Streamer LX-4 vs. SSII 4-String

I will pick SSI, my SSII is always stay at home, its a OMG bass, but SSI is more useful, LX is like SSI than SSII!

BTW, all my friends think my SSII sounds amazing, just SSI is better on stage.
 
Does the aggressiveness of the bass make it difficult to use on stake?


joekickass said:
I will pick SSI, my SSII is always stay at home, its a OMG bass, but SSI is more useful, LX is like SSI than SSII!

BTW, all my friends think my SSII sounds amazing, just SSI is better on stage.
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Nah, I've played country and bluegrass on stage with mine. In my case I kept the treble and mids below halfway and boosted the bass a bit.
 
JPMorin said:
I own both an LX ('98) and a SSII ('88) and there's a BIG difference between both...

The difference IMO is more in the mid response, the SSII is a mid monster it cut through like buther and has more sustain. The LX is a slap machine monster with punchy, nice lows and awesome top end snap. it is more conventionnal sounding a bit.

I must say that my SSII is still unbeatable-go-to-bass, even downtuned it cuts and sounds as big as normal. The best bass I hhave had up to now. You shouldn't be disapointed buying one, but it depends on what you want/need...The SSII is a big WOW +++ for me !!
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Because I like reviving dead threads, does the SSII do slap well, mostly in the way of funk slap? Because I agree the LX has an awesome slap tone, but all the clips I"ve heard of the SSII in my opinion are not done tastefully to really get an idea of what this would sound like slapped in a musical context.
 
It's kinda like the thumb's slap tone. It's definitely not a "traditional" sounding slap sound, but it's still amazing. Just very different.

(Ohh.....I didn't mean it sounds like the thumb....just that it's very different like the thumb is very different)
 
Stroud said:
It's kinda like the thumb's slap tone. It's definitely not a "traditional" sounding slap sound, but it's still amazing. Just very different.

(Ohh.....I didn't mean it sounds like the thumb....just that it's very different like the thumb is very different)
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The impression I get is the 'pop' in slapping is a lot thinner than what I get from the LX4.
 
FunkyBassist said:
Because I like reviving dead threads, does the SSII do slap well, mostly in the way of funk slap? Because I agree the LX has an awesome slap tone, but all the clips I"ve heard of the SSII in my opinion are not done tastefully to really get an idea of what this would sound like slapped in a musical context.
Click to expand...

I must say that for slap sound, the LX is one of a kind, it has THE "classic" slap sound !! (IMO)
Because of the mid +++ content, the SSII is very different. But you can have a pretty nice slap sound from it too. But the mids will be pretty in your face when slapped...

Just check old 311 slap sound in the song "come original" and you'll get pretty good idea... (It's a SSII in the video ans my guess it is on the album) I love that slap sound !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWo-02Hsab4

Or an other is the last Dirk Lance (former bassist of Incubus) project :


OR Incubus (check the bridge part of that song, at around 2m05 in that clip)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIBD7L73I4Q&feature=related
 
FunkyBassist said:
I own the LX4 and am considering upgrading to the Stage II in 4-string.

The LX4 has P/J pups, while the Stage II has J/J--and they use different body woods. What are the tonal differences between these two bases? And will I see a major 'wow' going from the LX-4 to the stage II?
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I've just made a quick record with the Micro BR recorder. The black LX5 2003 vs SSII 2004. I forgot to turn off the compressor, but I hope it didn't affect the sound too much. That's just a line-in recording.
I must say that LX has MEC BEC III preamp inside. "EB slinky" strings are on both basses.
Both featured on the picture.

5.jpg


View attachment LX vs SSII.mp3
​

LX - Slap/pizz, SSII - slap/pizz.
That may help a bit.
And a small note ;) While playing through an amplifier SSII is an absolute leader. Don't matter what kind of music I play.
 
Bud you sound great, which is the LX and which is the SSII? The first is the LX I assume? In which case it sounds a lot better, both fingerstyle and slap, than the SSII

But both sound pretty similar. Not sure if it's worth having the SSII if you have the lX
 
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Very nice playing Simon!

Sounding great! I love both basses, but I have to say I dig the LX a bit better in those recordings. I reckon it would be a different story in a live mix though, where I think I would like the way the SSII sits.

:D
 
Thanks, guys!

It seems like LX goes a bit further then SSI. But in order to make the situation more objective, I recorded another samples a minute ago. The Micro BR-80 works as an audio interface too. So I connected it to my laptop, created a Garage band project and recorded two parts using BR's Amp sim effect. I definitely like the second part more. SSII has this special bite in a low frequency range, which I adore! ;)

One sample with a drum part, and another is going without it. Bass parts are the same.

Lx at first, then goes SSII.

View attachment LX5 vs SSII (Amped) B&D.mp3

View attachment LX5 vs SSII (Amped) B only.mp3.
​

I wanna say that this LX is a special one. I owned the same Streamer made in 2008, and it sounded really poor comparing to this boy. I'm proud of him! :D
 
Well, my LX being a 4-string with the P/J pups, sounds different than your LX. But in your samples, they sound very, very close. Maybe live they sound different, but especially in a mix, I can't imagine anyone would be able to tell them apart. What do you think?
 
FunkyBassist said:
Well, my LX being a 4-string with the P/J pups, sounds different than your LX. But in your samples, they sound very, very close. Maybe live they sound different, but especially in a mix, I can't imagine anyone would be able to tell them apart. What do you think?
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Generally speaking, I use SSII as an instrument for recording and LX for live stuff. SSII fits studio mixes better then LX. Plying live in our rehearsal room (or in any other place with a small room) I can clearly distinguish the tone difference between them, because my rig is the only amplifier for bass. While on a bigger concert, when your signal goes through PA system it's a really difficult task for a listener :)

I'll try to show the difference in a studio mix. However that's just my home-made mix, and I don't have professional equipment here, but anyway...
I took the previous record and composed some simple additional parts in that project: piano, guitar, percussion and sampled vocals from Garage band library. Then I tried to mix it 'like a record'. You can hear the same drum loop as well as the same bass parts. Lx sounds a bit muddy, while SSII is just flawless. It feels like SSII part is louder, however the volume is the same. I can tell them apart, for sure, listening through my Sony MDR 7506 headphones or a cheap stereo system.

 
I did a sample too with my 2 own basses, both 4 strings, SSII and LX.

Both have eq flat and pickup balance at center 50/50 and recorder straight through my m-audio through cubase... nothing added after...

Both wear ernie ball strings, but:
SSII has regular slinky, tuned in D and the LX has power slinky, tuned in C. I played both basses in the same key. I must say the tunings and strings change the sound a bit and the LX would be tiny more bright and clear with the same string and tuning than the SSII... It's hard to get nice strings gauge for C tuning around here, I would have to order them on the net everytime and wait until I receive them... I would prefer to buy them in the shops around... but that's an other story...

As always playing is not so good ( and solid as Simon's playing... ;) ) and I just wanted to show the sound of both, 4 strings version: SSII first, then LX...
 

Attachments

I never thought 4-string version of LX sounds so scooped. Where are the high frequencies???

I used to order strings here - Stringthis.com. It's a very nice company.
 
JPMorin said:
As always playing is not so good ( and solid as Simon's playing... ;) ) and I just wanted to show the sound of both, 4 strings version: SSII first, then LX...
Click to expand...

Oh, come on! You play good and solid. Just make a drum track to play with. It's much more fun! :D
 
SimonQwerty said:
I never thought 4-string version of LX sounds so scooped. Where are the high frequencies???

I used to order strings here - Stringthis.com. It's a very nice company.
Click to expand...

I put the eq and everything flats, the strings are quite low tension compared to the SSII and older too...
I think the pj pickups config has something to do in it too, P pickups sounds more scooped than J style IMO, And I had to set it lower than I would put a J to balance the sound with the bridge pickup... P's sounds louder !!

I always have had trouble having a real nice sound in C tuning, I had trouble in studio with that when recording my last IGT albums too with my custom non warwick bass...
to have nice highs on that LX I always have to dial some in and then the sound gets more open. I must say I had put a BEC 3 way eq in it but the mid frequency is not that usefull as the bass doesn't have a lot of mids in... And if I bypass the sounds gets a bit more opened too (it's an old version I got used)...

For the drum tracks, Id' like to get a good'n'easy software to do some. I had "frutty loops" once, that was funny when I play along with... Of course my examples would sound better with !! :)
 
Guys, thanks so much for these clips. The are really useful.

I think with respect to the LX-5 vs. the SSII, there is a difference--the SSII has more low mid growl, bit more clarity. But it occurs to me ou can eq in that additional low mid growl on the LX.

The LX-4 and SSII-4 of course sound very different since the have different pup configurations.
 
JPMorin said:
I put the eq and everything flats, the strings are quite low tension compared to the SSII and older too...
I think the pj pickups config has something to do in it too, P pickups sounds more scooped than J style IMO, And I had to set it lower than I would put a J to balance the sound with the bridge pickup... P's sounds louder !!

I always have had trouble having a real nice sound in C tuning, I had trouble in studio with that when recording my last IGT albums too with my custom non warwick bass...
Click to expand...

I've never been a fan of P-style pickups, they bring a strange character to the sound. That's love or hate kind of things.

But I can say that you definitely need new strings! :D
I've never been playing in drop tuning, actually, but I can hear that your strings are too loose. Too much fret buzz... To my opinion only ;) Did you try this ? May be that's the way to avoid problems in C tuning.
Don't get me wrong, I'm just suggesting, not advising =)

FL Studio is the second program after Sony ACID Pro, which I had been trying to learn by myself, before I entered the university, where the main DAWs we've been taught were Cakewalk and Cubase. I don't really use neither of them anymore ;)
 
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