The end of my midlife crisis

[jbybj]

After having one and only one bass from age 16 til I was 45, I suddenly awakened and recognized my limited time on this plane, so I started acquiring instruments. Now, two guitars and 8 basses in, I think I'm ready to slow down. I have run out of space. This, my Viola bass is the latest, about a year in the making. The neck was made for me by USA custom guitars, size and shape like my 69 Jazz neck, but with an ebony fretboard. The body I found on ebay, from a couple in Indiana called Unorthodox Guitars. Cherry on the back, maple on the front, with Alder inbetween, mostly hollow, but the walls are thick. The bridge is a brass Hipshot, with Hipshot ultralight tuners, and the electronics are EMG running at 18 volts. A TW pickup, push vol, it's a humbucker, pull vol, it's a single coil. Three band active EQ. I finished it with a Tung oil/poly blend. Just put it together last night, weighs 7 lbs. Sits nicely on the upper portion of my belly, nice balance, no neck dive, I'm infatuated. Went to the luthier today for a nut and setup. I will finally get to hear it this Saturday. What an odd experience to imagine all the components and how they might sound together, but in reality, I have no idea what will happen. I hope it's not a fart bucket ;-)

 

 

 

  (Message edited by davehouck on September 25, 2007)

[grooveman]

Sounds interresting ... but with all that ... didn't you left money enough to buy some strings for this one ... ;>0

[gare]

Nice bass James, interested in hearing how it comes out.

[jbybj]

Well I finally played it today, and it meets my wildest expectations. It rides very comfortably, the neck is easy and quick, and the tone, well the tone is a bit woofier than any of my other basses, not a bad thing, just different. The EMG pups are, dare I say it? like a poor man's Alembic. If I had to quantify it, I'd say the EMG's give me about 70% of what I love so much about my Alembic pups. Aside from being very nice to play, I like the uniqueness factor, I think she's purty.  

[terryc]

An upmarket version of Macca's bass!!
Looks very retro but with a modern stance, why don't you stick a AXY in it with vol & filter + Q switch, bet it would sound the biz then.
You are right about EMG's, I knew someone who thought by putting EMG's in his jazz bass that it would sound like an Alembic..err no, it still has the passive vol & tone..silly man..he still owns a jazz and always slags my Alembic off...jealousy or stupidity or both on his behalf

[jbybj]

I love the sound of my Jazz bass, but it's nothing like my Epic. I can't imagine having only one of the other. EMG does make a passive line of pups that, to my ear, are mediocre. Even the active EMG's would never replace the sound of my Epic, just another hue in the pallette. BTW, what, where, who is Macca's bass?

[David Houck]

James; a picture of Macca's bass is here.

[jacko]

James. Macca - short for paul McCartney.
 
graeme

[811952]

Short hijack here..
 
Macca's people have bought up much of the older Hofner bass inventory.  It seems he likes to distribute autographed copies to his friends and acquaintances...
 
John

[jbybj]

A Beatles fan all my life, and a McCartney fan for, well... at least Ram, and I have never seen or heard the Macca reference til now.  
 
I just don't see it, Macca's Hofner is a violin bass, even a child can tell mine's a Viola! :-) Luckily for me, it sounds nothing like a Hofner. Jamming this Saturday, I'm all a-twitter.......

[anarchyx]

that bass sounds like its awesome.  
 
P.S. did u guys know that when the Beatles made records, they made up a story that McCartney was dead, and they recorded clues on the songs, and played them backwards, so if u played the record backwards, u could hear the clues. u guys probably didn't understand any of that

[lbpesq]

WOW!  And I thought Paul was really dead!  Actually, the backwards messages were mostly figments of the imagination.  But if you want Beatles trivia, who composed the original rhythm section, bass & drums (no, it wasn't Paul & Ringo).
 
Bill, tgo
 
(Message edited by lbpesq on October 07, 2007)

[paulman]

): ssaB aloiV eht ekil I dna...uoy rof egassem sdrawkcab a si ereH.

[jbybj]

If you listen carefully, you will hear that I buried Paul is actually, cranberry sauce. BTW, remember Twin Peaks? There were scenes where David Lynch had the actors recite their lines backwards, then he would reverse the film, resulting in a backwards envelope type of sound but with forward speech. Very cool effect. With my new boss looper, I can do the same thing! too much time on my hands I guess.........

[cozmik_cowboy]

Anarchyx; I think anyone between 50 & 70 knows that - but the alleged backwards lyrics were only a small part (myself, I could never find a turntable that would play backwards...).  There were hidden meanings found in pictures, lyrics, promo stuff (e.g. a widely publized P. McC. look-alike contest with the winner - allegedly Billy Shears - never annouced) - there was almost a cottage industry that developed around ferreting out the truth about the original Paul's decapitation in an auto accident in 1967 (He blew his mind out in a car....).  
 
James; Cranberry sauce?  Never heard that one. If I listen very closely, I can almost hear John's official explanation of I'm very bored, but I buried Paul goes a long way to explaining Mr. McCartney's career since Billy Shears assumed the role...
 
Bill; Stu Sutcliffe & Pete Best, of course.
 
Peter