I just had a great gig last night. By that I don't mean there was a huge audience. There wasn't. It was a couple dozen people in a wine bar/coffee shop. But I do mean that we all performed really well, including myself. I attribute this to two factors.
First, I bought a fretless bass a few weeks ago and I have been practicing with it a lot. I used to fear fretless basses. I worked that I would instantly go from competent bass player to incompetent bass player and this would be so discouraging for me that I'd never pick one up again. But I took the plunge and in an effort to avoid embarrassment I have been practicing a lot.
The second factor is that we're using a new wireless in-ear monitoring system. Old guys like me don't hear so well anymore, so it's nice to have things right in your ear. Very hard to get lost that way.
My personal observations. First, the fretless ESP Ltd B205 isn't a lightweight at 9.5 pounds, but it is comfortable. It's thirsty for mids. I could run that knob dimed full time. For some unexpected reason, it's hotter than my Ibanez EHB with Nordstrands. It hits my compressor differently that's for sure. I'm thinking about using my SA programmable EQ to switch between basses with a volume adjustment dialed in.
Also, I think I've always had it in my head that slapping a fretless bass was a bad idea. Turns out, it isn't. It also takes overdrive pretty well.
First, I bought a fretless bass a few weeks ago and I have been practicing with it a lot. I used to fear fretless basses. I worked that I would instantly go from competent bass player to incompetent bass player and this would be so discouraging for me that I'd never pick one up again. But I took the plunge and in an effort to avoid embarrassment I have been practicing a lot.
The second factor is that we're using a new wireless in-ear monitoring system. Old guys like me don't hear so well anymore, so it's nice to have things right in your ear. Very hard to get lost that way.
My personal observations. First, the fretless ESP Ltd B205 isn't a lightweight at 9.5 pounds, but it is comfortable. It's thirsty for mids. I could run that knob dimed full time. For some unexpected reason, it's hotter than my Ibanez EHB with Nordstrands. It hits my compressor differently that's for sure. I'm thinking about using my SA programmable EQ to switch between basses with a volume adjustment dialed in.
Also, I think I've always had it in my head that slapping a fretless bass was a bad idea. Turns out, it isn't. It also takes overdrive pretty well.
