A new age

[serialnumber12]

1972!

[bracheen]

'Nough said, Keavin

[mike1762]

While they are admittedly 1 Trick Ponies from a tone perspective, my Stingrays fit me like a glove and I would never part with them.  While bolt-on construction is inferior to neck-through from a mechanical perspective, it translates into a tone not obtainable with a neck-through (and vise versa of course).  Therefore, I just don't see all my basses as necessarily interchangeable.  If you need a Phillips head screwdriver, a Flat head just isn't going to get the job done.  
 
Gary, I don't think James Jamerson played a 5 string bass... it was a 1962 Fender Precision.  Our own Jimmy Johnson was one of the pioneers of the 5 string and I don't think that was until 1976 (I might be wrong about that... Jimmy???).

[svlilioukalani]

Here's a quote form a web sight talking about James's 5 string. And a second quote talking about his bass. (Which is my rational for assuming the extreme high quality of Alembic basses may not have been his bag.) The movie Standing in the Shadows of Motown has some clips of him playing a 5 string.  
 
My point being, he tried it and didn't care too much for it. Ya know 4 fingers, 4 strings.
 
He bought a refinished black '57 P-Bass (Fender Precision Bass?) from a friend in 1960, replacing it, when it was stolen, with an early Sixties sunburst model. When that bass was likewise stolen he purchased a '62 sunburst P-Bass, nicknamed the ?Funk Machine,? that he owned up until it too was taken just before he died. Over the years, he experimented with a 5-string Fender and an 8-string Hagstrom, as well as a fretless model.  
 
To most other musicians, that bass was unplayable. Jamerson kept his action very high, and his neck was bowed due to lack of truss rod maintenance. He rarely cleaned his guitar, and he never cleaned the fretboard. To Jamerson, the sweat and dirt on the bass was the secret of his sound, the essence of the funk.  
 
There is a bass of that vintage for sale at BassNW.  
http://www.bassnw.com/Used%20Basses/fender_1968_1971_bass_v_602577.htm

[mike1762]

I stand corrected... I knew there were some 6 strings from that era (really more baritone than bass), but I didn't recall seeing any 5 strings until the late 70's.

[jacko]

Eligilam .. post 177. I nearly spat coffee over my keyboard ;-)
 
Graeme

[811952]

Those old Fender 5's were strung with a high C and sure didn't seem to be long scale...

[hieronymous]

The Fender Bass V was 34 scale - you have to see one in person or a picture of someone playing one to understand the proportions. I would love to try one someday...

[adriaan]

And remember that Jamerson  bought a FAIRLY NEW instrument, never a vintage one.

[811952]

I've played a couple of the Fender 5's, and they felt more like Mustangs to me.  I guess the short neck/fingerboard probably had a great deal to do with that.  A collector friend of mine has owned a few of them.  He also owned the only Hofner solid-body beatle bass I've ever seen, and man was that thing heavy..
 
John

[white_cloud]

No matter how unpalatable it may be Alembic is certainly not the first choice to most of the finest bassist from the past or the present and neither is five string.
 
Jeff Berlin for example is VERY anti active electronics and when you listen to his philosophy he has good reason!
 
Are bolt on neck basses inferior in any way - really?? The best designed versions of them sound good to my ears and isnt that what counts?
 
It is, as they say, horses for courses. Nobodys own personal choice is ultimitely absolutely correct or incorrect - if its good for you then its good.
 
The Fender design is old but it is classic - all other basses are merely variations on the same theme brainwaved by Leo.
 
Anyway, as far as Im concerned in this age of mass production and CNC router machines NOTHING is as well made as it used to be - let alone better, comprende!!
 
John.

[jos]

I do understand your point ?Funkyjazzjunky?. Nothing is perfect but the Alembics are on a totally different level than the normal basses today. I think that most bass players have never experienced an Alembic bass and how great and different sounds it can produce. The bass is expensive and hard to find and more than that there has to be someone to explain what you can do with the instrument and have a proper A/B test made.      
Alembic has a much wider, cleaner; bigger sound than any other bass on the planet. Its not too Hot, HiFi, or too active, you can adjust all that. Alembic bass it?s the leader of today?s bass guitars in every way, it?s even the most expensive. Who else has that strong and quiet pickups, strong construction and endless sustain.  
The thing is that most bass players, professional and amateurs, have never experienced the Alembic basses and do not know what you can do with it and how it will sound when its set up properly. This needs time and education.  
A great bass player will sound great with whatever he will play but with Alembic most of the guys would sound even better. But of course, not everyone needs this for his or her regular gigs.
What comes to James Jamerson and the other guys, that was that time and things sounded like that then, at that time there was not the need or knowledge for other things. The sound of the -60\s and -70\s is part of the great history, I definitely enjoy those records. When I did my first recordings in the -70\s I remember that we were often asked that should we cut the low end or high end to be able to have the (LP) vinyl record sounding as loud as the average vinyl? Today you can use wide sounds and have 5-string basses sounding big on CD\s.  
I love all the other basses too but I guess what ?Funkyjazzjunky? was telling us was that we should educate other players to understand the Alembic.    
The Alembic bass is really a different thing and is much more sophisticated than a regular bass guitar.

[ajdover]

In my stable, I have bolt ons, neck throughs, and set necks.  All have their good and bad qualities.  Oh, BTW, all of my basses are four strings.  I've yet to find a fiver or up that I feel comfortable with.
 
There's a reason Leo Fender's original design stood the test of time - it works.  To denigrate it as antiquated is, IMHO, missing the whole point.  It is a classic instrument that fills musical needs for a lot of people.  I don't care whether it's passive or active - it works, plain and simple.  That Leo came up with it and that it lasts today is a testament to his foresight and brilliance IMHO.
 
   Alembics are an entirely different breed, and I submit an acquired taste.  Few bass players I've encountered over the years have played much less own one.  There's undoubtedly a lot of reasons for this, but for most, the bolt on option is very attractive indeed.
 
    To wit: my '73 Fender Jazz Bass is highly modified.  I've got a J-Retro pre in it, a Badass II bridge, new tuners, and Seymour Duncan stacked pickups.  It would be difficult (not to mention expensive) for me to do that with an Alembic.  But that's OK - they're different instruments that I enjoy for their completely different properties.
 
For me, I don't care if it was made in the 50s, 60s, or yesterday.  If it works, it works, period.
 
Alan

[jacko]

Nothing wrong with customising a fender. Here's my '79 precision...
 

 
Rickenbacker electrics (including rick'o'sound), Schaller fully adjustable bridge and stripped the tobacco sunburst. She plays like butter and I'll never get shot of her but she's sat in a corner mostly unused since I started playing Alembics (and by implication, 5 strings).
 
Graeme

[funkyjazzjunky]

When Leo Fender made Music Man basses were they simply Jazz/Presicion basses or were they an evolutionary step?
 
When Leo Fender wnent to G&L did he just remake Jazz/Precision basses or did he try to improve upon them?
 
Just because my 20+ year old IBM AT computoer works does not mean that I want to use it when I have a relatively new one at my disposal.