The Combo Club

[GonePlaid]

Just caught this authentic depiction of thug life in the '50s as I was browsing thru da toob ...


.​

Yeah, riiiight.
I've never understood why people lip synching hafta make exaggerated mouth movements. There isn't a "live" mic, just sing it like you would naturally.

 

[GonePlaid]

Lol... I bet that sounds great. A dude who was a regular player/scene maker in the 80s played one of those. I think it eventually went up in flames at a gig...

Dayum! That's out Who-ing the Who!

 

[G-Dog]

Yeah, riiiight.
I've never understood why people lip synching hafta make exaggerated mouth movements. There isn't a "live" mic, just sing it like you would naturally.

Yeah, what's up wit dat, eh? I mean it's not like any of their other movements are exagger ..., uh, . . . . wait, ... Well, just what gives? Huh?
.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Pachucos are only known to me on film and print. Excellent friend of mine says her grandfather was a participant in the Los Angeles zoot suit riots.

Pretty much, I imagine a 70s Latin bassist would use a Kustom tuck and roll.

 

[RodRy]

Very eclectic listening tastes, RR. You’re right, we have more in common than not. I’m an old fan of British blues and metal, but have been listening to a lot of Stone Temple Pilots on YT.

My moods change daily though and modern technology has been a godsend. Whatever tune pips in my head I’m usually listening to it within seconds, even the old stuff!

I’m really going to try to get something recorded this weekend. I’ll show you my setup, limited as it is. Fender Jazz straight through the PJB, no effects or tone controls involved. Should be fun!

I certainly have British blues and metal on my listening lists. And used to do some STP covers back in the day. My voice is closer to Weiland's baritone than most of the high-voiced singers in the 80's. That made STP easier to cover when the band went from a quintet to a trio and I had to start doing some singing.

Sounds like we are two of a kind; my listening moods also change quickly and I find myself going from Nellie McKay to William Elliot Whitmore. Or The Band. Or someone else...

Looking forward to what you put together! I'll be at the workshop today removing an old 8' fluorescent light and probably taking some steps to fix my newest bass.

 

[RodRy]

The Trace head is around 22" wide, and the variety of dimensions between the parts make for an awkward stack of "stuff".
In this photo the Trace SM7 head still needs a plywood sleeve...

View attachment 3690573

The vertical array seems to bear out. Also the Broughton hi-pass filter stompbox has become a fundamental part of amplification for me.
The 210 is loaded with a pair of Eminence BP-102s, built for low-end reproduction. The box they're in was an EAW one-off I found locally, it was too small to be a 410 for bass, so it got re-tuned for bass.
The signal is split at the pedalboard, after the hi-pass filter. One side to the pedals>GK, one side set for mostly lows straight to the Trace/210.
I should probably add a compressor for the lows side... the only compressor here is part of the SansAmp fly rig, and there's no leaving that chain without including everything else that might be working in that funky little box that goes to the GK. I want the lows to be uncolored. I'm not really worried, lows don't need to be loud really, and that little 210 has taken a beating and come back for more.
Those BP-102s are tough little boogers, I really like them even in a small standalone cab.

That photo really explains a lot. I would probably put the GK on it's side and the other stuff on top, but I see why you did it the way you have pictured. I also mistakenly assumed that your 210 was just a plain little rectangle box like most of them are. What you have there is a tower of power!

I should dig up the photos of my big stack. It's kind of fun to show the opposite end of combos.

 

[RodRy]

Lol... I bet that sounds great. A dude who was a regular player/scene maker in the 80s played one of those. I think it eventually went up in flames at a gig...

It's off-topic a bit, but a gig I played back in my very early days we had a monitor catch fire right next to our drummer. Our singer spotted it and tossed it into the middle of the dance floor. Probably the highest level of crowd interaction we ever had. Some time was spent after that trying to think of a way to start a speaker fire every night. Wisely decided against it.

 

[RodRy]

Yeah, what's up wit dat, eh? I mean it's not like any of their other movements are exagger ..., uh, . . . . wait, ... Well, just what gives? Huh?
.

They want to make sure you can FEEL what they're trying to convey. Acting and such...

 

[RodRy]

Pachucos are only known to me on film and print. Excellent friend of mine says her grandfather was a participant in the Los Angeles zoot suit riots.

Pretty much, I imagine a 70s Latin bassist would use a Kustom tuck and roll.

I only knew of pachucos from Tom Waits album Blue Valentine. He references them in the song Romeo is Bleeding. And I had no idea what they were or how to spell the name to be able to look it up.

Tuck and roll would indeed be ideal for a Latin bassist. Or any player of 70's era music.

 

[G-Dog]

They want to make sure you can FEEL what they're trying to convey. Acting and such...

Yeah, I reckon subtlety gets lost on them big ol' Broadway stages.
.

 

[RodRy]

Yeah, I reckon subtlety gets lost on them big ol' Broadway stages.
.

And little stages. As I recall from my high school days. Subtlety does not carry past the first row.

 

[GonePlaid]

Yeah, I reckon subtlety gets lost on them big ol' Broadway stages.
.

OK, I'll buy that. But on film?

 

[GwenOnBass]

Is this the place to leave a witty remark on the halftime show?

 

[G-Dog]

OK, I'll buy that. But on film?

Yeah, you'd think they coulda made it a little more realistic. But, then what to do with all the "thug dances"? Eh, consider the source.
.

 

[SoulReflection]

Is this the place to leave a witty remark on the halftime show?

I don't know if anything witty would make me smile. It was bad, a complete waste of time.

 

[StatesideRambler]

Amid the pomp, hyperbole, expense and excess I understand there was a pro football game played and, out of character for Super Bowl, it was a good contest.

 

[Polish Thunder]

I don't know if anything witty would make me smile. It was bad, a complete waste of time.

First let me say that J.Lo and Shakira's style of pop music is not my cup of tea. With that being said, the part of the halftime show that ruined it for me is that instead of a Live Performance, which I love seeing and hearing, it was an MTV video...complete with tons of dancers and J.Lo and Shakira lip syncing most of the songs. I do not recall any musicians on stage, except for the dancers pretending to be playing horns.

 

[GonePlaid]

First let me say that J.Lo and Shakira's style of pop music is not my cup of tea. With that being said, the part of the halftime show that ruined it for me is that instead of a Live Performance, which I love seeing and hearing, it was an MTV video...complete with tons of dancers and J.Lo and Shakira lip syncing most of the songs. I do not recall any musicians on stage, except for the dancers pretending to be playing horns.

Ever since a few f---* ups, everything in the halftime extravaganzas is pre-recorded. I've seen "live" band performances that had guitarists/bassists moving their fingers quite differently from what was being heard. And invisible horn sections.
*oul

 

[GonePlaid]

Yeah, you'd think they coulda made it a little more realistic. But, then what to do with all the "thug dances"? Eh, consider the source.
.

One of the many reasons I'm not a fan of "musicals".
One of my favorite 'bits' in Mel Brooks' "High Anxiety" is when they're riding in a limo and the driver says something ominous, followed by ominous music. At that moment they're passed by a bus marked for The Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra with the musicians playing. I 'bout peed myself.

 

[GwenOnBass]

While I'm willing to suspend belief enough to buy into the story in a a well-crafted space opera or horse opera, hit the wall when asked to imagine the vaguest thing real about people spontaneously singing and dancing to make a conversational point.