Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Fun Stories => Topic started by: grynchin on March 04, 2006, 08:07:10 PM
-
This has to do with my Mesa Nomad 100 watt guitar head. I'm in a 3 piece band, and I switch from bass to guitar every other practice night(gibson/mesa, alembic/swr). Anyway, I already blew all of the speakers in my 4x12 cab using an octave pedal, so then I just started using the other guys cab and stopped using the octave!
Then my next fatal mistake was dealing with the ohm load from my amp to his cabinet. I was in a hurry, didn't have my paperwork to assure myself that I was properly hooked up and ran my 8 ohm output on my amp to the 4 ohm input on his cab. Big mistake! The fuse blew in my amp. I immediately knew that. Got some fuses and plugged in. Amp sounded like crap(clean channel was distorted), so I thought that I must have taken out the tubes as well, hopefully. Put my spare tubes in, and still crap sound. Contacted Mesa, cause I'm smart enough to troubleshoot(volts ac/dc, resistance, etc.) just not smart enough to use common sense when it comes to high dollar gear. Found that my resistors in the power section are not fried, now I'm banking on the output transformer being fried.
But among all of this chaos I did manage to ease the pain and take my mind off of it. I went to Walmart and bought a big gravy spoon(or ladle, depending on where you're from), and in one fail swoop, I inserted it firmly in my rearend! Now I hardly even think about the amp, speaker cabinet, or the octave pedal for that matter! How's that rate as a funny story!
Any input or advice from what I have said will be taken with much appreciation, and hopefully someone else has done something dumber with either an amp head, cabinet, or spoon!
-
Here's some advice...
Next time, buy some Crisco to go with the spoon.
:-0
-
LOL
That sucks man. Hope you can get her fixed up soon.
-
The dumbest thing I did just now . . . read your post. I'll accept you're a junior member in this forum and don't know us that well, but remember that we just don't say things like that here, nobody wants to hear that.
Get your gear fixed, then get some manners.
J o e y
-
Joey,
With all due respect, I think you're being too harsh toward Brandon. There are several long-standing members who regularly say things much more outside the norm of this club. Their comments are even applauded and reinforced by other members. I don't think Brandon's comments were too bad in comparison.
Personally, I would like to see this club stay pretty clean. I have no problem with crude humor and profanity, in the right place. If one wants a bass forum with insults, really crude language, and disrespect, they are certainly there.
Brandon, sorry about your rig. We've all done dumb things and messed up perfectly good gear.
Rich
-
Sorry, Rich, but I'm with Joey.
I was really disappointed to see the last two paragraphs of the post show up here (as well as the first response). It bothered me enough that I didn't trust myself to respond at the time; I thought Joey was actually quite the gentleman about it.
However, I would agree with you that some others here have been pushing the limits a bit - and I don't think that makes it acceptable, at least not to me, and perhaps also not to a few long-standing members who have recently chosen to leave.
I have no problem with occasional profanity, as long as it's not directed at other people. Though it's not what I come here for, I also don't really object to a bit of crude humor, though personally I would like to see just a touch more respect for women. And it doesn't bother me in the least if Brandon wants to explore his anatomy, in whatever way he chooses - I just don't need to read about it here.
-Bob
-
Sorry if my reply offended anyone. It was a little out of the bounds of good taste, I admit, but I didn't think it would be particularly noteworthy. The last part of his post was tongue-in-cheek, so I replied tongue-in-cheek. Brandon didn't need advice, as he knew exactly what he did. He needed cheering up, and that's what I tried to do.
In the words of the little bald kid from The Matrix,
...there is no spoon...
-
While I agree with Joey and Rich that this is probably not the place for what was said in the original post and the first reply,(then again I'm pretty new here) Charles' quote from the Matrix there is no spoon, did make me laugh!
-
Thanks Olie.
Joey&Bob, remember we newbs can't know exactly where the lines are unless you old timers tell us.
Sorry again,
Charles
-
Personally, I'd like to see the offensive language in the first two posts above edited out. While I won't research the matter, I believe that the off-color remarks that occasionally occur here are more of an implied nature. Explicit vulgarity is rarely, if ever, seen and appreciated less.
-
I guess what I would like to see out of this thread is for:
1)Brandon to stick around. I don't want to see someone leave the club because he thinks he ticked everyone off and won't be accepted here. Every one has something to offer here, new people and oldsters alike.
2)the continuation of people expressing their opinions in a respectful manner. In other bass forum sites there would have been an all-out attack on several people.
3)myself to let people be who they are and express themselves in their own ways. Sometimes it is difficult for me to hold my tongue/fingers. We are a pretty diverse bunch of people. Occasionally we see posts that push the limits.
However, I think we generally have a very respectful group of members. I like this club very much. Thank you to all the members for who you are and what you contribute to this club, whether it is technical expertise, emotional reinforcement, or just a little comic relief.
Respectfully,
Rich
-
Agreed, Rich, and well said. I think we're a little less diverse than most sites in that we're a subset of people who have an interest in Alembic gear. As a result, I think we tend to be a bit more mature than more generally-oriented forums. If we all remember that we're guests in the Wickersham household when we post here and act accordingly, this will remain a lovely place.
I also would like to see Brandon stick around. I had a shorted speaker cable (brand new Monster Pro) smoke my SM-900 a few years ago during sound check at a $5K corporate X-Mas party. I suspect that if I went home and started posting that evening, I probably would have made an off-color remark or two. I certainly did when I saw the puff of smoke rise from the rack.
Don't worry, be happy...
-
I agree with you both. I'm new but hooked. I'm afraid you're stuck with me ya'll.
(new here I should say, I've been playing bass for 30 + years now.)
-
This thread seems to have taken on a rather Shakesperian tone:
Much Ado About Nothing
Keep playin' (& please try to refrain from referring to this as a Bass Forum! LOL)
Bill, the guitar one
-
I know this has been around awhile but as penance to Bill and those other folks who play in the higher register I will reproduce it here. The opinion of the orginal writer are not nessecarily those of the poster.
Keith
Bass player offenses/fines list
Name of offender _____________________________
Date of offense(s) _____ / _____ / _______
Musical offenses
Playing loudly during warm up ? $10
Sound-checking amp with funk slapping ? $25
Loud cursing after mistake ? $10
Playing high and fast after mistake ? $20
Practicing 2-handed tapping between tunes ? $20
Asking for E tuning note ? $25
Playing E anyway when horns tune to Bb ? $50
Playing written-out walking line ? $50
Failure to play written walking line ? $75
Writing note names over ledger-line notes ? $50
Writing beat numbers under dotted figures ? $50
Playing eighth notes ? $5 each
Playing sixteenth notes ? $10 each
Playing above 1st octave-immediate dismissal
Dragging fast tempo ? $75
Dragging ballad tempo ? $100
Blacking out during ballad ? $200
Ignoring drummer's tempo ? $100
Following drummer's tempo ? $250
Asking to borrow Real Book for All Of Me ? $1000
Upright player offenses
Showing up before first downbeat ? $25
Playing audibly ? $25
Faking changes ? $25
Slapping ? $150
Missing tutti lick, then mentioning vintage of bass ? $25
Excessive sweating ? $25
Pedal point double-stops during horn solo ? $50
Asking leader for a solo ? $30
Accepting solo when offered ? $50
Taking second chorus ? $100
Playing solo arco ? $400
Pretending to check tuning after playing out of tune ? $25
Playing A Train ending on every tune ? $200
Playing extended A Train ending on every tune ? $500
Electric player offenses
Checking hair between tunes ? $15
Experimenting with odd meters ? $25
Missing root at end of blistering fill ? $25
Playing with a pick ? $50
Tuning during ballad ? $30
Playing Jaco groove on samba ? $75
Playing Jaco samba groove on ballad ? $150
Attempting last word on final chord ? $50
Achieving last word on final chord ? $100
Long gliss down to final note ? $200
Equipment violations?electric
Forgetting strap ? $10
Changing strings after every set ? $15
Using electric tuner ? $15
Setting up mic just in case ? $75
Forgetting to turn amp on ? $40
Bringing amp larger than 1 person can carry in 1 trip ? $50
Asking horn player for help moving amp ? $25
Bringing custom-made bass ? $100 per string above 4
Bringing more than 1 bass ? $100 per extra bass
Skull decals on bass ? $150
Bringing fretless bass ? $500
Criminal bad taste
Telling bone player about all the gigs you get ? $10
Asking bone player about their day gig ? $10
Sitting behind drums on break ? $10
Quoting Birdland ? $25
Practicing scales during break ? $25
Practicing scales during drum solo ? $50
Practicing ? $150
Beginning a sentence with When I was a guitar player ? $50
Casually mentioning to Musical Director of cheap theater that you are into sequencing ? $100
Basic stupidity
Wearing old Buddy Rich tour shirt ? $10
Wearing new Whitesnake tour shirt ? $20
Asking when the rock set starts ? $20
Continually asking where are we? ? $25
Continually shouting Yeah! ? $25
Asking bone player where 1 is ? $50
Taking cellphone call during 4's ? $100
(Message edited by keith_h on March 09, 2006)
-
Bass Player Rewards
Spitting blood like Gene Simmons during soft jazz set -- +$100
Using the bass as a club for no damn reason, taking out lead singer during performance -- +1000
Playing Eruption with three fingers during sound check -- +$75
Playing Steve Harris galloping bass lines on every song -- +200
Naming the following as your favorite bassist and chieftest influence:
The guy from Mr. Mister ($200)
Juan Croucier (Ratt) ($75)
Rudy Szarzo ($5)
-
From personal experience with my bass player:
Leaving SF-2 precariously balanced on stack of stuff on loading dock during load-up ... $100
(Yup, it fell about 8-10 feet and died)
Bill, tgo
-
Bill, I just ordered one today...that's a little bit more than a $100 fine!
-
Charles:
I think it wound up costing about $100 to fix. You're gonna LOVE the SF-2. It's the closest thing to a true magic box I've found. Once you get it, you might want to do a search on this site. There are several discussions about how to set it up and tweak it. Of course just plugging in, turning it on, and turnin' dials is fun too!
Bill, tgo
-
I've been around musicians for years, and we all know that most of us have an 'outside' sense of humor. But I always felt we were the Wickershams' guests, and I really don't want to see this devolve to the level of other forums I've read.
I too would hate to see Brandon take a hike.
J o e y
-
Wow! I had no idea that my comment would be offensive to anyone but my mother! I am extremely sorry that I offended anyone. I have a very active imagination and sometimes I don't hear the way my words sound. To anyone that is curious, the last statements in my original post were not factual. I really was just making light of a string of musical meltdowns I have had.
And to explain the origin of my comment....The great comedian Lewis Black was doing standup, in which he saw a Super Bowl halftime show put on by MTV. Nsync, Britney Spears, and Aerosmith were performing, and the pain to see that was more the he could bear, and he stated that if he were going to hurt that bad, it was going to be by his own doing..........and if you care, you can add the rest.
Granted, that was a vulgar statement. However, I did not use curse words or degrade anyone but myself(originally that is; I did in turn degrade the whole forum now that I look at it), which does not excuse the matter or take any of the blame away from me. Unfortunately, leaving things to one's imagination can produce worse thoughts.
A bit about my personal life if you care to hear. I am religious. I do not want to be a religious person that sets a bad example, and I most certainly did. I have a sharp tongue and quick wit, and those things don't die easily. I would like to keep those two things, but use them positively. I know that a religious person would not condone or revel in my comments, as they most certainly did not glorify a religious figure.
Thank you fellow members for calling me out. I feel that it is an extreme privilege to have at my fingertips the amount of knowledge, entertainment, openness, experience, etc. that are here at this site. Thank you Alembic and all members.
I will gladly remove any comment that I can, although I don't even know if I can now. Or maybe it should stay as a warning, code of honor, respect, etc. for all future posts. Again, I am deeply sorry for any ill feelings or thoughts that I have caused and I ask your for your forgiveness.
Sincerely, Brandon
P.S. The felonies keep piling up! I had to edit the religious part of my post because it was denominationally specific. The reason I found that out is because I finally read the FAQs and must read page. I am an assemble then read instructions after you have messed up kind of person. And here it only got me into trouble by not following the rules or respectful boundaries.
(Message edited by grynchin on March 10, 2006)
(Message edited by grynchin on March 10, 2006)
-
I have contacted Mica about my post, the situation, and editing of it. Thank you all for the descency and respect you hold for this site and its members.
Brandon
-
It's okay, Brandon, you can relax now. Usually it goes a bit easier than this, but welcome to the club.
Your thoughtful response is appreciated, especially the effort you went to in removing the denominational stuff (we are a rather diverse group).
The normal policy is that we don't remove posts, or portions thereof, beyond the 72 hour period when the original poster may do so. As you say, it may have some educational value, and we can't rewrite history - just acknowledge that it's in the past, and move forward, hopefully a bit more enlightened.
This turned into a good opportunity to reaffirm our standards, and I really like the couple of suggestions that we think of ourselves as guests in the Wickersham home, and act accordingly. So thank you for that.
Though maybe we can still get away with a few things your mother might not fully approve of, hard to know :-)
-Bob
-
Thanks Brandon!
So ... how's the amp???!!!
-
Well done, Brandon.
Believe me, I should have died from foot-in-mouth disease years ago. It's only as I dodder off into middle age that I'm doing some better, but Idiot-proofing ME is a 24/7 job. I really think that typing this out slows me down enough to think a bit more carefully.
Good to have you with us.
J o e y
-
aaaah!!!! Dave, Dave, Dave. The amp is still in shambles. I do not have a lot of free time, and have not had a chance to go further. One thing that gets me is the good folks at Mesa are always off on Fridays and that is the only time I seem to think about it. I'll get around to it. Fortunately, I have a backup head, so I can't complain too much.
Thank you -Bob, Dave, and J o e y for your kind words.
Brandon
-
I cant stand it. Let the Sobriety Squad come arrest me. I personally did find Grynchin's post funny and I enjoyed it. One of the hard won realizations of my lifetime (54 years) is that IF you can not laugh at it you must be afraid of it. I would prefer that others not speak for me.
----------------------------------------
Quote: I'll accept you're a junior member in this forum and don't know us that well, but remember that we just don't say things like that here, nobody wants to hear that.
Get your gear fixed, then get some manners.
----------------------------------------
these are not my feelings and I expect many will agree with me.
I say: get your gear fixed...and keep your humor, its the best friend you will ever have.
Tom ze Old Fart.
-
The problem with vulgarity these days is that it seems to be nothing more than the latest incarnation of ye olde pissing contest.
Where's the humour?
Adriaan
-
Welcome Brandon! Well done!
Don't know you , but I like you already.
Usually you do not need a helmet to gab around here.
(I think the problem was the size of the spoon)
-
I had a long history of speaking inappropriately, at work, in my personal life, etc. I thought it was funny when it came out of my mouth, but others did not share my perspective. With some concentration, hard work, and perserverance, I was able to learn to control my outburst, at least in my professional environment. The problem was that my boss had no idea the intense amount of editorial that was taking place in my head. I wanted him to appreciate how I had improved. So after a meeting or client encounter, I would share all the things I thought of, but didn't say, just so he could appreciate how good things had gone. Maybe we could add a new forum, all things inappropriate. A place where crude and vulgar Alembic lovers could find community. I am new to this club, and it reminds me of the early days of the Mac. There is a reverence, and an evangelical bent to the love of these instruments, I think it's pretty sweet actually, after all, they are just guitars..............