Barker Bass on Beale Street

[daveco]

I went to beale street in Memphis Tn this week and I heard one of the most awesome basses ever ! Leo Goff (who i've seen before and never ceases to amaze me with his command of the instrument and versatility between styles of music) was playing this "verticle" bass . Let me tell you .. I was astounded at the tone or should I say tones of this instrument as the band played through the different styles of music. This bass followed the nuances in his playing seeming to adapt to the song , this is no one-trick pony! You know how some basses just have their sound (which isn't always bad) and just don't fit certain songs.Not this bass. I talked to Leo at length about this instrument. He gave me the low-down on all aspects of this beautiful bass, saying that he was playing it about 100% of the time because it just plays and sounds so good. Which says alot, he has a few cool axes to choose from! He also said in the studio it just floors you . Leo let me play it, wow....it plays effortlessly and no dead spots in the neck! What a tone this bass had unplugged! Which to me usually means a great sound when amplified but that had already been confirmed. You would think playing an upright would be so different, like a traditional "doghouse" but I adapted very quickly. This is such a cool instrument ,I'm glad I got to put my hands on one. Sorry for such a long message. I just wanted to let people know cool this bass was. Now I've got to have a talk with the wife about finances...I see a new Barker Bass in my future.=8^D Dave

[IotaNet]

Originally Posted by daveco

I went to beale street in Memphis Tn this week and I heard one of the most awesome basses ever ... I see a new Barker Bass in my future

That's what we like to hear!

Glad you enjoyed the Barker -- we look forward to having you join the family!

[Leogoff]

Thanks for the post, and anytime you you're at a show I'm in please say hello. I'm very happy you enjoyed the Barker...I call it #66...and thanks for the observations on my playing...you're very kind. You're absolutely correct on the tone quality the Barker produces. #66 is definitely a "Tone Monster”. If you would like to play #66 some more, look me up...You can usually find me doing a show with on Beale St. with Johnny Holiday, Victor Wainwright, The Blues Healers, Ms. Zeno, The Skydogs...or "who knows who”. If you're gigging in the area, (and I'm not working) I'll be more than happy to bring #66 to your gig and let you REALLY try it out. I believe the more you explore the capabilities of the Barker Basses, the more you will appreciate what Lee Barker has really created. Thanks again, Leo

[Doug Mancini]

It was another amazing NAMM for Barker Musical Instruments, once again I had the honor of demonstrating The Barker B1 as well as the newest addition to The Barker Family, The "Brio". The Brio, like it's sibling the B1, has the incredible Barker chambered body, but rather than a J-Bass pick-up configuration it sports a P-Bass p/u configuration. The P-Bass p/u gives the Brio a little more "growl", but it also has that smooth, buttery vintage tone that I for one, have come to love. Yes, the Brio also got the same strange looks that the B1 initially got, but all it took was the skeptical bassist to put his hands on her and let her sing, and they were hooked.
Ed Friedland stopped by and spent some time (more than a little, I might say) with the B1 fretless. I could tell he liked what he was hearing, but knowing of his fondness for the acoustic upright, I snuck a mute under the strings and all of a sudden his face "lit up". He didn't say it verbally, but his eyes said WOW! I had a very nice conversation with Ed when he finished playing, I explained that Lee Barker is not building (nor ever intended the Barker Vertical Bass to take the place of) an upright or even an "electric upright", but instead is offering a standard 34" scale electric bass that is played vertically. Oh, did I forget to mention "THE TONE".
Another very cool moment was when Bobby Vega stopped by and took the B1 for a spin, he was smiling the whole ride, impressed? Ya think? Later I asked Bobby about his famous ' 61 Jazz, I barely had those words out when he took it (yes, his Jazz) from it's gig bag and handed it to me to check out. VERY COOL.
I swore I was going to get Lee Sklar to The Barker booth this year, unfortunately the closest I got was when I ran into him on the way into the show on Saturday morning. We talked quite awhile as we walked, great bass conversation needless to say, but he never did make it to our booth this year. HEY! he's a busy cat, but next year I'm going to have a thread on here telling you how much fun I had jamming with Lee Sklar at NAMM ' 08 in the "BARKER" booth. Remember, "Keep it in the pocket!!"
All the best;
Doug Mancini