'03 SC Signature Standard 5-string

[hieronymous]

Looks like stickers to me! What do you think?

[keith_h]

I've noticed Stanley has stickers to mark settings on a lot of his stuff.  
 
My question is did he end up sanding the back of the neck or leave the finish?  
 
Keith

[hieronymous]

Keith, I don't know the answer to that one - I will try and ask Mica at the upcoming Gathering

[hieronymous]

Found similar sticker markings on his Alembic preamps in the Premier Guitar rig rundown episode on YouTube:
 

[hieronymous]

Been over two years since I last updated this thread! Narrowing in on strings for this thing - LaBella long scale nickel round wounds .045-.128 - the EADG fit great, the B is a little too long so getting some 32" scale ones made by bassstringsonline.com.

I am really grateful to Bill TGO for letting us play at his Labor Day party this year - it was great incentive for my drummer to come back from Salt Lake City to hang out, rehearse for the gig and also record. I used the house rig, discussed elsewhere. Here's a pic from the party:




Here's a close-up from the same day where the bass is more visible:



And here's a link to the first time we were playing together over the weekend (which was 101 degrees by the way!):

https://soundcloud.com/hieronymous-seven/trio-improv

We were testing out our rigs, setting levels (both in the room and in ProTools), and improvising. To me there's a searching quality to it - at one point I played a lick, then when I tried to repeat it I flubbed a bit and I remember thinking in that split-second - "shit this is serious!" I attacked the lick with hopefully a bit more authority after that - I think that flub might be in this clip!

At the beginning it's going through my MXR Bass Octave Deluxe & 3Leaf GR2 envelope filter, then I switch off the GR2, then it's clean. I'm thinking I might try and run the bass signal (which I recorded direct) through my SF-2 with a high pass filter to emphasize some of the high end - my strings are super old and dead, but there should be some more high-end content with the envelope & octave. I was also running it through my old Boss PQ-3B with the lows boosted, maybe a little too much, haven't decided yet.

[hieronymous]

Realized I have a couple more gig shots, with a different band - Shadow of the Moon - this is from Jack London Square:







And one from a fundraiser for Hayward High School:



More info can be found in the gigs section: Shadow of the Moon - another hieronymous project

[hieronymous]

Also, the Stanley Lighthead album was completed and now available on band camp:

https://stanleylighthead.bandcamp.com/album/getlightheaded

And to keep the Alembic theme going, it is 100% the Stanley Clarke Signature Squared, which can be seen here in an alternate version of the album cover:

[hieronymous]

This bass was relegated to the case for quite a while, but it came out for a spa day and new strings! I wanted to put the same strings on that were on it before (LaBella SN 45) but looks like they are out of production! So trying the RX set - also nickel roundwounds, but lighter tension according to LaBella. Still have my custom .128 medium scale string for the low B.




(I also like the way the colors of the string package match the bass and room)

[rv_bass]

Very nice bass, I might check out Labella flats sometime to see what they are like!

[hieronymous]

Very nice bass, I might check out Labella flats sometime to see what they are like!

I use LaBella flats on some of my other basses - both my Les Paul Triumph Bass and Guild AleM-85 II fretless, plus I put the heavy set (not the full-on Jamerson-heavy set) on my Donald Duck Dunn Signature P-Bass. One thing to be aware of - the E string is often deader and thuddier than the other strings - not sure that it's consistently the case but I find that on the P-Bass and Les Paul. Need to do some experimenting but not right away. Thinking of trying out Pyramids on the Les Paul, it needs some work done so not until then.

[edwardofhuncote]

Your Stanley Squared is an ultra-cool bass.    There can't be too many of those 5-string SC basses... I recall seeing three, counting yours, and one of them (a quilted maple example) I may have simply seen twice.

I'm guessing that with the shorter scale length, you can easily get away with much heavier strings. I'll bet that low-B is special too. 

[hieronymous]

Your Stanley Squared is an ultra-cool bass.    There can't be too many of those 5-string SC basses... I recall seeing three, counting yours, and one of them (a quilted maple example) I may have simply seen twice.

I'm guessing that with the shorter scale length, you can easily get away with much heavier strings. I'll bet that low-B is special too. 

Thanks! I think I have seen at least two others besides mine, plus of course one they made for Stan the Man himself, and maybe one more official Signature Series 5-string? Wondering about the one in this old write-up on No Treble - was this one for Stanley or was it for sale? Also - it's a Series I!

Mine started with Signature electronics (V/P/F/F) but I had it changed to Anniversary, so V/V/F/F + pickup selector which they added and ability to go stereo. Series I would be cool though!

I actually relegated it to its case for over a year but came back to it a couple of weeks ago - the new strings sure help! I think that actually the tension may be similar, I didn't notice the neck shifting much at all - but they seem a little more flexible, or at least the E does. (Assuming the tension ≠ flexibility of course...)

[hieronymous]

I entered a contest - you had to play along with a 50 second synth track. Went with the Signature Squared, it's the main bass I've been playing lately, and I've really been playing exclusively with a pick so I went with that. I also figured I'd be one of the only people using a pick, maybe my entry would stand out a bit - even though the winners will be picked randomly lol

The recording is direct recorded into my Zoom H6 with just my CAE compressor. I was actually really impressed with the sound, afterwards I ran the track through my old Boss Bass Parametric Equalizer to add a smidgeon of bass and some treble but it would have been fine without. Find out tomorrow if I won! Three prizes, all include bass lessons from Damian Erskine. I need them! This take is the best of like 50! I just couldn't play something I was satisfied with in the second half. Had some insight into how much of a mystery the fretboard is to me, as well as how lacking my harmonic knowledge is. I do feel like I went for it, in a few places I just missed what I was going for, so I had the idea, but would like to have a bit more freedom.

[elwoodblue]

Coool...good luck.


 I hear an Alembic, but I'm also hearing some Getty Lee Rickenbacker-esque-ness.
Looks like you are in a theater...nice vid.

[edwardofhuncote]

Sounds great, and nice job on the video edit too.