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Florinda4
Last Activity:
Dec 6, 2023 at 2:07 PM
Joined:
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Gender:
Male
Birthday:
Dec 16, 1949 (Age: 73)
Location:
Overlooking the Salish Sea
Occupation:
Caring for family, making the most of heaven.

Florinda4

The old man down the road..., Male, 73, from Overlooking the Salish Sea

Supporting Member
Florinda4 was last seen:
Dec 6, 2023 at 2:07 PM
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  • About

    Gender:
    Male
    Birthday:
    Dec 16, 1949 (Age: 73)
    Location:
    Overlooking the Salish Sea
    Occupation:
    Caring for family, making the most of heaven.
    Current Setup:
    Basses
    -----------------------
    - URB "Samantha": 3/4; Rumanian; ~1980; spruce top, maple back, ebony board; nice old (1960?) pernambuco bow , french heel; Evah Pirazzi orch. strings. (my only bass not named for a cat - I named it after Sammy Nestico's beautiful tune)
    - "Eddie" - 1973 Precision - Tomastik-Infeld Jazz flats
    - "Taj" - 2006 MusicMan Sterling - TI flats
    - "Molly" 2018 Fender Mustang PJ - TI flats - Lindy Fralin pups, 1 stacked V/T knob & 1 pup blend knob. - no mo pup switch. See it here: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/fender-mustang-club.1327751/page-22#post-21397959.
    - 1995 Ibanez TRB80 (beater I let visitors and guitar players borrow)
    - "Thumper" - modified Jacinto Lemus Reyes guitarron - with four flatwound electric bass strings EADG (the extra two tuners were removed), an extended, raised ebony fingerboard, carved ebony & spruce bridge, and custom-milled 2-piece brass tailpiece. Unsure of age - probably not quite as old as me. You can read Thumper's story and see pics here:
    https://www.talkbass.com/threads/guitarron-anyone.285638/page-2#post-20663720
    - "Talisker" - NS Design NXTa. Took some time to get it set up properly, with strings that suit my ear (currently a used set of TI flats), and lighten my touch somewhat to avoid overpowering the piezo bridge, but I'm playing it a lot in jazz and big band. It's basically a 34" electric URB with a curved fingerboard like an upright - but it doesn't sound like an upright. Smooth, solid, punchy... but no wood sound. Sad. I miss the wood.
    I don't bow it. It's just very easy to jump back and forth between it and a 34" BG using an A-B switch during a gig. I play it on anything I have to solo in, and most jazz tunes.

    5/18/2023 comment: Why use the NXTa rather than my URB? Several reasons, all age-related, like...
    - Hands are starting to hurt in some spots, especially after long sessions. 34" no problem; 41" ouchy after a couple of hours. :-(
    - Schlepping, packing, loading it is harder than it used to be. I'm worried I'll hurt it, or some other fool will hurt it. Like my drummer buddy whose kick drum rolled off a short step and punched a hole in my URB's lower bout with one o' dem chrome rim keys drummers love to stroke.
    - Adjusting the URB sound for each different room is a pain. etc. NXTa is painless, predictable to set up.
    - Much easier to crossover styles on the NXTa. E.g, I never could bring off Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" on the upright like I can on my good ol' P bass... but if some fool in a jazz jam calls "Superstition" or "What's Goin' On" or some such and I'm on the NXTa, it's much easier.

    My BGs are named after cats I've loved and lost.

    Amps
    -----------------------
    - GK MB150S/112 combo
    - MarkBass CMD 102P combo
    - David Eden WT300 Traveler hybrid head
    - GK 410/8 RBH cabinet

    I use the Markbass combo for most gigs, though my favorite sounding rig is the GK RBH cabinet with the Eden amp. But that 4x10 cabinet alone is 100lb. Total weight of the MarkBass combo is 35lb.

    That Eden hybrid amp has the most bestest damn sound ever (all of their WT hybrids have that awesome warm presence that just OWNS a space, indoor or outdoor - this 300 is my third), but I had to have it serviced once, and the closest guy who knew anything about it is 100 miles away. Not made any more, I use it sparingly to avoid damage.

    That said, I sometimes take the Eden amp as a backup with the MarkBass combo: Even if I don't fry the MarkBass head (never have), I can bypass it to use its 2x10 cabinet with the Eden amp (I added a F-F connector near the MarkBass speaker plug to enable this). So, Eden amp plus a 35lb 2x10 cabinet instead of the 100lb 4x10 RBH = perfect for small-medium rooms if I want to be extra fussy about my sound, though the MarkBass combo is fine for most day-to-day applications.

    I only use the 4x10 outdoors these days.

    My GK MB150S/112 is my studio practice amp (headphones mostly), but occasionally comes out for a small space, low power gig, like a house concert. It has been used outdoors upon occasion, powered by a 32amp 12-volt battery and inverter. It draws only 4 amps, so will go for 4-6 hours. It is still my favorite lightweight amp for use with the acoustic URB.
    Favorite Genres:
    Pretty much anything played well and not too damn loud. Preference runs to nice instruments played with less electronic bull**it and more fingers, ears, brains and heart.

    Heart-of-heart favorite: Big Band and Little Big Band jazz ensembles.
    Gigs and Ensembles:
    They come and they go.
    Previously Owned Gear:
    Many variations of my current inventory. Seems like I've always had a couple of electrics and one URB, and a couple of amps - one smaller, one with more beef.
    G.A.S. List:
    Happy with my current stuff. Could use a better bag for my URB.
    Influences and Teachers:
    - Never really 'studied' with anyone in particular. I played string bass (and learned to read music) in public school and community ensembles (concert band, school orchestras and youth symphonies) from age 8 into college, and bought my first electric bass in 1971 to play in a US Army stage band overseas (32nd AADCOM in K-Town, Germany).

    I read a lot of stage band music until I was out of the army on my own, then started learning to play folk and pop music - most of which had no written parts. I'd need to learn some tune for a band and spend hours with a 2-track tape player learning bass parts, playing along by ear.

    I still do this, but the technology is way better now (YouTube is the most amazing tool for this), learning doesn't take so long any more - usually - and these days I'm far more interested in the melody/chords/arrangement of the tune than replicating whatever bass line was recorded - unless it's fundamental to the tune, or someone is paying me to recreate it. ;-)

    Somewhere in the 80s I began working with a very versatile guitarist and learned to read lead sheets and improvise lines from chord markings - basic theory, then more, etc.

    - Influences: too numerous to mention, and besides I don't remember so good no mo. Everybody I ever heard play the electric or upright bass, no doubt - some more than others.

    - Teachers: many, but primary credit (or blame) and my undying gratitude goes to Miss Downs, the patient California public circuit music teacher who put a 1/2 size Kay string bass and a Simandl method book in my hands in 1958, showed me the basics of the instrument, and taught me to read music - back in the day when California supported music education in its public schools.

    Since high school I've been on my own... me, one bass or another, and my radio/record player/tape player/cd player/HD/internet/space-time continuum/ether. - and often still, written music.

    And of course, I've always been heavily - even mostly - influenced by many many other players of all instruments.
    Hobbies and Interests:
    Family, boating, camping, skiing, cats, etc.

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    Content:

    Signature

    Ne laissez pas les salauds vous épuiser

    Fender Precision Bass Club #1425
    Musicman Sterling Bass Club #188
    Fender Mustang Club #2
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