Re: Phil's new bass

volkfolk wrote:
On Nov 11, 3:29 pm, LP <so.you...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Nov 11, 12:22 pm, Avant Grape <avantnograpec...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:





LP wrote:
On Nov 11, 10:47 am, volkfolk <volkfo...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Nov 10, 1:23 pm, LP <so.you...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Nov 10, 9:57 am, Mark Scalise <markscal...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Nov 10, 12:37 pm, LP <so.you...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Nov 10, 9:35 am, LP <so.you...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Nov 10, 8:59 am, Mark Scalise <markscal...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Interesting design . . .
http://flickr.com/photos/mikeskliar/3017215482/sizes/l/
It's a Ritter Jupiter custom made to Phil's specific requests.
http://www.ritter-basses.com/ritter-basses-baesse/ritter-basses-jupit...
Far out indeed. Does the anchoring of the strings way past the bridge
have any sonic benefits?
Good question. I do know that when a bass uses a longer scale
(distance between the nut and bridge) it allows for more tension in
tuning to the same pitch as with a shorter scale length. More tension
is of benefit to the strings tuned to lower pitch (such as the 'B'
string on a 5 or 6 string bass) in that it gives more sustain and a
more articulate sound. If the scale of a bass with a 'B' string is
too short, it can become kind of floppy and indistinct. I have owned
both 34" scale and 35" scale basses, and the 35" scale generally has a
more dynamic 'B' string, although there are other factors to consider
which can affect the outcome, such as string gauge (thickness) and
type of windings. Bottom line is that the longer the scale is, the
more turns you need at the tuning key to reach the same pitch.
When the string is longer *outside* of the nut/bridge scale, I believe
there may be no affect on the tension required. I may be wrong about
this, and I have seen debates about it among bassists. There is a
mathematical proof for one case or the other, and right now I can't
recall without doing some resaerch.
Edwin?
LP
Give me a nice P-Bass or Jazz Bass. If they were good enough for Jaco,
James Jamerson. Duck Dunn etc, then they are good enough for me. I
still miss my P-Bass. It was a great axe. I'm sorry that I got rid of
it.
Of course the Guild Starfire Basses were pretty nice in their day to.
What was that Sweetbac said? "It looks like some gay couple's coffee
table" Count me in with Sweetbac on that. Astheticly I think that it's
a mess
The Ritter is bizzare. But Phil Lesh was never known for being
conservative in bass matters. He along with Ron Wickersham, Geoff
Gould, and assorted other people advanced the state of bass design and
sound to great places. Plenty of people are happy with their Fender P
and J basses, but Phil's basses and amplification gave the Grateful
Dead a huge part of it's unique sound. A bone stock P-bass would not
have cut it in that band.
Completely disagree. Phil just happens to like a slick, more clean
sound. Personally, post 70's, I've never liked the sound of Phil's bass
and IMO, his tone has always been on the 'thin' side. But going back
to what you stated, if the P-bass can cut through the dense harmonies
and tonalities of a band like Weather Report, it can certainly cut
through the Dead's music. That's not an issue at all.
It would have been a J bass in Weather Report.

Jaco always favored Jazz Basses. I don't believe I've ever seen a
picture of him playing anything else.



True enough. Mis-wrote on that one.




Phil's Alembic, Alembic modified Starfire, and Modulus basses with
their onboard active electronics revolutionized the Dead's sound. I
completely disagree with you on this one. Phil's tone - "thin"? Holy
crap! Check out an '85 SBD like 11-17. Thin.....

Yeah, I'm with you there. Thin has never been an adjective I would
attach to Phil's tone.
The Alembic/Starfire was my favorite of Phil's Basses. I got to see
him play it on "Caution" back a few years and ir was monsterous
sounding.


The Modulus has always sounded overly clean/thin to my ears and it's not a very versatile instrument IMO. The Alembic indeed sounded fat enough, but it's tonality is rather one-dimensional: it's a sound I like for the Dead though and if I were Phil, I would have stopped there. I wouldn't want to hear either the Modulus or Alembics in many contexts however.

-JC
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Phils new bass
    ... I do know that when a bass uses a longer scale ... tuning to the same pitch as with a shorter scale length. ... string on a 5 or 6 string bass) in that it gives more sustain and a ... more articulate sound. ...
    (rec.music.gdead)
  • Re: Phils new bass
    ... I do know that when a bass uses a longer scale ... tuning to the same pitch as with a shorter scale length. ... string on a 5 or 6 string bass) in that it gives more sustain and a ... more articulate sound. ...
    (rec.music.gdead)
  • Re: Phils new bass
    ... tuning to the same pitch as with a shorter scale length. ... string on a 5 or 6 string bass) in that it gives more sustain and a ... more articulate sound. ... Of course the Guild Starfire Basses were pretty nice in their day to. ...
    (rec.music.gdead)
  • Re: Phils new bass
    ... tuning to the same pitch as with a shorter scale length. ... string on a 5 or 6 string bass) in that it gives more sustain and a ... more articulate sound. ... Of course the Guild Starfire Basses were pretty nice in their day to. ...
    (rec.music.gdead)
  • Re: Phils new bass
    ... I do know that when a bass uses a longer scale ... tuning to the same pitch as with a shorter scale length. ... string on a 5 or 6 string bass) in that it gives more sustain and a ... more articulate sound. ...
    (rec.music.gdead)