process in attempting to capture the low frequencies.
 
#42
Guys, the purpose of the tracks was not to showcase the bass, our main purpose was to record our songs. I know it doesn't show off what Skip's basses are capable of, and I am a little disappointed by that, but that wasn't the engineers fault, it was mine. To be honest, I suck, and I've made that clear in the past. I especially sucked in the studio, it was my first time recording bass (I've been in the studio as a vocalist several times) and due to limited time, I was never able to find a comfort level.

When I listened to my raw bass tracks, I loved the natural sound of the Quake, but I was not pleased with my performance. Unfortunately the bass track had to be blended in a bit to hide a flawed performance and I knew that prior to the mix. When I listened to the mix, I wished my bass was more defined and pronounced, but I knew that couldn't be done unless I recorded them again, which was just not possible.

I used to try to use my 5th string (G#0) sparingly b/c it was just too muddy on a standard bass, so these tracks don't necessarily have a whole lot of lines that would have showcased extremely low frequencies. I had Skip's bass for about a week before we started recording. Since time was a factor I didn't try to incorporate more low stuff. In retrospect, I probably could have found time to at least change a few things... The lowest I probably go in any of those 5 tracks is at the end of "Bury It"

Anyway, sorry you guys don't like the mix, myself and my bandmates are very pleased with it. I guess that's because I'm honest with myself and my abilities as a bassist. I'll have my 5 string Quake soon, I'll record some raw stuff at home for you guys to show case the abilities of Skip's bass.
 
#44
Well the only things that would've done the bass justice and let it's capabilities shine would have been more time or a better bassist ;)

Aside from that, since I'm an amateur, I'm interested in hearing your opinion and or advice about the rest of the mix. Like I said, aside form the bass, I love the mix and feel that it captured our sound.
 
#47
Low D. said:
About the Knuckle btw, I ve seen it in a Bass Player add and got me wondering how it really sounds and all. Price and headstock was surely a turn off, but I still wondering how low can it go.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, it can go an octave below standard E.

Thanks for the kind words regarding the track. Trust me, boosting the bass track would have changed your opinion of my playing lol.
 
#48
Bass Below said:
Trust me, boosting the bass track would have changed your opinion of my playing lol.
Click to expand...

No it wont. I can hear your playing even that low... boosting it as I said it will make the track come alive. And stop thinking that about your playing, you havent heard bad playing maybe. Especially in a band situation even a mediocre player with his own style its something really special, or else they would already kick you out of the band and not let you even record with them. ;) So, boost that bottom end or they will start liking the track without a bass and they will not need a bass player no more! lol
 
#49
Bass Below said:
Aside from that, since I'm an amateur, I'm interested in hearing your opinion and or advice about the rest of the mix. Like I said, aside form the bass, I love the mix and feel that it captured our sound.
Click to expand...


I just would have had the bass more even and pronounced in the mix and a cleaner mix overall and again really take advantage of the basses low end range.
 
#54
idoru said:
I understand why the scale length is important, but that headstock is ... let's call it polarizing, to be fair.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on that. It's ugly! However I started looking
at how the tuners are arranged for string length and having
a straight line pull; the headstock seems to be made from
a pure engineering concept, rather than being merely pretty.

The rest of the bass has definite ' pretty factor' to it
as far as looks go.It seems to be the right stuff quality wise
for the concept of this unique design.
 
#55
I've always been interested in this bass. Thanks to modern medicine, I can play 35" 5's again with no pain :rolleyes: I guess I could handle a longer scale. I wish the website was more informative. I'm very critical of headstock designs and the Quake doesn't bother me at all. I think it fits the bass well. It doesn't look like a hamburger flipper, billboard or an AC Moose Snout :D

Does anyone know if they have a showroom or a place where you can play one in Seatle?? I have friends and customers there and checking out a Knuckle would be a good excuse to take a trip!!
 
#56
FL Knifemaker said:
Does anyone know if they have a showroom or a place where you can play one in Seatle?? I have friends and customers there and checking out a Knuckle would be a good excuse to take a trip!!
Click to expand...

No showroom that I know of, but if you contact Skip, he can hook you up with someone that has one. His customers all seem to be the type of people who would be more than willing to meet up and let you check out their Knuckles!

As far as the scale, I don't think you'd have any problems. I adjusted to it in minutes, and I've been playing 34" my whole life.
 
#57
Look what the FedEx man brought me :D

FretlessBlack.jpg


I got her on Tuesday and it's been hard to put her down since then.

Just some quick thoughts, which I'll add to as I get more and more time with her:

Fit and finish are unmatched. All contours and angles are perfectly executed. The black shellac finish is flawless everywhere. Fretless board with inlaid white lines, I can't find a gap, bump or valley anywhere. It's as if it is all one piece, as smooth and perfect as Jessica Biel's rear end.

The sustain is like nothing I've ever experienced. I strapped it on, plugged it into my amp and just hit the open low string, (in my case it's a G#)... I waited and waited but the note wouldn't die. It didn't even decay into an unrecognizable tone, it remained the same tone and pitch as it was the instant I struck the string. Absolutely amazing. You can almost feel the stability of the neck just by looking at it.

I asked Skip to make my bass sound very natural with the simplest passive electronics scheme possible. He did just that. What you hear when shes plugged in is this bass in it's purest form, nothing colored or camouflaged at all. It has 2 Duncan basslines pickups, a stacked volume/volume (one for each p/u) and a master tone. No coil splitters or anything like that, I didn't want any of that. The sound is pure, crystal clear and GIGANTIC. It just fills the room with big clean sound, no mud at all.

I joked with Skip about the weight... when you lay eyes on the Quake, it looks gigantic... perfectly proportioned and extremely graceful and classy, but gigantic nonetheless... so I open the case for the first time and see this beast, I go to pick it up and almost throw it through the ceiling! It is so unbelievably light! The thought and planning put into the ergonomics is immeasureable. I had the bass strapped on for approximately 5 hours the other night and barely even felt it there.

Speaking of ergonomics, I'm a short guy, maybe 5'5" on a good day. Short arms and fingers. I've done some serious damage to every joint in my arms and hands from an amateur boxing career that lasted most of my life to this point. I play on this 39.5" scale as if it were a 34", no exaggeration. I told Skip that it took me longer to adjust my strap than it did to adjust to the much longer scale length. The way he has it designed, the first fret is really no farther away from your body than it is on a standard bass. I rehearsed with my band just a couple of hours after strapping the Quake on for the first time and I never missed a note, I never strained to reach a note. It's amazing.

My only complaint is that I'm going to have to spend a lot of time rewriting many of my bass lines. The ability of this bass to produce clear notes well below the range of most standard scale length instruments opens up new worlds for me. In the past there was so much stuff that I could hear in my head while writing songs with my band that my instrument just couldn't reproduce with useable clarity. I was forced to play passages in a higher register, which detracted from the mood that the song could have had.

I set out on a mission to get the best of all worlds. The Knuckle Quake got me there. I couldn't be more pleased.

IMG_2480.jpg
 
#58
Congrats!

I stayed subscribed to this thread waiting to read your thoughts on the Quake once you received it. Skip is building me a 6-string Quake (F# B E A D G) which should be ready in a couple months or so, and I'm very excited to get to play it.

I'm glad to hear how happy you are with your bass. I was a little surprised to hear that it was fretless -- I saw the pics of it on another thread and couldn't tell...
 
#59
Can anyone post a close up side by side of a 34" scale bass and this thing, showing the first 5 frets or so lined up to each other?

It's taking me some time to feel totally comfortable on my Modulus, which has a 35 inch scale. On simple lines it didn't make a difference, but playing fast and complex lines (Jaco/Wooten like stuff), double stops, and chords has taken quite a bit of getting used to. For example, I've been able to cleanly play the intro riff on Opus Pocus at tempo, for some time now on my Warwick (34"). When I first got the Modulus, it was a struggle to play well at all.

It seems to me that a 39.5" scale, at almost half a foot longer than a standard bass would make some things (awkward reaches, artifical harmonics, chords) all but impossible to play.
 
#60
TFunkadelic said:
Can anyone post a close up side by side of a 34" scale bass and this thing, showing the first 5 frets or so lined up to each other?

It seems to me that a 39.5" scale, at almost half a foot longer than a standard bass would make some things (awkward reaches, artifical harmonics, chords) all but impossible to play.
Click to expand...


I'll get some shots of it side by side with a 34" at some point tonight and post them for you.

I haven't had a problem reaching anything yet and like I said, I don't necessarily have the best physical attributes for playing bass. I don't play anything quite as intricate as some of what you mentioned, but in general you adapt to the extra scale length very quickly. I doubt you'd have any problem.
 

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