More Equipment Lust.

I frequently lust for big, beasty (usually old) tube bass amps. It seems like one's always in the shop, though. Check out this beauty. I didn't even know such a thing existed. I've been impressed with Matchless amplifiers for wicked loud wicked tone, even if they're like a ship's anchor. I can't even imagine what 200 watts of Matchless bass amp could sound like. The dude is askin' $4,500. I won't be getting it, but it stokes my jonez for more 200-watt tube bass amps. I really need to find something in a 100-watt machine for BLC. Maybe an Ampeg V4B?

I did pick up a new distortion box that's pretty wild, even if it's totally digi. It's actually a lot more evil (in a good way) than I thought. I've dialed up a couple presets (it has six available slots) for use this Friday at practice. I found it online and totally had to pick it up because there's nothing else out there that's really innovative--everything's either Rat-based, Muff-based (bad luck with that box; it's being fixed though), or TS-based, it seems. I wanted a clean blend and a noise gate, and I got it. I wanted a flexible eq, and I got it. Programmable and MIDI and morphing and multi-band and foldback and octave was just gravy.

We all know how much I love gravy--just ask my arteries.

I'm Interested.

Since the Bass Big Muff took a shit at COJ practice on Friday, I'm still in the market for a fuzz. I'm convinced that EHX has a gnomes problem (certainly a big quality control problem). The Black Finger turns itself on and off randomly, and this one suddenly went microphonic on me. Lame. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? It Sounds pretty fierce:



I'm still lookin' for one of those Fender Sublime Bass Fuzzes to check out.

Deep Dish?

The box says "your deep-dish π". I've always enjoyed the humor that accompanies Electro-Harmonix gear.

I picked up their bass fuzz this week, because I've been needing one for some of the Chariots' new material, as well as recordings. Bambi Lee actually desired a fuzz tone bass for one of her songs, so that's what really planted the seed (I didn't have anything that quite did what she was looking for). The pedal was priced right (whoot! to Robb's), and actually sounds huge. I think that I'll be using the "dry" mode mostly, but having the two others available does allow for some real flexibility. All of the EH gear that I've owned sounds pretty wicked, although that Black Finger compressor still has a wonky switch (but it does sound great).

It's definitely more mild than wild, but I wasn't looking for some self-oscillating fuzz pedal. It should serve its purpose.

Bass Parts.

I went ahead with my Christmas money spending spree on the interwebs.

1. Since I'm drop-tuning again (BLC doing some seriously malevolent new stuff), I decided to "do it right" and invest in a Hipshot D tuner. The way I figure it, if it works, it'll be bad ass. If it doesn't, I can recoup some of the cost and sell it on Talkbass.
2. I've been desiring a heavier bridge for the orange one for a long time (since I got it). The Leo Quan bridges are over-rated (no sweet features), in my opinion. A better bet (for about the same price) is the Hipshot model A (adjustable string spacing and quick release, and Graphtech makes piezo saddles for it if I get that jonez). I couldn't seem to find a Gotoh string-through, bolt-on replacement for the orange one. I did find a hilarious engrish-infested website for Gotoh, though (I can't find it now, but it had a hilarious translated description of their electric sitar bridge).
3. I also picked up some Mallory capacitors for the school bus bass (and new potentiometers) and the long-neglected white one. I think that the paper/oil cap in the orange one is cool, but takes up a lot of space in the control cavity. I probably should've picked up some more black/white cloth-covered wire, but I think that I'm safe to wire two basses.
4. I got a couple of Electrosocket jack plates for the school bus as well as the green monster. Side mount jacks are truly Satanic (not even reliable). I hope that these are indeed an improvement over a couple of pieces of bent metal.

I'm still trying to justify blowing some money on a digital recorder (it seems like it would be helpful for demoing the stuff that I'm writing if it's user-friendly--I don't want to deal with a computer, but a multi-track would be helpful, especially for my addled mind). I really wanted to get the stable of basses solid before taking that plunge. I've also fixed two power amps and a preamp using bonus/gifted holiday money. My realization that I'm up to my ass in dysfunctional equipment really lit a fire that preempts the purchase any new toys.
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Now playing: Black Sabbath - The Wizard

Quick and Easy – Bass Effect Holiday Shopping Guide 2009

As if I needed something like this to encourage me more on this pedal jonez. Seriously, though, I'll have to check out the Fender Sub Lime Bass Fuzz, as well as the Wounded Paw Battering Ram, and especially the Catalinbread SFT:

Wicked.

I really shouldn't have ever sold that '66 Bassman, which sounded really great amplifying anything. It would be perfect for BLC's low-volume practices. The Mesa is really too much amp for the practice room, so I'm thinking that I'll scale down with a small solid-state power amp/tube preamp setup (deja vu from the RC daze).

I was totally planning on using my SVT-IIp preamp, which sounds great but I've never really liked its active EQ. I've really become quite accustomed to old-school, passive EQ (like those found on my Mesas). I stumbled on this bad boy on the interweb, and had to do up a low-ball offer (no way in hell I'm going to pay $1350 for a new one).

Ever since I learned that the Alembic F-2B is basically a Showman preamp in a 19" format, I've wanted one. The best part is that it sounds cool and already has a (very) little rack rash, so I'm not going to be super upset if it gets some more. This one dates from sometime between 1974 and 1979, which is when the Alembic folks were housed in Sebastopol, California, in a renovated barn.

Now, I just need some tie dyed shirts and a liver transplant.

Thunderous.

After my appointment at the doctor's office, I made a quick stop by the music shop (just down the road from the doctor's office) to price a new tuner since the Boss TU-2 is getting really sketchy lately, even with a new battery. I've had it for a decade, so it doesn't owe me anything. Indeed, Korg has a nifty new one out that's priced right and has a true bypass. The dudes at the counter vibed me out, so I cruised back to the shop to see what Jeff and Ryan are up to, and see if they had anything to say about my Peavey 1820 crossover situation (Ryan actually gave me a pep talk that was helpful in voicing my Rhodes piano, so I'll at least listen to what he has to say now).

On my way out, I had to take a trip through the bass section, just to see if there was anything cool. Jeff says, "Bass players really get screwed out of all of the cool new gear." He's sort of right, but it's just usually a simpler set up (I think that it should be, anyway, 99% of the time; some people just don't understand the joy of bass-wire-amp-speaker). They totally had one of the new-ish American Standard Precision Vs. I've been looking to check one out for months (since April), and have only found one locally that was virtually unplayable (at the Rock Stick Mega Haus). I totally had to plug the beast in to see what the deal was. Indeed, it has a huge neck, but it's really no worse than my eight string (especially since this one had some sort of setup done to it). The extra string would take some getting used to, for sure, because I'm so used to "E" being on the bottom (or top, depending on how you look at it). The happy sounds were the stupid low ones off of the B-string (HEE HEE HEE!!).

I was giddy. This is an instrument that would've made so much sense (better than drop-tuning) two years ago. For some reason, this one was $500 less than internet retailers' prices ($900 off list!), which almost made me scoop it up. Seriously, though, do I really require such foolishness? Maybe....it is a pretty nice-looking axe:



I decided that instead of grabbing a new bass, I'd better pick up a couple of cheap creepers for the mechanics (they prefer them to the expensive ones), and get back to work. Jose and Manuel were tickled by the nuevo creepers (I think that they're technically camitas nuevas).

The Internets Are Back.

Apparently, Qwest did "something" downtown, and knocked me off-line for the last week and a half. Luckily, zee telefono lets me somewhat keep up with email and stuff. I can finally do a "real" post here. My wrists have atrophied, though, and now typing hurts.

The big news is that the Film on the Rocks went fairly well. Personally, I'll take the monitors from the Gothic or the Ogden any day over what we endured on Wednesday. Those two were like listening to a CD. Hell, I'll take the Meadowlark "no PA reinforcement" over that crap. I couldn't hear much of anything except cymbals, and as a result, screwed one song up pretty good. I don't think that any of us were happy.

Hopefully, the resulting video and audio won't be too painful. Being live on channel two was nerve-wracking, but good exposure. If only we'd started the set with one of the "dirty" songs, right? It's pretty funny, though:

 

One of my major gripes is that I couldn't hear myself at all. Honestly, my rig is louder at practice. I was on "2", so that the monitors dude didn't get a hot signal. Every other DI-obsessed sound dude has plugged into the amp's DI, and not had a problem. This dude totally did, and the entire PA made an expensive sound. I turned down, and apparently, it sounded alright for the FOH, but it was almost inaudible on stage. I played too hard and thus, too sloppy to really feel great about the performance.

I'm looking into a decent passive DI box now. I should have gotten one years ago, but I never thought that I'd need one. The Ampeg preamp that I was running always did a nice job, and more recently, I was running the Mesas so hot that the only way to really capture that "amp on the verge of breaking" (number one broke down 3 times) sound was with a microphone.

So, I'm looking at DI boxes on the web this morning. The talkbass.com forum has more opinions than I'd like. It seems that the Radial JDI (which I've been happy to record with), the Countryman 85, and even the (gasp) Sansamp BDDI (I already have one of these and it's a little too icepick for me) seem to be well-liked. I'm really curious about the Whirlwind Director, but I can't seem to find much about it. If I really really was into sparing no expense, I'd opt for the Reddi Tube DI, but that's a little extravagant.

Shopping DI box specs is a lot like buying socks or underwear, I think.

Bass Lust.

I've totally been lusting for more basses today. This is totally stupid, especially since I just got the free Rickenbacker (Josh must truly love me). It's a fixer-upper, but not as bad as he made it sound (fretless conversion, maple-glo, non-original bridge...you know the drill):


I've been obsessing about Antigua (kind of a gray/white burst from Fender) finishes, though:

And, odd, thinline P-basses (the Loch Ness monster of Precisions, much prettier in tobacco burst--I don't like the bridge pickup, but the idea has me thinking):


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Now playing: Bad Luck City - Choptank River

Sweet Sounds.

With assistance from the Norse Audio God, we started doing up the microphones last night. The drum kit sounds awesome--almost like an old jazz kit, but with some great definition from the close mics. Most of the sound is coming from the room mics, though--and careful measurements mean no phasey stuff. Greg sez that he has a hard time recording bass, but I brainstormed a bunch of ideas for him. We might wind up reamping, but I'm confident that we can coax something out of my rig that'll work.

I really ought to get a smaller cabinet like a 1x10" or something because even a 4x10" is overkill--I don't like the fatigue from headphones and the bass cab. The Norse Audio God turned me onto some cool headphones that he uses for location work that don't fire the sound directly down the ear canal--I need to look into those and picking up a nice DI box.

F.N.O.

Or almost, right?

It's going to take some getting used to, for sure. I should throw some gold hardware on her. Man, that would be ugly. Good to have the orange one back on the front line--that black one just wasn't cutting it, but I'm inspired to fix it. I can't believe that I used it for years--that was with a completely different amp, though.

Hopefully, the 4-ply tortoise-shell celluloid is more durable than the 3-ply parchment vinyl. If I wasn't a dumb ass, pick guard durability wouldn't be an issue.

My wiring issues have totally been resolved, which is awesome.
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Now playing: Misfits - Who Killed Marilyn (Date unknown. Song shop.)

Really Real Rage; Damn The Man

Today, I wasted two hours at the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's office to not register or title a truck. The problem comes down to what the revision number is on the 'Statement of Fact' form. The content is exactly the same, but my revision number wasn't acceptable to the bureaucrats.

I came uncomfortably close to a homicidal freakout with the shotgun of doom. I got home and was reduced to freaked-out pacing and yelling at the cat. I decided that I ought to play some bass for therapy (as I often do), instead of shooting those giggling bureaucrats with rat-shot in the face. They're on the list now, however.

The 'Frito Bandito' (Mahoney's new nickname) inspired me to fill said truck and park it in their lot with rotting garbage. This is what I will do early next week. I need to pick up some restaurant waste so that it's totally awesome. I'm sure that I'll get a ticket, but maybe we'll make the news. Free advertising, friends...

I tried to watch TV, but I had to turn it off because I was this close (holding fingers close together) to getting medieval on its ass.

Because I was completely pissed off, I totally broke the orange one. I was learning a fucking INXS song, of all things:



I broke the pick guard off at the output jack. It was hanging by a screw, and that made me angry enough to start drinking.

I needed an excuse to replace that hinkey 'parchment' one. I opted for a brown tortoise one, a la the hot rod (wicked, but with a side-mount jack) precisions from a few years ago. I'm thinking that I ought to go all out, though, since it'll be in pieces, and just do all the mods that I want to do now, since I can do it outside of the bass, and then basically drop the new setup in.

I'll be internet shopping tonight.

No Sound? Consult Manual.

Man, I just love translated Japanese web pages. I was looking for a Capri Orange 1970s reissue Precision bass, just to see WTF it looked like. I found a hilarious description of the jag bass, though:

Unique face and jaguar base with looks of Eigedoparl block position specification and original style based on jaguar. It has a tone cooking stove wide with an actively passive switch with Cacoki of ..vintage.., and picking up series switch that obtains the connection of the series of the problem picking up and the bridge picking up, in addition so-called the ham backing sound, also sets, and boasts of a multifunctional sound variation.

It is a shortage of stock because of a new product. I will inform after it receives an order for the delivery date.

My favorite part is the 'ham backing' sound (I think that I'll co-opt that to describe my sound). I hate it when an instrument obtains the connection of the series of the problem of picking up. I need a bass with a tone cooking stove onboard.

Huh?!?

This Will Get Me Banned Again

Last night, I was looking for clips of Aquarium and other Soviet bands, and I stumbled upon the Cheesy Guitars site (seriously some ugly guitars). I had to send a link to my good friend, The New Amerikan. His reply is priceless (best read out loud):

when i was small asshole boy i play such instrument. now in amerika i am to be play radical amerikan blues music with peavey rage and squier rock guitar. for to do this though i am to need work in fucking dick butt burger king and sell nintendo for to make money. when i am rockstar guitarhero i am buying sega genesis! jacuzzi party asshole butt!!!

in loving arms,

new amerikan

Coolest Color Ever

Here.

Cool.

This is super-cool. Check out the audio samples. Maybe once I win the lottery and become a solo artist (or decide that I've had enough of this country thing):

Octavius Squeezer

analog bass synth

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend us your rears, for the arrival of Octavius Squeezer is nigh! Available starting mid-2008, Octavius Squeezer is the only analog bass pedal you need. Designed specifically for bass guitar, Octavius Squeezer has true analog reconfigurable signal path technology, true bypass switching and a comprehensive array of analog synth, octaver, fuzz, envelope filter and other effects driven by a convenient digital preset system. With all this plus tuner and metronome in a size that fits in your gig bag, this is one pedal you simply can't afford to be without! Listen to it now!

Octavius Squeezer includes a dedicated filter circuit bred in our Agent 00Funk and Agent 00Funk Mark II envelope filters. It also includes the fuzz circuit from our Brown Dog gated bass fuzz. A digital pitch tracking stage tracks the notes you play right down to the bottom of your instrument's range and drives an analog synthesizer which can produce various waveforms at either the same pitch as your input, one octave down, one octave up or two octaves up. All of this can be patched, mixed and configured in a variety of ways to give an enormous array of available effects.

Use the effect control to switch between the 50 user-editable presets that can be stored in the Octavius Squeezer's onboard memory. Adjust any of the presets on-the-fly with a twist of the param knob. See the current effect and parameter settings clearly displayed on Octavius Squeezer's backlit LCD. Use the two user-assignable footswitches to bypass, tap tempo and switch effects on the fly. Save and load additional presets to SD card (like the one in your digital camera) using the onboard card reader, and use it to upgrade Octavius's firmware as new versions become available.

Ain't It Ugly?

I went to the rock-stick-megahaus (and got a flat tire, again) this afternoon. I picked up strings and wandered about and saw this monstrosity:

Amazing.

I totally scored a backup amp on the 'bay. It was one minute, two seconds remaining, and totally undervalued. It might need some work to be groovy, but, shit, these Mesa/Boogie Bass 400s aren't that plentiful in The Denber, so I HAD to locate a cheap backup. The last couple of weeks have been hellish for me because I've been very stressed out about amps.

I'm so glad that this isn't a Matchless or something, and I CAN find another one. Boutique amps and "classic gear" are cool, but it's a really a bitch if it catches on fire. I suppose that these bass amps are "classic" (or almost); the last one came off the line in 1989, though. That last run had the 2-ohm taps off of the transformer, which is wicked (I want one).

Happy that I scooped up another one, even without the extra-groovy outputs. I'm totally getting out of the amp business, unless I can get something amazing (a B-15N) supercheap.

Additional research on these silly Bass 400s reveals that the preamp is just as I suspected--2-10-2 is "flat EQ" (like a Fender Showman, or the mighty Alembic preamp). I was also stunned to learn that Cliff "f" Burton used 'em--I really had no idea, but it makes a lot of sense to me, since he also throws down those "unpleasant to JFN" sounds (there's a post about this, somewhere recent); I don't feel like a total idiot for not using a fuckin' SVT, anymore. My Booger sounds almost as good as my old Bassman, but has much more gain and is so so so much louder. Really, almost anything sounds great through The Electric Grandmother (Ampeg 810E), though.

I still want to get another 1966 Bassman (one that has a grounded power cord and doesn't zap you--I don't care if it was previously owned by The Boss anymore).

Dream Amp For BLC

Dude wants to trade for a motorcycle. It's too bad that I don't have a stable of bikes chillin'.

This Looks BADASS

Leave it to the fuckin' Krauts:

How to improve a classic pickup design: Delano takes the classic P-Bass™ pickup design a major step forward. The big ferrous poles grab all the strings movements with zero loss. Specially engineered ferrite magnets and custom wound coils make up for a bass transducer ready to redefine the word PRECISION.

Just imagine meaty P-Bass™ tone with in-your-face Stingray™ style grind and attack, then you got at least the frame of the picture. Due to its tight broad frequency range, this is a GREAT pickup for nu-school funk and rock players, it loves drop-tuned basses and massive tone tweaking.

Wanna Get Wild?

So goes one of the scripts to my 'obscene phone calls.' It never works, but it's fun. I found this while looking for a Gibson Thunderbird:



That zebrawood rocks, but I couldn't actually pull it off. I require a more ugly one, that matches the hand-wired bass cab and what-not. Something like this beat-up cherry transparent '65 T-bird, maybe (I'd kill for one without a neck repair):



Like that in a transparent blue and I'd do unspeakable things, really. Trans-blue and reverse body (a la Watt, unfortunately--I forgot about this until I typed it--his is all metallica blue and a single pickup--I'd kill children and cute baby animals for that bass--single pickups are where it's at):

A Bar Magnet Precision Pickup?!?

Here. Intriguing.

Elegant and Simple

This is pretty cool. I might have to get one instead of relying on grill cloth friction.

Sweet, Dude (Insert Lazerwolf Tie Dye Here)

Tonight, I got to try out my (old) new toy on a couple of numbers. I've been hesitant to change anything with rumored shows rolling along, but after listening to the recording from last week and seeing the video again, I decided that I'm really playing too hard a lot of the time.

The EH linear booster totally makes the electrik grandmother roar with way less effort, and doesn't rob too much low end. The gained out "hurting the preamp" sounds were pretty awesome, and it's transparent--it sounds like the amp on 11, and nothing more. Most of all, the rig is still under control, instead of getting all feedback-city (TM) on me. For the price (I think that mine was on sale for $30), it's something that no one with a tube amp should be without.

Maybe it's a little too much (sounded wicked, but sort of buried the PA) dimed, though. It seems pretty fucking loud, too. I'll have to do a little tweaking with the levels. I really want to get a decibel meter just so I have an idea about my SPL exposure.

Wheeeeeeeee--tinnitus sucks.

Make A Statement Without Playing A Note

Dudes...I like totally found one on the Ebay. I'd have to ditch the EMG Select pickups for my EMG PJ set that is begging to go into an instrument. It would complete my tie dye and Pink Floyd scuffies and cargo shorts-wearing 'new and improved' rocklook (tm).

Tell me that ain't tough-lookin', though:


No case, or I'd totally get it. I suppose that I could get a Coffin Case, though (I think that they make one for such foolishness, and it comes with a metalslut (tm).

For Linda Ruth...

or others that aren't so into the Poison video-o-rama....

My Brother, Dr. E-dogg, was totally into the Poison. Our father trasheed all of those records because of the 'sex on the beach' from the 'open up and say ahh' record. Anyhow....here's the shit from él señor de amor a la roca:

Actually...it's all about 'talk nerdy to me,' LINDA. Think that I require a lime-green B.C. Warlock, really:




Indeed, I require a Warlock (and lots of cocaine);...is that the RATT or Randall sound?!? Priceless '80s video (love the Newman-lookin' father):



Overcasters require more choreography; certainly for the videos. 'F'J.N. certainly has enough banjos to pull off nonsense such as this:



Classic...I require some crazy brunette groupie (I love 12-string anything):

The Evil Eight

I've wanted one ever since I heard 'Spanish Castle Magic'. That's a HUGE sound. Redding was more of a guitarist than a bassist, really. That instrument was a Hagstrom H8:

Leave it to the Swedes...these are the folks that brought you the Volvo.

I think that this new toy is going to be interesting, and I don't believe finger style is going to be a problem (thank goodness that I won't be using a pick, because it's a disaster, really). Majestic-sounding, and it sort of matches Tidwell's drum kit (it's a little bit lighter-colored, I think). It requires a naphtha bath and strings, but I always do that with a used instrument.

I was thinking that a EH Micro POG would be a solution for acquiring huge, but pedals really aren't my thing--I'd rather get Popeye forearms playing an eight-string (and I'm not named Nichols). Actually, I loathe pedals. I don't trust 'em.

Fiddling around this afternoon after selling more CDs to my mother (she insists on paying), I find that I'm finding a completely different, more melodic voice on this new instrument. Maybe I won't be able to use it for an actual project, but it could be very useful on those bedroom recording sessions. Now I require a piccolo bass (or not). With fretless and an eight in the arsenal, anything more will require going to a five or six string, which I'm pretty opposed to, even with the alternate OC tunings. Entwistle used fours and eights, and that's good enough for me (though sometimes that low-B is tempting, until I hear how cheesy/floppy it is).

12 String Bass, and Stuff

I've been really into listening to multi-course bass guitar playing lately. I think that it's a great idea for three piece bands, and would never work in many contexts. Specifically, I've been thinking that an eight-string bass will work nicely for some of The Overcasters' material (especially on the 'for the ladies' parts), so I fucking bought one (now I just have to hope that I don't get 'asked to leave' before I re-learn how to use a plectrum--it sort of matches the drum kit, man--perhaps I suck enough that I'm no longer desirable). It's going to be a fun instrument to learn to play, that's all that I want.

As tempting as it is, a 12-string bass seems like foolishness, especially for someone with (now) poor picking skills. This, however, is a decent write-up:

Like many good ideas it seemed a little crazy at first, but the creation of the 12-string bass turned out to be one of Hamer's largest contributions to music. The evolution of the 12-string bass is, like the history of Hamer Guitars, an interesting one. And it has only just begun. Recently, interest in this Hamer innovation has reached new proportions, with bassists lending the sound of the "pocket piano" to all types of music.

The 12-string bass was conceived in 1977 through one of those conversations where possibilities are stretched to ridiculous degrees. Blame it on Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick and Jol Dantzig of Hamer. Petersson had somehow acquired a Hagstrom 8-string bass, which was kind of a bass version of the 12-string guitar. It had four bass strings and four octave strings. "Tom and I were talking about what a great concept this bass was, if only it could stay in tune!" says Dantzig. "The thing never worked," adds Petersson, "you couldn't get past the fifth fret.... it was horrible."

Petersson wanted Hamer to build a professional quality instrument to replace the Hagstrom. As the conversation went on it turned into a kind of one-upmanship. 'Well why not make a 10-string bass?', 'Why not a 20-string bass while we're at it?' "You would have to understand Tom's sense of humor and the way we were at that time," says Dantzig. "Everything was a joke; we didn't take anything seriously."

Eventually they settled on the idea of tripling each string. Unsure of whether or not the neck would be able to bear the additional tension, they decided to experiment first with a 10-string version, doubling the E and A strings while tripling the D and G strings. The neck handled the tension without a problem so work proceeded immediately with the 12-string. The basic design was the same as the 10-string, except for the tripling of the E and the A. This design, conceived over a decade ago, remains the trademark look of the 12-string bass: 30¸" scale, double cut-away body shape, and the "split V" peghead.

The 12-string is set up like a normal bass but instead of having four strings, it has four groups of strings. It's played exactly like a conventional 4-string bass, and bassists are amazed at how easily it is to play. For every note you finger you play three notes at once, one bass note and two notes an octave above. Three and four note chords quickly turn into nine and twelve notes.

Putting It to Use

Originally, Petersson used the 12-string bass to supplement Cheap Trick's live sound. When singer Robin Zander put his guitar away for a song they were essentially brought down to a three piece band. Petersson would play the 12-string bass in such a way that he could double as a second guitarist. Playing bass and rhythm guitar simultaneously, Petersson was able to fill any gaps in the sound.

When Zander did play guitar in the set the band's sound would take on an orchestral dimension, as if they had three guitarists and a bass player. "It gives another guitar sound to the whole thing," says Petersson, "another guitar playing the riff along with you."

The distinctive tone makes the 12-string ideal for recording, and it can be used to play the melodic hook of a song. Doug Pinnick of King's X uses it in both the melodic sense and for rhythmic purposes similar to Tom Petersson. Pinnick uses the 12-string bass to achieve a roaring, distorted sound as well as for the melodic, lyrical bass line.

Another example is Nikki Sixx of Motley Crüe who used the 12-string bass on Dr. Feelgood for overdubs on certain parts. When a very distinct sound is needed, this bass is ideal because its timbre is like no other instrument.

12-String Possibilities

"I think most people who have gotten into the 12-string," says Dantzig, "heard Cheap Trick, liked the sound, and wanted to get that sound for themselves. Then they bring their own sensibilities to the instrument, creating new sounds." Because it started with Cheap Trick, they remain the reference point. Usually the first thing someone does when they get their hands on one is imitate Petersson. From there they go on to find their own potential.

Although many years have elapsed since its creation, the potential of the 12-string has barely been explored. It's an untapped sonic possibility. One can play all the strings, accent the bass strings or just play the octave strings, depending on how it's picked. "With the emergence of all these great bass players," muses Dantzig, "I think some really cool things could come out of this instrument. It is just a matter of more players getting their hands on one in order to ear the possibilities that are available," he continues. "I'm interested to see what comes back in terms of new sounds."

The distinctive tone of the 12-string bass adds a new dimension to bass playing. The sound is not merely a subtle change detected only by virtuoso bass players - this is a hit-you-over-the-head unique sound. When you hear it, you know it's a 12-string bass. Because the tonal possibilities are so dramatically different, bass players are given a wider array of colors to paint with. It's another possibility - a way to make a statement.

Looking Into the Future

The future of the 12-string bass is wide open. From the development standpoint, it is still evolving. Hamer is continually prototyping new variations, tailoring the electronics and working with different woods and different composite materials, like graphite, to enhance the tonal possibilities.

Hamer is also collaborating with Tom Petersson and Doug Pinnick to update the design and keep it moving ahead. It seems that Dantzig and Petersson's crazy idea is here to stay.

Say what you will about Pearl Jam (I thought that they were great until they got that airplay, and thus got irritating), but Jeff Ament is really a monster player/writer. This bass-infested song is pretty killer (through-composed), actually, even if I am biased against it (I thought that my name was totally safe for many years, until this one):

Probably Lame (Winter NAMM crap)

Tech 21 Introduces Five SansAmp Character Series Pedals
I'm not a true believer with the Sanamp--seems to add too much high end and chips teeth.

Reverse Flying V?
Someone at Gibson is totally on weed.

Albini Weirdness, The Expanded Version

I've been trying to find a solution (without the 'ziehe-sitar' shit) for the tuner tone-suck problem. I've been to too many pedal and DIY sites in the last few days, and stumbled upon some real gems on the internets.

The intro on this is just plain weird:



I dig this:



Looks like maybe a Peavey bass? WTF is with them DIY straps? Anyway, this one is tough [relentless drum machine = awesome; doesn't that dude look like Jason Heller--he probably fucked your girlfriend once (or twice, or at least tried to)]:



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Now playing: big black - bad penny (live dutch fm radio 8-87)

Some More Ugly Instruments

The cool thing about "classic" basses is that if it's not a Fender or a Gibson, it's probably reasonably priced, especially if it's of Japanese manufacture (I love them Japanese instruments). I thought that I'd see what weird shit Subway Guitars had listed since I'm now soo-hawt (tm) for a replacement that's more ugly than the Robin Freedom Bass (hey man, is that freedom rock). It used to be easy to find something hideous. Not so much anymore. I did find some:

A "Goyem Panther II" (on the left)--I dig the push buttons (a la Galanti or some such nonsense) and plenty of chrome. It looks to be long scale!! Could be refinished to match the drumkit, but I'll bet that a case would be fucking impossible. The Krappa Continental (I think that's a joke) on the right is definitely a shorty.

This one's not quite as appealing, but it does have a case and could be refinished to match the drumkit. Further research indicates that this is a fucking Yamaha. The Fatdawg description sez:

"Serial No. 1778. 70s Nippon Gakki Company, LTD. Hit with the ugly stick. And to make matters worse, its mother took thalidomIde. Original case included. Very good condition -- with few dings: $400"

I believe that I may be seeking the Gibson Marauder of bass guitars. I might have to take a road-trip to the bay-area to visit the Fatdawg. I wish that I was in a touring band right about now. Cool instruments are a hard thing to pick up in Denber, it seems.

a long-scale bass-tard love child

I gave the green monster away a couple of days ago. It's definitely not heartbreaking, she's in a good home, and being played, which is how instruments should be kept. Now, I'm obsessing about other quirky-looking bass guitars, though. Most of the really cool ones are short scale, which is a deal breaker. Perhaps I require a Reverend, an Airline, a Vox (I still think that John Cale with a Vox Phantom looked cool), a Gretsch (I'd have to refinish it for sure), or whatever this thing is (hell, it looks like a long-scale bass-tard love child of a Mosrite and a Thunderbird, and completely bad-ass--with a single pickup, this one is the bomb, I think that it's a fucking Yamaha):



I've totally ripped that song off in recent songs. Oh well, no one has noticed. The Surf Coasters can really play, and they appear to be having fun (which is what it's about). Goddamn, I love surf music, even in a post-Hendrix world.

While on this Miserlou kick, I found this one:



Dick Dale is a trip to watch, with the backwards strings and shit. Where'd they find that bass player?!? Dude is so not having fun (he's probably checking out that dancing blonde; that happens to the best of us).