This bass is (was) a NIGHTMARE! The worst we ever bought | EP63 | The SBL Podcast
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- 199 | EP63 | This bass is (was) a NIGHTMARE! The worst we ever bought
We all love our bass guitars, right? But what if your dream instrument sounds off? Or your longtime favorite bass isn’t playing as well as it did the day you bought it? By repairing instead of replacing, you can bask in the glory of knowing that you’re the kind of bassist who’s axe would survive an apocalypse movie. In today’s episode, Ian and Scott run through the basses they’ve transformed from duds into dream machines!
In this episode you’re going to learn:
Ian reveals the worst bass he’s ever bought (it’s not what you think)
Why Scott’s 1974 Jazz Bass behaves like the Millennium Falcon
Ian’s Gaffer tape hack for treating noisy pickups
Why it’s OK to invest in a bass that isn’t perfect
And much more.
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If Ian ever gives up the bass, he’s got a second career in animation voiceovers!
AWESOME!!!!
I love these podcasts so much.
I FINALLY joined the SBL family. well… I finally signed up for free 14days, but face it, I’m not going anywhere, it’s so fun I’ll be there for a long long time. Cheers guys.
Welcome Tommy!
@@IanMartinAllison thank you Ian. You are very inspiring. I am loving it already. Cheers
Ian dropping profound wisdom at 37:16. Love and care into an instrument or relationship that isn't perfect... Dude. Right on.
You guys are goofy but luv ya. So fun watching you guys geek out on far too many basses. I just sold 3 basses that sat around doing nothing
I own a 1984 BB2000. Similar to the 3000A in that it's thru neck but mine's completely passive. It also has a reverse P pickup. The P/J tone from it is absolutely KILLER!! Yamaha never make a dud bass, the build quality is always amazing. Lovely to see that 3000A Ian 👍
My personal nightmare was the Yamaha RBX375. Massive, thick unadjustable neck that had a wrong mount angle (a manufacture defect), the sound that easily losts in mix.. Now I think I should have bought 4 stringed Squier Jazz, but what is done is done ) I sold it and bought a MM Stingray 5, It was a huge contrast.
I turned from Fender to Yamaha bbp34. And i will never regret it. The world needs more bb bases.
I've had 3 Kubiki Factors in my life at different times going back into the late 80's. They are fantastic, do not sleep on them! My only regret is that I took them for granted and didn't make one mine back when I could have pushed harder to do so and they were "more affordable". I miss playing them and would jump so hard at one if a deal came along.
I’m so glad I revisited this video right now. The mushroom chat had me popping! 😂 I had some wicked trips on those back in my days of playing traveller festivals! Beltane bash was a blast every year! Then I had kids. Need I say any more 😂
Great. Yammy bass, congrats Ian! And I am so glad you guys are doing more geeking out on gear on the podcast. Love the collective enthusiasm.
I had this one but sold it a while ago. These were also made in Taiwan. The 3rd generation which is the best, was made in Taiwan. The back of the headstock is usually stamped with there it was made. I am an avid collector of BB5000A's, all made in Taiwan because the 3rd generation had 20mm spacing which is rare for a 5er.
My 89 Fender Jazz Deluxe neck is absolutely killa, during the 90’s, Fender started to kick it up a notch
Oh man! That carpet amp era was hilarious! I still have my fender rumble 100 combo from that time. Still works great but I feel like I need to use a lint roller every time I take it out to play
Big Brother here, it is my opinion that Fender was sucking the big rooster in the ‘80s, which gave way to lots of innovation. I was selling Fender in the 80’s, before Fender took back control, hit and miss when it came to basses. Companies really stepped up, like Ibanez with the introduction of the Sr 800, and the Kubicki, Scott I’m very jealous, lol,
Ian is always on point in regards to the history,
Cheers for now
Rik
Piano tone: In the early 80s when I first started playing bass, I would buy the cheapest strings I could find - which happened to be the DAddario copper round wounds.... And my cheap P bass would definitely have the piano sound. (Yes, my fingers were green after playing.) I recall being happy to move up to better strings (don't remember why)... but I also have a very fondness for the unique sound - and sometimes wish they were still made (although I just saw a forum stating that they never sold / unpopular).
Now I need to listen to "Our House" by Madness to hear a 80s tune with a punchy piano bass part (although its an actual piano). lol
A bass that I got recently which really surprised me about how good it is, is the Ibanez EHB 1005 SMS. What makes it awesome to me, is that it is short scale AND multiscale. I love the fanned frets, and that it is quite short (30"- 32" scale and headless). It makes it a perfect little "practice bass" in my opinion and I love to play with it! The only things that are not perfect on it is that it kind of hangs a little weird on the strap while standing, but maybe I just need another strap for it - and that the Bartolini pickups in my opinion don't sound suuuper awesome. Might replace them at some point. I love the flamed maple neck and flamed birdseye maple fretboard, it's just gorgeous.
i love that you’re debunking all the B string and wood myths. One thing I’ve learned after 20 years of playing and buying basses… everything they tell you about wood is bullshit. Every bass is a crap shoot, almost every time. The pickups and your fingers are 95% of the sound. The wood and hardware and whatnot matters, but not as much as you’d think; and even when they matter, you can’t really predict it the way people claim you can. The B string is real hard to get right, but it seems you have to play the bass to know. You can’t trust any specs because every bass is different. Even the most repeatable ones… each one is a little different, or at least they can be.
I’m interested to try multiscale. Got my eye on that new specter maybe.
just bought a Sandberg California 5 with the black label pick ups (P/humbucker). It plays great, but not a huge fan of the sound. I was soooo excited too.
Ibanez Musician series was late' 77 to '81. Beautiful instrument! Jeff Pilson of Dokken loves the Ibanez Blazer series which was made at the same time as the Musician series. I'm in the hunt.
NOT correct. Musician basses were from '79 - '86. With some pickup changes , in '81 and '85. In '86 the body was also changed (slimmer). I have had some of them. Plays well, but not the best sound. Maybe I' ll change the pickups one day on my '83 Mc 924
I had a 5 string sterling but the neck is the same as the 4 string, plus the bridge wasn't placed correctly so the G string kept falling off the neck. I returned it and bought the actual Ernie Ball... it's great.
Thanks again guys, always enjoy hearing about your experiences. The last part had me cackling ! Rewound it a few times. Hummmm
I felt that 'it cost me three times more than my car' thing HARD, haha! I have a pretty nice truck now, but for the first 18 years of playing, I quadrupled my rig's value every time I loaded my gear into it, haha! I want a Wal Mk3 SO bad, but i just can't justify that kind of money. Maybe if I made my living with it, but I have a day job, and that's garage or Harley money, haha! Every early-70s jazz I've ever played has had the neck I prefer, slim ind thin like my US Music Man Sterlings. Sand them and oil them and MAN, are they sweet.
Oh, so much great stuff going on. Such a wholesome duo and also very interesting content!
I also appreciated Ian's comment about relationships, so true (but it doesn't seem to be a very popular view on love these days 🤔).
I've had a Vox bass with a teardrop body and lipstick mics for almost ten years and it's one of these "mistakes" and I haven't been playing it too much, but I really love it for many reasons. As soon as I get some extra cash I'll definitely get it to a tech!
So I have a '76 Jazz. I think it has Scott's neck, but definitely has Ian's headstock, with the tuner hanging off the edge... Bought it in '87 for $399. Has a Badass bridge (which I love) and had the World's Ugliest (tm) cream-colored DiMarzio pickups. Sounded okay, but then I found in a clearance bin, a set of active Seymour Duncans. Put them in, and still loved the feel of the bass, but the sound was still just okay. 5-6 years ago, I had the bass in my avatar built, and it has Duncan Quarter Pounders, which sound absolutely awesome. So then I turned around, and put a set in the old Jazz. It no longer sounds "just okay".
At this point, of all my (too many) basses, my favorites to play are the Jazz, and this latest custom. Seems like they should be night and day (even though they do have the same pickups), but I'm just so in tune with both.
Japan was just cranking out awesome basses in the 80’s and 90’s.
I agree with the relationship analogy. My favorite bass was a Korean P Bass copy that I spent a lot of time making it my own. I probably wouldn't have done the same stuff with an original Fender P Bass. Lol
I have a Geoff Gould signature with a carbon fiber neck. The low B is amazing, but I also buy his custom taper wound string set. It is a 35" scale and the G isn't a problem. Conversely, I have a 1983 Ibanez Destroyer bass which is 32" scale. I think you guys have done short scale videos but not medium scale vids, although I think the Serik basses might make medium scale basses? Maybe a video idea or send a link to one you've done.
I have a BB3000 from 80/81 that Roger Sadowsky put a pre-amp in for me.. Being endorsed by Yamaha I got some really wonderful instrument. Glad you like the BB3000A. Are those EMG pickups in your BB3000A and are they stock? Roger told me not to change my pickups because they sound great. Love what you guys are doing, thanks.
I had a Felton 5 string King bass made for me (the Kevin Scott model, it’s amazing). The builder asked what extras or custom stuff I wanted, I told him that it was up to him, make it like Kevin’s. There is an episode of the Simpsons where Homer meets his long lost brother who is a car company executive. His brother thought that they needed to make a car for the “every day man” and Homer was going to design it. He made custom everything and all together it was complete crap. That’s why I don’t customize my basses!
I wonder if that is spam???
duude, my first “custom bass” came out at like 13 lbs too. It killlllled me. I’m like doing weird stretches on stage to mitigate the pain lol… big ass mahogany body.
also got a 36 scale later on and yea… the B string was not as tight and cool as I was told it was going to be. It was just … ehh
That fretless Ibanez Musician, GAAAWWWWD. Do want. It's one of my dream basses. I love the BB too. As for the Wal - I had an opportunity to play 2 and they were absolutely otherworldly. Most incredible basses I've ever held in my hands, apart from my Alembic Essence 5. But their prices... man, they're grotesque. Yes, Alembic's price list is even more out there, but I actually got mine for a very reasonable price ($2k, 2nd hand, about 12 years ago). It's my forever bass. Best B string ever - and it's 34". Love it.
The biggest disappointment for me was a Warwick Thumb. I used to drool over Warwicks when I was starting playing. Then, several years into my bass journey, I had to take my Yamaha BBG5S (cheap active 5) to a tech to have a nut replaced and had to borrow a bass for a rehearsal. A friend of mine had a Thumb 5 BO and let me use it. God, was that bass SHIT. No matter what I did with the amp and bass EQ, it sounded like dried elephant crap. After that underwhelming experience, I started listening closely to recording with Warwicks in them. Suddenly, the dream was gone. Those basses sound like absolute shite.
As for smoking - I do smoke but I'm very glad they banned smoking in bars. Playing and singing in thick smoke, no thanks.
And, well, drugs... I suffer from really severe depression, bordering on suicidal. And the only moments in the last year and a half where I felt carefree and almost happy, were on shrooms. Happened twice. And yes, I felt the edges of pine branches wanted to pet my fingers, and I let them. That was lovely. But I didn't feel depressed when I came down from the shrooms - well, not more than usually. And I've read they're actually really good antidepressants. I'd definitely consider microdosing if it was legal here in Poland.
@THE_SCOTTSBASS hey, you won being reported for scam!
Hey, I had one fretless like that. Looks great, but it never sounded right to my ears. Very woody, as mr Scott pointed out. Seems like the fretboard wood was not hard enough, though its ebony.
It helped a bit to give the fretboard a thick layer of epoxy (think I coated it 9 times, and sanded in between). But I could never get that "Jaco sound" out of it.
Wiithout fret lines I was lost anyway, so I got rid of it. Easier to play a double bass with intonation, than a 'blank' fretless (because of the scale lenght).
A 'Vintage Icon' was the solution, It is a good Fender Jazz bass copy, with fretlines. But the fretboard is of rosewood. So I'll have to give that one also some epoxy (or maybe superglue?). Or maybe go for taperwound strings, before the strings eat the neck up
Love the smoking bit - I had my last cigarette in 2009. Also, I would go bananas if I could get my hands on a five string Yamaha from the 80s!
Nightmare Fender Jazz Basses that become your favourite after hours of setting up. I;ve got a 5 string like that. MIM.
46:18. I bought a new BN5 and BN6 in 2005 and 2006. Standard options and wood options. The 5 string was around 1.5 lbs heavier and a more compressed toned in comparison. The same can be said for a new ken smith elite 6 string and 7 string I purchased new. Maybe it’s more about the weight/density of the wood than the wood species that makes a difference in tone?
Talking about 70s Fender quality issues and seeing the 80s Ibanez Musician... Have you guys ever gotten your hands on a 70s Ibanez Silver Series? Some of the true lawsuit basses? I have a 78 Silver Series P-bass and it is incredible.
I'm noticing how far outside of the strings the P pickup extends outside of the string spacing. Jimmie Bain swore by the BB series. Heavy pick player.
I can 100% relate to the weight issue.. I have a 4 string that weighs in excess of 16lb... fortunately Gruv-gear make a very good Duo-Strap which goes over both shoulders.. it took some adjusting and getting used to but once you've got it set up right and worn in a bit they're very comfortable.
Bass guitars are often heavy. I always kinda noticed that about them.
@Devil's Offspring for context - most basses weigh between 7lb and 10lb... 16lb is ridiculously heavy for a 4 string bass...its the equivalent of having 2.5 newborn babies strapped to your left shoulder.
@@darrenmills9832 Hehehe yeah, I played bass a lot as a little kid and I had a 4-string one, a P-bass knockoff, that felt like it weighed about ~250 kilos :)
Definitly a T-40
Really interesting, every instrument is unique, and so is every player. It’s a personal journey. Just like the Ayahuasca!!
Ayahuasca, no problem in South Africa or Holland, but scary stuff, but not as scary as Ibogaine.
That kubicki bass looks rad.
First bass I bought was a Yamaha BB4 J bass, plays as good as any other J bass I’ve played!
My old bass teacher had an olympic white fender that turned the colour of the end of a smoked ciggarrette butt from playing in bars for years. Its crazy what health damage muaicians muat hve gotten pre 2000
I genuinely think the fender Inigma is because people love them because they aren’t perfect and they have character, I’ve have high end makes and build quality is another level but non have the mojo of a fender with flats ❤
@THE_SCOTTSBASS have I ?
I had a Fender 66/67 jazz that had pickup routes that looked like the work experience kid did them..
I worked on 48th st and played all these basses
I had a 78 Jazz bass in 1984, the one with the 3 bolt neckplate and the "tilto-matic" neck adjuster. Awful. Awful build quality, heavy, sounded OK, but nothing more. Glad to get rid of it, for a Mk1 Wal. Fender have lived off the reputation of the pre-CBS models for far too long. I'd never have another Fender, there are far better instruments for similar money.
My main bass is a Sadowsky NYC 5 string which I had built in 2009, second bass is a Dingwall Z2 with custom Nordstrand pickups in original Dingwall shells, with a Nordstrand 3 band pre-amp, as I didn't like the sound from the original Glockenklang/Dingwall pickups. I also have a Steinberger NXT 4 string electric Upright.
I've a 78 jazz exactly like yours and the headstock is super dark never been in a smoky place.The finish just darkens with age.Im the original owner
What is the solution for an older bass that has some higher fret buzz? Do you need to run off the frets or shim?
I sold my Warwick Corvette fretless because it was TOO heavy.
hey Scott, you could find people doing ayahuasca rituals in Palma de Mallorca... ;)
The employees bought Fender back from CBS in 1985, not 82. Sorry to be a pedant. Loved this chat, so funny ✌🏼
Love the Ibanez
Bass talk …. Only we can get it 😀😀🎶
42:04. I’m gonna guess the mystery bass Scott is lamenting is either a Fodera or Carl Thompson. Who else is into building 36 inch scale basses?
Just noticed the last comment was 8 months ago and it was me, lol. Doesn’t anyone watch your pods more than once?
The UK pub smoking ban came in during 2007.
tape over those reactive pickups ----> pro tip!! thanks so much
The best Fender basses from the early-mid 80s were made by G&L, IMO.
I own 4 Musician basses and they're awesome!
1979 MC900
1979 MC940 fretless
1982 MC924
1985 MC824
Great! I am a Mc collector myself. Thoug I do miss a Mc900. Which one do you prefer, the 924 or 900?
@@evenseb7574 I prefer the MC924, since it's more versatile, but the MC900 has a unique sound. By the way, I recently got me another one: MC924BK (1985). Nice, but not better than the 1982 MC924
@@manlioylladesCongrats with the '85! I have one of these myself. Great instrument. Though it has very low output from the pickups. Wonder why, and if I could mod smth (eg.18V/ 2 batteries instead of 9V maybe 🤔).
@@evenseb7574 Thanks! Actually now I own two '85.An MC824 (which is passive) and an MC924BK (active, but someone removed the preamp). You don't specify whether it is 824 or 924, but my best advice would be to talk to a good luthier or guitar tech to see what it can be done.
You guys could be brothers
I would totally eat mushrooms with Scott and Ian. Just way when fellas lol. Things like hallucinagenics make can expand your perception in surprising ways and for me, helped tap into my creative side in new ways. Makes nothing but sense to me that they're used for therapy these days.
Was the Yammy BB made at the Matsumoku factory?
Lopez Jason Hernandez Elizabeth Jones Mark
Yeah, so, any one that buys a CBS era Fender deserves what they get. Those were trash.
I think Ian should change his name to “American Scott” 😂
GAS prices are going up!
Who needs the streets when you got SBL for all your street culture needs 😁
Are they talking about Carl Thompson? 🤭
Back in the eighties wife wanted to surprise with a bass because she had heard me talking about fender j basses,so she decided to take my buddy (who knew nothing about basses)with her to a pawnshop,she picked out a used j bass but my buddy says “ oh,don’t get the used one,buy this new one that’s hanging on the wall”. I ended up with a cheap off brand plywood body bass that was a total nightmare. I eventually got a real j bass (used)and it’s great,it’s even got the cigarette burn on the head stock lol.
GDAE Huuf 😂😂😂
It’s not obsurd, it’s absurd. Like it’s not padant, it’s pedant.
This became the joe Rogan podcast real quick lmao 🤣. I never smoked or drank either but I had a piece of a weed brownie that made me wake up butt naked in my bathroom face down . Never again 🤦♂️. My worse bass was a Mexican jazz bass the neck was all over the place and it had a dead E string sound .
Alabama still allows smoking & food served. I live in Florida (not allowed).
You can do Ayahuasca in the US, if it is done within a ceremonial, religious context. There are various places in various states around the country, where you can pay a fee, sign a waiver, and go through the experience in a South American/Central American type of ritual ceremony, conducted by a certified shaman.
Play DIO!
nice💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓👌💓👌💓👌👌👌❤️❤️❤️❤️