The Last Bass Outpost

 Another short clip this time with the whole band represented. Not the best song to feature our lead singer but I am pretty pleased with it. Little glitches here and there everyone freaks when the camera is rolling.

  My new gig second rehearsal. We are doing low volume for now and will break out the Hiwatts later. This came together really fast, we already have about one hour of material and are planing on a hour and a half set. My beat '66 through a Fender rumble 200. Don't ask me how I reversed the video, I'll put up better stuff soon.

  Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with Bill at his home/shop and getting to play his creations. I was very impressed with the bass pictured along with all his other basses. For the moment I am going to keep my comments focused on the bass below. The pictures don't do it justice in person it is stunning, the finish is flawless. I have always been a sucker for natural basses showing wood grain (must be the woodworker in me). This bass has a beautiful burled maple top and nicely grained maple back. The body is thin I don't remember the exact dimension but think Rickenbacker, even at that the bass being all maple weighs 10 lbs. I don't find that unacceptable as the bass balances very nicely. In the future this model will have a 7% smaller body and depending on wood selection that will help with the weight. I love the body shape defiantly an original shaped by the classics of the past. The neck is Mighty Mite J profile,  maple and rosewood, beautifully finished, nice and straight with just a hint of relief. The action was low by most players standards, for me I'd bring it down a bit and there was plenty of adjustment left at the bridge for that.                                                                                                                                                      Ok so how's it sound? Bill has been singing the praises of the TV Jones pickups and I have to agree it is a great sounding unit, articulate without being sterile, nice fundamental low end and some zing. I got to play the bass through Bill's vintage B15N and wow just wow. With a pick or fingers I just love the tone of this bass, it sustains for days. Even with the one pickup you can get the entire spectrum from this bass, Motown thump to Geddy Lee snap. It just dawned on me that this bass has the best aspects of a Precision and a Rickenbacker sort of morphed into it's own personality. The simple one pickup layout and bridge of the P bass with the thin body maple construction of a Ric. Bill tells me the newer 7% smaller basses will have greater upper register access and sport his own head 2+2 stock design that will really tie this design together imho.    Bill has come up with beautifully crafted unique design that covers a lot of sonic territory and does it with style, elegant simplicity and play-ability. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of Bill's creations, in fact I have put my order in..........for a NR of course but that's another story and review .                                                                                                                                                   

 This was my first real bass amp back in the day, the totally underwhelming Univox UB250. I found this on Craigs list for 100 bucks and yes it is just as underwhelming as I remember it. It is in really nice condition, most I see are pretty beat up. It is cool to look at but only good for practice. I am glad I bought it as it fills a hole in my "early years" collection. Back in the day I bought a extra cab in a effort to improve it's performance, as I recall it didn't help much.

 Holy undercut. Output seems a bit low, but geeze. http://www.ebay.com/itm/221951508372?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

    I did a sub gig last night , lots of Sabbath and Ozzy in the set so I thought I'd bring along my '72-75 EB3. Oddly I was also compelled by watching some clips of Badfinger and Tommy was using a double Mudbucker EB3. I gave the bass a quick set up as I had never used it in a band setting and off to the gig I went. My rig for the night consisted of the Hiwatt DR201 running the Hiwatt 2150 (2x15) and a Marshall JCM 800 2x15 cab also with that I had a Hiwatt DR103 running a Hiwatt 4123. A pretty substantial rig but I was working with a guitar player with three Marshall stacks! During sound check I plugged this little beast in and HOLY COW! Big thick, punchy, articulate, gritty tone. Not muddy at all. The notes on the D and G string literally jumped off the fingerboard. I have said this many times EB3s sound best through big tube amps, for whatever reason  modern SS amps do them no favors. Being a short scale you'd think there would be some adjustment transitioning from Thunderbirds but It did not seem to be a problem. This experience reminded me of why I loved EB3s and as a kid that was the bass I really wanted but was talked into the G3 which in turn started a two year search for a bass that fit me. Will this replace Thunderbirds for me? Of course not but it is like rediscovering a old passion. The EB3 will be coming out more often!

      I couldn't resist it, this makes number 4. According to TD she is a transition model, the set neck with the humbuckers is rather rare, plus the Hofner like headstock and two piece back made this bass irresistible. I paid much less than what is shown, the seller was very gracious and called me to tell me the action was a bit high as the neck pickup can not go lower. I ended up paying $400, I'm a pretty happy camper. http://www.ebay.com/itm/111714591472?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 Amazing! My good friend James Warner fellow bass nut from High School saw my Geddy pics on fb. He lives next door to a local Fox News reporter Jennifer Johnson, they talk and Jennifer decides this is news worthy! I got a call around 6 PM Tuesday,  can you be at the studio at 7:50 Wednesday morning? I said sure but holy cats I had lots to do! I am the worlds worst public speaker, been know to faint on occasion. So enjoy! Good for a chuckle. http://www.foxrochester.com/news/features/good-day-rochester/stories/rush-bassist-geddy-lee-using-local-musicians-invention-2648.shtml#.VYRxIFLwrAn