casapete

I’ve been playing in Scarborough the last two nights. Friday was with my acoustic duo at a great venue on the harbour called ‘The Lookout’. Capacity crowd all out for a good time, with great food and drinks. We did it as a request night, and managed most of them, ranging from ‘Girl from Ipanema’ through to some rock and blues stuff. One of those evenings when everything lines up just right, so got a good buzz from it. We got two more gigs in early 2020 from it too. Last night was a completely different scenario. Town centre hotel function room for a military reunion dinner dance. 3 piece band with me standing in for someone. Got the dance floor busy (eventually) and finished around 12.30 ish. Whilst loading out we commented on how many drunk numpties were passing the hotel, one of whom had deposited a pot plant on our van. Loads of people around, and as we drove away me and my friend commented on how intimidating it felt to be amongst stuff like that. Have now just heard on the BBC news that a 26 year old man was stabbed right outside where we playing (about 30 mins after we left) , and has since died of his injuries. Whatever is going on with the world now where situations like this can escalate so quickly into such a tragedy? So very sad.

As a kid I started out playing piano with lessons etc, but back then the music being taught didn’t grab me. Then I discovered guitar, first on an acoustic my gran bought me back from a holiday in Spain and then on to electric at age 12 or thereabouts. All through my teens I didn’t realise that what I really should have been doing was playing bass though, and it wasn’t until my late 20’s that I decided to be a bassist. Whilst I love the piano and guitar, I do wish I’d graduated to the bass at an earlier age. I also aspire to be a better pianist and guitarist too though, although for me bass will always be my number one.

I think the whole idea of using an electro acoustic bass through a bass guitar rig successfully will ultimately depend on the type and quality of rig being used, and how much it will colour / alter the inherent acoustic sound. For example, an SVT / 810 rig might not be ideal. 😆 As I said earlier, plenty of people on this forum think EA basses are a waste of time, preferring to go for the 'P-bass with flats' approach. As Frank says above, at least a powered PA speaker would preserve a lot of the sound of your EAB, and have other uses as well - monitor for your loud band's gigs etc. From the sound of your OP, you seem happy enough with your band set up, so this would also mean you don't have to change that. Cost-wise you can get a capable active (powered) cab for under the price of say a Fender 500 watt Rumble - the Yamaha DBR12 for example. Also some of the lower price options ( Alto and Mackie etc) may be worth a look too. Plenty of info in various threads on here, search for 'FRFR', good luck!

There will be plenty of people on here who may question putting an electro acoustic bass through a bass amplifier, reckoning it will cancel out much of the use of such a bass in the first place. Whilst it’s inevitably a compromise going down that route, then I reckon one amp and two cabs is probably the best option, using one cab for acoustic gigs and adding the other to increase volume and spread for your 3 piece. ( Must admit though that the Fender Rumble 500 combo is a great choice for both, being fairly small and lightweight yet still kicking out a good volume. ) I use my Washburn AB straight into our PA for small acoustic duo gigs, and it sounds fine. This weekend I’m playing a gig where there is a small PA installed and because of the placement of the speakers I’m going to take along my small GK combo to provide just a bit of support so I can hear myself. If more volume was needed on my gigs, then I’d maybe consider some sort of powered full range monitor / PA style cab which would preserve some of the acoustic sound of the bass. Also a good DI box for when you need PA support.

Only happened to me once with my P-bass Lyte, enough for me to make sure it never does again. Playing at a wedding, had about 10 secs of crackling distortion and then completely dead. Most embarrassing. My tech guy did a small mod to my bass a while ago which dramatically increased the battery life. Prior to this it did used to get through a fair few Duracell’s IIRC. I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what he did, but seem to remember him saying it would have cost Fender only small change to use the improved component he substituted.

I asked my tech guy if it was possible to do this to my Fender P-Lyte and he reckoned not. An old Hohner B2A I used to have had an active / passive mode switch, complete with red LED for active mode, but I can’t remember if leaving it in passive mode drained the battery still. Not much help, sorry.

I can’t recommend the Yamaha EMX512SC enough. 8 mic inputs, a very loud 2x500 watt output and excellent built in FX and compressors. Really lightweight too, (class D power amps) and doesn’t have a large footprint which is handy in pubs where room is limited. For smaller gigs you can configure one side to run FOH speakers and the other to power monitors too. A pair of decent speakers and you have a great PA for not a lot of dosh. I picked mine up s/h for £150 which is crazy for the quality and spec.

Fender Precision Lyte? Japanese build quality, PJ pickups , 34” scale and thin jazz neck with a Strat sized body. All 3 of mine are around 7lbs. Still a bargain on the s/h market at around £350 and upwards, depending on condition.

Didn’t Fender call these ‘Mocha’, or even ‘walnut’? Still brown of course though....😆

Also Timothy B.Schmidt’s predecessor in Poco was Randy Meisner, founder member of the Eagles. Weird huh?

And what about the key changes....🤣

Damn, beat me to it. Obvious choice perhaps, but bloody marvellous all the same.

Absolutely - Wichita Lineman and Galveston in particular, great songs and performances.

I remember the ’Woolies’ stuff too. Think a lot of it was marketed under the ‘Audition’ brand IIRC. I had a similar amp to an Audition, which was badged as a Zenta. Separate 10 watt head that clipped onto a speaker cab. The amp had reverb as well! My first electric that I played into it was a no name red 335 style guitar, followed by an Avon Les Paul copy and then a sunburst Antoria. Soon after that ( aged 14) my mate wanted to buy a guitar so we got a cheap day return on the train to London, where we spent the day up and down Shaftesbury Ave and Charing Cross Road. After trying out endless guitars he settled for a Columbus SG, I think in a brown colour. Bolt on neck meant he didn’t need a whammy bar..... 😄

Great looking cab - I like the painted finish too, far easier to maintain and without any worries about glue etc! Let us know how you get on with it , cheers.

Written by Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt, this is one of those songs that never gets old for me, despite being recorded 42 years ago. Even then it had a retro feel though, plenty of Phil Spector influence etc. Here it is being performed recently by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. Different key and arrangement, but just as good IMHO!

Honky Tonk Women - Fifty years old and probably my favourite hit single ever. The minute the cowbell starts and the drums kick in, wow. Born to run - Epic song that still sounds fresh. I heard it through the grapevine - again, still sounding timeless.

Just occasionally after a long hard gig, my right hand (plucking one) swells up a little. Usually subsides after an hour or so, and I find running cold water over it helps this.

These songs I’ve played hundreds of times, and yet when I hear the originals I never tire of them. Dancing Queen - one of the best pop records ever made? My Girl ( The Temptations ) - Motown perfection. Sittin’ on the dock of the bay - Just wonderful. Lets stay together - see above.

Me too, ( apart from the Supertramp and Yes tunes....😄 )

Forgot to mention a s/h Schroeder cab as an option. Well thought of on here, lightweight and often in 4 ohm versions. They come up for sale every now and then for around £300 / £350. Cheers.

You could always try a Peavey 410TX. Cheap as chips s/h and come in 4 and 8 ohm versions,350 Watts.I had one for a couple of years and it was surprisingly good, handled my old Trace AH500 well. Only drawback being their weight, but otherwise worth a look. 2x12 wise, Gallien Krueger have made some, with the 212MBE being quite reasonably priced. GK also do some 4 ohm 410’s ,including the 400 watt CX410.i use a GK Neo410, mine being the 8 ohm model but also available in 4 ohm. Excellent cab, not too heavy and sounds great. S/h ones come up just within your budget

Think it’s fair to say that the majority of songs mentioned previously that people would gladly never hear again are pop / chart ones that have been played to death on the radio and by covers bands. I think that if it had been the same for a lot of the music people seem to prefer on here (rock, metal, album tracks )then maybe the outcome would have been the same. Certainly would be for me....😅

http://www.wembleyloudspeaker.com/ These guys will sort out your damaged cone, and maybe not too far for you as well. Hope you get sorted.