Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Showcase => Spyder Basses => Topic started by: ox_junior on May 09, 2004, 05:22:57 PM
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Here's a rather poor webcam shot of me and my new Spyder 4-string #17. Her name is My Wife. I will be devoted to her and love her forever...
Better pics to come later. - Mike
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/10077.jpg)
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Mike: Congratulations. You must be really charged. Can't wait to see better pictures. I love the name (and the song!).
Bill
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Excellent! Is that a Bass Central photo? I think there's one of Oliver there as well.
Again congratulations
Sam
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Your smile says it all!
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Sam,
No I took this photo at home. I'll send Beaver some real photos once I use this bass at a gig. Naturally, will post those as well, our next gig is May 27.
Thanks all! Mike
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that is a cooool bass well done keep the photos coming
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Here are two photos of me with My Wife from a band photo session. Please forgive the trailer park background, which will, of course, be removed from the final edit. Just wanted to show off the new Spyder to my friends! Mike
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/10333.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/10334.jpg)
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Hey Mike, looking very authentic there!
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I played Spider Ollies one in Germany: VERY well balanced. I had no problem with the weight, I still believe my good'ol' Bonnie weights more!
BTW: I DO like the trailer style picture ...really!!!
Paul TBO
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Hey Mike,
wow, great shots.
Really cool looking bass you have..... :-)
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Paul, you WOULD dig the trailer park background!
Bob, thanks. That's the whole point - authenticity!
Ollie - yes what a gorgeous bass, eh?
I plugged her into my full Trace Elliot setup today. I have an AH600 (yes they did make a 600 briefly - very rare) thru a 2x10/1x15. Plus my Fulltone bass driver pedal. This thing was parting my hair with the master volume at 1! With the pedal on, I was getting feedback and great overtones, which will work great for Pinball Wizard. Can't wait to use the full setup at a gig!
Mike
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Brother Mike,
I'm already chuckling. Can you imagine the eyes of the musicshop-keeper when you enters his store asking for New strings for my wife????????????????
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAA!
Paul the bad one
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Mike,
also do any setup needed by yourself.
I wonder what will happen when you enter the music shop and ask for a new setup of your wife..... :-)
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Excellent advice. I think we'd all be happier if we could find some guy at a music store who could do a little set-up work on their wife. That's OK, but I'll change her strings myself, thank you very much!
Ha! Mike
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Here, at long last, is the new and improved MY WIFE!!
Enjoy! I know I do!
Mike Bisch
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/13792.jpg)
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Great ...
oh ...huhuhu... and it seems you forgot to turn down your Trace Elliot????
Paul TBO
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Looks great, Mike!
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That neck looks a mile long in that position. It's so elegant!
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A mile long? Wouldn't that be a 63,360 scale neck?
Sorry, my calculator made me do it.
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Well, it's a mile at a scale of 1:1863.529 or so.
Hey, my calc works, too!
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Looks great, Mike! Bet it's great to have her back. I like the new look, too.
Enjoy!
Bill TBO
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Hey, Mike
Saw your wife at the shop when I was up there in September picking the wood out for my custom. Had my wife with me, and during the tour, I just had to ask so, where's my broken wife? Good thing MY wife has a sense of humor...
Ken (TEO)
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Mike,
guess entwhistle is your hero then looking at the pics??
ever think about an audition with the rest of that famous english band
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I think he'd have to form an orderly queue behind Oliver if auditions were on the cards for a new bass player for The Who ;-)
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Whoops! Yes I did forget to turn down my Trace Elliot. Much to the chagrin of the soundman at this particular gig, who took to yelling at me through the stage monitors to turn it down. When I didn't, he promptly mixed me out of the house altogether, and I had people telling me later they couldn't hear me. The nerve of this guy!!!
With all the rumors floating about right now about Pino leaving The Who, I know that guys like Oliver and myself start furiously woodshedding and preparing our audition tapes when we hear these things. But I can tell you from a reliable source that Pete would never consider a JE-type player in the band. He feels that a simple yet tasty player like Pino better suits the band's current sound (i.e. all guitar) while honoring John's memory by not having someone just like him in the band. So...I'm not queueing up just yet. I love playing in my tribute band, The Who Show. It's as close as I'm gonna get to the real thing and I'm happy with that.
Besides, manager Bill Curbishly mentioned publicly this week that Pino is staying with The Who, so let's all settle down now.
Thank you all for your comments on My Wife! I will attempt to post a more detailed photo in the future. You can also check out this link for better photos:
http://leecegee.deep-ice.com/music/tws-normandie2.html (http://leecegee.deep-ice.com/music/tws-normandie2.html)
One more thing - when I go down to the first fret, it sure feels like a mile! I've asked Mica and Val to provide a quote for extensions onto my arms to reach the first fret. They said it might cost extra if I want purpleheart laminates down the middle, but nothing is impossible at Alembic!!
Thanks everyone!
Mike Bisch
www.thewhoshow.com (http://www.thewhoshow.com)
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Mike,
many thanks for your statement.
You have spoken wise words.
I think we should concentrate on doing the tribute thing to keep the memory in John alive.
Every band has its development, either good or bad.
I think this is a normal way how life goes and I think the Who should make the best in their situation.
Many greetings mate.
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Mike,
again me.
I just took a look at the pics.
Wow, your wife really looks great.
Hmm, I must admit that my thoughts
are again about a closer replica than
my Spyders are.....
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Thanks for the nice comments Oliver. I hope you're having luck in finding guys to do the tribute band thing with. John is gone now, and Pete is focused on looking forward rather than back (given that he has 40 years of back catalog material, I guess that must be struggle enough for him). Men like us are what tribute bands are all about.
Oliver, I will e-mail you separately regarding the modifications on my Spyder. Thanks for the nice comments.
Mike
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Mike,
mail received.
I have just answered to you.
Many thanks for the info.
Long live Rock....
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Mike,
I love the pics of you with your Spyder at the gig. Love that headstock. Has me thinking of sending Boris back to get the same thing done (but not due to an errant singer's microphone!). It just looks great. I guess if I were to do that, I'd go the extra mile and have Series II electronics put in it. Then again, if I did that, I might as well order a custom exact replica of John's basses ... but I digress.
It truly looks great, and I'm sure you sound great playing it. Best wishes to you and the Who Show on this Thankgiving.
Alan
Spyder no. 7
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Alan,
Good to see you again, my friend. Looks like you won the big game this year. There's always next...
As Oliver said, an exact replica will run you $28K. That's a fun amount of money to find...
Or you can have the modifications I made to my Spyder done for you. If you like I can e-mail you the details. The master volume pot I installed isn't quite an upgrade to Series II, but it does give you some additional tone shaping options that you will probably like. The rest of the changes you see are purely cosmetic. If you have a good rig you can get that thunder happening...
Cheers to you, mate, and happy Thanksgiving.
Mike
Spyder #17
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This is my favorite picture of me and my Spyder!
From our show in Los Angeles April 2:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/17610.jpg)
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NICE Mike,
I just can HEAR the PA-dude yell ...AND TURN THAT TRACE ELLIOT LOWER!!!!
HA!
PAul TBO
BTW: did you change speakers? Double 15??
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Hey there Paul!!!
Yes I have finally settled on a speaker combo that sounds the best for me on the Who material: 4x10 and 2x15. Of course I'd have more if I didn't have to carry them around myself! But this combo sounds pretty ripping (if you look closely, you can see the master volume on the amp is at about 2 and it was enough to drown out the drums and guitar) and fits perfectly in my SUV, so I'm good to go. I'll be selling my other 4x10 and my 1x15 if you/anyone's interested!!
The FOH soundman said to me that he would be taking me out of the house mix BEFORE I EVEN PLAYED A NOTE. Sheesh. I have no idea if this was an idle threat or not...everyone said they could hear...oh well.
That Spyder looks pretty good under the lights, doesn't it??
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So you call this a combo??
Jeez ...how do you call a combo??? A matchbox??
Just kidding ...I am confused how you guys call gear.
Paul TBO
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Well, it's obviously not a combo amp....I probably should have used the word 'configuration'.
Lost in translation.... ;)
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Mike/Ollie,
Well, I did it again. I have another bass ... this time, a Gibson RD77 Artist. I noticed in some of the pics of John in the artists and their Alembics section that John had one. Well, I can see why ...
It has an amazing tone, very close (but not quite) an Alembic. It just thunders. I got it off of Ebay and it has some problems, but nothing I won't be able to fix. I'm considering having it refinished - it's got some dings that I'd like to get removed if possible.
How many do I have now? 15, to include the American Jazz Deluxe I bought to use in Korea. Yeah, I know, too many! Pics to come later.
Best regards,
Alan
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Alan....that is super cool!! Pics when you can.
I also indulged further...as you can see I've been cabinet shopping. But I also bought a '62 Reissue Precision in Olympic White, which I'm now turning around and selling on E-Bay if anyone wants it. But the latest indulgence is this...I bought an Epiphone Thunderbird that is in that same funky shape as John's Fenderbirds...I'm going to try to turn it into one! It has a bolt-on neck, so...off with the old and away we go!! That'll bring me up to 7, so I have a ways to go before catching you Alan.
But enough for now!! I'd like to get a nice acoustic guitar and maybe a Strat for around the house messing about.
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Mike,
Is the Precision a MIJ model? Only reason I ask is I might have a buyer for it in Korea - a guy I met is looking for a US made Precision. Let me know.
A while back I actually saw a Thunderbird body that had been modified, e.g., the neck had been taken off, a neck pocket routed out, and a neck inserted. They were only selling the body, though. Should have jumped on it, I guess. Let me know how the project comes out. BTW, Bartolini makes replacement T-Bird pickups if you need them.
Alan
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Mike.
How did you find the sound with the 1X15 coupled with the 4X10? I've had a 4X10 250 watt combo for about ten years and have been looking for a 1x15 to go with it for some time so i'd value your opinion of how it sounds. - Yours is a bit too far away otherwise I'd be making you an offer ;-)
graeme
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If I may jump in -huh I would do it anyway- my sound changed dramatically when I coupled the 15 at the 4x10. Going back in time when I used the SWR SM 400 (in Bi-amp) and even while this amp is not powerfull enough for the speaker setup (what is dangerous ...I know!)the first reaction of my colleague bandmembers was louder and deeper. Now with the F1-X / SF-2 / Dynacord L-1000 combo (hahahaha...) I would even add with more control. And I DON'T mean the controls of the SF-2 but the fact that WHAT you DO with the SF-2 -and of course with any other good filter and/or EQ is better translated into sound.
Mmmmm ..I don't know if that is clear.
Paul the bad one
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Thanks for the input paul. Trouble is in the UK, second hand trace elliot gear is rarer than hens teeth. I can find plenty 200watt cabinets but not the 300watt that I need. I'm currently looking at the ashdown ABM115 but might need to borrow one of your stockings to finance it;-)
graeme
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Graeme,
I believe a 200W cab would work find for your 250combo. In theory you'd only be giving it 50w more than it's rating and that rating isn't anything close to what the cabinet will take. I have a 115 (ported) and I can push it with a 500 watt amp with NO problem...
stoney
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Mike, Alan, PaulTBO,
Mike: your Spyder is really a beauty. Love it....
Alan: Congrats to your RD. John had at least two
RD?s with one beeing a prototype.
Originally it was planned that the RD should
become the John Entwistle model but John was
so disappointed with the electronics that he
didn?t allow Gibson to put his name on.
I have two new projects on the go:
1. Alembic Dragon Wing Birds Eye
This will be a custom Dragon Wing in Johns
Spyder style. Means walnut core, bird?s eye
maple top and back, walnut headstock veneer,
20th anniversary electronics, dummy hum
canceller, master vol and pick up selector
on front lower horn
2. will not tell much about this at the moment.
Will take one year to complete....
Keep your eyes open for this to come......
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Alan,
The Precision I'm selling is MIJ, but I'm told that it was intended to STAY in Japan rather than be exported, so it's put together a little differently (supposedly better). I like it, it sounds great, but one P-bass is enough (I like my '75). If your friend is interested, let me know and I'll give you the E-Bay auction #. And thanks for the tip on the Bartolini pickups - right now the bass has a P/J combo and I'd like to get rid of that and go for the true T-Bird sound. I like science projects.
Jacko - I LOVE how my 4x10 and 1x15 sounded together. I'm only going for the 2x15 because I got a great deal on the cab and it just sounds that much better. Gives you complete versatility in terms of depth. 8x10 seems kinda one-dimensional to me...played with that for awhile and although it's very powerful and punchy, I couldn't get the warmth I get from the 15s. So....I recommend the 4x10/1x15 set-up if you can. Wish you could take my 1x15, it's in great shape...lots of used Trace gear here in the States...
Ollie - I know what YOU'RE up to without even asking. So I won't ask. But I KNOW.
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Ollie,
I can only shudder at what you have up your sleeve with your Wing (I assume that's what you're getting)! Nice touch with the dummy hum canceler and master volume - I'm sure it will look and sound great. I'm jealous already.
I'm surprised John didn't like the electronics of the RDs. I find mine awesome, almost Alembic like. What is not Alembic like is the neck (thick) and the action (higher than I like). I'm working on the action, but there's not much I can do about the neck sans having it shaved down by my tech in VA. It does have one other thing in common with Alembics - it is very heavy, much like my Spyder. The body is one solid piece of maple, so it should come as no surprise there. However, it has great sustain, and it does have the strings through body option, which I like.
Mike - I'll let my friend know and advise if applicable. He told me he was looking for an American Precision (and of course, wanted it for cheap!), but I don't know how hard and fast he is on it.
You'll probably have to rout out the TBird body you have, but it will be worth it for Bartolinis. I have them in my Pedulla, and they're awesome. I also have a set of the TBird pickups with an active electronics harness I have yet to put in my '87 T Bird. They are the old three screw type, not the two screw type of modern T Birds. Shouldn't be an issue for you, but mine has the newer two screw type pickups. I don't think it will be a problem, though.
Best regards,
Alan
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Gents,
Here's a pic of my RD77. It's a bit beat up as you can see, and the truss rod cover is removed because I'm trying to get it set up correctly. The brown spot between the pickups is where the previous owner had put a thumbrest, which I've removed.
Enjoy,
Alan(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/17625.jpg)
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Mike, Jonathon.
Thanks for the advice. After a bit of searching, I've found an 1818x cabinet right here in edinburgh. It's 1x18 and 1x10, originally designed to be used in a biamp setup but can be run full range. There's some confusion over whether it's 200 or 300 watts but I'm going to check it out anyway.
Alan, if you look at the 'family' photo on my rogue thread http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/17164.html?1110857827 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=8583) you'll see my homemade fretless RD copy. Built around the time the RD came out - '77/'78 ? Solid 2 piece mahogany body and 3 piece oak neck. It has a very warm sound, much thinner neck than the original and a ridiculously low action.
Graeme
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Wow Alan! Truly a rare find. Seems to be in pretty decent shape. I'm sure you'll have fun with it. Nice 70's Jazz bass too - I love the block inlays and the binding.
Graeme - hope the 1818 works for you. My 2x15 is rated for 300 watts, so I'm guessing an 1818 should be the same.
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Graeme - Interesting take on the RD. I like the Precision with Rick guts too.
Mike - My Jazz is a '73. Has a Badass bridge and Seymour Duncans in it (the hottest ones they make, whatever those are - I forget the nomenclature). It's the second one like it that I've owned. I had one up until I joined the Army that I bought for $200 in 1981, and like an idiot I sold it before I went on active duty (car payments, don't you know?). Picked up the one I have now from Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, and I have the original hardware (pickups, bridge, tuners, etc.) if I ever one to make it totally stock again. It just had a refret last year.
Alan
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That thing is AWESOME Alan. Cool that you can make it stock again. I have a '62 Jazz reissue that I had hotrodded with EMGs. It's good for everything else I do that's non-Who Show.
My '75 P-Bass is all original. Never even been re-fretted! It's not quite a slab bass or Frankenstein but it has a growl to it that I haven't heard from a lot of other P-basses, so it works great for my band just as it is. I traded a Hohner full-body but headless Steinberger copy for it in 1989. It's probably the only bass I have that will never leave my possession....except for, of course, my Spyder.
Whoa...we ARE supposed to be talking about Alembics, aren't we? Sorry Mica!! We're just comparing notes about those inferior instruments not known as Alembics!!
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Mike,
I'm glad you like it (the Jazz). I grew up playing one, so for me it's a great instrument. And I love the black inlays, which are original.
I've never been a big P-Bass fan. I suppose I should get one to round out the collection, but I've always considered them a one-trick pony. One pickup, one sound, etc. To each his own and all, but for me it just doesn't work as an all around instrument. That, and the fact that I'm heavily influenced by Geddy, Chris Squire, John, Jethro Tull, Jaco, Stanley, etc., and you get the picture.
All this being said, I'm sure I'll end up with a P-Bass in my stable eventually. Not that I need or want one, but just to round things out! :-)
Like you, I'll never sell my Alembics. They are the prizes in my collection, and the finest instruments I've ever played or owned. I talked with Val about converting my Spyder to a true Entwistle model, and he told me it would be better to order one from scratch given the cost of a conversion. So, I'm saving for my dream bass. Someday, it will be mine .... and Ollie will be jealous. Until then, I still have my Spyder, and my Wing, and my Europa ...
BTW, I played my Wing at an open mike night tonight (space limitations prohibited taking Boris there). First time she's been out of my house. Anyway, the response from the other bass players was as expected ... drooling, followed by jaw dropping (man, that's awesome ... what brand is that? ... where can I get one? I could tell when you were playing - it was thunderous!). I love the Signature electronics, in some ways more than the Anniversary electronics in my Spyder. And it's better for slapping and popping due to the positioning of the neck pickup.
It's the end of the post, and I'm still talking Alembic,
And, as Martha the Antichrist Stewart would say, this is a good thing,
Best Regards,
Alan
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Mike.
Sorry to hijack your showcase thread but I've just found out that Peavey have bought the trace name and are remanufacturing the original product line..
http://www.trace-elliot.co.uk/index.html (http://www.trace-elliot.co.uk/index.html)
Looks like i might be able to get the 1518 new after all.
graeme
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Alan,
You're right in that P-basses are not very ultra-versatile in terms of tone shaping. But each one sounds different. Depends on which one ends up in your hands.
Glad you like The Wing!!! Of course, any Alembic is going to blow most people away, but the Wing's design - stunning!! I'd like to have one. If anyone wants to send me one.
Graeme, that's cool that Peavey is picking up the Trace name. It will be interesting to see what they do with it. It was great as an independent shop. Gibson ran them into the ground. Peavey has the distribution but not the reputation of quality. I'll keep an eye on it myself.
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Alan,
plse send me a mail:
senmen@web.de (mailto:senmen@web.de)
Have to tell you something interesting.
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Mike,
I've not tried a PBass yet that didn't sound like the last one I tried. I will give them this ... they are consistent... ly ordinary. Again, to each his/her own, but I just can't understand for the life of me why anyone would purchase an instrument with only one sound or tone. Just me.
Alan
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Must be me then, as my two P-basses sound very different. My '75 with the maple neck is very ballsy and bright, and my '62 reissue is much deeper sounding. Go figure.