Відео

The only negative for me about the Classic Vibe series is the glossy necks. I never knew how much that mattered until I got a neck with a satin finish but now it’s a dealbreaker for me.

@@room34 Agreed. I sanded that thing down immediately.

My problem wasn’t so much flute embouchure though as it was getting comfortable with the fingerings. This clarinet did the job when I needed it, but when I found myself playing in another pit that required flute six months later, I did take the time to work that out and actually play the parts on flute. (It helped that they were much easier flute parts!) As far as having the flute color in there… yeah, you’re right about that, but it also depends on the nature of the show. For the one I used this C clarinet in, there were five (!) reed books, and two of the others had most of the flute bits. For the show I actually played flute in, there were only two reed books and mine was the only one with flute.

Thanks! Im not a fretless expert but I’ve owned a few (and my first “Frankenbass” project was a fretless). What’s your question?

@@room34 This not an easy question to ask so I will do my best. My Warwick thumb bass and my G&L SB2 have pickups that although different from each other, they both have a tone that is very rich with great depth. This is where my Jazz bass Frankestien build comes in. Cheap fretless Jazz bass with the idea of changing pickups that will bring similar richness and depth. This will bring down the brightness of the dual single coil pickups while using the Jazz body and neck that I like. I am looking for a bass with great dynamics and feel ; to me that is a fretless neck. Is this a good idea? All these words to ask a small question, thanks for you for your patience.

@claytonflanders5221 So if I understand correctly, you have a "Frankenstein" fretless Jazz Bass, and you're considering swapping the pickups, correct? That will definitely affect the tone - I really like the pickup in my G&L fretless - but it's also a fairly drastic step. You may want to try different strings (for example, I always play flatwounds), or changing where you place your right hand (e.g. playing right over the heel of the neck gives you more of an upright bass sound). I didn't really get at this in the video although the text overlay during the tone demos mentions it, but the pickup height matters a lot too. If you've got your pickups screwed all the way down, they'll be too far away from the strings and give you a weak tone. If they're too close to the strings, they'll overload - that's what happened to me in the tone demo. In doing all of this work, I forgot about carefully checking the height of the pickups. Ideally you should play the bass through a level meter (running into a DAW is a good way to do it) and make sure the output level is consistent across all four strings, on both pickups.

@@room34 I am afraid I have mislead you a bit. I do have a real nice fretless player series Jazz Bass, that I would like to keep stock at this time. I am going to make my frankenstien bass out of an affinity for i have never done mods before. My goal is to make a bass that is as expressive and melodic as I can build and play it.

@@claytonflanders5221 Hmm… so you're thinking of swapping a fretless neck onto the Affinity? That Frankenbass fretless I made a few years ago started out as a pair of Squier basses… I had a fretless Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass, but I wanted the Daphne blue color of the newer fretted Classic Vibe, so I bought the Classic Vibe, swapped the necks, and sold the "spare" bass comprised of the Vintage Modified's 3-tone sunburst body with the Classic Vibe's fretted neck. Eventually I "upgraded" to a stock Fender fretless neck (that cost more than the whole Squier bass!) and some DiMarzio pickups that were too deep to fit the CV body. I had to do some really unsightly work with a fat drill bit on the inside to deepen the cavities, not owning a router that could do the job properly. I was never happy with those compromises, so I ended up selling it. But as far as the neck is concerned: I was never happy with that either because you really do need to file the nut slots… the stock neck comes without any tuners, and with only small pilot slots cut into the nut. Also the edges of the fretboard were not rolled at all and I didn't like the sharp corners. So… that's why this time around I focused on reusing a neck that came from a production instrument and was one I already knew and really loved.

@@magicmitch5000 Thanks… honestly I really did like the look and the sound of this bass, but it had a couple of deal-breaker issues that led me to return it. YMMV of course!

I think the main issue will be whether or not the slots in the nut need to filed wider to accommodate the thicker strings. Good to experiment on a cheap neck!

I like it. Now I’m just trying to decide between B and C. Yesterday I was strongly leaning B, but then I remembered the plan I floated in a recent video about setting up a 4-string BEAD. The Squier Affinity neck would be a good choice for that experiment.

This is a Player I, but it’s a custom color from Sweetwater. They’re still selling these but they’re back to full price so I’m guessing they’re based on the Player II now. They don’t specify; they call it a “Special Edition.” This is Buttercream Yellow, not the Hialeah Yellow that’s a standard Player II option.

Ah, cool. I’m in the U.K. so Sweetwater is a thing of mystery to me. Bass looks great though, and obviously plays very well.

Thanks! Truly an honor to hear that from you!

That's been my real struggle with recent Fenders… I know the differences in labor costs are a factor, but considering the price difference between MIM and USA, you'd at least expect the USA instruments to come out of the factory without these obvious flaws.

Get it! Seriously, I've gone through a lot of basses over the past couple of years and I am ridiculously nitpicky. This might be the only one that I actually like more each time I pick it up. Fretless is still something I only play "as needed" but if that wasn't the case this would probably be my main bass.

@@room34 Good to know, and it's cool that you held onto it! I already have a fretted USA L-2000 that is a wonderful beast of a bass so this will be a great match for it. The sounds you got in the video were huge. Thanks, man! I emailed my sales guy a little while ago. LOL

Ha, and this isn’t even the video where I got into the bass’s problems! The battery compartment is a nightmare. Not only do you need a screwdriver to open it, you have to pry the batteries out. With no passive option, this bass is a total no-go for live performance. I also found mine had (I hope) faulty wiring on the pan pot. I ended up returning it not long after I made this video. It’s a shame, because there were actually a lot of things I did like about the bass, but I couldn’t live with those issues.

I doubt it's easy to get ahold of the neck by itself. You'd probably be better off just selling the one you have and buying the whole instrument.

It’s just a MIDI controller. No speakers and no built-in sounds. It has to connect to another MIDI device that produces sound or, probably more commonly the way I use it, with a DAW and software instruments.

Thanks for checking it out! That instrument is an AKAI EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument). This is the USB version that’s basically just a MIDI controller - no built-in sounds. I got it mainly because it’s a successor to what Michael Brecker played in the ‘80s and ‘90s. It’s actually kind of a pain to play because the keys don’t move; they’re capacitive touch sensors. So if you accidentally touch one, even with the side of your finger, it changes which note you’re playing. I’ve heard the Roland Aerophone is a better wind controller but I’m too invested in this one to bother with anything else now!

@@room34 Thanks for the reply. Does the mouthpiece work like it does on a saxophone or is it its own thing? Thanks.

@@Johannes_Tube It’s rubber. You blow into it, but there’s no reed and there’s more resistance than a sax mouthpiece. You can also bite on it to bend the pitch.

I’m aware of that, but as far as product labeling on items sold in the US goes, “Made in China” typically means mainland China, and if it’s made in Taiwan it will say Taiwan or sometimes Taiwan R.O.C. Of course I just bought a new MIM Fender that says “Made in Ensenada” on the headstock so I don’t really think the labeling is regulated the way it (presumably) used to be. I guess my head is still stuck on what I remember seeing on toys back in the ‘80s. But I also know the government of the People’s Republic of China is sensitive about international acknowledgement of Taiwan/Republic of China as a separate entity, and that’s what I was getting at.

I didn’t measure but are you sure about that? The stock bridge I took off the Mustang is identically sized to the bridge I had laying around from a Squier Jazz. I’m not having any issues with the E and G strings when I play it.

@@room34 Actually, the specs from the Fender on the Mustang Bass is not exact. I just put a micrometer on both a Fender Am Jazz bass, a Player II Mustang, and on the actual bridge, they all spec at 19mm.

Yeah… I was cleaning out my studio space the other day and I dug out these bridges. I didn’t measure them but I put the stock Player Mustang bridge and the Squier Jazz bridge up against each other and they’re identical. I wouldn’t be surprised if the traditional Mustang bridge is 17 mm but it does seem like the Player series deliberately uses stock Precision/Jazz specs for the bridge and pickups to make them easier to mod. (Or just cheaper/easier to produce.)

Possible, but I don't think that was it. Anyway it doesn't matter because I sold this bass a year and a half ago and replaced it with… wait for it… a Squier 40th Anniversary that was 1/5 the price. I still have the Squier and am quite happy with it as a backup bass, even though it _does_ have a loose fret. I'll get around to fixing it eventually. But it's only causing a little bit of buzz on a couple of notes on the G string, and I'm still able to set the action the way I want it. Never managed to do that with the Ultra. Here's the follow-up: ua-cam.com/video/_Wls0u35MCY/v-deo.html

You would think that… and yet the only instruments that have actually had *serious* issues - like, cut out in the middle of a gig issues - were a Schecter and a Sire. I have been considering both Sadowsky and Lakland though. Perhaps that will be my New Year's resolution.

@ Lakland Skyline (used particularly) are the best value for money basses out there at the moment - all IMO of course! The QC is fantastic, they’re made in Indonesia but still got through a final QC in the US, some of them are even Plekked now, which means you can get the action ridiculously low, stock electronics are really good and they’re some of the best necks you’ll play. I know exactly how you feel with regards to QC issues etc as described in the vid and moving over to the Skylines was a revelation for me

But I like selfmixing basses

Just the way they come from the Mod Shop. Maybe the Mod Shop is still using Am Pro parts instead of Am Pro II. 🤷‍♂️

Thanks!