Musicians check in here. If you play, tell us about it!

[bassnut]

Hey guys can you guess what instrument I play? lol
I play a Warwick 4 string and use a GK amp. Been playing for around 15 years. I can play all kinds of styles, including jazz and rock. I have alot of knowledge on recording and music theory. I'm not currently in a band but if anyone is in the Nashville area and wants to jam, hit me up in a PM on here!
-Rob

I can play anything from a little Victor Wooten to Rush. 32nd notes, double thumbing, slap, pluck, whatever.

Dang!
Getting a jam together around Nashville should be as easy as falling out of bed and landing in the middle of one, I always thought.

 

[DaveP]

I really enjoy listening to a slap bassist like Wooten and some of the funk players. When you lock bass drum to a funk bassist, you have a jam that makes you move in defined patterns on the dance floor.

Most bassists have probably seen this one, but I thought I'd post it just in case.

Stanley Clark, Marcus Miller & Victor Wooten - Beat It

 

[DaveP]

Dang!
Getting a jam together around Nashville should be as easy as falling out of bed and landing in the middle of one, I always thought.

You'd think that about Macon, GA (1970s home base of Capricorn Records southern rock recording studios), but working musicians like their time off. I count count on ten fingers the number of times that people talked about getting a jam together that never happened. There were groups who jammed in Central City Park for free Sunday afternoon concerts, but you had to be in the circle to be allowed on stage.

Phil and Alan Walden moved the studios to Nashville later on to be in the middle of the industry. The studio on Broadway has been revived a couple of times, but never got popular again. Muscadine studio is still rocking. In the video below, you will see Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones and Sea Leavell), my cousin Tim Brooks (big guy on the blue Strat), and Elbert Durham playing Sax. Elbert and I played together for a while in a band I was in for years. Tim, my cousin, is one of the local guitar gods. He sometimes does a duet at local pubs with Chris Hicks of Outlaws and Marshall Tucker fame. Chris lives in Macon and plays around here and there. Last I heard, he was back with Marshal Tucker Band.

Paul Hornsby was the Studio Engineer at Capricorn during the Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels, Wet Willie, Allman Brothers days in Macon. He produced those guys and has a wall of gold records at Muscadine Studios. He was the keyboardist of Duane and Greg Allman's first band, Hourglass. He later was a session player with Duane at Fame studios in Muscle Shoals.

Chuck Leavell is still doing tours with the Rolling Stones. He will go out for months sometimes and fly back and forth.

The following 4 videos were filmed during the recording session of a CD for Skeebo Night. You will hear monitors along with the instruments in these videos. There will be quiet spots where you only hear the instrument being recorded. This is a typical isolation technique that is necessary for multi-track recording. My cousin Tim does a blistering guitar solo about 4:55 in the part 4 video.

Put on the headphones for the best experience!
Good Friends, Good Music Part 1


Good Friends, Good Music Part 2


Good Friends, Good Music Part 3


Good Friends, Good Music Part 4

 

[Levitas]

Most bassists have probably seen this one, but I thought I'd post it just in case.

That's a beasty, I watch every now and again. Along with Vic and Steve Bailey, Vic and Steve Smith(love this guy), Vic and Anthony Wellington(another beast) and so on and so on.

 

[Steel]

My favorite bassists - (in no paricular order.. except the first)

Justin Chancellor
Rex Brown
Geezer Butler
Steve Harris
Geddy Lee
Cliff Burton
Dave Ellefson

..and more I just cant think of them yet.

(bassists get the hottest girls too)

 

[Surf Monkey]

Edit:
I just checked out that GK MB210 amp on line.
I love the idea of 350 watts and 2x10" at 35 lbs!

It's an awesome rig. I traded an Eden for it. So portable and so HUGE sounding. GK makes excellent gear.

On the subject of bass approach, I'm much more of a melodic bass player than a rhythmic one. My guru is McCartney with a healthy dose of Entwhistle thrown in. I've never been much for just thumping along with the kick drum.

 

[cracker75]

It's an awesome rig. I traded an Eden for it. So portable and so HUGE sounding. GK makes excellent gear.

On the subject of bass approach, I'm much more of a melodic bass player than a rhythmic one. My guru is McCartney with a healthy dose of Entwhistle thrown in. I've never been much for just thumping along with the kick drum.

GK 1001RB and an Avatar 4ohm 212 here. Not the biggest and baddest, but weighing in at 56 lbs (the cab) makes it an easy carry.

I don't know if any of you guys are fans of Dr Bass, but if you are I got some parts cabs/drivers/and x-overs I'd be willing to part with for some cool e-cig stuff.

Some time later I'll tell y'all the story of buying two crappy boxes from Dr bass and how I hope he accidentally gets run over by any one of the many people he's robbed over the years.

 

[cracker75]

Anybody here (bass players mostly) ever try a Sunn 1200s? Not the new fender versions (though they're supposed to be the same), the old one's from the mid-90's. That's my dream head. 1200 watts @ 2 ohms.....ummmmm. Played it once down at BassNW in Seattle, side by side with a 1600W Ampeg, I think I heard the Ampeg crying in shame.LOL.

 

[Surf Monkey]

One of my best friends is the son of one of the co-founders of Sunn. I've never played any of their bass gear, but I used to have a Beta Lead that I thought was awesome.

 

[cracker75]

One of my best friends is the son of one of the co-founders of Sunn. I've never played any of their bass gear, but I used to have a Beta Lead that I thought was awesome.

1200s is my dream. People usually get rid of them because they don't have enough cabs or keep melting drivers trying to run a single cab with the head. That's what I call headroom.

 

[DaveP]

Anybody here (bass players mostly) ever try a Sunn 1200s? Not the new fender versions (though they're supposed to be the same), the old one's from the mid-90's. That's my dream head. 1200 watts @ 2 ohms.....ummmmm. Played it once down at BassNW in Seattle, side by side with a 1600W Ampeg, I think I heard the Ampeg crying in shame.LOL.

I remember Sunn amps in the 70s. They were big stacks with lots of power. 1200 watts at 2 ohms is a serious liability due to heat production. Since it is a SS output stage, you can plug in multiple cabs without having to change OT taps. The output jacks are wired in parallel, so you could plug in up to 4 - 8 ohm cabs to achieve operation at 2 ohms. You'd be better off running that amp at 8 ohms 300 watts (2 - 16 ohm cabs) or 4 ohms at 600 watts (4 - 16 ohm cabs).

 

[bassnut]

I remember Sunn amps in the 70s. They were big stacks with lots of power. 1200 watts at 2 ohms is a serious liability due to heat production. Since it is a SS output stage, you can plug in multiple cabs without having to change OT taps. The output jacks are wired in parallel, so you could plug in up to 4 - 8 ohm cabs to achieve operation at 2 ohms. You'd be better off running that amp at 8 ohms 300 watts (2 - 16 ohm cabs) or 4 ohms at 600 watts (4 - 16 ohm cabs).

Weren't Sunn the backline amps used at Woodstock '69?

 

[DaveP]

Weren't Sunn the backline amps used at Woodstock '69?

Looks like you hit that one on the nose. From SUNN® Support

A huge stack of SUNN amplifiers was a common sight at major concerts and festivals of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s...even Woodstock! While the new Model T looks very much like an old SUNN from that era, it is actually an all-new tube amplifier with some unique modern features.

I recently watched a special on Hendrix and he used a big Marshall double stack at Woodstock, but yes, I think I remember seeing Sunn and was surprised that Marshalls didn't overshadow that concert.

I worked in a music store teaching beginner lessons while in high school during the late 60s. Their was this huge Gibson Magnum 800 amp in the store that I fell in love with. It was an 8x12 cab with the preamp on top and the power amp inside the bottom of the speaker cab. The ad below says 200 watts RMS, but mine said 280 watts RMS on the bottom plate. There were something like 100 of them made. They proved too heavy for most people to haul, so they ended up being used by groups who had roadies. We carried a Hammond B3, so we were used to heavy equipment! I had to have it so I worked out a deal with the store owner to take some of my pay each week until it was paid for. I played that amp for about 10 years without a glitch and then sold it to buy a Peavey 4x12 Musician amp.

David Cassidy's guitar player rented it from me one night to play a concert at the Macon Coliseum (10,000 seats). He raved about how clean it was at high volume levels. I played it on 1 up to 3!

Not mine, but the same amp's speaker cab.

 

[cracker75]

Looks like you hit that one on the nose.....

You'd need a lot of good friends to help lug that beast around. I love it.

 

[trukinlady]

This thread caught my eye, and I thought I'd join in. I'm a self-taught acoustic guitar player. Many years ago, I played 12 string guitar. I picked up my first Gibson at age 9. (I'm dating myself here--this was the early 70's! lol!). I still have the Gibson, but it was damaged beyond repair. I have no formal training, and I can't even read music, but I love to play. Several years ago, I bought a Martin acoustic. It was a once in a lifetime purchase--$800.00, and took me 10 months to pay it off. Unfortunately, it was stolen when our house was robbed, and I didn't play again until I recently bought another acoustic. So, I'm trying to build up the callouses again, and rediscover the pleasure I had in playing.
I hope I can learn a few things from this thread! I have a lot of catching up to do!

 

[James Hart]

I typed up a book of a history and the server choke as I posted....

Anyway, I'm 43 been playing bass since 1980... play a 4, 5 and 7 string fretted as well as a fretless 6 and an upright bass. I also play sax, keys and guitar... but always from the point of view as a bassist. I also play with tubes and hope to get started building and selling my own design of tube heads (long time dream I've been working to make happen)

 

[DaveP]

This thread caught my eye, and I thought I'd join in. I'm a self-taught acoustic guitar player. Many years ago, I played 12 string guitar. I picked up my first Gibson at age 9. (I'm dating myself here--this was the early 70's! lol!). I still have the Gibson, but it was damaged beyond repair. I have no formal training, and I can't even read music, but I love to play. Several years ago, I bought a Martin acoustic. It was a once in a lifetime purchase--$800.00, and took me 10 months to pay it off. Unfortunately, it was stolen when our house was robbed, and I didn't play again until I recently bought another acoustic. So, I'm trying to build up the callouses again, and rediscover the pleasure I had in playing.
I hope I can learn a few things from this thread! I have a lot of catching up to do!

The times were never better for self taught players, especially guitar and bass. The internet (especially you tube) is full of free instructional materials from beginner to advanced. Catching up is easier than it used to be.

 

[DaveP]

I typed up a book of a history and the server choke as I posted....

Anyway, I'm 43 been playing bass since 1980... play a 4, 5 and 7 string fretted as well as a fretless 6 and an upright bass. I also play sax, keys and guitar... but always from the point of view as a bassist. I also play with tubes and hope to get started building and selling my own design of tube heads (long time dream I've been working to make happen)

We've all had a post get lost lately. There's some server issues that are to be resolved soon. The board has over 50,000 members and is doubling every year, according to admin. Tip: do a CTRL-A (select all) then a CTRL-C (copy selected) periodically while you are typing your post. If it gets lost, you can create a new post and do a CTRL-V (paste) to put all that lost text into your new one. IF you do that, you lose nothing if the server burps.

We have a lot of bass players here. Tube amps are making a serious comeback, also. There should be some people here interested in talking about tubes, biasing, and such. I'm about to replace the 6L6s in my 60 watt Peavey. I'm told that KT66s would be a good tone upgrade, so that's what I plan to order.

 

[James Hart]

The times were never better for self taught players, especially guitar and bass. The internet (especially you tube) is full of free instructional materials from beginner to advanced. Catching up is easier than it used to be.

yes but there are a LOT of bad to completely wrong instructional videos on youtube as well... but I still wish I was 12 and just starting to learn bass in this age.

We've all had a post get lost lately. There's some server issues that are to be resolved soon. The board has over 50,000 members and is doubling every year, according to admin. Tip: do a CTRL-A (select all) then a CTRL-C (copy selected) periodically while you are typing your post. If it gets lost, you can create a new post and do a CTRL-V (paste) to put all that lost text into your new one. IF you do that, you lose nothing if the server burps.

simple and actually something I do regularly... of course my original post attempt was one of the times I forgot

We have a lot of bass players here. Tube amps are making a serious comeback, also. There should be some people here interested in talking about tubes, biasing, and such. I'm about to replace the 6L6s in my 60 watt Peavey. I'm told that KT66s would be a good tone upgrade, so that's what I plan to order.

I know a few are here because of my pimping vaping on huge bassist forum I use to mod at... I was shocked to see all the bassists in this thread. Most non music forums with this type of OT thread it's usually all guitar and key players (at least in my experience).

Have tube amps ever not been the go to amps for guitarists? I know modeling has come a LONG way in recent years, but a good tube rig is an extension of the player... yeah I'm biased

My design has a 2 channel pre, both run parallel and are blendable. One side based on an EF86 preamp tube and the other a 6SL7... each with it's own unique EQ. For power I've got 3 twin tube designs based on the KT66, KT88 and KT120.

 

[DaveP]

James Hart said:
Have tube amps ever not been the go to amps for guitarists? I know modeling has come a LONG way in recent years, but a good tube rig is an extension of the player... yeah I'm biased

Tubes have always been the favorite of most musicians. We all recognize that little edge that tubes provide. I like the tone and the feel of a good tube amp. I also like the even order distortion of tubes. Transistors are just too clean at times and distort with some strange harmonics unless you have a SS pedal that filters the harmonics to make them palatable. The Tube Screamer is my favorite distortion pedal.

OTOH, SS amps go for years and decades without high failure rates. Tubes require additional cash outlay every couple of years. Some of us think tubes are worth it and others don't care enough to deal with maintenance.