Stanley Clarke and the SWR Natural Blonde

Ric Vice · #1 01-01-2008, 02:57 PM

I just picked up a copy of Bass Player January 2008, and lo and behold Stanley Clarke is featured on page 26 in a full page color spread for the SWR Natural Blonde. That had to cost SWR a few bucks. I remember that Stanley has done endorsements before for Carvin, but this is pretty impressive. Mind you, I'm not running out to buy one, still it can't hurt SWR to have that kind of testimonial.

Ric

robgrow · #2 01-01-2008, 03:13 PM

Interesting... I think he was using an EBS combo with his double bass for a while. In the end though, he always sounds like Stanley no matter what gear he uses. (Of course you can say the same thing for many other great players.)

Ric Vice · #3 01-01-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robgrow

Interesting... I think he was using an EBS combo with his double bass for a while. In the end though, he always sounds like Stanley no matter what gear he uses. (Of course you can say the same thing for many other great players.)

Rob,
I remember Ron Carter once played in St. Louis and used a Crate Bass amp. He sounded just like he always does articulate, warm and precise. I think that these guys could probably play through a shoe box powered by a Chevy Pickup Truck and still sound great. Happy New Year

Ric

Sam Sherry · #4 01-01-2008, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

Stanley Clarke . . . . That had to cost SWR a few bucks.

SWR = FMIC = Fender Musical Instrument Co. And that explains a bit, eh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobGrow

In the end though, he always sounds like Stanley no matter what gear he uses.

I'm on record here as a huge fan of Stan as a double-bassist, composer and musician who continues to grow. All that's still true, but I'll never sound like him even if I steal his rig!

Happy new year, folks. Here's to growth and joy in 2008!

WovenGraphite · #5 01-06-2008, 06:53 PM

Actually if you notice, the bass has no pick up, a microphone goes to the amp... it seems to be a Neumann TLM-103... that can definitely help capturing the right frequencies...

bolo · #6 01-06-2008, 07:05 PM

Yeah, I noticed that too. Not your typical stage use mic for a local gigger like me.

Anyway, that backwards firing driver still has me ... intrigued I guess. Certainly a unique feature. I think I would like the 2 x 8 config too. I've never played through a cab with a pair of eights.

Actually I think I like the idea of the upfiring 5's on the Phil Jones Flightcase better though than a rear facing speaker. At least on paper. I haven't tried the PJ either.

kerrycares · #7 03-15-2008, 05:03 PM

bought one today with no regards to stanley. it sounds great and has almost too many features. portable and it really is a great little amp.

bassist1962 · #8 03-16-2008, 06:06 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by robgrow
Interesting... I think he was using an EBS combo with his double bass for a while. In the end though, he always sounds like Stanley no matter what gear he uses. (Of course you can say the same thing for many other great players.)

Rob,
I remember Ron Carter once played in St. Louis and used a Crate Bass amp. He sounded just like he always does articulate, warm and precise. I think that these guys could probably play through a shoe box powered by a Chevy Pickup Truck and still sound great. Happy New Year

Ric

I have heard for years (and still hear) what junk certain instruments/equipment was/is. These two former posts put it right, that if you know what you are doing, you will sound amazing. Ray Brown said ' you play the amplifier, don't let the amplifier play you.' . The same can be said for any peice of gear, or instrrument.

peterpalmieri · #9 03-17-2008, 11:11 AM

I have scene Stanley maybe 4 times in the last 5 years and each time he had the same set up.

Fishman BP100
EBS Micro bass pedal (on a stool next to him).
2 SWR Redheads

In some cases he had a mic in front of him for either recording or FOH.

Love his playing never aspired to his sound though.

pdbass · #10 03-21-2008, 01:57 AM

All respects to Stanely--he is truly one of my 'bass heroes'--but how about that picture in the ad? Did he just roll out of bed, or what?!

<7am--knock on the door of the Clarke residence>
"Um, Mr. Clarke, we're here for that SWR photo shoot. Maybe you could just throw on some jeans. We'll do the picture right here on your porch. Nah. . . don't worry about wearing shoes! We'll shoot above your feet."

bassiks · #11 08-20-2008, 08:24 AM

On the Youtube video you can hear how much sound it picks up even from way up on the top of the neck. I'm new to the double bass and am having trouble deciding on which pick-up to buy I am very impressed with Stanely's. I also would like to know what the Necromantiks used on Life Is A Grave. Cheers Andrew.

bolo · #12 08-20-2008, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassiks

On the Youtube video you can hear how much sound it picks up even from way up on the top of the neck. I'm new to the double bass and am having trouble deciding on which pick-up to buy I am very impressed with Stanely's. I also would like to know what the Necromantiks used on Life Is A Grave. Cheers Andrew.

I did not check the video, but I think Stanley Clarkes uses a Fishman BP-100 pickup. That's according to the gear list from the recent BP article on Stanley, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten.

Ric Vice · #13 08-20-2008, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassiks

On the Youtube video you can hear how much sound it picks up even from way up on the top of the neck. I'm new to the double bass and am having trouble deciding on which pick-up to buy I am very impressed with Stanely's. I also would like to know what the Necromantiks used on Life Is A Grave. Cheers Andrew.

This July I got to see Return To Forever in St. Louis. Trust me, he wasn't using an SWR Natural Blonde on the stage, at least I couldn't see one.

The bass was sent to through the mic into the house. If he was using it in conjunction with a BP-100 I sure couldn't hear that typical midrange growl and tone quality that's characteristic of the BP. So, I wouldn't go with a particular pickup, especially the BP-100, based on the sound that Stanley and the RTF sound enginners are able to get. My guess is that Stanley's recipe for sound is way more complicated than that. Professional sound techs, who work for shows of that caliber would be the only people I now that could make a BP-100 sound that good IMHO.

Ric

Mark Sacchetti · #14 08-20-2008, 03:55 PM

I saw RTF in August here in NYC and he was using the SWR combo for the upright. He was pushing the combo to the max. Ruben and I were both waiting for the combo to blow up on stage. It was distorting when he was playing low notes. It was very noticeable and distracted from the music.I don't feel that it was the proper set up for the venue. Perhaps in a smaller setting it would be fine.

IMO you can make a better purchase.

bolo · #15 08-20-2008, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassiks

On the Youtube video you can hear how much sound it picks up even from way up on the top of the neck. I'm new to the double bass and am having trouble deciding on which pick-up to buy I am very impressed with Stanely's.

bassiks, in my previous post I just stuck to answering your question, namely what p/u Stanley Clarke uses. But Ric's post that followed mine paints a more complete picture I'd say.

I think if you search this forum a bit or even a lot, there are some people who get a righteous tone with that p/u. But there are other pickups out there today too that do seem to perform better for the majority of users.

I'm just generalizing, so YMMV. Search a bit like I said. This forum is great for exactly that. It seems every bass is different, and so are player's tastes. If you do try the BP-100, I think it works best if the input impedance on your amp is 10 Mohms. If not, you can get a preamp to handle that.

BTW if you can fill out your profile, that can sometimes help us help you too.

Ric Vice · #16 08-23-2008, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Sacchetti

I saw RTF in August here in NYC and he was using the SWR combo for the upright. He was pushing the combo to the max. Ruben and I were both waiting for the combo to blow up on stage. It was distorting when he was playing low notes. It was very noticeable and distracted from the music.I don't feel that it was the proper set up for the venue. Perhaps in a smaller setting it would be fine.

IMO you can make a better purchase.

Mark,
I was in the balcony of the Fox Theater, so it's very likely that from my vantage point the SWR just wasn't in plain view, so to speak. The sound that I was hearing was coming from the mains and it was very good, especially when he played arco. Like you said, IMHO there are some really great small bass amps out there, I'm not totally convinced that the Natural Blonde is one of them. I owned the 2x8 Baby Blue and the cabinet sounded good but I couldn't get that head to work for me.

Ric

Mark Sacchetti · #17 08-23-2008, 12:24 PM

I went to the SMV concert Friday evening at IMAC in Huntington NY to see Stanley-Marcus-Victor. What a show!

Stanley used his upright for a set. There was no "Blondie" combo to be found. His upright+mic was sent directly to his arsenal rack- then to the house. The tone of the bass shined right through. None of the problem he had at the RTF show . BTW the house sound system sounded great Infiniti system I think. Great linear system with a natural clear sound.

If the S-M-V tour comes your way, well you got to check it out.