Music Man Sabre 1979/80 - bass sound demonstration (fingerstyle) - straight jack output
Many other "compare" videos do not do justice to the instruments or their tone, because people tend to use all kinds of amps, preamps, effects, manipulation software that hide and confuse the authentic tone... so here is an honest, real-life straight-from-the-jack sound demo of a vintage '79/80 Music Man Sabre, played fingerstyle. (79/80 is the original one, pre-EB, people !)
Bass has old-ish roundwounds (10-15 yrs, in a not too distant past cooked in vinegar to give them
some sparkle again).
The vintage Sabre has 3 switches :
- pickup selection (bridge, bridge+neck, neck)
- phase switch (makes it sound thin and nasal like a clavinet, not so interesting)
- high cut/boost switch (effect barely noticeable, so no mention of it in the video)
and 2 knobs that controls the on-board EQ:
- treble
- bass
That's it, really straightforward and simple.
The Sabre was my one and live axe during more then 25 yrs of live playing mid 80's - 2010 in various styles, except salsa where I played Ampeg Baby Bass (and occasionally Ibanez 5-string). I believe I tried my equally beloved Fender JB and PB exactly once live, to compare it to the Sabre. Only once :), because in live situations they fell way short in terms of tonal weight, power, "pop and thud" aspect, and plain functional usability in terms of calibrating bass sound while playing, in the constant volume against too loud monitors, side-fills, guitarists and drummers.
The Fenders are terrific recording instruments for their innate tone. But the Sabre is thé live bass... huge frequency range with booming lows and sparkly highs that made the sound guys' job easy. Except that they had to stay alert and keep their finger on the slider when the time came for the bass solo and you turn the treble and bass knob just a little more open :), because then the Sabre just will really splash and tear out of the mix - totally intentional of course.
Recorded live and straight in with no effects or pre-or postprocessing !
- bass parts without drums: split jack cable into Audiobox VSL22 into TotalRecorder.
- bass parts with drums: bass + drum track into Boss mixer into Audiobox VSL22 into TotalRecorder
Пікірлер: 19
Hey man. I am a 19 year old boy that LOVE the 80's music. I know a lot about it, and i listen to it all the time. I have watchet a lot of your bass cover videos and i love them. You are really talanted. I would love if you could mabey do a bass cover of some of the Luther Vandross songs. I have 2 songs that i love and really would love to hear a bass cover of. The first song is "She's a Super Lady" and the second song is of course "Never Too Much". A lovely bassline by Marcus Miller. He would be proud to see how good your bass playing is. Much love from me. Keep doing what you are doing!
@BelgaBass
Жыл бұрын
Hi there, it's nice for me to know that I am reaching people who could be my grandchildren (almost :) ). It's comforting to know that the younger generations, inundated as they are in modern rubbish-"music", still know to appreciate the 70s-80s stuff. A lot of what is happening today still has its roots in that era. I'm sure you know that yourself, since you say you know a lot about it. I personally am not that "into" the rather slick Luther Vandross music but certainly Marcus Miller is masterful and expertly a genius on those records, as on most albums he played in those days. Check out his solo album Suddenly 1982-83, I listened a lot to it when it came out, I'll admit that :).
Thanks for the run-through...I don't remember which of your videos made me seriously interested in Sabres...but this one convinced me I WANT one.
I just bought a Music Man Sabre recently because of your covers. The thing is a true monster. Even unplugged its loud. Love it. If it wasn't for your videos I probably would of never known about them. Thanks!
@BelgaBass
Жыл бұрын
Wow that's so good to hear ! Keep the heritage alive...
Just bought a 1980 sabre bass in dark brown colour like yours but with ebony fingerboard. Your videos are a big part of that cause i just love that sabre sound 👍👍
Very nice bass. Sounds like a Stingray on steroids
I love this ❤
Great sounding bass! I did many gigs with this bass, omg, is it heavy! When playing this bass wide open with both pickups all controls maxed out, it will rattle some speakers!
@BelgaBass
Жыл бұрын
Yes it will... :) I loved it
@rickb1266
Жыл бұрын
@@BelgaBass yes, I loved it too, the sound made up for the back pain!
I know you're finding music to surprise us with, however, I stumbled across "back together again", by Roberta Flack, take a listen. You can have fun with this!
Hey Belga, I just discovered this tune and immediately thought of you. Whaddya think? D'LLegance - Chanson D'llegance
Phase switch? High switch? I'm hearing an occasional "chorus" effect at times. What's that about?
@BelgaBass
Жыл бұрын
You're right, it's not a recording flaw, there is one string that has a bit a false sounding, chorus-like effect, yes, something to do with bad wood/metal vibe transfer/imperfect string production. I have had it in the past with other Sabres as well, one had it in the E string, was really annoying. I called it a "piano string" effect (like when you touch the piano strings inside its case - always sounds a bit out of tune)
@mattfoley6082
Жыл бұрын
@@BelgaBass It's most noticeable to me on your C of the A string. I also hear it on several frets of your G string. Have you tried adjusting the action to lessen fret buzz?
@mattfoley6082
Жыл бұрын
@@BelgaBass Unrelated: My 2000 Fender American Jazz Deluxe V had a weird interference thing going on the open E; like an out of tune harmonic. I tracked it down to the string angle at the nut. I added a string holder to tighten the angle and the problem went away.
@BelgaBass
Жыл бұрын
@@mattfoley6082 Thanks for the tip, maybe I'll look into it one day... actually I don't fiddle much with my basses settings any more. Only when receiving a new bass, to set it up to my taste and habits. When I was younger, I used to agonize a lot about string buzz and grasp rapidly for my tools to try to fiddle it away. Now I actually am more for "set it and forget it" :). It will never get substantially better, the string buzz on this Sabre is innate, as is the slightly warped neck (another regular flaw on most Sabres), which can not be regulated away with string height or action setting or truss rod... also had several luthiers look at Sabre string buzz over the years but none ever came up with a structural solution. It's likely due to neck/body wood selection & truss rod warping, and/or wrong tension between them. By the way, this guy demonstrates the Sabre '79 phase switch setting here and there, it's the thin nasal sound. kzread.info/dash/bejne/a4GM2cZsga3efdY.html
@mattfoley6082
Жыл бұрын
@@BelgaBass Yeah, I'd say you've done all you could! I guess the way to look at it is "it's not a bug, it's a feature!". LOL