Midtown bass now in too

[uwe]

A Les Paul Sig has - let's be honest to ourselves - the traits of a good P Bass. It was meant to have those traits too. It sounds like a vintage P Bass with a little acoustic note to it. Card carrying Fenderistas have said as much about mine. And then they do vile things with it like slapping ... 

Does the Midnight even have a maple neck or is it maho? If it's maho it will be nowhere as assertive as an LPS, but many players are fine with that. If you want an assertive bass that looks hollow body, buy an EB-650 and you are all set.

If it sounds like a TBird then that is fine too, a TBird isn't drowned in the mix even if it is never going to dominate the music as much as an unleashed Ric or a P Bass.

[drbassman]

Well, the Midtown does have less of a hollow body sound than the other basses mentioned above, but it does possess a sound that is not wholly solid body-like either.  So, I think it does exist in a sort of in-between world.  Which is kind of nice to have something not entirely like either type of bass.  Yep, it doesn't resonate like a JC, LP Sig or EB-650, but it does have a nice slightly hollow tonality and no mud.  And, it has some nice sustain.  It isn't aggressive like the 650, but I like that.

I don't find the sound of the Midtown sluggish, in fact it has the potential to be bright and clear with round wound strings in combination with the new style pickups.  I had a Zenith and this bass sounds much stronger, clearer and more resonant than it did.  If I get a chance, I'll try to record the Midtown and post it.

[Dave W]

Yes, I do agree it might be a somewhat unfair comparison, but my point is not really about "who has the biggest balls". That's for talkbass threads.

It's more about how would it seat on a mix, or how it would sound in a practical situation. Since it has pretty much the same "controversial" electronics as the Tbird, and the JC is renowned for it's versatility, I believe it's fair to ask for what kind of bass are we really talking about here.

I didn't think you meant it that way. My point was just that it's far more likely to be more like a solidbody than any variation of hollow.

I've heard the Casady, a friend used to use his on more laid back numbers and it sounded nice but he always switched to a soldibody for harder rocking stuff the band usually did. His Casady couldn't be heard in those situations.

[drbassman]

My neck looks like the baked maple, can't see a lot of grain in it.

[uwe]

I didn't think you meant it that way. My point was just that it's far more likely to be more like a solidbody than any variation of hollow.

I've heard the Casady, a friend used to use his on more laid back numbers and it sounded nice but he always switched to a soldibody for harder rocking stuff the band usually did. His Casady couldn't be heard in those situations.

It worked best in the Brit Pop outfit I played in for a couple of years, but it wouldn't be my weapon of choice in a Judas Priest tribute. The bass is - at least when played with a pick - assertive, but not entirely focused, it's a bit sloppy in sound which works well in music where bass definition and separation is not everything. The Epi JC is more well-behaved but also more subdued, the lack of a maple neck (which the LPS has) might be the culprit here.

[drbassman]

Played the Midtown at practice last night and it did a nice job.  I had raised the scerws on the neck pup and the output was excellent.  I was especially pleased with the eveness I could achieve across all of the strings, except that the E-string wasn't as pronounced/loud as I would have liked.  Gonna try to tweek it some more at home before next practice.

Now, I know I don't have the discriminating ear that many of you bass geeks here exhibit, but here are my impressions of the Midtown.  It has a warm deep tonality and even with rounds on it, the mahogany keeps the tone from being harsh or solid-body like in nature.  The pups are great, loud and clear.  I found I preferred playing the bass with the switch in the center, using both pups with equal full-on volume controls.  With the switch in the up or neck position, the sound was warmer and had less treble without the bridge pup.  This bass did that for me and I'll try her out at a gig soon.  If these are the same pups as the ones on the SG, I prefer them on the Midtown and will keep this bass.

I'm finding my preference is moving away from booming, semi-muddy bass, to something just a little more clear, i.e. more treble without too much high emphasis.   The bass is comfortable to wear and the reach to the top of the neck is easy for me.   There is a slight neck dive, I think those Grover tuners weigh a ton.  My suade neck strap tamed it and I didn't have to hold the neck while playing.  The neck profile worked for me during 2 hours of playing.  That's the test for me.  If the neck is too long, too wide or too fat, I'm usually looking to move the bass out.  Yes, I'm fickle and I know what I like to play.  This one got a stay of execution last night.

[Granny Gremlin]

......and they are made of a solid piece of mahog for the back and sides, routed out under the f-holes, and around the edges to creat the side, with a solid piece down the middle.  At least I recall reading that somewhere!    Then a flat maple cap.  

Oh good; between this (flat vs arched back like the original EB2 and 335s) + long scale means I am not gassing for this at all, though I am curious to try it (the solid body would be sub-bass monster with a vintage mudbucker).... downside is I still have no EB2/Rivoli type bass. 

[drbassman]

It's not for everyone.  It's not as cool looking as my old Gretsch 6072, but it plays a little easier for me because of its smaller size.

[66Atlas]

This followed me home today 



I thought about ordering one in cherry but the ebony looked too good in person when I saw it.

[TBird1958]

Beautiful in black!

[Denis]

Very nice! Congrats!

[Dave W]

Nice! Black goes with anything. 

[pjm]

Black is the new Cherry

[Highlander]

Purest envy from me...

[drbassman]

Very classy looking!  I still love my Midtown, even though it's only cherry.