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steve_rolfeca
Serious electric bassist for 50-odd years- corporate and event music, music theater, church musician since 1994. Barely competent hobby guitarist for a little longer than that.
Aside from teaching guitar and bass, I cut my teeth as a guitar and amp tech in our family business- my dad ran a teaching studio out of our house. He was a gifted musician, but couldn’t replace a machine head without having parts left over.
After college, I got involved in FOH sound and field recording, a passion that stuck with me.
I love to build, repair and mod audio gear, mostly tube. Went back to college for audio electronics in my late 20’s. I used to build my own cabs, until I discovered that other people were doing it much better. I’ve also built a couple of electric basses and guitars from scratch.
Aside from teaching guitar and bass, I cut my teeth as a guitar and amp tech in our family business- my dad ran a teaching studio out of our house. He was a gifted musician, but couldn’t replace a machine head without having parts left over.
After college, I got involved in FOH sound and field recording, a passion that stuck with me.
I love to build, repair and mod audio gear, mostly tube. Went back to college for audio electronics in my late 20’s. I used to build my own cabs, until I discovered that other people were doing it much better. I’ve also built a couple of electric basses and guitars from scratch.
Member statistics
- Messages
- 8,774
- Reaction score
- 17,152
- Location
- London, Ontario, Canada
- Current Setup
- Basses:
Dingwall ABZ-5. Honey Amberburst w/Maple fingerboard. Individual series/parallel pickup coil switches and Sklar pickup selector. Delivered Sept. 2013. 7lb 15oz
Guild Jumbo Junior acoustic bass guitar. Flame maple back and sides, solid spruce top, vintage tint. La Bella CB40 strings. Purchased October 2019. 3lb 15oz
Ibanez miKro 5-string GSRM25BK. Basswood body, maple neck, Jatoba fingerboard. EMG 250K solderless pots and wiring harness, copper shielding. Purchased August 2022.
NS Design NXT5a electric upright. Maple body, Richlite fingerboard. All original. Purchased June 2023.
Live gear, silent stage:
Line 6 HX Stomp
iPad Pro 10.5" w/Onsong and Qmix
CCA C10 ear buds, optional silver cable, foam inserts
Live signal chain w/backline varies, can also include:
Shure PGXD 900MHz digital wireless
Ernie Ball 25K Jr volume pedal
Turbo Tuner ST-200
Barber Linden preamp
Diamond BCP-1 Bass Compressor
FDeck HPF preamp
Radial JDI
George L, Yorkville, home-made, and Planet Waves cables
Gallien-Kreuger MB Fusion and MB200 heads
AudioKinesis Thunderchild 112 AF cab w/tiltback foot
Pair of Headrush FRFR108 powered cabs
Bose S1 battery/AC mini PA and personal monitor
Fender Rumble 100 v3 combo, modded w/polyfill lining, an x-brace and blocked ports to reduce cab resonance.
Other bass gear:
TC Ditto Looper
Eminence Alpha 10 in a small sealed wedge
ART Tube MP
Home-made tube preamp, modded Alembic F-1X circuit
DBX 163 compressor
Audient audio interface
M1 iPad Pro, iPhone 13 Pro loaded w/OnSong, Auria, Bias, Garage Band, etc.
In Ear:
Wired: Behringer 802 mini-mixer, SM57 for FOH and ambient sound, XLR gender-benders for wired backfeed through snake
Wireless: Sennheiser 300 series transmitter and belt pack
Shure 425se ear buds
CCA C10 ear buds
Guitar:
FrankenTele- Squire CV Thinline body and tuners, Gotoh cut ashtray bridge, Brenner piezo one saddle, Wylde micro coil pickups, Tusq nut, BGP roasted maple neck w/stainless frets, 4-way switch, custom pickguard
Epiphone Casino Coupe- Graphtech Ratio sealed tuners, Gotoh bridge, pickup phase switch.
Cordoba Fusion 5 hybrid classical
Karol maple/sitka grand concert
Line 6 HX Stomp
Zoom G5n multi-FX
Modded Marsh 5E3 tweed deluxe w/Weber 12A125-O
Fender ToneMaster Deluxe w/Weber 12A125-O
Line 6 Catalyst 60 w/V2 firmware
Tech 21 Fly Rig 5
Barber LTD SR overdrive
BadCat Siamese overdrive
Behringer PB100 clean boost and EQ pedal
- Gigs and Ensembles
- Mosaic Church. Kathryn Marquis Band, The Response Initiative Band, Agape Fellowship and Well Arts Cafe house bands, Marcel Brissette trio, Forest City Destiny Church. Various venues in Southwestern and Eastern Ontario, Canada.
- Previously Owned Gear
- AMPS:
Bose L1 system
Carver PM1.5 power amp
Eden Nemesis ENX260 solid-state head
1959 Fender tweed bassman
Fender Rad Bass practice amps
Fender Rumble 100 V3 combo- cab braced, lined and sealed.
Furman PQ-3 preamp
Gibson Les Paul 200w solid-state bass amp
G-K MB800 head, MB110 combo
Marshall Anniversary 300w sold-state head
Roland 120-watt pushbutton head
Sunn Coliseum head
SWR Studio 220 head, Workingmans 10 combo
Traynor Mono Bloc, Bloc 250, YBA-1 heads
Yamaha PB1 preamp
CABS:
Acme Low B2 cab (series II)
Ampeg PB210H Portabass cab
Flite 103W 3-way single-10 cabs
Homemade Thiele cab w/EVM-15B and piezo tweeters
Kroth TL606 cabs, EVM-15B and 15L
Kroth TL806 cabs, used for bi-amp setup w/12L
Kroth JBL sugar scoop bins, loaded with either JBL's, or EVM-15B's
Peavey Scorpion single 15 cab
BASSES:
Baldwin Vibroslim
Carvin LB75F 5-string fretless
Cort GB-75
D'Angelico EX-Bass semi hollow
DeArmond Ashbory "rubber bass"
Epiphone El Capitan 4-string ABG, Viola bass
Fender '64 P-bass, 2002 American Deluxe P-bass 5-string, 2006 Fender American Vintage '62 P-bass
Hagstrom Concord
Harmony H-27
Hofner Ignition Club bass. Flame maple back and sides, spruce top, sunburst. Zero Glide nut, Wilkinson WJ28N 19:1 vintage tuners, DR Legends flats. Purchased April, 2022. 5lb 4oz
Ibanez ATK 305, modded with dual ATK pickups and EMG active blend. 10lb 5oz
Ibanez AVNB1E parlour acoustic bass guitar. La Bella CB40 strings. Purchased in 2018. 4.0lb
Ibanez EHB1005SMS fanned-fret short scale fanned-fret headless 5-string bass
Peavey Grind NTB 6-string
Samick pointy-head 5-string
Self-made 5-string singlecut neck-through, maple/bubinga/ebony, Passive with Dingwall FD3-5a pickups, volume/4-way rotary pickup selector/passive tone, Gotoh locking bridge and tuners, D'Addario nickel rounds. Completed in the spring of 1994. 9lb 11oz.
Squier Deluxe Active Jazz 5-string, Vintage Modified Precision Bass V, VM fretless Jazz modded with threaded saddles, Dimarzio Area J's, CV 60's fretted P-bass neck.
Fender MIM Jazz V, with Duncan QP pickups, Audere preamp. 10lb 5oz.
NS Design NXT electric upright
Squier Vintage Modified Precision V. Fender Am Std P5 and DiMarzio Area J pickups, Hipshot Kickass bridge and Ultralite tuners, back of neck smoothed and de-glossed, body thinned and lightened, finished with Tung Oil. 8lb 1.8oz.
Pedals and Effects:
Boss, Behringer Composer compressors
Boss, Ibanez TS-808, T-Rex Mudhoney overdrives
EH Big Muff, Fuzz Face fuzzes
Empress ParaEQ
Line 6 POD XT Live w/collector and bass packs
MXR M87 Bass Compressor
Morley Volume/Wah
Roland Fuzz-Wah
TC Electronics SCF, EH Deluxe Memory Man
Planet Waves pedal tuner
Yamaha NE-1 and Roland 10 band graphic EQ's
Zoom MS-60B multi-effect pedal
various small multi-effects (Digitech, Zoom, Roland, Yamaha)
GUITAR AMPS:
Traynor Guitarmate, silverface Fender Princeton Reverb and Pro Reverb, Peavey Classic 30, Roland Cube 60, Line 6 Flextone III and ext. cab, Crate V5, Vox AC4TV, Vox VT20+ combo, Boss Katana 50
Modded VHT Special 6 combo w/Celestion G10
IEM's:
Shure SE425, Shure E3 and Klipsch, various KZ ear buds
- G.A.S. List
- Nothing... ...Well, OK, maybe a Gentzler Magellan 350 combo!
- Influences and Teachers
- Brian Bromberg
Jack Bruce
Alain Caron
Rick Danko
Roger Glover
Jamerson
Prakash John
John Paul Jones
Greg Lake
Tony Levin
John Lodge
Leo Lyons
Michael Manring
McCartney
Monk Montgomery
Jordan O'Connor
Joe Osborne
Jaco
Tyran Porter
Greg Reeves
Aubrey C. Rolfe (my dad)
Tommy Shannon
Leland Sklar
Chris Squire
Ray Shulman
Emmanuel Songsore
Sting
Don Thompson
Trip Wamsley
Willie Weeks
- Hobbies and Interests
- audio and recording technology, cycling, photography, R/C aircraft
Signature
Dingwall ABZ-5, Gretsch Jet Club, Guild Jumbo Junior ABG, Ibanez miKro 5-string, NS Design NXT5a electric upright. Barber, Diamond, FDeck, Line 6, Radial, Tech-21, Sonic Research, Source Audio. G-K MBFusion/MB200 heads, AudioKinesis TC112AF, modded Fender Rumble 100, Headrush FRFR-108, Bose S1 Pro.
