Moderators isaac42 Posted August 8, 2015 Moderators Share Posted August 8, 2015 A while back, I started using a rack system. Peavey TB Raxx preamp and a Pyramid power amp. Then I got hold of a Crown power amp and switched to that. I still use my Sunn Model T with one band. I've experimented with a few basses other than my beloved Rics on occasion. So far, none has really moved me to make any changes on that front, but a few recent events have got me thinking. First, one of my bands has insisted I use the Ric 4004Cii, mainly because it just so pretty. The neck is fatter on that bass, and there were some issues with its tone, but I've managed. Now that same band has started playing some "unplugged" gigs, so I've been using my Ovation acoustic bass. So now I'm regularly playing four different basses, only two of which have the classic Ric 4001/4003 neck that I adore. And the bands I play those in don't play nearly as often. So maybe it's time to experiment again. Maybe play the Carvin LB75, or restring one bass BEAD. The string spacing on the Ovation is tighter than on the Rics, and that aligns more closely with the Carvin and the Ibanez. I did take the Carvin to rehearsal one day a while back. At least one of my mates really liked the low notes it added, and the old drummer, the guy who really liked the Rics, is no longer with the band. That band (The Deep Woods Band) plays a lot of originals, a lot of songs in D and C, so having a low B might be really helpful. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 8, 2015 Members Share Posted August 8, 2015 Or tune one bass in Drop C. Anyway, good luck working things out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 9, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted August 9, 2015 It's always fun trying out new combinations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 25, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2015 Played the Carvin LB75 at the studio today. We didn't play much. We spent a lot of time talking about how we're going to handle the departure of our lead guitarist. We listened to the tracks we've recorded and were quite surprised to find that most of them sounded better with his tracks muted. Seems he wasn't adding as much to the band's sound as one might have thought. But the Carvin sounded good except for the funky jack. I'll have to fix that. Other than that, it sounded good, and the added notes, both low and high, were welcome. Now, if I can just get used to the different string spacing and the presence of the extra string, I'll be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted August 25, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Played the Carvin LB75 at the studio today. We didn't play much. We spent a lot of time talking about how we're going to handle the departure of our lead guitarist. We listened to the tracks we've recorded and were quite surprised to find that most of them sounded better with his tracks muted. Seems he wasn't adding as much to the band's sound as one might have thought. Assuming he isn't aware of his imminent departure, might I suggest you start out with, "Well, the good news is that we as a band are adopting a "less is more" approach to our music. The bad news is that *you* are the "less" part." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 25, 2015 Members Share Posted August 25, 2015 ^ Or he may well be aware of it and the rest of the band was discussing finding his replacement. Our praise band lost our original drummer earlier this year when he and his wife simply stopped coming to church. In this case, it appears the band doesn't actually need a lead guitarist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 25, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2015 Assuming he isn't aware of his imminent departure, might I suggest you start out with, "Well, the good news is that we as a band are adopting a "less is more" approach to our music. The bad news is that *you* are the "less" part." Nah, he's already gone, and none too happy about it. Pulled the, "You can't make me leave the band. It's the only thing keeping me sane!" ploy. Bandleader responded that we weren't his therapists. On the downside, his woman has been acting as our agent of late. So, after the split, our next show suddenly became his next show. Bummer, but a relatively small price to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 25, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2015 ^ Or he may well be aware of it and the rest of the band was discussing finding his replacement. Our praise band lost our original drummer earlier this year when he and his wife simply stopped coming to church. In this case' date=' it appears the band doesn't actually need a lead guitarist.[/quote'] Our other guitarist disagrees. He doesn't feel comfortable taking on the role of sole guitarist in the band, and, well, he's at least partly right. He's not a natural lead player. As he once said, I do better leads on bass than he does on guitar. But shying away from it as he does only proves him right, and limits his growth as a musician. We've contacted some guitarists who are friends of the band to help us finish the album, and a couple of them are quite excited about the prospect. Could be one of them will become our new lead guitarist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted August 27, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Things move on, with us or without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 28, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted August 28, 2015 Tru dat. One of the prospects jammed with us yesterday. He's quite good. He also was up front about another possible gig, with a band in Portland. He recently retired, so he has time for that kind of commute (80 miles or so). I imagine that the PDX band would be made up of much better players than we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 28, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted August 28, 2015 Tried playing the LB-75 yesterday. I'm a bit clumsy and fumble-fingered on it. The strings just aren't quite where I expect them to be after 40 years of playing a Ric. At the morning session, I put it away and got out a Ric. I didn't want to play that badly with a guest and possible new member joining us. Evening practice with another band, I played the LB-75 all evening. I thought I did better than I had in the morning. Feels like I should be able to make the change, but it remains to be seen if I can switch back and forth easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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