Collector or Player?

[rraymond]

Hey Paul, from the amount of humor you throw around on the site here, I'd say you are a very non-serious musician - just the kind I like. Serious musicians are no fun! The quote in my profile is one of my favorite Frank Zappa bits. I've even got a T-shirt with that quote on it and I think you can still get them from the Zappa website. FZ was a guy that believed that Humor Does Belong in Music! That dovetails neatly into the Daves' questions about the Trower tune. Yeah, our guitarist pulled off the tone-thing masterfully. He still plays the '62 Strat and (I forgot the year) black-face Fender Super Reverb that a local repair shop hot-rodded with a Master volume. Beside Bridge of Sighs, we used to do Day of the Eagle, too. What a great high-energy tune that is - pedal-to-the-metal from start to finish. That particular guitar player holds a special place in my musical experience, because besides being one of the funniest people I've ever known, he's the only musician I've worked with who could play funny. I don't mean the stock little sound-bite riffs like you hear at a baseball, or hockey game, this guy can play the most inventive - and funny - stuff on guitar you ever heard. It's like having a musical stand-up comic in the band. We had this goof-off band back in the '80s in which we played our Tribute to Law Enforcement. This consisted of me playing - endlessly - the Peter Gunn bassline while the two guitarists tried outdoing each other by throwing every known TV or movie theme concerned with law enforcement, at each other. What a jam! Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, Mission Impossible, Andy Griffith, Car 54, Hawaii 5-0, Barney Miller, James Bond, etc, etc, etc. It was never boring for me 'cause I laughed so much!
 
BTW, Paul, I don't know if you are a Robben Ford fan, but his album Keep On Runnin' has a tune called Bonnie on it. The Bonnie in the song doesn't sound like a real nice lady. She breaks hearts, and maybe heads, as well!  
 
Have fun, all, I've gotta go play the Peter Gunn theme and laugh a few minutes!

[rraymond]

Hi David Burgess, I noticed in your profile that you play Acme cabinets. I have a B2 and a B4, but am wondering what are your thoughts on the little B1? Does it also pump out lots of bass and clean mids and highs? Coming from Acme, I'm guessing that it does!

[lbpesq]

Reid(rraymond):
 
  I completely relate to your comments about the guitar player who could play funny.  That is a trait - the ability to make me chuckle with playing only - that I have rarely observed and always appreciated when I had the good fortune to see such a guitarist.  Jerry G could do it.  
 
A few years ago I was in NYC visiting family. Returning to our hotel, the doorman saw me pull my baby Taylor from the car and told us that Les Paul was playing in 45 minutes in a tiny club in the hotel basement.  I think he was about 82 at the time.  He probably wasn't as good as he used to be (I had never seen him live), but he still was incredible.  And he played funny - a couple of times I actually laughed out loud!  One of my most treasured musical memories.
 
Bill, the guitar one

[dnburgess]

Raymond - the B1 was my first encounter with Acme. The bottom end was so much better than my 15 EV T-line box that the latter was immediately listed on ebay and I created Green Square Music to sell Acme speakers in Australia.
 
The tonal balance of the B1 is very similar to the B2 and B4 - in fact the 3db and 6db down points are identical - pretty amazing for such a tiny box. The trade off is efficiency.
 
These are great boxes for practice or acoustic bass reinforcement or mellow, small group scenarios - but a single B1 doesn't really have enough grunt for louder electric bass applications - which is where the B2 is such a versatile box.
 
Interestingly, I have had my short scale S1 set up with picolo tuning for a while and have played through a TC Electroncs stereo chorus peddle into a stereo power amp and 2 B1s. With at least 3m separation between the speakers it produces beautiful liquid stereo sound.
 
Re Trower: One of the things that really impressed me about Bridge of Sighs was the tension that Trower created between his guitar and the rythm section.

[musikdept]

Matt, I just joined the discussion forum and saw your question about collector or player.  I just acquired a 1998 Custom Rogue and played it out on the first gig I could.  Truthfully, my wife (singer in the band) the other band members, and some of the crowd which follows us REALLY noticed the difference.  WE are a 5-piece classic rock band and only play in our tri-state area (DE, MD and VA) and know the places we are playing....so I definitely have no problem taking my Alembic out on gigs.  We also run our own sound from stage...therefore no asshole soundmen to tell us what to play.  I say...just play your bass man...show it off!!!
Take care,
Wayne

[somatic]

I buy my basses because they bring me pleasure, both because they appeal to me as instruments and as pieces of modern industrial art. The few gigs I play, I don't consider to be worthwhile risks to my Alembics (damage or loss, insurance is expensive) most of the time, so they stay home and I take others.
 
My SC is in perfect condition, so I can have it on a stand, and visitors invariably comment on it's appearance first because it's so pretty, muso's and non-muso's alike. My S1 is all beaten up, has poor finish and looks like it's been used all over the world (which it has), but it's still beautiful to me, in the same way Stevie Ray Vaughn's Strat or SC's original Brown Bass is beautiful from the wear they have from years of playing being used the way they were meant to.
 
I also usually do FOH and/or PA so I don't have issues with sound no matter what I'm playing and none of my other instruments are so poor as to compromise the sound that much compared to either of the Alembics. And sometimes they even sound better.

[palembic]

Boys and Girls ....
 
I AM BACK IN  THE GAME!!!!!
 
'When it becomes clear that no one else shares your level of passion, you are where you belong
 
 
...
 
 
quite good huh!?!?!?!?!?!
 
 
Paul the bad one

[palembic]

Ok...ok ...
 
 
I admit ...I stole that quote from a Rolex advertisement.
But Rolex and Alembic ARE quite close.
IMHO of course.
 
Paul -still- the bad one

[andrewknight]

Bill,
 
Guitar that makes you laugh: I went to see the Dead at The Downs in Santa Fe, NM. It was Bob's birthday. Bobby was feeling particularly rock and roll that day and was really hamming it up complete with the arching back solos etc. I was surprised he didn't put his guitar behind his head to play it at least once. Garcia was playing his rythm stuff while Bobby played the Little Red Rooster slide solo. Jerry slowly transformed his playing into a rockabilly riff that had the entire band laughing, and me. I was up front and I was watching Jerry as usual so I laughed early...but not much earlier than Phil who threw his head back in hysterical laughter. I think the only band member than never heard it was Bob because he was so focused on his solo. Priceless.

[beelee]

I am more of a player than a collector, although I have quite a few basses....15 going on 16 once my new Alembic is built, and depending on the gig I'll bring up to 5 instruments to play, fretted, fretless, 5, 6 ,7 string etc. I cover a wide variety of music, so the bass fits the song.....not just for show.
 
If it was a choice between a Rolex or an Alembic.......I'd sell the Rolex and get another Alembic without a second thought.
Such beautiful instruments are meant to be seen, heard and played not sit in the case, under the bed or in the closet.
playing such an instrument is like being in heaven.