Double Bass George Mraz Tone

[statsc]

I think technology has made a huge difference in a positive direction for us upright bass players. I started 40 years ago with a Polytone pickup, then went through the Underwood, BP 100, Realist, before settling on the Fishman Full Circle. I think today’s KNA and Vic’s pickups are as good as the Underwood or BP 100 at a much lower price point. For amps, it’s been a Polytone MiniBrute, SWR Workingman’s 12, a god-awfully heavy rack mounted SCS power amp with a Dean Markley DB preamp into a 3-way EV 15” speaker cabinet, and finally AI and MAS stuff. Although I can only compare via memory since it’s impossible to have all this stuff available at once, my impression is a clearer, warmer sound with today’s equipment with a much smaller footprint. That said, it’s easy and tempting to go overboard chasing the latest gear du jour. Further refinements for me need to be in my playing, not my gear!

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Eric, would you mind telling me (or “us”, there have got to be others here as curious as I am) what size group it was, what did you play and what playing with Sam Rivers was like?

It was a quartet with drummer Paul Wertico and pianist Richard Drexler, sometime in the '90's. It was billed as a tribute to Miles, but Sam asked "Why, I only played with Miles for a minute?". We had a rehearsal and Richard, who organized the concert, pulled out a bunch of his tunes to play. After a while, we really weren't getting anywhere and Wertico chimed in, "Man, we've got Sam Rivers here... let's just play!" (or something to that effect which was absolutely right on). We ended up playing standards, a few Miles tunes and Sam's Beatrice (which Richard played bass on to my chagrin) as I recall. I've got a cassette of it but haven't heard it in years.

Sam Rivers had long been a favorite of mine and it was kind of thrilling to play and hang out with him. It would have been nice to play his music his way, but that was to be my only outing with him.

 

[Michael Karn]

Thanks Eric

 

[gerry grable]

I'd been playing professionally for a few years by the time amplifying the bass became anything like a musical possibility. It had its issues at first but eventually got to be pretty standard practice for most situations. The tone quality was secondary to volume and slowly became more important as gear got more sophisticated. What constituted good tone seemed to vary widely depending on player and circumstance. I liked hearing the differences between the sounds of players I admired on record and didn't necessarily think of any as better or worse. Clarity was the big issue for me, and still is to a great extent, and what I try to get as much as I can in my own playing. I generally prefer the more "natural" tone now to the extent that that's possible, but a good player is a good player no matter the tone.
As an aside to Gerry Grable: are you still using the B-15? If so, you are the only player I know of who still uses it for gigging, which most of us used at some point back when and gave up for more portable alternatives- more power to ya!

No. My two B-15s have gone to the happy picking grounds. I still have the two cabinets with their speakers. I didn't have the heart to junk them. I settled for a Rumble 100. It's light and sounds okay at low volumes.

 

[Bruce Calin]

No. My two B-15s have gone to the happy picking grounds. I still have the two cabinets with their speakers. I didn't have the heart to junk them. I settled for a Rumble 100. It's ligt and sounds okay at low volumes.

I sold mine to a friend for his recording studio for next to nothing but it seemed like a good home. From what I understand it is still in use.

 

[gerry grable]

I sold mine to a friend for his recording studio for next to nothing but it seemed like a good home. From what I understand it is still in use.

For many years I used a B-15 speaker as an extension for my little, now defunked, GK bass ( piano) amp. I loved the little GK but it died after about 20 years and I couldn't get it repaired .Sadly they stopped making them so I couldn't buy another.