Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[JimmyJ]

Ah man, sorry Jazzy.  It is a bit of a risk and I also have had times when my travel light concept has backfired.  If you're playing small clubs you never know what you'll find...
 
When I go this route I try a few things.  The house engineers look at me like I'm crazy and sometimes I have to guarantee that I will fix their speakers if they explode.  Ha!  
 
The best case for me is if the venue has a couple substantial self-powered wedges.  In this case I can run straight into them from the DS5 (I have my preamp board putting out close to line level).  Sometimes I need an iso transformer to avoid hum.  
 
Second best scenario involves me finding the power amps that are running passive wedges and asking for a mic cable run straight into the input. A couple adaptors and the iso trans can make that work.
 
If the only way to run the monitors is from the FOH board then I'll ask the engineer to bypass the wedge EQ (usually set for singing) and let me have it flat.  Still, some speakers are pretty ugly without EQ so your mileage may vary.
 
In all of the above scenarios I also send FOH a straight mic-level DI balanced output.  In the end, it is the BIG AMP (the PA) that you want to carry the load.
 
Anyway, sorry if I led you down a bad path.  It makes it really hard to play when the onstage sound isn't happening but at least we know it sounded good out front!
 
Jimmy J

[mario_farufyno]

Well, a buzzing amp sometimes is better than no sound on stage. That is why I always use the amp along with the DI (preferably mine class D with neodimium cab, light and small -  I know you will not be happy with those light amps if you are a big valve amp guy, but the idea is being able to carry my tone with me). Even if the amp is lousy, its bad sound doesn't mess with what audience is listening since the DI gets my signal before the Amp. We never get happy when tone is not real (that's why we're alembicians, after all, doesn't it?). But, if it is loud enough to manage to hear myself on stage, I can live with it (unhappy, for sure, but not lost).
 
 
(Message edited by mario farufyno on May 27, 2013)

[JimmyJ]

Yes Mario,  
 
As long as the venue has a decent PA and you're not expected to fill the room with your bass amp we can trust that the full sound of the DI is coming through out front.
 
When I need an amp for a rehearsal or a small club I still carry my Walter Woods head driving one or two EV 12 cabs.  Walter was an early adapter of HF switching power supplies to make his amps small light and powerful.  I'm not sure if this '89 model is a full Class-D or some mix but it does the job for me.  However, as I've stated, the amp was never part of the sound I was looking for, it's just amplifying the sound I already dig.  And even in the tiny Baked Potato I run a DI into the PA to get the tone around the room.
 
Jimmy J

[jazzyvee]

Hey Jimmy, you didn't lead me down the bad path at all. In reality  you have had enough scenario's as a professional to gain the experience of knowing what to have with you and what to do to rectify/overcome these situations. For me that was a new situation and It's all part of my experience. :-)
 
Hi Mario, thanks also for your input. I usually carry my Mesa walkabout head with me if as this instance, the event/venue claims to have a back line as the amps are not usually my cup of tea or have problems. However when I got to the stage I saw that the on-stage amp was an SWR Redhead which I know is a decent combo so I didn't bother getting my Walkabout head from the car.  
 
Maybe I should have used the keyboard combo that was there instead.  
Jazzyvee

[JimmyJ]

Yes Mario,  
 
As long as the venue has a decent PA and you're not expected to fill the room with your bass amp we can trust that the full sound of the DI is coming through out front.
 
When I need an amp for a rehearsal or a small club I still carry my Walter Woods head driving one or two EV 12 cabs.  Walter was an early adapter of HF switching power supplies to make his amps small light and powerful.  I'm not sure if this '89 model is a full Class-D or some mix but it does the job for me.  However, as I've stated, the amp was never part of the sound I was looking for, it's just amplifying the sound I already dig.  And even in the tiny Baked Potato I run a DI into the PA to get the tone around the room.
 
Jimmy J

[JuancarlinBass]

Funny you all are mentioning this these couple days. Yesterday I played a gig with a locally famous romantic ballad singer from the 80s at a theater, and due to the kind of music the band was told to keep the stage low since this guy is quite sensible to loud musicians . SO... i decided to go light and tried a new approach. I've just got a Boss GT6-B and decided it was a nice chance to give it its first stage run. I had my small GK amp (MB200) handy just in case. I ended up finding out one of the guitar stands I brought works nicely for tilting the GK amp for monitoring (we were playing seated, so the angle was just right), and then I fed the PA from the GT6's XLR out and the GK from the plug out. The soundman put a 15 wedge at the left of my music stand, and the GK was at the right side, pedalboards in the middle (GT6 and a nice USB 3-pedals board I use for flipping the pages on an Android Tablet from where I read my charts in .pdf. No paper to accidentally drop to the floor, and no messy lamps on the music stand! ). So... I ended listening to my bass in some nice Binaural fashion, plus the vocals and keyboards on the wedge and the drums on my right side. I thought of Jimmy a lot for the almost-go-direct approach I used this time, but it worked nicely (in fact I think I've never heard so much of me on stage before, I wonder if it's healthy or what?). No pics here, not into hijacking, and didn't used my Alembic this time  no fivers needed for this show.

[JimmyJ]

Yes, good stuff here!  
 
A while ago we did a series of orchestra dates where the rhythm section was set up downstage between the conductor and the woodwinds.  Needless to say there were some alarmed looks from the orchestra players when they saw the drum set and electric bass in that position.  For these gigs we brought a tiny monitoring system using JBL Control-1 speakers (smaller than NS-10s) mounted on straight mic stands.  I was seated and heard myself just fine through that ear level speaker.  Same for the drummer who had two.  Nobody else on stage could hear sound coming from these speaker but it was all we needed.  Much better than in-ears for that situation because the dynamics were so important and we could hear what the orchestra was doing acoustically.  Worked great unless I stood up, then I lost the bass.  Ha!
 
I use in-ear monitors now on the road which I guess is the ultimate version of this DI only thing.  But the drummer and guitarist still have wedges so the bass is still somewhat live onstage, just no bass amp competing with all that sound.
 
I love the pdf chart thing too, now we're making some serious technical progress!  I read a chord chart off somebody's phone once.  Hey, Google Music glasses anyone?  C'mon!!
 
Jimmy J
 
(Message edited by jimmyj on May 27, 2013)

[gbulfon]

Gary Husband just posted this amazing video on Facebook, an old shot from 2009, JJ is amazing, Gary and Allan too!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLPsSo8G8P8
 
Have fun!

[JimmyJ]

Such an honor to have had the opportunity to play with those two musical monsters.  However, hearing my own live bass soloing make me cringe as I land about 75% of what I'm trying to do...  But as they say, if you aren't making mistakes you aren't ad libbing.  Ha!!
 
Best to all,
Jimmy J

[rustyg61]

Jimmy, your ad lib mistakes are far better than my polished lics will ever be!

[chrisalembic]

i dont know if this has been posted before, but here is a soundcheck video with Allan Holdsworth and Crew from 93.  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myj0Cmxu8Qo
 
Jimmy, you are playing an Alembic Persuader 5 string with Jazz Pick ups? Sounds great to my ears :-)

[JimmyJ]

Wow, I've never seen this footage but it must have been earlier than '93.  
 
My original 5-string Series-I (76-418) was stolen out of the truck on a Holdsworth tour in August of '87.  I'm unclear of the details after all these years but ... I remember the next night we played in NYC and I think I ran to Manny's and rented a Yamaha 5-string for that gig.  Not knocking that axe but I did NOT have much fun that evening.
 
What I can't remember is where I found the Persuader.  I think I bought it from another shop in NYC (maybe Rudy's?) and finished that tour with it.  So it's likely this video clip is from '87.  I sold the bass to my pal Royce in San Diego shortly after returning home.  It was a nice axe and got me through a tough period.  
 
I already owned another Series-I, an '82 fretted (at that time) 5-string with a graphite neck.  This axe appears on a couple vids too, one with Ritenour and one with Holdsworth in Japan in '84.    
 
The replacement Series-II that Alembic built for me in '87 has been my main recording bass ever since it arrived.  In '89 they made me two more wood basses.  One has become my main traveling bass and the other is my practice and backup machine.  I know that sounds insane to have a Series practice bass but remember I only own 5 instruments and the most recent purchase was in 1989...  I'm dedicated but not that great a customer.  I'm surprised they still take my phone calls.  Ha!
 
Cheers,
Jimmy J

[richbass939]

Jimmy, I love hearing your road stories, except the axe theft kind, of course.
As far as their taking our calls, I have bought two Alembics, neither of them new and from Alembic.  Every time I have called them, they treated me like I was ordering a new S-II.  Great service is just who they are!
Rich

[David Houck]

Cool video!

[jacko]

I received Steve Gadd's new album 'Gadditude' the other day featuring Jimmy on bass and I can heartily recommend everyone seeks it out. It has a very 'laid back jamming in someone's living room' feel to it, perfect for an evening's relaxation with a glass or two.
 
graeme