The Combo Club

[GwenOnBass]

Vile is exactly the word.

The pending semi-finals entail a two day fast instead of the one day fast that was nearly enough. [MaxwellSmart] Missed by that || much [/MaxwellSmart]

 

[Giffro]

Vile is exactly the word.

The pending semi-finals entail a two day fast instead of the one day fast that was nearly enough. [MaxwellSmart] Missed by that || much [/MaxwellSmart]

 

[GwenOnBass]

I was shocked, shocked, I say, to learn Barbara Feldon wore a fall for her role as Agent 99.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Oh, yeah, the prep day, especially the night, is definitely the worst part of a colonoscopy. At my age I've had a few and every time they tell me, "this new solution is much easier on the system", and yet, it's not!

But, ever since PSA tests caught my prostate cancer at the ripe old age of 42, I am totally in favor of any and all preventative testing! Thank God that was the only one I ever had a major result on. Everything else has been only good news, so far.

Colonoscopy: Yeah, major PITA! But, worth it to head off worse!
PSA tests: Digital: Uncomfortable, but worth it. Blood: .No-brainer, do it!

Good luck! I had both a gastroscopy and colonoscopy four years ago, and while the procedure wasn’t all that pleasant, the prep day was worse. But as long as you get a good result, it’s a win.

Oh, well. Time to become horizontal and cease functioning. Thursday is prep day for Friday's colonoscopy. I'm looking forward to that with bait on my breath(something like that)

On behalf of all here at the club, GP, we wish you safe travels to and from, and negative results! You've got too much playing still to do...

 

[iagtrplyr]

Yes, but right now I have the Italian condition: muhfunzalow.

Don't we all? It just forces me to be more creative!

 

[GonePlaid]

On behalf of all here at the club, GP, we wish you safe travels to and from, and negative results! You've got too much playing still to do...

Many thanks to all.

 

[GonePlaid]

Vile is exactly the word.

The pending semi-finals entail a two day fast instead of the one day fast that was nearly enough. [MaxwellSmart] Missed by that || much [/MaxwellSmart]

Yikes!

 

[iagtrplyr]

'Evening folks! Just checking on the club to see if there's enough beverages and snacks in the place to get us through the weekend. Should be good, unless G-Dog has Saturday night hosting. For some reason we always seem to run a little low when he's on watch. Maybe he's jamming with buddies and they're thirsty!

So now that we've completed the gastrointestinal tour with GP, what's going on this weekend with any of you? Gigs, jams, noodling? I'm still writing curriculum, but plan to sneak away from time to time to do a little playing. The 'Peg separates are getting some R & R and the Rumble will taking center stage. I'm already looking forward to it.

So I take it no one is interested in assisting me with my Acoustic tilt-back combo dilemma? I'm placing the GC site below which includes a video of the 50-watter. If you're either bored to tears or curious, click on it and give me a thought or two. If no one responds, I'll not bring it up again. Then you can all read about my goiter flaring up again...

Oh yeah, the Fender Studio 40 is back on the shortlist because of the ease-of-recording aspect. I'm looking to get serious about recording the bass this winter and thought it might be a fun way to begin the journey while still having something to jam with.The Stage 800 would kind of be overkill for that function, don't ya think? Could make it my Christmas gift. The voices in my head are all yelling at once...help!

 

[GonePlaid]

'Evening folks! Just checking on the club to see if there's enough beverages and snacks in the place to get us through the weekend. Should be good, unless G-Dog has Saturday night hosting. For some reason we always seem to run a little low when he's on watch. Maybe he's jamming with buddies and they're thirsty!

So now that we've completed the gastrointestinal tour with GP, what's going on this weekend with any of you? Gigs, jams, noodling? I'm still writing curriculum, but plan to sneak away from time to time to do a little playing. The 'Peg separates are getting some R & R and the Rumble will taking center stage. I'm already looking forward to it.

So I take it no one is interested in assisting me with my Acoustic tilt-back combo dilemma? I'm placing the GC site below which includes a video of the 50-watter. If you're either bored to tears or curious, click on it and give me a thought or two. If no one responds, I'll not bring it up again. Then you can all read about my goiter flaring up again...

Oh yeah, the Fender Studio 40 is back on the shortlist because of the ease-of-recording aspect. I'm looking to get serious about recording the bass this winter and thought it might be a fun way to begin the journey while still having something to jam with.The Stage 800 would kind of be overkill for that function, don't ya think? Could make it my Christmas gift. The voices in my head are all yelling at once...help!

No gigs for me this weekend. (off season in FL)Partly why I scheduled the "probing" for now. In fact, the band is currently off 'til 9/21. I have a concert band gig 8/28 where I'll be using my R40 and Les Paul 5 string. I play the string bass parts or sometimes double the tuba part(which is written an octave down). As a converted saxophonist, I never played upright bass and I'm not starting now. My early stage arthritis eliminates that idea.

 

[iagtrplyr]

No gigs for me this weekend. (off season in FL)Partly why I scheduled the "probing" for now. In fact, the band is currently off 'til 9/21. I have a concert band gig 8/28 where I'll be using my R40 and Les Paul 5 string. I play the string bass parts or sometimes double the tuba part(which is written an octave down). As a converted saxophonist, I never played upright bass and I'm not starting now. My early stage arthritis eliminates that idea.

GP, that sounds great! I was a concert bass player doubling mostly tuba or trombone parts for five years in our local band. It was great fun until it became a political nightmare and then I needed a break. We played, like I'm sure you do, some excellent music of all types. I truly learned to respect genres I used to ignore, and that made me a more rounded player. I recommend it to anyone interested in participating, especially if you're older. I'll bet that rig will slay too.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

I'm taking it easy myself and hanging with the family. The little quartet I'm playing is off for a week cause the guitarists are busy. The drummer and I have found a singer and song writer, with two CDs, to jam with, but that hasn't materialized.

I'm enjoying my last week of vacation before school starts for me on the 27th August (classes a week after that). I've got some course preparation done this summer, and some jamming (not enough), but the publication I'm working on is behind schedule. My confidence is struggling!

All in all, though, feeling good. Got to spend the day with my two year old, which is a bit stressful while also spectacular. Life is good!

 

[GwenOnBass]

On my way to the weekly grower's market this early Saturday morning.

The local music scene here on the Isle of Everywhere is lively. My stated goal here was to begin playing out again in July. So I'm a month out of my own estimate. Recovery continues.

From what I see, a very small and very light combo amp like the Phil Jones Bass Cub has a place here for these restaurant gigs I appear to be headed for. Use my VT Bass Deluxe as my DI and use the micro-combo as my personal monitor.

Oh and it was NGBD a few days back when the new gig bag arrived. It's a Gator brand and is the only off-the-rack gig bag that fits my semi-hollow body bass. Gave it a maiden voyage Tuesday. Doesn't feel as comfortable as my RB Continental Voyager, but it's an entirely different class of bag.

As a city girl, I was quick to glom on to the idea of gig bags. That first gig bag of mine, circa 1981, was a very simple affair of vinyl, a single shoulder strap, and some padding. And for what it is, and what I did with it, it was fine! The Reunion Blues is a whole different class ...

The new Gator is somewhere in between. Loads of pockets. It's gonna see some use.

Right, then, we're off ciao ciao

 

[JakobT]

Oh and it was NGBD a few days back when the new gig bag arrived. It's a Gator brand and is the only off-the-rack gig bag that fits my semi-hollow body bass. Gave it a maiden voyage Tuesday. Doesn't feel as comfortable as my RB Continental Voyager, but it's an entirely different class of bag.

As a city girl, I was quick to glom on to the idea of gig bags. That first gig bag of mine, circa 1981, was a very simple affair of vinyl, a single shoulder strap, and some padding. And for what it is, and what I did with it, it was fine! The Reunion Blues is a whole different class ...

The new Gator is somewhere in between. Loads of pockets. It's gonna see some use.

Right, then, we're off ciao ciao

I’m also a great fan of gig bags, but there are huge differences both in quality and design, and even some of the good ones have flaws. Most protect the bass well enough, but some have not been designed with practicality in mind, the lack of intelligent storage being one of the things that’s most overlooked.

Speaking of which - how about gig bags for our beloved combos? I’ve hardly ever seen such a beast. It looks like the most portable type of amp is never meant to leave the living room, as the best most manufacturers seem capable of is a flimsy slip cover. Sure, padded covers are available from third-party manufacturers, but a gig bag would be even better, don’t you think? You can get them for PA systems, so why not bass combo amps?

 

[GonePlaid]

GP, that sounds great! I was a concert bass player doubling mostly tuba or trombone parts for five years in our local band. It was great fun until it became a political nightmare and then I needed a break. We played, like I'm sure you do, some excellent music of all types. I truly learned to respect genres I used to ignore, and that made me a more rounded player. I recommend it to anyone interested in participating, especially if you're older. I'll bet that rig will slay too.

Normally I use my Ibanez AGB200, semi-hollow bass, which has a UB-y tone, but a few of the pieces this concert benefit from me having low D and Eb.

 

[GonePlaid]

I'm taking it easy myself and hanging with the family. The little quartet I'm playing is off for a week cause the guitarists are busy. The drummer and I have found a singer and song writer, with two CDs, to jam with, but that hasn't materialized.

I'm enjoying my last week of vacation before school starts for me on the 27th August (classes a week after that). I've got some course preparation done this summer, and some jamming (not enough), but the publication I'm working on is behind schedule. My confidence is struggling!

All in all, though, feeling good. Got to spend the day with my two year old, which is a bit stressful while also spectacular. Life is good!

Isn't it astounding how fast those little legs can move?

 

[GwenOnBass]

... the PJB Bass Cub comes with a gig bag ...

That first gig bag, the vinyl one, was from Music Man and sported the dopey Music Man logo on the outer pocket. The gig bag didn't hold much but all I carry in this time period is an instrument cable, tuner and Real Book.

It is this gig bag I sling over my left shoulder every day, and when I have to see to that part of life that isn't music, I use that shoulder to sling my attache. By about 1990 that's a laptop in my attache .... all of which begins to add up.

This is what I recall when alerted to a diagnosis of arthritis in my left shoulder. "I carried my weight on that shoulder all my life," I say to my physical therapist Thursday. "Literally and figuratively," she replies, and agrees the habits of one shoulder carries are logarithmically cumulative. The ultrasound wand she guides feels good.

All of which makes me alert to shoulder straps that are just kind of thrown on a gig bag. The backpack world gets it ....

Given my left shoulder is really ouchy right now I'm not one to say the shoulder straps on the Gator are subpar. What I found is they're good enough to get me a few blocks. Pretty certain I hold no wish for "just a few blocks" of carry for years ....

The pockets, though, are pretty well thought out.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

Isn't it astounding how fast those little legs can move?

No doubt. Unfortunately today he has a fever. Bah! Light duties today I guess.

 

[G-Dog]

'Evening folks! Just checking on the club to see if there's enough beverages and snacks in the place to get us through the weekend. Should be good, unless G-Dog has Saturday night hosting. For some reason we always seem to run a little low when he's on watch. Maybe he's jamming with buddies and they're thirsty!

Hey! I told you only one of those times was kinda my fault. One of those times GonePlaid had all his rowdy friends at the clubhouse and I just dropped in as they were breaking up! But since I was the last one there I got tagged as the culprit!! The next time I wasn't even there, but everybody remembered me from the previous time!!! The other time, well, yeah, me and @Linnin got to talking and jamming and, well, time (and food & drink) just flew by. But I replaced those supplies the next week! Geez, that's how a guy gets an undeserved reputation.

. . . . plan to sneak away from time to time to do a little playing. The 'Peg separates are getting some R & R and the Rumble will be taking center stage. I'm already looking forward to it.

That sounds like a good plan.

So I take it no one is interested in assisting me with my Acoustic tilt-back combo dilemma? . . . .

Maybe, like me, no one else knows anything about those new things.

Oh yeah, the Fender Studio 40 is back on the shortlist because of the ease-of-recording aspect. I'm looking to get serious about recording the bass this winter and thought it might be a fun way to begin the journey while still having something to jam with.The Stage 800 would kind of be overkill for that function, don't ya think? Could make it my Christmas gift. The voices in my head are all yelling at once...help!

The more I think about it, the more the Rumble Studio is on my shortlist, too. Yeah, I keep drooling over the Rumble Stage, as well, but my Rumble 500c and Bassman 500 w/115 neo don't leave any room for it. But I'm sure I could squeeze the Studio into my music room. Especially now that Mrs. Dog is taking over the big back den for her sewing room by moving sewing stuff from every other room in the house!

 

[GonePlaid]

'Evening folks! Just checking on the club to see if there's enough beverages and snacks in the place to get us through the weekend. Should be good, unless G-Dog has Saturday night hosting. For some reason we always seem to run a little low when he's on watch. Maybe he's jamming with buddies and they're thirsty!

So now that we've completed the gastrointestinal tour with GP, what's going on this weekend with any of you? Gigs, jams, noodling? I'm still writing curriculum, but plan to sneak away from time to time to do a little playing. The 'Peg separates are getting some R & R and the Rumble will taking center stage. I'm already looking forward to it.

So I take it no one is interested in assisting me with my Acoustic tilt-back combo dilemma? I'm placing the GC site below which includes a video of the 50-watter. If you're either bored to tears or curious, click on it and give me a thought or two. If no one responds, I'll not bring it up again. Then you can all read about my goiter flaring up again...

Oh yeah, the Fender Studio 40 is back on the shortlist because of the ease-of-recording aspect. I'm looking to get serious about recording the bass this winter and thought it might be a fun way to begin the journey while still having something to jam with.The Stage 800 would kind of be overkill for that function, don't ya think? Could make it my Christmas gift. The voices in my head are all yelling at once...help!

I musta missed sumpin' somewhere. What is this Acoustic tilt-back dilemna of which you speak?

 

[GwenOnBass]

The upside is most timelines don't include you at all: linky

And it's with no mean irony that even in retirement, I find myself on conference calls. Will be on one in two hours, and Saturday on a two hour conference call followed by a two hour video conference.

Elsewhere here on the Isle of Everywhere the new bass sees a lot of play because that's what else there is to do as I'm on the mend.

Here in this town I'm in the city in the country and pretty unknown to the local musicians. Now that I can actually play standing up again — gotta love that — pretty eager to make myself known here. This is how I came to investigate the open mike.

And foreknowledge of How Things Work, there is the Gator gig bag for my semi-hollow because public transit is the easist way for me to get there and back. And in a related note that has nothing to do with the tale as it opens, the pockets and handles on the Gator are really well thought out, and it comes with its own rain cover. Cute.

Arrive at said open mike. The host and I know each other slightly for we take coffee at the same watering hole. He's a luthier with a shop four doors down from the coffee oasis, and worked on my Ray some years ago before that excursion that lead me to a seaside town where after repeated appearances at the open mike The Guy says:

"You want to play bass for my new blues band?"

and I'm like Yeah, and next thing you know I'm here and quick to see this open mike is the luthier's showpiece as he backs others with his guitar. Good PA going in a hipster restaurant with expensive craft beers and all. No drums, no bass amp, this is a different deal. Didn't expect to play, and I don't, cause there's no bass amp.

We agree I can bring my VT Bass Deluxe and go right into the PA and use the wedge to hear myyself. Which brings me to the exciting topic of

COMBO AMPS

Because what it seems to me I need here is something small and light enough for public transport to use as a stage monitor. My little Ampeg BA108v2 might fit the bill with its tiltback construction but doesn't fit the bill for weight. And my BG400 is a lot of weight to haul for maybe 15 minutes of absolute fame playing for the snake people eating their gourmet pizza with forks and knives.

A Fender Rumble of some description might fit the bill. My (alleged) tone is my fingers on these tapes on the semi-hollow Ampeg-y thunk courtesy of the VT Bass Deluxe. The Rumble 100 has an effects loop so I can dial in some real nastiness.

The PJB Bass Cub is lighter and smaller than the Rumble, and is twice the cost of a Rumble. Prolly not even as loud. But with the luthier's PA — and it's a good one! — I don't need my amp to fill the room.

Which brings me to that whole question of how many watts do you need? because the common TB wisdom is "as many as you can haul".

And thinking too the Bass Cub has two inputs so I can use it to teach. For being such a bass noob that I am, I can actually read music and knows my theory and play from a Real Book and stuff, cause I was brought up playing in the band in school. And for some reason actually learned stuff at BIT (MI) before I took my master's and went to work and stuff. Hey.

Of course I could get a micro head like an ELF and use it to push my Phil Jones C4 and that would rock too. But then I'm still carrying 30 pounds of cab.

Well shoot, lots of things going on here in Morrighanland and sometimes it sometimes feels like juggling priceless eggs in variable gravity but we haz coffee.