The Last Bass Outpost

Activators might not work for every style but they'd be killer for prog

I don't know, I think they may actually work for many if not most styles - I'm finding this to be my go-to bass - with the P-pup & filter set low I can get an almost flatwound sound, middle filter settings give that split-coil P-pickup bark, both pups equal and filter set mid to high I can get anywhere from Jazz Bass to Ric to Alembic - IMHO of course! 

Thought of a couple of other things - it was a bit on the heavy side, though comfortable to play seated. There isn't a dedicated place to rest your thumb - I found myself using the pickguard (used to that on my Ric 4001) or on the pickup screw. The neck felt nice - the short scale was definitely comfortable.

The owner of the store (Bananas at Large) said he got it earlier than most other places - because of their relationship with Fender? - but hopefully more will be appearing in stores!

I finally got the BA II on:



I know I could have done a somewhat scientific comparison by recording the bass with the stock bridge, then with the BAII, but just couldn't motivate to record. Enjoying it so far though - had to raise the action a bit higher than I had guestimated, next is intonation...

So a friend of mine ended up cleaning my BA II bridge - he has the tools and the space to work on it. Tonight I put it next to the current stock bridge and got the saddle heights & intonation settings close:



Not sure when I will have time to make the actual switch, hopefully within the next week or so. Actually, I should do it soon - there is going to be an Alembic Gathering in about a week here in the SF Bay Area so it would be nice to get it done before then - should be the last mod I make on this bass in a while!

Here's one more shot of the other end that I put on Instagram:

Why does it have to be a traditional line up?
Why can't it just be cool in it's own right?

Like i said: I like the music. And I like the energy.

I hear ya Rob. He's doing some interesting stuff, there are parts when it sounds like just the guitar - how'd he do dat?

My guess would be that most mods are reversing the unconventional S/8 octave-at-the-bottom to a more reasonable octave-on-top, not vice versa. That and the weird binding (?) lead me to ask if this is a transitional bass from 4008 to what would become the S/8.

I finally see what you mean about the weird binding! Mine was definitely standard:



(You can also see how the finish on the fingerboard was messed up...)

This 4008 has the octave string at the bottom. A transitional bass maybe?

I (think I) remember John Hall stating that the reason that all the tuning pegs are the same size is so that the octave-root relationship can be easily changed - my guess is that this one has been modded? Or maybe Ric was experimenting? I switched my 4003S/8 to have the octave on top, I know that each person is different and has their own preferences, I actually think the Ric design works great in offering that flexibility and I love the way it looks!

Yes and No.

It may be able to come close to the sound.
But the dynamics, no way.

The Bass Terror that I tested a few back had zero dynamics. Wether I hit the strings hard or fondled them softly it all came out the same. Too harsh for my liking.

A full tube Orange will respond differently when pushed hard. It's more musical.
In my opinion the Bass Terror is just on/off. The sound is the same, no matter what you do on your bass.

Thanks for that feedback Rob - I have heard that before about these. At some point I'm going to have to check one out for myself.