Music Man Sabre 1979/80 - bass sound demonstration (fingerstyle) - straight jack output

Описание: 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