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Just picked up this 2012 Mbass 33/6 from Dan at LAG (He Rocks BTW) It was on display at NAMM 2014.
It's by far the best 6 string I've ever laid hands on, perfect balance, playability and unreal tone. It's chambered mahogany and pretty
lightweight also. The electronics are DEAD SILENT no matter how you have it set, even in single coil mode.
Gerald and Co. really know how to make a bass.
It's by far the best 6 string I've ever laid hands on, perfect balance, playability and unreal tone. It's chambered mahogany and pretty
lightweight also. The electronics are DEAD SILENT no matter how you have it set, even in single coil mode.
Gerald and Co. really know how to make a bass.
Nice grab!
Yes, it doesn't get much better than Dan at LAG. He's a good friend to us at BGM.
I also found that my MBass is very quiet even in "single coil" mode, which makes me wonder if it's really a true single-coil config, or, more like a single sensing with a humbucking coil somewhere else (like some other vendors have done).
my MBass sounds so good passive I actually play it passive more than active, which is unique for me, and also very much in line with Gerald's thinking, which is why passive is kind of the "default" mode.
And like you, I find Marleaux basses to be superb when it comes to construction and playability.
Finally, I find the combination of single/parallel/series modes between the pickups to be both more versatile as well as less intuitive in tonal results. In other words, lots of very interesting and usable results when mixing modes, but not ones I'd have anticipated before trying.
I wish I'd discovered Dan a long time ago, in a very short time I was able to find new homes for two of my basses and buy a Glockenlang Blue Sky and this unreal Marleaux Mbass. Never would have happened if not for Dan's help.
I like the passive mode on the Mbass as well, in conjunction with the eq on the Bue Sky it sounds almost like a supercharged vintage Jazz bass.
I agree with you on the less intuitive but really effective use of the mixed coil modes on both pickups, trying to commit my favorite setting to memory but there are so many interesting combinations of switch settings/eq/balance and hand position that I'm having trouble remembering!
One thing I notice about this bass is that there is no need for a really aggressive attack which I often employed to get a percussive tone on other instruments.
the Mbass gives back a tremendous amount of tone with very little effort and when you dig in a little more you begin to get all this added color and growl that i've never heard from any other bass, not even the 36/5 Fodera I owned a few years ago.
Nice playing on you band's demo BTW!
Hi guys, these basses are awesome, I want to join this club. My Diva 5.
Yeah, Gerald is REALLY big into the whole thing about how an instrument should sound good on its own, which is why passive mode is his default. I must say I've been extremely happy with the overall tone, balance, playability, and the focus/punch on the B is superb. Not overbearing and also not missing anything.
Thanks!
Love the Diva, the finish on your's is gorgeous! One of these is next on my list!
Anyone have experience with the '90s single-pickup (MM) Consat Straights? I've been admiring one from afar and am tempted to make the plunge but am not usually a single-pickup guy and wondered about tonal versatility and right-hand position. Any feedback welcome!
What specific information are you looking for? Since I have not owned any Marleaux basses with anything but the programable EQ I can't really speak to how it compares to the "standard" one. But, I obviously have a lot of experience with it.
Are you looking to retrofit one into an existing Marleaux? It is a great preamp, don't get me wrong. But, it's also quite expensive. So, personally, if I had a Marleaux I was already quite happy with. I am not sure I would spend the money just to get the programable preamp. It's a nice feature, but I am not sure it's totally necessary if you already have one. Now, if you are looking to order a new Marleaux and looking at the preamp as an option. That may be a different story. I don't think the "uplift" cost would be too terribly high. Maybe $200 or so (total guess) In the end, give Gerald a call and pick his brain. He is very good about talking on phone. Email is a not always as good. he's a bit slower to respond to email. So, give him a call.
I agree.
On my MBass, I rarely even engage my EQ at all. Play it passively probably 90% of the time.
I played a Consat Straight 4 string for roughly 5 years, later sold it and got a Börjes (Boerjes) 5 string Jazz.
The Straights are Marleaux's version of a Sting Ray if you will, very straight (duh?) forward, no nonsense basses with top notch playability and very affordable.
Regarding the one pickup thing: it worked great for me. The bass had a switch for 1) single coil, 2) humbucker parallel, 3) humbucker serial (very phat) plus an active / passive 3 band EQ; lots of tone options.
I for one had no problems whatsoever with my right hand. Sometimes when I played straight ahead jazz walking lines, a neck pickup would have been nice as a thumb rest, but I just plucked the strings above the last two frets (nice almost upright-ish tone). If you're interested, I could send you an mp3 playing my Straight with a 4 piece jazz band.
Why did I sell it? I wanted a five string and the Börjes bass I had just discovered back then sounded better to me than the straight (direct a/b).
I still play that Börjes 5 up to this very day, but Marleaux basses are definitely superbly built instruments.
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Probably a wise choice. I don't really see a big advantage over the standard preamp.
