The Last Bass Outpost

For some reason I received a Musician’s Friend catalog today. Must be because I bought something at Guitar Center? Anyway, I was thumbing though it while dinner baked and was pleasantly amazed by the number of 15 to 20 watt boutique guitar amps listed.

It fitted in with my own experience: Our killer rhythm guitarist just bought himself a Vox AC-15 and I must say, it sounds mighty nice. As he said, we’re either playing at a club with sound or we bring our own PA, which has at least 5000 watts available. He’ll get himself heard one way or another. Being that we are a harmony-heavy band, keeping stage volume somewhat controlled is a good thing.

Looking at that catalog and of Sam’s new AC-15 got me thinking back to high school days in the mid to late sixties. I semi-fondly recall playing in bands where the lead guitarist had a Twin Reverb. Or make that two Showmans with cabs. Or best of all, two Super-Reverbs stacked on top of each other, cranked up loud so they’d break up.

As a bass player with a humble white Bassman and then a Guild amp with a 2x15”cab, then a Traynor, it was a real chore to even be heard. The endless wars encouraged me and my main rival bass player to lend each other our amps so we could each use two amps to try and keep up with our guitarists. It also made us open to welcoming higher powered solid state amps, even if they did not sound all that great.  It also influenced my technique to this day – I still yank on the strings too hard rather than employing a light touch.

Circling back to today, I called an old friend who knew me back then. He only took up bass in recent years but now kicks ass. I mentioned the MF catalog and teased him about his GAS problem. But then I wandered over to the topic above and he told me how his band, which has been actively gigging recently, had been forced to part ways with a really good guitarist. I’d heard him play = he was really good and is a fine singer. Plus I liked him as a person. But he was getting too loud at the kind of venues they play at. His amp? A Twin Reverb. I asked “Why doesn’t be just trade down to a Pro?” But I guess the guy is set in his ways.

A long story short = aint it nice that our gitards are finally figuring out that a lower power amp can be a better stage amp? I say “can be” because, if we are playing at an outdoor venue, I totally want and demand that our guitarists wheel out some serious amplitude. How else can I justify bringing out one of my big rigs? I do miss having my pants flapping in the breeze!   

 I spent a fair bit of my meager spare time over the last couple of weeks tending to a Trace Elliot SMX 350 amp I bought. I used to own it and felt it was the best sounding amp I had ever used for a Rickenbacker bass and a more famous Ricky player than I said the same thing without any prompting from me when I lent it to him for a gig where it was "take it or leave it." I did not say a word, except to say I was lending him that amp because I needed my Orange for another gig. A life-long Ampig, He used it and loved it   

Anyway, after fetching the amp back from a local pawn shop, I cleaned and blasted what I could and replaced a few parts.

But today I'm wondering if anyone outside of any of us OLD FFIGGIN GEEZERS even can tell the difference between me playing a Ricky 4001 through my hugely tubey  Orange versus this lovely old Trace?

Or, as our lead guitarist once helpfully noted, "Why bother changing bases? It's all the same, it's just bass."

I just bring this up since we recently played at a gig where they asked us to keep our sound level down to a level where the patrons could carry on conversations.  Thanks to our remarkable sound man we did .

But given that we face more and more jobs like that, why even bother  having a nice amp or even a nice bass?  Seriously, this really sucks.

Maybe I am glad that I am old.

Firsthand, you're only scratching the surface, and contrary to popular misinformation, this practice did not begin with Bain Capital. GC is a model example of dishonest capitalist profiteering gone unchecked and has been so for many years.

PBG has a point. I recall buying a piece of sudio gear at the SF Guitar Center back in 1993 or so. Sold as new. When I got it home, I found that the manual was all marked up. I went back to the store to complain and the manager just shrugged and they lost a customer for good. 

I complained to the manufacturer and they .... sent me a T-shirt.

Returning to the original topic, I am amazed how mellow everyone here is about MarkBass gear. Normally there are MB fan boys who rival Apple fan boys in their intensity. If anyone dares suggest that MB products are not the best gear ever made (and even cure disease) they go nuts! 

Nice transcription.  I once knew how to read those hieroglyphics!

Of course he wants to play. Hell, I'm off tonight and I'm goin' nuts.

Playing in a cover band, I like to switch between a bass with flats and one with rounds for sonic reasons. (Think switching between Cream & the Who.) That said, I wonder how many listeners notice the difference....

And as the others have noted, it's nice to have a backup.