| Author | Message | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 422 Registered: 8-2008 |
Peter K, That is a fine looking acquisition, congratulations. Your vibrato will go a long way on that axe! And wow, have a great time in Russia! That should be a great experience! Rusty, Sorry to miss you at the Potato. (I'm probably not playing the Allen Hinds gig in December. Sometimes the online calendar is inaccurate due to the use of "copy and paste". Most likely it will be JV Collier on bass that evening.) But you will certainly enjoy the Daversa band. He assembles a great collection of players and has written some very cool modern big band music. They overflow the bandstand a bit ... but that's all part of the fun. Have a great trip and congrats to your elder for the head band director gig. Graeme, Terry brings a "small" kit to the Potato, only 4 kick drums last time. Ha! This time he is threatening to use the house kit ... but I have a feeling it will become something more. Good fun! Cheers, Jimmy J | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 717 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks for the reply Jimmy! I will definitely make it out to one of your shows someday! This trip was scheduled to take my son to a Chargers game, but hopefully next time I can plan it around one of your shows! Have you ever thought of starting a seperate thread on here with a list of your upcoming gigs so we could see when you are playing in our area? Rusty | ||
| eddievig
New Username: eddievig Post Number: 3 Registered: 4-2009 |
Jimmy, As I sit here rebuilding a laptop for my Mom and waiting for all of the Windows updates to download, I am thoroughly enjoying watching you with Lee Ritenour on the "Rit Special" DVD (circa 1984?). Great work as always, and love your solo on "Rio Funk". I also agree with rustyg61 regarding the gig calendar  | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 728 Registered: 2-2011 |
Hey Jimmy, I finally made it to The Baked Potato! I went last Friday & saw John Daversa's Progressive Big Band. They were great! I met John & his bass player, Jerry Watts, & both had high praise for you, as did the bartender when I told them that I found out about The Baked Potato from you. The band literally took up half the room & my son & I had to sit at the bar because my flight was late getting in, but I loved the intimate setting there! It feels like having a band in your living room! I will definitely be going back when I visit my son! Here's a couple of pictures -    | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3304 Registered: 10-2002 |
Nice pics Rusty. It really is a great club isn't it? Graeme | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 729 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks Graeme! Yes, it IS a nice club with great food & the perfect setting for enjoying amazing music! | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 425 Registered: 8-2008 |
Ed, Thanks for the kind words. That Rit experience seems like eons ago (because it was!) but I was lucky to be there and to have the opportunity to play with Carlos Vega in that band... Rusty, So glad you made it to the Spud and heard all those cats play. Watts is great player with a big sound and a very nice guy. And Daversa's book is difficult. I subbed on the band once for Jerry and had to dig in hard to keep up! The club is a funky little place but as you see it's kind of a musician's Mecca! In fact, my first visit to the place was before I moved to LA, probably 1978-79, and I saw a band with Ernie Watts, Dave Grusin and ... wait for it ... Lee Ritenour. Small World, huh?! Holiday best to all! Jimmy J | ||
| hankster
Advanced Member Username: hankster Post Number: 303 Registered: 6-2004 |
My first and only visit was in 1979, to see Joe Diorio. I think he had Charles Magnusson (?) on bass. | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 742 Registered: 2-2011 |
Jimmy, it was an experience I'll never forget & I want to thank you again for telling me about The Baked Potato! If those walls could talk!!! Lots of history there! What made it even better was that my 24 year old son loved it too. Such a wonderful thing that in this age of electronic artificial music that most of the youth tend to gravitate towards, that I can take my son to a place like the Spud & expose him to real musicians at the top of their game & he is just as blown away as I was! It was a great father/son bonding experience & I can't thank you enough for making me aware of the club! | ||
| jcdlc72
Advanced Member Username: jcdlc72 Post Number: 208 Registered: 11-2009 |
You probably mean Bob Magnusson. ) | ||
| hankster
Advanced Member Username: hankster Post Number: 304 Registered: 6-2004 |
I do, i think. 30 years has clouded my memory. Thx. | ||
| gbulfon
Member Username: gbulfon Post Number: 54 Registered: 4-2010 |
Hi, just wanted to share with all of you this transcription of mine, it's free, just need a free account on Scribd http://www.scribd.com/doc/125866240/Sphere-of-Innocence Gabriele. | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1413 Registered: 10-2006 |
Hey, Jimmy, will you be with JT on Maui April 12? Our oldest lives in Kihei, & is talking maybe bringing us out for that one. Peter (who really would be OK with a JT show in HI) | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 433 Registered: 8-2008 |
Gabriele, I see you are still giving your ears a good work out. Nice tune to take down, some great Holdsworth moving harmonies. Yes Peter I plan to be in Hawaii for those JT gigs. They may be his only public performances (with band) this season. Smallish group - no horns or percussion - a few BG singers - but it should be fun! I can't help you with tix but maybe we'll see you there. Jimmy J | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1415 Registered: 10-2006 |
Cool; hope to see you. I wasn't expecting tix, but, hey, if you ever can............ Peter | ||
| klinkepeter
Intermediate Member Username: klinkepeter Post Number: 105 Registered: 2-2008 |
Talking about Alan Holdsworth, i just was listening to an old recording " Dodgy Boat" from the Wardenclyffe Tower album (1992), the bass-solo is terrific! for those not having it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QesdbV6k-5A Peter | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 439 Registered: 8-2008 |
Thanks for the comment on the solo. That's one of keyboard player Steve Hunt's compositions. Extra points to anybody who can explain the song title's true meaning - which has nothing to do with anything nautical. And I'll balance your "free" link with a "for sale" link to support the Artist. (Yes I know, old school...) http://www.amazon.com/Dodgy-Boat/dp/B000QNVS7U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364589195&sr=8-1&keywords=dodgy+boat Cheers, Jimmy J (Message edited by jimmyj on March 29, 2013) | ||
| moonliner
Intermediate Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 119 Registered: 12-2004 |
I'll give a try! Is it cockney for a not pretty face? (google don't fail me now!) | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 440 Registered: 8-2008 |
We have a winner! I believe in cockney rhyming slang "boat race" = "face" so a dodgy boat is a face of ... questionable beauty. That makes the Youtube vid of various watercraft extra funny. Ha! Jimmy J | ||
| gbulfon
Member Username: gbulfon Post Number: 55 Registered: 4-2010 |
@klinkepeter: maybe you want to take a look at my transcription of that solo (you need a free account to donwload the pdf, for free): http://www.scribd.com/doc/101210808/Allan-Holdsworth-Dodgy-Boat-Bass-Solo-by-Jimmy-Johnson I also have the full transcription of mine of the entire piece, we use to play with one of my bands. Just tell me if you're interested in it. @JJ: we had a gig last friday night playing Holdsworth, Pasqua, Wackerman tunes, and Dodgy Boat Frank started his solo using your notes! But then moved away to his own ;) Same for Duncan Terrace! Gabriele. | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 441 Registered: 8-2008 |
Hey Gabriele, Considering how difficult it is for Holdsworth, Pasqua and Wackerman to get gigs of their OWN, it's good that somebody is playing that music in public. Ha! I'm glad you guys are having fun and happy to hear that Franco is stretching his ears. Jimmy J | ||
| slicknickhaas
Member Username: slicknickhaas Post Number: 80 Registered: 10-2009 |
Hey Jimmy, Couple Quick Questions, I've watched a few of your solo's via youtube and was wondering what kind of things do you do as far as practicing to get so tastie with over all note structure and right hand technique. and as far as set up, bout where do you like to set up your bass for tone? filter wise ect. ok I guess not very quick but as an up and coming bassist any info to help gain more knowledge would be grately appreciated, Nick, | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 451 Registered: 8-2008 |
Hey Nick, Thanks for the comments and questions. I'm self-taught on the bass so my practice regiment has always been to simply play along with records that I enjoy. I still do that. Sometimes I try to play the groove part and sometimes I try to solo over the music. The fact that I played a melody instrument as a kid (clarinet) helps explain my somewhat odd solo style. I have no idea what my right hand is doing but I think the technique that works for me stems from keeping all the strings quiet. My rest position is thumb between low-B and E-strings and fingers 1, 2, and 3 on A, D and G. This led me to often play octaves with fingers 1 & 3, if that makes sense. And apparently my thumb floats down to the B and then off of it as I head down to the bottom. I rarely think about what that hand is doing unless I need to work out an odd riff which must start with a specific finger. Everybody has different ways of getting a sound out of their instruments. The only "correct" way is the one that works best for you! I run my basses with the pickup volume and tone controls wide open plus a very slight boost to the bridge pickup Q to add some "air" way up high. (Center switch position on Series-I, slight turn on -II). The pickups are balanced via the preamp board's trim pots to favor of the bridge pickup. I have a habit of running the master volume about 1/8 turn down from wide open, I'm not sure why... Maybe in case of a volume swell so I can go beyond "full". As in; up to eleven. Ha! Cheers, Jimmy J | ||
| slicknickhaas
Member Username: slicknickhaas Post Number: 81 Registered: 10-2009 |
Thanks Jimmy, I'm pretty much in the same boat, I played guitar about 2 weeks till a banjo player (can't remember his name) but the band was The Grass Holes said to me "ya know, guitarists a a dime a dozen. a good bass players hard to find." the next week I bought a squire P bass and for the next few years worked off what came on the radio or what I could find tab wise. sadly I had no musical training till a now good friend sat me down and showed me the Ionian scale, after that I bugged him for every bit of info I could get. was considering going to school but came to the conclusion all the knowledge I could ever want is out there, just need to ether figure it out or find some one willing to share it, so thanks a bunch! so far most of what I've practiced has been lots of variations of scales, modes, triads, arpeggios, ect, I try to combine alot of it like walking though scales doing triad triplets on each note. but I'm always thinking what else could I be doing. And as a visual learner now trying to move from picking apart rock lines to skilled players like yourself Stanley Clarke, and other greats its really opened my eyes to a new relm of playing, needless to say its slightly overwhelming at first but so far I've been slowly picking apart Hot Fun by Stanley with some success. mainly because that line is stuck in my head at the moment. I'm much more of a simple groove kinda guy but would love to add a lil of that to my own style, always been a James Taylor fan. for some reason at first it didn't click right away that you've worked with him, I discovered you through a Terry Bozzio guitar center video a drummer friend was showing me. I was amazed at the tone of your 5 string and the overall note structure you and the guitar player where working off of. again very tastie. And thanks for the info on the electronics, I've had a 78 series 1 4 string for a couple months now (one of Edwin's old basses) and love tones, I've yet to adjust the trim pots, but it seems like its set up to the neck pickup has more boost than the bridge, might change that around and see what happens but over all I can go from a classic Allman Brothers type tone to a mid 70's Phil Lesh tone with very little adjustment and find my own sounds with ease. are you running your basses clean or direct to your power amp or are you using pre amps and or filters? | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 452 Registered: 8-2008 |
Good stuff Nick. Always interesting to hear how people ended up playing bass. My dad played bass and my brother still does so there was a lot of low end at our house... You already know more about scales and arpeggios than I do, I never really practiced like that. I'm not knocking that type of "technical" practicing, any time you spend on the instrument is good for you. I just play by ear for the most part. I can "hear" those modes but I don't know their proper names. Also, we all copied other guys in the beginning - that's how you learn to get around musically on the instrument (as opposed to the scales and arpeggios). Then at some point you have to forget all you've learned and just PLAY MUSIC. Make up some grooves or melodies or find a cool way to weave a line through the chord changes. You know what I'm saying. I really don't put the controls on the bass to good use because I'm stuck on that wide open, almost acoustic sound. And I am a DI guy, never got into amps, amp simulators or effects as part of the sound I wanted to hear. I have a lot of respect for the cats who know how to do all that, I've just been a DI guy since forever. In fact, for that Bozzio thing you saw I only brought my bass, a DS5 and a direct box. I used two monitor wedges to hear myself on stage. Carry on and keep learning! Jimmy J | ||
| slicknickhaas
Member Username: slicknickhaas Post Number: 82 Registered: 10-2009 |
Thanks Jimmy, That is a lota bass. Ive been trying to work on both, ear training is pretty important, my goal is to be able to jump into any musical situation grab the key and lay down a tight groove. I do find that I've been keeping the technical stuff to much in the for front of my playing some times, in the long run it falls into the forget it and play area. but it works for me in soloing, most of what I play music wise is Psychedelic Jam Rock, (think Allmans, Dead,Floyd, and Hendrix mixed together with a nice fusion) or some thing along those lines. all in all its mostly fun grooves. That's a pretty amazing way to run a bass, I'm so attached to my rig I couldn't imagine going direct. I do like the sound of the bass wide open, but I'm also in love with the flexiblty of tone it has as well. goes to show the quality of the bass, I don't think a Fender would sound so full direct. I've always had a love for tube amps myself, Ive been using a Mark Bass 300T into a Eden 4/10, if the room is big enough I run a 1/15 under it, its a single input amp though but I'm in love with the tone. also use a Mesa 400+ with the FB2 preamp in out doors or big room situation. also a 4/10 1/15 set up under it. If I can I run the 2 amps together, then it gets really fun, at that point I have a clean channel, and 2 effected channels also have a vast aray of pedals to play with. not sure how it happened but you really can't stop at one. Thanks for the info Jimmy, its nice to hear how guys like yourself approach things. for the fun of it heres a shot of my set up at a back yard party a while back. Thanks Again! Nick  | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 3483 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi Jimmy, I guess the cards weren't stacked in my favour yesterday. I had an outdoor festival gig yesterday and It was a shared back line and I could hear when the previous band was on that the bass amp was buzzing so I decided when we go on, no problem, I will just take the DS-5 into a DI Just like Jimmy does. Well as it happened we all just had a line check and I noticed during the line check there was no bass sound on stage. So I asked the sound man can I get some bass in the monitors... He replied, nah mate it's ok there is no bass in the monitors because all the bass comes from the subs under the stage.... So when we started all I could hear on stage was sub bass bottom and no articulation which is not what you need when standing in for a session gig with unfamiliar music. It took about two numbers before I could get the side of stage sound man to patch me into the dodgy bass amp just so that I could hear myself clearer. Fortunately out-front I was told the sound was great, so maybe the buzzing was from the bass of the previous band and not the amp. Jazzyvee | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 453 Registered: 8-2008 |
Ah man, sorry Jazzy. It is a bit of a risk and I also have had times when my "travel light" concept has backfired. If you're playing small clubs you never know what you'll find... When I go this route I try a few things. The house engineers look at me like I'm crazy and sometimes I have to guarantee that I will fix their speakers if they explode. Ha! The best case for me is if the venue has a couple substantial self-powered wedges. In this case I can run straight into them from the DS5 (I have my preamp board putting out close to line level). Sometimes I need an iso transformer to avoid hum. Second best scenario involves me finding the power amps that are running passive wedges and asking for a mic cable run straight into the input. A couple adaptors and the iso trans can make that work. If the only way to run the monitors is from the FOH board then I'll ask the engineer to bypass the wedge EQ (usually set for singing) and let me have it flat. Still, some speakers are pretty ugly without EQ so your mileage may vary. In all of the above scenarios I also send FOH a straight mic-level DI balanced output. In the end, it is the BIG AMP (the PA) that you want to carry the load. Anyway, sorry if I led you down a bad path. It makes it really hard to play when the onstage sound isn't happening but at least we know it sounded good out front! Jimmy J | ||
| mario_farufyno
Senior Member Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 967 Registered: 9-2008 |
Well, a buzzing amp sometimes is better than no sound on stage. That is why I always use the amp along with the DI (preferably mine class D with neodimium cab, light and small - I know you will not be happy with those light amps if you are a big valve amp guy, but the idea is being able to carry my "tone" with me). Even if the amp is lousy, its bad sound doesn't mess with what audience is listening since the DI gets my signal before the Amp. We never get happy when tone is not real (that's why we're alembicians, after all, doesn't it?). But, if it is loud enough to manage to hear myself on stage, I can live with it (unhappy, for sure, but not lost). (Message edited by mario farufyno on May 27, 2013) | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 454 Registered: 8-2008 |
Yes Mario, As long as the venue has a decent PA and you're not expected to fill the room with your bass amp we can trust that the full sound of the DI is coming through out front. When I need an amp for a rehearsal or a small club I still carry my Walter Woods head driving one or two EV 12" cabs. Walter was an early adapter of HF switching power supplies to make his amps small light and powerful. I'm not sure if this '89 model is a full Class-D or some mix but it does the job for me. However, as I've stated, the amp was never part of the sound I was looking for, it's just amplifying the sound I already dig. And even in the tiny Baked Potato I run a DI into the PA to get the tone around the room. Jimmy J | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 3484 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hey Jimmy, you didn't lead me down the bad path at all. In reality you have had enough scenario's as a professional to gain the experience of knowing what to have with you and what to do to rectify/overcome these situations. For me that was a new situation and It's all part of my experience. :-) Hi Mario, thanks also for your input. I usually carry my Mesa walkabout head with me if as this instance, the event/venue claims to have a back line as the amps are not usually my cup of tea or have problems. However when I got to the stage I saw that the on-stage amp was an SWR Redhead which I know is a decent combo so I didn't bother getting my Walkabout head from the car. Maybe I should have used the keyboard combo that was there instead. Jazzyvee | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 455 Registered: 8-2008 |
Yes Mario, As long as the venue has a decent PA and you're not expected to fill the room with your bass amp we can trust that the full sound of the DI is coming through out front. When I need an amp for a rehearsal or a small club I still carry my Walter Woods head driving one or two EV 12" cabs. Walter was an early adapter of HF switching power supplies to make his amps small light and powerful. I'm not sure if this '89 model is a full Class-D or some mix but it does the job for me. However, as I've stated, the amp was never part of the sound I was looking for, it's just amplifying the sound I already dig. And even in the tiny Baked Potato I run a DI into the PA to get the tone around the room. Jimmy J | ||
| jcdlc72
Advanced Member Username: jcdlc72 Post Number: 254 Registered: 11-2009 |
Funny you all are mentioning this these couple days. Yesterday I played a gig with a locally famous romantic ballad singer from the 80s at a theater, and due to the kind of music the band was told to "keep the stage low" since this guy is quite sensible to loud musicians :P. SO... i decided to go "light" and tried a new approach. I've just got a Boss GT6-B and decided it was a nice chance to give it its first stage run. I had my small GK amp (MB200) handy just in case. I ended up finding out one of the guitar stands I brought works nicely for tilting the GK amp for monitoring (we were playing seated, so the angle was just right), and then I fed the PA from the GT6's XLR out and the GK from the plug out. The soundman put a 15" wedge at the left of my music stand, and the GK was at the right side, pedalboards in the middle (GT6 and a nice USB 3-pedals board I use for flipping the "pages" on an Android Tablet from where I read my charts in .pdf. No paper to accidentally drop to the floor, and no messy lamps on the music stand! ). So... I ended listening to my bass in some nice Binaural fashion, plus the vocals and keyboards on the wedge and the drums on my right side. I thought of Jimmy a lot for the "almost-go-direct" approach I used this time, but it worked nicely (in fact I think I've never heard so much of "me" on stage before, I wonder if it's healthy or what?). No pics here, not into hijacking, and didn't used my Alembic this time  no fivers needed for this show. | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 456 Registered: 8-2008 |
Yes, good stuff here! A while ago we did a series of orchestra dates where the rhythm section was set up downstage between the conductor and the woodwinds. Needless to say there were some alarmed looks from the orchestra players when they saw the drum set and electric bass in that position. For these gigs we brought a tiny monitoring system using JBL Control-1 speakers (smaller than NS-10s) mounted on straight mic stands. I was seated and heard myself just fine through that ear level speaker. Same for the drummer who had two. Nobody else on stage could hear sound coming from these speaker but it was all we needed. Much better than in-ears for that situation because the dynamics were so important and we could hear what the orchestra was doing acoustically. Worked great unless I stood up, then I lost the bass. Ha! I use in-ear monitors now on the road which I guess is the ultimate version of this DI only thing. But the drummer and guitarist still have wedges so the bass is still somewhat live onstage, just no bass amp competing with all that sound. I love the pdf chart thing too, now we're making some serious technical progress! I read a chord chart off somebody's phone once. Hey, Google Music glasses anyone? C'mon!! Jimmy J (Message edited by jimmyj on May 27, 2013) | ||
| gbulfon
Member Username: gbulfon Post Number: 56 Registered: 4-2010 |
Gary Husband just posted this amazing video on Facebook, an old shot from 2009, JJ is amazing, Gary and Allan too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLPsSo8G8P8 Have fun! | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 472 Registered: 8-2008 |
Such an honor to have had the opportunity to play with those two musical monsters. However, hearing my own live bass soloing make me cringe as I land about 75% of what I'm trying to do... But as they say, if you aren't making mistakes you aren't ad libbing. Ha!! Best to all, Jimmy J | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 917 Registered: 2-2011 |
Jimmy, your "ad lib mistakes" are far better than my polished lics will ever be! | ||
| chrisalembic
Intermediate Member Username: chrisalembic Post Number: 159 Registered: 3-2009 |
i dont know if this has been posted before, but here is a soundcheck video with Allan Holdsworth and Crew from 93. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myj0Cmxu8Qo Jimmy, you are playing an Alembic Persuader 5 string with Jazz Pick ups? Sounds great to my ears :-) | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 477 Registered: 8-2008 |
Wow, I've never seen this footage but it must have been earlier than '93. My original 5-string Series-I (76-418) was stolen out of the truck on a Holdsworth tour in August of '87. I'm unclear of the details after all these years but ... I remember the next night we played in NYC and I think I ran to Manny's and rented a Yamaha 5-string for that gig. Not knocking that axe but I did NOT have much fun that evening. What I can't remember is where I found the Persuader. I think I bought it from another shop in NYC (maybe Rudy's?) and finished that tour with it. So it's likely this video clip is from '87. I sold the bass to my pal Royce in San Diego shortly after returning home. It was a nice axe and got me through a tough period. I already owned another Series-I, an '82 fretted (at that time) 5-string with a graphite neck. This axe appears on a couple vids too, one with Ritenour and one with Holdsworth in Japan in '84. The replacement Series-II that Alembic built for me in '87 has been my main recording bass ever since it arrived. In '89 they made me two more wood basses. One has become my main traveling bass and the other is my practice and backup machine. I know that sounds insane to have a Series "practice" bass but remember I only own 5 instruments and the most recent purchase was in 1989... I'm dedicated but not that great a customer. I'm surprised they still take my phone calls. Ha! Cheers, Jimmy J | ||
| richbass939
Senior Member Username: richbass939 Post Number: 1217 Registered: 11-2004 |
Jimmy, I love hearing your "road stories", except the axe theft kind, of course. As far as their taking our calls, I have bought two Alembics, neither of them new and from Alembic. Every time I have called them, they treated me like I was ordering a new S-II. Great service is just who they are! Rich | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11159 Registered: 5-2002 |
Cool video! | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3415 Registered: 10-2002 |
I received Steve Gadd's new album 'Gadditude' the other day featuring Jimmy on bass and I can heartily recommend everyone seeks it out. It has a very 'laid back jamming in someone's living room' feel to it, perfect for an evening's relaxation with a glass or two. graeme | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 996 Registered: 2-2011 |
Hey Jimmy, I recently came across a picture of you playing & it looked like the neck on your bass is not as wide as most 5 strings. Do you know what your neck width is at the 24th fret? I just put a deposit down to have a Series II Europa 5 string built & want the neck as narrow as possible. I currently play a short scale Stanley so I'm used to a tiny neck! Thanks! Rusty | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 482 Registered: 8-2008 |
Congratulations on the new bass build Rusty, that's exciting! Yes, the necks on my basses are narrower than most. Something like 2-3/16" at the 24th fret. I think the first 5-string I got (when Mica was 6, do the math) was actually 5 strings on a 4-string neck. In any case, that's what I'm used to and anything else feels odd to me now. Good luck with the new axe! Jimmy J | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2058 Registered: 9-2002 |
Rusty you could have Alembic 'Stanley' a five string spacing, they call that the 'Narrow' spacing in specs for the 'Brown Basses'. My Elan Five is their 'Classic' taper (2" nut by 2.5" 24th fret) which was my preference (the same, incidentally as the BigRedBass) as the strings almost feel parallel up the fingerboard. These new-fangled five-strings, some of them feel like diving boards they're so wide (. . . . Yamaha . . . . ). The flare is so pronounced that for me, it feels like a different neck up high, and if the neck profile isn't a very-flattened 'c' profile (think of a big classical guitar neck feel), it's a real pain. Classic taper essentially feels like a Jazz Bass spacing across five strings. Like Jimmy, I got used to narrow ones: The BB Yamahas I used to play (like Nathan East popularized) were also Precision Bass width fingerboards (from the BB2000 Yamahas) subdivided for five strings. Your fingering at the nut can seem a little crowded until you get used to it. +++++++++ BTW, Jimmy I meant to ask: Did you ever get to cut some sides with Jeff Porcaro? J o e y | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 997 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks Jimmy & J o e y! I had told Susan to make mine 2.694" at the 24th to match my Schecter 5 string, but I would prefer it a little narrower, so I'm going to talk to her about going 2.5" or 2 3/16" after I look on my Schecter to see what that would look like compared to the existing neck. My nut is 1.77" & I like that. 2" might be too wide for me. J o e y, what is your string spacing at the bridge measuring from the bottom of the string slot on the B string to the top of the string slot on the E string as you hold the bass in playing position? My finger are fairly big so I don't want my strings too close together, but a little narrower than my Schecter would be good. | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 483 Registered: 8-2008 |
Rusty, Try not to drive yourself (or Susan) crazy with this detail. Although it's certainly going to impact how the neck feels when you first play it, your hands will get used to whichever spacing you choose. The most important thing would be to not crowd your right hand by going too tight. Your left hand will adjust. It's been ages since I've measured mine and I always say "I've got 5 Alembics that are all the same". Well, the 3 fretted model's neck dimensions are pretty close: 1-13/16" nut, 2-1/8" at 24th fret and 2-1/8" from b-string center to g-string center at the bridge. But my oddball graphite fretless basses are only similar at the 24th fret. The nuts are only 1-5/8" and the bridge spacing is about 1/8" wider. So again, as long as it's not a drastic departure from what you've been playing you'll get used to it quickly. J o e y, Yes I did have the pleasure of working with Jeff Porcaro a few times, a real treat. Everything laid right where you would want it. The great drummers make us bass players sound better than we actually are. Ha! There's a Sergio Mendes track called "Some Morning" that we played together way back whenever (if you hear it please excuse the overly busy bass playing)... I also played live with Jeff a couple times in a band called Los Lobotomys. Ha!! Carlos Vega was a few years younger than Jeff but carried the same groove forward for many years. We all really miss those two guys! Cheers! Jimmy J | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 998 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks so much for the info & advice Jimmy! It's a big adjustment just jumping from my short scale SCSD 4 string to a 34" scale 5 string, so I think a narrower neck on the 5 will make it easier to go from one to the other. I will still play my SCSD so I need to feel comfortable on both. Susan had first suggested the standard Europa 5 string width of 2.93 at the 24th, but I have played an Epic with that width & it felt like a Chapman Stick to me! So I asked her if she could match my Schecter neck & she said she could. At the time I thought that would be the limit for a 5 string neck width until I saw the picture of yours. So now I know they can make them even smaller than my Schecter & I think I would like that. The Schecter feels a tad wide to me. I agree with you that I will adjust to whatever I get, I'm just trying to minimize the jump from a 4 string 30.75" neck to a 5 string 34" neck. Thanks again for your help! I have gotten advice from several people here in the club & it is an honor to add your name to the list! We are not to the Factory To Customer stage of the build yet, but I started a thread announcing all the details of the bass with some crude Photoshopped pictures of what it will look like by piecing together parts of 4 different basses. If you would like to check it out it is here - http://alembic.com/cgi-bin/alembic-club/show.cgi?393/178439 Rusty | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1640 Registered: 5-2002 |
My experience with string spacing is that if I don't need to slap, they can be pretty close, especially if I'm playing with a pick. But, I've discovered that I do like a certain amount of taper to the width. I found I much prefer the way my Starfire is set up than the way my cocobolo shorty (now in the capable hands of Pierre-Yves) was. I was planning to get a new nut for that to bring the strings closer together. Jimmy, you are so right about drummers. The converse of that is that playing with a not so good drummer can make you feel like you don't know what you are doing. In fact, I think that Einstein's theory of relativity is at play. If the tempo of the tune is a constant (within reason of course, no need to be an automaton, music likes to breath), then the size and position of the notes make sense. If the time is off, then there's no sense of how big anything is or where it actually is. Space and time all of a sudden become unhinged and little things can be huge and a note you thought was over here is actually over there. It's a shambles! Also, a great drummer, and really any great musician, can make a recording engineer's life easier. Last night I recorded a gig for my friend Erik Deutsch and the band he brought included Tony Mason. I was experimenting with some ribbon mics for overheads, with basically just a kick to complete the sound and the fact that he could tune the drums and play them with proper dynamics and cymbal to drum balance made for a great sounding recording. I just love great drummers! Sadly no Alembics last night, but the bass player did have a very nice '61 P bass. | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 999 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks for the advice Edwin! I don't play any slap bass, I'm just a straight ahead finger player, so I can get away with somewhat tighter spacing. I saw Victor Wooten & Steve Bailey last night, & they were AMAZING! I admire slap players like Victor, but I don't have that gene! I posted a video of Jimmy playing Rio Funk with Lee Ritenour on Facebook 2 days ago. Jimmy does a killer solo & on the posting I wrote that Jimmy proved that you don't have to beat on a bass to get funky! No offense to those who slap, it's just not my style. Here's the Facebook posting - https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/2350059330/ |
