The Bass Geek

Before the Interpages came around, issues like the Bass Player Session Legends and Studio Gear or the Tone and Technique specials would end up on the newsstands for a certain price, and the regular subscribers would get zilch – “newsstand specials” don’t end up in the subscribers’ mailboxes. The content came from previous issues, so the subscribers aren’t really missing anything. However, a nice combined reference issue would be a great resource.

Now, these issues come in a digital format. We get the issue, the publishers don’t have to outlay the publishing costs, and there is joy for all. Minus the newstand sales, however, – instead, it becomes a bonus for readers instead of an income source.

However, it doesn’t have to be that way, Bass Player magazine. I have the vast majority of your issues, minus a few in the beginning, and I’ve been a subscriber for almost 17 years. And I would still pay for a digital archive. A searchable, high-quality digital archive like what Modern Drummer put out would be fantastic, and you’d have my money in a heartbeat. Besides, are you really going to let drummers get a leg up on us?

You don’t even have to put it on quickly-going-obsolete optical media. Sell it in conjunction with a bass-related collectable of some sort and make it a download. You’ve already done it with these special issues. Do it to the rest of the issues, and we’ll be in business. Thanks in advance!

I’m getting a little more time to practice (courtesy of my soon-returning-practice-schedule-containing notebooks and some Meshell Ndegeocello bass line transcriptions), which also means that I’m getting a little more time to play around with Record as both a recording program and as a virtual amp. The program hasn’t surpassed the Ampeg as my amp of choice, but the SansAmp into the program gets a credible sound. Also helping me get a credible sound are some good video tutorials from the Propellerhead folks – I’m really enjoying the short, focused topics both the company and their product specialist provides.

Sure, I’m still not recording anything longer than your average ringtone, but it’s a little easier. Plus, I’ve got a patch that turns my bass and a random mic into a nice vocoder. And it’s better than listening to the new version of “We Are The World.”

It’s a little late to listen to the new IMN podcast on WFYI HD2 (normally airing Thursdays at 4pm), but you can still download it or listen at the site.

Before traveling off to New Orleans this past week (where I took in amazing music from The Tin Men, the Hot 8 Brass Band, and the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, among others), I was trying to put together a new practice regimen based on some topics taken from this excellent article on No Treble. So I printed out some sheet music, wrote out headings for practice time and schedules . . . and promptly left the notebook in New Orleans. So first – if there’s anybody down there who finds it, go ahead and send it back, please. The address in the front cover. Second, I’ll have a revised version ready soon and post on some progress from there. Practice habits need to be maintained, and I’ve been a bit slack in that department, I’m afraid.

1. Even if you wear silly smoking jackets and feature a sitar as your lead instrument, rockabilly crowds will love your credibly performed version of “Ring of Fire.”
2. Classical guitars, even with plugged soundholes, can make a lot of feedback.
3. The new pickups sound great, even as I try them out in a real-life gig situation and not just my little home environment.
4. The Fuglees still represent the epitome of power-pop genius. Their new album F-Bomb swings from world-weary hope in love and life to world-weary wry cynicism, but the songs manage an upbeat infectiousness that insinuates itself in your ears. Basically, you’re forced by very persistent monkeys to listen over and over again, and I don’t mind.
5. This does not represent Friday’s show – it comes from an unnamed gig in the past that my drummer only now made me aware of. And so, I rant: DO NOT PLACE YOUR DRINKS ON OUR INSTRUMENTS. Clubs are generally unfriendly places for gear – musicians know this, and we’re accepting of the usual risks of cigarette smokes, accidental droppage, and the like. The smallness of clubs also mean that there’s no giant storage spaces or backstage areas to store gear. Again, we know this, and we acknowledge some risks. But who thinks it’s a great idea to sit your cup of liquid delight on a drumset? It’s not yours, it needs to stay dry, and the drummer is not going to like you. Think about it – you’re angering somebody with an instinct to hit things in a sometimes rapid rhythm. At least try setting your drink on the singer while he or she is looking in the mirror – more than likely, they’ll be there for awhile and your drink will be safe. But not the drums. The drummer doesn’t like it, and that’s enough for me. Plus, I have to carry them sometimes, and I don’t want to be touching your fluids, either.

Doug Wimbish made a big impression on me when he talked about having already done the P-bass through an Ampeg B-15 sound on sessions, and now he was moving on to something newer and more modern. However, that’s exactly what the recording I did this weekend called for, and so that’s what I did. The modern tones can wait for something else, like maybe February Album Writing Month. If any participants out there need some bass lines, let me know.

The Jazz bass is still in the shop for the new Nordstrand pickups, so I’m not sure how it sounds just yet. I found these samples on the Youtubes that come from a remarkably similar bass, so if it comes out sounding like this, I’ll be okay with it.

The new IMN podcast is up – download it or listen at the site or on WFYI HD2 Thursdays at 4pm.

My Jazz bass is currently undergoing some surgery – nothing major or life-threatening, just a little elective cosmetic enhancement. Said procedure merely involves a couple split-coil Nordstrand pickups, which I’m hoping lets me use some different volume level combinations without getting the 60-cycle hum common to the stock pickups. The bass comes back in a few days, so I’ll have more reactions and maybe some sound samples then.

The new IMN podcast is up – download it or listen at the site or on WFYI HD2 Thursdays at 4pm. It contains an all-bass version of “Amazing Grace!” Why would you NOT listen to that?

In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be right over there reading Tony Levin’s book. Can’t wait to apply the lessons learned about odd-meter Chapman Stick playing to my alt-country rehearsal this very evening.

Forget for a moment that there are no strings.

Forget for a moment that there is no bridge.

Forget, for just a moment, that there aren’t any pickups.

Just consider the possibilities.

‘Cause that’s what I’ve been doing since a friend passed this Gizmodo link on to me.

And, honestly, I’m surprised that Lucas hasn’t merchandised this idea already. With Tauntaun Sleeping Bags now available, could this bass be that far behind?