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Topics - gearHed289

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1
Gibson Basses / Incoming Vintage Pro Epi 'bird
« on: March 26, 2024, 08:18:08 AM »
Well I finally cracked. I'm not even a huge fan of playing Thunderbirds, but here we are.  ;D I bought a used Vintage Pro in white with an Epi case. With tax and shipping, it was less than the new 64 version. I'm supposed to be downsizing, and not buying anymore basses just because they're "cool", but you know how that goes... 4 more years and I'm going to be selling off a lot of stuff. That's the plan anyway.


2
Other Bass Brands / the Alembic live
« on: March 16, 2024, 02:33:03 PM »
My '83 Distillate Exploiter and I doing the Real Me last Saturday. Pretty good capture. Singer is blown out. (so was I vocally). 2 hour Who set starting at 10PM with a 6PM load-in.  :o :-X

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBKEKfG1cP0

3
Other Bass Brands / Old Hagstrom bass rescue
« on: June 14, 2023, 03:46:17 PM »
A buddy of mine has been telling me about this old bass he has that he wants me to take possession of and get it back into playing condition. I don't know the model number or when it was made. Looking at stuff on Reverb, seems it could be a Futurama, an F-400, or a Hagtrom I. Or not... Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing around with this thing when time permits. He said he thinks he knows where the bridge plate is, so that would be good. There was just a single, wood saddle on these. If anyone knows anything about these, please chime in! The neck is actually nice and thin.


4
Gibson Basses / Epi bolt-on 'bird
« on: April 14, 2023, 07:11:25 AM »
A co-worker recently acquired an Epiphone Thunderbird from a guy he jams with. Typical Epi bolt-on with tobacco sunburst finish. He gave it to me to do a little setup work yesterday. I was really surprised by how nice this bass feels. The neck is much slimmer than the ones I've picked up in the past. I've played a Goth and a regular white one, and they both had fairly chunky necks. It's also very light weight. And to top it off, it actually SOUNDS like a Thunderbird. It has personality. I briefly had an Epi Explorer with those same (physically at least?) pickups, and the sound was dullsville. Very nice gloss finish too. I have no intention of ever buying one, but I wanted to give a big thumbs up to this bass.  :thumbsup:

5
Bass Amps & Effects / The current arsenal
« on: March 02, 2023, 08:14:07 AM »
I got rid of a few things this past year, including my 1978 SVT 810 cab. This is my current "modular" rig. Can be used in a variety of configurations, which is proving to be handy.

From left to right we have:
Heslin built 1x15 combo with JBL K140, Ampeg PF-500, 1971 Ampeg BT-140 2x15 with original JBL D140s, 1996 Ampeg SVT III Pro, 1974 Ampeg SVT, Heslin built 2x10/1x15 with Eminence speakers (cast frame 10s, neo 15), and a TL606 with EVM15L.

An example of the handiness happened Friday night when Who's Who played the Hobart Art Theater in Indiana. I was told by friends who have played there that the stairs going up to the stage are a little narrow and awkward. I normally use my 2x15 with those guys, but for this show, I used the SVT III, TL606, and the combo with PF-500 as a backup. Nice and easy!


6
The Outpost Cafe / New song from our old friend Pekka
« on: January 14, 2023, 10:52:54 AM »
He doesn't seem to post here anymore, and he's off Facebook, but we've stayed in touch over the years through messenger and email. He recently asked me to do the vocals on a song of his, and it's just been released, along with some of his other new stuff. This is "the Moon Song".

https://youtu.be/tgKJJg5ZJ-o

7
Other Bass Brands / NBD - Alembic Distillate Exploiter
« on: December 16, 2022, 10:07:38 AM »
So, as I mentioned in my last NBD post, the 5 string Elan is out. And I managed to swing getting this amazing Distillate Exploiter (Distillate is the model, Exploiter is the Explorer body style). It's an '83 that was sent back to the factory around 2018 for a full re-finish, re-fret, and some other TLC. Then the guy mysteriously sold it. It went through a dealer or two and ended up with another member at the Alembic message board. Him and I worked out a deal, and I am super happy with the results. This thing is as amazing as it looks. It's "Entwistle '77" all day long!

32'' medium scale
5-piece maple/purpleheart neck
ebony fingerboard
mahogany body
flame koa top
vol/filter/pickup selector knobs
Q, bass cut/flat/boost, treble cut/flat/boost switches

Here's some pics from my first gig with a Who tribute band - Who's Who.


8
The Bass Zone / 25 basses (including 11 Alembics) stolen in Germany
« on: November 11, 2022, 08:08:03 AM »
I saw this last week at the Alembic Club. Now Station Music has this posted on Reverb. I don't know what one does with all those exotic stolen instruments. But, thieves aren't known for being smart.

https://reverb.com/item/63072070-25-basses-including-11-alembic-basses-were-stolen-a-few-days-ago-from-station-music-germany?utm_content=feed_listings&utm_source=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Feed-Email&utm_term=Feed%20Email

9
Other Bass Brands / NBD - Alembic Elan 5
« on: August 17, 2022, 09:04:20 AM »
I usually save the Alembic talk for other places. This post is mostly to try out Amazon Photos as a hosting service.

As far as the bass - I recently sold my '86 Alembic Distillate. I then bought the blue Epi, and this '91 Elan 5. I've been enjoying EADGC tuning, and Alembic is the right bass for this. There are so many little details that I like about this thing. The chrome tuners, flame maple, purpleheart laminates, oval fingerboard inlays, "big" pickups (AXY as opposed to MXY), the old "hat" knobs, and the bird tailpiece keep the Alembic vibe fully intact, even with the somewhat atypical finish. Honestly, it is striking to look at in person. I hate to say it, but my FireGlo Ric kind of pales in comparison (though I think they'll look great together once I swap out the white pickguard and TRC for black on the Ric). Hopefully there's a pic visible to all here...



10
Gibson Basses / Impulse purchase - Epi Rumblekat
« on: July 21, 2022, 07:22:20 AM »
I had a little gear money burning a hole in my pocket when I saw this pretty blue Epiphone on eBay. Between the color, and the fact that it had a nice case, I couldn't resist. $450 delivered to my office. Winning bid was $305, but shipping has gotten pricey! $120 plus $25 tax. Anyway, it's a cool little short scale bass. Smaller than the body shape might suggest. According to Epi, it's a chambered mahogany body with "laminated maple" top, maho neck and rosewood board. It's obviously Hofner-inspired. Kind of like a Club bass with Cavern pickup positioning. They actually do sound noticeably different from each other, even that close together. So far, both pickups on full is best, but I've barely played it. The previous owner saved me the trouble of putting flats on it.




12
The Outpost Cafe / Car sex STD and Geico
« on: June 15, 2022, 01:45:32 PM »
Is it weird that I thought of the Outpost when I read this?  ;D

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/10/1104134521/geico-lawsuit-std-hpv-insurance-car

13
Fender Basses / NBD - Player series P Bass
« on: June 10, 2022, 08:50:54 AM »
About three years ago, I dropped my kid and their friend off at a concert at Metro and had some time to kill. After tacos and a Pepsi at a place called Big Star, I headed to the GC on Halsted. Walked into the bass room, and there were several new Fenders hanging around. What caught my eye was a beautiful Player series (MIM) Polar white P. They had a newer version Ampeg V-4B in the room, so I plugged in and ripped into some 70s Crimson. It really sounded great, with a pretty inviting neck for a P. I played several others, including a PJ Mustang and probably another P and a J or two, including the Vintera line. The white Player was easily my favorite. Funny, my whole life I've preferred J over P basses, but this was something special. I didn't buy anything that night, but it stayed on my mind. Since I'm pretty much in "sell one to buy one" mode these days, I wasn't sure what to do. Thought about selling my Geddy Jazz, but eventually, I decided it was my '84 Hamer Blitz (Explorer) that had to go. Pulled the trigger in January and bought a 2021 Player P on Reverb.

So, being the John Wetton fan that I am, I wanted to get close to the look of his '60 P after the white refinish. Since Fender now routes a huge channel from the pick to the control cavity, I couldn't just eliminate the pickgaurd, so I had a solid white one made with no screw holes and applied it with 2-sided tape (thanks to Carlo for the idea). I also had a black control plate made and added a tug bar. Turned out nice I think. And it plays and sounds every bit as good as the one I played at GC. So yeah, I currently own TWO Fenders! ;D  I'll take a few more pics over the weekend.




14
Gibson Basses / Have we talked about Pawn Stars?
« on: November 05, 2021, 09:27:06 AM »
I recently saw an episode where a guy brought in a '79 Bicentennial T-bird, natural finish. It was all there and original looking. Finish was pretty bad. Guy wanted 7 grand for it. They call in their "expert", and he calls it a $9000 bass. Really? Ridiculous. Even if there were only 6 made in that finish, that year.

15
Bass Amps & Effects / I built myself a combo
« on: October 26, 2021, 09:47:18 AM »
About 10 years ago I went combo shopping in an effort to downsize for an upcoming out of state gig and beyond. After trying a few at GC and not loving any of them, the sales guy, my age or older, talked me into trying an Acoustic B200. And that was "the one" and also the cheapest. It could really take a beating, and I even used it as a keyboard amp, pumping massive Taurus and Oberheim sounds (real ones!)  through it. It had two minor breakdowns, but the third time, it went up in a magical cloud of smoke. At sound check. On an island... Anyway... Pulled the chassis out, glued pieces of 1/2'' foam to the top and bottom of the amp area, and slid a Genz Benz Streamliner 900 in there. (I know I've told this story before. I'm getting to the point...). The amp is pretty dark sounding, so I put my old EVM-15L in there for the extended high end. I'm now leaving the tone controls mostly flat and using my VT Bass DI to shape the tone.

This rig has served me well and tends to pack nicely with whatever other gear I'm carrying in whatever vehicle. It has started looking pretty sad though, and I'm kind of embarrassed to wheel it in to some places, so I started thinking about doing something about it. I felt that the best approach was to just build something from scratch based on the same design as the Acoustic. I used 15mm Baltic birch throughout. I re-designed the interior of the speaker area using some TL-606 specs. Not sure how much of a difference that makes, but it was fun. I use CAD every day at work, and we have a CNC router, so it was pretty easy to get what I was after. I had always seen silver Tolex on the Antique Electronics website and thought it would be cool to use on something some day. So I decided on that with black hardware and grill for a Marshall Silver Jubilee look. It did not even occur to me until I brought it home that it's a perfect match to my two vintage reissue Rickenbacker cases. Bonus!  ;D I swapped the EV for an Eminence Neo 15, and the whole thing is now 14 pounds lighter at 52 pounds total. Turned out so nice I had a cover made.

I have named it the THC515 - Tom Heslin Combo, 500 watts into a 15 (900 with extension cab). Here's pics.









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