Introduce Yourself

[Gord -B]

just had a look over at the keyboard corner and they have a cool thread going where everyone introduces themselves http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=000629

 

wouldn't this be a cool thread for this forum?

[husky1]

My name's Lee. I'm a fireman in Prince William Virginia. I used to play bass for Skinny White Boys...college band in Morgantown, WV.

[Ouizel]

Howdy all! I'm Clay, and I usually hang out on the 'For the Band' and 'Keyboard Corner' forums. I'm currently playing keys, but I'm a bass player from way back. I play an Alverez EB6PB 6-string bass. Nice ta meet'cha!

[SteveC]

I'm Steve, I teach high school orchestra. I'm told I am not your stereotypical orchestra teacher...thank god. Some of them (us) are real geeks.

 

I have been playing bass since I was about 12 - about 25 years - starting in the middle school jazz band and pop singer groups.

 

I currently play in Groove Union, a 9 piece funk/horn band. Also have a side project or two going for my jazz outlet. My gear can all be seen on my web site, so I won't list it here.

 

I also love to cook, workout, and ride bike. I haven't updated it for a while, but on my site there is a "Featured Recipie" page. If you like to cook, checkit out once in a while. I post new and favorite recipies there.

[bassplayer5217]

Hey, I am Germain, a 16-year old bassist from Maryland.

 

I play in a 9.5-piece anything-goes band that does Bar Mitzvahs and social events, called Justice on a Stick.

 

1 singer

2 trumpets

1 alto sax

1 tenor sax

1 lead guitar

1 rythym guitar

1 bass (me)

1 piano

.5 drummer (rotating and often machine or someone sits out a song, say one guitarist or one sax or one trumpet)

 

I play a Jackson C20 with the only mod of a Neutrik jack replacing the standard one, and after getting my BX-100 sorta stolen (see my thread "New amp, suggestions and offer for private sales"), I only have my BX-25.

 

Looking for a new amp, hopefully a B-2R and some 2x10 or 1x15.

 

I prefer to play things like Tower of Power, RHCP, James Brown, anything basically funky or classic rock.

 

peaceOUT,

 

Germain

[Warlock1016]

I'm Jason, 28, from Houston. I was formerly of a country act called Rolling Thunder, but now I'm on board with a rock band called Cobalt.

 

When not bassing away on Epi Les Pauls and Ibanez SRs, I'm a Software Production tech for a Market Research company. And when not doing either of those, I collect replica/real wrestling championships.

[Gord -B]

My names Gordon i'm 18 and just about to leave for sheffield university so have had to cut ties with the 3 piece funk/rock band i normally play with. I'll hopefully get together with some people in sheffield to play with.

 

I play a MMan Stingray 4 and a Parker Fly Bass and they are my gods to which i pray aswell as my cd collection. (also very single as you can probably tell)

 

Anyway nice to meet you all.

[jreed]

Hello, My name is Jeremy, but, due to the fact that I know alot of Jeremys' everyone calls me Reed. Im 28 and live in Eau Claire, WI (pronounced "O Claire").

Right now Im playing a Rick 4003, a P-Bass (slightly modified) all through an Ampeg svt400t.

[Harvey Gerst]

My name is Harvey Gerst and right now I own a recording studio in North Texas, for about the last 10 years. I'm 66.

 

I was Director of Electronics at International Music Company in the 80s, where I designed the Charvel and Jackson amplifiers.

 

I also designed a lot of the Acoustic Control amplifiers in the late 60s and early 70s, including the Acoustic 360 and 370.

 

Before that, I designed the "F" series of loudspeakers at JBL in the early 60s, including the D140F, probably the first speaker ever designed specifically for bass players.

 

Bass reproduction has always fascinated me.

[4strings]

I'm Greg. I played Bass in High School for awhile. I recently turned 40 and decided it's time get back into live music. I have a Dean Edge 4 Improv, an Ampeg SVP Preamp and an Acme B2 cab. My equimpent now far outstrips my talent. I'm taking lessons and learning all I can on this forum in hopes of changing this inequity. My instructor doesn't quite know what to do with a 40 year old student! Thanks to all for the great info.

[Timothy Lyons]

I'm Tim, 16 from Jersey and I play bass for everone but the school. I play alto, tenor, soprano and baritone saxes for the school, but have been known to double on bass, guitar and other random instruments. I essentially pride myself on filling the void left by other people, and doing it well.

 

As far as bass, I play Ernie Ball Stingrays, and a few of my old Soundgears are left in my collection, and Ibanez acoustic guitars. Basses are run through my Gallien-Krueger stack while electric and acoustic guitars through my Marshall rig.

 

I play bass in a heavy metal group, we're still in our garage stages and there are talks with a keyboardist/drummer around the corner about starting something on a lighter note. Still looking for a chance to learn to play jazz bass with the school.

[orphan wells]

I'm Justin from Pensacola Florida. I play bass for the rock/metal band Orphan Wells. I also play for the jazz/funk band Dirty Sanchez, the University of West Florida Gospel Choir, and various other live jam sessions. I'm also the studio bassist and co/producer at Greenfeild Studios. I am currently majoring in music performance at University of West Florida.

[Max Valentino]

Hi. I'm Max. I am a professional bassist in sunny Southern California. I work as a "hired gun" sideman (everyone from Ziggy Marley to Peter Frampton), a session player (mostly project stuff, some soundtracks, and "ghosting"), as well as a solo bassist.

 

Last year I released my first solo CD, "A Caravan Of Dreams", which though being an indie release, garnered some really nice critical acclaim

("Maxs amazing chordal playing techniques, his unique approach to playing percussive, drum-like parts, and his instinctive and lyrical melodies create a unique, and wholly musical, exploration of the bass guitar as an instrument of ultimate expression.-----San Jose Metro News

"With his debut release, A Caravan of Dreams, Max Valentino has redefined the future of solo bass performance. Emotionally evocative, wholly musical, and technically awe-inspiring.------Cliff Engels, Bassically.net

Maxs music is a prime example of where the new wave of solo bass is heading - melodic, textural, emotive...-------Steve Lawson, Guitarist Magazine)

 

I am currently working on a second solo disc, as well as a couple of soundtrack scores, and a bass method book, and recently started my own production company/label, Deceptive Arts.

 

I am an endorsing artist for Godin Basses (I primarily play a fretted A4 and fretless A5) and Thomastik-Infeld strings, for both of which I perform clinics.

 

For any of you up in Northern Calif. I will be performing at the Y2K3 Festival in Santa Cruz on Oct. 10-12.

 

Max

[Ouizel]

Originally posted by orphan wells:

I'm Justin from Pensacola Florida. I play bass for the rock/metal band Orphan Wells. I also play for the jazz/funk band Dirty Sanchez, the University of West Florida Gospel Choir,

Wow, talk about your varied interests!!

[Mike H.]

Hey all. My name's Mike. I'm 27 and have been playing bass for about 10 years. I play in a 5-piece rock/metal band. When I'm not playing bass, I manage the guitar/amp/drum/keyboard department at a local music store. If I'm not doing that, I'm hanging out with my wife of 4 1/2 years and my 8 month old baby boy.

[BenLoy]

Hi, I'm Ben and I'm a bassaholic. (Hi, Ben!)

 

I play with an original rock group Mrs. Grundy , and often whore myself out to various other unsigned solo artists around the NYC area both onstage and in the studio.

 

I like to play.

[The Bear Jew]

My name's Erik.

 

I play bass and guitar, but not at the same time.

 

I poop a lot. That kinda worries me.

 

Tom bit me, and there are pictures to prove it.

[Travis Harms]

Hi. My name is Travis Harms and I am a 20 year old bass player from the central coast of California. I have been playing electric bass for about 8 years and have been playing upright for 2 years.

 

I am currently playing in a hard rock garage band, a local amateur big band, the jazz band at my college, and I also accompany the vocal jazz groups at my college. Occasionally I fill in for my bass teacher playing jazz gigs.

 

I am currently going to a local community college majoring in music.

[ClarkW]

Hi, I'm Clark Woolstenhulme, but my stage name is Clank. I live in Provo, UT and play bass for a cover band called Red Rock, a progressive rock band called Hourglass , and a cover/original pop/rock/country/R&B band called Local Motives. I've been playing bass for about 4 years, and taking lessons for the last 20 months from Dave Wilbur, whom I highly recommend.

 

In the daylight hours, I'm a programmer for Novell. Buy Novell stock and drive the price up so I can finance Hourglass's next album, pretty please.

 

I'm almost 25 and unattached, which vexes me some days and gives me lots of bass practice time all the other days!

 

I play Peavey Cirrus basses through an ADA MB-1, Mackie M1400i, and Avatar B210+B115H.

[jeremy c]

Hi, if 2000 posts isn't enough to tell you,

I'm Jeremy Cohen. I began playing bass in 1966. I've been a professional musician ever since. Before that I played clarinet and sax, so my professional career actually started sometime around 1963 when I was 15.

 

I've also been teaching bass for 30 years. You could find me through my website, basslessons.com or Carol Kaye's website. I studied with her for a while and am now on her recommended teacher list.

 

I have a bunch of gear most of which I use all the time.

 

You could have found out a lot of this info on my website which has been given at the bottom of all 2000 of my posts.

 

I play with all kinds of different bands, whoever calls me first. This includes Motown, r&b, jazz, jazz fusion, Israeli music, klezmer music, music for Jewish worship services, Mizrahi music, and of course rock, folk-rock, disco, whatever comes around the block next.

 

You can find me on various recordings.

 

I also like walks on the beach, sunsets, and hiking in the mountains.....oops, wrong forum.

 

But I do like those things.

 

In other parts of my life you can find me swimming competitively, teaching computers at a jr. high school, being happily married and the father of a 23 year old who is a programmer at Microsoft.

 

See you around the forum.

[A.P. Non-Prod.]

Hello, I'm my name is Adam. I noodled around on guitar until about 3 years ago when I found out how cool bass was. Still a novice, I need to get practicing and playing.

I'm an old school member of this forum. I lurk a lot and have learned a lot. I feel like I almost know some of you. Talking bass with all ya'll has been a pleasure.

[Dan South]

Hmm. Have we never done this before? Am I going senile?

 

My name is Dan, but you already knew that. I play bass, but you knew that, too. I was a trumpet player in high school, and some of my horn-playing friends (as opposed to my horny friends) wanted to get a band together. We could never find a good bass player who was willing to stick around for more than two practices (too much in demand), so I started fooling around on bass in an effort to learn it. I'm still fooling around and still learning.

 

I played in some wedding/club bands in the eighties - and in a new wave band for about six months - but family and work pressures preclude a band commitment at this time. My musical specialty is composing; bass playing is a supportive skill that helps me when I record songs. I have more synthesizers than I have fingers. I have fewer basses than fingers, but that's still quite a few. Lately, I've been trying to learn the GEE-tar, too. Don't hate me. It saves me from having to deal with REAL GEE-tar players, just like those synthesizers save me from having to deal with real drummers.

 

I make my living as a computer programmer, a field popular with musicians for some reason. Programming isn't as boring as it sounds; it's like solving puzzles for a living.

 

I've got a number of hobbies. I like movies, traveling, and I'm currently training for the New York Marathon. When I'm not working, running, or playing bass, I'm usually hiking around with a camera in my hand looking for interesting subjects and good light. Further, I'm tall, I speak French, and I'm a pretty good tango dancer, so it's probably not a good idea to leave me alone with your girlfriend, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

 

I'm currently using Lakland basses, DR strings, and Eden amps. I like to record through an Avalon U5 direct box and an Empirical Labs Distressor, but I'm always on the lookout for a bigger, better recorded bass sound. I record directly into Logic Audio or into a Yamaha AW4416 workstation. I prefer Macs to PC's for audio work, but they're both good platforms, and I've used both extensively.

 

My favorite bassist is James Jamerson, but Geddy and Jaco were very inspirational when I was starting out. Any player who makes the band groove is a good player in my book, and I try to learn from everything that I hear. Even songs that you don't like can teach you SOMETHING if you're willing to abandon your prejudices and LISTEN CAREFULLY.

 

I never eat onions. Ditto cheese. Onions and dairy are the root of all dietary evil. If you run a marathon with a bunch of cheese and onions in your gut, you do so at your own peril. Don't say that I didn't warn you.

 

http://216.40.249.192/s/contrib/edoom/very_first_smiley.gif

[Rik]

My name's Rik (duh) and I'm the bassist/lead vocalist in a 3-piece hard rock cover band called Ponophobic. I've also been the bassist at my church for the last 8 years.

 

I've been playing bass for almost 19 years, and guitar for 23 years. I hardly ever play the guitar any more, though, having devoted myself to the bass. And I was never all that great on the guitar anyway.

 

My primary bass is a Tobias 5-string with Bartolini soapbars and active electronics. It's one of those MusicYo.com, made-by-Gibson-in-Korea basses, but it's a damn fine bass for $600. Great tone, great playability. I string it with Dean Markley Blue Steels.

 

I also play a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, strung with RotoSound strings. I like it, but I'm considering selling it back to the guy I got it from. I just don't play it enough, and I need the money 'cause I'm unemployed.

 

Then I have two basses in the pawn shop: a Steinberger XT-2 4-string, and a Samick 4-string.

 

My amp is a Carvin RL6815 - that's an R600 head mounted in the same cab with 1x15, 2x8 + tweeter horn. Great amp.

 

In the past, I've also played the piano, clarinet, saxophone and bassoon.

[Dan South]

Originally posted by Harvey Gerst:

I also designed a lot of the Acoustic Control amplifiers in the late 60s and early 70s, including the Acoustic 360 and 370.

 

Wow, Harvey! Now THAT is a credential!

 

Wayne and Garth voices: We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

[saxofunk]

And Harvey - have I got a deal for you... how would you like to rewire my 140 to factory specs, just for old times sake?

 

My real name is Matt. I celebrated my 2nd bassniversary July 3. My gear is a Tobias Deluxe 4, Acoustic 140 head. 402 cab. The rig is too loud for my wife, too ugly for a coffee table, and too old to get enough $$$ out of it to get smoething with a headphone jack. And I'm only about 4 years older than that 1976 amplifier.

 

Currently my bass playing is for my own mental health and musical development. One day I will play out loud. Publicly, I play tenor sax at church in a modern praise & worship band. I majored in music and studied sax thru college. Now I am in tool sales.... "would you like drill bits with that?"

[getz out]

This is interesting; a lot of good posts on this thread.

 

I'm Maury. I nudging my way towards the ripe age of 30, but I'm not quite there yet.

 

I've been playing bass for about 10 years now. Prior to that, I was a failed drummer due to a lack of limb independence and the fact I liked to chew on the drumheads. Prior to the venture into percussion, I enjoyed playing piano. Unfortunately, I was the only one that enjoyed my playing on the ivory keys. I'm also a relatively competent guitarist.

 

While I was in college, I played in various original rock bands, and gigged frequently at NJ shore clubs and some Philedelphia clubs. My current project involves some buddies from high school, which can be frustrating but fun.

 

I'm a huge jazz fan (the handle might give it away), but my jazz technique leaves a lot to be desired.

 

During the day I work for a large professional services firm as a CPA. If it could get worse than that, I specialize servicing clients in the life insurance industry. It does pay the bills, which is nice.

 

Outside of work, I enjoy jogging, basketball, and dancing.

[davebrownbass]

Hi...I'm Dave Brown, 47(for 3 more weeks) and I'm married competitively.

 

Not really! I just became a Grandpa of lovely little Ellarinn...I have two daughters and my youngest, a son who became 17 today! He's also just made his HS top jazz band, top orchestra (they have 6 at his school) and is working on All State. He's a bassist.

 

So am I. I teach HS orchestra, which you can find in my sig. I also teach electric and upright bass at Tarrant County College (a gig which I may lose...they are changing the rules and want all adjuncts to have a Master's Degree. You guys...anybody here wanna confer a Masters on me?)

 

I also teach in my home studio...mostly URB. In the past 17 years I've had approximately 30 All State Students.

 

Gigging: I play for free in the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving (which I may have to give up to work on the Masters!)

 

For money: I play in a small jazz reading band, but we gig. I play in several local theaters, and various other freelance things (seem to play for a lot of choirs lately.)

 

I play in the praise band at the Trinity UMC in Arlington...this gig is soon to expand to 2 services. I also play bass in the Bluegrass/Christian Country/Celtic/whatever band named Double Portion www.doubleportion.com which has recently added a drummer and fiddleist.

 

In addition to the generally after-school and weekend trips with the school (this year is Disneyworld) I have just been certified as a TMAA Music Adjudicator. This year, I'll be traveling around the state scoring Orchestra contests. I also do clinics and a bit of traveling for the Texas Music Educators Association.

 

Hobbies? Who has time? I fiddle around with trying to write music, but not enough. I visit this forum, but also hang out in the Pogo solitaire room "Fort Worth." I love to cook, spend time working in my back yard so my family can swim, and do a bit of photography.

 

In the summers? Stay up late, watch TV, avoid shaving and showering until Gig time and sleep.

[Surrock]

I think Im going to join in on the fun!

 

My names Surrock --its a nickname--- but as a 15 yearold and one of the only girls on the forum Id really rather not give out too munch personal info. Besides that, I've been playing bass seriously for about a year, my older sis played upright and we got her an electric, but it lived in our basement so I picked it up. Anyway I recently won runner up in the nation John Lennon Lyrics Writting contest for teens, and a newspaper article sparked some guys from my school to give me a call, because they were in need of a bass player. I'm interested in any tips or help any of you more experienced players have for me, and I will constantly be searching for answers to my (sometimes stupid) questions.

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally posted by Dan South:

Originally posted by Harvey Gerst:

I also designed a lot of the Acoustic Control amplifiers in the late 60s and early 70s, including the Acoustic 360 and 370.

 

Wow, Harvey! Now THAT is a credential!

 

Wayne and Garth voices: We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

As is true with most things, I was just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally posted by NuB-bass:

And Harvey - have I got a deal for you... how would you like to rewire my 140 to factory specs, just for old times sake?

 

The rig is too oud for my wife, too ugly for a coffee table, and too old to get enough $$$ out of it to get smoething with a headphone jack. And I'm only about 4 years older than that 1976 amplifier.

Matt, simple enough.

 

The 140 has two output jacks in parallel. Simply break the connection to the second jack, and put a 100 ohm, 1 watt resistor, connected between the first and second jack. Simply run headphones into the second jack and leave the speaker cabinet disconnected. Use the first jack only for the speaker.

 

For stereo headphones, use two 100 ohm resistors tied together at the first speaker jack, and each resistor going to a stereo jack tip and ring (replacing the second jack).

 

About 20 minutes of work, and four solder connections. Very easy. Label the second jack "Headphones". It won't void the warranty, and you can return it to the original condition in a matter of minutes.