Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[JimmyJ]

Hey Rich,
 
Thanks for all that.  Just goes to show you that I keep saying the same thing over and over again.  Makes for pretty boring interviews!
 
I'm sure I wasn't the first to go low, I just got there early.  Anthony Jackson was probably the first known guy...  But the funny thing is, since I got my first 5-string Series I in '76 I have not changed my gear...  Most guys stay in the loop and keep checking out new instruments, builders, amps, etc. but I've pretty much just stayed right here.  Must be part of my personality - I still eat peanut butter sandwiches too and have been married to the same gal for comin' on 30 years...  HA!!
 
Juan Carlos, I've been working on Derek Sherinian's new project.  He says these tunes are easy but for me that translates into many hours of bass track building (protooling) to make it good.  Oy!  Fun though, happy to be invited to the party!  And good luck with your project!
 
Cheers,
Jimmy J
 
(Message edited by jimmyj on April 20, 2011)

[JuancarlinBass]

ProTooling is fun. Not the same kind of old-school fun we grew used to, but certainly a nice useful tool. This group -keys, bass and drums power trio-  I've somewhat recently joined in, has some story in my country (Venezuela), it exists since 1976... and still does things the ' 76 way!. I recorded last year the bass tracks for their 3rd album, on a 24 track, 1 inch reel-to-reel system. The guy recorded all keyboards parts first, then a small string orchestra, THEN my bass, and last the drums and the vocals -not ready yet these last two-, WITHOUT any sequencer or click track or anything! Oh, and no score either. It was pure sweat, I had to make my own charts from the rough keys+strings mixes I was given (Hey, at least the guy can burn a CD from the multitrack tapes!), and follow what was recorded, pauses and all, until it somehow locked in place. Organic he calls it, I' preferred at the time not tell him loudly what I'd call it.  
The 5-string Epic got a lot of the starring role on the recording, along with my Barts-equipped Fernandes J. Now we' re supposed to close the deal -not my cup o' tea, thank you- to open for Asia next month, and the Epic will have its first huge live audience since I have it. I'm thinking on goin' straight from the Wireless system to DI, and monitor via in-ears, to keep things clean and easy. I am somewhat aware this is what you do live -not too sure about th ein-ears, though, but since I will also be singing, I chose this option to be sure of what I'm doing with my voice. What do you think?  
 
A Huge greeting from Venezuela!
 
(Message edited by jcdlc72 on April 21, 2011)

[JimmyJ]

Juan Carlos,
 
That's a pretty inside-out way to make a prog record, keyboards first and drums last with no clicks...  Challenging!  I hope that tour comes together for you, that could be good.
 
Yes, I'm DI but wired not wireless.  And I use in-ear monitors, also wired with a small headphone amp driving them.  There are some real advantages to using in-ears, especially (I imagine) for singing.  Nice to keep the sound level to your ears under control, have a consistent sound regardless of the venue, and be able to be hear the hi-hat up close no matter where you walk on the stage.  If you are used to working with headphones in the studio then it's not much of a leap.  But if you are used to having an amp blow your pants legs around then it can be tough.  A shaker on your riser can also trick your mind into thinking the bass is real loud.  (I don't use one myself but know some drummers who have their thrones wired so they can feel the kick and bass).  The FOH mixer will love you for going in-ears.  The less bass you have rumbling around on stage the clearer it will be in the PA - the BIG amp.
 
Good luck with it all.
Jimmy J

[charles_holmes]

Yo Jimmy,
Chalie Holmes here..What brand are you using for in ear monitor and what kind of headphone amp are you using to power the in-ear monitors?
Lastly, if you have any thoughts /ideas.....The soundman says that my signal is too hot when I go direct (F1-X to the mixer). I have turned down the F1-X and my axe but still, the PA systems gags when I play through it.  
Thanks Man! !-_-!

[JimmyJ]

Hey Chalie,
 
I'm using the Ultimate Ears model 5 which is a two-way (two miniature drivers per ear - woofer / tweeter I guess).  I tried their generic fit two-way and three-way models and preferred the 2-way so I had custom molds made of those.  I guess now they have up to 6 drivers per earpiece.  Wild.
 
I'm driving them with a hi-fi headphone amp by a company called Headroom.  I've got their older Cosmic model.  It has a little processing in it, kind of softens the stereo image, but I find the sound rather nice.  
 
Since my bass is plugged into it's power supply via the 5-pin cable I just made a double cable with nylon sleeving that ends near the bass with an 1/8 headphone jack.  It's a little clunky but functional.
 
Lately I have been running my bass wide-open through a REDDI DI box so the resulting output is very close to +4 line level.  If you have a regular sound guy ask him to try a line-input instead of a mic-input for your F-1X signal.  But if you're club hopping and seeing a different sound guy and PA every day they will expect a mic-level from the DI.  You could also get (or build) an inline pad or maybe even mod the F-1X (only with instructions from Alembic) to trim its output...
 
Good luck!
Jimmy J

[bigredbass]

Chalie:
 
The Headroom products are built by Headroom, available thru their website at www.headphone.com.  I bring this up as most of us have need of headphones / in-ears, and this is a terrific website for just that sort of thing.  They do their own tests and offer everything from cheap earbuds to thousand-dollar plus audiophile headphones and everything that goes with them (gee, I never knew there were headphone amps !).  A great place to LEARN about these things.
 
J o e y

[charles_holmes]

Solid Jimmy J & Joey!
I'm on it! Jimmy, I do use the same sound man on all gigs and will present your suggestion. In addition, if you have the time could you provide a photo of your 5-pin I'd be mighty appreciative!
I'm not really that electronically savvy and I wouldn't attempt to build an inline pad but, I do know Kenny Wittman creator of(Spins) Spin Strap and I know that he can build one as well as hook up the altered 5-pin cable like yours! Hey Joey....I will indeed check out the website that you gave me!
Thank you so much to the both of you!
Chalie

[JimmyJ]

Hey Chalie,
 
Here's a shot of the bass end of my cable.  (This photo has a slight fish-eye effect because it was taken so close, the headphone jack looks larger than life.)  As I said it's not exactly the cleanest physical design but it is functional.  I use the upper strap button as an anchor for it all.  The other thing is, this nylon sleeving can be slippery on certain floors so you need to be careful.  And eventually the individual nylon strands get snagged and break so I end up building a new one every couple years.
 
Seeya,
Jimmy J
 

[JuancarlinBass]

So, Jimmy... let me see if I understand from this pic  Are you running both the 5-pin cable from your Series bass AND the in-ear return through a single hose ? At first is what it seems to me from what I think is a thinner cable coming out from the female jack, looks to me like it goes to your back like an earphone...  
 
Which would be simply awesome, there would be only a single cable (Although a composite one) dangling from the bass, and not a couple cables to struggle with (don't you hate it when, by any reason, the earphones cable seems to be pulling?)

[JimmyJ]

Juan Carlos,
 
Yes, you've got it.  The closest thing to the camera is the 1/8 stereo jack with my in-ears plugged into it and trailing off behind me (again it looks disproportionally large in this pic).  And hose is a good thing to call this thing because it's not very flexible and not really convenient for moving around the stage.  But I think going hard-wired like this is the most hi-fi approach in both directions.  The next more convenient step would be a wireless pack for the ears.  Then if you really needed to move around the stage a wireless transmitter for the bass.  But since I'm not required to do any coordinated dance steps (thank God) the above combo works best for me.
 
I suppose this could be done with one cable, an 8-pin right-angle XLR at the bass and an 1/8 jack mounted near the 1/4 jack...  Oooo!  But that would be complicated, you'd still end up trailing a snake behind you, and then I'd have to modify all the basses...  Never mind.  Also, both my wires have their own shielding so I have no crosstalk issues.
 
Jimmy J
 
(Message edited by jimmyj on April 27, 2011)

[811952]

I'd never noticed that you use the bottom strap button.  Interesting.
 
John

[bigredbass]

Jimmy, do you have any experience with any of the small mixers?  I'm wanting to get something along the lines of a Mackie 802, know you do some recording at home and are around lots of good engineers . . . any of these 'notebook' mixers you like?  I'm drawn by the Mackie for the VLZ line preamps (which do apply to the 1/4 inputs) and the really strong headphone amp/output on them.  Whaddya think?
 
J o e y

[JimmyJ]

Hey J o e y,
 
My recording channel doesn't include a board so I'm not much help here. Certainly the Mackie would be good for a practice setup but may not be quite hi-fi enough to be the front end of a giant amp system.
 
I once had a rig with a couple effects returns, all line level, so I just made a little passive summing thing that did the trick without adding any noise or distortion.  Kind of like the mono output of the bass is simply two resistors which sum A+B.
 
Jimmy J
 
(Message edited by jimmyj on April 30, 2011)

[reinier]

Joey,
 
Obviously I'm from a different league than the man you've asked and don't own a SII bass, so for what it's worth: I've been using a Spirit Folio Notepad for practice at home and for rehearsals for some 10 years now. Bought it unheard based on a review in a recording mag that A/B-ed it with a big Soundcraft board and wrote they were unable to hear much difference..... [maybe that's why the mag went out of print ;-)]
 
The Notepad sounds great with all my 3 basses (custom Jazz with Activators, fretless F-bass BNF 5 str and Alembic JJ Signature 5 with Anniversary electronics) both on AKG headphones as well as on high volumes (1000W 3-way system). Just straight into the 1/4 jack (no DI), really sweet EQ (bass 100Hz & treble 10kHz) and no noise added unless you really crank the 10Khz EQ or need to go past 7 on the preamp input gain (with an Alembic, by then you'll be overdriving the input stage).
 
The Folio Notepad is discontinued but Soundcraft have several successors using the same preamp. I think they even come with a sweepable mid EQ and and Lexicon effects now.
 
Take care, RR

[bigredbass]

Thanks Jimmy and Reinier:
 
I'm afraid I'm out of the business of driving amp rigs (giant or not) other than trying to build a nice bedroom rig.  Jimmy, I forgot my own oft-quoted maxim that there's always a gulf between typical gig gear and true hifi, studio gear.  You don't get that for baby mixer, $200 price range stuff.  Thanks for reminding me.
 
I'm just at a point where I can NOT find anything (yet) that sounds transparent to me, I'm afraid I have much investigating to go.
 
And thanks for the Soundcraft tip, RR.
 
J o e y