jazzyvee

I've recently found my self a great lightweight, shallow rack mountable 1u Power amp that I pair up with my F1-x pre-amp. It's a Synq 1K0 https://synq-audio.com/digit-1k0 It bridges at 8 ohms. I used again this past weekend with my barefaced Big Twin II on a reggae gig and the whole rig sounded big Phat and clean toned. I have also used it with my BB2 cab for travelling light to gigs and it is a great amp. It bridges at 8 ohms only but I haven't had a need to do that yet. Something from the Crown XLS Series is a good option too. I got the XLS1502 on recommendation and it's great.

I tend to play 5’s mostly. Though if im playing basslines for covers that i think were played on a 4 string bass i tend to stay away from the B string for tonal balance. There are times when i use the 5th string for emphasis if the song needs the extra weight of bottom end.

I recorded Stanley's School days solo and he users a JC120 as party of his bass rig it is fed from the high frequency output of the crossover on Alembic pre-amp. In the past I have seen him live with a small Fender Combo in place of the JC120 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tlmgkAqcGU&feature=youtu.be Admittedly he uses a tenor tuned bass ADGC so and using PA so less likely to blast heavy bottom end or volume through that guitar combo. Sounds sweet to me.

Yep I totally agree, although we buy for ourselves it does feel good when you get feedback like that because you know they are really listening to how you sound as well as what you are playing.

Well that is a simple question without a short answer. To me it matters in the same way that "Does it matter what car you drive?" matters. If the gear meets the basic requirements that it can be used to produce/reproduce the sound of a bass, then that is all that should matter. However what sits on top of that is whether I/we want to have more than that basic requirement, refinements, ergonomics that suit us, practicalities of one bit of gear over another etc etc. If we do then what gear we have matters to us. Same as we can go on auto trader or whatever and find for example a basic Ford car that will get us from A to B, and some will want more than just that and so choose a different model or manufacturer's model with all options bells whistles but it still just a tool to get us from A to B just a bit nicer. Though some may find a really nice old Austin allegro that is great to drive even though a bit beat up and dubious reliability. 🙂 ( not offence meant to anyone driving a ford or Austin car). I have never been into changing gear a lot or swapping bits in and out and I tend to do a lot of procrastinating before buying any of my gear and rarely buy on impulse. I also accept that my experience with bass gear is severely limited to a few brands. I have settled on one brand of bass now and have amps and cabs that I love and get me what I want. It's not that they are better or worse than any other gear but they work for me. Whether the sound the audience hears or understand is as different from any other bass sound doesn't really matter to me as long as I can hear what I want and they hear a bass that sounds like it fits with the rest of the music.

Stanley Clarke last week Wednesday in Bristol. https://youtu.be/7tlmgkAqcGU

We are gigging at the Mirth Marvel & Maud venue on 10th November 2018 Has anyone here played that venue as i'm curious as to what it is like. It looks an interesting building and venue. https://www.facebook.com/events/1032415726951757/

Level 42 last night at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Not seen them live since the 80's but they were Awesome!!!!

I think most of these top bass players we listen to we can identify not just because of their tone but also, or even more so, because of their style of playing, their licks attack, dynamics and their note choices etc not just tone. So Victor could play any bass from a Sire to a Fodera and anything in between and even though the tone may be different on each bass, subtly or radically. If we were familiar with Victor's playing style we could determine it was him playing or someone playing in a Victor Wooten style. Whether you could identify the bass he is playing would depend on your experience with knowing the sound of that bass. As an example I went to see Level 42 last night and Mark King sounded like Mark King not because of his tone but because of how he plays. The last time I saw him in live the 80's he would have most likely been playing a Jaydee or even an alembic. Now I would suggest hardly of the audience except maybe some bass players would have noticed he'd got a different bass than the last time they saw him there a couple of years back. Would they care? I doubt it as long as they heard the overall sound and it sounded like they expect level 42 to sound like.

I don't know much about TM Stevens but the side story about him having medical problems and insufficient medical insurance is not uncommon stateside. Victor Bailey and Chuck Rainey spring to mind of two who had quite similar stories a few years ago and there were online fund raising activities to assist them. Sad really that a country like the USA can't implement something like the NHS ( even with all it's faults). But back to the bass it seems strange to mention TM with his medical conditions to get a sale but not indicate whether any of the proceeds are going to help him personally. If they were going back to him then that in itself may make the sale more attractive to a potential buyer who could easily afford to buy it. That said I doubt the amount it would sell for would make a big dent in the cost of USA medical treatment. Sad news about TM though.

Here is the latest incarnation of my big bass rig. BB2 and Dubster 2, Alembic Preamps and Crown XLS1502 in bridge mode. Had it out on a reggae gig last weekend. 🙂

Similar situation to me, I've only gigged with a non alembic bass once since I bought mine in 2002 and that ranges from big festivals like boomtown and bestival, isle of wight festivals and a local pub with a handful of punters. I've played a bit of Jazz fusion Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea etc stuff and they work great for that too as well as reggae.

I caught the gig at the Jam House this week and as a big fan of Gil Scott Heron & Brian’s collaborations it was great to see him. I’ve now seen them both live. Anyway Yolanda was on bass and she is great. She captured the vibe both tonally and with her note choices and fills so with that and the fender rhodes it was back to that authentic 70’s vibe. She was playing a fender jazz bass 5 string and usually when i hear bass players on these basses playing notes on the low B string they generally sound disconnected from the other strings but this wasn’t the case this time. She uses the B string a lot rather than just to drop a low note here and there, and even when she was digging in or doing a bit of slapping on it everything was consistent in tone, weight and volume. Could be a compressor in the signal path or just good technique on her part or both but whatever it was, it was a pleasure. I look forward to catching her gigging with her own band at some point. A superb musician

I have had my walkabout as my main bass amp since about 2003 and had powerhouse cabs to go with it. It’s a great head and i have never found it to be underpowered even though i never have the input gain over the 12 o’clock position to avoid the edgy sound. I now have two barefaced cabs BT2 & BB2 to use with it now and as well as being louder there seems to be more fullness . I tried the D800 and the plus version and i much preferred the walkabout.

Here is a review of alembic I just found on line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWWXQEiAtUM&app=desktop

We are on the same hymn sheet here. About 2yrs ago I was invited to be the bass player in the house band for a weekly open mic event in a pub. At the time there was two guitarists, keys, drummer and me. The two guitarists took care of the singing. Anyway after the first gig I said to them it's far too loud and if it stayed that way I would not be there much longer. But got no support for that. So from then on I used my 20db custom ear plugs which kept things at a decent level. However over the past year the volume has gone up mainly due to the people who come to play guitar and set their volume far too loud then tell me to turn up. I always refuse and suggest they turn the guitars down. Falls on deaf ears and mumblings about having to have a particular volume to get their sound. The thing is the punters complained to the management and to the band leader who took very little notice because the complainers were not musicians. Eventually they started complaining to me as they could see I had ear plugs in, I talked to the band about it but again nothing changed. So I decided enough was enough and left giving the reasons that the volume was too high. They got in another bass player to replace me and I was told that it was even louder than before because now the bassie was turning up to be heard over the guitars...…. you can see where this is going. A few weeks after I left the manager sacked the band and has now got a new band in there. I still have friends who go to those sessions there to listen and get told it is even louder than we were and the audience numbers are dwindling with less people getting up to the mic. In my experience, jazz and folk gigs are usually at a volume where I don't need ear plugs.

I drove mine XLS1502 directly from my bass recently without a pre-amp and it worked a treat. A great option if you want the completely clean unadulterated sound from your bass. I can't imagine doing it on a gig though but it's good to know that if my pre-amp ever went down I could carry on the gig using the power amp. The fact my bass runs at 36v (+/-18vdc) might have something to do with it.

Yes I agree i had one of those QSC PLX2402 amps and sold it due to it being too heavy in my 6u rack with the rest of my gear. The weight meant it didnt get used much so i recently replaced it with a crown Xls1502 which is also a good amp but to my ears the qsc wins hands down seems to have more power in the low end and more density in the sound overall. Maybe i should have kept it and bulked up at the gym🤔😂. But we live and learn and now i use the crown in my big rig and have a smaller 3u shallow rack with a Synq 1k0 1U class D amp in with a F1-x preamp for travelling light to gigs with a backline provided as the heads usually are raspy. I generally use one cab on gigs but where there are two i use one on each side of the power amp in the mode where one input drives both channels. My pre amp has a crossover so i could bi amp but not at the moment.

I'm doing a Stevie Wonder tribute gig with one of the bands I play in at the Eastbourne Pavillion Bandstand on Friday 7th September. The band is headed up by Dennis Seaton (original and current lead singer with Musical Youth). Stevie Wonder Tribute Show with Know Wonder A prominent figure in popular music during the latter half of the 20th century, Wonder has recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and won 25 Grammy Awards and with a massive song book Stevie Wonder is one of the most successful musicians in the world. ‘Know Wonder’ will take you on a musical journey through Stevie Wonder's musical career, with hits such as ‘Up-Tight’, ‘My Cherie Amour’, Signed, Sealed & Delivered and I Just Called to Say I Love You. Times Doors and bar open at 7:00pm, Show start at 8:00pm Show finishes at approximately 9:30pm Tickets In advance (early bird): Adult: £7.95, Child: £5.95 Full Price: Adult: £9.50, Child: £7.50 10% Discount for Friends of the Bandstand Advance 'Early Bird' discounted tickets are available up to 6pm on the day of the event booked for. available from the Seafront Office, online or over the phone (01323 410611). Licensed Bar and Refreshment Available