Recent content by JKovax

I'm pretty sure I've got at least 3 of them. I gave up hauling my "every techie widget known to man" toolbox to gigs when I realized that my new digital bass amp weighed less than the toolbox.

Did Jaques Cousteau stop for a drink at a dive bar? Along time ago, a former band member got thrown out of a Roy Rogers fast-food restaurant for asking for a Triggerburger. True story. He didn't get thrown out of another fast-food place for telling the cute girl at the counter, "I'd like my...

One oldies band I'm in has a clearly defined set list, and follows it. Any (extremely rare) changes to the list only happen up to a few days before a gig, not at the gig, so everyone has time to respond and point out potential problems in advance. It's a bit too static for my liking, where we...

I've seen the good and the bad sides of rehearsal spaces. One band I was in set up in a spare room, about 10'x12' with a lot of old furniture stacked up along the walls, so barely standing room for the players. The singer had to unscrew the light bulb from the kitchen to use in the rehearsal...

We had an AM station in the area during the early '70s that played an entire album side every evening, often by bands you'd never hear on the FM pop stations. They put on a lot of heavier and progressive stuff by Yes, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Blue Oyster Cult, Pink Floyd, etc...

Just played a large county fair last Thursday. We took the gig for minimal pay in hopes of putting the relatively new and unknown band in front of a big crowd. It drizzled on and off all afternoon and early evening, but looked like it might clear up by the time we started. Attendance at the...

I take it that you confused the "Warship" and "Worship" settings? Sounds like the congregation got a full broadside, and you shivered a few timbers in the building. I recall one overly loud gig back in the '80s where I held one note on the low B string (Kramer bass strung BEAD) and a few of...

My list consists of: my favorite instrument (Rick 4001) which I rarely take out, but play frequently a lightweight portable workhorse (Westone Rail headless) that sees heavy use at gigs and rehearsals an instrument for E-flat tuning (Kramer DMZ6000B), sees limited use another for Drop-D tuning...

I just can't understand it. My band, "Closed for Renovations", just can't seem to draw a crowd anywhere we play.

As pointed out, the wood used in the neck is one of the most critical things for a good instrument. You can have a skilled luthier set up an instrument to play like a dream, and in 3 weeks the wood can change and undo all of that work. There's no guarantee that a cheap instrument will use bad...

Pressing the string above the nut bends the note upwards, pushing the headstock forward bends the note down.

I'm almost entirely a finger player, but there are a couple of songs (mostly metal) where I just can't get the right bite on the notes even with fingernails, so I switch to a pick. If you were just starting out, I'd recommend learning one style decently and then build at least a passable level...

I intentionally work at trying to imitate the "feel" of whoever did the bass line for whatever cover song I'm playing, even if I'm improvising on the actual notes. My early influences were Jack Bruce and Geezer Butler, and to a lesser extent, John Entwhistle, and then Chris Squire and Geddy Lee...

I've been using half-rounds for several decades. They've got most of the brightness of rounds, but don't give you the "zing" noises when sliding from note to note. It's not quite as soft as the classic '60s sound with flats, but I can dial down the tone, use the fleshier parts of the fingers...

Nah, everyone knows that a REAL bassist uses a bow. Seriously though, whatever works for you. Who's going to tell Geddy Lee that you're supposed to play with a pick, or tell (the late) Chris Squire to use his fingers? I mostly use my fingers, but have used a pick on specific songs where I...