Comments

• brainstrm (28 Feb 2006 19:41)

  This is my neck-through Daion Power XX 4-string fretless , my most frequently used bass . This thing rules ! I have had it for over 20 years - I've been playing fretless for so long that fretted basses feel weird to me !
  I used the Daion for all of the early Project : Brainstorm recordings and most of the newer ones including "Deepskystarlight" , "Martian Boogie" , and "Betrayal Be Thy Name" .
  The neck is a nine piece laminated maple with dark wood contrast layers . The alternate layers are turned opposite each other's grain , which helps minimize warpage . The body wings are also a three piece laminate which appears to be rosewood / maple / rosewood .

• dsstrlght (28 Feb 2006 20:00)

  It has a beautiful sound and looks fabulous! I love it and how you play it.

• dsstrlght (28 Feb 2006 20:30)

  That wood looks so touchable. Does that make any sense? It's just very pretty.

• brainstrm (28 Feb 2006 20:59)

  Perfect sense ! I have played A Lot of basses - this one rules them all . It is one of the most comfortable instruments I've ever played . Even though it has a glossy painted finish it still feels very organic and inviting . It is absolutely magnetic .

• dsstrlght (28 Feb 2006 21:20)

  That's not a stain? wow it is so organic looking.

• brainstrm (28 Feb 2006 21:56)

  It is clearcoat over contrasting colors of wood ! 8 ) They did do color-stain finishes on some of them , and some were a satin finish not glossy . I have also seen one with the body wings done the reverse of this one - maple / rosewood / maple so the light wood is on the outside !

• emossuck (01 Mar 2006 16:10)

  wowowowowoooooo wow isn't it kind of a weak point with the diferent wood though? D:

• charlie8j (01 Mar 2006 16:26)

  this is the best sounding bass ever !! and gorgeous !!

• charlie8j (01 Mar 2006 16:27)

  it has taken at least one hard knock and stood up to the test !!! still sounds great !!

• dsstrlght (01 Mar 2006 23:52)

  oh ok clearcoat well that's what I meant.. that is was either just stained or stained and clearcoated so you could see the wood. Having worked with wood some I do love the way a clearcoat can give that shine and bring out so much of the beauty of the wood while protecting it.

• brainstrm (02 Mar 2006 12:26)

  "isn't it kind of a weak point with the diferent wood though?"
  
  I always thought so too . It would seem that laminating the wood in thinner pieces would make it weaker , but actually the opposing grain structure does help to avoid warping . For many years I steered away from laminated and neck - through instruments but this one and the B.C.Rich have really sold me on this style of construction .
  The finish on this one is really good , probably nitrocellulose lacquer which does a good job of protecting the wood , looks really nice and feels even better !

• dsstrlght (04 Mar 2006 9:14)

  I think the fretlessness has to be useful in terms of really pushing one's mind to focus on listening to what sounds you are producing and learning to have that muscle memory so you don't get into the habit of looking at your fingers instead of thinking about the music. I know as a piano student that was drilled into me. You must know your instrument so well you don't need to keep stopping to look where you are going to put each finger. The more you can go straight from seeing the note to producing the sound without the whole delay of overthinking it and searching for it, the more you can focus on the music and and not just producing the correct note. I see this in your playing, your whole body and mind melding seamlessly with your instrument with the sound flowing so naturally from this seamless organic entity. So often when you watch other people perform there is so much more of that separation still there between the musician and his instrument. He is acting on it not one with it and it comes across in the sound as well.

• emossuck (04 Mar 2006 12:06)

  hmmm well whatever works! x)

• brainstrm (28 Mar 2006 4:49)

  Very much so ! I have fretted basses also but I rarely play them . I do like my Dean ML bass a lot but to me most fretted basses feel limited and uninspiring by comparison . The Dean and Daion both have a similar control layout to a guitar so I'm able to change the sound on the fly , which helps me get even more emotionally involved with what I'm playing .
  When I played the Daion (filling in with a metal band in the early 90s) I used guitar effects like a Big Muff distortion and Electric Mistress flanger . The flanger makes a doubled slightly out-of-tune sound which gives me a little more leeway on "fretting" accuracy - strangely enough , everything sounds more in-tune on the average . It also makes for a very big sound and has a sweeping effect that makes the bass sound more interesting in general , especially since a lot of bass parts tend to be stuck on the root notes . ( Not always the case - the Iron Maiden / Black Sabbath / King Diamond / Mercyful Fate songs were / are a serious workout ! )

• dsstrlght (01 Apr 2006 19:20)

  That's so true

• charlie8j (20 Apr 2006 5:20)

  Scary Mary !!!!! "Stead of the Wicked" !!! (or do I have the name wrong ???) Whoohoo !!!

• brainstrm (21 Apr 2006 21:13)

  "Stead of the Wicked" aaaaahahahaha oh man that song rips ! What a way to open a show - crunching F # and Tom Cremeens screaming like Rob Halford from hell (Come screaming .... to the midnight Mass) Wow - that still stands my hair up 20 years later ! Tom was seriously that good and then some ! When we jammed recently , he was even more versatile than before and still can do some monster metal screaming !
  Scary Mary was outrageous fun - I'm still hoping we get to do a reunion gig cause that would rule !
  \m/. .\m/

• brainstrm (21 Apr 2006 21:18)

  Filling in with the Oakley band ( hmmm - definitely not stuck to the root note there ! )
  
  
  

• charlie8j (22 Apr 2006 8:58)

  hahaha...nope !!! (can almost see Lovett's face behind the cymbals...hahaha)

• brainstrm (22 Apr 2006 14:28)

  Oh yes he rips too - I had a lot of fun jamming the Project : Brainstorm stuff with him later on ! He is a killer double-bass player and he did a really good job on the heavy stuff like "Damage" ! Yowzah !

• dsstrlght (24 Apr 2006 7:14)

  great!

• dsstrlght (11 Nov 2006 23:15)

  so very special.

• brainstrm (13 Nov 2006 13:00)

  very 8 ) It's sort of screaming for new strings - I think it wants out of its box -

• dsstrlght (11 Jan 2007 18:31)

  Is it now? hmmmmmmmmmmmm wish I'd read this before Christmas. Well there's always the just because. I love those occasions too.

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