Show us your Barkers!

[Tom7]

They have threads like this in the main forum, I thought I'd start one here for Barker.

Here's my Barker...


Here it is with the rest of the bass family:

[pointbass]

Here is #0076 a fretless B1. This is the original photo taken by Dwayne (Iotanet)



Here she's on the job with my FBB 7 string .... my two main players ....



And with the primary bass family .... there are other basses, but these are the main ones I use ...

[Tom7]

Wow, I LOVE the body of your Barker! GREAT woods. I bought mine from Dwayne (Iotanet), do you buy yours from him as well?

Nice family too. I took my family photo because I'm finally going to force myself to put sentiments aside and sell the ones that I'm not playing too much these days.

[pointbass]

Originally Posted by Tom7

Wow, I LOVE the body of your Barker! GREAT woods. I bought mine from Dwayne (Iotanet), do you buy yours from him as well?

Nice family too. I took my family photo because I'm finally going to force myself to put sentiments aside and sell the ones that I'm not playing too much these days.

Yup, Dwayne sweated all over mine, too Nice family, yourself, BTW, the fretless F is sweet ....

I usually have somewhere between 10-15 basses at any given time, but the basses in the pic above are what my wife refers to as my "working basses". They are all lifetime keepers, the rest are subject to sale at any given moment. Someday, hopefully soon, I'll be pared down to just the basses that get gig attention .....

[IotaNet]

This is my B2



I keep saying that I'm going to get it de-fretted but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Lee Barker]

Some express amazement that I, who has the pick o' the litter, play a couple of Brios, the more accessible Barker model. I prefer the sound and feel of these two.

The Java-colored model has a Villex pickup in it. I can get a real nice uprighty tone out of this, with variations based on the string type. (Ground down roundwounds preferred for now.) I added a tailpiece and experimented with using a pickguard for mounting the electronics. It also has thumbrests, which aren't typically a part of the Brio package. So it's custom all the way, and it gets a lot of hours.

Ol' Roadkill is a stock body and electronics but for the welcome addition of a Stellartone Tonestyler. The body got a slapdash coat of gray tractor paint prior to being run over. While it's rough and crude to the touch, it is a fine sounding and playing bass and, given the right setting, is a fun visual on stage. It's strung with roundwounds.

These portraits were taken at church where the custom closet is installed. The bass and stand hang on the panel, suspended on two full extension drawer slides. The whole closet is 8 inches wide. Note the towel attached discreetly to the stand. Very, er, handy.

[Tom7]

That closet is way cool.

I have a friend who has an AMAZING collection of old and valuable guitars, and had a room of his house custom built with glass display cases that custom fit and display each guitar. Ever since my wife saw it, she's been suggesting I do something like that with my basses.

I think she just wants me to go to that trouble and expense so I won't be turning over my gear!

That is a cool closet though. That's more like me: practical.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by pointbass

I think my dream Barker Bass would have a body like this, with a matching finger ramp between the 2 Jazz style magnetic pickups, have a piezo pickup in the bridge, have 6 strings, a fretless (and lineless) neck, and come with a lifetime supply of Thomastik Infeld Jazz Bass flatwounds, and a lifetime supply of lessons from John Patitucci.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by IotaNet

This is my B2



I keep saying that I'm going to get it de-fretted but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Nice. How many Barkers have you owned, Dwayne? Do you keep a scrap book of your lost loves?

[IotaNet]

Originally Posted by Tom7

Nice. How many Barkers have you owned, Dwayne? Do you keep a scrap book of your lost loves?

I have owned 4 and while I don't keep a scrapbook, the one I really regret letting go of was my first. It was an unlined fretless 4 and to this DAY, I miss that bass dearly.

[fretster]

Hey, I just "upgraded" from an Ergo Bass to a Barker! Very fun. This is number 0086. The neck wood is just fantastic--- curly maple with exquisite feel and shape, and the ebony on the front is gorgeous. And the TONE is fantastic! I'm already thinking about putting on TI-flats.



And the upper end:

[JKT]

TI's will sound amazing. I put Labellas on my Brio and have never looked back. I was warming up at rehearsal last night through my new Shuttle and the guys (once again) stopped in their tracks to dig the upright,yet electric vibe.

JKT

[Lee Barker]

Well there's 86!

It looks like she's been warmly welcomed into your home. If you have any questions, this is the place to ask--the accumulated knowledge here in the Forum outweighs the meager efforts of the Home Office.

If you want some conversation, just mention thumbrests, obviously absent from your bass. Folks just seem to have opinions about them.

Unless one really looks closely at the pic, one might not grasp that it's a lined fretless. That's a feature available both on the B1, 4 and 5 string, and the Brio. End of sales note.

But given it's a fretless, it would be interesting to hear what you are leaning toward in the way of amplification.

Welcome to the family. As the Big Cheese at Barker Musical Instruments, I stand by ready to be a resource for you. At the very least, let me send you a special device for securing the zipper tabs at the bottom when you're transporting the bass in the gig bag.

Kindly,

Lee

[JKT]

Originally Posted by Lee Barker

Well there's 86!

At the very least, let me send you a special device for securing the zipper tabs at the bottom when you're transporting the bass in the gig bag.

Kindly,

Lee

[fretster]

Hi Lee. The care package arrived, and the carabiner fits the zipper tab just perfectly. BUT, I must have the 2nd generation case. There is a hole for the end-pin, but it is permanent, with no zipper action. The zipper ends up at the top when closed. No chance to creep open and let the bass fall out. So now I will have to think up something clever to do with that carabiner. Maybe attach a beer bottle opener!

I am loving this bass, by the way. Its debut was at a bigband dance. I got lots of compliments on the looks, the sound, and the uniqueness. For grins, I ended one song letting a note ring for as long as it would sustain, which seemed to be over a minute. Supposed to end on a stacatto note, with the rest of the band. Grins and smirks all around, as this just drew attention to the instrument and the powerful sustain. A guy was snapping pictures of the band, but a luck would have it, the only picture that I'm in shows me playing the Fender bass, on the one song I was chicken to do on the Barker bass.

I'm not hearing a whole lot of difference between the two pickups, or with the tone control. All positions sound good, but I would think there would be a bigger tone difference between bridge pickup soloed, neck soloed, and 50-50. I do hear some difference, but not as much as on other basses with vol-vol-tone. Thoughts on this from others?

I did put on the TI-flats. I like the feel of those better than the tape-wound strings that were on it before, and there's this nice round comfortable warmth with those strings. But there was more clarity in the tone with the original strings. Gee, I'd like the best of both worlds. More experimenting and tweaking required!

Glad to be a part of your family now, Lee!

[Lee Barker]

Thanks for the compliments on the tone and is-ness of the bass, Fretster. ("It just, well, IS").

You're right about the not much difference on the tone. I don't have a good A-B to compare that to right now, though Craig Brown and I are planning to do some of that with some of his bass guitars in the future.

(I guess that's why I'm so pumped about the Stellartone Tonestyler, mentioned more thoroughly in the blog
( http://barkerbassblog.blogspot.com/ ). I'm getting closer to getting them up on the web site as an accessory. If you, dear reader, are curious now, you may PM me or email me at
barkerbass@bendcable.com .)

(I know it sounds like I set Fretster up to this, but I didn't, honest.)

As for the bag, it's correct, and your first impression is like that of many, that the endpin stays inside the bag. Actually it protrudes, and the two zipper tabs meet on both sides of it, safely connected by the carabiner. Thus you can lean the package up in a corner, the rubber tip firmly on the floor.

We look forward of a pic with you in the big band. Hey, if the sustain can do what you said, you'd have time to go out and snap the picture! No wait, we'd want you in it...

Kindly,

Lee

[fretster]

Originally Posted by Lee Barker

We look forward of a pic with you in the big band. Hey, if the sustain can do what you said, you'd have time to go out and snap the picture! No wait, we'd want you in it...

Kindly,

Lee

Here's a picture of the B1 live in action at the Berkeley Jazz School. The guy in the back, Brian, used his superpowers to run out into the crowd, snap the picture, then get back into the band just in time. If he only had the sustain of the B1....

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by fretster

Here's a picture of the B1 live in action at the Berkeley Jazz School. The guy in the back, Brian, used his superpowers to run out into the crowd, snap the picture, then get back into the band just in time. If he only had the sustain of the B1....

I love action shots, they're my favorite... but that sounded like a LOT of action! Sounds like a new Xman in fact!

[Lee Barker]

This probably isn't the right thread, but anyway, Tom, these Honda pickups you endorse--have you tried them in your Barker?

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by Lee Barker

This probably isn't the right thread, but anyway, Tom, these Honda pickups you endorse--have you tried them in your Barker?

No, but I've tried my Barker in my Honda Pick up!