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Which bass is which? A comparison.

Which clip sounds best?

  • Total voters
    43
#21
Number 1 definitely seemed like a P type of tone to me. Definitely the most balanced across all frequencies and the one that I'd choose for this genre of music. Fit in the mix like a glove and supported the song nicely. I'd guess it's the Reverend.

Number 2 was...I don't know, weird. Not much to say. Lacked some low end and was too hi-fi for my taste. Probably the Curcio.

Number 3 definitely sounded more agressive and modern but retained a lot of character. It was a great tone and I can see why people would like it but not fit for this type of music. I'd play it in a lot more agressive way and in heavier genres. Obviously it's the Dingwall (if it's not I'm stupid).

Thanks for the clips and great playing. ;)
 
#22
Kyuuga said:
Number 1 definitely seemed like a P type of tone to me. Definitely the most balanced across all frequencies and the one that I'd choose for this genre of music. Fit in the mix like a glove and supported the song nicely. I'd guess it's the Reverend.

Number 2 was...I don't know, weird. Not much to say. Lacked some low end and was too hi-fi for my taste. Probably the Curcio.

Number 3 definitely sounded more aggressive and modern but retained a lot of character. It was a great tone and I can see why people would like it but not fit for this type of music. I'd play it in a lot more agressive way and in heavier genres. Obviously it's the Dingwall (if it's not I'm stupid).

Thanks for the clips and great playing. ;)
Click to expand...


DING! DING! DING!

We have a winner! The first person to correctly identify each bass and identify the exact characteristics of each bass. Good ears Kyuuga!

Clip #1 is the Reverend. It's a better P bass than any P bass I've ever played. The clip was with both pickups balanced, but if you solo the neck pickup it's a damn P bass...and a good one at that. The flats just complete the P package.

Clip #2 is the Curcio bass. I had the preamp set flat, but normally I add a bit of low end as the bass uses single coil jazz pickups, which I found are normally pretty thin. It plays like a dream, and the East preamp exorcises most of the jazz pickup demons when properly adjusted.

Clip #3 is the Dingwall. I played it passive because the EMG preamp, even set flat, gives it a super modern hifi tone that really doesn't fit the bluesy song. It would have been easy to identify it if I'd had the preamp on.

Kyuuga...you confirmed exactly why I own these three basses. Each are different. Each plays different.
 
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#24
Waltsdog said:
I’ll play:
1 - Curcio
2 - Reverend, sounds a little tubby on the low notes to me so I’m guessing this is the 34” bass.
3 - Dingwall
Click to expand...

See post above.

1 - Reverend (34" scale)
2 - Curcio (35" scale)
3 - Dingwall (34"-37" scale)

So far, most folks have properly identified the Dingwall.
 
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#25
chadhargis said:
DING! DING! DING!

We have a winner! The first person to correctly identify each bass and identify the exact characteristics of each bass. Good ears Kyuuga!

Clip #1 is the Reverend. It's a better P bass than any P bass I've ever played. The clip was with both pickups balanced, but if you solo the neck pickup it's a damn P bass...and a good one at that. The flats just complete the P package.

Clip #2 is the Curcio bass. I had the preamp set flat, but normally I add a bit of low end as the bass uses single coil jazz pickups, which I fund are normally pretty thin. It plays like a dream, and the East preamp exorcises most of the jazz pickup demons when properly adjusted.

Clip #3 is the Dingwall. I played it passive because the EMG preamp, even set flat, gives it a super modern hifi tone that really doesn't fit the bluesy song. It would have been easy to identify it if I'd had the preamp on.

Kyuuga...you confirmed exactly why I own these three basses. Each are different. Each plays different.
Click to expand...

I think the "tone is in the hands" premise is a good one to follow but obviously different types of pickup locations (which I believe is the main difference between basses) will always sound different no matter how you play it.

If you had three basses with the same pickup configuration but different woods/necks then I don't believe I'd notice too much of a difference tone-wise in a mix and I could probably never guess which is which. But when you use 3 basses all with different pickup configurations then the differences are definitely audible.

Cool "challenge" and cheers. ;)
 
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#26
Kyuuga said:
I think the "tone is in the hands" premise is a good one to follow but obviously different types of pickup locations (which I believe is the main difference between basses) will always sound different no matter how you play it.
Click to expand...

True! In my opinion three things make a bass sound different:

1) Pickups (and placement)
2) Electronics
3) Strings

The rest of the stuff is just minor differences. Now, they may add up, but wood, frets, string trees, bridges, tuners, etc don't make a lot of difference in sound from my experience. Scale length does on some instruments.
 
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#27
I purposely didn't read the notes before listening -

Bass 1 - sounded studio-perfect to me, can't argue with that bass

Bass 2 - very close to Bass 1, but less "lively" to my ears (listening on 5.1 with a 15" subwoofer)

Bass 3- this was my favorite, because I could hear a little fret rattle seasoning. The low end was still there, but this one thinned out and maybe left more space for the guitar in this track.


Also, I like your lead singer. : )
 
#28
bearfoot said:
I purposely didn't read the notes before listening -

Bass 1 - sounded studio-perfect to me, can't argue with that bass

Bass 2 - very close to Bass 1, but less "lively" to my ears (listening on 5.1 with a 15" subwoofer)

Bass 3- this was my favorite, because I could hear a little fret rattle seasoning. The low end was still there, but this one thinned out and maybe left more space for the guitar in this track.


Also, I like your lead singer. : )
Click to expand...

Bass 1 is the Reverend...and yes...it's that damn good. Studio perfect is a good description of that bass.

Bass 3 is the Dingwall, and it's very hifi sounding. My most modern sounding bass.

And I only WISH Tracy Chapman was my singer. I EQ'd the bass track out of her song. That's a great tune.
 
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#29
chadhargis said:
Bass 1 is the Reverend...and yes...it's that damn good. Studio perfect is a good description of that bass.

Bass 3 is the Dingwall, and it's very hifi sounding. My most modern sounding bass.

And I only WISH Tracy Chapman was my singer. I EQ'd the bass track out of her song. That's a great tune.
Click to expand...
I think the Reverend is probably best in most situations? But that particular track's open spaces let the hi-fi of the Dingwall come through.
Fairly interesting, as I might assume "fender w flats" for that song, but the modern tone's edge worked really well IMO.

I dig the singer/songwriters that were buskers once. Tracy Chapman was known, and the story goes discovered - as a Boston area street musician.
 
#30
bearfoot said:
I think the Reverend is probably best in most situations? But that particular track's open spaces let the hi-fi of the Dingwall come through.
Fairly interesting, as I might assume "fender w flats" for that song, but the modern tone's edge worked really well IMO.
Click to expand...

Yeah...that bluesy song really seems ripe for a P with flats. But I was surprised at how well the Dingwall worked too. The bad part of EQing the bass out of a track is that you lose the kick drum too. If that kick would have been in the mix, the Reverend with those Sadowsky flats would have just punched like a heavyweight boxer.

Every time I play the Reverend I am just surprised at how good it is.

I can't wait until my custom build is done. Really looking forward to seeing what its character is.
 
#32
chadhargis said:
What identifies a roasted maple neck?
Click to expand...

For me I tend to like a deeper rounder tone, and on my own basses, I tend to rolloff (or shelve) the highs. I've also found that other woods (walnut, bubinga, and I've heard wenge) tend to give a deeper tone. I figured since the other two were maple, the roasted had to be clip 1.

So, my guesses are:

Clip 1: Reverend (while I like this sound better than the Dingwall on this clip, I know I can get this sound with the Dingwall and would rather play a Dingwall - just had to say that :rolleyes:)
Clip 2: Curcio (this one sounded thinner to me)
Clip 3: Dingwall (my second choice for as recorded sound).

The other kicker is that I like Clip 1 for that song. Other songs might be different choices.
 
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#34
MD Stingray said:
So, 3 basses and your wife is already challenging you?

She’ll be in for a surprise in a year or two . :)
Click to expand...

I am allowed 4 without having to compensate her tolerance by letting her make a comparable purchase. Luckily she thinks all my bassss are used made in China pawn shop finds. Lol!

Actually the Dingwall is made in China. Lol!!
 
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#38
IconBasser said:
I liked the Curcio the most - with the rotosounds on them, it had the most character, which is important when you're playing mostly roots. The dingwall sounded the most bland out of all of them.
Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying. I find most "hifi" basses to be lacking in character. Almost sterile. The Dingwall is super clean. Meaning that the G string all the way to the B string is even, bright, and clear. It's like a surgical scalpel compared to something like the Reverend which would be an axe. Both have their use.

The Curcio is the odd duck because I've never seen a bass with two jazz pickups in each position. I've heard one with two jazz pickups in the bridge position and a single jazz or P pickup in the neck...but never the combination in this bass. It is indeed unique.
 

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