andrewjw
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Post by andrewjw on Feb 18, 2016 13:17:26 GMT
Keith ocarolan was kind enough to mention that the bass track on a recent post I made at the Duck blended well into the mix...that together with Robbie's @robbiej interesting thread on his bass commission from Brook made me think of making this post. The bass is one of a small batch of 300 made by Parker in 2002/3 before they were taken over by Washburn. The body is made of 12 layers of sitka spruce with quilted maple on the front and back...the neck is mahogany wrapped in a carbon fibre skin and has a carbon fibre fretboard with stainless steel frets...locking Sperzel tuners. The electrics are very versatile...2 custom DiMarzio Jazz PU's plus individual Fishman piezo's under each string with an active Fishman EQ system...the controls from the top are master vol , Mag PU vol , Mag PU pan , stacked Mag tone [outer bass , top treble] , Stacked piezo controls [outer tone , top vol ] . Thus it is possible to generate all sorts of tones using either the magnetic PU or the piezo system either individually or blended together. The Piezo system on its own gives a very natural acoustic bass tone...to my ears anyway!  The piezo trim pots are individually adjustable ...allows adjustment for different string gauges. There is a battery hatch on the back for the 9V battery that powers the piezo system. The action is low and as it only weighs just over 3 kg and has a body hugging curved back it is exceptionally comfortable to play .  |
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Riverman
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Post by Riverman on Feb 18, 2016 13:33:27 GMT
Lovely looking instrument Andrew, and sounds like it would be a dream to play. But all those tone options would frighten me to death. As an extremely occasional bass player, I really just want mine to go "thud, thud"...  |
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andrewjw
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Post by andrewjw on Feb 18, 2016 13:47:49 GMT
Thanks Richard...and you are right about all the options! I too am a "needs must" occasional bass player these days...in practice I mostly use the guitar with a blend of about 80% piezo with a touch of neck mag to give a bit of edge to cut through the mix. Fortunately the controls are quite firm so once set are difficult to move by accident!  |
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Feb 18, 2016 16:45:15 GMT
Interesting looking bass, Andrew - I really like that - it has a dumpy sort of look to the body shape that reminds me of older Fylde Oberons. The headstock shape is a bit disconcerting though, with the G string not passing over the wood.
Almost as many knobs as the Cabinet too!
Keith
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andrewjw
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Post by andrewjw on Feb 18, 2016 21:51:53 GMT
Thanks Keith...interesting about the Oberon similarity.. Re the headstock...G strings never were meant to cover much! |
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Post by grayn on Feb 20, 2016 17:05:19 GMT
Very cool bass.
Congrats.
Parkers are definitely different in design and materials.
Bravo to them, I say.
The neck looks very playable.
Are the Dimarzio pickups, Ulta-Jazz?
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andrewjw
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Post by andrewjw on Feb 20, 2016 17:16:01 GMT
Very cool bass. Congrats. Parkers are definitely different in design and materials. Bravo to them, I say. The neck looks very playable. Are the Dimarzio pickups, Ulta-Jazz? Thanks grayn.. Yes the DiMarzios are Ultra Jazz according to the spec sheet.. Does that make a difference..?..I ask showing my ignorance!  |
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Post by grayn on Feb 20, 2016 20:33:37 GMT
Very cool bass. Congrats. Parkers are definitely different in design and materials. Bravo to them, I say. The neck looks very playable. Are the Dimarzio pickups, Ulta-Jazz? Thanks grayn.. Yes the DiMarzios are Ultra Jazz according to the spec sheet.. Does that make a difference..?..I ask showing my ignorance! It only makes a difference, if like me, you serious rate the Ultra-Jazz pickups. A few years back I was fortunate enough to own 2 Overwaters. One with U-Js and one with Overwater's hand wound pickups. The Overwaters were very hi-fi and clear but I much prefered the gutsier Dimarzios. Very full and rich but with plenty of cut, to be heard in the mix, live or otherwise. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 19:15:24 GMT
I love the Parker fly design. In fact I am pretty sure that the bass was the first time Parker used this design, on an instrument played by the Jazz bassist Steve Swallow if my memory serves me correct.
Robbie
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Jo whoever he is.
