The Bass Industry

[bobalu]

We all know that plastic comes from oil. Thanks for the refresher. Plastics were considered as a way of trying to control resonance and making a more consistant product.

WE are makng a body from compressed sunflower seeds now...will let you know it may be a bit heaviy so far.

Jeez, why don't you just shoot the guy..............this IS a discussion thread about the bass industry, isn't it????????????? I know, you own the board and the company, so you can be as sarcastic as you want...... very classy.

 

[58super]

We all know that plastic comes from oil. Thanks for the refresher. Plastics were considered as a way of trying to control resonance and making a more consistant product.

WE are makng a body from compressed sunflower seeds now...will let you know it may be a bit heaviy so far.

Sorry BP, I wasn't trying to be a smart ass, but sustainable is different from consistent. I just find sustainable to be a word that doesn't mean very much.

One of the things I admire about EBMM is the innovation that goes on.

I have a pair of Bongos and the next bass I'll order will be an SR4 2 band so I've have both the earliest and latest innovations covered off.

I work in the medical device business and the new materials that have been developed and are being developed have some pretty amazing properties, but above all else quality and consistency of performance are valued.

If compressed sunflower seeds sound as good as ash or basswood and works as well at a lower cost go for it.

 

[bovinehost]

Jeez, why don't you just shoot the guy..............this IS a discussion thread about the bass industry, isn't it????????????? I know, you own the board and the company, so you can be as sarcastic as you want...... very classy.

New around here?

 

[screaminhugger]

It seems to me that bass players aren't just in a rut when it comes to new technology, materials and styles, but in new instruments in general. Case in point. Flea, is now playing a 45+ year old passive fender jazz bass instead of MM, modulus, or spector...that tone is something of a "Holy Grail" i guess. To me if you start making basses out of plastics, composites, and laminates, you are losing the magic that makes each bass unique with it's own personality. You can play 20 different jazz basses all seemingly identical, and each will have it's own unique tone, and feel. In trying to find my stingray, I went to 4 different stores, and traveled a total of 150 miles to find the "right one". The other cool thing is that just like my jazz bass, this one will get better with age too. i must say in defense of consistency, it was easier to find my stingray because of the better build quality in the stingray than in the fenders. I was very impressed with the fit and finish of each stingray I played. I found the "one" at guitar center of all places...it says alot for the company that makes an instrument so well that even guitar center can't destroy it....

james

 

[PocketGroove82]

WE are makng a body from compressed sunflower seeds now...will let you know it may be a bit heaviy so far.

I'd buy one! As long as it's not in the shape of a sunflower seed or worse, a bag of sunflower seeds. I'll send you guys the seeds from my trashcan, if needed.

 

[RockinRayDuke]

Jeez, why don't you just shoot the guy..............this IS a discussion thread about the bass industry, isn't it????????????? I know, you own the board and the company, so you can be as sarcastic as you want...... very classy

Oh brother.

My 2 cents? Anything anyone can do to shake up the industry is a plus as far as I'm concerned. Some ideas are embraced, some fall to the wayside. New designs, new ideas (like the Bongo) are just what the bass world needs. There'll always be a place for the old designs but new choices are always a good thing. Even Leo looked ahead, right? Always tinkering, always thinking, always looking for a way to make it better.

 

[adouglas]

Just a small detour here regarding truly sustainable materials....


BP:

Stick Enterprises in Woodland Hills, CA (makers of the Chapman Stick that Tony Levin is so well known for) has been offering laminated bamboo as a material option for a while now.

http://www.stick.com/instruments/bamboo/

Bamboo is truly a renewable, sustainable resource because it grows incredibly fast, requires very little cultivation and has some interesting characteristics. You can now get flooring made out of bamboo. It's really tough stuff if you use it properly.

Just food for thought...if you're seriously considering pursuing alternative materials you might give Emmett a call.

http://www.stick.com/
(818) 884-2001

 

[MingusBASS]

Well, I WAS going to buy another EBMM but since I saw this Stick advertisement on this forum I'll give them my money instead. oooo are those block inlays? jk

 

[Dr Stankface]

Whoa. Didn't know this was the Stick website.

 

[spencer]

I don't see what you can improve on with a bass guitar. I mean. Add some more knobs.. Take away the body so its just a neck? Some new special materials? I LIKE WOOD. Wood makes the instrument so much more personal. Its something that took a while to grow somewheres and then was choped down so you could have a bass. Maby its just the inner hippy in me. But anyways when I think of newer basses all I think of is HI FI sound.. NO bass with tons of treble.

 

[MingusBASS]

Ok, I'm convinced. I'm going back to a washtub bass.

 

[Big Poppa]

Jeez, why don't you just shoot the guy..............this IS a discussion thread about the bass industry, isn't it????????????? I know, you own the board and the company, so you can be as sarcastic as you want...... very classy.

It must be cold up there... because you are Canadian I will try to give you something you didnt afford me...the benefit of the doubt. 58 super I was not upset or being condesending just letting everyone know that I know where plastic comes from. Let me take afew steps back because this thread is borderline crazy. I dont think I have a problem with 58super and I dont think he has one with me and if he does I apologize.

For those of you who are happy with what is available God bless you. Please allow fools such as I the room to experiment to try to move the bass somehow someway forward. It costs you satisified guys nothing. It may bring something missing for some who are searching for something different. To pass judgement and forbid evolution is not fair to the rest of us. It is a win win for all.

Now to clarify the bongo because I wrongly think that all of you know what I was thinking ( I assumed this due to the dozens of threads about this very subject)when I commisioned and co designed that bass. First off Dudley was really interested in neodynium magnets from our work with marco of mark bass. He developed new pickups and a preamp that was really special. The second point I was attempting to address is the difference between each and every bass of the same make. the third thing would be if we got lucky and found a great shape, great material where we could consistantly tune the resonance and have it be a renewable material I would have hit the Jackpot. We got the shape and the new ergonomics but didnt find a better material than wood for resonance, weight and sustainability. Ididnt find it yet but am glad that I went through the exercise because I learned a lot and I am very proud of the Bongo.

Adouglas good find we are also playing with forms of bamboo



Bobalu I will try to be classier for you.

 

[CW Zing]

The BamBongo.That's it! Or Bamboongo

 

[Lazybite]

I think it is a fantastic idea to try and make something which is good better.. sure some people might be happy with what is going around... but is it the best?? surely with technological advances coupled with greater knowledge something even better than good can be made....

 

[cybersnyder]

I got to play Emmett Chapman's bamboo Stick at a seminar. Well, I use the term "play" very liberally. It was the first time I tried it and the melody side is familiar since it's tuned EADGC, but the bass side was entirely foreign to me as it's tuned in 5ths. Completely lost. Bamboo is a very cool "wood". Very rigid but still organic. I have no idea how it would sound as a bass neck. With the Stick the strings have very low tension so you don't get a huge difference in sound from the various woods. It's more electronics and pickups that shape the tone of the instrument. It's hard to beat maple necks for basses. There's a reason that 90% of the basses out there have maple necks with a variation of fingerboards.

 

[DanielOnBass]

Sunflower Seed Bodies?

I'm really curious about this concept... Is some sort of adhesive compound included in the mix? And would compressed materials such as this have a "lifespan" as long a wood body?

 

[tadawson]

The BamBongo.That's it! Or Bamboongo

The Bongboo . . . . .

- Tim

 

[DanielOnBass]

The Bongboo . . . . .

- Tim

Nice... That has a much better ring to it than Stingboo or Sterboo. How about that sunflower seed idea? I guess I'd try a Bongflower bass.

 

[PocketGroove82]

sunflower ray=sunray

 

[Hutton]

This has been a really good thread in my opinion. Lots of different viewpoints expressed and a bit of knowledge gained. The thread does seem once again to illustrate the point that so often is made on the forum. Individuals have a choice to make and it's gratifying to know that a company like EBMM produces basses in the traditional mould as well as a more innovative product. EBMM keeps the traditionalists and modernists happy. Freedom of choice is what it's all about.