The Combo Club

[iagtrplyr]

The original Conniff sound was big band and chorus. Males doubled the lower pitch saxes and trombones; females the upper saxes and trumpets.. My dad, who played in a coupla local Miami big bands, loved them.

GP, that is really cool you knew what I remember hearing as a kid. The world is a little bit smaller right now. I know we had a Christmas album for sure because I can vaguely remember the cover of it. I mean, we’re talking a half century ago. Dang, I’m old...

 

[GonePlaid]

GP, that is really cool you knew what I remember hearing as a kid. The world is a little bit smaller right now. I know we had a Christmas album for sure because I can vaguely remember the cover of it. I mean, we’re talking a half century ago. Dang, I’m old...

There are a boatload of 33's in the hall closet. Probably a few Conniffs in there. Can't really see them at the moment(crappy lighting/tired eyes).

 

[GwenOnBass]

What I like most about LPs and vintage stereos — besides the warm, full tone and glorious reproduction — is what a royal ain in the pass it is to own and maintain.

 

[iagtrplyr]

What I like most about LPs and vintage stereos — besides the warm, full tone and glorious reproduction — is what a royal ain in the pass it is to own and maintain.

Good morning all. My entire record collection, of which was decent size, is in the ever-capable hands of my band mate-for-life buddy, The Reverend. He took them off my hands after I graduated from college in ‘87 and was heading to Texas minus a turntable. And he’s kept them since he still had the pre-CD stereo kit.

While I don’t miss the vinyl as much, I do miss the album covers, inside and out, including the booklets of pics and lyrics. That plus the $4.99 sale prices at Woolworth's was nice!

 

[GwenOnBass]

I recall a little comic that came with a Canned Heat album. Parents worry there was something wrong with me as I listen to The Heat. Bought a lot of albums because of what I heard on the Woodstock triple album. Woodstock expanded my range from Bobby Darrin to Jimi Hendrix.

Watching The Heat at Woodstock is as inspiring a performance as I'll ever witness. Larry "The Mole" Taylor only recently left us .... Larry Taylor - Wikipedia

 

[iagtrplyr]

I recall a little comic that came with a Canned Heat album. Parents worry there was something wrong with me as I listen to The Heat. Bought a lot of albums because of what I heard on the Woodstock triple album. Woodstock expanded my range from Bobby Darrin to Jimi Hendrix.

Watching The Heat at Woodstock is as inspiring a performance as I'll ever witness. Larry "The Mole" Taylor only recently left us .... Larry Taylor - Wikipedia

I lie ‘em when I’m in that bouncy blues mood. Speaking of bouncy, I have no idea how Larry Taylor played his P-bass while literally dancing with it during the songs. He had the groove, no doubt.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Happy Saturday to all, or what's left of it. Hopefully, you're staying virus and riot-free. Thought I'd drop by with a bit of a revelation from playing this afternoon. BTW, did anyone see the SpaceX launch? It was very cool to watch and a long time coming. Okay, onto my discovery...

I know I go back and forth on what sounds good on that particular day, and the fact I've been playing later in the evening and fighting sleepiness, I finally found a tone I'm perfectly happy with...for now. Even though I've got the Fender flats on the Jazz, it's still lacking something. The strings may need a little more seasoning 'cuz they're still kind of twangy, maybe that's it. It sounds great through the Ampeg, as mentioned a few days ago, but I'm just not feeling it for "Eye of the Tiger," which was my first thought as the duo to record it. Even with my compressor on, I'm not hearing the G and D strings when I make a little run at the end of a verse, and that is bothering me. I'm telling ya, I'm losing it with my Fender and I'm sad about it.

So even though my violin bass was delegated to the bedroom for major eye candy and minor use, I decided to give it a try in place of the jazz today. After a readjustment of the truss rod to compensate for the increase in humidity due to the seasonal change, she slid right into my rig and was near perfect. Smooth, deep tone, much faster on the fretboard for those little accents, and what seemed a hundred pounds less on the shoulder all resulted in the tone I'm going with for this song. That darned compressor, M, made all the difference as it slightly thickened up the tone without making it sound tubby (yes, that's a word listeners use to describe the sound). I'm getting so used to it now, filling out my tone without overdoing it. A little definitely goes a long way.

As evidence of this epiphany, my latest avatar is the rig of the day/week/month. "Goldeneye" is still ahead of "Let it Go" and I'm thinking something more orchestral and less rock-driven for that one, possibly the Rogue with the SuperBeetle. That's a good, woody combination.

Now I know someone may come along and write, "Yeah, we've heard this before. One day it's this bass and the next day it's this one." I must admit that is stingingly accurate, but if ya can't waffle from one musical instrument to another at a moment's notice, then why own more than one? I was actually doing just fine with the Rogue until I hit the Orange Terror Bass city limits a few weeks ago where the sign read, "meh." I ran like a little kid without experimenting at making the two better buddies. That's will be a future summer project.

Enough of my rambling, but I had fun today and was happy to work out a tone, really from both, I was pleased with. That, and I need to play more during the day and less late at night, or at least not make rash decisions at 1:00 AM. So Doc Intrepid, I'm back to loving that sweet, melodic, lightweight bass. Time off helped, I'm sure.

My best to all who plan on doing a little fun work themselves this weekend!

 

[RodRy]

Happy Saturday to all, or what's left of it. Hopefully, you're staying virus and riot-free. Thought I'd drop by with a bit of a revelation from playing this afternoon. BTW, did anyone see the SpaceX launch? It was very cool to watch and a long time coming. Okay, onto my discovery...

I know I go back and forth on what sounds good on that particular day, and the fact I've been playing later in the evening and fighting sleepiness, I finally found a tone I'm perfectly happy with...for now. Even though I've got the Fender flats on the Jazz, it's still lacking something. The strings may need a little more seasoning 'cuz they're still kind of twangy, maybe that's it. It sounds great through the Ampeg, as mentioned a few days ago, but I'm just not feeling it for "Eye of the Tiger," which was my first thought as the duo to record it. Even with my compressor on, I'm not hearing the G and D strings when I make a little run at the end of a verse, and that is bothering me. I'm telling ya, I'm losing it with my Fender and I'm sad about it.

So even though my violin bass was delegated to the bedroom for major eye candy and minor use, I decided to give it a try in place of the jazz today. After a readjustment of the truss rod to compensate for the increase in humidity due to the seasonal change, she slid right into my rig and was near perfect. Smooth, deep tone, much faster on the fretboard for those little accents, and what seemed a hundred pounds less on the shoulder all resulted in the tone I'm going with for this song. That darned compressor, M, made all the difference as it slightly thickened up the tone without making it sound tubby (yes, that's a word listeners use to describe the sound). I'm getting so used to it now, filling out my tone without overdoing it. A little definitely goes a long way.

As evidence of this epiphany, my latest avatar is the rig of the day/week/month. "Goldeneye" is still ahead of "Let it Go" and I'm thinking something more orchestral and less rock-driven for that one, possibly the Rogue with the SuperBeetle. That's a good, woody combination.

Now I know someone may come along and write, "Yeah, we've heard this before. One day it's this bass and the next day it's this one." I must admit that is stingingly accurate, but if ya can't waffle from one musical instrument to another at a moment's notice, then why own more than one? I was actually doing just fine with the Rogue until I hit the Orange Terror Bass city limits a few weeks ago where the sign read, "meh." I ran like a little kid without experimenting at making the two better buddies. That's will be a future summer project.

Enough of my rambling, but I had fun today and was happy to work out a tone, really from both, I was pleased with. That, and I need to play more during the day and less late at night, or at least not make rash decisions at 1:00 AM. So Doc Intrepid, I'm back to loving that sweet, melodic, lightweight bass. Time off helped, I'm sure.

My best to all who plan on doing a little fun work themselves this weekend!

Nice write-up! I spent yesterday with friends trying to be socially distant, but mostly failing. Still, we had a great time. And the SpaceX news was wonderful. I kept hoping that everything would go smooth, and am so glad that it's been proceeding well. Fingers crossed until the Dragon brings a crew safely back home.

I find that I'm often grabbing for one bass or the other. I used to swap them out about weekly, but lately it's been Mouse, Woody, and Red hanging out on the rack. I really like playing a piece, then swapping basses and playing the same thing again. I just love hearing the differences. If the sound is all in my fingers, then my fingers change with each bass.

I'll have to try adding some compression on my lil' GK and see what it does to the sound. Also need to go work some more on my Jade bass repair and get that beauty playing-ready. And there's car repair to be done today, and summer wheels to be washed and waxed before installing. Most likely the bass stuff will be this evening, if at all. Sigh.

 

[GonePlaid]

Happy Saturday to all, or what's left of it. Hopefully, you're staying virus and riot-free. Thought I'd drop by with a bit of a revelation from playing this afternoon. BTW, did anyone see the SpaceX launch? It was very cool to watch and a long time coming. Okay, onto my discovery...

I know I go back and forth on what sounds good on that particular day, and the fact I've been playing later in the evening and fighting sleepiness, I finally found a tone I'm perfectly happy with...for now. Even though I've got the Fender flats on the Jazz, it's still lacking something. The strings may need a little more seasoning 'cuz they're still kind of twangy, maybe that's it. It sounds great through the Ampeg, as mentioned a few days ago, but I'm just not feeling it for "Eye of the Tiger," which was my first thought as the duo to record it. Even with my compressor on, I'm not hearing the G and D strings when I make a little run at the end of a verse, and that is bothering me. I'm telling ya, I'm losing it with my Fender and I'm sad about it.

So even though my violin bass was delegated to the bedroom for major eye candy and minor use, I decided to give it a try in place of the jazz today. After a readjustment of the truss rod to compensate for the increase in humidity due to the seasonal change, she slid right into my rig and was near perfect. Smooth, deep tone, much faster on the fretboard for those little accents, and what seemed a hundred pounds less on the shoulder all resulted in the tone I'm going with for this song. That darned compressor, M, made all the difference as it slightly thickened up the tone without making it sound tubby (yes, that's a word listeners use to describe the sound). I'm getting so used to it now, filling out my tone without overdoing it. A little definitely goes a long way.

As evidence of this epiphany, my latest avatar is the rig of the day/week/month. "Goldeneye" is still ahead of "Let it Go" and I'm thinking something more orchestral and less rock-driven for that one, possibly the Rogue with the SuperBeetle. That's a good, woody combination.

Now I know someone may come along and write, "Yeah, we've heard this before. One day it's this bass and the next day it's this one." I must admit that is stingingly accurate, but if ya can't waffle from one musical instrument to another at a moment's notice, then why own more than one? I was actually doing just fine with the Rogue until I hit the Orange Terror Bass city limits a few weeks ago where the sign read, "meh." I ran like a little kid without experimenting at making the two better buddies. That's will be a future summer project.

Enough of my rambling, but I had fun today and was happy to work out a tone, really from both, I was pleased with. That, and I need to play more during the day and less late at night, or at least not make rash decisions at 1:00 AM. So Doc Intrepid, I'm back to loving that sweet, melodic, lightweight bass. Time off helped, I'm sure.

My best to all who plan on doing a little fun work themselves this weekend!

I have 4 basses: 67 THUNDERBIRD, the Les paul 5er, the Ibanez AGB200, and the Squire VM Jag SS. Each gets a little playing time here at Casa GP(since we're not gigging), but it's the THUNDERBIRD that I always go back to since, contrary to popular belief, it can do anything. Well, anything I can do.

 

[GwenOnBass]

I have 4 basses: 67 THUNDERBIRD, the Les paul 5er, the Ibanez AGB200, and the Squire VM Jag SS. Each gets a little playing time here at Casa GP(since we're not gigging), but it's the THUNDERBIRD that I always go back to since, contrary to popular belief, it can do anything. Well, anything I can do.
View attachment 3850331 View attachment 3850334 View attachment 3850338 View attachment 3850339

Your THUNDERBIRD may have 12 years on My Stingray and we'll not speculate further. What I can say is Saturday night plugged the Ray into the Phil Jones BG-400 combo (and C4), turned it up a little and things rattled.

It so happens the PJB has a compressor circuit. Far from any allegation of imagined authority on compressors, I know compression is good for varicose veins and such. Compression is built-in with the Elf's gain knob, so it's like a 200 watt Walgreen's foot care aisle.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

I'm a Hofner guy all the way, and last night 3 of 5 were played: my 68, my fretless and my HCT. Although they are all shaped the same I get various tones out of them. This is because the 68 is single coil and hollow body (only the neck pickup is working currently). The HCT has two mini-humbuckers and is a solid body. The fretless also has two mini-humbuckers, but is fretless, a hollow body and has a different placement for the pickups than the HCT. So I've got some variety even though it might not seem as such.

 

[GonePlaid]

I'm a Hofner guy all the way, and last night 3 of 5 were played: my 68, my fretless and my HCT. Although they are all shaped the same I get various tones out of them. This is because the 68 is single coil and hollow body (only the neck pickup is working currently). The HCT has two mini-humbuckers and is a solid body. The fretless also has two mini-humbuckers, but is fretless, a hollow body and has a different placement for the pickups than the HCT. So I've got some variety even though it might not seem as such. View attachment 3850544

I only take one into a gig-to play. The Squire goes along as a backup, just in case.

 

[RodRy]

Your THUNDERBIRD may have 12 years on My Stingray and we'll not speculate further. What I can say is Saturday night plugged the Ray into the Phil Jones BG-400 combo (and C4), turned it up a little and things rattled.

It so happens the PJB has a compressor circuit. Far from any allegation of imagined authority on compressors, I know compression is good for varicose veins and such. Compression is built-in with the Elf's gain knob, so it's like a 200 watt Walgreen's aisle.

Warms my heart to hear that your marvelous Ray got some plugged-in time. I love that bass from afar.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

I only take one into a gig-to play. The Squire goes along as a backup, just in case.

If I was gigging I'd love to take three on a regular basis. The fretless and the HCT pictured and a greenburst Hofner I have with flats. in my mind it would be cool to rely on all three to get more specific tones and just have them up on stage. Make me feel like a real rockstar (or something). In reality, it would be a lot to load in and out and I really only play open mics currently.

On a related note, last weekend I watched the live concert of Pink Floyd from Venice. Guy Pratt was playing bass, and he used a wide variety of basses. That seems unusual to me, as I don't know of many bass players that do that.

 

[GonePlaid]

If I was gigging I'd love to take three on a regular basis. The fretless and the HCT pictured and a greenburst Hofner I have with flats. in my mind it would be cool to rely on all three to get more specific tones and just have them up on stage. Make me feel like a real rockstar (or something). In reality, it would be a lot to load in and out and I really only play open mics currently.

On a related note, last weekend I watched the live concert of Pink Floyd from Venice. Guy Pratt was playing bass, and he used a wide variety of basses. That seems unusual to me, as I don't know of many bass players that do that.

There's only one of our gigs(OK, ex gigs)that I have enuff room to take multiple instruments. And not enuff time between numbers to change basses. Plus that venue is the lowest paying. Minimal equipment. Bass, R100, mic stand, duffel[cables, guitar stand, mics, lyrics book(CRS)], and stool.

 

[GwenOnBass]

If I was gigging I'd love to take three on a regular basis. The fretless and the HCT pictured and a greenburst Hofner I have with flats. in my mind it would be cool to rely on all three to get more specific tones and just have them up on stage. Make me feel like a real rockstar (or something). In reality, it would be a lot to load in and out and I really only play open mics currently.

On a related note, last weekend I watched the live concert of Pink Floyd from Venice. Guy Pratt was playing bass, and he used a wide variety of basses. That seems unusual to me, as I don't know of many bass players that do that.

Was that Guy Pratt I watched play a Ric for One of These Days ?

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

Was that Guy Pratt I watched play a Ric for One of These Days ?

Could be. I heard that Waters did use a Ric at one point, and he may have wanted to emulate that tone.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

There's only one of our gigs(OK, ex gigs)that I have enuff room to take multiple instruments. And not enuff time between numbers to change basses. Plus that venue is the lowest paying. Minimal equipment. Bass, R100, mic stand, duffel[cables, guitar stand, mics, lyrics book(CRS)], and stool.

I figured my fantasy would be smashed by reality.

 

[Recon1342]

Happy Saturday to all, or what's left of it. Hopefully, you're staying virus and riot-free. Thought I'd drop by with a bit of a revelation from playing this afternoon. BTW, did anyone see the SpaceX launch? It was very cool to watch and a long time coming. Okay, onto my discovery...

I know I go back and forth on what sounds good on that particular day, and the fact I've been playing later in the evening and fighting sleepiness, I finally found a tone I'm perfectly happy with...for now. Even though I've got the Fender flats on the Jazz, it's still lacking something. The strings may need a little more seasoning 'cuz they're still kind of twangy, maybe that's it. It sounds great through the Ampeg, as mentioned a few days ago, but I'm just not feeling it for "Eye of the Tiger," which was my first thought as the duo to record it. Even with my compressor on, I'm not hearing the G and D strings when I make a little run at the end of a verse, and that is bothering me. I'm telling ya, I'm losing it with my Fender and I'm sad about it.

So even though my violin bass was delegated to the bedroom for major eye candy and minor use, I decided to give it a try in place of the jazz today. After a readjustment of the truss rod to compensate for the increase in humidity due to the seasonal change, she slid right into my rig and was near perfect. Smooth, deep tone, much faster on the fretboard for those little accents, and what seemed a hundred pounds less on the shoulder all resulted in the tone I'm going with for this song. That darned compressor, M, made all the difference as it slightly thickened up the tone without making it sound tubby (yes, that's a word listeners use to describe the sound). I'm getting so used to it now, filling out my tone without overdoing it. A little definitely goes a long way.

As evidence of this epiphany, my latest avatar is the rig of the day/week/month. "Goldeneye" is still ahead of "Let it Go" and I'm thinking something more orchestral and less rock-driven for that one, possibly the Rogue with the SuperBeetle. That's a good, woody combination.

Now I know someone may come along and write, "Yeah, we've heard this before. One day it's this bass and the next day it's this one." I must admit that is stingingly accurate, but if ya can't waffle from one musical instrument to another at a moment's notice, then why own more than one? I was actually doing just fine with the Rogue until I hit the Orange Terror Bass city limits a few weeks ago where the sign read, "meh." I ran like a little kid without experimenting at making the two better buddies. That's will be a future summer project.

Enough of my rambling, but I had fun today and was happy to work out a tone, really from both, I was pleased with. That, and I need to play more during the day and less late at night, or at least not make rash decisions at 1:00 AM. So Doc Intrepid, I'm back to loving that sweet, melodic, lightweight bass. Time off helped, I'm sure.

My best to all who plan on doing a little fun work themselves this weekend!

Being picky about basses is a luxury I do not have... I’ve got the Yamaha 5er, and whatever tone I can tweak out of a 100w amp and the active preamp in the bass. That being said, I was noodling around today and figured out the melody for “Simple Gifts” à la Bass guitar.

In case you are wondering, it sounds really cool.

Otherwise, I’m just trying to learn the fretboard and dusting the rust off of my musical knowledge...

 

[iagtrplyr]

Nice write-up! I spent yesterday with friends trying to be socially distant, but mostly failing. Still, we had a great time. And the SpaceX news was wonderful. I kept hoping that everything would go smooth, and am so glad that it's been proceeding well. Fingers crossed until the Dragon brings a crew safely back home.

I find that I'm often grabbing for one bass or the other. I used to swap them out about weekly, but lately it's been Mouse, Woody, and Red hanging out on the rack. I really like playing a piece, then swapping basses and playing the same thing again. I just love hearing the differences. If the sound is all in my fingers, then my fingers change with each bass.

I'll have to try adding some compression on my lil' GK and see what it does to the sound. Also need to go work some more on my Jade bass repair and get that beauty playing-ready. And there's car repair to be done today, and summer wheels to be washed and waxed before installing. Most likely the bass stuff will be this evening, if at all. Sigh.

Great post, Rod. It looks as if we're starting a subcommittee called, Just Playing Bass Appreciation Group! It's nothing more than a musician's admission that it's fun making music with your gear and finding new ways to improve your sound. I'm glad to know, RR, that you're having fun like the rest of us are.

I'd like to read your thoughts on using compression. Take it from me, start with a little, and then experiment to where you can hear what it does to your tone. Pick the sweet spot and you're good to go. Now you may find it still sounds better without, and that's cool too. I hear it evening my sound out and giving me more sustain.