State of the Gear Address.
Edward G.
wants and needs, and the relative importance of brands and price tags are among
them.
One thing I definitely learned is that it is more important to understand how
you want to sound than who made your bass or your amp. Several amps passed
through my use and possession last year, cheap and not so cheap. I discovered
no trouble whatsoever getting optimum performance out of any of them. These
days I am 'stuck' with my very trusty Mesa/Boogie Basis M-2000, content now
that I really know how to use it.
My bass, a Pedulla Rapture J-2, five-string, continues to be the bass I've kept
the longest in my life (going on four years). Whenever I find myself growing
dissatisfied with it, I ask myself 'Have I exhausted all of this instrument's
creative possibilites?' Followed by 'Is it worth the hassle and/or the money
to get another one?' Then I shut up and play some more. Truthfully, I don't
know if I could bear to part with a bass that works so well (or buy one I don't
need).
Next, after downsizing my rig to the bass equivalent of 'The Mouse that Roared'
(The M-2000 and two Aguilar GS-112s), I made another discovery. A couple of
years ago I got a Trace-Elliott BLX-110 1x10 cabinet that I thought would be
good for practice and tiny gigs, but it never really worked that well. I
always felt I was on the verge of blowing it up; the B string caused an intense
overloading of the front port that never sounded good. After reviewing my
whole concept of what constitutes good (read 'usable') bass tone, then trying
it out, it turns out that this little 37 lb. cabinet might be one of the
coolest things I ever got. And it sounds absolutely killer in tandem with one
of the Aguilar 1x12s at all volumes. Anyone interested in the extra Aguilar?
The 'usable bass concept' goes like this: When bass is too deep, it becomes an
amorphous thud. While bass this low is impossible to ignore, it can be so low
that it can be tough to differentiate notes from one another, even tougher to
hear the underlying rhythms, and physically unpleasant sometimes. By not
overemphasizing the lowest frequencies, the cohesion with the rest of the music
is enhanced, and the overall feeling is more musical, because it is more
comprehensible to the listener (which includes the band). And it is still,
unquestionably, bass. This was an extremely tough lesson to digest: A little
bass goes a looong way. What most people accept as bass is actually low
midrange.
These realizations are the culmination of much thought, trial and error, and a
heart-shaped pile of money. They may or may not reflect anything anyone else
even cares about. I just wanted to get it out. All I know is my goal is
always to play better, to understand more deeply, to make my hands smarter. I
do not wish to worry about equipment anymore; it is a dead end and false icon.
Edward G.
'I swear there ain't no heaven, but I pray there ain't no hell.'
BrainsAkimbo
Great post!!!
That "low midrange" concept is a very clever discovery.
I'm definitely going to take it into account next time I
buy an amplifier.
The "amorphous thud" is probably best left to the
keyboardist... or to trance and rap records.
-- BA
mega...@aol.com (Edward G.) wrote in message news:<20020131123905...@mb-mw.aol.com>...
Tom Comber
BrainsAkimbo wrote:
> Edward,
>
> Great post!!!
>
> That "low midrange" concept is a very clever discovery.
> I'm definitely going to take it into account next time I
> buy an amplifier.
>
> The "amorphous thud" is probably best left to the
> keyboardist... or to trance and rap records.
>
> -- BA
>
"Amorphous Thud"
Band name?
Once heard a new-school metal band with the name "Muffled Crap".
Probably an appropriate name.
bassballs
The foundation of Eden Cabinets.
-Chris
"BrainsAkimbo" <brains...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:16256da0.02020...@posting.google.com...
Edward G.
>
>The foundation of Eden Cabinets.
>
>-Chris
Perhaps this explains why so many players find them to be so musical.