Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: willie on June 14, 2004, 09:09:09 AM
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I have a DVD of Level 42 live and am curious if anyone knows what type of basses he is playing in that concert. They don't look like Alembics. They are headless & look like they have graphite necks. I also have a DVD of Mark King live and those basses don't look like Alembic's either. All of these basses have front & side L.E.D.'s I was wondering why he's not playing any Alembics in these concerts
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I think you'll find it's a Status King Bass, made my Status Graphite here in the UK. Have a look at www.status-graphite.com (http://www.status-graphite.com)
They're excellent basses, although I sold my original all graphite one 14 years ago and have never looked back....
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I think you'll find it's a Status King Bass, made by Status Graphite here in the UK. Have a look at www.status-graphite.com (http://www.status-graphite.com)
They're excellent basses, although I sold my original all graphite Status 14 years ago and have never looked back....
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Oops sorry for the multiple post...
Ben
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mrben
Thanks for the replay. I checked the website and thats exactly what he was playing. So Mark King & John Entwistle both played Status basses. I guess they must be quality instruments but I'll stay with my Alembic's. Do you know if Mark still plays his Alembics or has retired them and just plays the Status basses?
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Publicly, it looks like he's playing the Status these days. When Level 42 first appeared in the early 80s he was much associated with Jaydee basses, made in the Midlands in England. I think his official Alembic period was quite short lived. I'd take a Alembic over a Jaydee without even thinking about it but Status basses are pretty good....
Ben
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I'll take an Alembic over anything I've ever played so far. Thanks
Willie
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Mark King actually played Alembic from 1988 until 1994 (the band's split up) and during a solo tour in 2000.
A few of the reasons why he switched from Alembic to Status is that he was looking for a lighter, smaller and more compact bass. He's experimented with other basses as well (GB-Basses and Fender), but these didn't meet his requirements.
Today he uses the Status basses on tours, but I'm pretty sure he still has his Alembics, which he's used on numerous recordings.
Duncan
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Take a look at the official www.level42.com (http://www.level42.com) website. It has a section on all the basses he ever played and about the whys and whynots. Quite interesting to read.
It seems the headless aspect of his current Status model was one of the reasons why he didn't just get an Alembic short scale. I am sure the lack of headstock helps a lot in terms of balance on a small body. And of course a graphite neck keeps an instrument almost maintanance free, quite an issue in life situations. From what I heard (or read) Mark also worked very closely together with Status on the electronics, so he can have very direct control over the sound he needs. I believe the vast possibilities of the Alembic Series electronics can be quite overwhelming for many people.
Hartmut
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I own an Alembic MK sig, a Jaydee GA24 and a Status Kingbass and can vouch that they're all equally wonderful instruments, although very different in character. The Jaydee is definitely the least 'hi-fi', with quite a raw sound, but very gutsy - a lot of grunt and growl, rather like a Stingray, I find. A real 'plug and play' instrument - not a great range of sounds so not much point in fiddling around with the controls, but as long as that's the sound you're after, it's great. And very nice to look at - obviously influenced by the Alembic shape. The neck on mine's a bit 'whippy' though - the slightest temperature change and you need to get your allen keys out again. That's why my Jaydee lives in the studio now.
The Status Kingbass has a very hi-fi sound, rather like the Alembic, but with a bit more 'zing' (if that's possible) and less woody warmth (well, the neck's graphite, after all). Great range of sounds, though - you've got bass, treble and sweepable mid controls, and the mid can either be scooped out, flat or boosted with a three-way switch. Very easy to dial in a great sound very quickly. Great fun to play, too - beautiful action and feel, and so portable. My only grumble is that it lacks the Jaydee's mid-range grunt and can therefore tend to get a bit lost in a live mix.
The Alembic, as you know, has 'the' sound - you can get the grunt and the hi-fi, and in terms of woodworking and craftsmanship, it can't be beaten. But as Hartmut said, the tone controls can be baffling, and it's never a case of being able to plug in and play - I need to tune the bass to the rig and the room each time - worth it in the long run of course, but if you don't get a sound check or you're just jumping into a jam session, it's not the bass to use. And it's so bloody big and heavy. For this reason I find myself opting for the Status for the three-hour gigs . . .
All great instruments, though, and I wouldn't want to be without any one of them.
Karl
www.harambeuk.com (http://www.harambeuk.com)
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So now I know what kind of bass he's playing I have another question. What does he put around his thumb and is it to keep his thumb from getting worn down to the bone because of the way he plays or is it to get a different sound than what you get with a bare thumb?
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Gaffa tape, IIRC. In US lingo: duct tape.
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It's actually Gaffer Tape (a gaffer is a lighting technician in a film production, using the tape to secure cables to a stage).
Willie, what you said, MK originally used the tape for protecting his thumb from injuries, but I believe it also adds some weight to the thumb which is a welcome side effect for MK's ultrafast slapping style.
In interviews he said that the sound is better without the tape, so he would use it in concerts only, not necessarily for recording. Of course only MK himself knows what's really true...
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Hartmut, sure that's the official version. It's pronounced 'gaffa', and most Dutch technicians pronounce it like that, with the first 'a' like in 'car', and the second 'a' like in 'have'. And sure enough the southern technicians use a soft g at the start, the northern ones a hard G .
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Thanks for the responses. I wouldn't want to get the glue from the tape on my bass or strings. I guess he can afford new strings though. I figured it might be to protect his thumb from the beating it must take considering the way he plays. Thanks again. Willie
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Willie, you wouldn't have to fear the glue. The glue would be on the inside, on your thumb, not on the outside where the strings are. Also gaffer tape is extremely strong and if you wrap a few layers around your thumb it won't wear off.
It is fun to try. I am sure every MK clone kiddy once tried it in their lifes. I wasn't any better. In public though you'd immediately expose yourself as a MK clone . Since he really invented or established it, it has become kind of his trademark. Still, it's fun to try it out once if you'd like to feel the acceleration on your thumb.
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I just remember anytime I used duct tape on anything the glue seemed to get on stuff and didn't want to come off. Can you actually notice a difference in thumb speed? I may have to try it just for that.
Willie
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My imnpression is 'thumb speed' increases when you go from long scale to medium scale. I know mine did.
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Can anyone explain the concept behind the bendwell feature on the Status Kingbass? On their website it states that it allows for bending and vibrato. Wouldn't this be possible on a regular headless bass without this feature?
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What they call the bendwell is usually the area on the headplate where the string goes from the nut to the tuners. A bass player can push down the string in this area behind the nut to bend up the tone, as Stanley Clarke is popular for and of course Mark King, who was sufficiently influenced by SC.
On a regular headless this area does not exist. The strings start directly at the nut and go down to the bridge, that's where you'd have the tuners on a headless.
By adding a little overlapping neck area extending beyond the nut, you'd have this little extra string extension to perform this kind of bending even on the headless neck. Just look at the headless neck area above the nut of the Status and you'll see what I mean.
(Message edited by haddimudd on July 04, 2004)
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The Bendwell is a brilliant invention made bij Status. It is especially for headless basses. The trick is very simple. The neck is extended behind the nut. It is also a bit 'hollowed'. This way you can bend or add a vibrato effect to the strings you play. On a normal bass, you can do that very easily, because there is always a space between the nut and the tuners where you can fool around with the strings. Untill this feature was made by Status, that kind of tricks wouldn't work on a headless bass.
Mattheus
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OK so now I know what basses he's playing & what he has on his thumb, so how about some info on his stage rig, I imagine someone here will probably know exactly what he uses. Thanks
Willie
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Re the thumb thing. I got into slapping a while ago and I know how sore my thumb got whilst doing all that stuff. Instead of the tape thing which to be honest I never tried. I went to a jewelery stand in a market and bought one of those cheap silver thumb rings and put that on the knuckle of my thumb and used that instead.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/449/11222.jpg)
it gave a brighter thump to the sound and a nice percussive edge and saved my thumb. I don't know about making my playing faster but it did give an interesting sound.
it's very clicky if you slap over the end of the neck but if like me you dont it's fine also it means you can slap close to the bridge where the strings are tighter and get a more useable sound without having to hit the strings too hard.
Anyway I don't get that much call for slapping that much now and certainly not Mark King Style.
here's a picture of the offending weapon
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There's a guy in germany who's made a product called slapring which does exactly what you describe: http://www.slapring.com/en/productinfo/index.php (http://www.slapring.com/en/productinfo/index.php)