The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Other Bass Brands => Topic started by: Chris P. on October 28, 2017, 08:50:33 AM
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Since the release of the Music Man St. Vincent I'm a big fan of the shape. And I'm a big fan of hers. Yesterday I talked to her in The Netherlands and she's really cool! A total guitar nerd, knowing everything about wood, pickups and valves/tubes. Nice. I told her it's a pity there's no bass and she told me they're designing a bass version! A scoop, I thought, but she tells it in the vid below.
But still cool news and I hope EBMM doesn't f*ck it up by making it a PJ.
https://www.facebook.com/Ernie.Ball.Music.Man/videos/10154969903976340/
(http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/st-vincent-live-ernie-ball-1024x576.jpg)
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Since the release of the Music Man St. Vincent I'm a big fan of the shape. And I'm a big fan of hers. Yesterday I talked to her in The Netherlands and she's really cool! A total guitar nerd, knowing everything about wood, pickups and valves/tubes. Nice. I told her it's a pity there's no bass and she told me they're designing a bass version! A scoop, I thought, but she tells it in the vid below.
But still cool news and I hope EBMM doesn't f*ck it up by making it a PJ.
https://www.facebook.com/Ernie.Ball.Music.Man/videos/10154969903976340/
I watched that vid when it came out and I recall no mention of it, but maybe it was just a quick tangent and I missed it; still a scoop IMHO.
All they gotta do is make it an exact copy but 4 banger bass (I will forgive them for dropping the trem)- which means Tbird pups or some other chromey soap bar style thing vs PJ. PJ is the easy way out, but luckily Musicman don't usually default to that.
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I hope it fares better than their Big Al bass.
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I'm pretty sure St. Vincent doesn't use a bassist live? I saw a bunch of live videos of her a while ago, but nothing recently... this doesn't bode well. :mrgreen:
I tried one of her signature guitars a while back, and it was pretty cool. I don't remember much about it, beyond the neck being entirely made of rosewood and only given a minimal oil finish. I wish I could remember more... the wee minibuckers seemed like an unusual choice.
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Not stirred musically or visually... each to their own...
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Not stirred musically or visually... each to their own...
Nor I, but she and the guitar are successes so no doubt they're hoping for the same with the bass. I'm skeptical.
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But why the medium scale? That will be a no go for many bass players.
Many find medium scale neither fish nor flesh...
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I love medium scale and I think it's best of both worlds, rather than fish nor flesh. But that's a matter of taste. And you are right: most people want a 34" and a Fender design. I guess they want to make a cool bass and they can't expect it to be a big seller. I can't imagien, 32"or 34".
If you see the design and you think bass my first worry was the balance. That must be the or a reason.
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The design of the St Vincent is heavily influenced by the Firebird.
The bass guitar version would be a take on the Thunderbird.
And yes, the Thunderbird had an issue with balance. But the latest versions don't have any neckdive problems anymore. So I guess a St Vincent bass could be 34" scale without neckdive, if they use the right tuners.
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Because she appreciates the trouble other small-handed folks have chording on long scales. Medium scale is welcome over here.
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You are right, Rob. Still, because the strap button is more to the right instead around the 12th fret, a shorter scale makes sense. I always think the Tbird is the most desired-but-sold-again-cos-I-couldn't-get-used-to-it bass because of the different way it needs to be played :)
I don't think she will play it. Maybe one for her studio. She hopes Pino (who's on her last record) will play it. It's just her design as a bass.
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I stopped by a Guitar Center today, they had two of the guitars in stock -- one a USA Musicman, the other a Sterling by MM. I had no idea the body was that small.
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I love medium scale and I think it's best of both worlds, rather than fish nor flesh. But that's a matter of taste. And you are right: most people want a 34" and a Fender design. I guess they want to make a cool bass and they can't expect it to be a big seller. I can't imagien, 32"or 34".
If you see the design and you think bass my first worry was the balance. That must be the or a reason.
Nonsense. 32" already robs you of a taut and dominant E string sound, yet doesn't compensate with an especially bendable and full-sounding D and G. Worst of both worlds. A strings are ok irrespective of scale, different, but all ok.
"If you see the design and you think bass my first worry was the balance. That must be the or a reason."
Girlie hands.
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Nonsense. 32" already robs you of a taut and dominant E string sound, yet doesn't compensate with an especially bendable and full-sounding D and G. Worst of both worlds. A strings are ok irrespective of scale, different, but all ok.
Come on man, its not the '70s any more. Strings are built to all sorts of different specs now, and you can get a balanced set for a 32'' instrument.
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32" is perfect. Cos as you know anything between 33 and 45 is wrong, Uwe.
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I have a couple of 32" scale basses, not on one of them is the E string comparable to a long scale as regards presence, harmonics and authority; heck, it's in my ears not even comparable on a Ric which is just "lesser long scale", but on a Ric you can live with it, on a medium scale it's a drawback.
It has nothing to do with string gauge or quality, everything with scale.
I'm not a short scale knocker at all. D and G are superior in sound on a short scale no doubt (unless perhaps you are a slapper and need the rebound that goes with a higher tension), but the E is superior on a long scale if you want to use it in a traditional sense. Just as the D string pays the price on a 35", it is then so over-taut, it suffers in sound.
Funnily enough I have never played a Dingwall seriously and plugged, it would probably be a revelatory experience for me though my understanding is that they go from long scale on the higher strings to more-than-long-scale on the lower ones (which IMHO only makes sense if you have a B string or tune down). I'd like to play a 4-string that goes from 30" on the G to 34" on the E in regular tuning, but that is probably not doable, the frets would be too slanted then as they'd be going in 1 1/3" steps from 30" (G) to 31 1/3" (D) to 32 2/3" (A) to 34" (E), that is likely too much a gap to bridge.
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32" is perfect. Cos as you know anything between 33 and 45 is wrong, Uwe.
32" works fine for me on this one:
(http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/Data/Product_Images/GRETSCH251-8000-5124.jpg)
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32" works fine for me on this one:
(https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/image-jpeg.728336/)
Yer a Dork Pil! That bass is awesome.
8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
You know upright players often have different string sets on E or G to round out the tone. . . . .
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32" is perfect. Cos as you know anything between 33 and 45 is wrong, Uwe.
:mrgreen:
I must be the only other person who gets your reference.
Uwe's mind is distracted by the 500th anniversary of the reformation.
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Of course I got that, Dave, what do you think of me?! >:( , drew a smile to my face, but forgot to mention it in my answer, apologies! 40 was good though, yellow cases are best ("Fall Gelb"). Though it really should have been "Fall Orange", don't you think? :mrgreen:
(http://www.mhpress.eu/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/1000x1000/cbcbef48e5e3bcce7c7ed908f20bc5b4/d/s/dsc_3830/fallschirmjaeger-ueber-holland-kriegsbuecherei-der-deutschen-jugend-heft-65-31.jpg)
I thought those - again orange - Gretsches were 34", mine is? They have a nice mellow tone, but I don't find them terribly assertive within a band, certainly not EB-650ish, but then it's mostly not the job of a hollowbody to be assertive.
Don't get me started on the Reformationsjahr! Glad it's soon over. You know how I'm Catholic (and under Catholic dogma all other Churches - the orthodox one excepted - are mere Nebenkirchen, ancilliary churches ;D ) and if one of our former brethren went bad, what's the cause for celebration?! 8) Just goes to show that whenever the Holy Inquisition doesn't do its job timely and properly, you end up with all these problems and general unrest. ;) Where I come from (a Catholic stronghold in a mostly Protestant region) you do garden work (or the Catholic farmers used to drive manure) on Protestant holidays. :)
That is at least how I have unsettled and disparaged my - mostly Protestant - colleagues here at work this year. Unsettling Protestants as a make-believe radical Catholic is fun, 500 years have passed and these guys are still insecure about what they are. No comparison to the timeless monolith that is the Catholic Church! You can argue about the existence of God, but the Catholic Church is an undeniable fact. :rimshot:
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I guess you won't be ordering these (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/152919737/95-theses-500-typographic-posters-prints-and-shirt?ref=8zy4bq) then. :P
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Religion ist verboten... :vader:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz-RL4gVTiY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX6dehxobjU
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My best sounding bass in a 32” Frankenstein with a Stu Hamm Fender USA 24 frets Pau Ferro neck, a poplar body and handmade by myself pickups and a crazy wiring that allows me to switch the three pickups in series/parallel with many combinations.
It is short, light and easy to play.
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Pictures please.
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[I thought those - again orange - Gretsches were 34", mine is? They have a nice mellow tone, but I don't find them terribly assertive within a band, certainly not EB-650ish, but then it's mostly not the job of a hollowbody to be assertive.]
Although Gretsch makes a lot of 30" basses now, that 5123 series is indeed a 32" scale. I suspect many of the older Gretsch models were 34", but they make basses mostly in 30 and 34, this being an exception. It plays like a 30 to me, which I like. Like our late friend Dr. Bill, I find these days that a shorter scale is easier to play, so the 32" is a bit more friendly than a 34.
Although IIRC, because of the body and headstock design it's actually a bit longer overall from tip to bottom than my 34" Casady was.
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Here is a humorous take on Scottish sectarianism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAVYZLUxaEw
I might be the only person here who understands the characters.... let me know!
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I couldn't even understand most of what they were saying, especially the lead character.
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That limited run 32" Gretsch with TV Jones pickups. I had one at home for a review and it's one of the few basses I regret buying, but money was tight.
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That limited run 32" Gretsch with TV Jones pickups. I had one at home for a review and it's one of the few basses I regret buying, but money was tight.
That was an experimental deal between Gretsch and Guitar Center in Nov/Dec 2010. The local stores didn't even know about it at first.
The thread on TB about it is here: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/new-gretsch-electromatic-hollowbody-bass.713507/
Now they make the 5440 (34") and 5442 (30") which are both similar to the 5123. No 32" scale hollowbody in production at present.
When I saw the thread on this in 2010 and saw the price, I called the local GC and told them that if they could get one for me, I'd buy it. They did, I did, and I'm happy about it!
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I might be the only person here who understands the characters.... let me know!
Get awa' ya wee sassenach... I have enough issues with the Gaelic variations between Skye, the Uists, Harris and Lewis, and then there's those Norse folk on the Northern Isles that REALLY don't like the Gaels that much either... :mrgreen:
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Later they made some more and it was available in Europe for a while.