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ashevillecabbie

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Posts posted by ashevillecabbie

    Jack Casady

    in Low Down Lowdown

    Posted

    To have that kind of busy playing for a majority of other genres is kinda like that Harmonica Player from Hell that we've all shared the stage with at one time or another

     

    LOL, gotta love open mic night :D

    Jack Casady

    in Low Down Lowdown

    Posted

    Jack is my favorite bass player of all time--Phil Lesh having a solid lock on my number two spot--and I can't help but wonder why he isn't better known.

     

    Just the simple passage of time has a lot to do with it, I guess. The first Airplane album came out in 1966, after all, and the original band lineup was pretty much done by 1972. Some of the various Starship incarnations were not that bad, but of course Jack and Jorma moved on to the excellent Hot Tuna which just never had the same level of popularity as far as I can tell.

     

    The San Francisco bands (Dead, Airplane, Big Brother, Beautiful Day, Quicksilver, Moby Grape etc.) occupied the cutting edge of music for about 2 years, but then came Hendrix and Cream and things were never the same! I don't think any of those groups are all that well remembered these days except the Grateful Dead just by dint of the fact that they kept soldiering on for so many years.

     

    I am glad I was alive to witness that whole era.

     

    I admit there is a lot of music from the ensuing years I haven't heard, and a lot of players I may not be aware of, but in my opinion Jack Casady is still the best, most unique bass player of them all. His tone is amazing and his playing all over the neck is tasteful and beautiful.

     

    I saw a YouTube interview with him the other day where he said--I'm paraphrasing to an extent--"I tell my students, if you just play the root, it works, and you may even get hired, but if you do all the fiddly stuff I do you may get fired." That, to me, was funny.

     

    If you haven't heard Jack Casady I reccomend 3 tracks just for starters: "Rejoyce" from the Airplane album After Bathing at Baxter's, "In Time" from Crown of Creation, and "The Water Song" from the Hot Tuna album Burgers.

     

    Thoughts on acquiring my first bass

    in Low Down Lowdown

    Posted

    Hey, brother.

     

    Yeah, piano, then acoustic guitar, then electric guitar and synth. That has been my journey; there was a time, years ago, when I had a captive audience (church type gathering) for acoustic guitar, songwriting, and singing. I took up guitar at like age 20 (piano lessons when I was much younger) and I still grin when I think how people's jaws dropped the first time I got up to play in front of the group. So many years ago...

     

    As far as amplification goes, I am just using the bp30 (bass amp modeling and multi effects) through headphones. I have neighbors I like, for one thing (I live in an RV park); if there was a neighbor I DIDN'T like--but no, I can't think that way, I must only use bass power for good. It's a fact, though, that bass frequencies pass through EVERYTHING.

     

    I did try out a used Hartke practice amp in Guitar Center a few weeks ago. It was a small amp with an 8 inch speaker. I turned up the bass and volume, hit the low b string--and that little amp just made a rude farting noise. So I'll wait on getting an amp (I like the Eden xst cabs I saw on youtube) for now.

     

    :)

    Thoughts on acquiring my first bass

    in Low Down Lowdown

    Posted

    The journey started in Guitar Center, where I saw a used digitech bp50 for sale for $30.

     

    I always wanted a bass, just for recording and general noodling around--I didn't expect to really become especially passionate about practicing and learning the instrument, although that is what has happened.

     

    I just thought, for the price you can't go wrong, and I really always liked my old DOD/digitech guitar pedal, so I scooped it up, thinking to get an inexpensive Squier bass down the line and thus have a bass guitar just as a resource.

     

    Instead I found a Schecter Diamond 5 string p-style bass with a humbucker in the bridge that can be switched to j-bass single coil. Two volume pots and a tone pot, 35 inch scale. A beautiful instrument, made in China but still very nice--and it came with a hardshell case. All in all, pretty basic (no pun intended) but in my opinion pretty sweet anyway.

     

    After a couple of weeks I find it is getting a lot more playing time then any other instrument I have (several keyboards, 1 acoustic and several electric guitars). I found some great books to learn from (Bass Guitar for Dummies, Stuff Good Bass Players Should Know, Bass Tab White Pages) and I am really happy with this new situation that has entered my life.

     

    Two weeks is not a lot of time, but here are some thoughts and observations anyway:

     

    It's really more physically demanding than I anticipated. It's not just the bottom four strings of the guitar an octave lower. The bass is heavier, the scale is longer, the neck is wider, and the strings are much thicker. There's no sprawling around on the sofa like with acoustic guitar. I have to stand or use a stool, and also use a strap. You may be thinking well duh, but I didn't know these things going in. Also good hand and arm position seems pretty crucial.

     

    Tuning is more challenging than with guitar. There are lots of clangouros overtones, especially on the low b string. But your ear does learn. Pitch can be sharp in the first 1/2 second, more so than with guitar, but like I said your ear does acclimate itself to the bass environment as time goes by.

     

    I am using a metronome a lot more than with other instruments (although I have belatedly realized it would help my timing with those too). But it seems really important with the "groove oriented" bass guitar. In a way the instrument can be like a drum. A different zone than guitar, I am finding. Not an instrument to write songs on, not often anyway, but we have other instruments for that. I suspect more bass players play drums than guitar players, maybe.

     

    As much as I love the instrument I have been thinking about getting additional basses. I have bad shopaholic tendencies anyway, but I thought 1 bass would be enough. Turns out I was mistaken--a j-bass and a stingray, at least, would be nice to have.

     

    And finally (for now) I am glad to have started learning bass with a 5 string. They may not be everybody's cup of tea, but it just feels right to me.

     

     

     

     

    The Moog Museum opens

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Just so people know--the museum and the factory both have Broadway addresses but they are not on the same street.

     

    Coming into downtown from the direction of the airport on 26, take the Merrimon Ave exit. If you want the museum, take a left at the light at the end of the ramp. That is actually Broadway, for the space of about six blocks. Look for the museum on your left before you pass Walnut.

     

    If you want the factory, however, make the left on Broadway and then immediately a right on Woodfin, the first light. Go down the hill one block and make your first right on... Broadway. (Lexington changes its name to Broadway at that intersection but I don't remember what the street signs say.) Anyway, go back under 26 and you'll see the factory on your right.

     

    You really can't miss it. :)

    Heads-up: SpaceStation keyboard amp is apparently back

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    There seems to be quite a lot of interest in these units. Count me among those interested.

     

    It seems to me that Fender missed an opportunity to gain a place as the world's foremost keyboard amp maker. Their SFX 200 got great reviews, had DSP with 8 total inputs (3 stereo and 2 mono including a mic input), and was bigger and meaner looking then many guitar amps--plus, it had the Fender logo on it! In my opinion it should have been a raging success. But maybe the world just wasn't ready for it.

     

    There seems to be a growing global readiness for the concept of such an amp now, however. So best of luck to you, Mr. Pittman! And much respect to you for you perseverance.

     

    These days one can easily obtain a little mixer with DSP and multiple inputs, so your current design looks pretty cost effective.

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