Basses.

Just to collect below all my previous blog posts about (some of) my basses, click the links to read about each instrument.

Ovation Magnum II

MusicMan Bongo

Rob Allen Fretless

Wal Fretless

Spector Euro 435 LX

Basslab Soul IV

Spector Fretless

Tools part 6 - Ovation Magnum II

I get a lot of use out of this unusual late '70's designed Magnum II bass from Ovation.

Featuring a highly distinctive body shape, a thumb rest, unique bridge design and a rarely seen approach to active pick-ups, these instruments were replaced by the later Magnum III and IV before being discontinued.

It's a comfortable, but solid (heavy) piece of wood, also with a longer than usual scale length, which meant initially sourcing strings with windings that went past the nut was a little tricky, but I have settled on D'Addario ECB81 XL Chrome flatwounds.

It's capable of some grinding rock sounds, but it's appeal for me is either for thick rubbery dub type bass, or, with the foam mute in place, played pick style (sometimes in conjunction with a delay pedal) for a retro bass sound that my other, more modern instruments can't get close to.

I also sometimes use an Ovation Magnum I, which is the passive version of the same bass, you can read more on the differences between the two on this original Ovation manual.

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Two pick-ups, and foam mute.

Close up of the tone/volume controls and pick up selector.

Neck pick up aka "Mudbucker"

Backplate showing serial number.

You can hear this bass in the dub section (an excerpt from the title track) in the middle of the above sampler of the new Metallic Taste of Blood album "Doctoring the Dead".

Also on  "Mesh":




It's very prominent on the title track of the new Tim Bowness album "Stupid Things that Mean the World" too.

Burnt Belief - Coming Soon....

I am very happy to announce that "Burnt Belief" my collaborative album with guitarist Jon Durant, is mixed, mastered, manufactured and  ready for pre-order. Release date is set for "the end of the world"... very soon, so I hope any survivors will enjoy the album....it may well be an essential soundtrack for the Post Apocalyptic Times we will apparently find ourselves living in...(assuming that it isn't in fact the present reality and I just don't know about it....)

In any event "Burnt Belief" is an instrumental narrative, consisting of 8 tracks:

1 Altitude
2 Impossible Senses
3 Prism
4 Balthasar's Key
5 Uncoiled
6 Semazen
7 The Weight of Gravity
8 Arcing Towards Morning

Total running time is just under an hour at 59 m 16s.

As well as Jon on 12 string, his unique lead and cloud guitars, and yours truly (various basses, electronics and programming), Jerry Leake is active on most tracks with an interesting variety of percussion, mostly of the middle Eastern variety, but also Indian tablas and various metallics. I've always enjoyed the blend of electronic and human sounds with rhythmic elements, Jerry has done a fantastic job complementing the electronic programming, with both his sound choice and feel.

Geoff Leigh guests on flute on the diminished tonality of  "Balthasar's Key" and Randy Roos, who recorded Jon's previous album Dance of the Shadow Planets also mixed and mastered the CD at Squam Sound Studios in New Hampshire, USA.

Sometimes a particular atmosphere or sound suggests to me that it might make a good context for a particular instrument of mine. For the vast majority of "Burnt Belief" I've used my new USA Spector fretless, which has proved to be an extremely expressive and responsive addition to my bass sounds, but there's a few other colours too, namely my low tuned Spector Euro 435LX for some extra deep bass, my (phazed and distorted) Wal fretted played with a pick, my double bass on the acoustic track "Arcing Towards Morning" and also my old Ovation Magnum II, lending a fat dub style tone to a minimalist line in one interlude.

There will be two physical editions of "Burnt Belief" a standard CD in a Digipack, and for those who might like it, a special limited "Tin Edition", with a signed insert, see below:

Inside the Tin:













I'll be posting the pre-order information here as soon as I have it, in the meantime, here's an audio sampler of the album: (EDIT- click here to pre-order, and check out the Facebook page also)







Best,

Colin