The Bass Blog

Ibanez Grooveline G105 Review

2011-03-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

*neck type*	*5pc Grooveline-5 Wenge/Bubinga neck w/KTS™ TITANIUM Reinforcement*
*body*	*Ash/Alder/Ash body*
*fret*	*Medium frets*
*bridge*	*Tight End Bass 5 bridge (18.0mm string spacing)*
*neck pu*	*CAP-SAH5 neck pu*
*bridge pu*	*CAP-SAH5 bridge pu*
*equaliser*	*E5 3-band eq*
*string*	*D'Addario® Strings*
*hardware color*	*Cosmo Black*

okay so i quickly played this bass at the London bass show on sunday hooked up to a Laney NX810 cab and a Laney Nexus-FET head and I was instantly blown away by the sheer power of the bass, it has an amazing lear sound to it, the strings perfect distances apart to play technically and quickly over all stings with fingers, the bass sits comfortably and is nicely weighted and for £1823 you get what you pay for although it is a big investment on which you could probably get an equally good sounding bass for less even off of Ibanez.

8/10 - amazing bass, little bit too expensive

Ibanez BTB 775PB review

2011-03-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

SPECS

Neck Material:	5pc Maple/ Bubinga
Neck Type:	BTB5 thru-neck
Body:	Mahogany body/ Poplar Burl top
Frets:	Medium frets
Fingerboard:	Rosewood
Inlay:	Abalone dot inlay
Bridge:	Mono-Rail II bridge
NeckPU:	Bartolini® MK2-5-F
BridgePU:	Bartolini® MK2-5-R
EQ:	BARTOLINI® MK-2 (BTB)
HW Color:	Cosmo Black
Finishes:	CN

okay so this was my first 5 string bass, sits very comfortably, is pretty much perfectly weighted, the long 35" neck took a while to get used to as a step up from the Westfield i reviewed last but once i got comfortable with the instrument its playability was amazing you could pick it up play a funky jazz piece, then with the turn of a couple of dials you could get the full roar out of the amazingly powerful Bartolini MK-2's which was perfect for metal, this flexibility really helped me with my college work, and still is! it meant that i could learn more technically sound pieces like red hot chili peppers for my solo performances and then go practise the metal songs i was doing for my ensemble piece with my college band.

i've had the bass for about a year now and i'm still discovering new sounds and new techniques that work perfectly on this bass and i know i will never find every style or technique on it. as far as reliability goes its been perfect, not a single problem, still has the original strings a year later and are only just starting to get to the point where they need changing. I've given it a few knocks and scrapes and not a single mark is noticeable, the batteries to power the active pickups are still the originals from a year ago and thats with playing every single day

this bass is just amazing, i couldn't be happier with it to be honest and i would definatly recommend it to anyone considering the purchase of this amazing instrument.

9/10

London bass show 2011

2011-03-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

Okay so i went to the first ever London bass show today and i must say i was very impressed, bass guitar magazine did an amazing job at setting it up. with live shows from international solo bassists such as TM Stevens, Laurence Cottle, Stu Hamm. Personally, coming from a metal and Alt-rock background I felt Laurence Cottle wasn't my cup of tea, however, TM Stevens blew me away and Stu Hamm is just mesmerising when he's playing.
TM Steven's witty, bouncy attitude mixed with his insane slap bass skills makes his music very upbeat and incredibly easy to listen to.
but for me, the bassist of the day had to be Stu Hamm, his skill with both hands on the neck and control over sliding harmonics is amazing, he has a genuine talent for the instrument and is possibly the best bassist I will see for a long time.

Westfeild B1000 review

2011-03-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's not the most elegant bass in the world to do as my first review but it was my first bass around 4 years ago, makes sense for it to be my first review, agree?

Vital statistics

Contoured body design

Double body cutaway at neck join

20 fret maple nack with maple fingerboard

Black triple-ply scratchplate

One split single-coil pickup

1 volume rotary control

1 tone rotary control

scratchplate mounted jack socket

4-in-line open back machine heads

...so yeah, nothing special. But as a beginner bass you couldn't ask for more really, i learnt on this bass and i picked it up quickly, has a powerful low end which ofcourse is what you're looking for in a bass, has a nice tone very smooth. The neck is comfortable for lower level playing styles and nothing too complex but the neck quality just isn't high enough to comfortably and smoothly play technically on this bass. just starting out on bass? definatly try this as your starting point.

7/10 - great beginners bass

Ah the first blog...

2011-03-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

so like, I'l just give a simple explanation of this blog.
I am a bassist in sixth form college in bristol, i decided (mostly because i had nothing better to do) to create this blog to give you an idea of what i think of any bass' I've played and also what songs I'm currently jamming to, and if i can get my damn recording software to work properly i may even upload some audio/video clips of me bassing around