Funkin' things up in NYC: The Chi-town-Big Apple connexion

[_Sweet Willie_]

I returned last night from a weekend adventure in New York City -- part business, part pleasure.

 

Anyway, before arriving I was able to contact a few of the NY area folks about some hang time and we were able to work out a meeting. (My apologies to others of you in the NYC area, but I felt like I could only handle meeting a few folks at a time. I do look forward to meeting more of you, though, in the future.)

 

So on Saturday afternoon, I met up with Uber-Mod Tom Capasso, Ben Loy, music-man, wraub, 57pbass, getz76, and Dr. Phil-Diggity. We joined forces at the new NYC Guitar Nazi...errr, Center...on 14th St. To be fair, though, this GC is different than any other I've been in and pretty darn cool...and, I think Loy knows just about everyone who works there.

 

We began meeting in the bass room, but were promptly asked by the staff to gather outside of the bass room (which is a bit small for a half-dozen of us plus customers who actually might buy something), so we hit the spacious "vintage" room. Some of the fellahs brought their own basses and a staff member hooked us up into two channels of the Bose PAS that was there.

 

Tom brought his custom Kinal. A lovely bass, well-built, great sound, good feel. Tom made a great purchase and Mike Kinal makes a nice bass.

 

wraub brought his 1980s Ibanez Roadstar II 5-string w/ the two soapbar p'ups. I'm a fellow Roadstar II fan, and that bass is much too phat. Tight string spacing, but it sounds grand.

 

Getz76 brought his Warwick (and none of his other recently purchased goodies, thank goodness!). It's lovely. Nice tone. Admittedly Warwicks aren't really my thang, or so I thought...

 

Music-man brought the Warwick bolt-on Thumb 5 fretless he purchased via eBay about 3 mos. ago. This is one of the finest fretless fish that I've ever fingered. What sound! What feel! Good gawd. I don't think I'm alone in this -- we almost needed a crowbar to wrest it from BenLoy's hands when it was time to go eat.

 

We all got to play some, and kept passing basses around, and it was a first time for me to play in bass duos! Tons of fun. At one point one of the GC staffers sat in on a Gretsch kit with us, and then a 17-yr-old kid sat in on the kit, and held his own on some funky grooves and contributing some real energy. One fellah (I think his name was Sharif?), who we invited to come visit the LDL, sat in for a bit on Tom's bass.

 

I was amused when one person came up and asked if we were doing a bass demo for the Bose PAS. I was also impressed that a couple of times a small audience gathered to hear us throw down. Very flattering for our motley little bass troop.

 

BTW, I don't know what I think about that Bose PAS yet. But at the very least I thought it was pretty cool. The basses sounded good through it, but I'd want to hear it in a full band setting.

 

After using GC as a jam spot for a couple of hours, a few of us grabbed some dinner in Little Italy and talked for a while.

 

I came to the following conclusions about these NY/NJ LDLers:

1. They are phenomenonally friendly individuals. I had an opportunity to spend some time speaking with each of them individually, and I was duly impressed by their warmth, gentleness, wit, and humor. It was easy to hang-out with them.

2. They are all modest. These guys can play! Lordy!

 

Tom and wraub took pictures, so maybe they'll be able to post some in the next couple of days.

 

If you travel to NYC, definitely look up some of our crew there -- you will undoubtedly be glad that you did!

 

Peace.

--sweet'n'low

[Pernax]

Sounds like a really cool time was had, I'm waiting for the pictures . Maybe one day I'll be able to cross the big pond and come bass shopping with you guys...

 

-P

[getz out]

These are indeed a fine bunch of gentlemen. Quite amazing to get a group of nice guys together with something in common, and man can these guys PLAY. I need to go back for lessons again.

 

Yes, Musicman's Warwick is beautiful. That is a KEEPER. Definitely got the most love in the bunch.

 

I definitely brought the most "normal" bass out of the bunch! Shocking! Not a Fender in sight!

 

It seems like everyone liked the Incase Tourbag, which I continue to be impressed with. Some thought it was a big heavy, but it hangs well on one or two shoulders.

 

Wraub has the ability to push around the Ibanez even with that uber-tight string spacing; amazing. I dig the foam mute, by the way.

 

TC's Kinal got some funky love for the first time in ages. Now, we need to find TC a 36-fret neck so he can get all crazy at his church-gig.

 

A very nice day, but it seemed too short. We'll have to do it again, gentlemen.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Originally posted by getz76:

A very nice day, but it seemed too short. We'll have to do it again, gentlemen.

No argument here!

 

And I forgot to mention that I was diggin' hard on Maury's Incase gig bag.

[BenLoy]

Ken's fretless indeed was very very nice. What a nice hunk of wood...

 

Everyone was a joy to meet or see again.

 

Wraub continues to be the dry-as-sahara witty dude he is...and his Ibanez roadstar sounded great. Why did Ibanez discontinue these? Wraub, when you gonna post those pictures?

 

I didn't get to play Getz's Warwick, but I heard Tom play it quite a bit. Tom, you sounded like Jaco on that thing.

 

Willie, I'm glad I finally got to meet you. Your ever-present grin mirrors your jovial online presence.

 

Phil, you told me you suck. I beg to differ. Keep studying the stuff you have been and you'll be a great player. I heard you play some cool stuff off to the side while I was talking to Willie about something. Keep at it.

 

Dan, you're a gentleman and a scholar. I always hear buttery tone come out no matter what bass you pick up.

 

To the random gentleman at Guitar Center who grabbed Tom's Kinal and schooled me, I salute you. I needed a good ass-whoopin' on how repetative my blowing can get. I need to open my copy of the omnibook again. You kicked my ass with those double-thumb licks.

[ClarkW]

I have two Bose systems, one with a single sub and one with a double sub. I'm not sure if we're allowed to say "kick ass" in this forum, but I'll just say it and let a moderator edit me. You get one free edit, right?

 

They kick ass in a band setting. One of the singers missed her cue because she leaned over to me between verses to tell me how amazing everything sounded. We were playing in a room that was approximately 50' square, stuck in one corner. It was a 16-year-old girl's birthday party, and all the kids were rocking out in front while the parents and aunts and uncles sat in the back. Both groups said the sound was great.

 

And I love the sound of my bass through it. Acoustic guitars sound *unreal.* Vocals are pristine. It is the ultimate keyboard amplification device. Electric guitars take a little work, but only with guitar players who are picky about their sound. Playing a CD through the system will bring tears to your eyes.

 

Anyone want to buy my Mackie m1400i and Avatar 2x10 and 1x15? Seriously...I don't use them anymore...

 

And when are we going to have a Salt Lake City LDL get-together?

[Mr. Phil]

Originally posted by BenLoy:

Phil, you told me you suck. I beg to differ. Keep studying the stuff you have been and you'll be a great player. I heard you play some cool stuff off to the side while I was talking to Willie about something. Keep at it.

Thanks. I still suck though.

 

Everyone: YOU GUYS ARE MONSTERS!!!!

[Tom Capasso]

Find below my thoughts on the Bose PAS and on the 14th St Guitar Center - I posted this on TBL as well.

 

This was such a great day. I wrote to Maury after that I could easily spend hours more with each of you (NY or otherwise) and enjoy sharing our stories and notes. And of course it was great to meet Willie. It's been said - if you met him, you'd dub him "sweet" right away. (dub - willie - I'm at it again).

 

Watching/hearing folks play was so cool. Phil can play fine, though he shuns the "spotlight". Ken's Warwick fretless is a fine bit of work (though it was better appreciated by those that play fretless). But everyone put it down low - impressive

 

I'm glad for Mike that everyone was positive about the Kinal. It is fine, and saw a funk workout that day. I had to laugh a bit when Sharif(?) walked up to one of the guys and asked to try it. They signaled me - sure - fine - whatever. He seemed to like it as well.

 

Dan (57pbass) couldn't join us for dinner because he had to prep for a gig - in my neighborhood. I went straight to see him play with one of his bands. Dan had a Sadowsky P bass with him. Just to complete the day, he used the Kinal for the second set, and it sounded good (along with his Mesa Scout). Hey Dan - tough to work with inferior equipment Dan is a smooth and solid player who was tight on all the arrangements despite being somewhat new to the band.

 

Thanks to all at GC as well!

 

Tom

 

This past Saturday I found myself in the new Guitar Center in Manhattan with 8 bass-friends. We were overpowered by the volume in the Rumble room, so we moved to the "vintage" room. They have classic/unique guitars (and some basses) on the walls, and guitar amps (and some B15 flip tops) around on the floor. At the far end of the room is a low stage with a drum set and a Bose PAS. Since many of us had brought our basses to share the experience, all we needed was an amp. I found a sales guy and asked if we could try the Bose PAS with one sub. We plugged two basses in and started having at it. Later on a GC employee sat in on drums, followed by a 17 yr old drummer who was very good. With two basses going through I'd have liked to have another sub, but we recognized that we were pushing things a bit.

 

The volume of the unit was fine, and it carried quite well (and into the next room). When the drummer sat down, the room proved to be pretty hot, but we still cut through on our basses (generally one guy doing bass and one doing something more like lead). The tone was clean. We made no attempt to color the sound (no overdrive or octave or anything). I can't tell if you could get a grungy rock tone out of it, but it seems possible.

 

We were all pleasantly surprised by the unit. While as a group we're pretty open-minded about trying new things, we didn't expect it to sound this good.

 

By the way, the folks at this Guitar Center are working hard to make the store a cool place to shop. We talked to a few sales people who were no-pressure and knew about bass. While in the vintage room a few salespeople came by, introduced themselves, asked if we needed help, and then faded away. We played the Bose for almost two hours. Unlike many chain store horror experiences, this place is working hard to get it right.

[Mark Zeger]

Originally posted by Sweet Willie:

I returned last night from a weekend adventure in New York City -- part business, part pleasure.

Hey, I was in NYC, too! Strange that I didn't see you. Not like it's a big place or anything.

 

Seriously, my wife and I were in Manhattan for less than 24 hrs. from Sat. afternoon to Sun. noon. Just enough time to have a light dinner, see "The Producers" ( ), and have breakfast with family. I tried to lure her to Colony Music after the show, but no luck.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Originally posted by Mark Zeger:

I tried to lure her to Colony Music after the show, but no luck.

You know, I really understand what a true shame that is that you couldn't hit Colony!

 

Sounds like your NYC adventure was as wholesome as ours!

[mcbn]

So when and where is the Chicago area LowDowners meeting? I'm just 2 hours away in Bloomington-Normal. I hit Chicago at least once a month to see friends and am always looking for another excuse to get up there.

[_Sweet Willie_]

NUTT, I can foresee a day in "3-B" (bass, brats, and beer) for those of us who can make it into Chicago -- once things warm up a little more.

 

Zeronyne? Wcunha? Others? Who's in?

 

Maybe if we wait until summer Lady Bo will come play the Chicago Blues Fest, with moderator Wally Malone holding down the low end. Whaddya say, Wally?

 

Peace.

--s-uu

[57pbass]

A few things...

 

I'm sorry I did not bring a bass along to this meet...I have no excuse for such behavior... oh now I remember .. I could not decide which one to bring

 

Sweets .. keep us posted on Chi Town meet.. I would make a weekend trip with a few NY Lowdowners..... this has the makings of a great roadtrip.

 

I got to play Tom's Kinal for an entire set. Its a beautiful instrument.. great sounding and very comfortable... great neck and the craftmanship is A +++. The onboard electronics allow you to dial up pretty much any sound... when we where at Guitar Center Music Man handed me Tom's Kinal after setting it to a P Bass config... fantastic..

Ben... Thanks for the kind words... a Columbian friend once told me I was "A Gentlemen in Disguise" .... his version of "A Gentlemen and A Scholar " It was hilarious!! We never finished our conversation but I hope Grundy can resolve the dilemas you mentioned.. hopefully its attributed to the frigid temps the past few weeks...

As Sweets mentioned - I always look forward to these NY Lowdown meets. great guys and always laughs...

Phil Dont be so hard on yourself your still very young and have many years ahead and you will be a fine player.... you do realize a few of us are old and have been playing many years. There will always be someone better than us so as you have read here many times keep it fun and keep playing...Dont B sharp / Dont B flat just be natural... ( Thanks Milt )

Thanks for another great NY meet.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Hey, I just realized that no one gave me credit for the party favors originating in Philly that I brought my NY pals!

 

Credit where credit is due, gents!

 

[Nicklab]

Sounds like this was pretty cool. And how did I not know there was a mondo Guitar Center on 14th Street? I need to get into Manhattan more often!

[The Bear Jew]

Ya know... NYC is only 100 miles from Philly... You coulda called.

 

Ya pricks.

 

Or maybe you just couldn't handle being in the same room with someone devastatingly handsome (and dead sexy) like me.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Originally posted by CMDN:

Or maybe you just couldn't handle being in the same room with someone devastatingly handsome (and dead sexy) like me.

Nail. Head. Hit. Hit well.

 

(I also assume that you gig all the frickin' time. )

 

I did pass out Cottonmouth DN custom picks to the assembled masses. They garnered much approval.

 

Peace.

--sweet'n'low

[The Bear Jew]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

I was actually free last weekend.

 

I coulda been there.

 

I got brains. I can do things. I'm smaht. Not like everyone says...

 

Sorry, random Godfather II quote.

 

But yeah... next time just check with me. #6 and I coulda hooked up with Slidey Madball and rolled into NYC with him. It woulda been laughs... yocks.. giggles... snickers... guffaws...

 

Ah yeah. Maybe it's better that I stayed home.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Well, there was wine, women, and song ...well at least wine and song ...

 

 

Madball was not sportin' his new hardcore attitude nor appropriately hardcore attire -- y'all may need to work a bit harder on him the next time he rolls thru. If he or wraub ever post some pics you might be disappointed.

 

(And, dig it, next time I'm involved in a NYC gathering, we'll make sure to give the Philly crew a heads-up! )

[ClarkW]

Originally posted by Tom Capasso (Zarkov):

The tone was clean. We made no attempt to color the sound (no overdrive or octave or anything). I can't tell if you could get a grungy rock tone out of (the Bose), but it seems possible.

You can't do any real tone coloring with the unit itself. The presets on it function mostly as EQs and high/low/bandpasses. But if you have a preamp or effects processor, anything you can do with that will come out of the Bose. People have a lot of success with PODs and V-Amps and mic'ing low-wattage amps. I use my ADA MB-1 and it sounds killer.

[The Bear Jew]

Madball was not sportin' his new hardcore attitude nor appropriately hardcore attire -- y'all may need to work a bit harder on him the next time he rolls thru. If he or wraub ever post some pics you might be disappointed.

Hey, give Slidey a break... he's new at this stuff. He'll learn in time. I think we'll be ready for him by, say, I dunno... 2010?

[music-man]

I used my CMDN pick last night while recording a guitar track. Wow - these things really rock. So loud for such a little thing. I keep it in my pocket all the time - just in case.

 

r.e. the Bose system - as far as I'm concerned, it still sounded like I was playing through a PA. A good PA, mind you, but still a PA - with all the attendant lack of mid-range presence.

 

Not much more to add, except to thank Willie for pulling together a group ... in all, a great bunch of people.

[ClarkW]

Music-Man: It *is* a PA system. That's what it's supposed to sound like. You want it to sound any differently, you've got to do that between the bass and the Bose PAS. Of course, someone also might have set it to the "Bass Smiley" preset, which is an EQ with the bass and treble boosted and the mid cut, which I honestly don't think sounds very good. If I'm too lazy to haul my preamp around, I usually plug into the PAS with a flat EQ and do any fiddling with my onboard active preamp.

[music-man]

Originally posted by ClarkW:

Music-Man: It *is* a PA system. That's what it's supposed to sound like.

Right!

 

And ... the truth is that I don't generally enjoy listening to a bass through a PA alone. Chalk it up to too many years of standing 10 feet from the stage in small, sweaty clubs or (standing on stage) 3 feet in front of my amp ... but I'm quite fond of the sound of 10" drivers pushed by powerful amplifiers. Call me a dinosaur.

 

Anyway, I always have a cab of some sort to "supplement" the PA - or more accurately, I look to the PA to round out the bottom end ... but assume I'll get the warmth and grit of the mids from my amp ...

 

All that said, the Bose system is a really good sounding PA, and lightweight and small, and has amazingly even sound dispersion.

[Tom Capasso]

Originally posted by Sweet Willie:

Madball was not sportin' his new hardcore attitude nor appropriately hardcore attire -- y'all may need to work a bit harder on him the next time he rolls thru. If he or wraub ever post some pics you might be disappointed.

Wait a minute, you knockwurst brain !!!

I had jeans on - not uniquely hardcore, but not bad.

 

And I had my kickin' black boots !!! And a black shirt.

 

True, I'm not up to the "chains for keys and wallet" stage yet. And I can't act like a hardcore maniac around you guys - it's your fault for making me soft.

 

Erik - I thought of you as we walked between the tables to our place at the back of the restaurant. We were carrying basses, and people had to slide their chairs in....

 

Tom

[The Fonz]

damn damn damn. i'm really pissed i had to miss this. what are the chances of getting everyone together for drinks when i get back to the apple. say next weekend or so? anyone?

[Mr. Phil]

hmmm...probably not.

[zeronyne]

Originally posted by Sweet Willie:

...

 

Zeronyne? Wcunha? Others? Who's in?

 

Maybe if we wait until summer Lady Bo will come play the Chicago Blues Fest, with moderator Wally Malone holding down the low end. Whaddya say, Wally?

I'd be up for any sort of gathering you guys put together. I'd love to hear some of the gear that I've been eyeing played by a few real bass players.

 

SUU? Are you thinkin' Make 'N Music?

[_Sweet Willie_]

Hey Tom and wraub, when are you guys gonna post some pictures from our time at GC?!

 

Originally posted by zeronyne:

SUU? Are you thinkin' Make 'N Music?

Dig it, zeronyne, I would actually want to shoot for a "field trip" to either Lakland or Elrick, if Dan Lakin or Rob Elrick were willing to host us and tell us about their business and the art and science of bass building. Maybe in a few weeks I'll start trying to gather info to put something together.

 

Peace, y'all.

--s-uu

[mcbn]

I'd be down for whatever! I've got a gig in Chi-town on St. Patrick's day.. but it will be a drive up, set up, play, tear down, get money, go home kinda gig. I've got work the next day. I've got a free weekend in March, around the 20th. That would be great!