The Gretsch
I have a 1980 Gretsch model 7629 "Committee" bass. It's beautifully made from walnut and maple with MOP inlays and ivory binding around the neck and head stock.
It has a single passive SuperTron pickup in the 'sweet' spot. The tone runs from extremely dark to extremely bright and twangy. The wide tonal range means I can dial in nearly any tone I want. Pretty amazing for a single Pickup.
Many thanks to Steve Brand, of Act One Music, Langley, for the great set-up job and correcting the wiring.
The Fender
I also have a Fender Precision Lyte. It has p/j pups and active electronics. It is nice to play, light, slim neck and good sound.
I replaced the stock Fender pups with DiMarzios. They have higher output, wider frequency response and greater dynamic range. They are a little brighter than the stock pups but with no loss of low end. I added two mini toggle switches for dual sound (series/parallel) off the DiMarzio pups. In combination with the blend pot there is a huge range of new tones I can get. It's a growly, funky little bass now.
The Ibanez
I sold my 1978 Rickenbacker 4001 and bought an Ibanez SR500. This is now my favorite bass. The neck is slim and fast so it's a pleasure to play. It has a pair of Bartolini pups and a Bart 3-band EQ so it sounds great as well. Only the Tunebass comes close in sound and feel.
The Tune Bass
I just got a used Tune Bass NTB-4. It's transparent emerald green. It has Gotoh hardware, Tune Technologies P/J pups and active electronics.
Under all the dirt and grime was a really sweet bass. This is the lightest, most comfortable bass I've ever played.
It has some of the most intelligent features I've ever seen. The lower strap button is above center so the bass balances perfectly. The output jack is recessed and angled so you can't accidently 'pull the plug'. There are trim pots for bass and treble that allow you to adjust from 250K to 500K, basically you dial in the sound you want.
It sounds really great as well. Quite a modern, growly tone. I think this might be my favorite bass.
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My homemade pedalboard and FX |
The Traynor
I have a vintage Traynor TS-25B bass combo. It has a single 15" Black Widow speaker powered by a 25W solid state amp. Before you laugh at the power output let me say this, I have used this combo with a drummer and guitarist in a basement jam and I could still be heard. Although I admit I had the gain and volume both full on. It's an amazing little amp.
The Effects
I have a SansAmp programmable BDDI. This unit is really nice for shaping your tone and adding Drive and Presence. I highly recommend it.
I have both a Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk envelope filter and a Brown Dog gated distortion pedal. Both are analog circuitry and sound great. They are better than any other pedals I've tried. Go Aussies!
The Rest of the Gear
I have a Peavey PV-8 mixer hooked up to the line in of my computer. This is for recording. It gives me 8 potential, simultaneous inputs.
My computer speaker output goes to an Apex matching box/pre-amp to balance the signal. From the Apex a balanced signal goes to a pair of TapCo S-5 active studio monitors.
My computer line output goes to a Behringer UB1222FX-Pro Eurorack mixer. The aux out goes to a Rolls headphone amp and then to my AKG studio phones for silent play. I run the mains out to my Traynor bass combo for non-silent (read loud) play. The Eurorack gives me an additional 16 simultaneous inputs for mics and other instruments.
I plug my bass into the PV-8 with or without the SansAmp for recording depending on whether I want a clean or EQ'd signal to work with. For practice I run my bass into the SansAmp BDDI and then into the Eurorack or PV-8 depending on whether I want my signal to go through the PC. I use Band in a Box for accompaniment and to lay down a backing track.
Left to right, PV-8, Eurorack, AK270, Rolls headphone amp, Korg analog tuner, SansAmp BDDI, TapCo S5 monitors, Apex ACM1 matching box, Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk envelope filter, Chunk Systems Brown Dog gated bass fuzz.
