Double Bass A master makes so-so gear sound great

[Mike Carr]

We all spend lots of bread on pickups mics and preamps. I might me one of the worst, having spent way to much time and money on this stuff.
Last night Eddie Gomez played in Shanghai. I was very lucky to get to hear him and meet him.
He played a borrowed Shen, looked like a Hybrid with Weichs, thru a big Markbass with 4 10's that the club owns. The pickup? A Fishman BP-100! Sounded amazing, even the arco stuff sounded great. No pre-amp, but I suspect the DI was an active type with buffering feature. No mic on the bass at all, just the pickup sound to front of house. He seemed perfectly content to play the show on with this rig and made it all sound wonderful! Billy Drummond on drums, with piano, guitar and trumpet as well. I'm going to stop thinking about gear so much and use that time to practice! A great reminder that after a point gear dosn't matter so much, it's how you use it. I was really struck by what a down to earth person Eddie Gomez is. Such a great experiance getting to meet and hear him!

 

[Feral Feline]

Awesome stuff Mike. Wish Mr. Gomez came here on another night, alas I've got a gig on the night he's playing HK Poly.

However, I'm looking forward to Charlie Haden coming to Hongkers in 2012!

Hope all is well for you up on Shanghai...

Cheers,
FF

 

[Mike Carr]

The BP-100 is a pickup many of us love to hate. I only have a little hands on experiance with one. I played a Chinese loaner plywood with one installed while my bass was being fixed. This was quite a few years ago. I thought it was fine, sounding not much different that the Underwood I was used to hearing on my bass. I wish I had thought to ask him if that was a pickup he takes with him on the road. as it's an easy install or if the borrowed bass he played last night just happened to have it. At any rate he sure made the most of it, the Fishman and fridge sized "electric bass" amp didn't seem to hinder his performance in the least!

 

[Eric Hochberg]

And lesser players are known to make mediocre music using great gear. We know where priorities should lie.

 

[GrowlerBox]

And lesser players are known to make mediocre music using great gear.

Hang on; I resemble that statement .

 

[John Crosley]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f31/illusion-instrument-807901/#post11612512

 

[Kai Sanchez]

I met Eddie Gomez sometime at the beginning of the year. He came to my college for a clinic and a concert. He was offered a bunch of different basses, some carved and some plywood. He picked an Engelhardt with a realist. To be honest the bass didn't sound good (the fingerboard was crap) but he played great stuff on it. I think he picked it for its size, since he is a short guy, he might have felt comfortable with that bass.
On a break I asked him about his experiences playing loaned basses around the world, and he said that only once he encountered a bass that was unplayable.
On another occasion a friend of mine got him to do a concert in Costa Rica, and he asked Eddie what kind of equipment he needed, and his answer was "I need a bass and an amp".

 

[tstone]

I used to have a piano teacher who could make a clanky 44-inch Yamaha upright school piano sound like a Steinway grand. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

 

[Michael Case]

And lesser players are known to make mediocre music using great gear. We know where priorities should lie.

I'll let you know I make mediocre music using mediocre gear. Just keeping the facts straight here.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

That's better than me. I make good music sound mediocre.