Killer Guitar, Edwards, GrassRoots, Vanzandt and the list goes on. We all know Talkamine and Ibanez as great Japanese brands, but there’s a whole lot more happening in Japan that what we see in the North America. Ishibashi Music’s ebay store has lots of bass guitar brands that we don’t see here to often. So check out their on-line store. Just another great place to get GAS.
Check out the 907th Bass Guitar Brand on Bass-Aholic, Edwards…
EDWARDS-E-RM-95DA
“Stay Tuned!”
Terri
Donald (Duck) Dunn
Donald “Duck” Dunn passed away on May 13th in a Tokyo hotel room after performing a double show.
He’s most famous as a bassist for Booker T & the MG’s, but I’ll always remember him for his role in the Blues Brothers movie with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.
His basses mostly include 50′s and 60′s Fender Precisions, but also the Lakland Skyline series basses.
For more on his life visit Wikipedia.
As sad day for bassist everywhere.
I’m always looking for bass guitars that are high on my faves list. Atlansia, of course, is right at the top. So when I found somebody playing one I just had to share. There are so few of them around it seems. Eddie Current does a great cover of My Wave by Soundgarden. But even more fun, is seeing an Atlansia Stealth in action. Where did you find that bass Eddie???
“Stay Tuned”
Terri
A year ago I was writing about how I like ukuleles. Well apparently I’m not the only one. It looks the UK has gone through, and past, a trend of thinking ukes are cool. Unfortunately, the trend didn’t last and now people are trying to dump their ukes. This article is almost nothing to do with bass, but was too good not to post. When I say “almost”, I’m referring to the Kala U-Bass. It’s a uke too. I wonder if it will suffer the same demise? If so, I’ll pick one up cheap!
And, yes I do still think ukes are cool. (And I play mine all the time!)
See article at The Daily Mash
101 Thumbs
It only seems fitting that after playing 101 Basses that I would build a montage of all the basses in the list. Here’s a list with links to every article, followed by a link to “101 Basses the Movie”
101 Basses is Complete!
Terri
NS NXT Headstock
So here it is! Bass Number 101. And are my fingers tired!
This bass is an EUB (Electric Upright Bass) and is an NS Design NXT 4-string.
NS, of course, stands for Ned Steinberger. Ned is legendary in his contributions to the musical instrument industry.
Ned’s first bass designs where for Stuart Spector where he designed the Spector NS. Later he pioneered the headless bass through his company Steinberger Sound Corp which was popularized during the 1980 by bassist such as Mike Rutherford and Geddy Lee. SSC was sold to Gibson in 1986.
Ned also collaborated with Emmett Chapman to produce the NS Stick.
NS Designs primarily builds electric versions of orchestral string instruments such as violins, cellos and, of course, EUB’s.
A previous 101 Basses article was done on the NS CR series EUB.
The NXT series is less expensive model, but is still classed by NS as a professional grade instrument.
With the previous NS bass, I only had a short, music store review. With this bass I was able to have a long term test drive and have been playing this one for about three weeks now.
Starting off, playing this with only experience in playing a bass guitar makes for quite a leap in playing technique. Firstly, the scale length is 42 inches on this bass in comparison to a 34 inch scale in a standard long scale bass. What this means for the player is that the spacing between notes is considerably greater than on a bass guitar. I found that applying some wrist movements I learned for Stick helped this a lot. Secondly your right hand technique needs to change. If you are going to pluck the strings, you end up playing mostly with the side of the your index finger. No point in trying to use a pick here. I found that playing 5ths was easiest strumming with your thumb.
As far as playing fretless goes, intonation is not as hard as for traditional double basses. This is because the NXT uses side dot markers in the same was as many fretless bass guitars do. My guitar player expressed some concern for this, but after I rehearsed with my band he mentioned that he was not aware of any off notes.
The NXT bass version comes with passive electronics and a simple volume and tone control.
Terri - NS NXT Electric Upright Bass
There is also a switch that is used to select the style you are playing. According to the NS website, “…Pizzicato and arco techniques have almost unlimited expressive potential, thanks to the Polar™ Pickup System. A convenient switch allows selection of the traditional arco mode for percussive attack and dynamic bowed response, or pizzicato mode for a smooth, sustained tone…“ I found that this switch made a huge difference in the sound. You absolutely have to have it in the right position for acro or pizzicato style playing. For plucking style, I always had the switch in the up position and the tone rolled all the way down. For me this was the most pleasing tone.
I did play it with a bow and despite my inexperience with a bow, was able to get some great sounds. I don’t think it would take a lot of practice to get reasonable good and bowing it.
The sound of this bass was awesome and I had the opportunity to play at it a gig at a private yacht club. Not only was the sound impressive and came through well in the mix, but visually the bass drew a lot of attention and comments afterwards.
One of things I really like about this bass is the included tripod. The tripod attaches to the back of the basses body with one large thumb screw. No tools required. With the tripod you can adjust the bass in three directions assuring the most comfortable position. While fooling around we discovered you could position the bass like a bass guitar or even like a lap steel. I loved the way that the instrument can be setup on the tripod and forgotten. No need to lean it against the wall when not playing it.
One thing that was extremely disappointing was the included gig bag. I hope there is a hard case option, because if you are to going to do much transporting this instrument with the gig bag, it’s going to be damaged pretty quickly. The case is extremely thin. Even to the point of accidentally plucking a string right through the bag. Having compartments for a bow and the tripod are great, but the weight of the tripod makes the case feel even more flimsy. Each time I took the instrument out of the case at least one string was out of tune. A far cry from the flight case I have for my Jazz Deluxe V.
Overall, I like this bass a lot. I has an amazing sound. Not quite like a double bass but pretty close. And it does have the great buzzy woody sound that you expect from a double bass.
I would love to keep this bass in my collection, but I’m not sure that I’m really able to keep it. Thanks to Long & McQuade’s 30 day return policy I may still return it before the month’s end. But the bass is quite reasonably priced compared to the CR models, which are in the $3000.00 range. The bass goes for about $1300.00 CDN
Two great big thumbs up!
Terri
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P.S. Bass Number 101 completes my two year 101 Basses challenge. The future of this blog has not really been decided. But I’d love to hear from anyone that has comments. Has this blog been useful or interesting? Please let know.
email: terri@
What's behind door number 2?
…from Part 1
The second of my top three wishlist basses, is one that I’ve never seen in person. In fact, who knows if there are even any of them in North America. These basses are made by a small builder in Japan and are amongst the most innovative instruments I’ve ever seen.
The builder himself is a certified genius and holds many patents related to improvements and innovations that he has developed in the field of guitar building.
I was so impressed with his instruments that I’ve create a tribute site for his brand. (Although, I have to say the site still needs a lot of work. But like everything it will evolve.)
In my life I’ve had lots of heroes. Those, that in their field, are head and shoulders above the rest. Like The Beatles in music, Frank Lloyd Wright in architecture or Robin Williams in comedy.
Nobuaki Hayashi is one of those people and his brand is Atlansia.
There are several models of Altansia that are quite amazing, but the one is my overall favorite is the Victoria. This to me is the holy grail of basses. Not only that I like it so much, but also in that there doesn’t appear to be many of the them around and I suspect it is one that I’ll never actually get to see in person.
Regardless, here’s the penultimate bass in 101 Basses. Unplayed, but highly coveted.
Stay Tuned – Tomorrow is Bass Number 101
Terri
What's BASS is behind door number ONE?
Over the course of the past two years I’ve played a lot of basses. In fact, only a fraction of the basses I’ve played have ended up on the 101 Basses list. Sometimes this was because I didn’t have a camera and sometimes it was because I either felt too shy or I just couldn’t be bothered to to engage in the process. Regardless there’s been a lot basses, that I’ve seen and played.
With all those basses there’s been more GAS that you can imagine. But at the end of it all I’ve have my top three picks.
One that I played and didn’t buy. And I have a lot of regret for not bringing it home.
One that I’ve never played or have even seen in person. But I think it is the coolest bass ever made. I’m not even sure that there’s even a single copy of it in North America. For me, it remains the holy grail of basses.
The third one, is one that I’ve wanted for a ages. My local music store had one in stock for a long time. Every time I walked through the store, it sat there looking at me. Taunting me. Daring me. Well I finally brought it home. Just maybe that is “Bass Number 101″?
————
So the one that I played, that I didn’t buy and have been regretting it since is the Rickenbacked 4001s v63, that I played in Las Vegas last summer. I reviewed it as Bass Number 60. It’s was so nice. And it’s gone. And I haven’t seen another similar one in the same price range since. Don’t you hate it? Sometimes when you see a deal, ya just gotta go for it.
The Rickenbacker 4001 has always been a favourite of mine. But the S model, for me, is actually a lot cooler. I like the dot markers and its lack of bindings. But more important is the thinner neck and horseshoe pickups. Originally these were sold as a 4001s (and also the RM1999. Later reissues include the v63 and c64 models. I like them all, but from what I’ve been reading the c64 may be the best of the bunch. Fireglo is the best colour, but some of the fireglo finishes don’t look as nice as others. The black finish with white pickguard model is equally cool.
I haven’t got one yet, but it’s still in my top three.
Stay tuned tomorrow for number two on my top three list.
Then, the next day, for Bass Number 101 and the completion of my two year, bass a week challenge. (Are my fingers ever tired!)
“Stay Tuned”
Terri
Continued in Part 2…
Terri and the Takamine TB-10
It’s rather odd that I look so serious here. But I’m actually extremely impressed with this bass and very glad to have had the opportunity to give it a test drive.
At first glance you may just see another 4-string acoustic electric bass, but this has a number of features that set it apart from pretty much anything in its class.
This bass is a Takamine TB10 acoustic electric bass.
I first came across this bass model about two years ago while doing research for Bass-Aholic. Well, some might say I was just surfing the net. Well that’s research isn’t it? At that time I hadn’t come across that many acoustic basses. This one immediately caught my attention. Firstly because it was fretless, but also because of it’s styling. The two large f-holes and dark stain give it an air of string instrument building from a bygone era. It really is quite stunning, don’t you think?
Clint and his Takamine TB10
But beyond it’s styling are a number of features that are pretty uncommon in acoustic basses. One is that the fingerboard is curved like a double-bass. This potentially allows you to bow the instrument like a bass-violin. I didn’t test this concept and I’m wondering if the cutouts in the body are deep enough to actually bow each string correctly.
The other unique feature is a fully integrated tailpin. Often when basses have this feature they will have one that is detachable. This one adjust up into the body of the instrument in the same way as an upright bass or cello would.
Both of these features allow you to play the instrument like an upright bass. I’m not sure that you would ever want (or need) to do that except that the body of this bass is enormous. Takamine’s website does not give body dimensions, but I’m sure this is the largest bass guitar that I’ve ever held. So if you want to play it and your not all that tall, you may want to play it upright.
Other styling features are both attractive and functional are, what appears to be antiqued brass machine heads and extensive use of ebony.
Takamine TB10 Bridge and Tailpeice
The spec states the fingerboard and bridge are ebony and it appears the heavy wooden tailpiece is the same. However the grain of the bridge and tailpiece in these photos looks more like rosewood. But who am I to argue?
Takamine has long been an innovator in acoustic/electric preamps and this one is top notch. The TB10 comes with Takemine’s “Cool Tube” preamp. The preamp actually has utilizes one 12AU7 vacuum tube. But because the heat generated by a vacuum tube could affect the tonewoods and sound of the instrument, the tube runs at 3 degrees above ambient room temperature.
An interesting feature of the preamp is an extra RCA jack that can be used to connect a secondary pickup or microphone.
Takamine Cool Tube Preamp
The preamp has a second gain control to allow mixing the two input sources. (more on cool tube)
Oddly, there is no mention of an XLR connection. This would allow for phantom power. This preamp uses 4-AA batteries which add weight and will need to be replaced or recharged after 24 hours of use. So having phantom power available would reduce a number of headaches.
For a bass of this quality and size a good quality case is a must. This bass comes with an acoustic style hardshell case, that’s obviously custom made for just this bass. When Clint carried it through the door of my my house I was shocked by the size of the case and quite curious to see what was inside.
Overall this bass is impressive. Quality and technology inside and out.
Really the only question about a bass like this is how much use you would get out of it. It’s really not your typical general purpose bass. Despite that, it’s *very* cool and a great addition to the collection of any true Bass-Aholic.
A great big thanks to Clint Wilson for sharing another bass from his collection!
The posted website price for this bass $4299.99 USD. A big price, but a lot-a bass for the buck.
“Stay Tuned for Bass Number 101 of 101 Basses!”
Terri
Ed Roman Goosenbacker 4001
Of all the basses in 101 Basses, this one is really the most unique. It’s position of Bass Number 99 in 101 Basses is rather suitable.
Ed Roman Goosenbacker 4001 and Terri
This bass is a custom built bass from Ed Roman Guitars of Las Vegas Nevada. Ed Roman was one of those people that you either loved or hated and there doesn’t seem to much in between. To say Ed was colorful and opinionated might be and understatement, but you have to admit, he built a lot of cool bass guitars. Sadly, Ed passed away last December, but he left a wonderful legacy of work of everything from copies to some great original instruments.
Ed Roman Seymour Duncan Pickups
A few years ago my friend Clint Wilson asked Ed Roman to build him a custom Rickenbacker 4001 copy. This bass was the result of that collaboration.
Clint owns two real Rickenbackers plus this one. And he actually enjoys playing this one over the others. For sure, this one is a lot more flashy and looks great under stage lighting. But as for the sound, they both sound great. But Clint will go so far as to say this one might even sound better than the Rickenbackers.
Ed Roman Goosenbacker 4001 - Body
The pickup set for this bass is made by Seymour Duncan. Looking through the Seymour Duncan catalog, it appears these pickups are the 4000 series SRB-1 set which has been designed for use in Rickenbacker basses. This would probably account for the Ric sound.
The headstock name for this bass was also a collaboration between Clint and Ed’s staff. Clint’s nickname for many years has been Father Goose. Clint wasn’t interested in having the name “Rickenbacker” printed on the headstock, so Roman’s staff came up with the name “Goosenbacker”. A rather fitting name. Don’t you think? And a one of kind name for a one of kind bass.
Official Ed Roman Gigbag
Ed was able to find an aftermarket bridge that looked like a Rickenbacker bridge. So that one was chosen. The pickguard was modified from the original Ric style to account for the smaller sized Seymour Duncan pickup.
One odd thing is that I don’t think there is any way to identify this as an Ed Roman instrument. There is a serial number stamped at the high end of the fretboard. Presumably there is a way to date the instrument from that. But if you were find this in a store somewhere, the only clue you have that this is from Ed Roman is the gig bag that it comes in.
As to the cost of this bass, I don’t really know, but I think it was up there. This is a custom made bass, hand built by a builder with a world wide reputation. I guessing that doesn’t come cheap.
This bass is one cool bass. Thanks to Clint Wilson for allowing me to share it in 101 Basses.
“Stay Tuned!”
Terri
