Character building

[JimmyM]

Every once in a while you need a reminder of what it's all about...

OK, so I'm doing 3 days in New England...Friday Boston, Saturday a small town in New Hampshire, today Cohasset. We did the Boston gig last year and it was killer. The PA was a little small but it sounded good, and they brought me an MTI SVT. So I'm thinking that I'll get it again. Nope...got an old GK 400RB and two Hartke Transporter cabs, a 410 and 115. I think they may be the worst cabs I ever heard. Tried them each and went with the 410 but only because it sucked slightly less than the 115. Absolutely zero balls. Worst stage sound I've had in years.

Saturday's gig was at this city's courthouse field, and there was an opening act whose gear we used. They were all very nice guys and played very well. But they didn't have much for gear, so I ended up playing through the bassist's old Nemesis 115 combo, a 250 watter. A great improvement over the Hartke cabs, but not my first choice in amps. Our keyboardist only got one keyboard, and they only had one guitar amp but there were two guitarists since the Tokens brought a guitarist for this one. So the Tokens guitarist had to DI.

None of us were very happy about having to use the stuff we were supplied except our drummer, who lucked out with nice DW's and Yamahas, but when you have these situations, there's not a thing in the world you can do except go with it and hope for the best. We aren't backing up Mariah Carey here...nobody's going to blow a paycheck because the equipment isn't good enough. But in both cases, the FOH ended up being excellent. Neither gig had ideal PA, but they made it work, and both gigs turned out to be amazingly good and fun gigs despite the problems. Nobody whined, nobody brought everyone else down whining about their gear...we just did it and made it work. We had some friends from Florida show up at these gigs, and they said we sounded just the same up here as we do at home.

Am I really hoping the Cohasset gig has an SVT for me? Yes But it does sort of serve as one of those character building lessons in life. It doesn't matter how good or bad the gear is...it's up to you to make it sound good. So if anyone would like to argue that tone isn't in the hands, I've built a couple good days' worth of empirical evidence that tells me it is

 

[ubone]

Very true, and very wise to recognize it. Play on brother, play on..

 

[rbonner]

We had a sound powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline

You're my hero.

 

[mike costelow]

We have a guitar player that fills in with us that plays a strat thru a peavey solid state 20 or 30 watt amp(cheap).We have played good size shows and his cheap little amp will be up there next to boutique amps, looks silly till he plugs in and plays.This guy smokes and the sounds he pulls out of that little amp are simply amazing! tone is most definitly in the fingers,no doubt about it in my mind.

 

[JimmyM]

We had a sound powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline

You're my hero.

yvettewilde.com , you say?

I think there's no question of who the REAL hero is, dude. I just played through a crap Hartke cab for an hour.

 

[Jerrold Tiers]

We had very good players on staff..... Many of them we COULD NOT use as testers..... when we sent out new gear with them , they made it sound great even if it kinda sucked.......

We had to use the average players for our gig testing........ they typically responded directly to the amp "goodness".

 

[BassmanPaul]

Last night I played a backyard party gig. Had willing help unloading my rig and on set up nothing worked! Couldn't figure out what the problem was. Ended up playing though a tiny Yorkville amp sitting on top of on of my Acmes. Same willing helpers put the gear back into the van. Today, set the thing up in my garage and it works perfectly. Then I remembered the 18 gauge extension cord that was running the whole show. Not enough juice to run my rig too. Played the night with the Yorkville while being eaten by mosquitos and got compliments at the end.

Don't you just hate when perfectly good equipment just won't work and cheap junk does???

Paul

 

[Akito]

I think I play a little better, or should I say more to my satisfaction, with gear of my choice and preference. Not too sure the typical audience would ever be able to tell a difference though. I've had to make due on so many backlines that were a bit disappointing, but often those experiences were a bit eye-opening (or it is ear?) when I got a better sound than I expected or found that a different tone opened up my playing by challenging my comfort zones.
You make an outstanding point about attitudes and approach making a gig or a band fun. You have to rise above circumstances and approach every situation in a positive and professional way or you and your band will have issues.

 

[Sundogue]

...So if anyone would like to argue that tone isn't in the hands, I've built a couple good days' worth of empirical evidence that tells me it is

You are absolutely right. Tone is in the hands.

That's why I no longer use a bass, amp, cabs, or even go through a PA anymore. I must admit though, that finding a place for the cable was a literal pain in the ass. I'm working on some kind of catheterized wireless system.

People accuse me of just playing "air bass" but I have several gigs worth of evidence to prove otherwise. It's all in the hands baby!!!

However, I've had my share of gigs using almost useless gear and literally played from memory, not hearing a single note. It wasn't fun, but alas...as they say, "The show must go on", and as my drummer is often want to say..."It is what it is". What else can you do? Complain? Not play? Gotta do what you gotta do.

EDIT: Hey Jimmy, I take it that Duke's cabs are filled with fingers, huh?

And here I thought you were posting a thread on a brand new cab called something like the "Character 15/6".

Just havin' some fun with you.

 

[ga_edwards]

We have a guitar player that fills in with us that plays a strat thru a peavey solid state 20 or 30 watt amp(cheap).We have played good size shows and his cheap little amp will be up there next to boutique amps, looks silly till he plugs in and plays.This guy smokes and the sounds he pulls out of that little amp are simply amazing! tone is most definitly in the fingers,no doubt about it in my mind.

My brother stood in for one of our guitarists last night and used his new 5 watts Blackstar. Yes, you heard 5 watts. Man that thing screamed. Sounded awesome, and it's not that expensive either. Need more volume at a bigger gig? Stick a mic in front of it!

 

[John Wentzien]

Dealing with the cards you are dealt is a big part of being a PRO player.
Being able to "throw-down" in less than optimal 'sitches..separates the men from the boys....

 

[billhilly66]

No doubt. Sometimes ya get to use what you want, other times ya shrug and go with the flow. I hate dealing with guys whining about whatever the backline is at certain gigs. I also hate "singists" who bitch incessantly about their monitor mix. The quickest way to get a crappy mix at a show is to start bitching at the production crew.

 

[Bluesy Soul]

You are absolutely right. Tone is in the hands.

That's why I no longer use a bass, amp, cabs, or even go through a PA anymore. I must admit though, that finding a place for the cable was a literal pain in the ass. I'm working on some kind of catheterized wireless system.

ROFLMAF !

Thanks for that, Sundogue. I'm really weary of posters trotting out that tired and hackneyed old cliche.

And no offense to you, Jimmy. You didn't use the most egregious form of the cliche: "tone is ALL in the hands".

IMHO, tone isn't all in anything. But it is primarily in the hands. No question. That's just too obvious, however. The "too much technology, too little technique" bogeyman exists everywhere: golf, flyfishing and, for some, even sex.

It is a good anecdote regarding character building and akito summarized the lesson correctly:

...I've had to make due (sic) on so many backlines that were a bit disappointing, but often those experiences were a bit eye-opening (or it is ear?) when I got a better sound than I expected or found that a different tone opened up my playing by challenging my comfort zones.

You make an outstanding point about attitudes and approach making a gig or a band fun. You have to rise above circumstances and approach every situation in a positive and professional way (emphasis added) or you and your band will have issues.

 

[knarleybass]

regardless of what they supply, you must make the best of it. A few years back I showed up to my gig and they had a Peavey TNT for me. We played the show and no one seemed to mind and everyone his happy. I am playing the same place next week, I wonder what they will have for me this time.

 

[Freddels]

I thought JimmyM had bought that small Markbass combo so that he wouldn't have to deal with backline and would be able to bring his own amp to gigs. I know you have since sold the combo but I believe you still have the LMK head.

 

[Past 11]

Seems my playing style will shift a bit to accommodate the situation at hand. I played through an old, low end Fender bass amp at a new years gig that was boxy and boomy. I did a few tweaks to my bass and the amp, but what really helped was that I kinda played harder to the amps stronger points...and kept things more reserved when I felt it wasn't going to go over too well sound-wise. Also, keeping the focus on just having a good time helped out a lot with my playing. In the end if you're playing well, the crowd will respond well. Just go with it.

 

[modulusman]

Yeah, I would find a micro amp I liked and take that with me. The local music store has clinics all the time and Brian Bromberg said the same thing. Your tone is in your hands. What you use for an amp doesn't matter. Finding a bass you are comfortable with is more important. At another clinic David Ellefson who endorses Peavey tried out 4-5 Peavey basses before his clinic. He wound up using a millenium bxp that was $229.00. Two of the basses he tried were cirruses one of them a custom shop that cost thousands. He liked the feel of the cheap one best and yes he did sound amazing.

 

[JimmyM]

I thought JimmyM had bought that small Markbass combo so that he wouldn't have to deal with backline and would be able to bring his own amp to gigs. I know you have since sold the combo but I believe you still have the LMK head.

Ya, I quit bringing the Markbass when Sansamp came out with the VT Bass pedal. Half a pound and nails the tones. I bring it and a Countryman DI to gigs now as a failsafe for the FOH. Still got the LMII, though. It's actually been getting some use lately.

So Sundogue, I'm not even going to argue with you. All I'll say is yes, I was happy to see the Magnavox SVT sitting on the stage at Cohasset today, but we still sounded the same. Couldn't have been me, but I'll tell you...I didn't hear that gear make a lick of sound until I started playing it. Just sat there looking all pretty

 

[JxBass]

Saturday's gig was at this city's courthouse field, and there was an opening act whose gear we used. They were all very nice guys and played very well. But they didn't have much for gear, so I ended up playing through the bassist's old Nemesis 115 combo, a 250 watter. A great improvement over the Hartke cabs, but not my first choice in amps. Our keyboardist only got one keyboard, and they only had one guitar amp but there were two guitarists since the Tokens brought a guitarist for this one. So the Tokens guitarist had to DI.

Jimmy,

Sounds like you might have played the Saturday gig at Seabrook, NH with the Reminisants? My lifelong best friend and ex-bandmate (when he was the guitarist and I was the bass player) plays a Nemesis 115 250w combo. They do a few outdoor gigs in Seabrook each year and they usually do a gig with the Tokens each year as well.

 

[Sundogue]

So Sundogue, I'm not even going to argue with you. All I'll say is yes, I was happy to see the Magnavox SVT sitting on the stage at Cohasset today, but we still sounded the same. Couldn't have been me, but I'll tell you...I didn't hear that gear make a lick of sound until I started playing it. Just sat there looking all pretty

So what your really saying is "Tone is in the gear when hands are using it".

Really I get what you are saying, but honestly though I've seen some amazing musicians sound great playing through crappy gear, they sound even more amazing through great gear, from the bass they play to the amps they play through.

And I'd also wager a bet that while we just have to keep on playing (and enjoy it anyway) even under less than ideal conditions, when we are playing with high quality gear it is a tad bit more inspiring than simply being functional and allowing us to "get through" a gig. I'd much rather thoroughly enjoy a gig where my sound is inspiring than to simply get through the night like it's just another shift at the factory, you know?

I've played gigs where the bass was so dull sounding that I might as well have been playing rubber bands. Still, I just copped kind of a dub attitude and felt my way through it rather than hearing myself. I not only got through the gig, I rather enjoyed it as it made me think differently about bass. I wouldn't have wanted to always play sounding like that but it was an inspiring gig none the less.

There comes a point where it isn't about the gear and I agree with you on that. However, there is a reason the Amp forum gets more posts than any other and it surely isn't to find out what manufacturer is coming out with the latest, state-of-the-art pair of hands.