THE Best bass player ever!!

[georgie_boy]

Now on a down note!
Niels seems to have taken some flak on a song he played with Christian McBride.
Ok.it seemed to my uneducated ears, that the intonation was slightly out?....the excuse being that he was getting old now.
Geez.....I make mistakes all the time, but could never play with such an Imperial quality and tone
 
 
NOW!!
 
The big question..........
OK.he played upright bass...a true skill in its own right
IMAGINE.if you can, that he played an Alembic Series bass....what would he have been like???
 
G

[georgie_boy]

Or even a Classico??

[artswork99]

Adding such tone to such playing, great to contemplate... the wonder of life has granted many of us here the enjoyment of such gifts during our lives.  Thanks Alembic!  Here's to the art of music and the makers of fine instruments!

[john_judge]

UPRIGHT PLAYING CAN BE A FUNNY THING.....I for one can play some things faster on the upright due to the hand positioning as being more comfortable and of course,  such is not always the case in reaching into the higher register...Where Niel's was a master at.  
There is nothing like a good old Alembic with smooth action and a great feeling neck to fly around on...But at times,  an Upright can bring out the Passion in me, for there are no knob's to turn no volume to set, only your technique can acquire those things, your volume your tone from the wood and on the upright, you must work hard to achieve it all.
May Niel's rest and peace,  for in the Jazz world, he was one of the most sort after and recorded  Bassist of all times.  John

[georgie_boy]

John,
I'm so graced that you respond to my posts..........thankyou!
I'm no upright player, although now, after hearing Niels, I wish I were!
To reach the levels of yourself and Jimmy J, is only a dream that will never be fulfilled by most of us..but we all live in hope!
My nearest level, is to play fretless bass (badly) but I do love the sound!
My dear friend White Cloud...John Hughes to those that know him!..............ALWAYS rants about the virtues of passive electronics.....whereby, there is no real colouration of the sound. I can now......after your explanation, see why!
I just love my 75 P bass for this particular reason........though all my other basses are active, it gives me that wonderful True woody tone.
I've watched Samba Petit so many times now.........still wonderful!
Thanks so much for joining our little club, and for imparting so much insight to it.
 
G

[white_cloud]

Thanks for the mention George although Im sure few members would agree with my taste for passive basses here at the club!
 
I always think back to hearing the late great Joe Zawinul stating that the truest and greatest instrument of all is the human voice - indeed, the primary and purest form of musical expression.  
 
Once amplified effects can be added of course but I cant honestly think of any vocalist with active electronics fitted to their throat at all lol!
 
John.

[peoplechipper]

The Samba piece is amazing! never thought I'd hear all that from an upright...John, I actually in general lean towards passive electronics; I never really trusted instruments you put a battery in, and coming from guitar playing all the active guitars are EMG shredmonsters that don't do it for me...
 
The bass that led me here was a Fernandes copy wired passive that sounded amazing; thankfully got the real thing a year later...but honestly, the difference at the amp end is a little more output from the Distillate. Wood and construction are truly key; I actually bought my Fernandes without plugging it in; sounded so good acousticially that it had to be good plugged in, and it was...but my Distillate is even better in both regards, which is why I love it so...Tony.

[georgie_boy]

I used to have one of those before I got the real thing.
Must say though..............don't care what anybody says........it was a superb instrument.
Not nearly as warm and melodic as my old 76 Series 1, but had all the filters and stuff, and, if I still had it today, then the woods would have matured and the sound would be UP there.
It blew a JD Mark King out the window.......go figure
 
G

[white_cloud]

Yes, I completely catch the drift on this subject,  
 
whenever I buy a bass I always spend some time playing it unplugged first and listening to every nuance of the sound - lets face it, if it sounds good unplugged then its a good indication that it will sound good plugged in!
 
In my experience instrument construction doesnt really have to be complicated to make for a good sound, many argue that neck-thru construction is vastly superior to bolt-on and set neck instruments - Im not sure I agree at all!
 
George, as you know I was never a big fan of Jaydee basses - I dont doubt that the Fernandes sounded better.
 
John.

[cozmik_cowboy]

...lets face it, if it sounds good unplugged then its a good indication that it will sound good plugged in!
 
Very true.  Besides, when I play unplugged, it's much harder for everyone to hear just how badly I suck.
 
Peter