Recent content by Bruce Calin

I have a high school student who is a last minute replacement in the school jazz ensemble. As an amplification setup I rigged up a Vic's single and an old Boss treble, bass, and volume preamp that I had laying around. I must say, gang, that it sounded surprisingly good on her bass, along with...

Quick review: I did a recording session yesterday that gave me another chance to hear myself and evaluate the hybrids. I'm never overly happy with my playing in these situations but it was a very sparse instrumentation and decent mics so I could hear my sound clearly. I was reasonably satisfied...

As a full-time freelancer for most of my career I always enjoyed and looked forward to playing. Being a band leader was okay when necessary but somewhat more stressful. Being a contractor and manager, also because someone had to do it, made me realize how important the playing part was to me and...

I finally bit and got some Pop's through Amazon a few days ago. I've been happy with Wiedoeft recently and so am less anxious to start the Pop's. One thing Wiedoeft definitely has over Pop's is the packaging. Dealing with the sticky paper was always a drawback IMO and the flexible Wiedoeft...

I think you win, NeilG. Mine was in the running until now.(:

As a completely frivolous aside, I believe the old Polytone amps, invented by accordionist Tommy Gummina, were so named because of the polychord which he liked to use in his playing. If I remember correctly(I owned a couple of these amps back when) there was a little polychord logo on the front...

These are more examples of what our wonderful instrument is capable of in good hands.(:

Playing in a duo with a vocalist or horn player can be challenging and fun. You as the bassist must be confident that you know the song and can Zig or zag as necessary. If you trust your partner it can produce some great music...

That style of comping by the guitar on "Deed I Do" ( unobtrusive four to the bar with good time and the right changes) has always been a great pad for what I would consider some of my best soloing. There's something about the simplicity and functionality that I really like and feel comfortable...

These are all good suggestions. I went to more flexible strings and a much lighter touch on purpose about four years ago and this has really helped. That last hour on a four-hour gig does seem to be when most problems occur. In that case, I try to play even more relaxed and as lightly as I can...

Like I said, I hope and assume it's much better now. It's still the military, which is not for everyone at any time. It's smart to not forget the past, since it can be very instructive in many ways.(:

I was drafted during Vietnam but decided the band wasn't for me after auditioning and didn't want to go to school after discharge so never used the GI bill. I assume military bands are a better deal now. I didn't want anything to do with any of it.

I don't mean to dis anyone who teaches or has other forms of income besides playing. I teach now myself, both privately and as an adjunct at a couple of local colleges. I also feel very fortunate to have made a decent living playing. It was, and still is, my love of playing music that made it...

I was able to make a middle class living playing music as a freelancer from the 70s to the early 2000s; no teaching or day gig. I certainly couldn't do that as a young player now. The especially sad fact is that on top of many fewer opportunities to play, the gigs that paid $100 to $150 then pay...

Not to make too big a thing out of this, but my thing was a situation where I was standing several feet from where the other player was playing a few notes in different registers and volumes so I could specifically hear the sound. It wasn't a performance. Sorry if I was unclear. I've had other...