/ \ / / - _--__| / | | / \ ________--__- O --- ____ | | \ \ / \ =======/-/=======| |) O --- ___ \ | / / ======/-/=====================| |) O--- ___ | / =====/-/===================================| |) O--- ___ ====/-/================================================| |) -__ ___/_/ _|_ | _ ___ ___ __|__ _ \__ __ \ ___\_\\-_ | |_ / \ | ) __ | | | | / \ | | \ \\ \\\\\\\\\-_ \_/ | \ |-- |--< / \ | \_/ \_/ _ |\ \ | | \__ | \ \__/ | ____ \ o \/\ |_\ /\| \_ |___/ ____---\\\\\\| \ \ \ \ \_ /\| \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\--- \_ \ \ \ _/\/ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\------ \_ \ __-\\\/ ---\\\\\\\- Issue #271 December 23, 1992 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To post: Subscriptions, deletions, requests: bass@uwplatt.edu bass-request@uwplatt.edu (Bitnet: bass@uwplatt.bitnet) (Bitnet: bass-request@uwplatt.bitnet) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today's topics: Jazz Five Plus T shirts RE: Hartke 3500 & Ibanez SR1500 Looking for basses / Gig / Stu Hamm clinic (TBL #270) RE: Steinberger The shirt thing RE: Bottom Line T-Shirts misc More Slogan's... #270, StingRay 5 ---------------------------------------------------------- Administrative notes: Well, here is the Christmas Eve (or close to it) issue. I'm surprised there is so much traffic here this late in the year. I'll be here while Kevin is away, so keep sending in posts! Happy Holidays! Erik ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 12:30 +8 From: Steve Walters Subject: Jazz Five Plus This is for Shin who was asking about the Jazz in the last issue. I tried mailing direct but with no success, so you all get the benefit! Shin, I bought a Jazz Five plus about 6 months ago. Like you I played it in the shop and fell in love with it. It's the only one of my basses I have played consistently since then. However there are one or two things you might like to consider when you are comparing axes. The bottom B: I now have a very heavy string on here, a 130 I think, it might even be heavier. I went through everything I could find and settled on this one because of the tension as much as the sound. Anything lighter just felt flabby. But it does sound muddier than I would like. Action: There is a lot of room for adjustment here. It responds well to truss rod tweaks and I have just about got it where I want it, but it took a bit of time and patience. Active electronics: In theory there is a 4 position switch to control this: active with mid boost, flat active, passive and off. I appreciate the off position, it means I can be silent between numbers and come back in at the right volume. The difference between the other three postions is not as marked as I have experienced on other basses. I have a Hohner steinberger clone and on that the difference between active and passive is a matter of concern for the ears, with major differences in tone, on the Jazz I like what I get on the active with boost position and leave it there because there's not much mileage in switching to the other positions. Weight: It's heavy. Hope this helps Steve ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 11:00:04 +0100 From: Jack Jansen Subject: T shirts About the T shirts: wouldn't the best way to go about it be just to make the graphics available in PostScript along with a suggestion as to shirt color and graphics color, and then let everyone go off to their local shirtprinter and get one? Methinks that even though a single shirt is more expensive to print than a whole batch if you add in the postage it would be cheaper. Especially to us here in Europe... -- Jack Jansen | If I can't dance I don't want to be part of Jack.Jansen@cwi.nl | your revolution -- Emma Goldman uunet!cwi.nl!jack G=Jack;S=Jansen;O=cwi;PRMD=surf;ADMD=400net;C=nl ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 08:52:39 EST From: Dave Rule Subject: RE: Hartke 3500 & Ibanez SR1500 Hi TBLers! I've been following the Hartke 3500 discussions closely and thought I'd jump in with a biased opinion. (Bias in that I've owned the amp since April of this year.) I presently use the 3500 with a Hartke 4x10 XL Series cabinet and can not say enough good things about both. The amp (see previous issues for a rather nice set of details) has lived up to all my expectations. I play in a contemporary Christian band (Manna) that plays an average of two to four times a month in settings as diverse as tiny little country churches and as large as out door gatherings of several hundreds. The amp has consistently shown itself to be as flexible as "advertised." It's variety of tone color -- available via the preamp, compressor, and graphic/contour eq's -- has been invaluable in the diverse settings. Additionally, the amp/bottom combination sounds consistantly clear and the correspondingly diverse volume levels these venues have called for. (The 4x10 is a perfect match for the amp!) I've also am pleased to report that the amp has been completely faithful in the durability department -- no malfunctions or break downs of anykind. (It's home is an SKB four space rack with a drawer above it.) So . . . if anyone is looking for an amp with good clean power and decent preamp features for a reasonable price, the Hartke 3500 is an excellent choice. Lastly, an update on my life with the Ibanez SR 1500 I purchased in October (rf. Oct.'s _TBL_'s for the story of purchase). Well, I'm going in my love for the axe every day! Having now a fair amount of practice time with it, along with five or six concerts, I'm beginning to make better use of it's active effects (i.e., treble & bass). I know that Ibanez is not often spoken of in _TBL_, but having tried many basses in the 1K or under range, I would definitely recommend that if anyone is looking for a flexible, thin neck, 4 string, active electronic, natural wood, . . . under 1k bass, CHECK IT OUT! God Bless ========================================================================== David L. Rule (914) 575-3000 ext. 2979 Assist. Prof. of Educational Psychology Marist College Poughkeepsie, NY 12601JZKV@MARISTB.MARIST.EDU ========================================================================== ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: 23 Dec 92 08:51:46 U From: Oz Barron Subject: Looking for basses / Gig / Looking for basses / Gig / T-Shirt Hi Folks! I know many of you are away for vacation, but read this when you get back. (some of us are slaving away here...) 1) A mate of mine in Japan is looking for American made basses. Here's our chance to be exporters! Here's what he said he'd like to find: - Fodera 5-string, maple top, any model - Tobias 5 string, classic or signature - Musicman Stingray 4 string, black If you know of one for sale, please contact me directly and I'll put you in touch! 2) I have a gig on New Years Eve in Milford, MA at Fitzpatricks. Again, contact me if you want direx etc... 3) Thank you for the suggestion Erik! For the T-Shirt: "Support The Register Challanged" [ And the typing *challenged* as well! :) --Erik ] I'll also take a large! Stuart, a GREAT story! The Great Spirit has blessed you mightily. Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year! (PLEASE BE CAREFUL on New Years, I want us all back next year!!!!!!!!) -Oz ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 12:02:35 EST From: andy futrell Subject: Stu Hamm clinic (TBL #270) Hi, Okay, my first post to TBL so first a bit about me (as though you care!) [ But we do care! But please, spare us the details next time! :) :) ;) You might want to try sendint this again! bass-mgr ] ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 09:40:22 PST From: Annette DeSchon Subject: RE: Steinberger Sender: deschon@ISI.EDU >> In the useless but entertaining dept.: the daddy of Mr. >> Steinberger (of Steinberger basses and guitars fame) is Jack > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > and, of course, the Spector NS bass That's interesting. How does the Spector NS compare to the Steinberger? Is the neck similar? Is it headless? Does it balance well? What does it sound like? Is the Spector incredibly expensive? I like the Steinberger neck, particularly the width and the depth (sorry, I don't know the proper terms, it's sort of narrower and rounder than some other necks), and the balance. If there are other basses that have a similar neck, I want to be on the lookout to try one when I'm at a guitar/bass store, which is not too often, I'm afraid. --Annette [ If I'm not mistaken, the Spector NS is the bass Sting had on the Police's Synchronicity tour. It does have a head and body. However, not being a conissuer (spelling???) of Spector's and 'Bergers, I can't help past this now wordy little note. bass-mgr ] ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 21:59:24 +0200 (EET) From: jpmakela@cc.helsinki.fi Subject: The shirt thing Why not to use the ASCII version of the logo??? After all, that's what makes the logo special! There's millions of t-shirts with the bass headstock, but shouldn't we make this one stand out from the crowd? With a nice font, it'll turn out nicely, I think. Some other ideas: "Our net may be digital but my bass is analog!" "The Fretboard Network" "Bassists do it deeper" "How low can you go?" (Sorry if any of these has already appeared.) -jPM J. Pekka M{kel{ ({'s are a's with umlauts) jpmakela@cc.Helsinki.fi ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lintupolku 9 as. 1; 01450 Vantaa; FINLAND tel. +358-0-87 22 014 ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 16:30:11 EST From: caherty@wizard.nrl.navy.mil Subject: RE: Bottom Line T-Shirts I have a couple of T-shirts produced by Matt Laurence, and he does a fine job. Cool design, and quality shirts. I have no connection with Matt other than owning a couple of his shirts, and trading a few tapes. My suggestion: "Live life on the Bottom" Regards, Frank. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 16:59:16 CST From: "Ron Smith (559-6052) --UNMCVM(RSMITH)" Subject: misc The T-shirt idea sounds great, but in the interest of inclusiveness (and appearing less geeky than we are) perhaps you should avoid slogans like "bassist's do it harder, deeper, etc." I especially like "how low can you go" and Brontomanina! how about "Volume Volume Volume" has anyone played a Tune bass? I got a catalog the other day (they sell direct) and their low end models are very reasonable, comparable to Carvin. and speaking of the Carvin thread, I don't think any of the recent reviews are saying they're the best basses money can buy, only that they're a lot of bass for the money. But this is only really relevant if you're determined to buy a new bass. In other words, an $800 Carvin may be better than any other bass that you can buy new for $800, but you can get some very nice, previously owned, instruments for that much. Assuming you live somewhere with an active used market. Has anyone ever seen a used Carvin bass for sale? It's not like they're a new company, I've seen their adds in 10 year old "Guitar Player"'s. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 18:34:45 EST From: rrathgeb@ultrix.ramapo.edu Subject: More Slogan's... How 'bout these? Bass or Bust! Bassists are always on the bottom! Bassists are better on the bottom! Bassists always get to the bottom of things! Play Bass or play the RADIO! Ban Plectra! If your gonna weild an axe, weild a BASS! Let's see maybe they'll be more...... Adios Compadres! _ROB_ ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 22:20:15 EST From: moskowit@panix.com Subject: #270, StingRay 5 Tony wrote: > 1 - Does anyone have any general comments on these basses (beyond > the info in the Bass Player review)? I recently bought a StingRay (4 not 5) and will be happy to answer questions about it. > BTW, the price was $1299 for the 5 string with maple neck and fretboard > and translucent teal finish over ash and including a hard case. Does > anyone know if that is a reasonable price? It's high. Call Jay (a really nice dealer if there ever was one) at New Jersey Guitar Center (in Edison NJ, area code 908) and ask him for a quote. He's the largest Ernie Ball Music Man dealer on the East Coast and is very competitive in his pricing. I seem to remember $1050 but call him. Please mention my name (I owe him a few referrals for being such a nice dealer when I was buying my bass). He keeps a large supply of instruments in stock. (Standard StingRays were $844 with the hard case.) Len Moskowitz moskowit@panix.com ---------------------------------------------------------- Anonymous ftp access for back issues, etc.: kappa.rice.edu (128.42.4.7) in the /pub/bass directory (Username is 'anonymous', password is your e-mail address. Try typing 'help' for more info once logged in.) _The Bottom Line_ is a digest dedicated to the art of playing electric and acoustic bass. It is distributed on a basis that coincides with the amount of material received, from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville, USA; Kevin Tipple, Erik Habbinga, editors Copyright _The Bottom Line_, 1992 The contents of _The Bottom Line_ are solely the opinions and comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the authors' managements or the digest management. The editors do not assume responsibility for copyright infringement of submitted material. *************************** End of The Bottom Line #271 ***************************