msb

Wonderful!

I spend most of my playing time on my practice rigs , and have two. As we help my mother-in-law I have one at her place , it gets the most use. I wanted something small , to be used at a quiet volume. And it has evolved over the last three years. I have a (new to me) Phil Jones Bighead headphone amp for learning new material , and a little Darkglass e500 into a Phil Jones C2 cab. The e500 has a software suite with about two dozen pedals and effects in it. So it’s fun. Home is a simple Aguilar 350 plugged into a SL112. I do not turn it up much. Although I could certainly rattle the neighbour’s windows if I wanted to. I keep my practice rigs totally self contained so I don’t have to touch anything when I throw the gig rig in the car for the drive downtown. Three very different sounding rigs , but I appreciate that they are quite different. And have other amps and cabs that occasionally get brought out and plugged in , but I should trim those down.

It’s quite amazing how our individual touch changes the sound of an instrument. I’m in the house band for a weekly blues jam and have no problem letting other players use my stuff. So four different players might well be using the same bass and amp , with the same settings in the run of a night. And each person will sound completely different.

I’m quite fussy about note duration. Often palm mute , but I generally try to keep a little space between the notes.

I looked at Monique for years before I finally picked one up. At first I thought the bamboo box was the one , but the more I looked at the birdcage , the more I realized it was the one for me. No regrets after getting it , it completely changes the character of the Forte , I go in the effect return and really just use the back end. I love what it does. While I was waiting for mine to arrive I mentioned in another forum that one was on the way , and quickly got an email from Jule himself. He thought he might have lost an order and wanted me to know that he would “make everything ok”. I told him that I had found a used one , and he said I could have kept him going for a while there … So I like Jule. On one gig a while back I somehow forgot to pack Monique. I was fine just running the Forte for the night , but really missed how Monique changes things. I haven’t forgotten her since.

I have a couple of practice rigs , but this is where the BigHead will mostly reside. I use headphones when I’m playing along with a tablet , either picking up new material or just refreshing it. When it’s my happy time to goof around I like to use an amp. Usually a Darkglass e 500 into a little Phil Jones C2 cab. This is an enjoyable little low volume rig. And small.

I was totally happy before adding the preamp. And then everything shifted.

I have a small collection of amps and cabs. For gigs I’ve been happily using Bergantino for about the last three years , and then last January added a tube preamp. My sound completely changed , and I love it. Funny because I had never been happier about things before I picked up the pre.

Monique really changed things for me.

I do hope you will enjoy retirement. I seem to have retired from just about everything … but music.

I’ll find out if there’s any battery deterioration soon enough , I can always just plug it in.

I spend quite a bit of time learning and memorizing new material , and prefer to do that using headphones , quietly. For some years I’ve been using a HoTone Thunderbass I found on kijiji for a great price. I was quite happy with it. In another practice rig I use a GK MB200 , as it has a mini aux in (like the HoTone) for a tablet. And recently found a used Phil Jones Bighead headphone amp , this is the original version , there is now an updated Pro version that’s said to be a worthwhile addition … but I found the original for a really good price and could not resist. It’s also a computer interface. These were somewhat pricey , the new Pro is expensive. (and I do like a bargain) And it arrived yesterday. Phil Jones has a reputation for making quality , well designed gear. It’s mostly made in China , but they are putting out a quality product. I’ve found high end Chinese manufacturing to be excellent. It’s a solid piece of gear , with volume/gain , and then a two band treble/bass control. Two stacked pots with solid aluminum knobs , it feels substantial. And it certainly works beautifully. Now I’m just using an older set of reasonably good Sony headphones … but it sounds great. I’m mostly running over material from YouTube so that source is going to be what it is, but I’ve now tried several basses through this. And I like it. So if you spend much time playing with phones , and you see one for a good price … grab it.

New US made Music Man is more expensive than Rickenbacker here.

Our Mexican band is back in rehearsal mode , rehearsal last night , here’s a Facebook link to our stab at Marty Stewart’s Mojave. Our first go at it. https://www.facebook.com/thespurshfx/videos/1726356674458167

Welcome , Yolanda!

You do a good burst , Rob.

Beauty! Congratulations.

Nice to see a Streamliner , Walman !

old school

I went with low tension flats for mine , TI Jazz flats. They do require a light touch , but they’re great sounding strings.

A good teacher can speed up the process and nip bad habits before they become ingrained. And save you a lot of time and grief. The catch is finding a good teacher.

I’d love to see a tremolo in the Suite. My major complaint about what is available.

Quiet night for the Sunday Jam in the bar we call the Land of Dreams. Wet , and soggy. Rain and drizzle. We did’t get the regular crowd but had some good players. An old friend is getting back to playing bass , so it was lovely to have him up. The days are numbered in the old dive , it will change location in January. Parking and loading will not be as easy in the new location. It’s just a mid sized room and just vocals are in the PA. I can easily fill the room with a single 12 in cab. A Bergantino HDN , usually powered with a Forte head (the first version without the drive) and a tube preamp. I brought two basses , a Dano Longhorn from the first batch of reissues , and a vintage UniVox HiFlier Mosrite copy. The Dano still has the factory strings and has a wonderful old school thump , the Flier has some not too old chrome flats. Sometimes I will bring a Yamaha Samurai. I seem to have become a cheap bass , nice amp kind of guy. I’m ok with that.

I’m sorry to hear about the Covid. Bearly’s is a wonderful old dive , but they will be moving to Grafton St in January. It will be a sad day to see the old dive close. A much larger apartment complex will go up on the site. It’s been by favourite downtown venue for some years. I’ve been in the house band for the Sunday jam for close to thirty years now.

Anybody that can play funk on an Ashbory is doing things right. Try as I may my forays into the upper register on the Ashbory are suspect. Iffy intonation.