Kevin discusses his outlook on purchasing as bass player
Last month I discussed two sides of my buying spectrum, as a collector and as a dealer. This month we will visit Kevin the player, the side that has the strongest demands as a purchaser. I will also give you some tips on purchasing a vintage bass.
The Player
As a player in my late 40s, my instrument demands are unwavering and very focused. As a player in my younger days, I used every vintage bass for no other reason than that I could. I’d gig with every brand, every model—it really didn’t matter. Now after 35 years of solid, steady playing, my instrument demands are pinpoint. This is due to physical demands and as well as ease and consistency. Some of you younger guys have not experienced back problems, tendonitis, wrist issues, etc. For gigging and recording, 100 percent of my basses have to meet the following criteria: they must play like a vintage Fender, hang like a Fender and have the Fender neck radius; they must engage the muscle memory of either a P or a J bass. I guess I’m only using vintage Fender products!
My main bass is my trusty ‘58 P-Bass. I will also use my ‘62 J-Bass on occasion. So what exactly do I look for when buying a vintage bass? I can tell literally in 20 seconds whether or not I will buy a particular bass. I like my action on the low side, but it cannot choke when played aggressively. The neck must have a consistent relief curve. I’m not a big stickler on originality with my player gear, especially when it comes to frets and other items that wear. However, the neck must have a proper set of old-school frets perfectly installed. I also will not play a bass with a refinished neck. To me, it drastically alters the feel. I prefer original hardware, but as long as I can revert back to vintagestyle hardware, I’m ok.
When I wrote a “5 Builders” piece for PG a few months ago [“5 Pre-CBS-Inspired Bass Builders You Should Meet” Sept., 2009], the vintage builders all agreed that you must use the vintage-style tuners and bridge assemblies or it alters the instrument. I agree. A must on an old Fender bass is original pickups. If a rewind was correctly done, that doesn’t bother me in the least. I guess what I’m saying is: as a player, give me a good pre-CBS bass, have it play great and let it be somewhat original and I’m okay. I use refins all the time, as long as the neck has the original finish. This sums up what I’m going to use—but what I will hold onto is a whole ‘nother story.
What I will keep forever and use consistently is my version of the “Truth,” a beat-to-death old Fender bass that has a perfect neck, original finish and mostly original components. My forementioned ’58 P fits the bill, except that bass is 100 percent original down to the case and the covers. This ’58 P is the second best P-Bass I ever played; the best was a ‘60 that I sold to Tino Sanchez in Boston in order to buy my ‘58. I’ve begged, I’ve wallowed— Tino will never sell this bass! This sums up what I demand in a personal player bass.
Tips on Purchasing a Vintage Bass
Let’s make something perfectly clear. No one needs a vintage bass. Putting an amplified bass through a PA system… lets face it, 99 percent of the people will not hear a difference. Quite frankly, other than other musicians in the audience, no one knows the difference between a P-Bass and a peanut. The recording studio is a different story, but realistically what’s your ratio between live and studio time? Buying a vintage bass is a purely selfish act—but boy is it ever fun! I do it all the time! This is a want, not a need. With that being said, here are the questions and tips for buying your next pride and joy.
Determine your budget: How much can you actually spend on your bass? Did you include sales tax, shipping and luthier work? Can you justify your budget? Avoid buyer’s remorse at all costs. I’ve seen many deals get unraveled when the spouse finds out or the bill comes in.
Know that you can use what you want: This is not a simple issue of whether you want a Precision or a Jazz Bass. This is more of a “I really want a BC Rich Bich 8-string bass, but I play in a traditional jazz trio” sort of question.
Don’t buy something you know nothing about: We’ve all done it, but play one first! We see the great looking bass that we have to have, but when it comes in from the big brown truck or we get it home, we ask ourselves “What did I do?” I see this a lot with first-time buyers of a bass they’ve never owned. It happens especially with Rickenbackers because the muscle memory is missing playing the neck. It also happens with Thunderbirds due to the sheer size of the thing, the neck dive issue, lack of intonation above the 10th fret and the subdued highs.
The Low Down Bottom line: Indulge! Enjoy!
There’s nothing like owning a great vintage bass. About two years ago I sold a deadly ‘64 “Truth” P-Bass to a friend in New Orleans. He was gigging at a bar and another friend heard the ungodly tone of this bass while walking down the street. He went into the club and was floored. This story made quite a few forums, and that’s what it’s all about. The tone and feel cannot be emulated, as demonstrated by my Custom Shop vs. Real Deal series done a ways back [“The Four Rs,” Feb., Mar. and Apr., 2009]. Next issue, tips on how to try out and buy vintage basses. Until next time, drop the gig bag and bring the cannoli!
Kevin Borden
Kevin Borden has been a bass player since 1975 and is currently the principle and co-owner, with “Dr.” Ben Sopranzetti, of Kebo’s Bass Works: kebosbassworks.com. He can be reached at: Kebobass@yahoo.com. Feel free to call him KeBo.
Digital control meets excellent Brit-favored analog drive and distortion tones in a smart and easy-to-master solution.
Tons of flexibility and switchability that’s easy to put to practical use. Many great overdrive sounds spanning a wide range of gain.
Takes a little work up front to get your head around the concept.
$349
RJM Music Technology Full English Overdrive
rjmmusic.com
Programmability and preset storage aren’t generally concerns for the average overdrive user. But if expansive digital control for true analog drive pedals becomes commonplace, it will be because pedals like the Full English Programmable Overdrive from RJM Music Technology make it fun and musically satisfying.
Following on from the Overture, which combined classic overdrive types and original RJM circuits, the Full English is dedicated to serving up as many British-flavored overdrive flavors as you would find on its famously over-the-top namesake breakfast dish. (Which drive is the black pudding, we have yet to decide.) The pedal’s digital capabilities make navigation easy, facilitate MIDI implementation, and enable user editing of presets via Mac/PC/iOS software. But the overdrives and signal chain are fully analog, and it sounds great as a result.
Brit Box Abounding
Any one of the six core overdrive circuits can be the foundation for a preset. From mellowest to heaviest (more or less), they include push, blues, royal, imperial, shred, and stack. Each can be adjusted WYSIWYG-style with the gain, tone, volume, bass, mid and treble knobs (the latter three are configured as post-gain EQ). They can then be saved—overdrive mode, knob settings and all—to one of eight preset slots by a long-press of the same button that cycles through the six voices. The right footswitch is a standard on/off while the left selects from four active presets. But stomping both footswitches together toggles between red and green preset banks, enabling access to the full eight. All told, it’s easy, straightforward stuff.
Even when the pedal is bypassed, the active preset is indicated by the slot and mode lights, so you don’t lose track of what lies in wait when you switch on. Doing so illuminates a red LED above the on/off footswitch, indicating an active preset. Twist a knob, though, and that on/off LED turns green, indicating you’re in a live state for that control function, or any others you manipulate. The pedal also includes a USB-C port for connecting to your computer, where it will appear in any MIDI-enabled app.
Royal Flush
I taste-tested the Full English with a Telecaster and an ES-335 through Vox and Fender tweed-style amps. No matter the combination, the RJM’s core sounds were robust and wide-ranging, with all the dizzying performance versatility the feature set implies. Players are likely to find something to love in all six modes, although for pure aural appeal, I was most drawn to the medium-drive ODs—royal and imperial. Each was rich, thick, and lusciously saturated, plus easy to shape and re-voice to right where I wanted with a twist of the very capable EQ.
Stack and shred were fun for really slamming the amps, though, and well-suited to heavy rock leads and classic metal, respectively. Though the six modes span a pretty huge range of gain, I can see plenty of players getting good use out of all six modes and moving between radically different sounds from song to song—or within one, for that matter. Even using eight variations of one or two favorite core voices offers a ton of variety for rhythm, crunchy chords, lead, and solo-boost settings. And other than the time invested in the initial user-reconfiguration, it’s easy to use in practical, real-world performance situations.
The Verdict
RJM Music Technology has done a fantastic job of taking analog overdrive into the programmable realm here. The number of really great sounds is enough to impress. But it’s the preset options, MIDI control, and the ease with which you can put them to work that take the Full English over the top—both in terms of pure usefulness and appeal to old-school players that, to date, found anything more than a 3-knob overdrive too complex.
Check out Warm Audio’s Pedal76 and WA-C1 with PG contributor Tom Butwin! See how these pedals can shape your sound and bring versatility to your rig.
Songs of a Lost World
The Cure return after 16 years with Songs of a Lost World, out November 1. Listen to "Alone" now.
Songs from the record were previewed during The Cure's 90-date, 33-country Shows Of A Lost World tour, for more than 1.3 million people to overwhelming fan and critical acclaim.
"Alone," the first song released from the album, opened every show on the tour and is available to stream now. The band will reveal the rest of the tracklisting for the record over the coming weeks at http://www.songsofalost.world/ and on their social channels.
Speaking about "Alone," the opening track on Songs Of A Lost World , Robert Smith says, "It's the track that unlocked the record; as soon as we had that piece of music recorded I knew it was the opening song, and I felt the whole album come into focus. I had been struggling to find the right opening line for the right opening song for a while, working with the simple idea of ‘being alone’, always in the back of my mind this nagging feeling that I already knew what the opening line should be… as soon as we finished recording I remembered the poem ‘Dregs' by the English poet Ernest Dowson… and that was the moment when I knew the song - and the album - were real."
Initially formed in 1978, The Cure has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, headlined the Glastonbury festival four times and been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. They are considered to be one of the most influential bands to ever come out of the UK.
Songs Of A Lost World will be released as a 1LP, a Miles Showell Abbey Road half-speed master 2LP, marble-coloured 1LP, double Cassette, CD, a deluxe CD package with a Blu-ray featuring an instrumental version of the record and a Dolby Atmos mix of the album, and digital formats.
Shred-meister and Eric Johnson expert Andy Wood joins us to talk about EJ’s best tracks, albums, and more. Whether you’re a fellow expert or don’t know where to start, Andy’s got you covered, from studio albums to live tracks. Come with questions, leave with homework!
