The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: Deathshead on February 13, 2010, 11:12:31 AM
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Hey guys, I know some of you may have one of these,
I have always never gave shortscale basses a second look, but damm every clip of one of these new SG reissues I see they sound really good!
almost directly the tone im always trying to achieve, huge,10 p-basses thick and pretty aggressive,
whats your opinions on the new SG basses?
check the tone out on this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4xqJwoRDRM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4xqJwoRDRM)
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I'm a big fan of the SG-style short scale basses too, and I think that one sounds great. However, I confess that I don't hear any significant difference between the sound of that one and the Epi EB-0 bass I have. But I haven't played that one in a while.
Perhaps my ears aren't tuned to the nuances. I often end up following threads like this and wondering what others are hearing that I don't. Yes, I hear a little bit of difference - I think. Perhaps a little different sound on the low E? But I then ask myself whether that would that motivate me to pay for the difference between an Epi and a Gibson? Probably not.
Since the deciding factor is the ears of the owner, you can safely disregard these comments. If it sounds good to you, then it IS good.
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Sounds good to me, the color helps a lot too with its sound.
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The pick also helps with the aggressive tone.
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That clip is IMO is a nice example and representative for demonstrating what the SG RI sounds like, played with a pick and using both pickups that is. You can have a really round sound using the neck pickup while playing fingerstyle. The Epi EB-0 has weaker output and does not resonate as well I think.
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IMO it's both pickups and scale. The wide spread of the neck pickup coils, the location of the bridge pickup and the rounder, less aggressive attack of the short scale.
Note to Al: The Epi EB-0 doesn't sound anything like this to me.
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yea, something about the attack of the shortscale that does it, pretty funny, check out this musicmaster that can eat p-basses up for breakfast!
it just sounds alot thicker and meaner...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkAi6biATLo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkAi6biATLo)
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Note to Al: The Epi EB-0 doesn't sound anything like this to me.
Probably not the best comparison for me to make on computer speakers!
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I get a kick out of the term "short scale." 34 inches only intonates the harmonic series of the G-string properly, which is why a lot of Fender basses can sound like total mud otherwise but have an ear-bleeding trebly G-string. The only widely available fretted basses to my knowledge with scale-accurate intonation across all the strings are the Dingwall Voodoo's. Even their Jazz-type bass is still off-scaled to keep the upper harmonics in check so that it will sound like a "traditional" electric bass. Shorter scale basses will always have more fundmanetal relative to the upper harmonics because the string does not have the "proper" period of movement to have an equal harmonic series, hence the Hofner 'boom' that lends itself so well to melodic lines without stepping on the guitars. I don't like 'short scales' personally because I'm a big guy and they feel cramped to me, and their lower relative string tension means I can't dig in as hard as I like to.
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yea, something about the attack of the shortscale that does it, pretty funny, check out this musicmaster that can eat p-basses up for breakfast!
it just sounds alot thicker and meaner...
An early 70's or mid 60's means it probably has the 6 pole Strat pickup under the rubber cover. ;D ;D
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An early 70's or mid 60's means it probably has the 6 pole Strat pickup under the rubber cover. ;D ;D
I think it's a Musicmaster guitar pickup, not a Strat. Flush polepeices, IIRC. Whatever, it sounds better to me than any replacement.
6 poles seem to work fine (another example: Rick toaster) if the polepieces are magnets, but not as well when the polepieces are steel with the magnet underneath the coils.
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I think it's a Musicmaster guitar pickup, not a Strat. Flush polepeices, IIRC. Whatever, it sounds better to me than any replacement.
6 poles seem to work fine (another example: Rick toaster) if the polepieces are magnets, but not as well when the polepieces are steel with the magnet underneath the coils.
That is good to know. Becky Lawrence (Bill's wife) tried to sell me a replacement Fender P bass pup with ten pole magnets total and told me it would act like a bar. For some reason I couldn't quite bite on that idea.
Thanks
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I think it's a Musicmaster guitar pickup, not a Strat. Flush polepeices, IIRC. Whatever, it sounds better to me than any replacement.
6 poles seem to work fine (another example: Rick toaster) if the polepieces are magnets, but not as well when the polepieces are steel with the magnet underneath the coils.
I have been thinking the same thing in my quest for finding a decent standard humbucker sized replacement for my epi lp std bass, just finding somthing that is wound for alot of bass and low mids i thik would probably work out great under as smooth chrome cover.
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That SG is a nice example of a guitar player playing bass through a farty amp. That's my ear anyway.
Another fine example of a guitar pickup in a bass is the lead pup on the EB-3 which is both a Firebird and Les Paul Deluxe/Epiphone guitar pickup. All three shared the same magnet and coil, which was open. The EB3 got 4 screws, the Epi got 6.
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I have been thinking the same thing in my quest for finding a decent standard humbucker sized replacement for my epi lp std bass, just finding somthing that is wound for alot of bass and low mids i thik would probably work out great under as smooth chrome cover.
I don't know that there's any special formula to wind for a lot of bass or low mids.
There are so many variables. Shape of the coil, size of magnets, polepiece or magnet configuration, etc. The amount of wire on the coil is only one factor.
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Some modern Duesenberg basses have the normal six pole guitar humbuckers.
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In general, the more wire you wind around a stronger magnet, the more the inductive potential rises and hence, so does the output voltage, while the high frequency response decreases. The inductive value of the wire is the filter's corner frequency, acting as a lowpass. The magnetic field strength of the poles determines the overall amount of current, and hence, low end output. That's why Gibson mudbuckers are mudbuckers; they're much stronger and larger pickups than Fender-style pickups.
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Getting back to the SG RI, I'm still very impressed with mine. For a lightweight bass it has a lot of authority, and I'm getting used to the short scale. Gigged it again on Friday night with my Stones tribute band, and with both pickups on full I'm the one in the driver's seat.
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I have the Supreme that because of the maple top and mahogany back has a slightly 'taughter' sound which I really like. You might even say it is the shortscale variation of the TBIV with all it's inherent shortscale advantages.