/ \ / / - _--__| / | | / \ ________--__- O --- ____ | | \ \ / \ =======/-/=======| |) O --- ___ \ | / / ======/-/=====================| |) O--- ___ | / =====/-/===================================| |) O--- ___ ====/-/================================================| |) -__ ___/_/ _|_ | _ ___ ___ __|__ _ \__ __ \ ___\_\\-_ | |_ / \ | ) __ | | | | / \ | | \ \\ \\\\\\\\\-_ \_/ | \ |-- |--< / \ | \_/ \_/ _ |\ \ | | \__ | \ \__/ | ____ \ o \/\ |_\ /\| \_ |___/ ____---\\\\\\| \ \ \ \ \_ /\| \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\--- \_ \ \ \ _/\/ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\------ \_ \ __-\\\/ ---\\\\\\\- Issue #272 December 28, 1992 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To post: Subscriptions, deletions, requests: bass@uwplatt.edu bass-request@uwplatt.edu (Bitnet: bass@uwplatt.bitnet) (Bitnet: bass-request@uwplatt.bitnet) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today's topics: Bass necks RE: The Bottom Line #268 Guild Pilot / 'BergerspecMo T-shirt suggestions Kai Eckhardt Clinic Summa Cumma Fiat Lux? RE: T-shirt slogan, how silly can we get Used Stick sighting Christmas Gig - T Shirts RE: T-shirt slogan, how silly can we get thanks again RE: The Bottom Line #270 Stick Discography ---------------------------------------------------------- Administrative notes: Here's a surprisingly large issue for all you people not on holiday break. Also, a gentle reminder to please check the addresses at the top of the digest before you send a posting! Send posts to bass@uwplatt.edu please. Enjoy! Erik ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 01:55:21 EST From: nathan@hilbert.biology.YALE.EDU Subject: Bass necks > I like the Steinberger neck, particularly the width and > the depth (sorry, I don't know the proper terms, it's sort > of narrower and rounder than some other necks), and the > balance. I guess it just goes to show you can't please all the people all the time: I absolutely hate the Steinburger necks! Four years ago I decided to take up electric fretless bass to supplement my keyboard and guitar playing. I had read tons of product literature from Steinburger. I thought the (then) new M-series instruments looked much better than the original small- bodied instruments. I hopped on a train to the Big Bad Apple and spent the afternoon at the wonderful instrument stores on 48th (is that right?) street. At Sam Ash they had exactly one black M-series fretless 4-string - like it was waiting just for me. I was practically in a trance as the obnoxious salesman handed that baby to me. I strapped it on, desperately hoping I wouldn't make a fool of myself playing this beast. I plugged in, wrapped my hand around the neck....and around, and around.... gads, that neck felt like it was a baseball bat with strings! Arrrrggggg - the dream was dead. I went next door to Manny's, fell in love with a Guild Pilot 4-string fretless, and took my new baby home. Now that's a neck: thin, narrow, and silky smooth on the back. I still have the Guild, although it's a love-hate relationship these days. The EMG active pickups are so incredibly clear sounding...too clear sometimes, damnit! Hello Mr. Tube Driver - time to crank that 12AX7 and add some filth to the sound.... Anyone have tips for adjusting the truss rod on a Pilot? The hex nut in hidden at an awkward angle on the headstock, and there is no clearance room to get a wrench around the nut! --- Nathan Janette PPP link from hilbert.csb.yale.edu Please reply to: nathan@laplace.csb.yale.edu (NeXT) ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 10:59:23 GMT From: Barry Rowlingson Subject: RE: The Bottom Line #268 Hi all, So Steinberger Basses are made by a relative of Jack Steinberger the Nobel prize winner eh?? If only I was a bass player a few years ago, when I was working on Jack's experiment in Geneva as a PhD student!! Perhaps he could have got one cheap for me... Instead (commence introductory posting, even though I've posted little things before) I play a... Gherson (Fender Jazz-style) 4-string bass. Legend has it that it was the bass used by the support band for Shalamar, a little known jazz-funk band of the late seventies. I have a small Marshall bass amp for practice, and a borrowed 100W HH thing for playing with the drummer... Also a cheap midi-synth for conenction to my atari and a black Les Paul-copy guitar that my dad found on a rubbish tip. All it needed was a new bridge. I've had the bass for just over a year now, previously I played keyboards with a friend on guitar, and he said 'If we're gonna make this into a band we need someone on bass' - so I bought one. We then found a drummer, another guitarist, a REAL keyboard player - all extremely talented individuals - but unfortunately they nearly all had very busy families and jobs to support. Not to mention the unfortunate affair one of the guitarists had with one of the singers - but I wont mention that... We get together very occasionally, and find other musicians to come and jam. All very informal and I don't think we'll be gigging anywhere. Its just for fun! However, I'd like to get a more serious band together, playing blues/rock/funk. Anyone got any ideas for getting it together? I can start looking for musicians when the students come back in three weeks... Anyway, enough rambling from me. I have some suggestions for the T-shirt slogan: " Catch some Bass in your Net " " E-A-D-G spells Bass " (no offense meant to 5 and 6 stringers!) Barry ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: 24 Dec 92 08:25:08 U From: Oz Barron Subject: Guild Pilot / 'BergerspecMo Guild Pilot / 'BergerspecMod... Hi Folks! For those of you in MA, there is an open Mike/Jam at the Red Star Lunch on Concord St in Framingham on Wednesday Nights. If you go, say hi to Stacey, Cheryl, Harry and Chuck for me! I went there last night and played Cheryl's Guild Pilot 5-String and I thought I'd give you my quick reaction. It was white, fretted, with a rosewood fingerboard. I think it's active EQ (sorry, I busy learning tunes :-)). The action is very nice. The first impression was COMFORT! Both Cheryl and I had the same impression, which was that the bass is very balanced and comfortable. The sound (through a Peavey TNT 150) was very balanced. I did some very quick tweeking of the amp and the bass and got a sound that as deep but with enough definition in the highs for me to do my wierd stuff in the upper registers. I was not impressed by the tone control as I feel there was not much variation in the sound (this MAY have been due to the room). I was a little annoyed to find it had two volumes for the two J-type pickups instead of a balance. IMHO, two volumes was a mistake on the Fender Jazz, and it's still a mistake. (flame over) Over all though, I must say that the bass played very well, was very comfortable and had a good deep but defined sound, even under the far from ideal room. (but, ain't that where we usually play?) Annette: Other basses like the 'Berger: Try the Modulus Graphite as these actually license the material to Steinberger. And, as you probably have heard from Specter lovers everywhere, Stu's NS-2, is VERY expensive. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 16:45 GMT From: "William C. Ryan" <0003647569@mcimail.com> Subject: T-shirt suggestions I favor doing all shirts at the same time by the same shirt company, so that if I ever see one of you guys in the DC area, I'll know to keep my distance. But, seriously, "The Bottom Line... where the action is" "The Bottom Line... keeping a tab on Bass playing" "Keep a tab on Bass with The Bottom Line" BRyan ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 10:56:19 PST From: mikes@sol.metaware.com Subject: Kai Eckhardt Clinic I appreciated the last few clinic reviews posted here. So, in that spirit: Kai Eckhardt (formerly John McLaughlin's bass player) presented a clinic here in Watsonville CA. I wanted to check him out since jimlynch posted here that Kai may be accepting students soon {thanks for the post jim!}. This clinic was a surprise compared to the last two (James Earl and Victor Wooten)! Kai spent more time talking about the art of playing than demonstrating technique. We all sat on the floor of an empty real-estate office and watched Kai play the obligitory opening solo (no drum machine or metro). He seemed to purposfully leave out the mind numbing speed runs and slap techniques and opted for a heart-felt, on the spot improv of "how things felt". Some scale work, some slap with a taste of the Steps Ahead solo, and some odd percussive stuff that didn't really seem to work well (hey, he tried..). Kai played with his eyes closed. After that he set the bass down and impressed upon us the importance of our personal expression through the instrument being of highest importance, how not to let the ego-monster destroy your art, and the importance of closing out everything but the music. After having a poor volunteer play quarter notes for five minutes straight, Kai demonstrated all the scales/modes he remembered and played them in just about every time signature while he had us all clap 5/4, 4/4, 7/8. and 3/4. Another memorable demonstration included a player from the audience who grooved a simple pattern until someone called out an addition based on "how the room felt". Kai was insistant on clear communication of musical ideas before allowing the playing to continue. Good demo. The session ended with Kai jammin with other players (one other fellow, then myself). Summary of the clinic: Heartfelt, humble, wordy, inspiring, non-climactic, and pleasantly different... I'd recommend it. -Michael Stebbins ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 11:02:08 PST From: mikes@sol.metaware.com Subject: Summa Cumma Fiat Lux? Can anyone translate a clever Bass slogan into Latin? I also lean towards a slogan that indicates a civilized mind. Even though mine isn't ;) -Michael Stebbins ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 12:36:09 -0800 From: jimlynch@netcom.com Subject: RE: T-shirt slogan, how silly can we get We Write The Bottom Line! ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 12:56:16 CST From: moliere!pmk@uunet.UU.NET Subject: Used Stick sighting If you're looking for a Chapman Stick, there's a used one for sale at a consignment shop here in Minneapolis. It's graphite, s/n 1922. It appeared to be in good condition to me, though set up with action way too high. If interested, give Bruce Balgaard a call at Hi-Tech Consignments, 612-822-7602. The owner is asking US$599. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 25 Dec 92 17:00 GMT From: Stuart Mawby <0005004069@mcimail.com> Subject: Christmas Gig - T Shirts Well, in the spirit of Christmas, my girlfriend and I decided to play together for our church's Christmas Eve service.... These things should not be taken lightly. ;-) We played 'The Coventry Carol' in three part harmony; I played the two bottom parts and she played (alternately) the soprano and alto voice parts on her flute. Quite nice sounding when we don't mess up royally. There is something about a quiet crowd: maybe it is the way that they just sit there and pay attention... It's very unnerving! I guess I am just used to drunk and raucous bars. Now to add my two cents to the T-Shirt thing.... Jack Jansen suggests that we each download a copy of the logo and have a shirt made up on whatever color we so choose..... a good idea, but around here, the charge is greatly increased on the basis of screen make-up. The situation may be different over there.... Perhaps we should have someone in Europe handle distribution on that side of the ocean; it would probably save a lot of people a lot of money. Ideas? I don't have any original ideas for the slogan, but I do like four of the ones sent directly to the list by Fred (or Frank?): 20,000 Leagues under the 'C' 40 Hertzmen of the Apocalypse The Bottom Line--We Reach New Lows Every Day (and with some slight modification) Ask me about my Bottom Line Sorry If there are more typos than normal, I am calling from someone else's computer.... - Stuart ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 25 Dec 92 19:41:10 EST From: rrathgeb@ultrix.ramapo.edu Subject: RE: T-shirt slogan, how silly can we get Hi Fred, Your definately on the right track! Or on thr right string! Sorry, the jokes keep getting worse........ -ROB ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 26 Dec 92 12:40:20 EST From: shinh@nmr-r.MGH.Harvard.Edu Subject: thanks again Hi Everyone, It's the day after Christmas, and I just finished reading a *bunch* of Bottom Lines. Thanks to everybody who replied to my ramblings about Warmouth, and bass lustings... I'm not sure what I'm going to do about a new bass yet, though. Another set of data points: My current teacher has a Warmouth five string Jazz bass with EMG pickups. It really sounds *amazing*. However, several of his students have ordered the exact same parts and stuff, but have ended up with basses that were nice, but didn't sound as good. I'm not sure why this is, but maybe my teacher's bass is one of those special ones... I really want to get a new bass... In the meantime, I'm trying to make my Hohner Steinberger clone as nice as I can. One of the things that I really didn't like about my bass was the fact that I had a laquered finish on the back of the neck. Well. I decided to get some wet/dry sandpaper and scuff up the finish some. I got some 600 grit, taped off the parts that I wanted to leave glossy, sanded to my heart's content, and voila! Satin finish! (kinda) It actually turned out a lot better than I thought it would. My bass plays a lot nicer now; no more thumb dragging for me! -Shin ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 26 Dec 92 14:59:03 EST From: jfw@neuro.duke.edu Subject: RE: The Bottom Line #270 andrejkow@tbosch.dnet.ge.com wrote: > I once listened to a band whose bassist was playing an *Alembic. > Between sets, I passed him at the bar. The guy stank. > > [ Wow, I'm speechless. Rebuttal? bass-mgr ] I'm sorry; it wasn't because of the bass, it was just me. I hadn't had a shower in a week. :-) John ________________________________________________________________________ | John jfw@neuro.duke.edu Duke University Medical Center | | Whitehead jfw@well.sf.ca.us Department of Neurobiology | |________________________________________ Durham, North Carolina ________| ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 28 Dec 92 15:58:21 CST From: Chuck Ivy Subject: Stick Discography I am in the process of updating the discography of recordings including use of Chapman Stick. An older version of the discography is available via ftp from cs.uwp.edu in the /pub/music/discog/s directory. The new version I'm working on will be of the following format: ARTIST (or GROUP): TITLE: STICK PLAYER: SONGS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [time ] MUSICIANS: