The Last Bass Outpost

Hello all,
Been a few years since I've posted anything, but I thought I'd share something pretty cool.

Next week, my youngest takes his band (Kaguu) to the UK on their first ever tour.  They're a Math-Rock/Progressive instrumental trio.
To think these guys physically met for the first time at our house in North Carolina (the guitarist and bassist are from Mexico) last June is astonishing.
They played for the first time ever on our deck for neighbors and friends - it was a blast.

They've put out a couple of EP's (recorded and mixed upstairs at the house), and they played two small festivals in Mexico this year - their first ever gigs.
From those shows, they were invited to play two festivals in the UK in August, as well as a 6-city-in-7-nights mini tour with 2 other bands between the festivals.

It's been a whirlwind, and we're awfully proud of these guys. They put together their 1st EP strictly by file sharing, and Nick did most of the mixing upstairs as we learned how to use the equipment we started to acquire. I've learned a ton about production and especially about mic'ing and recording drums just by helping out where I could.

Anyway, my wife and I are going over to see the first festival (Guildford) next week and the first three shows in Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester, and then we have to head back to the US.  We'll be lucky enough to rent a car and drive up to Scotland for a couple of days. 

Nick also turns 21 while he's on that mini tour, which is pretty cool.  As a surprise, we're sending his brother over there on his birthday to meet them in Brighton. He'll be their driver (to get them from Brighton to Bristol for the ArcTanGent festival).
Keeping this a secret has been a chore.

Anyway, just another boring dad post - just wanted to share.
If anyone is going to be in Guildford, UK for the weekend of 2-3 August for RADAR Festival, look me up - I'm the broke guy smiling ear-to-ear.

Steve

All,

I don't know much about Gibson basses, but I'm curious if the folks here think this 70's Gibson Ripper bass project is worth the initial investment.
I'm a tinkerer and like projects, but getting this back to mid 70's OEM parts might be an expensive venture.
It looks like I'd need, at a minimum, new pickups (possibly full electronics), bridge and tuners.
A quick search on eBay shows me 70's era tuners running at nearly $80 apiece and a 3-pt bridge at $225
Pickups, pots, jack, etc. might be hard to come by.

Just curious the thoughts of the Gibson experts:

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/msg/d/early-1970s-gibson-ripper/6368993525.html

Thanks,
Steve

If anyone near NC is interested:

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/msg/5341335193.html

Hello all,
Trying to salvage my son's Vox VT120+ combo amp - the PCB blew for the 2nd time, and we're done soaking any money into fixing it.
I'd love to re-use the speakers (2x12) as an external cab, but I am confused about my options.

The cabinet has two 8 Ohm speakers.  The VT120+ specs show 150W RMS @ 4 Ohms. 
A Pair of black & white leads run from one speaker to the Input jack (of the now removed head).
That speaker is then wired (to the other speaker) with two B/W leads.

Here's what I did:  I connected the speaker leads that were going to the head to a mono input jack, giving me:
Input Jack -> 8 Ohm Speaker -> 8 Ohm Speaker

Just as a test, I then plugged in a unamplified keyboard just to ensure that I get sound out of both speakers, which worked fine.
I then plugged that keyboard into Peavey Mark VIII amp and ran the output to the new input of the speaker cabinet.
Both speakers work fine.

My son found a Vox NightTrain NT50H head, but I'm not so certain about whether or not it's going to work with the cabinet with 2 x 8 Ohm speakers.
The NT50H has 3 outputs:  1x8 Ohms or 2x16 Ohms & 16 Ohms.

To me (a complete novice), those NT50H head outputs should work with:
1. a single 8 Ohm speaker
2. a single 16 Ohm speaker
3. two 16 Ohm speakers

Am I correct in assuming that I can't use this 2x12 with that head?
Is the best I can do is wire 1 of the 8 Ohm cab speakers to an output jack and then to "1x8 Ohm" output of the NT50H head?

Hit me with any options or suggestions.

Thanks
-Steve

Anyone here have any experiences with a mid 80's (non-Fenderish headstock) Kramer Pioneer Series JJ/JJ?
I have an opportunity to pick one up (sight unseen) pretty cheap, but don't know much about them.

Jazz bass with stacked (JJ/JJ) pickups.  3 pots (V/V/T??)
2 switches (pickup selector/phase??)
Schaller bridge (with "Kramer" stamped on it), Schaller tuners
Bolt on - Looks like Maple/Rosewood.

Thanks,
Steve

Are there any retailers in the US that sell BaCH basses?
I've become attracted to the White SS SAB-2S-WH as well as the TH-1 (which is what I really wanted anyway)

This will be the year I try hard to get one.
From the looks of things, I may just have to get lucky and wait for one to pop up on CL or eBay.

Steve

I know absolutely zero about Gibson basses, but I'm curious because I see the 2014 SG Std listed for ~$1500 and the SG Special (w/ Gibson HSC) for <$700.  I see inlay and finish differences - anyone know any major differences and have any experience with the 2014 Special?
Thanks,
Steve

My kids have been playing music together for a couple of years.
They formed a band together and now have a bassist and a 2nd guitarist.
I got my oldest into recording their rehearsals, and he's written a couple of dozen songs and has finally mixed down one of my favorites.  It's not mastered yet, but I thought I'd share it here.  My youngest (15) is on drums and they were recorded live as a scratch track. My oldest (20) does the singing and rhythm guitar and has the Celtic-inspired solo at 4:00. Guitars, vocals and bass were all recorded in isolation off the drum scratch track.

I would have been happy to have just purchased whatever they've needed to get here, but they involve me in everything, listen to suggestions/criticism and have really come together as a band.  They all like each other, which is paramount. 

It's an amazing feeling to have been a part of the process form the start - My wife and I get a huge kick out of hearing kids come and go, amps buzzing constantly (almost as loud as the electric meter on the side of the house). We also can't seem to keep enough food or drink in the house, but all that is a small price to pay when you know that this place has become a haven for kids trying to become musical or learn how to record.

Anyway, have a listen:

https://soundcloud.com/steveacker/the-light-final