All gear, all the time. bassgearmag.com Issue 8

GK MB800The micro head that really lights ‘em up

fEARfull EnclosuresDIY bass done right

Jules Amps MoniqueFall in love with tubes

Ibanez GVB1006Gerald Veasley’s axe

$7.50US

COVER

QU I CK LOOKS

F U L L REVI EWS

I N DU STRY N EWS

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PLAYER INTERVIEW

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2012 Winter NAMM Show

2012 Winter NAMM Show Awards

Gerald VeasleyVic Serbe interviews the incomparable Gerald Veasley.

bassgearJule Amps Monique Tube Bass Preamp

Eden WTDI Preamp/DI PedalAmpeg PF-500 Bass Head and PF-115HE Bass CabTC Electronic BG500/15 Bass Combo

Ibanez GVB1006 6-String Bass GuitarNot only does Vic Serbe interview Gerald Veasley in this issue, he also gets to takeGerald’s new Signature Ibanez for a test drive!

Carvin SB4000 4-String Bass GuitarMade in the USA, and developed in conjunction with Sekou Bunch, the Carvin SB seriesbasses are making big waves in the bass community. Alan Loshbaugh explains why.

Glockenklang Heart-Rock II Bass HeadHigh-end German manufacturer Glockenklang has revamped their powerful Heart-Rockhead. Tom Bowlus explores this new and improved powerhouse.

Acme Flatwound and Full Range Bass CabsAndy Lewis has been quietly making some of the best bass cabs in the business fordecades. Tom reviews his latest “super 1x12’s.”

GK MB800 Bass Head and Neo212-II Bass CabsGK sets new standards in the world of lightweight bass amplification. Alan reviews themighty MB800 and throws down with a pair of Neo212-II’s.

Cover Shot – Andy Lewis, of Acme Sound, LLC.

4 bassgear

COLU M N S

SPECI AL F EATU RES

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988issue Luthiers’ Round Table

BGM is blessed to have a cadre of the best luthiers on the planet agree to cometogether for the greater good of furthering the understanding of their trade.

fEARful PhenomenonMystical Montana cab designer “greenboy” has sparked a revolution in the world of

DIY (and built to order) bass enclosures. Tom takes us down the fEARful path.

Guest Column – Coated Strings: The Uncoated TruthRoger Sadowsky lends his voice as a guest columnist on the topic of potential

grounding issues related to some coated strings.

How I See ItThe power of competition is immense, but not all competition moves us in positive

directions. Knowing your true competitor is key.

Drums-n-BassIn his first contribution to this column, Jordan Simmons (J-Simms) talks about the power

of thought without thinking, and sharing your voice without inhabition.

Manufacturer’s ResponseYes, that’s right. We give manufactures and luthiers their very own space to tell us what

they really think about our reviews!

Corrections/Comments from Prior IssueBGM takes an editorial mulligan and corrects a few errant swings

from issue #7.

Philthy Talk – “Electric Bass Setups”High end custom, or pawn shop cheapies, no bass will play it’s best without a good setup.

Phil Maneri walks us through what goes into an electric bass setup

From the Bench - “The Saddest of All Keys”Pythagorus was into more than triangles, who knew? Tom Lees did, and he explains why

Nigel Tufnel was right - D minor really is the saddest of all keys.

In The Doghouse – Physical Tone Production, Part 1Chris Fitzgerald takes a break from the gear talk to discuss the basics of getting good tone

out of a double bass. Yes, folks, it is all in the hands…

The Upright Perspective – Flat Back vs. Round Back, Part 1Arnold Schnitzer compares and contrasts flat-back vs. round-back basses and explains

why it’s not a simple matter to decide which is “best.”

Fundamental Support – Future of Music CoalitionThis national non-profit organization supports education, research and advocacy for

musicians. That’s a tall task, and Alan Loshbaugh explains how they do it.

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5bassgear

Tom Bowlus, Editor-in-Chief

state champs in 16 years, but you’re

just a freshman, and now that you’ve

seen the post season, you’ll be even

more ready for it next year. You didn’t

win the fight, but you went the full

eight rounds. Viewed within their own

individual microcosms, you have what

looks to be a string of defeats. The

macro view, however, reveals a series

of building blocks, each leaving you

better prepared to deal with what lies

ahead.

If you want to know with whom you

are truly competing, take a look in the

mirror. You are your own best

measuring stick. Granted, sitting safely

at home, locked in an ivory tower, is

not the answer. We do need to be

exposed to competition and to other

players in the game. Knocking elbows

with fellow players can light a fire

within us, and there’s always something

to be gained by studying another

player’s moves – especially when their

skill set is superior to our own. But the

trick is to not despair when you realize

you are not the best in the world, or in

your state, or in your home town, or

even in your own family.

Push yourself. Rise to the challenge.

Take on tasks which you are not sure if

you can accomplish. Win or lose, these

are all steps along the path of the long

game, the end game. And when you

want real inspiration, don’t look to the

cover of a magazine. Look into the

mirror.

That’s how I see it.

Take care, Tom.

moving bass lines based upon a chord

progression might not seem too

glamorous at first, but these types of

skills – and the desire to pursue them –

are the hallmarks of a true competitor.

In addition to sorting out which kinds

of competition are helpful, and which

may be potentially hurtful, it is also

worth thinking about with whom we

are competing. In some circumstances,

it’s pretty defined. Or at least it seems

to be… Three players respond to the

bassist wanted ad, and you all get

auditions… your team squares off

against last year’s state champs at

regionals… you step into the ring, and

the bell goes off; your opponent comes

at you, gloves up… In these scenarios,

it sure seems like our competition is

obvious: the other two players; the

team with all those tall kids; the guy in

the grey and black shorts. On one level,

those answers are correct. But in the

grander scheme, they are not your

competition at all.

You may not get the gig, especially

when one of the other two players has a

resume as long as his arm. Your team

may not get past regionals, seeing as

how last year’s champs are returning

with most of their roster intact. It may

not be your arm which is raised at the

end of the fight, and your opponent

continues his undefeated run. Viewing

these individual competitions with

short sight, it appears that you have lost

(to defined foes). But in working to

prepare for that audition, you mastered

a playing style you hadn’t tried before,

and that’s another tool to put in your

quiver. Your team lost to the first repeat

Competition can inspire us to reach

heights we previously thought were

unobtainable, and it can push us to be

all that we can be. These are great

things, no doubt. But it can also lead to

obsessive and even destructive

behavior, as well as frustrating and

unrealistic expectations. Setting your

sights high can be inspirational. Setting

your sights too high (at least at first)

can be demoralizing. Unless you are

Usain Bolt, Albert Einstein, or Wayne

Gretzky, there will always be someone

a little faster, a little smarter, a little

better.

With the plethora of videos on YouTube

and Facebook full of players who want

to show how many notes they can play

in a minute, up-and-coming (or even

established) bass players have no lack

of competitive inspiration. Much of

this, however, is what I think of as

“false competition.” YouTube doesn’t

give out awards, and at the end of the

day, no one really cares who played the

most notes. Granted, anything that

inspires someone to pick up their

instrument and practice is a good thing,

but by and large, you aren’t competing

with that kid from Topeka with the fast

fingers.

For a better example of “true

competition” head down to your local

music store (or check craigslist, or

whatever) and look for the “bassist

wanted” ads. Chances are, the band

members conducting the interview will

be more concerned with your ability to

play in time and in key than they will

with your flash and dazzle. Learning to

read, or learning how to improvise

How I See it

6 bassgear

bassgear

EDITOR IN CHIEF Tom Bowlus

tom@bassgearmag.com

TECHNICAL EDITORS Tom Lees

toml@bassgearmag.com

Phil Maneri

phil@fretshop.com

STAFF REVIEWERS Vic Serbe

vic@bassgearmag.com

Alan Loshbaugh

Joshua Bubniak

josh@bassgearmag.com

STAFF CONTRIBUTORS Chris Fitzgerald

bassfitzgerald@yahoo.com

Anthony Lucas

Arnold Schnitzer

arnold@aesbass.com

ART DIRECTOR George Keller

iriegeorge@yahoo.com

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Vic Serbe

vic@bassgearmag.com

Editorial inquiries or review product shipping:Bass Gear Magazine 207 N. Park Ave. Fremont, OH 43420 USA +1 419-332-8260

Advertising inquiries should be directed to vic@bassgearmag.com +1 708-7400-BGM

Publishing and reprints office:Bass Gear Magazine 207 N. Park Ave. Fremont, OH 43420 USA +1 419-332-8260

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All material published in Bass Gear Magazine is copyrighted ©2012 by Bass Gear Magazine, Ltd. All

rights reserved. Published and printed in the USA.

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7bassgear

Jule AmpsMoniqueTube BassPreamp/DI

Quick Look put into the hands of a musician.Nothing makes him happier than tohear that something he made is helpingan artist to express themselves as theyhave never been able to do so before.

Yeah, this Jule guy has some promise,for sure. But is it all Kool-Aid, or isthere more to Monique?

First Impressions

Monique is available in your choice oftwo exterior housings. The baseline is arather utilitarian (but gloriously so)steel housing. For an upcharge, themore organic wood case (made fromhighly renewable bamboo) is alsoavailable. Either way, you get adeceptively simple-looking interface onthe front, which has one ¼” input, aSensitivity knob, 3-band EQ, a LineLevel control, and an on/off switchwith a blue jewel (Jule?) light. Movingto the back panel, you have the ACinput receptacle, ¼” unbalanced lineout, and balanced XLR output, withground lift and independent levelcontrol.

This interface is “deceptive” because ifyou just look at that 3-band EQ andwhat appears to be one gain knob andtwo output level controls, you will notbe at all prepared for the range of tonesMonique has to offer.

The tone stack – which is driven by asingle 6SL7 (aka 6N5P) – is aBaxandall EQ, capably of boost or cutof up to 20dB for each band. Thecharacteristics of a Baxandall EQ arethat each band operates independently(non-interactive with the other twobands), and instead of adding/cuttinggain, you are adding/cutting level(though if you boost all three bands,you do get some gain boost). Thismeans that you can turn up (or cutback) any one band pretty much all theway without dramatically affecting theoverall output. The venerable SVTfeatured a Baxandall EQ circuit, aswell.

What really ups the ante is thatSensitivity control (which is driven bythe second 6N5P). The Jule Ampswebpage states, “Your input‘Sensitivity’ is fully adjustable frompristine clean to grungy bottom growlfor active and passive pickups.” This isdone to a large extent by varying theimpedance of the input, though it does

By Tom Bowlus

The Company Line

I recall the first time I was asked if Ihad checked out “Monique.” “Ofcourse not, I’m a happily married man.”“No, man, Monique from Jule!”“Jewel?” It was like someone wasspeaking to me in a different language.Turns out, that was actually a prettygood introduction…

Monique is an all-tube bass preamp/DIfrom Santa Cruz-based Jule Amps.What’s there to get so excited about? Isit just the sultry name? Is it the sexyexterior? Is it the “moth to the flame”

lure of glowing tubes?Well, sure, it’s alittle bit of allof that, but awhole lot more.

Talking to JulePotter, you cantell right off thebat that this guyknows his stuff.He grew upbouncingaround theglobe (andbouncing radiowaves off theionosphere)with hismilitaryelectronics

(Navy and then Army) father, and laterspent four years in the Navy (two toursof Vietnam) on aircraft carriers andgetting advanced electronics training.He’s done wiring work for JamesDemeter, and he’s been building all-tube guitar amps for years after retiringfrom the software industry.

Okay, so he’s got somecred. Lots of guys doin this industry. But

the other thing thatstrikes you rightaway is hispassion – apassion for doingthings “right,”and not just froma mathematics and

physics perspective,but from a soulful, musical

perspective. This guy cares deeplyabout every product he has made and

8 bassgear

Manufacturer: Jule Amps

Made in: USA

Enclosure: Bamboo

Inputs: ¼”

Outputs: ¼”, XLR

EQ: 3-Band (Baxandall)

DI: Cinemag Transformer, Ground Lift,

Level Control

Other Features: Sensitivity Control, Line Level

Control, Push/Pull for 0/+4 dB, All Point-to-

Point Wiring, Shock-Mounted Tube Sockets

Options:Wood or Steel Enclosure

Dimensions: 10” W x 8” H x 6” D

Weight: 5 lbs

Warranty: 1 Year

Price: $1,700 Direct ($1,300 for Steel Enclosure)

vary the gain at the same time. Inaddition, you can pull out theSensitivity knob out for a +4dB gainincrease (though I have to say, being asmooth knob in a recessed panel, it is alittle difficult to get a good grip andpull it out). Leave it out for passiveaxes, and push it in if you use an activeinstrument.

A Closer Look

With Monique driving a BergantinoIP112, my first thoughts were, “warm,smooth, and clear.” These words keptcoming back to me as I spent more timewith this preamp. The website makesmultiple references to the SVT, but Ifound myself more often thinking of aB-15 kind of tone (though to its credit,Monique can also cop a pretty niceSVT vibe, as well).

Running through the three bands of EQ,none of the controls are what I wouldcall dramatic in terms of how far theyshifted from the centerline, but all threeoffered up a good range of musicalvariation. The highs did not impart anyadded “hiss” or noise, even whenturned all the way up. The mids alsosounded great turned all the way up.My notes read, “When the midrangesounds this good, why would you wantto cut any?” When you do cut the mids,though, it doesn’t leave an obvious holein your tone; it’s just another flavor ofgood. The Low band was equallyimpressive. Boosting the lows yielded aluscious and enveloping tone whichwas not at all “un-tight.” I resist theurge to call the lows “tight,” becausethat doesn’t express the expansiveembrace of the lows (when boosted).There is no sloppiness or mud to beheard, though. Likewise, referring tothe tone as “warm” should not beinterpreted as implying any lack ofarticulation. This EQ stack really has alot to offer, and I ended up preferringthe tone with all three bands boosted tosome degree.

As much fun as I had with the EQ, thereal surprise – and real magic –Monique had to offer lay with theSensitivity knob. This control seemspart gain control, part impedancematching, and part clean/harmonicscontrol. Again, though not overlypowerful, the range over which it doesadjust is very meaningful and musical.The cleanest tones are found at the fullcounter-clockwise rotation, and the

most harmonic content is at fullyclockwise. This single knob reallychanges the character of the signal, andin conjunction with the 3-band EQ, youcan dial in an amazing range of clean togrowly, or more modern to vintage,tones.

The ¼” Line Level output and thebalanced XLR output are drivenindependently, and actually sound agood bit different. The Line Leveloutput is driven by a 12AU7, and it ishot enough to push about any poweramp (or powered enclosure) you’d careto pair it up with, but when dialed backa bit, can interface quite well with theinput jack on a bass head or combo.The balanced output is delivered via acustom Cinemag output transformer(which can hit a respectable +4dB,turned all the way up). The XLR isdefinitely more meaty and full, slightlymore warm overall, and definitely morerich. The Line Level output is noslouch, though, and has a bit more “air”and “life” up top. Both outputs can beused simultaneously.

In addition to the two 6N5P’s and the12AU7, Monique also employs a JJEZ81 tube rectifier, which introducesthat special “sag” and character thatcan’t be replicated in solid staterectifiers. This is where the “touch”comes from, according to Jule.

Lasting Impressions

This is an amazing, alluring gem of apreamp/DI. The more time I spent withMonique, the more I fell in love. Yeah,those technical chops and all thatpassion have definitely resulted in oneheck of a product from thehands and heartof Jule Potter.The price tagmay give somepause, but thequality of thecomponents, theintegrity of thedesign, andelegantexecution willnot leave youwanting. TheJule Ampsmotto is, “AllTube, AllLove,” and thatreally sums itup nicely.

9bassgear

Quick LookEden WTDIDirect Box /Preamp

box, it is apparent that it was designed

in the same style as the Eden WTX

series, with the small footprint and the

black-chromed dome knobs. The knobs

have a colored indicator stripe whose

colors correspond with Eden’s normal

knob color scheme. The Gain and

Master controls have a blue stripe, EQ

knobs have a red stripe and the

Enhance and Compressor knobs get

white. The other very noticeable trait of

this particular pedal is that it crams a

lot of features into a fairly small box.

The WTDI is roughly the same size as

the Hammond 1590BB enclosure, but

packs a DI, ¼” input and output, 3-

band EQ, Bass Boost and Mid Shift

buttons, an Enhance control and a

Compressor, as well as the bypass

switch and power inlet. All of that in a

4.5 x 3.5 space! The box is powered by

the included 15v power supply, which

has a center pin positive, but

it can be powered by a 12-

18v power supply.

Before I get into the first use

of the box, I want to note

that the pedal switch is wired

a bit differently than I would

have preferred it to be. When

you turn the pedal “on” and

the LED above the bypass

switch is lit, it actually

bypasses the pedal controls.

This is essentially wired

backwards to what most

people using a pedal-style

preamp or any other

stompbox are going to

expect. It threw me for a

loop in a live environment,

but after taking the pedal

home and sitting with it a

while, I realized that it was

wired the way it is and never

had a problem after that.

However, I do think this is an oversight

on an otherwise very well thought-out

pedal. I can see where the reasoning

behind wiring the switch that way

comes from, being as on most amps,

when you bypass something, you press

a switch and the light comes on. The

problem is that in a pedal format, this

By Josh Bubniak

The Company Line

When bass players hear the name Eden,

the first thing that comes to mind is

usually that familiar gold faceplate with

blue, grey and red knobs and a sound

that has been heard on many live tours

and studio dates worldwide. Until

recently, Eden was not a name

associated with any type of stompboxes

or effect pedals. All of that has changed

with the new Eden WTDI Direct Box /

Preamp.

Eden began in 1976 with the goal any

good amplification company has: to

build the highest quality amplification

possible for bass players. They have

continued in that tradition for over 30

years, and in an effort to help bassists

with normal problematic scenarios that

we encounter on the road, the WTDI

was born.

First Impressions

The WTDI is a very versatile box that

can be used for a wide variety of

applications. When first looking at the

10 bassgear

Manufacturer: Eden

Made in: USA

Enclosure: Custom

Exterior: Powder Coated Black

Voltage: 12-18v AC/DC – Adapter Included

Battery Operation: No

Inputs: ¼”

Outputs: ¼”, XLR (w/ Ground Switch)

EQ: 3-Band (w/ Boost Switches)

Other Features: Separate Gain and Master

Volume, Compressor, Enhance Knob

Dimensions: 4 ¾” W x 2” H x 3 ½” D

Weight: 1.25 lbs

Warranty: 2 Years

Price: $224.99 Retail, $149.99 Street

will confuse more people than have any

sort of benefit.

Practical Application

The first use of the pedal is as a straight

DI. You can plug the input of your bass

into the WTDI and an XLR cable into

the Balanced Out and run to your

mixing console or your recording

interface. The DI is relatively quiet and

has a lift switch for the ground pin, but

in my experience, my Radial J48 and

Jule Amps Monique – which are the

two sources I most use in a live and

recording setting for DI needs – are

quieter. Of course, both of those units

are also significantly more expensive

than the WTDI. My normal sound

engineer at one of my church gigs did

notice the noise increase and

commented on it, and after the ground

switch did not help much, we ended up

switching DI’s to my Radial J48.

However, the WTDI did NOT go back

into my gig bag at this point. I chose

instead to use it as a preamp to go into

the Radial as I still wanted the tone

controls associated with the WTDI.

This brings us to our next use of this

box, as a floor-based preamp. The

WTDI has a few options that most

floor-based preamps do not have, such

as the onboard one-knob compressor

and the Eden Enhance knob, which can

and do come in fairly handy on both

live and studio gigs. The WTDI has a

3-band preamp with two switches to

control a bass boost and mid frequency

shift. The Bass knob gives 15dB of

boost or cut at approximately 30Hz.

The Bass Boost button is a dynamic

bass boost along the Fletcher-Munson

Curve. The Mid knob provides a boost

in the mids based on where the Mid

Shift button is set. That Mid Shift

button flips between 550Hz and

2.2kHz, so you can choose the best fit

for your particular tonal needs. The

Treble knob offers 15dB of boost or cut

at approximately 4kHz. The other two

knobs that are involved in the tone

shaping are the one-knob compressor,

which can go from subtle compression

up to an effect style compression level.

The other knob is the Enhance knob,

which Eden has dubbed the “Magic

Knob,” which according to Eden,

simultaneously boost the very low bass,

upper mids and highs. I personally find

this knob to be of little use to me above

about 9 o’clock, but until that point,

there are some great tones to be had by

simply turning one knob. I also used

this pedal as the front end into a power

amp for a small, portable rig.

You can also combine the two styles of

use, obviously, and use the preamp in

tandem with the DI for a one-stop shop

for some folks – especially guys

running a rigless set up and using in ear

monitors in a live setting. This box will

combine everything you need to still be

in control of your tone, while satisfying

the need to travel as lightly as possible.

The third use is as an additional

channel to your existing amp or as a

supplement to your amp’s EQ. By

placing the WTDI at the end of your

signal chain and before your amp, you

can make a single-channel amp into a

double-channel, or use the compressor

and Enhance knobs to create a great

alternative sound when the WTDI is

switched on.

Lasting Impressions

All said and done, this is one versatile

box to have available in your gig bag. It

is moderately priced and in my opinion

is a true utility box. Amp goes down?

No problem. Need a D.I. because the

house D.I. has seen much better days

and sounds like a hornets’ nest?

Covered. The tone of your rig ticking

you off for whatever reason that night?

You’ve got a completely different tone

in the front pouch of your gig bag. If

you’re looking for that all-in-one

solution to have with you, without

taking up a lot of space, you may find a

great fit in the Eden WTDI.

11bassgear

Quick Look nice) hit all the visual triggers needed

to recall the beloved B-15, but are the

new Portaflex heads and cabs up to the

aural challenge? Let’s find out.

First Impressions

The first thing anyone wants to do

when they first check out one of these

rigs is to check out the whole “flip-top”

thing, so let’s hit that right off the bat.

Yes, it’s probably not really necessary,

and they could have made a line of

killer-sounding, great-looking

heads/cabs/combos and skipped the

latches and lids. The net effect from a

usability perspective would have been

almost exactly the same. But, it is

pretty cool. Plus, it offers great

protection for your head during

transportation (without the need for a

separate case/bag), and it offers a

convenient place to store your AC and

speaker cables. Ampeg has a little bag

inside (with Velcro fasteners) if you

don’t want those cables flopping

around. The lid is easy to get on/off,

and it locks into place very securely

(which is especially important,

considering that these are sealed

enclosures). My one reservation is that

this vintage-themed styling includes the

use of a single handle on the back

(top?) side of the lid. While this handle

(and the lid it is attached to) seems to

be strong enough, the overall “combo”

is a little on the bulky side to be carried

by one handle. They do come with

casters and are easy to move across a

flat area, but I would have preferred the

addition of two handles on the sides for

when you have to lift the rig, as there

are effectively no handles to use when

the head is flipped up in the playing

position.

Moving on to the PF-500 head, the

front panel layout is almost identical to

the SVT-7Pro I reviewed in our last

issue: single ¼” input; LED indicator

(clipping and mute) status; mute

button; –15dB pad; compressor (with

indicator LED); gain control (all lower-

case text for the PF-500, BTW); ultra

AmpegPF-500Bass HeadPF-115HEBass Cab

By Tom Bowlus

The Company Line

“Portable, powerful, and affordable” are

the three leading adjectives used by

Ampeg to describe their new Portaflex

Series of heads and cabs. While these

words are undoubtedly applicable, it is

the vintage styling, flip-top design, and

tonal heritage which really set these

products apart from the rest of the

competition that is shooting for

“portable, powerful, and affordable.”

The attribute which jumps out first and

foremost when you look at the

Portaflex lineup is the flip-top

design of the two cabs – the PF-

115HE and PF-210HE. This

design feature is obviously

intended to invoke fond

recollections of the original

flip-top, the B-15. I must admit

to being skeptical of the

potential for mere gimmickry,

but I have to say, the way they

pulled this off is really pretty

slick. Either of the two heads –

the 350-watt PF-350 or the 500-

watt PF-500 – will fit on the

flip-side of the “lid” for either

cab. The heads and cabs are

sold separately, and you have to

mount the head to the lid,

yourself. The two heads have

different spacings for the feet,

where the attachment to the lid

is made, so if you switch from

one head to the other, you’ll

have to plug the unused set of

holes. [Note: Ampeg has

recently added a 4x10 and

larger 1x15 to the Portaflex

line, but they are non-flip-tops.

The PF-115LF and PF-410HLF

are both shelf-ported, and add

some tonal flexibility to the

series.]

Okay, so the flip-top lid, the

grille cloth and the diamond

tolex (black, not blue, but still

12 bassgear

PF-500 Bass Head:

Manufacturer: Ampeg

Made in: China

Enclosure: Sheet Metal

Preamp Type: Solid State

Output Section: Class-D

Power Supply: Switch-Mode

Rated Output Power: 300 watts @ 8 ohms, 500

watts @ 4 ohms

Inputs: One ¼” Input Jack, 1/8” Audio In, Power

Amp In, FX Return, Footswitch Input

Outputs: ¼” and Speakon Speaker Outs, Tuner

Out, Preamp Out, FX Send, 1/8” Headphones Out

DI: Balanced XLR, Ground Lift, Pre/Post EQ Switch,

-40dB Switch

EQ: 3-Band w/ Selectable Mid Frequencies, Ultra

Lo, Ultra Hi

Other Features: Mute Switch, -15dB Input Switch,

Variable Compressor, FX Mix, Voltage Selector

Switch, Footswitch Control for Mute

Dimensions: 3.1” x 14.0” x 10.8”

Weight: 11 lbs

Warranty: 2-Years, Non-Transferable

Price: $559.99 List, $399.99 Street

lo and ultra hi switches; bass (+/- 12dB

at 40Hz); midrange (boost up to 10dB

or cut up to 20dB at one of five

different frequency centers: 220Hz,

450Hz, 800Hz, 1.6kHz, or 3kHz);

treble (+15/-20dB at 4kHz); fx mix;

and master volume control. Here’s

where it varies from the 7Pro layout,

with the fault LED and 1/8” jacks for

both audio in and phones out wrapping

it up. The back panel has the IEC input

connector, voltage selector switch,

power switch, speaker outputs (one ¼”

and one Speakon), XLR line out (with

ground lift, -40dB pad, and post/pre-

EQ switches), fx send and return, tuner

out, preamp out, power amp in, and a

footswitch jack (for control of mute

and fx on/off). In addition to the

slightly different I/O layout, the other

notable variation from the SVT-7Pro is

the lack of a tube in the preamp.

As with the 7Pro, engaging the ultra hi

introduces a 9dB boost at 8kHz, though

in the case of the PF-500, this seemed

to also add a noticeable (though not

terribly obnoxious) amount of “hiss.”

The ultra lo introduces a slight low

frequency boost (2dB at 40Hz), and

also cuts 10dB at 500Hz. This control

seemed to work exactly as it does on

the 7Pro.

In addition to the convertible top, the

PF-115HE also sports removable

casters, two ¼” speaker jacks, and a 3-

position L-pad control (no attenuation,

- 6dB, and fully off) for the tweeter.

Ampeg has included some slick “slider

rails” on the back of the cabinet to

further protect the enclosure when laid

on its back. Both cabinets are available

in 8-ohm configuration (only), both are

rated for 450 watts, and both use

Eminence drivers.

A Closer Look

The first thing I did when the PF-

500/115HE rig came in for review was

haul it off to band practice. Right out of

the box (literally), I had vintage Ampeg

tones at my fingertips, and the preamp

and tone controls worked exactly as I

would expect them to do. If you have

spent any time at all with a relatively

modern Ampeg head, you’d have no

problem figuring out the PF-500 in a

jiffy. Volume was more than

respectable, although I was pushing it

fairly hard (this was with the “loudest-

practicing” of the bands I play in). I

was a little surprised at the warmth and

lack of any high-end shrillness coming

from the tweeter-equipped cab. My

bandmates and I were suitably

impressed.

So it was fun to play with on its own,

and I spent a good bit of time

comparing the PF-500 head to the SVT-

7Pro (see issue #7). The real test,

though, was going to be putting this

new Portaflex rig up against my ’66 B-

15N (which was discussed in some

detail back in issue #4). Setting both

EQ’s to “noon,” the B-15N was

definitely more clear, pristine and

harmonious, and the PF-500/115HE

was a bit more wooly and full. That

being said, you could still tell that they

were both cut from the same mold. A

bit more tweaking brought them closer

yet.

Playing my ’73 Jazz, I first dialed in my

preferred tone on the B-15N: using the

Bass channel, I set the Volume and Bass

to noon, and the Treble to about 10

o’clock. I was in tone heaven, for sure.

This is truly one of the classic bass

tones, in my book. After playing around

a bit, I was able to get the new

Portaflex rig fairly close. I ended up

with gain at noon, volume a tad under

noon, bass just under 2 o’clock, treble

just over 1 o’clock, and midrange

(setting 1) also at 1 o’clock. Yes, the B-

15N still had more throatiness, growl,

and harmonic content, but other than

that, the PF-500/115HE got pretty

darned close. In a band setting, I bet

they’d be very hard to distinguish.

Driving the PF-115HE with the B-

15N’s head, and then driving the

13bassgear

Ampeg PF-115HE Bass Cab:

Manufacturer: Ampeg

Made in: China

Enclosure: 15mm Poplar Ply

Exterior: Black Diamond Tolex

Driver: One 15” Ceramic Eminence Driver

Tweeter: One 1” HF Compression Driver w/ 3-

Position L-Pad Control

Rated Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms

Rated Power Handling: 450 Watts

Inputs: Two Parallel ¼” Input/Output Jacks

Porting: N/A (Sealed)

Other Features: Flip-Top Design, Top-Mounted

Handle, Removable Casters

Dimensions: 23” x 21” x 14”

Weight: 45 lbs

Warranty: 2-Years, Non-Transferable

Price: $519.99 List, $399.99 Street

B-15N’s enclosure with the PF-500 head proved to be

interesting. I was surprised by how much of the tonal

differences seemed to be coming from the cabs, more so than

the heads. The PF-115HE is more solid, smooth and

controlled. The B-15N enclosure (as a reminder, this is a

Vintage-Blue double baffle enclosure, with my stock driver) is

more throaty, harmonic, and has more excitement up high

(despite the fact that the PF-115HE is the one with the

tweeter!).

Pushing the gain and volume up even further made it clear that

the PF-500 has a lot more juice on tap, and it can be driven

very hard and still stay in control. The LED clip light starts to

blink red at about 3 o’clock on the gain, but the tone stays

usable even when max’d out (it sounds better if you keep it

out of the extremes, though). The compressor on the PF-500

seems to be perhaps more like that of the SVT-4Pro than the

7Pro, in that it doesn’t seem to do as much in the first half of

its travel, but squashes things pretty handily at its highest

settings. It never gets obnoxious, though.

Lasting Impressions

Once again, I am impressed by what Loud is doing with the

Ampeg brand. We gave them a Bass Gear Magazine 2011

Winter NAMM Best of Show Award for the Portaflex line, and

upon further scrutiny and review, I still feel like they have a

real winning lineup on their hands. As a player, the PF-500

and PF-115HE give you great tone (both vintage and modern)

and respectable volume (especially if you drive two of the

enclosures) at prices which won’t break the bank. They’re

pretty easy to lug around, too (despite the lack of side

handles). So I guess that “portable, powerful, and affordable”

mantra isn’t too far off, then, eh?

You better believe it! And the impressive thing is, the cool

(and functional) “gimmick” that tends to draw the most

attention initially – the flip-top thing – ends up taking a back

seat to this rig’s more utilitarian qualities. Of course, it doesn’t

hurt that it looks hella cool, but based upon its performance

merits alone, the PF-500/115HE is a rig you should definitely

check out.

14 bassgear

TRADEMARKED LA BELLA STRINGS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Quick LookTC ElectronicBG500-115

maximum output thing, TC has you

covered with the RS210-based combos,

the Combo450, ComboStaccato, and

ComboClassic. If you want to go ultra-

light and like to play with effects, the

new BG250 may float your boat. But if

you want a self-contained gigging

powerhouse, and know how to lift with

your legs, then the BG500 (available in

2x10 or 1x15 format) is the ticket for

you.

First Impressions

When I first started gigging out on

electric bass, it was with a 1x15

combo, and I felt lucky to have it. After

playing through a second-hand guitar

amp for years, this was my first “real”

bass rig. Once we moved on to bigger

venues, though, my rig started growing

as well, until I found myself with a

full-fledged rack-based rig sporting a

3,000-watt PA-style power amp. As

both the bass amplification market and

my sense of reality continued to

develop, I found myself migrating

away from big racks and stacks of

cabs, and towards more compact heads

and cabinets. Playing the BG500-115

has led me to contemplate bringing

things full circle and going back to a

1x15 combo.

Right out of the box, this combo just

flat-out delivers. Despite the level of

technology crammed into just about

every TC Electronic product, I found it

very easy to get up and running with

great tone. As I discuss below, there are

some definite improvements to be

made once you really understand all of

these controls, but when a product

passes the “can you gig it without

reading the manual?” test, that’s always

a good thing in my book. The volume

capabilities really wowed me, as well.

A Closer Look

The single ¼” input accepts both active

and passive instruments, and claims to

be “designed to adapt to any type of

By Tom Bowlus

The Company Line

TC Electronic first jumped into the bass

amplification scene with the RH450

head and the RS210 and RS212

enclosures. These newcomers

sufficiently impressed us at the 2010

Winter NAMM Show to earn a Bass

Gear Magazine Best of Show Award.

We later reviewed this head and both

cabs in issue #6 and learned that TC

Electronic has a few unique tricks up

their sleeve

when it comes to

how they

approach bass

amplification.

Their sonic and

performance

goals appear to

be deeply

“vintage-

inspired,” but

they definitely

walk their own

path as far as

how they

achieve their

results. Throw in

some nifty

modern

conveniences

like built-in

tuners and

programmable

memory presets,

and that’s the

basic (pun

intended) TC

recipe for

success.

In this instance,

TC takes this

“vintage-

flavored tone

meets modern convenience” approach

and packs it into a large-format, gig-

ready bass combo. If you are more into

the svelte, minimal footprint for

16 bassgear

Manufacturer: TC Electronic

Made in: China

Enclosure: Plywood

Exterior: Carpet

Drivers: One 15” (Proprietary)

Eminence Driver

Tweeter: Eminence Neo 33mm

Preamp Type: Solid State

Output Section: Class-d

Power Supply: Switched Mode

Rated Output Power: 500 watts (4 ohms)

Inputs: One ¼” input jack, ¼” aux in (stereo)

Outputs: Balanced DI (XLR), ¼” line out, ¼”

Headphone Out (Stereo)

EQ: 4-Band

Other Features: SpectraComp, TweeterTone,

TubeTone, Clip LED, Tune/Mute, Pre/Post EQ

Switch for DI, Contour 1 & 2, Memory Presets

Dimensions: 29” Tall x 19” Wide x 16.4” Deep

Weight: 75 lbs

Warranty: 2 Years (Bought Within EU), 1 Year

(Bought Outside EU)

Price: $930 MSRP, $649 street

pickup.” The input Gain and Master

volume controls work just as you

would expect, with a Peak LED

available to let you know if you are

pushing the input too hard (setting the

Gain to where the Peak LED

occasionally lights up is ideal). I will

note that the taper on the Master

volume control is much more sensitive

earlier in its travel, with only minor

increases in gain occurring over the last

third of its rotation. The four-band EQ

is likewise very straightforward,

offering up to 15dB of gain or 24dB of

cut at frequencies centered around

160Hz (Bass), 400Hz (Lo-Mid), 800Hz

(Hi-Mid) and 1.6kHz (Treble).

Interestingly, these six “simple”

controls all have a darker shaded “box”

behind the knob. The remaining three

knobs – SpectraComp™,

TweeterTone™, and TubeTone™ –

have un-shaded “boxes” behind them,

and are anything but simple.

SpectraComp is the compressor

control, and it employs a spectral, or

multi-band, approach to compression.

This allows the BG500 to handle the

compression of the low, mid and high

frequencies independently – an

approach which we discussed in more

detail in our prior review of the

RH450. What you end up with is fairly

transparent compression, but it is

important to realize that the

SpectraComp control also

automatically compensates for

compression gain reduction. The idea is

to keep your output consistent as you

progress from lighter to heavier

compression. However, I found that in

practice, the auto make-up gain

actually led to unexpected results with

regard to gain and output. As I turned

up the SpectraComp knob, I noticed a

significant increase in volume. Granted,

the compression itself was very smooth

and transparent – I only knew that I

was squashing the signal pretty good

by watching the compression meter

LEDs light up – but the gain differences

were very noticeable throughout the

knob’s range, and this might make it

difficult to adjust the level of

compression on the fly. It may be that

what I am experiencing is somewhat

related to how the spectral compression

is responding to my individual playing

style, so results may vary from player to

player.

We have also discussed the design and

function of the TubeTone control in our

prior reviews of the RH450 and

Staccato heads, but I’ll state briefly that

it is a control which attempts to emulate

the harmonic and tonal impact of

driving both preamp and power amp

tubes. At its higher settings, TubeTone

successfully evokes the saturation

characteristics of both types of tubes –

which is noteworthy and impressive, as

most “tube emulation” seems to

recreate only what I hear going on

when preamp tubes are pushed into

overdrive. I love this control! You can

dial in anything from a background

growl to full-out snarling, rich

overdrive. It is worth noting, however,

that this background level of growl

really can’t be completely dialed out,

even with the TubeTone knob turned all

the way down. Understanding how the

SpectraComp works becomes much

more important and useful when you

dial in a good bit of TubeTone. These

two controls are very interactive, and I

found the benefits of the spectral

compression to be magnified when

dialing in a more saturated tone with

the TubeTone.

The TweeterTone control has been more

recently added to TC’s quiver of tone

control options, and was not featured on

either the Staccato or RH450 heads.

This control is in essence an electronic

replacement for the more typical L-pad

tweeter control found on many tweeter-

equipped enclosures and combos. I can

certainly hear this function occurring

17bassgear

when using the TweeterTone control in

cut mode, and I would agree with TC

that this is a very intuitive and musical

way to cut high end content. It’s right

there on the front panel, and allows for

more control than I typically encounter

with L-pads – which commonly seem

to have a narrow range of truly usable

settings. In boost mode, however, this

control is very subtle, and it made

almost no difference on my passive

Nordy vJ5 Classic. When I switched to

an active MTD, however, I could hear

it adding some air to the higher

frequencies when boosted, but at the

expense of some added hiss. As a high

frequency trim tool, however,

TweeterTone does its job exceptionally

well.

Bells and Whistles

But wait, there’s more! Those

unassuming buttons across the top of

the control panel offer enhanced

usability. First up, we have the built-in

tuner. Hit the Tune/Mute button, and

the compression LEDs indicate which

string you are tuning, and two

additional LEDs tell you if you need to

tune up or down. When both LEDs are

steadily lit, you are in tune for that

string. This is a simplified version of

the built-in tuner found on some of

TC’s other heads, but it is certainly

functional and a welcome addition.

The Contour button provides two

different levels of midrange scoop.

Engaging Contour 1 sounds like it adds

a little depth and does take out some of

the midrange growl – clean tone

aficionados take note! It also cuts a

little of the upper midrange to lower

treble region. Switching to Contour 2,

the lows sound much bigger and

deeper, but it is otherwise fairly similar

to Contour 1.

Finally, we have the three

programmable memory presets. These

are very easy to use. Just dial in the

tone you want for that preset, and then

hold down the respective button until

the LED flashes. Now, no matter how

you change the tone controls after that,

when you hit that particular Memory

button, it will recall the settings in

place when you stored it. The range of

stored settings includes everything

except for Master volume and

Tune/Mute, even the Gain, Contour,

SpectraComp and TweeterTone

controls. If you include the option of

turning off all the presets and using the

current knob/button settings, this allows

you to quickly access up to four

different tone profiles.

Comparatively Speaking

Seeing as how I also had an Ampeg PF-

500 head and PF-115HE cab on hand

(and also being reviewed in this issue),

a brief comparison was unavoidable.

The immediate caveat is that while both

output sections are rated for 500 watts

at 4 ohms, the BG500-115 gets to throw

all of its rated power into the internal 4-

ohm driver. Conversely, the PF-115HE

is an 8-ohm enclosure, so the PF-500 is

not putting out its full power. In

addition, the TC’s enclosure is ported,

while the Ampeg’s is sealed. These

notations aside, the two rigs had some

definite tonal similarities, especially in

the “growl” component of the

midrange. Each rig blends some vintage

and some more modern tonal

components, and with some EQ, one

can be made to sound very much like

the other. As expected, the BG500 is

bigger and deeper sounding, as well as

notably louder, overall. It is also tighter

down low, and a bit more articulate,

overall. The Ampeg rig is a tad warmer,

yet also able to dial in a cleaner, less

growly, tone.

Lasting Impressions

The BG500-115 is a very competent

performer in terms of volume, tone, and

features. I loved the full, but tight, and

harmonically rich tone, especially in a

classic to more modern rock setting.

While it is not the lightest or most

compact combo available, that’s not

really its bailiwick, and the dimensions

and handle placement allow for a very

reasonable two-hand carry. I found lots

to like about the BG500-115, and this

rig found me coming full circle and

gigging out with a 1x15 combo again.

Over the course of several gigs, it

didn’t leave me wanting in any regard.

When you factor in the reasonable

pricing, TC is making one heck of a

compelling argument with these BG500

combos.

18 bassgear

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www.bassgearmag.com

19bassgear

bassgear

TEST!

TEST!

The Ibanez Gerald VeasleyGVB1006

By Vic Serbe

The Company Line

We covered the history of Ibanez back

in Issue 3 with the BTB 575, but to

shortly recap, Ibanez is part of

Hoshino, whose existence dates back

to 1908. The Ibanez name originated

from a Spanish guitar Hoshino was

distributing later in time, and by the

mid ‘60s, Hoshino had purchased the

rights to the Ibanez name and began

shipping guitars to the United States.

Eventually, Hoshino opened an office

near Philadelphia, PA, and the guitars

were typically high quality but very

inexpensive copies of other popular

instruments.

Eventually, they started making the

solid-body guitars that were

discovered, loved, and endorsed by

popular artists covering all styles of

music, from George Benson and his

jazz music to Paul Stanley of the rock

band KISS. It wasn’t until the ‘80s that

Ibanez really started to carve a name

for itself on the bass side, including the

SR series, which was launched in 1987

with the 4-string P/J (Precision and

Jazz style pickups combined in one

bass) model SR1000 Soundgear. The

primary features marketed on this bass

were reduced body weight and a thin

neck. The marketing message was

“bust the bass loose” (by making it

easier to play and wear). As a side

note, Ibanez celebrates the 25th

anniversary of the SR series with some

really special instruments, and you’d

do well to check those out, too. But for

now, let’s focus on the GVB1006,

because it’s in a class all its own.

The playability enhancement features

of the SR series are what Gerald

Veasley fell in love with on his original

bass, and he was dedicated to carrying

these features forward

with his signature

model as well.

Ibanez has focused

on partnering with

artists lately, it

was especially

serendipitous that

Gerald and Ibanez

came together to

produce this

instrument. One

requirement for the

new signature model

was that it would

become Gerald’s

primary instrument

(over the bass he’d

been playing for

so many years).

For those of

you who

aren’t as

familiar

with

the

bond

formed

between an

especially

talented musician

and a main instrument

they spent many years building

their career with, that’s a tall order to

fill indeed. How did they do this? Read

on.

Digging into the details

When Gerald found himself with an

opportunity to work with the Ibanez

Japan custom shop to create a signature

model, he eagerly anticipated the

results. Gerald loved his old SR. He

loved the compact size, tight string

spacing, wood combination, and even

the color. But he didn’t want the new

bass to be a carbon copy. He had some

specific design improvements in mind

for the bass that would be specifically

groomed to take the place of his

beloved primary player – which would

21bassgear

then be retired if the project was a

success. Like the original, this bass has

an alder body with a beautiful flamed

maple top, both under a pristine glass-

like gloss finish. When it came time to

choose a color, he also stayed close to

the original, and described it as “the

color of a jar of honey” to the folks at

Ibanez. Also like the original, it has a

three-piece neck with a wenge bar

sandwiched between two pieces of

maple, and a rosewood

fingerboard with oval abalone

inlays and 24 small frets.

The body shape is also the

same smoothly

contoured compact

double cutaway

shape, but that’s

where the

commonality

ends.

Unlike the

original, he

wanted the

neck

profile to

be thinner.

This is

because

Gerald’s

playing

style is to

keep his

fingers curved

all the time, and

a thinner neck

profile makes this

much easier. Gerald’s

old bass had two truss

rods, which limited how far

the neck profile could be altered.

Accordingly, the new neck has one

truss rod. Wenge is a stiff wood, and

I’m convinced that’s a big part of the

reason why only one truss rod is needed

against the tension of six strings. The

results were a success, and they were

able to get the neck as slim as Gerald

wanted it. In fact, the neck profile

ended up being pretty much the same

as the Jem guitar!

However, one thing about the neck was

made larger, and that’s the headstock.

This was done to give the bass added

sustain through a little extra mass

there. This is similar in theory to

putting a “Fat Finger” on the

headstock, which has been a popular

product with bass players fighting neck

“dead spots” over the years. Gerald

uses the word “sing” to describe a bass

that has good sustain, which is an

attribute that’s particularly important to

him and his playing style.

Another area of improvement was

sonic. Gerald always felt like his

original bass struggled a little in the

low end, so he wanted an improvement

there. The solution was to use an

Aguilar OBP-3 preamp. The OBP-3 is

particularly known for strong EQ,

especially in the low end, so it was a

perfect solution. This also allowed

them to add the feature of a dual-band

mid control. When pushed in, it’s

centered at 800Hz, and when pulled

out, it’s centered at 400Hz. The EQ

points are standard for the Aguilar

OBP-3. It has +/-18dB at 40Hz, +/-

16dB at either 400Hz or 800Hz, and

+/- 16dB at 6.5kHz. The pickups are

custom-wound Bartolini P45C-based

humbuckers, which have an “extended

and more resonant frequency range,”

according to Ibanez.

Finally, another area of improvement is

mechanical. The new Gotoh tuners are

smoother and more precise, and the

Mono-Rail bridge provides an inter-

string resonant isolation the original

bass didn’t have. Gerald commented

22 bassgear

that he noticed results right away which

he attributes to the Mono-Rail bridge,

and added its particular importance for

a 6-string bass.

Fit and finish

So how does it all add up when you

look at it up close? By now, you’ve

already been thinking about the price

tag, but I will tell you, the fit and finish

on this instrument is on par with any

other instrument in that price class. The

only word that comes to mind is

“impeccable.” I’m not the technical

reviewer here, but as a player and

consumer of both “high end” and

“consumer grade” instruments, I still

look for things like good consistent

fretwork, a nice tight neck pocket, and

attention to detail (such as inlay work)

that bears close scrutiny. In my opinion,

this bass scores as excellent on all

fronts. A nice touch is the metal truss

rod cover on the headstock, which also

has Gerald’s signature on the back. You

don’t get any choices on options with

the bass, including color, but it does

include a really nice molded form-fit

plastic hard shell case. It also comes

with a truss rod wrench (hex nut style)

and two allen keys for making

adjustments.

Put to the test

My first thought when playing this bass

was how amazingly the neck felt in my

hands, which are on the small side of

average. My second thought was how

quickly I found myself getting snarled

up when moving from string to string

and especially when jumping strings.

I’m used to basses varying mostly 18-

19mm inter-string spacing, and am

generally okay with even the old school

17mm 5-string spacing. But at 14mm,

and with my playing style not involving

doing much guitar-style soloing or

chording, it would take me a while to

get used to playing this little

Ferrari. In addition, I generally

don’t favor a gloss finished neck.

I much prefer a satin or oil

“woody” finish myself. But really,

these are my only real personal

issues with the bass. I just had to

get that out of the way first,

because the rest is going to sound

a little gushy.

I was extremely impressed with

its growly clarity and fantastic B

string. I love an aggressive bass,

and generally gravitate towards

an ash body with maple, ebony, or

pau ferro for the fingerboard, but

this bass left nothing to be desired

on that front. Despite a string

spacing that I would think would

23bassgear

I also love the body shape and size. The

slender body design and smooth

contours made it a pleasure to carry and

play all night. Outside of having a

curved back, it couldn’t hug you better.

The balance was also spot-on. With the

top strap button right over the 12th fret,

it’s going to hang just right, and the fact

that it’s not a heavy bass to begin with

makes it even better. Probably the only

thing I’d do to this bass is install strap

locks and change the strings from time

to time. I don’t fault Ibanez for not

including strap locks, however, because

there are two distinct camps on those,

so I feel it’s best to let each owner

decide. But at this price tag, even

though these strap buttons hold a strap

securely, I always feel better with locks.

They’re on all my basses.

As long as we’re talking price tag, I

should also mention that Ibanez has

come out with a new version of this

bass for 2012, called the GVB36,

which is well within reach of the

average consumer. We’ll be taking a

look at that bass at a later time, but the

price is very reasonable with an MSRP

of under $1,500 and a street price of

about $1,100.

The Bottom Line

This bass is fast and furious with a lot

of cut and depth, despite its svelte size.

Its special focus on compactness is

what primarily sets it apart from most

other basses in its class. It’s a dream

bass for chording and fingerstyle jazz

guitar-type soloing styles, but probably

generally too tight for most slappers,

and maybe even somewhat snug for the

typical fingerstyle player. Its quality is

second to none, as also reflected by its

price tag. It will most likely appeal to a

somewhat small group of elite players

with Gerald’s particular requirements

and exacting standards for quality, but

it will serve them well.

be too tight for most slappers, Gerald

definitely slaps, as he’s got a lot of funk

in his soul and style. To serve that, this

bass has one of the best slap tones I’ve

ever heard on a soloed neck pickup.

The blended slap tone is simply sweeter

and doesn’t lose midrange definition in

a mix. For fingerstyle, I pretty much

couldn’t find a tone I didn’t like. It has

lots of nice burp in the bridge pickup,

plenty of mids when blended, and a

great grunt with the neck pickup. All

this without even getting into the EQ!

I personally don’t use much EQ on any

bass very often, preferring to do more

with plucking hand position and pickup

blending, but I have to say the pickups

and preamp in this bass were perfectly

matched. The strong low end from the

Aguilar OBP-3 preamp is very usable

with this bass. The midrange frequency

options (400/800Hz) are two of my

favorites for when I do use midrange

(the other is a much lower midrange,

around 200-250Hz). The high-end EQ

at 6.5KHz is generally a little higher

than I’d prefer to boost, but is great for

cutting, and with this bass’ rosewood

board (and again, those pickups), it’s

actually quite usable as a boost as well.

“This bass has one of the best slap tones I’ve everheard on a soloed neck pickup. The blended slap tone is simply sweeter anddoesn’t lose midrange definition in a mix.”

TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)

SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Big, powerful, and transparentMids: Thick and cutting; very forwardHighs: Sizzly and crisp, with a lot of clarity

GENERAL

Company: Ibanez Guitars1726 Winchester RoadBensalem, PA 19020contact@ibanez.comwww.ibanez.com

Country of origin: JapanWarranty: 1 year parts and labor via Hoshino USAList price: $6,666.65Street price: $4,999.99Options: n/aAccessories: Hard shell case, allen keys, special truss rod toolAvailable colors: Amber

Acquired from: Ibanez (Hoshino USA)Dates: November 2011Locales: Illinois, OhioTest gear: Bergantino AE210, Gallien-Krueger Neo112-II, Markbass F500,

Carvin BX1500, Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion, Mesa M9

In-handFeatures: 3.5Tonal Flexibility: 4.5Ease of Use: 3Aesthetics: 4Ergonomics: 3Tone: 4Value: 3

On-benchOverall Construction 4Wood Choice 3Materials Choice 3Joinery 4Fretwork 3Fit and Finish of Adornments 4Quality of Finish Work 4Ease of Repair 4Potential Range of Setup 4Balance on Knee 3Balance on Strap 3Overall Electronic Quality 5Solder Joints, Wire Runs 5Clarity 4Noise 4Shielding 5Quality for Price Range 3

This bass has great definition and depth alongwith super tight and fast action, punctuatedby a slender neck profile. Sonically, it servespretty much any style of music with itscustom wound wide-range pickups and aparticularly powerful preamp, but is stronglydesigned for a very specific playing style.

In-Hand Score3.64 averageOn-Bench Score3.91 average

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IbanezGVB1006

CONFIGURATION

Strings: 5Style: Double cutaway, offsetOverall length: 45”Body Dimensions: 20” long x 13” wide at lower boutBody Contouring: Rounded horns and body edges, slight belly cutWeight: 9.45 lbs

NECK

Scale length: 34”Neck width at nut: 2.136”Neck width at 12th fret: 2.622”Neck width at joint: 2.786”Neck thickness at nut: 1.129”Neck thickness at 1st fret: .79”Neck thickness at 12th fret: .796”Neck thickness at joint: .876”String spacing at nut: .348”String spacing at saddle: .565”Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: 10” / wide flat ovalPeghead break angle: 9degBridge break angle: 16degAfterlength at nut: 2.26” – 5.786”Afterlength at saddle: 1.0”Attachment: Bolt-onPocket gap: NoneTruss rod type/access: Double action rod peghead accessFret count: 24Fretwire: 92x52

ELECTRONICS

Pickups: Custom-wound BartoliniPickup location(s): 5 3/8” and 1 _” from bridgeElectronics: Aguilar OPB-3Controls: Volume, Blend, Treble, Mid (push/pull-400/800Hz), BassShielding: PaintPreamp Circuit Voltage: 9V

CONSTRUCTION

Body woods: Alder, 2 pieceNeck woods: Maple/Wenge/Maple, bolt-onFretboard: RosewoodBody finish: Gloss/PolyNeck finish: Gloss/Poly

HARDWARE

Strings: Dunlop NickelGauge: .030, .040, .060, .80, .100, .120Attachment: At bridgeBridge/color: Mono-Rail IV, “Cosmo Black” (black chrome)Nut: CompositeTuners/color: Gotoh, “Cosmo Black”Knobs/color: Metal knurled dome, “Cosmo Black” (vol/pan), black plastic (EQ)Pickguard: NoneControl cavity cover: Plastic

Phil Maneri’s

BASS LAB

Ibanez GVB1006Ibanez continues to attack the higherside of the electric bass market usingtheir familiar forms with better lookinglumber, appointments, and higher endelectronics. This bass is a well-madeproduct. It has the typical thick polyfinish and heavy weight usual withIbanez faire, but nice figured lumberloaded with Bartolini and Aguilarelectronics (a great combination). Thestring spacing is unusually close,although I’m guessing that’s per artistrequest. It is balanced across thestrings and up the register and has adecent sound.

When we review basses here at Bass

Gear Magazine, each instrument isreviewed in the context of its pricerange. Expectations for a $500instrument are understandably differentthan those for a $5,000 instrument, andeach should be viewed in the contextof the competition in their respectiveprice ranges. The “problem” for thisbass, then, is that there are somedarned fined performers in its pricerange. Its direct competitors are the topofferings from Sadowsky, Skjold,

MTD, Dingwall, and severalothers which have allreviewed in this magazine.This instrument looks greatand has excellent electronics,but in my opinion, it doesn’thave the resonance, fire, andexcitement generated by thoseother basses. It does, however,presumably meet what theartist – in this case GeraldVeasley – was looking for in hissignature instrument, and that is itsstrongest allure.

It is my understanding that Ibanez willbe coming out with a version of thisbass priced under $1,500. If the lower-priced bass can keep much of therecipe intact, it should compete moresuccessfully in its price range. Again,the main issue here is that there aresome really, really good instruments inthe $5,000+ price range. This is a fineinstrument, but unless you are a realstudent of Gerald Veasley, some ofthose other brands I mentioned mayprove to be more compelling.

bassgear 27

bassgear

TEST!

TEST!

By Alan Loshbaugh

A Blast From the Past!

When I was a young’un back in the

‘70s, there was a burger joint jingle that

went “hold the pickles, hold the lettuce,

special orders don’t upset us, all we ask

that that you let us serve it your way.”

Well, I don’t believe Carvin will put

pickles or lettuce on your bass, but they

will let you have it just about any other

way you want it. Their long list of

options means there’s approximately

50,000 different ways you can spec out

your axe. Furthermore, while a Carvin

bass is hardly fast food, a Carvin

special order bass really is fast in

relation to the rest of the custom-order

bass world: you can have it your way

in just about eight weeks – or four

weeks on a rush order.

It’s a Family Affair at Carvin

In 1946, Lowell Kiesel founded The

Kiesel Company and began winding

guitar pickups (on an old sewing

machine!). Lowell changed the name to

Carvin in 1949, abbreviating the names

of his sons Carson and Gavin. The

company has been based in California,

been family owned and operated this

whole time, and is still a family affair.

Mark runs the guitar operations, Carson

runs the electronics operations, John

runs the speaker operations, and there

are two sons and a daughter currently

working their way up the ranks. Mark

started out filling catalog requests at

age 10, and was assembling guitars by

age 15. He left

Carvin to work in

the aerospace

industry, and

brings a lot of his

engineering

background to

bear on current

guitar and bass

production and

assembly.

Not Quite

Rocket Science

While custom-

building basses

might not quite

be rocket science,

in Carvin’s case,

their fast build

times and high

quality are a

direct result of

Mark Kiesel’s

background in

the aerospace industry. It was there

where Mark learned that minute details

really do matter. This is readily

apparent in his approach to his work,

starting with wood selection and right

on through the entire build process.

Carvin SB4000

28 bassgear

Mark won’t use just any wood. Carvin

only buys wood that contains 6%

moisture by weight, and then they

recondition the wood in

dehumidification kilns. This relaxes and

de-stresses the wood so it’s more stable

during the shaping process. The

shaping of necks, bodies, exotic tops,

and fingerboards is all done on CNC

machines, ensuring a high degree of

accuracy. Even the fret slots are cut on

a CNC machine. This adds up to guitar

and bass parts that have very accurate

fitments, and highly accurate

intonation.

Painting and finish work is all done in

house, and has also been subject to

Mark’s aerospace scrutiny.

“We don’t paint the neck pocket, or the

heel end of the neck. The neck’s heel is

cut slightly oversized, and then fit to

the neck pocket by hand at final

assembly. The results in a super tight,

wood-on-wood fit that does wonderful

things to resonance and tone.”

Carvin hasn’t gone down the automated

path with fretwork though, that’s all

still done by hand. Mark’s reasoning on

this seems sound: “We use the very best

German fretwire we can get. It’s

already shaped correctly, and hardened

correctly. Our necks and fingerboards

are CNC’d to a very high degree of

accuracy. Furthermore, we block-sand

the fingerboard to contour before

installing the fretwire so that we can

leave that fretwire alone. When you run

an instrument through a PLEK

machine, that alters the fret’s fine

shape, and removing that material takes

the hardening off the frets. This results

in a less than ideal fret shape, and

shorter fret life. PLEK is basically a

way to reduce man hours. Shaping the

frets by hand in our case doesn’t take a

substantive amount of time because of

all the work we put in before we install

the fretwire.”

The automation of much of the

woodworking process allows Carvin to

stock 800 neck and body blanks, and

800-1000 fingerboard blanks. This

means when someone places a custom

order, a good part of the work may

already be done beforehand.

OK, So ‘SB’ Doesn’t Stand for

Special-Order Bass...

What the heck does it stand for then? In

this case, SB stands for “Sekou

Bunch.” Some folks might know him

from his stint on Survivor, others might

know him from his work with the likes

of Quincy Jones, Rod Stewart, Stevie

Wonder, or Roger Daltry. Mark Kiesel

knows him directly because they met at

NAMM and hit it off.

Sekou had been playing a modified

Fender Jazz bass with Sadowsky

pickups and preamp, but had some

pretty clear ideas of what he’d do

differently if he could design his own

dream bass. Mark was ready to help;

Sekou had body and headstock designs

already in mind, and knew where he

wanted to go sonically, but was unsure

what the best approach to get there was.

Sekou’s body design is a unique shape,

and one that quite frankly didn’t strike

me eyes well when I first received our

test bass. This, however, is a very

personal thing with me: I’m a steadfast

traditionalist when it comes to what I

feel a J-type bass ought to look like,

and my views certainly won’t hold for

everyone. While I didn’t warm to our

test bass at first, I did find many other

color combinations that I liked a bit

better among the Bass Gear Magazine

Winter NAMM photos, and in the

TalkBass.com forum’s SB4000/SB5000

megathread.

It’s More Than Just a Name

My personal sense of aesthetics aside,

the body shape has a lot of functional

pluses going for it. The downsized

body feels good; the contours are well

thought out. It feels good both on your

knee, and on a strap. It’s a very easy

reach to first position, and access to the

upper registers is excellent.

While the headstock shape is also a bit

non-traditional, there are well thought

out functionalities to it. The angled

headstock means there’s no need for

string trees. It’s also a more expensive

design, because more wood must be

used for this design to be as strong as it

needs to be. More mass, in my

experience, means better resonance,

and reduced probability of dead spots

on the neck, and this particular SB4000

seems to bear that out.

The neck itself is a wonderfully shaped

piece. It has a perfectly comfortable

depth and width, and is fitted with a

29bassgear

Carvin spec’d Graph Tech nut. The

light oil finish is dry and slick to the

touch, and feels very much like raw

wood. I like it! Its dual-action trussrod

required no tweaks at all while I had

the bass, and the personalized trussrod

cover is a nice touch!

Sekou wanted an aggressive, modern

Jazz-type sound, and was actively

involved in helping develop the pickups

and preamp. The pickups use Alnico

bar magnets under a very thin plastic

cover, set in more or less “the ‘70s Jazz

positions.” The thin covers mean the

pickups can be set very high without

fear of fouling the strings on exposed

poles.

The preamp is an 18-volt unit setup

volume/volume/passive tone, with a

treble/bass stackpot controlling the

active portion of the preamp. Passive

tone works “just like normal” in both

active and passive modes. Passive

mode is engaged by pulling up on the

passive tone’s knurled knob. EQ for

both treble and bass is shelving, 6dB

per octave, set at 30Hz and 10kHz,

respectively. Treble and bass can be

boosted or cut 18db each.

The tuners are closed-back, Gotoh-

style, and the bridge is a high mass unit

with big, beefy saddle-lock type

saddles. It came strung through the

body, but can be strung through the

bridge as well via very convenient

quick-change slots.

Sekou initially spec’d heavy ash bodies,

but he has since changed his mind

about that and is running lighter basses

now (the standard body wood is alder).

Our test bass has an ash body and is

moderately heavy. Additionally,

customers can request a target weight

goal when ordering a bass.

Out of the Box

Or, in this case, out of the very nice

G&G hardshell case. Acoustically, this

bass sings! Mark’s hard work at the

CNC machines totally pays off: the

neck pocket on this SB4000 is super

tight, and the routes around the pickups

leave hardly any gap. The pickguard fit

to both the neck pocket and to the

control plate is similarly excellent. The

three-tone sunburst is well done, and

the finish is deep, rich, and consistent.

The neck width, contour and finish feel

just exactly right. The J-bass neck’s

width, nice C-profile, and silky finish

are exemplary and very comfortable.

Setup was spot-on for me: a super

playable medium-low action that let me

dig in without any undue fret noise.

Sekou’s goal of an aggressive, modern

J-bass sound is just what you get when

you plug this in. It’s bright, grindy, and

super responsive. Laid back fingerstyle

playing yields a rich, warm tone, but

dig in or slap, and the SB4000 will get

flat out nasty if you want it to. I was

surprised when Mark told me the stock

strings were LaBella Hard Rockin’

Nickels: they’re bright, and I would

have guessed they were stainless

rounds! They’re a great choice for this

bass.

On the Job

This section is gonna be painfully brief,

and here’s why: the SB4000 just flat-

out worked in every situation I put it in.

Passive mode yields a great natural J-

bass tone. Engage the preamp, and its

buffering effect adds just a touch of

beef, and just a touch of highs. The

boost/cut preamp let you add or

subtract highs and lows easily, and I

love the way this preamp layout lets

you add some active treble, and then

tone it down a tad with the passive tone

control. All my current favorite basses

are laid out like this, and I find it very

functional, and an easy way to go from

“normal J-bass” to “all kinds of nasty”

with just the use of the passive tone

control. The treble/bass active stack

also makes it very easy to twist a little

of both in at once for a killin’ slap tone.

I personally prefer a volume/blend

layout for an easy one knob tweak from

fat supportive neck pickup tone to

barky cutting bridge pickup tone.

However, all the J-basses I grew up

playing had the Carvin’s

volume/volume layout, and it’s not a

big deal to use it on the fly.

The Bottom Line

So, that’s that! The Carvin SB4000 is a

big, big winner. It flat-out works, and

works superbly. The SB4000 is very

much on a par with any of the high end

J-type basses I own, and it’s a raging

bargain compared to all of them.

31bassgear

TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)

SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Average, and easily added to ortrimmed with the preamp and passive toneMids: Great J-bass mids, present and grindyHighs: Sweet, singing, easily added to ortrimmed with preamp and passive tone

GENERAL

Company: Carvin Corporation12340 World Trade DRiveSan Diego, CA 92128http://www.carvinguitars.com

Country of origin: USAWarranty: 5 year parts and labor - original ownerList price: $2,099 (w/ hardshell case)Street price: $983 (w/ hardshell case)Options: Too numerous to listAccessories: Padded Carvin-logo strap ($15)Available colors: Too numerous to list

Acquired from: CarvinDates: July-December 2011Locales: Missouri, OhioTest gear: Mesa Boogie M9, Mesa Boogie Walkabout, GK MB Fusion, Epi

UL410, GK Neo 112IIx2

In-handFeatures: 4.5Tonal Flexibility: 4Ease of Use: 5Aesthetics: 3Ergonomics: 4Tone: 4.5Value: 4.5

On-benchOverall Construction 4Wood Choice 4Materials Choice 4Joinery 4Fretwork 4Fit and Finish of Adornments 4Quality of Finish Work 4Ease of Repair 4Potential Range of Setup 4Balance on Knee 4Balance on Strap 4Overall Electronic Quality 4Solder Joints, Wire Runs 4Clarity 4Noise 4Shielding 4Quality for Price Range 5

Great J-bass tone, easily shaped to yourprefs with both active and passive EQ; avery pleasant neck profile; built to order ina short time frame.

In-Hand Score4.30 averageOn-Bench Score4.06 average

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CarvinSB4000

CONFIGURATION

Strings: 4Style: Double cutaway, offsetOverall length: 44.75”Body Dimensions: 20” long x 13.5” wide at lower boutBody Contouring: Belly and forearm contours, rounded edgesWeight: 10.1 lbs

NECK

Scale length: 34”Neck width at nut: 1.536”Neck width at 12th fret: 2.181”Neck width at joint: 2.35”Neck thickness at nut: .935”Neck thickness at 1st fret: .829”Neck thickness at 12th fret: .969”Neck thickness at joint: 1.056”String spacing at nut: .39”String spacing at saddle: .748”Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: 10” / flat C shapePeghead break angle: 12degBridge break angle: Through bodyAfterlength at nut: 1.979” – 6.416”Afterlength at saddle: 2.204”Attachment: Bolt-onPocket gap: NoneTruss rod type/access: Double action, peghead accessFret count: 20Fretwire: 110x46

ELECTRONICS

Pickups: Carvin J99A Alnico single-coilPickup location(s): 6 1/8” and 2 1/4” from bridgeElectronics: Carvin, 2-bandControls: Volume, Volume, Tone (push/pull for active/passive),

Stacked Bass/TrebleShielding: FoilPreamp Circuit Voltage: 18V

CONSTRUCTION

Body woods: AshNeck woods: Eastern hard rock mapleFretboard: MapleBody finish: Clear glossNeck finish: Tung oil

HARDWARE

Strings: LaBella Hard Rockin' NickelsGauge: .040, .060, .080, .100Attachment: Through-bodyBridge/color: Carvin, chromeNut: Graphite/teflonTuners/color: Carvin, chromeKnobs/color: Metal, chromePickguard: White, multi-laminateControl cavity cover: Metal (chrome)

Phil Maneri’s

BASS LAB

Carvin SB4000

bassgear 33

Bass, but with a Carvin peghead and aunique body shape, which may or maynot be your thing. It’s very wellconstructed for the price point, with notmuch to complain about given what aperson has to pay for it. In fact, itsconstruction is better than anything I’veseen for $1,000.

This bass comes with a classic passiveJ-bass front end – two pickup volumesinto a tone knob – and adds apassive/active push/pull switch on thetone knob. The fourth knob set is for thestacked bass and treble controls(boost/cut). The preamp really makesthe bass. Passive, it’s not very full, andon the bright side (with roundwounds).Pull the preamp in, though, and it’s awhole ‘nuther bass! In active mode, itgets a big bass note that is almost toohot for some amp input sections.

It’s a slightly heavy instrument and theneck is very light. I’m used to it beingthe other way around with many J-styleinstruments, but the net effect is that itbalances very well both on a strap and

We complain regularly in the USAabout American businesses shippingjobs overseas. We have seen it all overthe guitar industry from the ‘60s onforward, and at just about every pricepoint. There are fantastic instrumentsmade everywhere in the world, and noone country can claim superiority.However, the USA started this electricbass thing in the first place, but hasbeen exporting the labor required tobuild its own invention more and moreeach year. As such, I view it assignificant that this is a totally USA-made instrument, built in San Diego,California. Oh, and you can buy it for$1,000. It beats the pants off of manyof its Asian-made “price point mates,”proving that you CAN build things inthe USA, using US labor and materials,and still have them at affordable prices– even by our overly cheap standards.Carvin has continued to quietly dotheir thing just like this for decades.Hats off to them.

The SB model is obviously designed,at least partly, in homage to a Jazz

in your lap. For quality, playability, andtone, this Carvin is your best choice fora new active bass for $1,000.

bassgear

TEST!

TEST!

By Tom Bowlus

No doubt about it, Glockenklang has

one of the coolest-sounding names in

the bass amplification business. The

direct translation (from German, of

course) is “bell sound,” and Udo

Klempt-Gießing – the man behind the

Glock – initially used this name for his

first mixing desks back in 1975. Udo

later founded a company under this

same name (in 1979), and during this

time period, he was building custom

equipment such as power amps, mixing

desks, noise gates, light mixers, light

power modules and so on. The first real

“production” product built under the

Glockenklang label was the Double

Two Noise Gate, which was introduced

to the world at the Frankfurt

Musikmesse in 1985.

However, 1987 would prove to be a

very fateful year for Udo and

Glockenklang, because it was then that

a friend of his asked Udo to build him a

high quality bass amp and cab. This

lead to the Bugatti stereo preamp and

stereo power amp, as well as two bass

cabs. These were, in turn, displayed at

Musikmesse in 1988, and Glockenklang

has been wowing the bass world ever

since.

The Company Line

Following the Bugatti equipment,

Glockenklang introduced several other

bass amplification products, such as the

Bass Art Classic head and the Heart-

Core head (all of which are part of the

“Bass Line” of products). Later,

Glockenklang introduced the

“Bassware Line,” which includes the

majority of their bass enclosures, plus

the Soul and Heart-Rock heads (now

both in their version “II” generations).

Recently, Udo and Co. unveiled a new

lightweight head, the Blue Soul, as the

newest addition to the Bassware Line.

With the introduction of the original

Heart-Rock head, Udo wanted a head

that not only exhibited good clarity

(that “bell sound”), but also a warm, yet

dynamic, sound. What’s more, this

would be built on a high-power

platform. Previous Glockenklang heads

(such as the Bass Art Classic and the

Heart-Core) featured output sections

capable of around 400 watts (at 4

ohms). Udo felt that this was more than

enough for most gigging bassists (and

as the happy owner of a Heart-Core

head, I can certainly attest to this!), but

some folks will always want more.

With such players in mind, Udo upped

the ante on the Heart-Rock and gave it

an output rated at 1,000 watts at 2.7

ohms, 750 watts at 4 ohms, or 400

watts at 8 ohms.

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35bassgear

The move to the second generation

Heart-Rock was brought about in part

by the fact that the MOSFETs used in

the original head were not available

anymore. Accordingly, the entire output

section is new. As long as they were

revamping the Heart-Rock head, they

also modified the preamp a bit. The

company line is that these

modifications resulted in a head that is

“warmer, more dynamic, musical and

powerful.” I certainly can’t debunk any

of those claims. In fact, although I was

not able to directly compare the two, I

spent a good deal of time with an

original Heart-Rock, and while I liked

that head a lot, I found the Heart-Rock

II to be even more compelling. For

some reason, I had to work a bit to dial

in my low-mids on the original, but on

the HR II, the tone I wanted was right

there (with no EQ). In addition, the

tone stack seemed a bit more musical

and responsive on the HR II. By all

accounts, Glockenklang took a great

head and made it even better.

German Engineering

The Heart-Rock II head has a reserved,

almost austere design to it. It has

minimal (yet very functional) lights and

color, and the “white-on-graphite” color

scheme is classy and legible. The thick,

brushed-metal faceplate with integrated

rack ears and business-like Allen-head

bolts convey a sense of strength and

purpose. The unassuming front-panel,

however, belies the detailed engineering

and thorough design that lies inside the

chassis.

Two independent inputs are provided

(labeled “Input A” and “Input B”), with

a switch for selecting between the two.

The Tune (mute) switch – and its

corresponding red LED – reside

between the two input jacks. Input A is

the “normal” input, and Input B is for

higher-gain instruments. Rather than

selecting a fixed amount of gain

reduction for the “active” input, the HR

II provides a pre-gain trim control for

Input B. This allows you to attenuate up

to 20dB. While this option initially

seems thoughtful, if not perhaps a tad

excessive, I found myself in a gigging

situation where this control proved to

be very useful. My typical practice is to

plug into the “normal” or “passive”

input on whatever head I am using,

regardless of whether I am playing an

active or a passive bass. This typically

works very well for me, and (if the

preamp allows) I tend to set up my

active basses to be similar in output to

my passive basses. At one show,

however, I found myself in a tricky

room where the difference between

being “too @#$%-ing loud” and not

being able to hear myself properly all

occurred within a narrow band on the

Gain (and/or Volume) knob. Please

note, this had more to do with the

room/mix characteristics than with the

performance of the Glock’s Gain and

Volume controls. It turns out that

Technical Editor Tom Lees was playing

guitar in that band, and he suggested

that I try using Input B and fine-tuning

my gain with the trim control. Brilliant!

This worked like a charm!

Moving on to the Gain control, it is

worth mentioning that Overdrive label

(and LED) sitting just above the knob.

This isn’t really what most players

would consider an “overdrive” control.

In fact, the Heart-Rock II is one of the

most amazingly clean and accurate

heads you are going to find out there.

One function of this LED is to serve as

a “peak LED.” If you set the Gain to

where the LED is flickering only at the

highest and loudest peaks, then you

have achieved “optimal” input gain for

the preamp. However, Udo didn’t want

people to think that if this LED started

flashing more than just occasionally

that this meant that they had to turn the

Gain down – far from it. The preamp

section has sufficient headroom that

you can drive the input gain well

beyond +4dB (up to 20dB). This does

impart some grit/grind/drive, but it

stays very controlled and musical

throughout most of its range. We are

not talking about buzz-saw overdrive,

here, but it is cool that you can hit the

front end hard enough to add some nice

harmonic content.

In most cases, when I see a preamp or

head with an on/off or bypass control

for the EQ section, this typically tells

me that the engineers behind the

product in question have done their

homework when it comes to setting up

appropriate gain stages and preserving

the signal integrity (and they don’t need

a tone stack to “fix” anything). It also

tells me that I’m probably dealing with

a designer who values a more pristine,

uncolored sound. This certainly seems

to be the case with the Heart-Rock II. If

the sound of your bass, only louder, is

what you are after, this Glock delivers

like nothing else we’ve tested to date.

Should you ever need to tweak the tone

of a certain instrument, or “fix” a room,

or just change things up a bit, tonally,

you have one heck of a nice tone stack

on hand. The EQ center frequencies are

set at 60Hz (Bass), 130Hz (Low),

550Hz (Mid), 4.2kHz (High) and

12kHz (Treble). The numerical legend

surrounding each knob tells you right

up front how much boost/cut is on tap:

+/- 15dB for Bass and Treble, +/- 12dB

for Low and High, and +/- 8dB for

Mid. A green LED indicates if the EQ

section is active or bypassed. Like

many other aspects of this head, the EQ

section seems very controlled in its

range of tonal variations. You can

certainly tweak things quite a bit, but

the rate of change in either boost or cut

mode seemed very lineal and was very

predictable.

The parallel effects loop may be

switched on/off via a button on the

front panel or by foot switch, and the

Effect knob controls the mix of the

effects loop from 0% (original signal

only) to 100% (effect only). A yellow

LED indicates when the loop is active.

The Volume knob is of course the main

volume control for the output section,

and it also drives the Preamp Out jack

(located on the rear). This pot has a

logarithmic taper, meaning that you will

likely have to turn it up higher than you

might expect (3 to 4 o’clock) to get full

output power.

The power switch on the far right of the

front panel of course turns the unit

on/off. When powered on, the LED

immediately above the switch glows

green. If the red Protect LED lights up,

it means one of the protection circuits

has kicked in and the speakers are

disconnected. The yellow Peak LED

illuminates when the output

section starts to clip.

Moving to the back panel, the

HR II sports two Speakon

speaker outputs, footswitch

jacks for the tune/mute function

and effects loop in/out, Tuner

Out, a serial Insert Send/Return,

the parallel effects Loop

Send/Return, Poweramp In

(with its own on/off switch),

Preamp Out, Ground Lift

switch, and a balanced XLR DI

with a pre/post EQ (and effects)

switch. The DI also has a level

control, but it requires a

flathead screwdriver or similar

device to adjust. While this would

prevent inadvertent adjustment, and it

keeps the back panel more or less flush

with little to no protrusions, I can

envision situations where it would be

desirable to have a more readily

accessible control for the DI level. The

HR II employs a fixed A/C mains

cable, with an easily accessible fuse for

the mains. While there is no switch for

automatic 120/230v operation, it can be

internally modified (by a qualified

technician) for operation in either

voltage scenario (which also requires

the use of a different fuse).

Taking It Out For a Spin (or Two)

I have to admit to being a bit of a

Glockenklang fan coming into this

review. Udo’s goal of clear, yet warm,

sound and powerful, yet musical,

delivery shines through in everything

he makes. Sure, some products are

designed to push the envelope even

farther on the clean/pristine side of

things, and a few – like the Tedd cab –

are designed to have a bit more attitude.

But by and large, Glockenklang gear is

designed to take a great-sounding

instrument and convey its tone in a

musical – and obviously amplified –

fashion, without getting in the way too

much. The Heart-Rock II certainly

36 bassgear

spend its gigging life in a rack, and is

of course designed with just that in

mind. At 41 lbs and three rack spaces

high, it’s not the lightest horse in the

field, but it manages to pack Clydesdale

power, yet retain the (sonic) nimbleness

of an Arabian. The sense of controlled

power from this rockin’ Glock is really

something to behold.

The Bottom Line

Udo Klempt-Gießing and Glockenklang

have been defining what is possible in

terms of high quality bass amplification

for decades. The original Heart-Rock

was a highly capable powerhouse of a

head, and the latest iteration only

improves upon a very strong

foundation. The updates are relatively

subtle, but entirely beneficial, in my

opinion. If you want a very powerful

head that paints an accurate picture, but

stays full and meaty, the Heart-Rock II

is tough to beat.

delivers in this regard. While I did feel

that the original Heart-Rock was not as

uncolored in its presentation as my

Heart-Core head, the Heart-Rock II

sounds much closer in this regard.

Having done plenty of gigs with my

“only 400-watt” Heart-Core, I knew

that I would never need all the power

that the Heart-Rock II had on tap. But,

having that kind of power plant at your

disposal opens up a lot of possibilities

and made for a lot of fun! Paired up

with a Glockenklang Take 5 (4x10 plus

tweeter), the HR II was clean, full, tight

and meaty. It definitely sounded like a

larger rig. Driving a Glockenklang 6-

Box was like getting hit with a

wrecking ball of glorious tone. I

considered hooking up a second 6-Box,

but sanity prevailed... At one gig, I

drove my two fEARful cabs (discussed

elsewhere in this issue) with the Heart-

Rock II, and this head really showed

what those cabs can do. The Eminence

3012LF and 3015LF can take pretty

much anything you can throw at them,

and they definitely loved their “play

date” with the HR II.

While the tone and the power are each

addicting in their own regards, I also

really appreciate that the Heart-Rock II

is so straightforward and easy to use. If

this head were provided as part of a

backline, and you had never used it or

even heard of it before, you could plug

in and get incredible results after only a

brief study of the controls layout. There

is something to be said for concise

labeling and simple switches/lights

which tell you what is going on. High

end gear can be intimidating to some

players, but believe me, there’s nothing

scary about the Heart-Rock II – unless

you are a guitar player foolish enough

to engage in a volume war…

The Heart-Rock II makes no bones

about the fact that it is destined to

If the sound of

your bass,

only louder, is

what you are

after, this

Glock delivers

like nothing

else we’ve

tested.

37bassgear

TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)

SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Tight, dynamic, full and controlledMids: Very accurate; quick and balancedHighs: Smooth, sweet, and clear as a bell, of course!

On-BenchInternal Parts 3.5External Parts 3.5Overall Assembly 4.Output Power Rating 4.5Ease of Repair 4.Instructions/Manual 3.5Quality Per Price 3.5Layout/Cooling 3.25

In-HandFeatures: 4Tonal Flexibility: 4Ease of Use: 4.5Aesthetics: 4Tone: 4.5Value: 4

While its forte is delivering exactly whatyou put into it, only louder (much louder!),the Heart-Rock II can get a little gritty andcutting, if you ask it to

In-Hand Score4.17 averageOn-Bench Score3.72 average

TONE-O-METER

GlockenklangHeart-Rock IIBass Amp

GENERAL

Company: GlockenklangEimterstrasse 147D-32049 HerfordGermany

Country of origin: GermanyWarranty: 1 year parts and labor (3 years with registration)List price: $2,699Street price: $2,295Options: NoneAccessories: NoneAvailable colors: Black

Acquired from: Luthiers Access GroupDates: March-October 2011Locales: OhioTest gear: Glockenklang Duo, Double, Take 5 and 6-Box cabs, fEARful

15/6/1 and 12/6cube/1 cabs, Gibson Thunderbird, Skjold Wxotic Custom 4 and Wyn 5-string

ENCLOSURE

Material: SteelDimensions: 19" W x 5-1/2 " (with feet) x 11-7/8" DWeight: 41.4 lbsRackable: Yes

PREAMP

Inputs: 2 x 1/4”Mode: Solid StateTubes: N/AInput Impedance: >1.4 MOhm, 200 Hz, 200 mVrns sin Input A and B

(Note our tools would not measure input impedance this high Manufacturer rated spec is 1.5 Mohm input A; 3.3 Mohm input B)

EQ Type/Features: Bass; Low; Mid;High;TrebleCompressor/Limiter: N/ADI Output: Balanced XLR, with level controlEffects Loop: Two,one series and one switchable parallel

(w/mix feature)Additional Features: Preamp out/power amp in; Built in A/B box with

separate damping control for Input B; DI pre/post Eq switch; Ground Lift and tuner out

POWER AMP

Mode: Class A-B (Mossfet)Tubes: N/AOutputs: 2 x SpeakonImpedance Options: 2.7, 4, 8Power Supply/Transformer: Analog/ToroidalCooling System: fanLine Voltage Options: 120

MEASUREMENTS

Freq Resp – Pre & Power Amp , 200 mv swept sin input:Full Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 2.475 dB Limited Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 80Hz - 8kHz +/- 0.523 dB Limited Bandwidth (optimally flat): 80Hz - 8kHz +/- 0.186 dB

2.7-Ohm 4-Ohm 8-OhmContinuous Power: 1094 watts 819 watts 425 wattsMeasured Voltage: 54.36 Vrms 57.22 Vrms 58.34 Vrms

Burst Power: 1219 watts 859 watts 441 wattsMeasured Voltage: 57.37 Vrms 58.6 Vrms 59.39 Vrms

Input Signal: 326 mVrms 340 mVrms 280 mVrmsWall Voltage DUT: 117.6 Vrms 117.7 Vrms 119.6 VrmsTHD: 1% THD+N 1% THD+N 1% THD+N

bas

sgea

rtest

AMP LAB

Tom Lees’

Fig A.

Fig. C Optimally Flat when EQ is engaged

Fig. B All controls at noon vs EQ bypassed

In today’s world, acceptance is often earned by taking a

politically correct, “fall in line” position, whether you are

right or wrong. However, as I start to get older, I am

noticing that it is becoming easy to take a “non-

apologetic” approach to the things I do. I am glad to see

that in the days of “me, too” ultra-compact, lightweight

class-D amps, Glockenklang is also providing us with a

glorious, non-apologetic, three rack space, 1,000-watt

solid state amp.

Construction

The Heart-Rock II is housed in a matte black, three rack

space chassis that provides vents along the top cover. A

fan is located to the left side (when facing the front of the

amp). As such, when you rack up this amp, I would

recommend leaving at least one rack space open on top of

the amp, and make sure there is ventilation to the sides of

the amp. It must be a European thing, but I like

Glockenklang’s use of barrel-head, Allen socket screws to

secure the front panel to the amp chassis. These screws

just exude a sense of sturdiness and robustness. These

screws also add to the industrial yet professional look of

the amp.

Glockenklang Heart-Rock II Bass Amp

bassgear 39

Fig. F Mid sweep

Fig. D Bass sweep

Fig. E Low sweep

At first glimpse, the Heart-Rock II front panel bears a

somewhat pedestrian appearance. However, for what this

amp stands for, I really dig it. This amp provides a clean,

simple layout. The knobs are refined-looking and feel

great to turn. The distance between knobs is generous,

leaving room to actually include scale markings with

useful information. This seems to be a dying concept, and

I think it is awesome to see that a manufacturer still cares

about clean, well-informed controls. I particularly like the

simple font, which provides for clear, unambiguous

labels.

The internal construction of this amp carries through with

the big, clean, industrial theme of the amp, as illustrated

in Fig. A. The only real surprise under the hood is,

arguably, the red printed circuit board, which is actually

quite functional. The red background makes for a nice

contrast to identify the parts within the amp. The toroidal

power transformer is located in the back corner and is

shielded from sensitive components. There is even a

shield separating the preamp section from the power amp

section, which is a nice touch. The power transistors are

aligned neatly along a heat sink that is situated adjacent

to a side wall opposite the power transformer and a fan is

mounted adjacent to the heat sink opposite the power

transistors to provide cooling.

The Tone Stack

The tone stack is user bypassable, which provides a ruler-

flat response. Referring to Fig. B, we plot the output of

the amp with the EQ disengaged (black trace) compared

to “all controls at noon” with the EQ engaged (red trace).

Note that with the EQ engaged, there is about a 2dB drop

in level, and a slight dip (about 1dB) around 5kHz.

Referring to Fig. C, we illustrate the amp settings used to

get an optimally flat output when the EQ is engaged.

Even with the EQ engaged, we were able to obtain a

ruler-flat response (+/- 0.19dB) in our limited bandwidth

of 80Hz to 8kHz.

The relative sweeps of the five bands of tone control are

illustrated in Figs. D-H. As our charts illustrate, the

actual centering of the EQ closely matches the specified

frequencies, centered at 60Hz, 130Hz, 550Hz, 4.2kHz

and 12kHz, respectively.

Output Power

I suggest that the term “well behaved” or “disciplined”

40 bassgear

Fig. G Hi sweep

Fig. H Treble sweep

Fig. I Scope shot of burst

suitably fits the Heart-Rock II when addressing output

power. At 8 ohms, the manufacturer specs this amp at 400

watts. On the bench, we measured 425 watts continuous,

441 watts burst. At 4 ohms, the manufacturer specs this

amp at 750 watts. On the bench, we measured 819 watts

continuous, 859 watts burst. Finally, at 2.7 ohms, the

manufacturer specs this amp at 1,000 watts. We measured

1,094 watts continuous, 1,219 watts burst. The amp

outperformed its rated power output in every category.

Moreover, the amp remained clean throughout its range

of power measurements. Our measurements were taken at

1% THD+N. Did I mention this amp is clean?

While this amp is a true workhorse, dynamic power

above steady state is limited at 4 and 8 ohms. Our

dynamic bursts yielded about 5% additional output power

in our short dynamic burst compared to the amp’s steady

state ability. At 2.7 ohms, the dynamic headroom seemed

to increase, yielding a little over 11% additional dynamic

power in our short burst test. A scope trace of our

dynamic power test signal is illustrated in Fig. I.

With reference to Fig. J, the response of the amp is well

behaved. The gain of the amp is uniform and consistent

from low level signals up to the point of clipping. This is

illustrated by the substantially flat response until the input

signal rose above 300 mVrms, which under our test

conditions caused the amp to reach full output power, as

indicated by the drastic drop in gain seen to the right of

the plot.

With reference to Fig. K, the amp also performs quite

linearly when translating input signal level to output level

as seen by the straight, sloped line. Linearity held

consistent up to the point of clipping.

With reference to Fig. L, we plot the measured output

level as a function of THD+N. As the plot illustrates, this

amp does not compress or distort in a tube-like manner.

Rather, this amp performs in a traditional, solid state

manner. It will give you clean power until it reaches the

end of its capabilities. But after that, distortion levels rise

sharply as the amp output quickly saturates into hard

clipping.

Preamp clipping/overdrive

To give you a sense of the color of overdrive you can

expect from the preamp, we applied a 200 mVrms input

41bassgear

Fig. L THD+N Ratio vs measured level

Fig. M Distortion Product Ratio 200 mVrms input gain at 9

Fig. K Level

Fig. J Gain

signal, then captured the harmonic content of the output

of the preamp by sweeping the Gain from 9:00 to noon to

3:00 and finally to full on. These plots are illustrated in

Figs. M-P. Our plots illustrate über clean response with

the Gain in the 9:00 position. As the Gain is turned up,

the odd-order harmonics raise consistently, while the

even-order harmonics stay relatively low. This suggests

more “hard clipping” as compared to the asymmetrical,

soft clipping/compression seen with tube amps.

Conclusion

For the player looking for a loud, professional, clean amp

(aesthetically as well as tonally), the Heart-Rock II may

just be the ticket. For the player that also expects ruler-

flat tonal balance, but wants a flexible EQ option if

necessary, the Heart-Rock II is the ticket. This amp

clearly and un-apologetically provides a large, heavy (by

class-D standards, not SVT standards) amp that defines

quality solid state construction. The amp tested great on

the bench and was well behaved throughout the testing.

The manual is decent and provides all the necessary

information necessary to use and maintain the amp.

I do have one comment. During testing, we pushed this

amp beyond what it should ever be pushed. Because it

goes into hard clipping, as you push well past the rail, the

output quickly “squares off.” Eventually, we blew the

fuse on the back panel. Unfortunately, this is a 10A fuse,

which is not always an easy to find part. The replacement

was cheap, but I had to mail order it. So, do yourself a

favor and order some fuses to put in your gig toolbox.

Honestly, you should be doing this already, regardless of

what amp you use.

42 bassgear

Fig. O Distortion Product Ratio 200 mVrms input gain at 3

Fig. P Distortion Product Ratio 200 mVrms input gainat max

Fig. N Distortion Product Ratio 200 mVrms input gainat noon

The amp

outperformed it’s

rated power output in

every category.

Moreover, the amp

remained clean

throughout it’s range

of power

measurements. Our

measurements were

taken at 1% THD+N.

By Tom Bowlus

Andy Lewis is a plain kinda guy (though he does look sharp

in a fedora!), and he builds a pretty straightforward kinda cab.

His very brand name, “Acme,” was designed to draw

attention away from himself and allow the focus to be on his

products. Those products have always been technically quite

advanced, though the presentation and style were built more

around simplicity and practicality than “flash.” If anything,

his designs have gotten more focused and trim as we move

into the 21st Century. The Series III 1x12 models feature

Acme’s first 2-way and single driver (tweeterless) cabs, and

show that Andy Lewis can deliver the goods no matter how

many ways he divides them up.

Origins…

As a kid, I always enjoyed reading the “origins” stories for

my favorite comic book super heroes. Okay, so I still enjoy

those kinds of stories… But after being immersed in the

world of bass gear for some years, my day-to-day heroes are

the men and women who make all this fantastic stuff, and I

find that the real-life origins stories of these heroes are even

more interesting. After talking to a good number of bass cab

manufacturers, it seems that these types, in particular, found

their career path more by fate than by design. Andy Lewis is

no exception.

We often talk about the simpatico between bass and drums, so

it is interesting to note that Andy’s musical career began on

drums, at the tender age of ten. His cab-building inclinations

kicked in shortly thereafter, and by age 14, Andy was reading

“How to Build Speaker Enclosures,” by Alexix Badmaieff

and Don Davis and built his first hi-fi speakers. He continued

Acme Sound LLCLow B-112Full Range Bass Cab

bassgear

TEST!

TEST!

44 bassgear

to build home audio speakers

throughout high school, and moved on

to his first PA speakers (Altec A7’s) at

age 17. This would also be the age at

which he landed his first paying gig as

a speaker builder (for the record, he had

been gigging out as a drummer since

age 16), when he worked for Audio

Design Lab in Boulder, Colorado. This

job helped him to develop his

knowledge of woodworking,

production, and the general business of

building speakers.

After taking some time off to study

general physics at Hastings College in

Nebraska, Andy was back playing

drums and building cabs at Audio

Design Lab. They were making a lot of

transmission line enclosures in those

days, and he also experimented with

building folded horn designs. However,

at age 20, he was playing drums full-

time, and toured much of the USA,

Europe, the Far East, and even

Greenland. By 1989, Andy was back

building loudspeakers full-time (and

still gigging part-time).

Throughout these adventures, Andy

continued his independent study in the

field of math, physics and speaker

design. He became a subscriber to, and

later wrote several articles for, the

magazine Speaker Builder (Andy has

several other articles in progress). His

studies involved the collective thinking

of Newton, Maxwell, Vanderkooy,

D’Appolito, Pass, Edgar, Knittel,

Dickason, Pierce, Augsburger, Staggs,

Russell and Small. Don Keele, Harry

Olsen, and Abraham Cohen provided

additional inspiration. However, Andy’s

stars didn’t really align until he started

talking to some of the bass players he

was gigging with about their gear.

He noticed that bass gear was rather

expensive, and he became curious as to

what exactly was involved in making

these “expensive” cabs. So, he asked if

he could borrow a couple of bass cabs

to check out. Without naming names,

Andy was able to get his hands on cabs

from two of the leading bass brands at

the time (early ‘90s). The first brand

used good drivers, but the enclosure

was far heavier than it needed to be,

and the tuning of the ports was way off

(by an octave or more). The second cab

was even worse, featuring drivers with

an “unusable Q” and huge magnets

which did not help the situation. In

short, Andy felt that he could do better,

and he’s been building bass cabs ever

since.

The first Acme bass cabs (introduced in

1993) were 3-way designs employing

two or four 10” drivers: the Low B-2

and Low B-4, respectively. These

enclosures were certainly ahead of their

times in terms of their pursuit of

uncolored, accurate reproduction of

bass instruments. The Low B-2 and

Low B-4 received some tweaks and a

new sibling, the Low B-1, when the

Series II Acme cabs were released in

1999. Acme cabs were firmly on the

map at this point, and earning wide

acclaim amongst players who valued

accurate reproduction.

Around this same time period, Andy’s

son was diagnosed with autism. Much

of his energy and creativity were

redirected to volunteer work with the

local autism society, where Andy

helped develop office procedures and

software to help make the organization

more productive. This occupied a lot of

his time, but yielded its own rewards.

Ever the active mind, though, Andy

continued to tinker with a number of

different designs and techniques to help

potentially make his cabs even better.

By the way, much of Andy’s collective

work (spanning decades) is available in

the form of various technical papers

and spreadsheets which are available

on the Acme website

(www.acmebass.com)

2010 ushered in the Series III era, and

the first product was the Low B-112

Flat Wound – the first Acme cab

without a crossover, and the first cab to

use something other than a 10” driver.

It was about 17 years since Andy last

designed a bass enclosure from the

ground up, and this was certainly quite

a departure from his earlier models.

The Low B-112 Full Range followed in

2011 and saw the addition of a higher-

output textile dome tweeter to the same

12” driver used in its sibling. Series III

versions of the Low B-1/2/4 enclosures

(all sporting sprayed-on finishes and

polyswitch protection – more on this in

the technical review) are coming soon.

The matching finish will be especially

nice when stacking 10” Acme models

with the 12” models, and the new B-

112 cabs were specifically designed to

pair up well with the earlier designs,

both physically and sonically.

Thorough Design

The first Acme cabs I encountered

some years back were the Low B-1 and

Low B-2 (both Series II). I was amazed

at their tonal balance from top to

bottom, and their ability to stay tight

and clear down low – really low! The

mids were not peaky, and the highs

were nice and smooth. Sure, they liked

to have a good bit of power thrown

their way to get the best results (not the

most efficient of cabs, to be sure), but if

you did, they rewarded you in spades.

Equally impressive was the fact that

these designs had been around for over

a decade at that point – again pointing

out that Andy really helped lead the

charge with regard to “accurate,”

“uncolored” bass cabs. And to top it all

off, the pricing was (and still is)

certainly far lower than you’d expect

based upon the performance level.

Fast forward a bit to late 2009, early

2010, and you started to hear a lot of

buzz about a new breed of neodymium-

based drivers from Eminence and some

45bassgear

analysis that went into its development.

Less can be more, but it can take some

effort to get there. Making good,

effective crossovers from fewer and

fewer parts has been a goal of Andy’s

for some time, and his approach to

crossover design (which abandons the

resistive model of a moving coil driver)

appears to be unique in the industry.

Real World Performance

The Low B-112 Full Range continues

the Acme tradition of very balanced

reproduction from bottom to top. The

lows definitely go very deep, but do not

overpower. There is great clarity and

precision through the midrange. The

tweeter Andy is using in this cab may

look like his other textile dome

tweeters, but it is an entirely different

model, and it has a lot more output. It

definitely keeps up with the 12” driver,

other brands. The Eminence drivers

came in several varieties (the LF and

HO series) and were available in both

12” and 15” form factors. Talk was,

they were using these very powerful

neodymium (“neo”) magnets – in

conjunction with some new advances in

surrounds, motor design, and the like –

to achieve more excursion and higher

output. The LF drivers were aimed

towards going as low as possible with

usable output, and the HO drivers were

tweaked for higher output (but still

went lower than most conventional

drivers). Different proprietary versions

of these drivers were discussed, and

when I heard that Andy Lewis had been

talking to Eminence about a proprietary

12” driver to be used in a new Acme

design, I (and a bunch of other players)

started to get excited.

The first 12” model I was able to play

with was the Flat Wound ($609.00

direct price, by the way). Compared to

the three-way Low B-1 and Low B-2 I

had tried before, this was really

something different. It is a single-driver

system, with no tweeter (or midrange),

and no crossover. It definitely had the

deep, full low end I had heard in the

earlier cabs, but the top end rolls off

around 4kHz, somewhat mimicking the

high-end roll-off you get when using

flatwound strings (and hence the name,

of course). This cab is a study in

minimalist design, though certainly a

lot of thought (and math, and physics)

went into it. On his webpage, Andy

writes:

“I see it as a statement. It is simplicity itself. It is themost parameter-optimized and perfectly-executedexample of the most conservative of designs, distilledto an essence. The sheer purity of the “Flat Wound”system shows the philosophy at work in a way no otherloudspeaker does and attempts to respect the purity ofthe classic American bass guitar which made us noticethat there was a place for this simple loudspeaker.”

No doubt about it, the Flat Wound has a

great warm, full tone which will sit in

many mixes just fine, and it begs you to

dig in with a vintage P-bass and roll off

the tone a bit. Still, it wasn’t exactly

“my thing” (I prefer stainless steel

roundwounds, thank you), so I was

definitely stoked when the B-112

Round Wound, er, I mean, Full Range,

came in.

The Full Range is basically a Flat

Wound with a tweeter (and crossover)

added to it. The identical 12” driver is

also run full range (up to about 4kHz),

with the crossover bringing in the

tweeter around 2.5kHz. It is a very

seamless transition from driver to

tweeter. Although the crossover itself is

not a large mechanism, like many other

aspects of Andy’s cabs, the apparent

simplicity belies the deep computer

46 bassgear

but remains as smooth and sweet as

Andy’s other tweeters. The overall

clarity of this cab is excellent.

I happened to have a number of other

1x12 enclosures on hand for

comparison’s sake, and several of them

were using one form or another of these

new Eminence neo drivers. After

numerous comparisons using multiple

basses and heads, the Full Range

proved itself to be very clear

throughout the midrange, and very

balanced throughout its useable range.

Some of these other cabs are also aimed

at a more or less uncolored response,

and there were some strong similarities

in certain sonic regions. Each enclosure

had its own way of getting its story

across. The Acme was more clear than

some, and more warm than others. With

no clear “winner,” I felt that each cab

had something unique to offer.

The first gig test came with both the

Flat Wound and the Full Range (4

ohms, each) being pushed by a Genz-

Benz ShuttleMAX 12.0. This is an

excellent match-up, in my opinion. At

sound check, my bandmates and the

other folks on hand commented at the

massive, room-filling lows. I offered to

turn down, but everyone liked it and

noted that it was not overpowering. For

a relatively compact rig, I must admit,

the tone was huge! After the room filled

up a bit, I did have to tweak the

response a bit, but he ShuttleMAX 12.0

certainly gives you plenty of options

when it comes to tone tweaking. While

a single 4-ohm Full Range could

probably cover most moderate-volume

gigs, I more commonly find myself

needing more air movement than a

single 1x12 can provide. For players

with similar realities, the 8-ohm option

may be more attractive, especially if

you don’t have a head that is

comfortable with a 2-ohm load (or two

4-ohm loads).

The Bottom Line

Andy Lewis has been designing great-

sounded, uniquely affordable high-end

bass enclosures for decades. His

designs have always been on the

compact side, and now he is able to

bring the weight down well below 40

lbs. per cab. The Low B-112 Full

Range continues the Acme tradition of

very “uncolored,” very balanced, very

clear sonic reproduction. While I still

believe that the earliest Acme models

are still relevant – and highly

competitive – designs (even in today’s

market), I am thrilled to see these new

12” based models from Acme. I can’t

wait to see what Andy has in store for

us next!

TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)

SONIC PROFILE:

Lows: Very deep, but not “bloomy”

Mids: Incredible clarity and balance through the mids

Highs: Bright and clear, but still smooth and sweet

GENERAL

Company: Acme Sound LLCBox 2556Englewood, CO 80150www.acmebass.com

Country of origin: USAYear of Origin: 2011Warranty: 2 years (also, 14-day return guarantee)List price: $664.00Street price: $664.00Options: NoneAccessories: Tuki coverAvailable colors: Black

Acquired from: Acme Sound LLCDates: November 2011 through April 2012Locales: OhioTest gear: Genz-Benz ShuttleMAX 12.0, Carvin B1500, GK MB800,Mesa/Boogie WalkAbout, Lakland Skyline DJ4, Gibson Thunderbird, Sadowsky P/J 5,Skjold Exotic Custom 4, AudioKinesis TC112AF, Baer ML-112, fEARful 12/6cube/1

The Full Range likes a bit of power tosound its best, and has amazing clarityand balance throughout its range. Thelows go very deep, and the overall tone isvery defined.

In-Hand Score4.00 averageOn-Bench Score4.29 average

bas

sgea

rtest

TONE-O-METER

Acme SoundLow B-112Full Range Bass Cab

On-benchPortability 4.5Road Worthiness 4.5Components 4.5Hardware 4Cabinet Construction 4.5Wiring 4Cover/Finish 4

In-handFeatures: 3.5Tonal Flexibility: 4Ease of Use: 4Aesthetics: 3.5Tone: 4Value: 5

Enclosure

Configuration: 1x12Listed Impedance: 4 ohmsRated Power Handling: 350 wattsInputs/Outputs: Two Neutrik NLJ2MD-V dual Speakon & 1/4”

jacksDimensions: 23"h x 15.75"w x 16.5"dWeight: 37.5 lbsPorts: One 4” port (front)Covering: Spray-onBaffle Board: 3/4” plywood Cabinet: 3/4” plywood Grill: MetalHandles: One (top-mounted)Feet: Four, rubberCasters: NoCorners: Yes, plastic stacking-styleDriver Mounting: 8 bolts (threaded inserts)

Drivers/Crossover

Woofers: Proprietary Eminence 12", cast-frameCone Material: PaperVoice Coil: 3” copperMagnets: Neodymium (11 oz.)Tweeter: 1” textile domeAdjustment: NoneProtection: PolyswitchSpeaker Connections: FastonCrossover: 2.5 kHz, 2nd-orderOptions: 8-ohm configuration

Measurements

Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 93.43 dBSPL (1 watt @ 1 meter)

Acme Sound Low B-112 Full Range Bass Cab

In order to build an excellent bass cab,

you of course need to use the proper

driver(s) and components, but none of

that will matter if you don’t put your

enclosure together right. The front

baffle, side boards and bracing in the

Full Range are all made from 7-ply,

18mm (3/4”) high quality plywood.

Andy uses a “stressed bracing”

approach, which he explains and

demonstrates in a nifty video on his

YouTube channel

(www.YouTube.com/acmebass). The

video also discusses how the damping

material (fiberglass, in this case) helps

to eliminate the higher frequency

resonance, as well. The result is an

acoustically very neutral enclosure

which is not only strong but also fairly

lightweight. It is worth noting that

Andy has provided a real wealth of

technical and practical information via

his webpage and YouTube channel. It

can take a bit of digging to find all the

gems hidden on the webpage, but I

believe that it is well worth the effort

The metal grill is held in place by four

bolts with threaded inserts, and is

additionally secured by four strips of

double-sided tape. The rubber stand-

off’s for the grill are screwed into the

front baffle, which is a very nice touch.

I have seen some setups where the

rubber stand offs are only held in place

by the downward pressure of the grill,

and it can be a real pain to make sure

that they stay in place when you are

putting the grill back on. No worries,

here. I did have to remove the top two

corners in order to get the grill back on

properly, which is a slight pain, but no

big deal.

The proprietary 12” Eminence driver

appears to be a custom, 4-ohm variant

of the Kappalite™ 3012HO (Acme also

offers an 8-ohm model). It sits in a

slight recess routed out of the front

panel to give a little more space for

cone excursion (and to keep any part of

the cone/surround from hitting the

grill). The sturdy cast frame contributes

CAB LAB

Tom Bowlus’

to the strength of the front baffle. Eight

bolts with threaded inserts hold the

driver in place, which is another nice

touch. Gasket tape is used to seal the

lip of the frame to the baffle. The

textile dome tweeter is held in place

with four wood screws, as well as more

gasket tape. This tweeter is amazingly

light and tiny for its prodigious output.

It looks similar to the Audax drivers

Andy used to put in his enclosures, but

I am not sure who makes this model.

This is definitely a different model than

the tweeters used in the Low B-1/2/4

enclosures. The driver in both the Flat

Wound and the Full Range is driven

with a full-range signal, and in the case

of the Full Range, a 2nd-order

crossover centered around 2.4kHz

handles the high-pass filtering for the

tweeter.

As you can see from the on and off-axis

frequency response chart, this driver

goes very low. The -10dB point

(relative to the average sensitivity

bassgear 49

Fig A - On and Off Axis (15, 30, 45) Frequency Response Fig B - On Axis Frequency Response with 0, 1, and 2 ports blocked

between 200-900Hz) is at around 25Hz,

which is exceptionally low. The

enclosure is certainly designed to

handle this abuse, but I did find a

number of things in my music room

which really started to vibrate when I

was giving these cabs a workout. Deep,

strong, and accurate low frequency

response has been an Acme hallmark

since Andy’s first cabs, and these 12”

models certainly deliver the goods, as

well.

Another nice little attention to detail is

that the rubber feet on the bottom of the

cab are tall enough to clear the edges of

the plastic stacking corners when

placed upon a flat surface, but the feet

are exactly the correct height to allow

the stacking grooves to “lock” when

one cab is stacked on top of the other.

The single, top-mounted, spring-loaded

handle also uses a recessed dish design

which minimizes how far the handle

sticks up when not in use. It does not

hit the bottom of the cab on top (if you

are stacking cabs), and it is easily

cleared by bass heads with even

modest-sized feet.

In the past, Andy has used the light

bulb approach to tweeter/driver

protection. He has migrated, however,

to using polyswitches for protection.

Polyswitches are passive, non-linear

thermistors, and they act like

automatically resetting circuit breakers.

What’s not to love? The wiring is pretty

straightforward,

neatly run, and

of appropriate

gauge.

Connections are

made via two

dual-function

Neutrik™

NLJ2MD-V

connectors,

which accept

either Speakon

or ¼” inputs. The

spray-on coating

– a new approach

for Acme cabs –

is on par with the

best examples I

have seen, and

this will be the

treatment applied

to all Series III

cabs.

The Series III

Low B-112

models appear

deceptively

simple at first

glance, but they

have a lot going

on beneath the surface. Andy Lewis

really knows what he is doing, and he

definitely thinks through all the details.

These are well-made, well-designed

cabs, and I believe that they will stand

the test of time, much as the earlier

Low B-1/2/4 models have.

50 bassgear

Zon Guitars and Bass Gear Magazinebring you an opportunity to win the

Zon Standard Series bass of your choice!All you need to do is subscribe to either the free digital or paid print version of Bass Gear Magazine at www.bassgearmag.com between January 19, 2012 and July 31, 2012. If you are already a subscriber, you can still enter the giveaway contest by logging onto your account at www.bassgearmag.com and following the simple instructions.Additional rules and conditions apply (see web page). Must be at least 18 years of age.Void where prohibited. International winners responsible for shipping and duty.

51bassgear

Bass and DrumsBy Jordan “J-Simms” Simmons

When it comes to the rhythmcommunity, most of us bass playersand drummers can guarantee that weknow our responsibilities when itcomes to the “groove” of a song.Essentials like keeping “pocket,”playing seasoned, and owning the songare all very important; but how manybass players and drummers can saythat they do these things withoutthinking?

Playing alongside bass phenom DougJohns for almost one year now hascreated a new way of thinking for meconcerning music from the bass anddrum player’s perspective. We’re notjust playing a song to get through it, orjust trying to sound good. We’re aftersomething more, and it only takes asimple ingredient: belief. For example,one song we perform as the DougJohns Drum and Bass Duo called“Summer Song” is without a doubt asong that you can not only hear, butyou can “see” as well. Sounds crazy,right? See a song that you play? Wellthe secret is out. You can play a songand sound great without ever thinkingabout the song.

We all know that the rhythm sectionhas the most responsibility in the bandand in recordings. It is our job to benear perfect; to keep the essentialsflowing – and don’t forget aboutlocking in with the drummer, the bassplayer, and vice versa. But more thanthat, think about those moments whenyou hear a live band, or hear a recordlike “Livin’ for the City” by StevieWonder, and you close your eyes. Youjust got hit with a haymaker of“belief!” So you know how it feels tohear it; now just imagine yourself

playing it. Playing a song andunderstanding that the bass and drumsare the heart and soul of that song – thisis the foundation of “belief,” but it’sjust the beginning.

Taking the next step to actually“seeing” the song is a process that youmust make without thinking. Talkingabout a guaranteed groove ofperfection, just ask Verdine White whathe was thinking when he grooved to“Shining Star” by Earth, Wind, andFire. Wow! Just thinking about thatgroove makes me feel good! I could goon and on with examples, includingfrom a drummer’s point of view, likewhen I hear “In the Air Tonight” byPhil Collins. Need I say more aboutthat tune?

We in the bass and drum worlds allwant great results, and I know that as arepresentative of both I have grownmusically to levels that I never dreamedof. The goal is to perform at the highestlevel possible on a regular basis. Justthink about it… What if you took thisapproach every single time you playeda song? Comments like, “You soundedgreat,” or “I could feel the song” areawesome and mean that you are doingyour job well.But thisoutlook onmusic comingfrom a bassand drummind-set hasme searchingfor more thanjust a sound ora feeling. Haveyou everplayed so wellthat peoplehave said, “Icould actuallyenvision whatyou were

playing?” If the song was arrangedwell, they may even say, “You took meon a journey.” There’s nothing moreimportant than a drummer and a bassplayer to believe what they are playingwell enough to go past just striving tosound good or feel good. Believing somuch in what you are playingsuccessfully every time you play that itbecomes a thought process, withoutthinking it, in turn produces musicalgreatness coming from the rhythmsection.

Of course you must know your music,but never let a song own you to thepoint that you can’t let your voice beheard. Always let what you play comefrom the heart, no matter what. Fromthe heart to the ears, from the ears tothe mind, from the mind to the soul,and ultimately from the soul the eyes.Take it to the next level – especiallysince bass players and drummers havethe most responsibility. Believe, andmake the listeners believe that they cansee and feel the groove that only youcan offer! Keep it groovin’ and believelike only you can… like the vision ofyour life’s destiny depends on it! Justdon’t think about it!

“The ThoughtsYou Don’t Think”

52 bassgear

Luthiers’ Round TableBy Tom Bowlus

One of the most treasured benefits I

have received as a gear reviewer, and

now editor, involved in the music

industry has been getting to know some

of the artisans who create these works

of art which we call bass guitars. That

we can use these artistic creations to in

turn express our own art creates a

special bond between the luthier and

the musician. This bond exists even if

the luthier and player never meet face

to face. The instrument connects them.

However, as a player myself, it is

always exciting – often profoundly so –

to get to know the man or woman

behind the instrument on a personal

level. But not everyone gets the

opportunity to do so.

With this in mind, when I started Bass

Gear Magazine, and I thought about the

varied content I wanted to provide to

our readers, one of my paramount goals

was to try and help the reader to

connect on a more personal level to the

people who make the basses (and amps,

and cabs, etc) we all play. Our detailed

reviews give us one such opportunity,

but I had visions early on of something

even more involving, and some form of

group dynamic with a life of its own. I

approached several luthiers and asked if

they’d be willing to participate in some

“round table” discussions of various

topics which may be of interest to our

readers, and the responses were all very

positive. This idea took a while to flesh

out, but it was always there, bubbling

away on the back burner.

This is where I need to give some

special props to Dan Lenard of Luthiers

Access Group. I had spoken with Dan

about this idea years ago, and he

recently began prompting me to get this

group together. We decided to jointly

sponsor a kick-off get together for the

Luthiers’ Round Table to be held in

conjunction with the 2012 Winter

NAMM Show. This was done on fairly

short notice, but I was pleasantly

amazed that so many of top-tier luthiers

were able to dedicate their time and

attend. I am even more grateful that

these ten luthiers, plus two others who

were not able to make it to the kick-off

event, have agreed to pull a chair up to

the Round Table and to participate in

discussions about bass making. These

dynamic group discussions will be a

regular feature in Bass Gear Magazine

going forward, and I welcome readers

to contact us with regard to topics they

would like to see discussed.

First, however, I would like to

introduce you all the members of the

Luthiers’ Round Table. These thirteen

individuals (and no, I am not saying

which one of them sits in Percival’s

seat!) represent a cross section of the

very top luthiers in the world, and each

brings a wealth of knowledge and

insight to the table. In alphabetical

order, we have:

Sheldon Dingwall – Hailing from

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada,

Sheldon has pioneered the use of

fanned frets, winds his own pickups,

and thinks on levels of details as few

others can. Before he built basses, he

was building (and competing on)

skateboards, and then guitars.

Fortunately for us, he’s zeroed in on

basses, and has recently added an

import line, called the Combustion

series, to augment his Canadian-made

instruments.

Harry Fleishman – While not as

active, currently, as some of the other

members of the Round Table, Harry has

been making fine handmade guitars and

basses for as long as I have been alive

(let’s just that’s over 35 years). His

original designs have influenced

countless other luthiers, and he has

been teaching lutherie since 1985

Randall Wyn Fullmer – I mention

Randy’s full name, as it is his middle

name from which his brand of basses

gets its name. Randy built instruments

for himself for years, and started off

building guitars before basses, but what

(Continued on page 99)

53bassgear

fEARful PhenomenonBy Tom Bowlus

Researching just what kind of cab to buy… listening to a

bunch of different cabs… talking about every option

under the sun on a web forum… borrowing a buddy’s rig

for a gig or two… this is a common, and usually quite

successful, process to follow when deciding which

enclosure is going to work well for you. But taking a

stack of wood, laying down some sawdust, inhaling some

solder fumes (accidentally), and putting together your

own enclosure, and then taking it out on a gig and tearing

it up, definitely takes things to the next level.

The “do it yourself” (DIY) spirit is alive in all of us –

some more so than others, but still, it’s there. Sometimes

we build our own gear (or remodel our own kitchen, or

swap out our own radiator, etc) because we enjoy the

challenge; sometimes we are looking to save a buck.

Heck, sometimes we might even be out to actually learn

something. But most often, we don’t really know what

we are going to get until we are done. Some DIY projects

prove more difficult to accomplish than one might think

at the start of the project, and sometimes the end result

isn’t quite as outstanding (or even adequate) as we had

hoped for. These challenges may deter some, but not all,

and every now and then the DIY movement gets a nice

little shot in the arm.

Though the universe does seem to move in the direction

of ever-increasing entropy, in the context of DIY

54 bassgear

loudspeaker design, some forces have been fighting this

trend. Trade magazines have long kept the torch alit, and

in the connected digital world, it’s even easier for

interested readers to find the publications which feature

content to their liking. The enhanced connectivity of

individuals through online forums, social media and the

like has also fostered greater dissemination of

information and a collective pooling of knowledge and

resources. Affordable or even free computer programs are

increasingly available for the armchair loudspeaker

designer.

The stage is set. All we need now is a little spark to really

get this DIY thing rolling for bass players interested in

building their own cabs. This is the story of one such

spark…

It Ain’t Easy Being Green(boy)

There’s more than one great DIY story out there, even

within the limited context of bass enclosure building, but

this is the story of Dave Green (“greenboy”) and his

fEARful™ designs. Necessity is the mother of invention,

and many new designs, products, even entire companies

arise out of someone not being able to find just what they

were after in the conventional marketplace. Dave was not

finding bass enclosures which did just what he wanted

them to do, so he set about designing a box which he

thought he would want to buy, if it were available. As it

turns out, a bunch of other players wanted the same kinds

of things.

By way of background, before heading down this road,

Dave spent a lot of time around sound reinforcement

gear. He had also worked in Seattle in a MIDI-focused

audio/video recording studio, which also involved a lot of

computer work and experience with projected graphics,

video and lighting. He built some home audio

loudspeakers using other people’s designs, and spent even

more time retro-fitting home audio speakers with new

drivers, etc. This led to building some PA cabs and a lot

of subwoofers.

Dave did not start playing bass until late ’98 (though he

always had a special affinity for bass lines when

composing and arranging). Prior to this, he had played

primarily saxes, clarinets and other woodwind

instruments – usually with tons of stomp boxes and rack

gear – and also had some experience playing brass, a

little guitar, bass and keyboards, here and there.

Experimental electronic music and commercial synthesis

55bassgear

work were other influences. When he started gigging out

on bass, his rig was a mix of bass and PA gear, and the

search was on for enclosures which would get him the

full-range tone (and high SPLs) he was after. Dave would

later relocate from Seattle to Montana, near Glacier

National Park (one of my favorite places in the world!).

He was looking to get into a more relaxed lifestyle, and I

must say from having been out there several times, those

mountains have a way of opening your mind…

Thanks to the enhanced connectivity of individuals

allowed by the internet, being relatively isolated in

regards to your geographical location does not

necessarily inhibit your ability to communicate and build

relationships with other people. Greenboy was able to

“meet” several like-minded individuals in this manner

and struck up several enduring friendships. One such

individual is Alex Claber (of Barefaced Audio, now a

British-based bass enclosure manufacturer). They worked

together on a variety of bass-related forums and started

talking about different cabs they each had used which got

them most of what they were looking for, but not all.

Dave and Alex shared a lot of their initial research with

each other and the two of them were definitely working

towards some common – or at least similar – goals.

Another friendship Dave developed along the way was

with Duke LeJeune (of USA-based AudioKinesis, whose

Thunderchild TC112AF was reviewed in our last issue).

Duke approached greenboy with some positive

observations regarding the fEARful designs Dave had

begun sharing with DIY-inclined bass players. Duke’s

Thunderchild bass cabs have some similar design goals,

but they are definitely different enough that neither of

them step on each other’s toes, design-wise. Dave and

Duke have become good friends and they share a lot of

ideas with each other.

As he mulled over various design philosophies, greenboy

set his sights on the 15/6 “dedicated midrange” concept

early on. This would be a 2-way design, with a 15”

woofer, a 6” dedicated midrange driver, and an optional

1” compression driver. The dedicated midrange driver

was a crucial element for greenboy, as he favors

overdrive/distortion (and tube heads), and a midrange

driver typically does a better job than a large format horn

with regard to reproducing overdrive/distortion in a

pleasing fashion. With enclosure specs in mind, he talked

with some established “custom” bass enclosure builders

about making a couple of cabs for his personal use.

Ultimately, these relationships did not work out. At one

56 bassgear

not previously been available, a new (at the time) crop

higher-output 6” midrange drivers brought other

necessary options to the table. The front runner was the

very high output 18Sound 6ND410 (and later on, the

6NM410). These drivers have fairly similar response

characteristics; the main difference is sensitivity. Another

alternative is the Eminence Alpha-6A (and later on, its

“neo” variant, the Alphalite™ 6A), and one of them is

just right for a single 12”-based fEARful enclosure. But

the 18Sound works very well in a modular setup, where

you can pad it back for single-cab operation but let it run

full bore when paired up with a matching sub, or with a

15” driver. Either way you go, the midrange driver(s)

is(are) housed in a separate “enclosure within an

enclosure.”

These midrange drivers not only keep up with the high

performance Kappalite LF woofers, but they also have

sufficient “reach” to their frequency response such that

many players will not need to go any higher (and

therefore will not need a tweeter). For those who prefer a

bit sparkle and shimmer up top, Dave allows for a variety

of compression driver and waveguide options. In the

selection of a waveguide, the fEARful plans now call for

one of two options, the 18Sound XT120 or the Dayton

H07E. If you opt for the 18Sound waveguide, you can

also buy it with a nicely matched compression driver, the

HD125. There are five recommended compression driver

options for the Dayton waveguide (in order of increasing

price): Eminence ASD:1001, Selenium D220Ti-8,

Selenium D2500Ti-Nd-8, BMS 4540ND and JBL 2407H

(a JBL-licensed equivalent to the BMS 4540ND).

A Box to Put Them In

The plans themselves provide the appropriate sizes and

shapes of all the pieces of wood that are needed to build

the various fEARful enclosures, and show how they go

together. See the sidebar, “fEARful Resources,” for a link

where you can view/download them. The various plans

available include the 15/6, 15/6tube, 15sub, 1515/66,

12/6, 12/6cube, 12sub, 1212/6, 1212sub, and the

Headcase (6” mid and 1” compression driver only).

When putting this review together, I asked a variety of

fEARful builders/users to share photos of their cabs, and

I have attempted to include at least one picture from

every person who agreed to share. My thanks once again

to all who contributed these killer pics! They give you a

better feel for what types of configurations are available,

and how some folks have customized their enclosures.

57bassgear

point, Dave toyed with retro-fitting a Carvin LS1503 (a

smaller 3-way PA enclosure) as a shortcut, but this didn’t

get him exactly where he wanted to go, either.

Later, Dave committed to sharing his initial designs with

the DIY community. The more these new fEARful

designs were discussed online, the more players would

get that spark to try and build their own cab. As more

and more of these fEARfuls started getting made – and

people started to actually hear what they could do – the

word started to spread like wildfire. Of course, it seems

that every popular online topic generates its fanboi’s and

nay-sayers, and greenboy certainly saw plenty of both.

It’s easy to take pot shots at someone else’s work while

hiding behind the cover of a computer monitor, and some

of the negativity directed greenboy’s way was pretty

harsh. However, the positive energy far outweighed the

negative, and several individuals stepped up and offered

their help with things like putting together the fEARful

wiki, presenting the SketchUp 3D models, designing

alternate crossovers, and devising plans for how to cut

sheets of plywood most efficiently. The collective impact

of this growing “fEARful army” has been quite

significant, and the “fEARful phenomenon” is just as

much about the ability of like-minded individuals to

move their collective online bandwagon forward as it is

about these killer designs from Dave Green.

Pieces Parts

When it came down to selecting the drivers to go into his

enclosure, Dave would periodically search all the high-

end audio driver manufacturers’ websites and dump their

driver data into WinISD to see which of them might best

fit his needs. Light weight was also a design goal, so

neodymium-based woofers were a given. His initial

choice for a 15” driver was the BMS 15n630. This driver

would have allowed for a slightly smaller enclosure, but

it was also very expensive, and not very easy to get.

Ultimately, the Eminence Kappalite™ 3015LF won out,

as it was more affordable, readily available, and (in the

proper sized box) the 3015LF can produce a more

broadband output. Eminence later introduced a 12”

model, the Kappalite 3012LF, which Dave also

incorporated into his designs, emphasizing modularity.

These drivers represented a new generation of woofers,

and their capacity for reproducing deep frequencies and

handling major cone excursion really opened up some

possibilities which were not especially practical, before.

Just as the more recent developments in neodymium-

based woofers opened up some design doors which had

58 bassgear

The default plans call for ½” (12mm) plywood, and there

has been a lot of discussion online regarding which

specific type of wood to use. While some of the wood

choices are lighter than others, even if you use a heavier

wood like the superior Baltic birch (what I chose), there

are still weight savings to be realized by the use of the

thinner wood (which in turn is allowed as a result of the

layout of the internal bracing). Some authorized fEARful

builders (see sidebar) offer additional weight savings by

building the enclosures from unconventional materials.

For instance, Mike Arnipol offers enclosures made from

very lightweight fiberglass lay-up material. This may

increase the overall dimensions a tad, but the weight

savings are significant.

One of the goals of the DIY plans was that the project

would be something that people with limited tools could

actually pull off, even if they did not have prior wood-

working skills. As such, the plans call for the use of

simple butt joints and modern glue formulations, like PL

Premium, with their incredible bonding strength and fill

capacities. My father-in-law (who did the word-working

for my enclosures) had previous experience with

Titebond III, so we “stuck” with that. And let me take

this opportunity to thank my father-in-law, Fred Weber,

once again for putting these cabs together. It was a nice

bonding experience (again with the puns!), and he did a

fantastic job.

For some would-be DIY builders, the crossover presents

one of the more intimidating sections to put together. The

fEARful “Cheap But Good” crossover plans detail all the

components needed for each different combination of

drivers. In addition, a separate tweeter high-pass

crossover design (initially a collaborative effort between

Dave and Duke LeJeune) is provided for those who opt

to add a compression driver (“tweeter”) to their

enclosure. Fortunately for me, I had Technical Director

Tom Lees to lean on, and Tom handled all aspects of

building the crossovers for my two fEARfuls. Thanks

again, Tom! If you don’t have your own electrical

engineer/patent attorney/genius to hand this task off to,

some of the authorized fEARful builders will sell you a

pre-made crossover.

Of course, there are a lot of additional pieces of hardware

that go into a bass enclosure, such as gills, corners,

handles, feet, screws, speaker connectors and the like.

Fortunately, the fEARful designs give you lists of

appropriate hardware and links to where to buy them.

59bassgear

And of course, you can get creative and use alternate

hardware to customize your cab, as illustrated by some of

these pics.

Other greenboy Designs

The design goals of the various fEARful designs

included: a very balanced, uncolored sound, that

extended very deep; the ability to deliver high SPLs

when needed; good off-axis projection; and modularity

and consistency between models. They were also

designed to work for extended-range bassists and

guitarists and effects users. Other intended applications

include onstage monitoring for keyboards, drums, and

full-spectrum PA side fills. The fEARful “sub” models

also work very well as club PA subwoofers.

Dave more recently designed some more

traditional/conventional bass cabs with the emphasis on

lighter weight, specialized niche products, and higher

performance. These newer non-fEARful designs may

appeal to some different players and are available as pre-

built from authorized builders. The models include the

Crazy8 and Crazy88 (smaller cabs tweaked for

performance with acoustic instruments and employing 8”

drivers), the Bassic and the Dually – the latter two

employing either one or two full-range 12” or 15”

drivers, with various options. More designs are being

added weekly. Interestingly, the Bassic and Dually

remind me of some cabs which were also built according

to plans (from Electro-Voice, in this case) – the TL 606.

But that is another story…

The main point here is that as successful as the fEARful

enclosures have been, greenboy has even more plans in

mind for the bass-playing community, so stay tuned!

The BGM Test Cabs

In order to sample a cross-section of the fEARful

designs, I wanted to build two cabs: one using the

3015LF and one using the 3012LF. But I also wanted to

take advantage of the modular compatibility approach

which Dave has incorporated into his designs. The 15/6 is

the “classic” (and first) fEARful design, so I had to have

one of those. The more that I looked at the 12/6cube

layout, the more I liked the form factor. It stacks great on

top of the 15/6, as it is the same width. Since I do like a

bit of “air” and roundwound zing to my tone, I opted for

tweeters in both cabs (which adds the “/1” to the model

name for each), and since I wanted to use both cabs

together for some gigs, I followed the fEARful design

Fig A fEARFUL 15-6-1 on and off axis

Fig B fEARFUL 12-6-1 on and off axis

Fig C 15-6-1 vs. 12-6-1

60 bassgear

recommendations and reversed the baffle on the

12/6cube/1. This way, when you stack the 12/6cube/1

upside down on top of the 15/6/1, the midrange drivers

and tweeters line up in close proximity to each other, thus

enhancing vertical dispersion and minimizing phasing

issues.

I used the 18Sound 6ND410 midrange driver in both

cabs. For the 12/6cube/1, I opted for the -6dB switch,

which allows you to run the mid full tilt if you pair the

cab up with a fEARful sub of some kind, or to pad it

back when you run the 12/6cube/1 on its own (or when

the cab you pair it with a cab that has a midrange driver

of its own, like my 15/6/1). I picked up two of the

Dayton H07E’s. For the compression driver, I went all-

out and bought two BMS 4540ND’s. The rest of the

hardware is directly from the recommended components

listed on the fEARful webpage

(http://greenboy.us/fEARful/).

My 15/6/1 weighs in at 59.0 lbs, and the 12/6cube/1

weighs 48.2. I know of several plywood builds of the

same configuration which weigh less than mine, and it’s

worth noting that there are lots of different types/grades

of plywood, and many of them are much lighter than

Baltic birch. The nice thing about the fEARful designs is

that they are not dependent upon super strong wood to

make them sturdy and vibration resistant. The bracing

takes care of that. The form factor also contributes to an

easy carry. Once again, for the player who strongly

desires the absolutely lightest possible weight, one of the

authorized builders (Mike Arnopol) offers ultra-

lightweight composite enclosures, which can cut these

weights down by almost 40%. Soon, another builder will

be doing composites, but some of the builders offer ultra-

light plywoods, like marine-grade okume, which comes

very close to the weight of the composites and has other

advantages.

fEARful Testing

I ran both of my fEARful enclosures through the standard

battery of on- and off-axis tests which we use for our

technical reviews of bass enclosures (see Figs. A and B).

We use an Audiomatica Clio system, and we measure at

one meter, with one watt. The 15, 30, and 45 degree off-

axis measurements are made in the same orientation,

moving off axis in the horizontal plane only. In a multi-

driver enclosure, the microphone is aimed at the epicenter

of the drivers, and is re-aimed each time it is moved

further off axis.

Fig D fEARFUL 15-6-1 impedance curve

Fig. E fEARful 12-6-1 impedance curve

61bassgear

Dave notes that he attempts to optimize the vertical off-

axis response based upon a cab on the floor behind a

standing or sitting player, or atop another similar cab, and

that the practical baffle arrangement of mid driver to

tweeter skews the upper region, off-axis. As such, the

differences in how we measure and how Dave designed

his cabs should be duly noted and considered when

viewing these response charts. Even so, I believe that

both cabs tested quite well, especially the 15/6/1. This

may have been due in part to the greater distance

between the centers of the drivers in the 15/6/1, or it

could be a result of a slightly different “aiming point” for

the epicenter on the 15/6/1 (relative to the 12/6cube/1).

Fig. C shows both the 15/6/1 and 12/6cube/1 response

charts, and illustrates how they both have a similar

response characteristics, but the 15/6/1 has an advantage

in dBSPL. The impedance curves are shown in Figs. D

and E. Also, I would like to note that during the testing

of the 12/6cube/1, the large hall I was testing in had some

HVAC noise that made for a minor bump around 150Hz

to 180Hz, so please disregard that little dip and bump in

Fig B.

Comparison to Other Cabs

While this all may sound great in the context of abstract

discussion, most readers ask me how these cabs sound

compared to several other “production” enclosures,

particularly other cabs using variants of the Eminence

Kappalite drivers. Fortunately, I had several of these on

hand for comparison.

First up is the Acme Series III B-112 Full Range (also

reviewed in this issue). The Acme uses a modified

version of the 3012HO, and is a 2-way design. Despite

these differences, it does share a number of sonic

characteristics with the 12/6cube/1. The perceived

tone/depth/tightness of the low end is very similar,

though the fEARful has a bigger low-mid foundation and

the Full Range has a bit more going on in the upper mids.

When playing fingerstyle, the high end is fairly similar,

but when you switch to slap, the 12/6cube/1 has more

dynamics and snap, and the Acme is a bit more smooth.

The Baer ML-112 also uses its own proprietary version

of the 3012HO, but pairs it up with a different 6”

midrange driver (no tweeter is offered). The ML-112 is

more present through the mids, whereas the 12/6cube/1 is

more even throughout the mids – both are equally

articulate, though. The high end on the Baer has a certain

62 bassgear

pleasant “woodiness” to it, and on the fEARful, the highs

are more pristine and neutral. There is a similar level of

tightness/fullness/control to the low end from each cab,

though the fEARful has more output, sounds “bigger,”

and seems to go deeper. These observations fit in line

with the stated design goals for each cab. While the Baer

cabs are designed to be relatively uncolored, they are

intentionally voiced to deliver a bit more attack in the

midrange and more body and punch to the high end.

The AudioKinesis Thunderchild TC112AF (reviewed in

our last issue) uses a proprietary 4-ohm variant of the

Eminence 3012LF, paired up with a horn-loaded 1”

compression driver. The TC112AF is more warm, round

and full sounding than the fEARful, and is more smooth.

By contrast, the 12/6cube/1 is more articulate and clear

from top to bottom, and goes both deeper and brighter

than Duke’s cab. I also had a TC115AF on hand to

compare to the 15/6/1, and the comparison between these

two cabs mirrors that of their slightly smaller brothers.

The fEARful designs are intended to offer extended

frequency response, with little to no compression to the

lows, even when you push them hard. The mids and

highs are meant to be articulate and uncolored. I’d say

that they have hit these goals quite well.

Gig Reports

I have been able to gig out with these fEARful cabs in a

variety of settings. Knowing that the 3012LF and 3015LF

can handle a lot of power – and can make good use of all

that power – I wanted to give them a decent amount of

juice. At one large hall gig, I brought both cabs and

pushed them with a Carvin B1500 (reviewed in issue #2).

This killer lead sled puts out around 1,200 watts into a 4-

ohm load, and its stout, even tone really matches up well

with the fEARfuls. This particular venue involves an

elevated stage that is very wide, but not super deep, and I

was quite impressed with the off-axis coverage this rig

had to offer. On another (club-level) gig, I again brought

both cabs, but this time I paired them up with a

Glockenklang Heart-Rock II (also reviewed in this issue).

This head is another class-AB powerhouse, capable of

well over 800 watts into 4 ohms (at less than 1% THD!),

and it takes “clean power” to new levels. As a unit, this

rig did an amazing job of giving you the tone of whatever

instrument you threw at it, only louder (a lot louder!). I

played a range of basses at that show, and it almost

sounded like a different rig with each one (in a good

way).

63bassgear

In all honesty, for each of those gigs, I had no need to

bring both cabs. The 15/6/1 definitely could have done

both gigs on its own, and the 12/6cube/1 is no slouch,

either. In fact, my very first “fEARful gig” was with the

12/6cube/1 on its own, being pushed by a GK MB500.

With no PA support, at an outdoor gig, it gave me all I

needed to compete with drums, two Telecasters, and a

keyboard player. Very impressive!

Conclusion

There’s no doubt about it, these fEARful cabs are the

“real deal.” They are competitive with some of the very

best cabs in the business. Please note, however, that even

if you build them yourself, these cabs are not what I

would call “economy boxes.” The drivers and

components are on the more expensive side (for a reason,

mind you), especially when purchasing in small

quantities. As such, the total investment will not be

significantly different (or even more) than what you’d

spend on a high quality enclosure from an established

manufacturer. In my opinion, though, cost is not the real

driving factor behind building a fEARful enclosure (or

having one built for you). While it may have been the

DIY movement that helped these cabs get their early

traction, considering the number of excellent authorized

builders and their relatively modest upcharge for doing

all of the assembly for you, I can see where many

fEARful players going forward will be getting their cabs

already built, as opposed to generating their own

sawdust. That is just one more testament to the soundness

of greenboy’s designs, IMHO.

Ultimately, the performance of these enclosures is the

real driving factor for those choosing to follow the

fEARful path. If you desire the additional sense of

adventure/accomplishment associated with building the

cab(s) yourself, greenboy and the “fEARful Army” have

you covered with lots of great online resources. Either

route you take, the fEARful phenomenon has given the

bass-playing community some excellent options for

getting “our sound” out there.

64 bassgear

“fEARful Resources”

Main fEARful webpage:

http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.php/Fearful

fEARful enclosure plans:

http://greenboy.us/fEARful/DL/

fEARful Wiki on TalkBass.com:

http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.php/Fearful

greenboy/fEARful users/builders forum:

http://greenboy.us/forum/index.php

Authorized fEARful builders:

Leland Crooks / SpeakerHardware.com

Kansas

Harley Dear / website soon to follow

Australia, New Zealand, Oceania

Ron Anchak / Anchak Audio Works

California | 760-782-7239

David Homer / Gigmaster Soundworks

Michigan

Dekker / SHO Bass

(Ottawa, Ontario) Canada

Don Barry / Barry Audio Design

Massachusetts

Greg Plouvier / Magnum Caseworks

Colorado | 719-784-4820

Mike Arnopol / website soon to follow

Chicago IL | 224-628-6162

Joseph Hawley / jHawk Customs

Mesa AZ| 480-840-1731

Mark “dukorock” Robertson / BNA Audio

Nashville TN| 615-260-6275

65bassgear

bassgear

TEST!

TEST!

By Alan Loshbaugh

I was workin’ in a nightclub, over on

the lower east side; just playin’ with my

head down, tryin’ to keep the blues

alive. We were groovin’ and sliding

through a down-tempo version of “The

Lemon Song,” the dance floor was full,

and my bass solo was coming up – one

of my favorite parts of the night. I

eased into the first 12 bars, mostly

sticking to the groove, not too solo-ish.

But when the second 12 comes around,

I stepped on the GK MB800’s foot

switch, light up the B Channel, and

drop a great big bass bomb. With the

MB800’s second channel set to “stun,”

the two Neo212-II cabs get to barking

like the big dogs they are. Awesome…

The MB800 is the newest, biggest, and

baddest member of the MB line. Paired

with two of their Neo212-II speaker

cabs, it’s just the thing for killing Club

Land while being both cost efficient,

and pretty darn easy to move.

The Company Line

Back in Bass Gear Magazine Issue 3,

GK’s product development and

company history were dealt with fairly

extensively, so I’ll gloss over most of

that here. Issue 2 had a Quick Look at

the MB2-500; Issue 4 covered the

Fusion 550. You do have your back

issues handy, right? If not, no worries,

you can review them online!

Even if you’re not personally familiar

with the GK tone from having used

their gear yourself, you’ve surely heard

of this cat named “Flea,” the bassist for

the Red Hot Chili Peppers. GK have a

long, and wide ranging list of endorsing

artists, but Flea fairly well embodies

the GK tone: a snarly, gritty, in-your-

face tone that bulldogs right through

the densest of mixes. Stanford

engineering graduate and company

head honcho Robert Gallien spent

several months in 1971 hand-writing

over 100 pages of control loop

equations for the serial EQ section that

both defines the GK sound, and set’s

the GK EQ section apart from nearly all

other brands. That same serial tone

stack is used with only the slightest of

variations throughout the entire GK

line. Robert feels this delivers more

power, punch and clarity than other

design implementations. “There are two

basic sounds for bass; a big, undefined,

supportive sound, and a more articulate,

out-front sound. The GK sound is

present, responsive, out-front,

dynamic... We want a punchy, articulate

sound that reaches out to the audience.

If you want to step out and be heard,

the GK sound is for you.” Starting now,

the new MB800 delivers 300 more

watts more of this than the MB lineup

has ever had.

Opening a Box that holds 800 watts

of WhupA**

When you first open the box holding

what’s arguably “The Biggest Punch in

the Smallest Package” in all of bass-

dom, don’t be surprised if you think

“Huh...that’s it?” I wouldn’t blame you

if you did. The MB800 is small in both

stature and weight. It will easily travel

in the micro-amp section of most gig

bags, and it weighs in at only 4.9

pounds. But don’t let its size, or cheeky

good looks fool you; the MB800 is all

business when you plug it in and turn it

on.

Up Front

Working from left to right across the

MB800’s front panel, you’ll first find

the input jack, and then the -10db pad

mini-ballbat switch and its surround

light, which is also the input clip

indicator. Push the input section too

hard, and it flashes red to indicate you

should turn down input gain, or select

the -10db pad. It’s followed by the

mute switch and its surround light,

which lights red when mute is selected.

The mute kills both speaker and DI

outputs, but leaves tuner out active.

Nice.

Next in line are nine knobs, all of

which light up to be easily seen in the

dark, and several of which are multi-

functional. First from the left are Gain

A and Gain B, both of which have a

“push to activate” feature. Gain A can

be thought of as your clean channel. It’s

active by default on power-up, and is lit

blue when active. Gain A is selectable

by pushing in on the knob, or by the

supplied footswitch. Gain B allows a

second channel of preamp gain to be set

independent of Gain A; and can be used

to set a different level of harmonic

content and overdrive. Gain B is

selectable by pushing in the knob, or by

footswitch. When used in conjunction

with Level B at the other end of the

faceplate, the output of the second

channel can be set independently of the

first channel. Gain B is lit blue when

active.

Contour follows Gain B, and tunes

between two different tone shaping

circuits through its rotation, boosting

bass and treble and cutting mids. The

EQ section follows Contour, and the

first thing you’ll notice is that “it’s

backwards from everyone else,” with

Treble first followed by Hi-Mids, Low-

Mids and Bass. Robert Gallien says it’s

done this way to minimize noise, and

the unit I had was very quiet when idle.

The Treble control is a shelving boost

and cut, centered at 7kHz. Hi and Lo-

Mids are Q-optimized band pass boost

and cut at 1kHz and 250Hz,

respectively. Bass is a shelving type

boost and cut centered at 60Hz. To the

right of the EQ section is Level B, used

to set Gain B’s volume relative the

Gain A. Level B is lit blue when active.

The last knob on the faceplate is Master

Volume, which sets output of the whole

amplifier as a unit. The Master volume

has a “push to activate” feature as well,

used to turn the limiter off and on. The

limiter is engaged by default at power-

up, and the Master surround is lit blue

when the limiter is engaged. Push in the

Master knob to turn off the limiter; if

power amp clipping occurs, the knob

indicator will flash from white to red.

Out Back

The AC input receptacle is first on the

left of the rear panel, followed by the

Direct Out. The DI has no ground lift

switch. Jason Finley at GK says this is

by design, not omission: “The only

reason to have the ground lift is to get

rid of the hum created by a ground loop

when the head and the mixer are both

grounded. The ground on the XLR

output is grounded all the time. This

avoids any ground loop issues by

default.” The pre/post EQ button sets

the DI’s output to before or after the

EQ section.

From left to right, the patch bay

consists of footswitch input, tuner

output, FX return and send, the

headphone/line-out jack, a switch to

toggle a 1/4” jack between direct

unbalanced line out and headphone use,

and two Speakon speaker outputs. The

MB800 has two small cooling fans; the

MB Fusion and MB500 have one.

What’s in the Two Big Boxes?

GK were kind enough to send along

two of their Neo212-II speaker cabs for

us to use with the MB800. Each

speaker came well packed, with its own

instruction manual and Speakon cable.

I’ve never had any other manufacturer

include speaker cables with their

speakers: well done!

The Neo212-II cabs measure 23.5” x

24.5” x 16.5” and weigh 50lbs each.

The grills are stout steel units that will

take much abuse. GK stacklock corner

protectors mean they stack together

nice and tight. Two folding side handles

make them easy to

carry, but you can

order press in

casters if you

don’t want to

carry them. Each

cab has one 1/4”

and one Speakon

input jack, a horn

attenuator, and a

switch to select

full-range or bi-

amp for operation

with one of GK’s

bi-amp (HMS)

ready heads.

GK makes their

own neodymium-

based speakers.

Robert Gallien

says the frequency

response of the 12” neo drivers used in

the 212Neo-II’s extends up to 5kHz,

where they’re crossed to the PAS horns.

“This way, players who don’t like a

horn, or, don’t like overdrive through a

horn can turn it way down, or off, and

not be at a loss for highs in their

sound.”

Set Up and Fired Up

I hauled everything into my music

room, set up the cabs, threw the head

on top and thought “That little head

sure does look funny on top of those

two beefy looking 2x12 cabs.’’ I ran the

supplied power cord, set up the

supplied footswitch, connected the

supplied speaker cables, set the EQ to

flat, Gain A to 9 o’clock , Master

Volume to noon, plugged in my trusty

Sadowsky MV5 J-bass and thought to

myself “It sure is nice that GK includes

all the power, speaker and footswitch.

Plenty of folks charge extra for those.”

Then I hit the power switch and

watched the Master Volume surround

light cycle from red to blue. Blue, in

this case, means power-up diagnostics

are complete, good, and you’re ready to

go!

I’ve been gigging a GK MB Fusion

with two GK Neo112-II’s for a while

now, so I had a fair idea what I was

going to get with this rig. After playing

68 bassgear

a few bars of one of my favorite warm-

ups, my initial thought was, “Pretty

much everything I thought it would be,

but more.” The brief shakedown run

was enough to vibrate one of my

favorite candle holders off a shelf and

break it; time to unplug the second

2x12 and save it for gigs! In terms of

sheer horsepower, the added 300 watts

were immediately noticeable.

Before feeling the rig out any further, I

took a minute to play with the horn

attenuator on the back of the remaining

Neo212-II and found that setting it at

about noon seemed to balance the

content from the horn with the content

of the 12’s nicely, and that’s where I

left it for most of the time I had the rig.

I did dial it back a bit for one blues-

based gig that warranted a more old

school sound. I also liked it dialed back

a bit more for use with double bass.

Next, I set about feeling my way

around the MB800 gain staging and

voicings available with the B channel.

With Gain A set at noon or below, the

MB800 is a clean, hard-hitting amp. Its

native voicing has nice but not

overpowering lows, crisp highs, and

plenty of midrange to get you heard in

a crowded mix. When talking to Bob

Gallien about his EQ

section and voicing, he

warned me that one

price to be paid for the

clarity, punch and in

your face delivery GK

amps provide is that

they’re fairly

unforgiving of bad

technique. I have to

agree. Hearing more

finger, string and “bad

technique noise’’ may

serve as a rehearsal

wake up call for you,

especially if you’re

playing a bass that’s as

crisp and clean as the

Sadowsky MV5 I

pulled out to start with.

There’s no need to

worry about this

though: the GK’s EQ

points are well chosen, and the EQ is

responsive and useful throughout its

range. Things aren’t quite clear enough

for you? Dial in a touch of Treble, the

7kHz EQ point is nice for this. Finger,

string and fret noise a bit much for

you? The Hi-Mid’s 1kHz EQ point is

great for this. Need a touch more heft

to really get driving the way you want?

Low-Mid, at 250Hz is your

huckleberry. Is the room you’re

working a little boomy? That’s easily

dialed out with the 60Hz shelving Bass.

Dial input gain past noon and the

MB800 gradually adds harmonic

content, and then starts to add

overdrive. This is where you find Gain

B, Level B, and the footswitch are

super useful.

By setting Gain A for your clean tone,

Gain B now becomes a ‘’selectable on

the fly’’ second gain stage, or, second

voicing. If you want a volume bump for

solo sections: easily done. If you want

to add a second voicing with more GK

growl, or some flat nasty overdrive:

easily done. When you have the two

channels set up the way you like, you

can control the entire output of both

channels at once with the Master

Volume. This is a really nice set up in

control from the MB500, and MB

Fusion!

In the Field

The real measure of any piece of gear,

for me, is this: what’s it do on the job?

Or, multiple jobs, in this case! Since I

had this rig for quite a while, I had the

opportunity to use it for everything

from blues to jazz; R&B and rock,

electric and upright. I threw every gig I

had at it for about two months, and it

was a busy two months.

First things first: bass player friends

who came to see this rig at shows

invariably asked “So, how loud is it,

really?” In short: it’s way, way loud. I

never, ever used all it had. It’s a micro-

head that won’t leave you feeling like

you need a big, heavy iron transformer

to have big, heavy power. The MB800’s

power rating of 500 watts at 8 ohms

and 800 watts at 4 ohms is an

absolutely perfect match for one or two

of the Neo212-II cabs – easily driving

those pairings to more volume than I

69bassgear

personally need in any situation. I used

one 2x12 for smaller to medium-sized

clubs, and both 2x12’s for bigger clubs

and outdoor stages. Heck, sometimes I

took both cabs to smaller clubs just

because I could! At only 50 pounds,

they’re super easy to move. A taller

stack with speakers nearer my ears

means I can hear myself more easily,

and, I have to be honest: all those

drivers behind me just feels really

good!

“OK, so, this rig has rippin’ power, but,

how’s it sound” you ask? I pointed out

earlier that I have the MB Fusion and

two Neo112-II’s in my personal

toolbox, and I like them. They’ve

served me well, and I know what EQ

feels good for me on that rig. Those

settings worked well with the MB800

as well: Treble boosted a hair for

clarity, Hi-Mids trimmed a little to cut

string and finger noise down, Bass cut

just a bit to keep the rig tight at higher

volumes, and Low-Mids boosted a bit

to fatten it back up. Lay back and fill

the pocket, or dig in harder and jump

right out of the mix. Set it and forget it,

baby.

This worked great for me, everywhere;

big stage, small stage, indoors,

outdoors, P-bass, J-bass, active or

passive bass... completely consistent

results. The MB800 and Neo212-II

combination is quite capable of

delivering both a nice “fat but tight”

drive the rhythm section feel and a

lean, mean, mix-crushing tone with

those settings. I could go from a more

soft, more vintage tone, to an

aggressive, more modern tone simply

by adjusting the passive tone control at

my bass, and changing up right hand

technique as required. Much to my

surprise, this rig even worked

acceptably well with my double bass,

as long as I had my trusty L.R. Baggs

paracoustic DI in the signal chain to

damp feedback.

Perfect for me, but maybe not for

everyone...

Even though this rig has a very

effective and flexible EQ section, ‘’the

GK sound is the GK sound.” It’s fairly

colored gear. It’s fast, modern, cutting,

biting, and edgy. If you’re a pick player

or a slapper or a very aggressive finger-

style player, be prepared for this rig to

really rip, buck, snort and bark. The

MB800 has great transient response and

punch! This rig delivers a “take no

prisoners” tone. If you play an active

Jazz Bass with fresh rounds (I do,

often), you’re totally gonna hear all

that. I dig that; many folks may prefer a

softer delivery.

However, if a cutting, edgy tone isn’t

your thing, you can tame it a number of

ways. Trimming Treble and Hi-Mids

will lean the rig towards a softer sound,

as will dialing back the horns, or, even

turning them off. In fact, I recommend

turning the horn(s) off if you’re going

to use much overdrive. If you really

want to take full advantage of GK’s

“G.I.VE.” technology (Gate Induced

Valve Effect), the RB bi-amp ready

heads might be a better choice. They let

you send the overdriven tones to the

paper cones, and a clean signal to the

horns. None of the MB-series heads

give you that bi-amp option; something

to think about of grit and overdrive are

a big part of your tone.

If you want big, fat dub-style or reggae,

this rig probably isn’t your best choice.

The cabs didn’t feel comfortable with

the bass boosted at higher volumes.

Maybe they would have taken it, but

the rig wasn’t mine, so I backed off

trying to achieve that sound via Bass

boost. I was more or less able to cop

that tone by boosting Low-Mids a bit

more, and rolling passive tone back on

my bass. The rig felt completely

comfortable delivering this.

The Bottom Line

Gallein-Krueger has been delivering

big, cutting bass tone for many years.

Until fairly recently, this meant

relatively big heavy bits of gear as well.

If you’re a fan of the GK tone and have

always wished for a smaller, lighter,

and more portable package, the MB800

and Neo212-II cabs deliver, big time.

Whether using one cab or two, these

three pieces add up to a very potent

Club Land Killer.

Manhattan, NY (212) 398-6052

Chicagoland, IL (708) 499-3485

Charlotte, NC (704) 522-9253

Dolphin Mall, FL (786) 331-9688

Raleigh, NC (919) 855-9581

San Antonio, TX (210) 530-9777

New Haven, CT (203) 389-0500

Hollywood, CA (323) 850-1050

EXPERIENCE THE 2012

SILENT BASS TOUR

TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)

SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Big and deep; I always turned them downMids: über present and cuttingHighs: Modern sounding, with great extension and clarity

On-BenchInternal Parts 3.5External Parts 4.5Overall Assembly 3.5Output Power Rating 4.5Ease of Repair 3.5Instructions/Manual 2Quality Per Price 4Layout/Cooling 4

In-HandFeatures: 4.5Tonal Flexibility: 3.5Ease of Use: 4.5Aesthetics: 4Tone: 4Value: 4.5

Huge power, two separate channels worthof tune-a-bility, effective EQ, all in a smallpackage chock full of GK tone!

In-Hand Score4.16 averageOn-Bench Score3.69 average

TONE-O-METER

Gallien KruegerMB 800Bass Amp

GENERAL

Company: Gallien-Krueger2234 Industrial Dr.Stockton, CA 95206www.gallien.com

Country of origin: China(test unit only; new units now made in USA)Year of origin: 2011Warranty: 2 years parts & labor (original purchaser)List price: $999.00Street price: $699.00Options: NoneAccessories: Rack earsAvailable colors: Silver

Acquired from: Gallien-KruegerDates: November 2011 through march 2012Locales: Missouri, OhioTest gear: Sadowsky RV5, Allen-Copollo LG5, Lakland P5, Nordstrand vJ5,

Fender ‘57 Reissue, G-L L1000 and SB2, GK MB Fusion, Mesa Boogie Walkabout

ENCLOSURE

Material: AluminumDimensions: 10-3/4" W x 2-5/16" H (w/feet) x 8-3/4" D (w/ handles)Weight: 4.9 lbsRackable: Yes

PREAMP

Inputs: 1 x 1/4”Mode: Discrete FETTubes: N/AInput Impedance: 874 Kohms, 200 Hz, 200 mV SinEQ Type/Features: Contour – Mid Cut at 450Hz Full On; Treble –

shelving; Hi Mid – 800Hz bandpass; Low Mid – 250Hz bandpass; Bass –shelving

Compressor/Limiter: User Defeatable LimiterDI Output: Balanced XLR, pre/post EQ switchEffects Loop: Yes, Serial Additional Features: Line/Headphone out, tuner out, footswitch for A/B,

mute and -10dB pad

POWER AMP

Mode: Class-DTubes: N/AOutputs: 2 x Speakon/1/4” comboImpedance Options: 4, 8Power Supply/Transformer: Switch ModeCooling System: 2 x fanLine Voltage Options: 120

MEASUREMENTS

Freq Resp – Pre & Power Amp, 200mv swept sin input all tone controls at noon:Full Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 7.0 dB Limited Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 80Hz - 8kHz +/- 4.2 dB Limited Bandwidth (optimally flat): 80Hz - 8kHz +/- 0.3 dB

4-Ohm 8-Ohm

Continous Power: 803 watts 566 wattsMeasured Voltage: 56.7 Vrms 67.3 Vrms

Burst Power: 1020 watts 646 wattsMeasured Voltage: 63.9 Vrms 71.9 Vrms

Input Signal: 316 mVrms 201.6 mVrmsWall Voltage DUT: 120.1 Vrms 120.0 VrmsTHD (at Max Power): 5% THD+N 5% THD+N

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AMP LAB

Tom Lees’

You sci-fi nuts out there are

undoubtedly well versed in the story

whose plot revolves around one ring to

rule them all. Was this the inspiration

behind the mesmerizing illuminated

ring that surrounds the Master control

on the GK MB800? One ring, and

hence one amp, to rule them all? Well,

in our sci-fi story, the main antagonist

creates a powerful ring into which

much of the creator’s power is poured.

However, the ring is imbued with

malevolence. Much like our story, it

appears as if GK aimed to forge a

powerful amp that pours over 40 years

of bass amp experience into a design

that incorporates both classic and

modern design sensibilities. But is the

MB800 malevolent? Far from it, unless

you consider the bar that this amp sets

for everyone else to be “evil.”

Construction

In general, the MB800 bears many

characteristics that are similar to other

class-D amps. The housing is

lightweight, sturdy aluminum of modest

size. Our test unit weighed in at 4.9 lbs.

At just under 11 inches wide and just

under 9 inches deep, this amp is a little

larger than many class-D amps, but the

amp is still small enough to be easily

portable, and more importantly, user

accessible. Even with its modest size,

the control knob spacing is a bit tight,

but reasonable, given the amount of

features packed into the amp.

The front panel yields the usual

suspects… Gain, Contour, four bands of

equalization and a Master volume. The

sideline story involves the two

channels, A and B, which can be set

with individual gain settings. Channel B

also has a level control to more closely

match the overall output of channels A

and B. However, the headline story on

the front panel is the illumination

system. GK has come up with a way to

provide instantaneous visual feedback

to the user that is informative, easy to

understand and useful. Oh, the

illumination system is aesthetically

cool, too.

The internal construction of this amp

clearly illustrates a dedication to clean

design as illustrated in Fig. A.

Internally, this amp sports a FET (Field

Effect Transistor) preamp (no opamps)

that feeds an active equalization

section. A class-D power amplifier is

generally centered within the amp

chassis and is cooled by a pair of fans.

Understanding the Amp

To really get a sense of this amp, you

must first acclimate yourself to its

Gallien Krueger MB 800 Bass AmpFig. A

bassgear 73

Fig. B All controls at noon vs optimally flat

Fig. D Bass sweep.

Fig. E Low mid sweep.

Fig. C Optimally flat EQ settings

communication system. Each of the controls is encircled by

an illuminating ring. In normal operation, the power button

glows a cool blue, telling you that the unit is on and running.

Blue is also used to identify the selected channel. If the Gain

A control is glowing blue, then you are on channel A. In this

case, Gain B glows white. Correspondingly, if the Gain B and

Level-B controls are glowing blue, you are on channel B. In

this case, Gain A glows white. The channels can be switched

with a footswitch, or by pushing in the Gain control of the

channel you desire. Push Gain A to select channel A, push

Gain B to select channel B. Easy as pie.

The Mute switch glows red when the amp is muted and white

when the amp is not muted. This is a nice touch because the

red clearly contrasts against the amp face and other colors

illuminated by the amp. Also, there is an illumination ring

around the -10dB pad switch that blinks red if the input signal

clips in the preamp.

The Contour and four bands of equalization glow white, so

that these controls are easily distinguished from the gain

controls, even on a dark stage.

The Master control deserves special treatment. The light that

surrounds the Master control is truly one ring to rule them all.

The Master control includes a push switch that allows the user

to control whether the limiter is engaged or disengaged. If the

ring around the master glows blue, the limiter is engaged. If

the ring around the master glows white, the limiter is

disengaged. If you perform with the limiter off (Master

control glows white) and you drive the amp too hard, the ring

around the Master control blinks red, telling you that the

output is clipping. This is your final warning before the amp

takes matters into its own hands. That’s right, instead of

simply failing, this amp will shut down for a few seconds

while it reconfigures itself. A few seconds later, when the amp

awakens, the limiter is engaged (Master control glows blue),

and you are free to jam on. The limiter will take care of those

pesky peaks from here.

The Tone Stack

Referring to Fig. B, our “all controls at noon vs. optimally

flat” response curve illustrates that the MB800 has a slight

mid cut at around 350Hz and slightly more treble gain relative

to bass gain when the tone controls are set to noon and

Contour is off. In Fig. B, the red trace is the “all controls at

noon” curve, and the black trace is the “optimally flat” curve.

Fig. F Hi mid sweep.

Fig. H Contour sweep

Fig. I Distortion product ratio gain at 9 o’clock

Fig. G Treble sweep

The EQ settings used to achieve our optimally flat curve are

illustrated in Fig. C.

The Bass, Lo-Mid, Hi-Mid, Treble and Contour frequency

responses are illustrated in Figs. D-H, respectively.

What Gives?

The preamp uses what GK calls “G.I.V.E.” (Gate Induced

Valve Effect) Technology. The G.I.V.E. approach biases the

gate of each FET device in such a way that optimum harmonic

content of the signal is emphasized. “Huh? Gate what?”

Fuggetaboutit. Check out Figs. I, J and K. I applied a 100

mVrms sin input and captured the harmonic content of the

amp with the Gain control at 9 o’clock, noon and 3 o’clock,

respectively. Note the strong second-order harmonic and even,

stair-step response between Figs. I and J. This suggests that

you can expect nice, punchy clean to mild breakup up in this

range. By the time the Gain knob is at the 3:00 position, as

illustrated in Fig. K, the amp is into grind/overdrive mode for

our 100 mVrms signal.

Output Power

This amp was a little tricky when trying to get a handle on its

power output capabilities. When using manual approaches to

confirm the output power ceiling, the limiter would kick in

and obscure the measurements. This is compounded by the

tube-like response of the FET preamp, which provides a

certain amount of natural overdrive/compression to the input

as the signal level increases. As such, we looked at this amp

across a range of THD+N levels between 2.5% and 5%.

At 8 ohms, the manufacturer’s specified output power is 500

watts. In our tests, the output power measured about 508 watts

continuous and 627 watts burst at 2.5% THD+N. The power

raises to about 566 watts continuous 646 watts burst at 5%

THD+N. At 4 ohms, the manufacturer’s specified output

power is 800 watts. We measured about 748 watts continuous

and 945 watts burst at 2.5% THD+N. The power raises to

about 803 watts continuous 1,020 watts burst at 5% THD+N.

Fig. L shows an exemplary burst trace.

Smart Protection Circuitry

The MB800 protection circuitry constantly monitors the

amplifier performance for unsafe operating conditions. If the

amplifier senses an unsafe operating condition, the output

signal is immediately muted and the power light changes from

blue to red. The amplifier will remain muted until the fault is

removed. If the fault is due to excess power output when the

Fig. J Distortion product ratio gain at noon

Fig. L Scope bgm burst signal

Fig. M Scope of protection and time to reset

Fig. K Distortion product ratio gain at 3 o’clock

limiter is disabled, the output will be muted for about three

seconds. When the signal is brought back on-line, the limiter

is automatically enabled, and is indicated as such by the Main

volume control being illuminated blue. With the limiter

enabled, the maximum steady state output is cut by about

10% relative to the operating the amp with the limiter

disabled. With reference to Fig. M, we manually defeated the

limiter, then assaulted the input with a sine wave to push the

amplifier to shut down. The GK800 re-awakened gracefully,

with limiter engaged, just as advertised. While it stinks to go

AWOL for three seconds during a gig, it sure beats going

DOA and not returning.

Conclusion

This amp is cool, simple as that. The illumination system is

sharp looking, functional and informative. The power output

is outstanding for a lightweight class-D amplifier, and the

range of clean to harmonically rich, overdrive tones available

from this amp surprised me. The clever implementation of

two different gain settings is a nice touch in a small, portable

amp, and the ability to defeat the limiter is a nice “bonus.”

So, is there a negative? I would like to see a manual

available on the website to coincide with the release of a new

product. Also, I think the way that the unit shuts down, and

comes back alive with limiter engaged is awesome. However,

it would be more awesome if the time gap could be shortened.

So, is this really one amp to rule them all? Well, I bet it will

be for a lot of GK players out there.

Corrections for issue #7:

Though not technically a correction for issue #7, itself, Idid want to point out that the Bass Gear Magazinewebpage has been undergoing a major workover. As aresult, there were some inconsistencies with the loginand subscription functions. As such, we have extendedthe time period within which to enter the Zon StandardSeries bass giveaway until July 31st, 2012.

Manufacturer’s Response:

Laura Clapp Davidson, TC Group AmericasThe BG500 is being replaced by the BG250(http://www.tcelectronic.com/bg250.asp).

Udo Klempt-Gießing, GlockenklangWith regard to switching the Heart-Rock II from 120v to230v operation, you have to change the fuse, but youhave to change internally some cables as well. Youhave to solder them, so I think it should only be doneby a qualified technician.

GK: Reversing the TrendIn a time where it seems that more and more manufacturers are takingtheir production to plants in China, Korea, Indonesia and other countrieswith lower-priced labor, GK has made the decision to bring all of theirfinal assembly – heads and cabs – back to the USA. They still make theirdrivers in China, which definitely helps them to keep the cost ofneodymium-based drivers somewhat under control, and various otherparts will continue to be sourced globally, but final assembly andproduction will take place at GK’s Stockton, California plant. It is worthnoting that some of GK’s product lines, like the RB-series heads, havebeen produced in California all along.

While many customers place high value on the “Made in the USA” label,this decision was made primarily on factors such as quality control, risingoverseas labor costs, consistent parts availability, and geographicproximity (Bob Gallien was spending a lot of time over in China makingsure things were operating smoothly, and that’s just a bit long of a trip forhis personal airplane. The last production in China wrapped up this pastDecember, and the new production lines at the Stockton facility wentonline in February. GK has stated that the move from China to the USA willnot result in any raise in prices (there was a recent modest price increasefor GK, but this was not related to the move).

77bassgear

Gallien KruegerNeo212-IIBass Cabs

Enclosure

Configuration: 2x12Listed Impedance: 8 OhmsRated Power Handling: 600 wattsInputs/Outputs: One Speakon, one 1/4”Dimensions: 24.5" H x 23.5" W x 16.5" DWeight: 54.2 lbsPorts: Front-PortedCovering: TolexBaffle Board: 11-ply 18mm PlywoodCabinet: 7-ply 12mm Plywood Grill: AluminumHandles: Two (side-mounted)Feet: Four, rubberCasters: Yes, removableCorners: Plastic, StackingDriver Mounting: 8 Wood Screws

Drivers/Crossover

Woofers: GK 12", Cast-FrameCone Material: PaperVoice Coil: (Information not available)Magnets: NeodymiumTweeter: P Audio PHT-406 1” Compression DriverAdjustment: L-pad attenuatorProtection: Light bulbs (two)Speaker Connections: FastonCrossover: Bi-Amp or Full-Range OptionOptions: None

Measurements

Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 104.07 dBSPL

GENERAL

Company: Gallien-Krueger, Inc.2234 Industrial DriveStockton, CA 95206www.gallien.com

Country of origin: China (Newer Models Now Made in USA)Year of Origin: 2011Warranty: 1 Year, Non-TransferableList price: $784.00Street price: $549.00Price as Tested: $549.00Options: CastersAccessories: 4-Conductor Speakon CableAvailable colors: Black and SilverAvailable Options: CastersAcquired from: Gallien-Krueger, Inc.Dates: November 2011 through April 2012Locales: Missouri, OhioTest gear: Sadowsky RV5 and RV5, Alleva-Coppolo LG5, Lakland USA P5,

Nordstrand vJ5, Fender 57 reissue, G&L L1000 and SB2, GK MB Fusion, Mesa WalkAbout

TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)

SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Tight low end, never blubbery or boomyMids: Very present and cutting; you'll be heard everywhereHighs: Lots of highs that can border on harsh; pay closeattention to attenuator settings

In-Hand Score4.00 averageOn-Bench Score3.64 average

On-benchPortability 4Road Worthiness 3.5Components 4Hardware 3.5Cabinet Construction 3.5Wiring 3.5Cover/Finish 3.5

In-handFeatures: 3.5Tonal Flexibility: 3.5Ease of Use: 4.5Aesthetics: 4Tone: 4Value: 5

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Compact for a 2x12, the Neo212-II islight and easy to carry, and sounds“very GK;” super affordablecompared to its competition.

TONE-O-METER

CAB LAB

Looking over the actual scores for the

on-bench test summary, I can’t help but

think of the phrase, “The value of the

whole is greater than the sum of the

parts.” There isn’t anything that you

would call “below average” about the

hardware, the construction, the wiring,

etc, but by the same token, there aren’t

any standout “super special

ingredients” to the Neo212-II equation,

either (with the possible exception of

what appears to be a very excellent

woofer). Yet this cab really delivers,

both on the bench, and on the gig. To

me, that speaks to an excellent overall

design, and effective manufacturing to

implement that design.

The sturdy aluminum grill is held in

place by five screws (which are set

back fairly far from the outside edge of

the grill, so a screwdriver with a

magnetic tip is recommended if you

want to be able to easily reinstall the

grill – and yes, I learned this by using a

non-magnetic screwdriver to

disassemble/reassemble this enclosure).

The exterior of the enclosure is covered

in a dark grey, matte finish tolex. Two

noteworthy and laudable construction

techniques are that the tolex covering

completely covers the front baffle, and

the GK badge is held in place with two

bolts (with foam backing on the badge,

to avoid rattles), instead of just gluing it

on.

The drivers are held in place by eight

wood screws, which were all nice and

tight, though I will once again restate

my preference for using nuts with

threaded inserts, as screws can lose

some of their bite if it would be

necessary to remove/repair/replace a

given driver multiple times during the

lifetime of the cab. I did like the nice,

wide ring of gasket tape around the lip

of the driver. This makes for a

vibration-free and air-tight seal. The P

Audio compression driver (1” kapton

voice coil) is secured by four slightly

shorter wood screws.

Like all of the enclosures in the Neo-

series lineup, the Neo212-II is nicely

braced on the inside, but does not

employ any form of insulation or

batting material. While some critics

have accused GK of trying to save a

buck through this practice, Bob Gallien

says that the cost of adding batting to

the enclosures is trivial, and that the

reason they do not use any in these cabs

is that they sound better that way.

During their R & D, the folks at GK

made up multiple versions of the Neo

series cabs using multiple different

types of batting options (including no

batting), and after numerous listening

tests, people tended to prefer the cabs

with no treatment.

The crossover for the Neo212-II is

relatively compact and appears to be

fairly simple and straightforward. In

Gallien Krueger Neo212-II Bass Cabs

bassgear

Tom Bowlus’

79

cabs, and (after the introduction of the

Series II version of the Neo112 and

Neo212) they are all the same width,

which makes for easy stacking. Casters

are optional, as is a slip cover.

This is a well-made, very efficient bass

enclosure, with a fairly balanced

frequency response (slight peak around

2.5-3.5kHz). It is easy to handle both

physically, and when it comes to the

pocketbook. GK has really done a great

job with this cab.

Fig A - On and Off Axis (15, 30, 45) Frequency Response Fig B - On Axis Frequency Response with 0, 1, and 2 ports blocked

“Fullrange” mode, it

performs as you would

expect. However, all Neo

series enclosures are

designed to be compatible

with GK’s Horn

Management System

(HMS), which can be

enabled by moving the

switch on the back to “Bi-

Amp” mode. In this

configuration, when paired

with an HMS-equipped GK

head (that would include

the RB series, plus the

Fusion 550, but not the MB

series), the drivers are

driven by the main output

section on the head, and the

tweeter is driven by a

dedicated 50-watt amplifier.

I didn’t really “get” what

this system was all about

when I first heard about it. Bi-amping

went out of fashion in the ‘80s along

with white pants and pastel shirts,

right? Well, after using an HMS-

equipped rig on a gig for the first time,

I totally got it, and I am now a big fan.

The real magic here is that you can

drive the woofers in the enclosure with

a little bit of growl from the main

output section, but keep the tweeters

nice and clean. Through independent

level controls on the head, it also

greatly enhances your ability to dial in

just the right mix of woofer and tweeter

for your tone and application. It’s a

great feature to add, and it takes

nothing away from the cab’s

performance when set to Fullrange

mode. GK ships this enclosure with a

4-conductor Speakon to Speakon cable,

which is required for proper

functioning in Bi-Amp mode.

The two sturdy side-mounted handles

are well-positioned and nicely recessed.

They have just the right amount of

strength to the spring-loading, as well.

GK uses locking corners on all the Neo

80 bassgear

By Vic Serbe

Gerald Veasley grew up in Philly in the‘60s and ‘70s, amidst a rich tapestry ofR&B/Mowtown and blues, but he’s alsoexpanded into jazz and moreprogressive styles, including following(though not replacing) Jaco Pastoriousin playing with Joe Zawinul for nearlyeight years. His distinct styleencompasses everything from the mostfunky and soulful line in the lowerregisters to melodic and fluid runs andchording fully utilizing the upperregisters of his 6-string bass guitar. Buthis contribution to the musiccommunity doesn’t stop with livemusic performance. He has nine CDsreleased, educates through events suchas his annual “Bass Boot Camp,” isinvolved with the PhiladelphiaUniversity of the Arts, and also playeda part in a film (due out late in 2012)that explores the depths of humanityusing music as a common undertone.

Let’s dig deeper and see how all thiscomes together in one man.

VS: Let’s start at the beginning, what

was it like growing up as someone with

a strong musical interest in Philly

during the ‘60s and ‘70s, and how did

you get started?

GV: During that time, all the earlieststuff that I heard was R&B and blues,because in the house that I grew up in,that was the music of choice. A lot ofStacks stuff, a lot Motown, that sort ofmusic, and then roots-oriented blues;people like White and Hawkins, andthen some of the “slicker stuff” –Muddy Waters and some B.B. King. Sothat was what I really cut my teeth on.

Some of my first bass lessons wereactually kind of non-professional basslessons by a friend that my cousinknew. He was an old blues guy whokind of sat in the living room with a

bottle of gin and showed me how toplay blues bass lines.

Then I took lessons, and I got intotheory and harmony and learned how toread and those sorts of nuts and boltthings. My first bass teacher was aguitar player. I used to sit outside hislessons long before I would go into mylesson and hear him teach guitar. Hisbeautiful bossa novas and standardswere these guitar pieces, and I was like,“Man I don’t know what that is, but Ilike that.”

I’m like 12, 13-years old listening tothat. But when I actually discovered thejazz record in the house ,“Kind ofBlue,” I really loved that sound. Ofcourse, I didn’t really know what it wasper se, but I loved that and heard Monkand heard some of the other great artistsof that period.

81bassgear

Early on, I found other people in myneighborhood that played instruments,and so we had a band and we practicedmaybe four times a week. We wouldplay like Santana and Cream tunes andjust anything that we could figure out.There were a lot other bands in otherneighborhoods and other basements andgarages all around the city. It was avery fertile time. It kind of kept citykids out of trouble.

VS: Was bass guitar your first choice?

GV: I was first mesmerized by guitarplayers, but it seemed so hard, and thenI would see this other guy with anotherinstrument standing in the backgroundand I was thinking, “Man that doesn’tlook so hard, I could do that,” and ofcourse that was the bass player.[laughs]

I got into bass thinking it doesn’t lookthat hard. Of course, I’m still figuring itout and it is hard, but I’ve always beenfascinated by the bass and the guitar. Soeven though I studied a lot of the greatupright bass players like Ray Brown,Oscar Pettiford, and Charles Mingus,I’m a bass guitarist and that I credit ascoming out of the guitar. As it happensin most families, if there are a couplesiblings, and one gets an instrument,out of fairness, the other one gets aninstrument. My cousin, who I grew upwith as brother and sister, got a guitarwhen I got my bass. She ignored itbecause she only wanted one because Igot an instrument, so I started playingboth.

VS: I was going to ask you if you did

study guitar, noting your playing style. I

would say you’re an incredible bass

player, but can also play bass in a very

guitar-like way. I don’t think I’ve ever

heard anybody else play like you, and I

am thoroughly impressed.

GV: Well thank you.

VS: Is there anybody else in your

family that is musically inclined?

GV: Not per se. My household therewas almost like a party every week.The stereo was always on and verynatural to me to take an instrument.They had such a love and respect for

music that the only deal that I had tomake when I got my bass was that Ihad to take lessons. They wanted me totake it seriously.

I have an uncle I credit with mentoringme in my late teens. It was Ira Tucker,and he was legendary. He passed acouple of years ago. He was the leadsinger for a gospel group called TheDixie Hummingbirds, and they werephenomenal in kind of that gospelquartet tradition. They were unique andhad some jazzy element in theirharmony when they sang. My unclehimself was an amazing singer.

He took me under his wing and gaveme opportunities to play. When myfather passed away when I was incollege, he said, “Son I’m your daddynow,” meaning “I’m going to teach youhow to make a living and be abreadwinner.” The very first thing hedid was start hiring me to playrecording sessions.

So here I am, a young guy playing onall these albums he was producing. Imust have played on about 13 albumsin about a year and a half... all greatgospel records. He really jumpstartedmy professional career, so I considerhim more of a business influence thanartistic influence, although I hope that Ilearned a little about music from himtoo.

VS: I read where you got some

scholarships, could you tell us about

those?

GV: I was recommended forscholarships in the Philadelphia SchoolDistrict that were kind of reserved forsome students who came out of theurban environment. First, I started offin engineering and then migrated overto political science, but at heart I wasalways a musician. That meant the mostto me.

When my father died, that was kind ofthe turning point. I kind of just realizedthat the only escape I had – where Icould kind of deal with my pain,confusion, and grieving – is throughmusic. At some point, I realized this iswhat I should do, because if this musichas this kind of power when I’m on the

receiving end, what would it be like if Iwas on the producing end?

VS: Let’s talk about your early band

Reverie. Apparently, you played a lot of

Weather Report and similar music.

GV: I joined the band in ‘79 and weplayed off and on together throughoutthe ‘80s. We never actually disbanded.[laughs] We just all got kind of busy.Even after we stopped being active as aband, we’d play every weekend or everymonth, or once a year, but it’s been afew years now. The keyboardist, MarkKnox, the drummer, Jim Miller, theywere all phenomenal musicians and itgave me the opportunity to compose.We played Weather Report and all thejazz repertoire, but we were primarily aband that played our own music.

VS: I think in many areas it’s hard to

book a band that doesn’t play pretty

mainstream stuff. Was it hard to book

gigs, playing such progressive music?

GV: Yeah I think it was a challenge, butwe happened to be fortunate to findsome venues that would allow us to doour thing. We developed quite afollowing, and folks would come andsupport us, and buy our albums. Theother challenge was, we received someresistance from the more acoustic jazzcommunity. It was more of like what Iguess we jokingly call the “jazz police,”because we’re playing electricinstruments. We play Weather Report

and then we turn around and play aSonny Rollins tune, or a Dexter Gordontune, but we’re playing electric bass,electric keyboards. But it didn’t deter us.We just continued to work hard at whatwe did.

VS: What about the Rochester/Veasley

band?

GV: We grew out of a project that wasput together by Odean Pope – alegendary modern saxophonist. He had agroup called The Saxophone Choir

(which is still active). It was comprisedat that time of nine saxophones, bass,drums, and piano, and toured Europe inthe early ‘80s. At a concert in Germany,we got so many encores that we ran outof music. [laughs] So, Odean, CornellRochester, the drummer, and myself,

82 bassgear

who had been practicing as a trio, didan encore as a trio, and people wentnuts. We even toured as a trio. ThenCornell and myself got the opportunityto put together the band, and our musicwas very adventurous. That’s what Iloved about it.

VS: Cornell is the one that got you

introduced to Joe Zawinul, right?

GV: Yeah. Cornell was playing withZawinul. He had just gotten hired andwanted Zawinul to check out one of histunes to possibly record for an albumthat was being worked on at that time,and Joe said, “Who’s the bass player?”It was me. At that time, I was in L. A.doing a concert with GroverWashington Jr. at the Greek theater.Scott Henderson (a big guitarist) cameby the concert, picked me up, and tookme over to Joe’s house in Malibu. Wejust set up in his music room andjammed. He hired me on the spot.

VS: I’m not surprised.

GV: [laughs] Thank you.

VS: I read an interesting comment that

you thought he was going to be real

serious and maybe a little difficult to

read, but then after meeting him, you

found out otherwise. Did that change

your view of his music or did that just

simply make you more comfortable

working with him?

GV: That is a great question. The mostpractical answer I can give you is that Ithink it helped me understand thatartists always have another layer, anddo not go by what we see at first,because especially the younger you arethe more intimidating it can be workingwith artists who are established, letalone somebody legendary likeZawinul.

But I got to see quickly that other sideof Joe, the family man, a sportsenthusiast, someone who could tell andappreciate a good joke. Almost the lastthing he enjoyed taking about wasmusic. He just loves life and I think hepoured that into his music, but also itdoesn’t hurt that he’s a geniusmusically. Also, by the time I got toplay with Joe, I was already pretty

mature and not easily intimidated.

Joe has, I think, gotten undulycriticized as a difficult band leader.From what I witnessed in the almosteight years I was with him, he was onlydifficult about one thing primarily, andthat is about the interpretation of hismusic.

I think he had experiences as amusician and as a man that were so richand had so much depth that he wasalways looking to recreate those kind ofexperiences in his band. He knew whatit was like to be in a band that was verypopular and making music that wouldstand the test of time. I think Joeappreciates the magnitude of beinginvolved with great musicians andplaying great music. And I think whenhe felt that somebody was giving anyless than that, he didn’t tolerate it toowell.

VS: Yeah. Since you worked with Joe

Zawinul for so long, did you ever get a

chance to meet Jaco?

GV: Yeah, I met Jaco on a coupleoccasions. I have to say, I did not getthe opportunity to meet Jaco at his best.For a little while, it kind of colored myview of him, but over the years Ibecame more compassionate as I metfolks who knew Jaco. As I met Ingrid,Tracy, his kids, his dad, and other folkswho loved Jaco, I really got tounderstand through them who Jacoreally was. This wonderfullycommitted, creative, driven, passionate,sweet musician.

VS: What was it like to follow his

legacy working with Joe Zawinul?

GV: One of the things I try tounderstand is what’s required of me tomake the given musical situation work.I call that place of understanding the“center.” Standing in the center means Ican be authentic, make music, be free,and be creative. Then everythingbecomes easy and there’s no need forcomparison. You could easily beintimidated by the “following Jaco’sfootsteps,” but understanding thatZawinul’s music didn’t requireimitating Jaco. I think for any musicianthat’s a good place to start because

otherwise you can get haunted by thememory of the person who wasstanding in that spot on the stage beforeyou. But you can never be that person,nor should you be that person.

VS: Agreed. So let’s talk about your

unique style. You do a lot of chording,

which I think came in to play in the

early ‘80s in the trio. Was that the first

time you really got into chording?

GV: Yes, definitely. Because that wasthe only place where I could reallymake it work, not having a keyboardistor a guitarist and that sonic space. Ithink as bass players in general, we’reoften aware of the overall sound of theband; how what we do fits. I’m keenlyaware of that. When you’re in a triowhere there’s no chordal instrument,man, you got all these opportunities touse those things, so that was veryliberating for me.

VS: I hear that. Let’s talk a little bit

about your recording projects. The

latest one you did was the Electric

Mingus Project, from March of last

year, your ninth CD. Could you tell us a

little bit about that project?

GV: I’d been interested in Mingus’music since a friend of mine gave meBeneath The Underdog in my early 20s.I became fascinated by not just hismusic, but his life. I realized aftermaking a lot of contemporary jazzrecords, that I hadn’t shown other sidesof what I’m interested in and what Icould do. Mingus’ music seems like agreat vehicle to kind of show that.

And the fact that we do it withelectronic instruments kind of goes fullcircle to some things that weencountered with the band Reverie,which was almost provocative; the ideaof taking one of our great legends, whoplayed the acoustic bass, with acousticmusicians, and recreating it with anelectric instrument aesthetic. It begs thequestion of, “are the instruments thejazz, or, what you do with theinstrument, is that jazz?”

VS: Have you ever played upright

bass?

GV: I have honestly never attempted to

83bassgear

play or study the upright bass. I think alot of it has to do with how I thinkabout the instrument and how I relate tothe instrument as an overgrown guitar,as opposed to a miniaturized acousticbass.

VS: Gotcha. I read that the CD titled

Your Move hit number 12 in the U. S.

Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz

Albums chart. Were any of your other

recordings as popular on the charts?

GV: Probably my best-selling recordwas On the Fast Track, which had a topten hit with a cover of the StevieWonder tune called Do I do. Anothergood seller was an album called SoulControl, which featured Dianne Reevesand Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind &

Fire, George Howard, and Rick Braun.

The thing I’m interested in now is howthe new music business landscape hasbroken some of the old notions abouthow we release music. One of thethings I always had to deal with isbeing on a label that wanted to releasemy music no sooner than 18 months.Every record had to fit within a certainscope, tell a 60-minute story of musicthat all relates together, and then in 18months to do the same thing again. Butsometimes, especially with jazz music,by the time that record comes out, yourhead is already in another space.

Why can’t you release a record amonth, a song a month? Why can’t youchange direction? I think there are someunsettling things about how the musicbusiness has changed that has causedfolks to feel vulnerable. There are somethings that I think are totally liberating.

VS: So let’s talk about gear, because

after all, it is Bass Gear Magazine, and

you have that beautiful signature bass

Ibanez came out with. I personally

played the model, and it’s a

phenomenal instrument on every level.

You also still have the original Ibanez

SR that it’s based on, and then I think

you have an Ibanez EWB 5-string

acoustic bass that you have tuned E-C.

Do you have any other basses in your

stable?

GV: I use other basses less and less. Ihave a 5-string SoundGear fretless that

I don’t use that often. I still have myvery first “good bass” which is a FenderTelecaster, that I bought because I sawVerdine White – Earth, Wind & Fire –play it and I thought it was a cool thing,but what I didn’t realize is that it wasreally Verdine that made it cool.[laughs] I think muscle memory is suchan important part of the way we learnand develop on an instrument that I’mreally careful about playing a lot ofdifferent instruments. Like I have mybaby and my fingers know thetopography of that neck and the stringspacing intimately. I like that.

VS: Ahhh, so regarding the importance

of familiarity, how does your new

signature model compare to the

instrument that’s modeled after, the one

you spent all that time with and became

so accustomed to?

GV: I don’t use the old bass at all.That’s an important statement becauseone of the deals was that this bass hadto replace my old bass. If it wouldn’t,it’d be a deal breaker. And when peoplesee me playing the bass they couldpotentially be interested in buying, itwould be that bass, notsome lesser compromisedversion. I don’t play theother bass at all. In factit’s on a lamp stand.[laughs] It’s still totallyplayable, but right nowit’s a conversation piece.It’s a very goodinstrument, but thesignature model is a greatinstrument.

VS: I see Ibanez also

came out with a much

more affordable version of

your signature model

GVB1006, called the

GVB36. What are your

thoughts in comparison to

the GVB1006?

GV: I looked really hardfor something to bedissatisfied with. Icouldn’t find anything.It’s a great instrument. Itplays great, it looksbeautiful, it sounds great.There were some changes

made to bring it in at a price that wouldbe more affordable, but thecompromises are very small and it’s agreat choice of an instrument. I love itand I play it and actually amexperimenting now with differentapplications like maybe a higher stringgauge or flat wounds, but feel andsonically, they’re really, really close.

VS: That’s great news for folks with

less money to spend! What about

amplification? I most recently read

that you use Aguilar DB750 and a pair

of the GS410s, is that still your main

rig?

GV: Yeah that’s my rig of choice. Ilove the sound. The thing about theAguilar stuff is that it’s warm withoutcoloring your sound too much. One ofthe first things I noticed when I firststarted playing the Aguilar is that Ididn’t have to do much tweaking of theEQ or my bass – of course, dependingon the hall, but the adjustments werealways tweaks rather than majorchanges, which meant it was reallydelivering the sound of my bass the

84 bassgear

way I hear it in the studio when it’scoming through a good mic pre.

VS: Did you ever try the newer

DB751?

GV: I’m just more used to the 750. The751 is good also. The 751 actually is alittle clearer. So it’s easier to control thelow mids on the 751.

VS: What your favorite or typical

settings for the amplifier?

GV: I would start straight up and thenwork from there. Depending on howfresh the strings are, I may boost thetreble. If it’s a room that has a little bitof whelming around the low mids, Imight cut the low mids down. The onething about the low mid control is thatyou can boost and cut that a lot withoutchanging a great deal of the sound,which is not the same with the 751. Butif I don’t have my Aguilar, any ampthat I would play, I would take thesame approach.

VS: With regard to effects, I have you

with a Boss ME-50B. Is that still your

main effects unit, and can you talk

about how you use it?

GV: I use it a lot. For soloing andsometimes for chordal, I use a shortreverb. I’ll sometimes use a little bit ofdelay for melody. I like the chorussound, but a chorus that’s not obviouslya chorus. I just like the sound to be alittle bit wider sometimes. I use theoctaver part of it, and blend that in,sometimes adding a little distortion tothat. That’s a cool effect. And I loveplaying around with the fretless effect.Those are the main things I use it for,not so much some of the synthy effectsbut I’m always discovering new soundsand I’m always kind of tweaking it.

Other effects that I use are a couple ofMXR pedals that I like. I never used acompressor before, because I alwaysjust feel like you know I should be ableto control it with my hands, but I’vebeen playing around with the MXRbass compressor and it’s a cool piece.

VS: The brand new one that they just

came out with?

GV: Yep.

VS: Yeah we’re reviewing that piece,it’s excellent.

GV: It’s really cool and you can dosubtle things that really justkind of tighten up the sound,especially for something that’smore pop oriented. It can reallyhelp the front of house engineerout, and also sometimes justminimizing the difference inthe gain between like a solosound or some effects soundand your just natural tone. Ialso use their octave pedalwhich is really cool. And I haveone of their envelope followers.That’s pretty cool too.

VS: Excellent. So I have a

couple other questions for you.

GV: Oh yeah, what about mystrings?

VS: Well, I read you useDunlop Nickels, .030 to .120,but have you tried others?

GV: [laughs] Very good. YeahI’m experimenting with their

nickels. The steels are the first stringsof theirs I tried. Maybe three years ago,I talked to Jimmy Haslip, who told meabout their strings. At first I assumed hewas playing steels, and I couldn’t quiteget the sound I was looking for. I said“Man, I got these steel strings”, he said,“No you should try the nickels,” and Ifell in love with those because they’revery warm but they still have a certainamount of brightness that works.

VS: Very cool! So let’s talk about how

you give back to the community. You

have the Bass Camp annual event,

which looks to be successful. Are there

other programs in the works?

GV: That’s interesting. I’m havingsome talks now with some people aboutstarting an institute to reach morepeople, to create a physicalenvironment for both professional andnon-professionals to be creative acrossgenres and disciplines. I really loveamateurs. Amateurs bring the mostpassion some times to a creativeenvironment. I don’t have anannouncement to make now but I’mbeginning to work on making thathappen.

VS: What’s your current role in the

Philadelphia University of the Arts?

GV: I’m a senior lecturer on facultythere and I teach bass students.Through the years I’ve done things likecoach ensembles, but right now I’mteaching individual students and it’s alot of fun. I get to hear like great youngplayers.

VS: On Bass Boot Camp, I saw thatyou and Victor Wooten are faculty foreach other’s camps. Can you comparethe two?

GV: Yeah. Some of the similarities arethat we take people of all levels, we tryto give them small group experiencesand we try to make it up close andpersonal. At both camps you have toleave your ego at the door. Victor doessome very special things in terms ofcombining nature studies with musical

(Continued on Page 107)

85bassgear

Philthy TalkBy Phil Maneri

Electric BassSetups

The setup is at the heart of how good or

bad a bass plays or sounds. The best

wood and electronics can be spoiled by

a poor setup. Conversely, the most

fastidious choices in materials can end

up performing beyond their price point

with proper attention to set up. This

article will discuss the setup in

generalities mostly, as I believe each

setup is different and driven by a

unique interaction between the player,

their instrument and how they use it.

The setup begins with how perfect the

fretwork is. The fretboard must be flat

along its length and properly radiused

across its width. The frets must seat

squarely on the fretboard, with no gap

between the board and fretwire. The

frets must be leveled with each other

and then crowned so that the takeoff

point for the string is dead center above

the fret slot. The frets must be cleaned

and polished, free of abrasion and wear.

The potential for a good setup

decreases the farther away from this

ideal we move. As such, the setup

process can suggest other processes,

such as a level and dress of fretwire –

or a complete refret – to attain the level

of precision a player desires.

If so equipped, the truss rod dictates the

amount of pressure opposite string

tension put on the neck. Ideally, the

truss rod only compensates for string

tension and not some warping in the

neck. In practice, over time they end up

being custodians for changes in neck

straightness due to time and moisture

changes, both temporary and

permanent. The amount of rod tension

required is dictated by the condition of

the fretwork, the string gauge and

construction, the pitches tuned to, and

the player’s style.

After restringing and tuning to pitch,

the rod is adjusted for proper

straightness or relief. Strings rotate in

an ellipse across their length. The oval

rotation’s widest point varies widely,

depending on how a string is struck,

plucked, pulled, or picked. The

adjustments in neck relief, nut height

and string height must fit that ellipse

under their adjustment without rattling

or buzzing in way that is annoying to

the player or shuts down the strings’

rotation.

The action height at the bridge and nut

dictate in part how stiff or slinky the

feel of the play is across the fretboard.

Height too low off the fingerboard at

either the nut or the bridge end can shut

down the string and the vibrations of

the instrument and prevent realization

of its full potential. String heights too

high off the board can lead to difficulty

playing, or very sharp notes.

The nut – for instruments without a

zero fret – provides the clearance over

the first fret. In addition, it locates the

strings’ spacing from each other and

away from the edge of the frets and

fingerboard. For instruments with a

zero fret, the nut just takes care of the

spacing, and the zero fret controls the

height above fret 1. The nut height

should be high enough to clear the first

fret playing open strings and provide

clearance enough for adequate damping

with the left hand. Too high, and it

impedes playing or plays sharp. The nut

should be groomed so the takeoff point

is right at the fingerboard edge,

assuming it is properly located in

relationship to the fret placement and

scale length. If the takeoff point sits

behind that forward edge, it effectively

moves the entire scale length of that

string toward the bridge and throws off

the ability of the string to play in tune

anywhere across its span.

String length compensations are

required for accurate intonation up and

down the neck. Compensations are

done by moving the saddle closer or

further away from the neck, the goal

being to make the string play in tune

across its span. Compensations are best

adjusted after the other relationships are

set, as those adjustments can change the

intonation points as they move.

Pickup heights are adjusted as well,

bearing in mind the pickups are

magnets and exert pull on the strings as

a side effect of their doing their jobs as

transforming coils. Pickups too close to

strings can shut down the rotation of

the string by their magnetic field; too

far away and pickup output can be

weak. You can vary the brightness and

warmth of a pickup in a subtle way by

adjusting heights: closer for brighter

and farther away for darker.

The interaction between the truss rod

settings, action height at the bridge and

the nut, and string length

compensations and pickup heights are

all interactive, interdependent

adjustments that are made with each

other in mind. The gestalt of those

dimensions, merged with the

knowledge of the player’s dynamics,

provides the blueprint for an accurate

custom-tailored setup.

86 bassgear

Don’t miss the

Zon Bass Guitar

Giveaway!!!

www.bassgearmag.com

There are many considerations in setup;

some can require skill and experience

to do properly, some are easily tweaked

at home. I always recommend starting

with a professional job to establish a

good baseline of what is possible with

your particular instrument. If you

document those measures when it’s

playing well, you can always return

them to that spot should they move

over time. These adjustments are

constantly changing, as wood is organic

and in constant slow movement along

its travels from the cutting up of the

tree into lumber on its way to becoming

a petrified rock. As such, setup will

change over time, requiring consistent

attention. Often, truss rod adjustments

are all that’s needed to adapt to the

changes in wood and humidity. If one

feels comfortable with that, it’s a good

idea to keep an eye on it, applying a

tweak here and there. Sometimes, other

things move, like saddle heights or

pickup heights. You can certainly

restore them to your baseline numbers.

However, remember that they are

interdependent with all the other

measures, especially neck relief. If you

aren’t sure what’s amiss, a quick visit

to your tech is a good idea.

87bassgear

viewing my annualmessage).

So let’s do the numbers realquick. NAMM reports95,709 registered attendees,which constitutes a 6%increase from last year. Itbears mentioning that lastyear saw a 3% increaseover the year before. So notonly is attendance up again,but it’s up by a higherpercentage. Internationalregistration was 11,981,which is a 15% increasefrom last year, blowing lastyear’s internationalregistration increase of 2%right out of the water.Finally, this year saw 1,441exhibitors, which is only asmall increase over lastyear’s 1,417. However, 236of those exhibitors werenew (just as there were 247new exhibitors last year), sothere’s still a good flow offresh interest through theshow. Last year, there wasan air of recovery andexcitement, which was evengreater this year. You couldfeel the “buzz” everywhere.Every exhibitor we spokewith was excited about theirtraffic, and despite thelogistical problems thataccompany that many feeton the floor, nobody wasreally complaining.

Just as with last year, wealways have to go to theBass Bash at JT Schmids,and this year was again nodisappointment. Thursday,January 19th, featured

Anthony Crawford, Will Howard,Robin Bramlett, Katsuji Morioka, andScott Ambush. Friday, January 20th,featured Adam Nitti, Divinity Roxx,Ethan Farmer, Miles Mosley, andSekou Bunch. All those players wereamazing, but the highlights for me wereAdam Nitti (always a personalfavorite), Sekou Bunch (whose BGM

award-winning Carvin signature modelI personally own), and Miles Mosely,playing a (2012) BGM award-winning

become a tradition for me to take asnapshot of a palm tree against a sunnyblue sky and send it to her cell phonein a MMS message. Such was also thecase this year, but even more than that,it was also appropriate to think aboutbeing in better places, and the NAMMshow this year was no exception. Themood was up, the numbers were up,success was up, and the economy islooking up (maybe somewhat like mydaughter’s blood pressure when

By Vic Serbe and Tom Bowlus

Photos by Josh Bubniak and Dave

Wilder

Vic: My daughter hates winter time,and she has also learned to hate mearound the same time every year inJanuary. I live in the Midwest, andevery time I come to the NAMM showin Anaheim, I usually leave a winterywasteland to come to a summeryparadise, by comparison. So it’s

Yes, some of the Winter NAMM Show attendees are a little “out there...”

88 bassgear

LoPHAT Bass Cabinets.

Blast Cult 1-4-5 model upright bass. These bassesare made specifically for strength (you can ridethem like a merry-go-round), feedback resistance,and feature earth-friendly wood choices. That, andMiles Mosely breaking new sonic ground with hisstyle just left my mouth agape. If you aren’tfamiliar with him, you need to check him out onYouTube.

We also made it to the MTD 1st annual “FamilyReunion” to benefit MusiCares “H.E.A.R”(www.hearnet.com). The event was on January21st at JT Schmids (starting to sound like abroken record here, but it’s a great place). Thefeatured players were all MTD icons, such asAndrew Gouche, Norm Stockton, Bubby Lewis,Bobby Vega, and more. This was a great event,and major kudos to Michael Tobias for sponsoringthis event and bringing so many great playerstogether for a great cause. They even raffled offan MTD bass!

Tom: One other “1st annual” event bearsmentioning here, although we do discuss is ingreater detail elsewhere in this issue. Bass Gear

Magazine and Luthiers Access Group teamed upto sponsor the inaugural “Luthiers’ Round TableGTG.” This was an amazing event, and it broughttogether twelve of the top luthiers in the world inan intimate, friendly gathering. This will becomean annual event, but the members of the RoundTable will contribute to discussions in the pages ofBass Gear Magazine throughout the year. Thanksagain to Dan Lenard (from LAG) and to all theluthiers who shared their time with us.

We’ll let the pictures tell the bulk of the storyconcerning all the cool gear featured at the 2012Winter NAMM, but a couple of trends are worthmentioning. Although the number of different“micro heads” (smaller, lighter heads using class-D output sections and switch-mode powersupplies) continues to grow, we have observedover the last several years a counter-current of bigole’ tube heads sneaking onto the market. Thistrend continues, as does the cross-decadesmarketing of vintage models remade with modernfeatures. In the wake of the price hikes in theworld of neodymium, a number of cabmanufacturers were finding ways to make theoverall enclosures weigh less, even with ceramicmagnets.

On a personal note, it was probably our busiestshow yet, so we didn’t get as much time to playwith all the new toys, but the overall upbeat vibeat the 2012 Winter NAMM Show was certainlycontagious. Here’s hoping that this feeling stickswith us all throughout the year.

Regenerate Guitar Works.

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Carey Nordstrand’s Bass EQ DI.

More beauties from Villette Guitars.

Fbass brought a nice spread.

The forbidden fruit.

Mike Tobias serves up some pistachio

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Hugh McDonald plays a Veillette Acoustic Bass.

The Eden WTDI comes in two sizes.

A bright idea for drummers.

New offerings from Markbass.91bass

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Duesenberg basses are just flat-out cool.

Ritter introduces the R8-Singlecut.

DR strings goes Neon!

4 or 8-strings from Hagstrom.

Industrial Strength Industries Bass-O-Matic.

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Ashdown’s new MiBass heads.

Magnificent Marleaux’s.

The new look for GK combos.

the return of the Peavey Rudy Sarzo Signature model.

A couple of basses from Spear Guitars.93bass

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Gibson Les Paul Standard bass oversized.

An amazing custom Zon Legacy Elite.

A lovely Tune fretless T-Move.

More Nuance options from Pedulla.

Ampeg takes the CL micro.

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Monster 7-string.

Italia basses.

EBS had the show a-buzz about it’s new Reidmar head.

Aria TAB-66.

Sandberg had quite the selection of basses on display.

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Awards

2012WinterNAMM

bass

gear

By Tom Bowlus

As always, there were a host of worthy contenders, but the following sixmanufacturers earned our Bass Gear Magazine 2012 Winter NAMM Show Awards:

Fender – Bassman Series Bass Heads and CabsThough people will almost always think of Fender first for their iconic instruments,Fender has a deep tradition in the realm of bass amplification, and has been a strongcontender in this market for decades. This year, Fender reached back in time to revivethe Bassman line of heads, but in so doing, they brought to bear all the technologythat the 21st Century has to offer. The Super Bassman head sports six 6550’s, and putsout 300 watts, while the Bassman 100T uses four EL34’s good for 100 watts. Each offersyour choice of a vintage Bassman channel or a new “overdrive” channel (which canalso do clean, if you like). Both heads feature nifty auto-biasing of the power tubes.The Bassman line of cabs includes a 4x10, 6x10, 1x15 and 2x15, and all use neodymium-based drives. These new heads and cabs were the talk of the show, and rightfully so!www.fender.com

Genz-Benz – Focus Series Bass CabsGenz-Benz put out quite the spread for bass players this year, featuring significantupdates to the Shuttle series heads and cabs and to the ShuttleMAX heads, as well asintroducing two new combos. All of these were impressive in their own right, but whatreally wowed us were their new Focus series bass cabs. Initially designed to show thatlighter weight enclosures can be achieved even without using expensive neodymiumdrivers, the Focus series was also intended to be very aggressively priced. Being Genz-Benz products, they were of course expected to sound and perform great, as well. Ihave to say, Jeff Genzler & Co. have delivered on every mark, and moreover, I’mguessing the sonic performance exceeded even their expectations. These cabs arelightweight, very affordable, but most of all, they sound great! www.genzbenz.om

Fender Bassman

Genz-Benz

NS Designs

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Blast Cult

Dwarfcraft

Fodera

NS Designs – NS Bass GuitarKnown more for their broad range of electric upright basses and other “electric”versions of various orchestral string instruments, NS Designs introduced their firstattempt at an electric bass guitar at the Winter NAMM Show. Instead of copying theestablished approach to putting together a bass guitar, Ned Steinberger and luthierJonathan Kelsey took the lutherie techniques which they had established and perfectedin their other product lines and applied them to the bass guitar format. Through use ofthese construction techniques and other innovations, NS has put out something that isboth familiar and unique. They had two models at the Show, a fretless and a fretted –both of the 5-string variety – which represent a refreshing and new way to look at theelectric bass guitar. www.thinkns.com

Blast Cult – One4Five Upright BassFollowing the demise of the King Doublebass brand, luthier Jason Burns could havegone in any of a variety of directions. Lucky for all us, he decided to launch an entirelynew double bass brand, Blast Cult. We were first introduced to this new brand by MilesMosley, who blew all expectations out of the water with an amazing performance atthe Saturday night Bass Bash at J.T. Schmid’s. We had to learn more about theseamazing basses, and the more we learned about the Blast Cult One4Five, the moreimpressed we became. These basses are extremely resistant to feedback, usealternative, non-endangered woods, and just play and sound fantastic. Pricing is veryaggressive for what you get, as well. The One4Five was an easy pick for this award.Amazing! www.blastcult.com

Dwarfcraft – Eau Claire Thunder Bass Distortion/Fuzz PedalHall E always seems to hold many hidden gems, and this year was no exception.Boutique pedal maker Dwarfcraft had a nice sampling of killer pedals on display, butthe Eau Claire Thunder took bass to levels I never even knew existed before. If you likethe way a fuzz-based distortion sounds on bass, but never liked the way it thins outyour tone, you must hear this pedal! Add in the ability to trigger some kick-ass,musical oscillation by stomping on a dedicated internal feedback switch, and you’vegot a weapon that will make those skinny-string guitarists cringe in fear! This pedalhas a good bit of tone control, as well, including a “TONEBLAST” switch, which bypassesthe bass/treble, and gives you more mids and more volume. Hella cool!www.dwarfcraft.com

Fodera – Matt Garrison Standard Series 5-string BassVinny Fodera and Joey Lauricella have been making some of the world’s most sought-after basses for years. For many players, however, the economic realities were thatowning a Fodera was a very tall task – too tall, for some. This is where the Standardseries basses come into play. They are made by the same hands, using the samewoods, pickups, preamps and hardware as Fodera’s fully customized instruments. Butbecause they are “standard” offerings (no options, built just one way), this makes theprocess of building – and paying for – the bass more efficient. The latest addition tothe Standard Series is the Matt Garrison Standard, which features a 33” scale, 26 frets,and 17.5mm string spacing. This bass is every bit as good as you would expect of aFodera. It’s just a little easier on the pocketbook. What’s not to like about that?www.fodera.com

97bassgear

Guest ColumnBy Roger Sadowsky

Over the last several years, there hasbeen a proliferation of “coated” stringson the market. Beginning with Elixirstrings, almost every stringmanufacturer has begun to offer coatedstrings. Some of these coatings areadvertised to offer longer string life andsmoother feel, while others are strictlycosmetic (ie: colored strings).

Unfortunately, it appears that most ofthese manufacturers do not have a clueabout how electric instruments workand the effect that some of thesecoatings have on the performance ofelectric guitars and basses. Let meexplain:

Over the last several years, I have hadplayers contact me regarding noise orgrounding problems. They wereexperiencing a hum that was new tothem. So I would take them through thefollowing trouble-shooting procedure:

RS: Plug your bass or guitar into your

amp so you can hear the hum you are

dealing with.

Player: OK.RS: Touch the strings and tell me if the

hum goes away.

Player: No, it doesn’t.RS: Touch the plug where your cable

plugs into your instrument and tell me

if the hum goes away.

Player: Yes, it does.RS: Touch the bridge and tell me if the

hum goes away.

Player: Yes, it does.RS: Touch the strings and tell me if the

hum goes away.

Player: No, it doesn’tRS: Are you using coated strings?

Player: Yes, I am.RS: Switch back to uncoated strings

and let me know what happens.

Player(s): [In every instance, the humgoes away with uncoated strings.]

So, what have we learned from thistroubleshooting? Almost every electricguitar and bass has a “string ground.”This is a wire that usually resides underthe bridge and runs to the control cavityof the instrument. The wire is strippedunder the bridge, making direct contactwith the metal bottom of the bridge.The other end of the wire is connectedto a “ground” point in the controlcavity. When the player touches thestrings or the bridge of the instrument,the player’s body completes connectingthe instrument to “ground” and theextraneous hum goes away. On aproperly shielded instrument, shieldingwill remove 90% of the hum that goesaway by grounding the instrument, buta string ground is still necessary,especially under difficult conditionslike stage lighting and old buildingwiring.

The problem is that the coated stringsare mostly NON-CONDUCTIVE. Theresult of this is that the coated stringsdefeat the function of the string groundand cause hum problems for the player.

Recently, a popular bass magazinepublished a review of a coated string onthe market. I wrote a letter to the editordiscussing this issue and the fact thatthe reviewed coated strings were non-conductive. I said that string makerswho use non-conductive coating shouldbe required to put a warning label ontheir packaging that says “these stringsare non-conductive and may increaseelectronic hum and noise.”The response I received from the editorwas: “Is this something you’d feelcomfortable with printing on the letters

page of the magazine? Might be atricky one, though – not looking to startany quarrels…”

After two issues passed without myletter being printed, I realized at thatpoint that bowing at the altar ofadvertiser dollars was more importantthan telling the truth.

I took it upon myself to test all thebrands of coated strings on the marketand make my results available to thepublic. Fortunately, Bass Gear

Magazine agreed to publish thisinformation. Strings are tested with ananalog ohm meter set to RX1K ohms.One probe is placed on coated wrapnear the ball end of the string… theother probe on a coated portion on theopposite end of the string. The meterwill go to “zero” if the string isconductive.

Based upon my tests, only two stringbrands employed coatings whichproved to be conductive: Cleartone andD’Addario. Both of these brands use acoating that is very thin andundetectable. Their coatings areconductive, and get the Sadowsky sealof approval.Based upon my tests, the followingstring brands (in alphabetical order)employed coatings which proved to benon-conductive: DR, Elixir, Ernie Ball,GHS and Rotosound.

Conclusion: I can only recommendusing conductive coated strings madeby Cleartone and D’Addario. All of theother companies should, in myprofessional opinion, discontinue thesecoatings or put a warning on theirpackages disclosing that their coatingsare non-conductive and may cause humproblems with electric instruments.

Coated Strings,the

Uncoated Truth

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is really unique about his path to

becoming a luthier is that Randy first

had himself a nicely successful career

as an animator and then producer for

Disney. Wyn basses are newer to the

scene, but making great waves, and

feature organic woods and body shapes,

and tone to match.

George Furlanetto – Another

Canadian, George took what he loved

about the Fender Jazz Bass, and then

blended that in with his own vision of

what a bass should be all about.

Eventually, this yielded his BN series,

which remains a popular blend of

vintage inspiration and smooth, sleek

custom curves, both sonically and

visually. George and his crew at F bass

make several different lines of

completely hand-made instruments.

Mike Kinal – The Canadians all have

names at the front of the alphabet, it

seems… Mike brings his experience in

cabinetmaking and industrial education

to the table, and has been making

guitars and basses for more than 30

years from his shop in Vancouver. Mike

has apprenticed with Atilla Balough,

the originator of the Odyssey guitar,

and developed a unique wood finish

which is one of the hallmarks of a

Kinal instrument.

Ken Lawrence – Ken originally began

building at Moonstone Guitars before

starting up his own shop. He has an

incredibly diverse range of offerings,

from the elegant Brace bass, to the

Chamberbass, to James Hetfield’s more

aggressive guitars. Ken only makes a

limited number of instruments each

year, but when you see the complexity

of his builds, it’s easy to see why. Ken

can often be found hanging out with his

buds at Mesa/Boogie.

Gerald Marleaux – Our lone German

on the panel, Gerald has been building

hand-made basses since 1990. His

instruments also span a wide range,

from the diminutive Sopran, to the

ageless Consat, to his newest 3-octave

fretless model, the Diva. In addition to

having an intimate knowledge of the

woods he uses, Gerald makes his own

preamps and employs other top-grade,

often proprietary, pickups and

hardware.

Carey Nordstrand – Based in

California, Carey is as well-known for

his pickups (for both guitar and bass) as

he is for his instruments (mostly basses,

but some guitars as well). Carey has a

fully custom line of Nordstrand Guitars,

and also offers the somewhat more

standardized, but still 100% hand-made

Nordy line of basses.

Michael Pedulla – One of the original

high-end custom bass builders, Michael

is still cranking out some of the most

stunning basses on the planet. Iconic

staples like the Buzz Bass, MVP and

Thunderbass continue to roll out of his

shop, as do newer models like the

Nuance and his one-of-a-kind “Personal

Creations.”

Roger Sadowsky – Roger’s name has

become synonymous with high quality,

perfect playing instruments, and top-

notch customer service. In addition to

their more Fender-inspired instruments,

Sadowsky Guitars out of New York

offers a variety of custom “Modern”

designs. Roger also offers a very highly

respected line of import models, the

Metro series.

Pete Skjold – As a professional bassist,

Pete was always looking for an

instrument that would let him do the

things he wanted to do as a musician.

This led first to custom-made basses for

his own personal use, but inevitably led

Pete to build his own basses and make

them available to the public. Pete

makes his basses entirely by hand in his

shop in Warsaw, Ohio, and his product

line includes custom single and double-

cut body shapes, as well as the

vintage/custom crossover Lion’s Pride

line.

Michael Tobias – Michael has the

unique distinction of having established

himself as a top-tier luthier twice over.

First, under the name of Tobias Guitars

(a name now owned and still used by

Gibson), and later under the MTD

brand. Either effort would have given

him instant admission to the Bass

Luthiers Hall of Fame, and taken as a

whole, his body of work is staggering.

Joe Zon – A man who probably hates

listing by alphabetical order, Joe has

been a true pioneer and driving force in

the world of lutherie. His use of

graphite necks has really shown what

this material can do in a musical

instrument. Joe recently augmented his

custom, California-made offerings with

an import line of his own, the Zon

Standard series.

My thanks to all of these fine luthiers

for agreeing to contribute to these

discussions, which will begin in our

next issue.

(Lutier’s Roundtable continued from page 53)

99bassgear

The Saddest ofAll Keys

From The BenchBy Tom Lees

well adopted until 1700s-1800s). Can you

guess what happened? Like a mother

splitting up a flight amongst her children,

someone suggested that all notes share

evenly in “out of tuneness.” This is done by

setting the frequency of each note in the

chromatic scale based upon the 12th root of

2 (1.05946).

So, how drastic can differences in

temperament be? Without getting into the

math, take a C Major scale, tuned A=440.

Comparing just and equal temperament, the

minor 2nd has a difference between

temperaments of over 4.5Hz. The difference

in minor 7th is also over 4.5Hz between just

and equal temperaments. The difference

between temperaments playing the minor

6th is about -3.3Hz, but the difference

between temperaments playing the major

6th is almost +4Hz. For sake of reference,

people can typically hear a difference of

1Hz for sustained notes.

Ok, time for some fun. Some scholars

believe that the “well tempered” tuning

used, for example, by Bach, was configured

to make all keys usable, but that most

central keys maintained just intonation.

Because of this, keys differed in the amount

that the 3rd was off. In view of this, many

felt that different keys had different

characters. This “character” was determined

by how far off the key was from the

particular key used to tune the instrument.

This “character” was often portrayed in

terms of mood.

Thus, when Nigel Tufnel proclaimed that D

minor is the saddest of all keys in his Mach

(influenced by Mozart and Bach) musical

trilogy, Lick My Love Pump, he may have

been onto something. Besides, who can

overlook evidence as strong as the simple

observation that when he plays in D minor,

people weep instantly!

So, when you play that awesomely bad note

in your next jam and the keyboard player

gazes over at you to let you know that you

messed up, simply smile and reply that his

crappy equal temperament keyboard is the

instrument that is out of tune, not you.

interests: ratios and music. In addition to

giving us the Golden Ratio, Pythagoras is

thought by many to be the one that brought

us whole number ratio tunings. From his

work, Pythagorean tuning came into

existence. In this tuning, we have but four

consonant notes, which were based upon

the ratios 1/1- unison, 2/1 – octave, 3/2

perfect 5th and 4/3 perfect 4th. Unfortunate

for all other intervals, they were dissonant.

Fast forward many hundreds of years to the

times of Walter Odinton, 14th century

savant. Walter not only gave us a consonant

major third, he also gave us a consonant

minor 3rd. How cool is that? Ready for me

to blow your mind? As a bonus, we get the

minor 6th and major 6th. It is puzzling to

me how the significance of this can be

overlooked. Check it out: the major 3rd and

minor 3rd arguably define the key to

harmonic structure of Western culture

music as we know it today. Rest assured

that my next pet will be named after this

man. If it’s a dog, he will be Walter. If a

cat, then Mr. Odinton will be in order.

How did he do it? If you guessed ratios,

give yourself a pat on the back. Walter

brilliantly added 5 and 6 to Pythagoras’s

use of 1-4 in defining musical intervals. 6/5

minor 3rd, 5/4 major 3rd, 5/2 – minor 6th,

5/3 major 6th.

If it were only so simple. Due to some

pesky math, there are slight inaccuracies in

the intervals between notes. This is the

whole concept upon which temperament is

built. Temperament is basically the

fudging/adjustment in tuning to address the

errors of note intervals.

Let’s play a game. What if I told you that

you could have a perfect tuning between

root and 5th? However, that will cost you a

slight tuning issue with the 3rd and 6th (just

intonation). Alternately, you could have

perfect tuning between the root and 3rd, but

it will mean that the 5th is slightly out of

tune (Meantone intonation). That was the

bitter pill of the times.

Then, along came equal temperament

around the early 1600s (although it was not

I bet the average person would be hard

pressed to think of one simple thing that has

captivated generation after generation like

the simple, yet ever so complex, tensioned

string.

When a string is plucked, the resulting

sound is a complex output, defined by an

envelope where the amplitude of the sound

changes over time. However, as the string

vibrates, the generated sound does not

consist of a single frequency. Rather, the

sound is a complex combination of

frequencies that are harmonically related,

and which change over time. Moreover, as

the string vibrates, the frequency can

change a small amount. For example,

Telecaster players out there will know the

joy and challenge of performing on an

instrument where the string pulls slightly

sharp on the initial attack.

But, before we get into the complexity of

the harmonic makeup of a vibrating string

(which will be addressed in issue 9), I

thought it interesting to spend a little time

visiting our history, and take some time to

explore something we take for granted

every day – the notes on our instrument.

Many of us tune to A=440 and are perfectly

content with 12 notes/octave.

Let’s wind back to the times of ancient

Greece, say a several hundred years B.C.

Keep in mind that as primitive a time as

you may think it was, there were some

fantastic things going on. With a simple life

(no Netflix, and Al Gore had yet to invent

the Internet), creative people had time to

create. One creative cat was Pythagoras

(yup, the same guy who eloquently penned

the theorem that in any right triangle, the

area of the square whose side is the

hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the areas

of the squares whose sides are the two legs

that meet at a right angle). Ah, memories of

math class run fond just thinking of this…

Well, our friend Pythagoras was not only

into triangles. Rather, he had two other

100 bassgear

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Whether we are talking about Tobin Esperance (Papa Roach),

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Walsh); it’s no secret why so many of the finest players from the

greatest bands of our day choose Lakland Basses.

Classic styling, impeccable workmanship, custom shop personal

attention and killer tones keep them all playing Laklands tour

after tour, recording after recording. Thanks guys!

101bassgear

Physical ToneProduction on the

Double Bass,Part 1:

Leverage and theLeft Hand

In The DoghouseBy Chris Fitzgerald

Bass Gear Magazine is a wonderful

place to go to find out about all of the

latest basses, pickups, amplifiers,

speakers, microphones, preamps, and

all manner of peripheral electronics

related to amplifying basses of all

kinds. I have greatly enjoyed writing

about these topics to date, and I will

continue to do so in the future. For this

issue, however, I’d like to focus on the

primary and most important link in the

amplification signal chain for any

double bassist: the physical technique

that produces the initial sound that all

of the aforementioned gear is meant to

amplify. To paraphrase the way one

famous jazz educator once put it, “You

can have all of the best and most

expensive gear in the world, but if you

are producing a thin, weak acoustic

sound before plugging into it, all of

that gear will be amplifying a thin,

weak acoustic sound.” This article will

be the first in a series (likely

intermittent, but hopefully continuing)

of articles on physical technique, and

will focus on tone production in the left

hand.

On the face of it, this issue is simple: if

you press the string down hard enough

with the left hand, then pluck or bow it

with the right, a clear note will emerge.

Do this in sequence, and you can create

a melody. But as anyone who has ever

picked up a double bass and tried to

play can tell you, it’s far more

complicated than that. A closer

inspection of the issues involved

reveals that there are numerous ways to

approach generating and applying the

force needed to press down the bridge-

cable like strings of the instrument,

especially if you are one of those

players who likes the setup of the bass

to include a string height that would be

considered medium to high. While the

issue of “optimal string height” is

personal and subjective, it makes sense

to consider developing a left hand

technique that can function at any

reasonable string height, and then

decide where you like to keep your

string height as a matter of personal

musical preference from there. The

alternative – playing with low string

height because you lack the physical

technique to do otherwise – is tenable

and defensible if you have already

explored your physical and technical

boundaries in a systematic way, but is

(in my opinion, of course) otherwise a

questionable decision at best and a cop-

out at worst.

The remainder of this article will focus

on how to apply enough force to the

string to produce a good clean stop. For

practical purposes, I consider any

technique that allows the player to play

for an extended period of time in a

relaxed manner “good technique,” and

any technique that produces stiffness or

muscular tension (especially to the

smaller and more vulnerable muscle

groups) “bad technique.”

My general starting point for all

technical issues of this sort can be

loosely translated into the following

formula: the more force that is needed

to perform a particular task, the more

important it becomes to find a way to

perform that task by using the large

muscle groups of the body in a relaxed

and holistic way rather than

overstressing the smaller ones by

cutting them off from the bigger ones.

This principle is not particularly new or

original, and is not limited in context to

music. It’s the same reason we are often

advised to pick up heavy objects by

bending our legs – with our backs

straight – rather than stooping over, or

why athletes who have to throw a ball

use a turning motion of their hips to

generate speed and power in their

throws. As the best teacher I ever had

in my life once told me, “We don’t play

the piano with our fingers; they are just

the end of the mechanism that happens

to touch the key.”

What constitutes a “good stop” for

pizzicato playing?

One of the first things I’ll typically

work on with a new student studying

jazz bass is to instill in them an

appreciation for a good clean left-hand

string stop. A practical test for a good

stop is to examine the sonic results

produced by varying the pressure

applied to the string by the left hand.

Start with a low, typically hard to stop,

note on the A string, like a Bb or B.

Explore the range of pressure you can

apply to the string, from barely any at

all to all the downward force you can

exert, and listen to the sound of each as

you pluck. With not quite enough force

to really stop the string, there will be a

dramatic rattle at the stopping point.

Add a little more force, and the rattle

subdues into a buzz, but the note still

doesn’t yet sound “clean.” Add a little

more downforce, and the buzz starts to

clear up. Add a tiny bit more, and the

string is free to sing between the two

fixed points of the stop and the bridge,

and will sustain as long as possible.

Adding more force than this amounts to

energy wasted.

102 bassgear

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NOT JUST DIFFERENT.

BETTER.

If we divide these stops into four grades

of stops (i.e., Rattle=1; Buzz=2; No

buzz but still a bit muted and lacking

maximum sustain=3; and

Clean/Sustaining=4), the question then

becomes, “How can I consistently

apply enough left hand force to my

stops to always get clean stops without

wearing myself out or injuring myself

in the process?” This question, which

seems pretty simple and un-daunting

when considering playing a 5-10

minute piece, grows in importance and

complexity if you consider the prospect

of playing 3-4 hour gigs multiple

evenings a week for years on end. With

that goal in sight, you’d want to have a

built-in cushion of technique that could

produce the needed force with as little

effort and strain as possible. So, how

can you go about doing this?

The Rule of Thumb

Mine goes like this: if I need to use my

thumb on the back of the neck in order

to produce a good solid clean stop with

any finger on any string, I’m relying

too much on the small muscles of the

forearm and should re-examine my

technique. This statement requires a

serious disclaimer, as not all bassists

feel the same way, but for my own

personal purposes, I absolutely stand by

it in my practice/technique regimen. I

feel that it’s extremely important to be

able to play without the thumb on the

back of the neck on principle, as this

forces the body to use the larger muscle

groups instead of the small ones.

To experience what this feels like away

from the bass, try this simple exercise:

place your right hand palm up about at

the level of your navel; place your left

hand palm down on top of it; curl the

fingers toward each other so that they

interlock lightly, then try to pull the

hands apart. Notice that you feel the

stress in your chest, shoulders, and

back much more than in the fingers and

forearms. Notice also that the thumbs

of both hands aren’t used at all to

produce this effect. To try the same

thing at the bass, make the classic bass

player “C” shape in the hand – roughly

pretend that you are wrapping your

hand around a grapefruit with the

thumb opposite the fingers – but instead

of squeezing the thumb toward the

fingers and vice versa, simply swivel

the thumb upward toward the top of the

hand while maintaining the shape of the

fingers. Next, apply this shape to the

bass and see if you can produce stops

on any note without the left thumb

squeezing or helping in any way. You

may want to try this first from a seated

position, as the force generated by the

left arm and upper torso in this way is

more than enough to move the bass if

there’s nothing to stop it.

Added disclaimer: The notion of

playing without the left hand thumb is a

technique for practicing only, and I

would never suggest performing this

way. It’s sort of like baseball players

warming up with weights on their bats

before stepping into the batters circle –

most pros seem to do this when on

deck, but I have yet to see one step up

to the plate and face a live pitcher with

the weights still on. Likewise, when I

play, I almost always use my thumb on

the back of the neck, albeit more and

more lightly as the years go by.

That’s basically it, and as with anything

else, consistent practice makes it better

over time. I have a 36-minute

scale/arpeggio-in-12-keys warm-up that

I do at the beginning of each practice

session, and practicing producing clean

stops without the left hand thumb

comprises the first 30 to 60 seconds of

each key. After that, the thumb is added

back to help fine tune the motion for

intonation and to provide stability for

shifting. After a good practice session

these days, – or a 4-hour gig, for that

matter – I don’t feel any soreness in my

hands or forearms at all, and that’s a

really, really good thing.

The next installment will focus on two

details of left hand technique: tips

versus pads of the fingers and the

shades of color in between, and the

shifting of arm weight from finger to

finger rather than “pressing” with the

fingers themselves.

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Upright PerspectiveBy Arnold Schnitzer

Early double basses were most likely

built by artisans experienced in the

making of viols, and by others

experienced in the making of violins.

The viol family of instruments were

built with flat backs; the violin family

with round, or carved backs. There is

some disagreement amongst musical

historians about the actual lineage of

the double bass. Unlike most other

stringed instruments, the bass has never

become truly standardized in its 400-

plus-year history. There are abundant

flat-backed, round-backed, violin-

cornered, gamba-cornered,

busetto-cornered, corner-less, high-

shouldered, sloped-shouldered,

wide-ribbed, narrow-ribbed, chunky

and svelte basses around to this day.

Basses usually have a break or bend in

the midst of the back in the upper bout,

tapering into the neck block, which

allows the instrument to nestle closer to

the player. This feature is unique within

the violin family.

Flat-backed basses are more

economical to make, for two reasons:

1.) the back requires about 1/4 the

thickness of rough-cut wood, and:

2.) a lot of labor is saved in the making

because the back is not carved out.

Some makers prefer to build flat backs

because it conserves a dwindling

resource: fine tonewood. Nowadays,

lots of beautiful tonewood is being

wasted on the building of mediocre

(and worse) instruments, putting

pressure on a tight, shrinking supply.

So, if a flat-backed bass requires less

wood and less labor to build, should it

be priced lower than a round-backed

one? The answer is yes, and no. A bass

maker who does the work by hand

should be able to pass along some

savings (in the case of a flat- backed

bass) to the buyer. A commercial shop

that primarily machines its work

probably considers the difference a

wash, as they’ll need to make and

install bracing in a flat back, while they

would need more material for the

carved round back. In the case of older

basses, it’s mostly a non-issue, as they

are marketed and priced mainly based

on their tone, playability and area of

origin (and sometimes based on the

particular maker).

There is some argument in the bass

community over which type of back

sounds “better.” Some players and

makers believe that flat-backed basses

sound “punchier” and have a more

immediate response. They also tend to

feel that round-backed basses sound

deeper, darker and perhaps project

more, because of their larger interior air

volume. And I’m pretty sure there are

folks who believe the opposite of both

of these statements. I’m personally of

the opinion that in a darkened room,

most listeners could not tell a flat-

backed bass from a round-backed one.

It would be nearly impossible, however,

to prove any of this, unless one had

access to two identical basses, both

made from the same wood, at the same

time, with the same exact

measurements, weights, thicknesses of

parts, varnish, etc, set-up in an identical

manner, but with a flat back on one and

a round back on the other. [Stay tuned,

as a colleague of mine has recently

built a pair of basses exactly as I’ve just

described. I’m anxious to hear about

the results, and will pass on what I

learn, pending his permission.]

Disregard for a moment the statement I

just made about the darkened room.

There is, in my opinion, a difference in

the way flat-backed and round-backed

basses respond to bow or pizzicato

input. I hold that this is not really

because of the contour of the back, but

because of the bracing which is

attached to a flat back. Because round

backs are thicker and arched, they

generally do not need to be beefed-up

in the area of the soundpost. Flat backs,

on the other hand, are made of thin

wood – usually 4 to 6 millimeters or so

– and require braces to help them keep

their shape under the pressure of the

soundpost and the torsion of the strings.

The braces – traditionally glued-on

across the back – are made of spruce,

or a similar softwood. Spruce is

extremely stiff and springy, and when

pushed in one direction, it springs back

quickly in the other direction. This

imparts a certain feedback to the player

which can be perceived as quickness

under the bow, or punchiness when

plucked. Think of the spruce brace as a

spring; the bridge rocks from string

input, propelling the soundpost down

into the brace, which springs back

upward, amplifying the input. This is a

gross oversimplification of the modality

that actually happens when a bass is

played, but I think it serves to clarify

my idea. Some players describe this

effect as a “strong front of the note.” A

FLAT BACK vs.ROUND BACK,

Part 1:What’s thedifference?

Which is better?

104 bassgear

recording engineer would call it “fast

attack.”

Another controversy among makers

concerns whether the back of a bass

should be heavy and solid, and resist

vibrating, or be light and resilient, and

vibrate freely. Those in the first camp

assert that a stiff, unyielding back

allows more of the energy to be focused

on the top table, where it will better

project to the listener. Those in the

second camp assert that a bass back is

like a secondary sound board, and

should be allowed to vibrate freely, and

since bass frequencies are mostly

omnidirectional, it makes no difference

where the sound is emanating from. I

have worked on basses with heavy, stiff

backs, and also on those with lighter,

more vibrational ones. Both can sound

good, but I personally prefer the tone

and response of a bass that is built on

the lighter side. It is also worth noting

that most every bass player can tell the

difference between the way his bass

sounds and responds when standing

(without leaning into the back), and

when sitting, with one’s leg and knee

damping the back of the instrument.

This damping seems to affect flat-

backed basses more than their

round-backed cousins. If you have ever

played classical guitar, or closely

observed one being played, you will

know that it is important for the back of

the guitar to be free of the player’s

body, so that the full resonance of the

instrument can be heard. Ideally, a bass

should be played in the same manner,

though sitting on a stool during a long

orchestral or operatic performance is

just about a necessity (Wagner be

damned).

In Part 2 of this article, I will discuss

the pros and cons of the flat back vs.

the round back from the standpoint of

the health and longevity of the bass.

Kindly forward any questions to

arnold@aesbass.com.

105bassgear

FUNDAMENTAL

SUPPORTBy Alan Loshbaugh

If you’re reading Bass Gear Magazine,

you’re likely a bassist. But, are you also

a composer? Arranger? Performer?

Recording Artist? Is your music on

iTunes, cdbaby, or SoundCloud? How

protected is it, and what are your rights?

These sorts of questions didn’t mean

much before the year 2000; now these

questions – and their answers – are

changing so fast it’s really hard to keep

up with current answers... Enter the

national non-profit organization, Future

of Music Coalition!

Founded in June, 2000, by musicians,

artist-advocates, technologists and legal

experts, Future of Music Coalition

works to ensure that musicians have a

voice in the issues that affect their

livelihood, and to ensure a diverse

musical culture where artists flourish,

are compensated fairly for their work,

and where fans can find the music they

want. Guided by a firm conviction that

public policy has real impact on the

lives of both musicians and fans, FMC

advocates for a balanced approach to

music in the digital age – one that

reflects the interests of all stakeholders,

and not just the powerful few.

I found their website to be very deep,

and very informative on many issues.

Casey Rae-Hunter, their

Communications Director, is a well-

informed, hard-working dynamo. I

caught him between planes, going from

South by Southwest (SXSW) to

Washington, DC, and he explained

FMC to me this way:

“FMC is a non-profit research,

education and advocacy organization

formed because many Washington, DC,

decisions are made without

artist/creative presence. We conduct

original research about what it’s like to

be a working musician, and make it

available to

both

government

and artists.

We work

with all

grades of

artists to find

what effects

them and

their peers in

the world of

public

policy, and

try to make

sure their voices are heard when it

comes to policy making decisions.

Compensation for art is constantly

changing in the digital marketplace.

Revenue streams from the internet are

killing legacy business models, and

there’s a policy issue behind every

business model change. Licensing,

copyright enforcement and revenue

distribution are constantly changing and

mostly managed by big money, and not

independent artists. 

We’re not a lobby shop, or legal shop,

we have no lawyers on staff. We try to

be sensible people, representing

sensible ideas, who want to see artists

and their art be treated well and make

sure artists continue to be able to make

a living in the 21st century. Music isn’t

a partisan issue. In every office, on both

sides of the aisle, people listen to

music. Policy gets made, in part, by

those who show up. So, we show up to

make sure artists are present when

policy is being made that affects them.”

It’s nice to see an organization working

so hard, and so diligently, to make sure

artists are represented when it comes to

policy issues that affect their income.

FMC’s website ought to be someplace

you stop in and visit with some

regularity to stay informed. You can

find them at

http://www.futureofmusic.org/

106 bassgear

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studies. I think he’s genius in terms ofgetting people to think differently aboutthe bass, to be creative. And to do it innature, I think enhances your openness.

Our camp is in a more conventionalsetting. We do it during a festival or wepresent it in hotel. There are so manycreative things that go on, and we reallytry to motivate and inspire people.That’s one of the things that we reallyfocus on, and some of those thingstranscend playing music and seep intoyour life. Once you realize that, hey if Ican do this better than I thought I could– meaning playing the bass – then thereare some other things where I may havefewer limitations than I ever dreamed.

VS: True. I also read where you were

involved with the Note of Hope. Can

you share some that experience with

us?

GV: A Note of Hope was a life changerfor me because I got the chance tounderstand gratitude. To travel to Africato serve children who are AIDSorphans, that’s part of this sort ofmission, established by this groupcalled Covenant Mercies Ministry. Wewere able to go to Africa, to Zambia,Ethiopia, Uganda, and see kids who arereally suffering, and see familymembers who, by our standard ofliving, have next to nothing, yetexperience people who are so joyfuland so appreciative. That reallychanged my perspective and that wasjust phenomenal.

The group, A Note of Hope, and thatwhole project and trip, was documentedin a film that should come out late thisyear. The film chronicles our visit toAfrica and the things that happenedbefore and the things that happenedsubsequent to that visit. You get to seesome of the music, you get to see someof our interaction with these kids andtheir families, and it’s just lifechanging.

VS: I believe it. Do you have any other

hobbies or interests outside of music in

your life?

GV: Yeah, some that I pursue, but I

(Gerald Veasley continued from page 85) don’t pursue them as vigorously as I’dlike to. I really enjoy tennis. I do enjoywatching sports, like you know, a bigfootball fan. I like games, I like oldschool games. I like puzzles, I like theSudoku, I’m crazy about that [laughs]and yeah, those are kind of the thingsthat I spend time on. I’m very fortunatethat I get to do what I love and I don’tneed much of a break from it. I onlytake a break because I think it’s reallyimportant to take a break from it, youknow, meaning making music.

VS: Yeah, I get that. So to wrap things

up, I’ve read where you’re big on

finding your own voice, which I

strongly agree with. If you were going

to give somebody advice on how to

develop that, what would it be?

GV: You know this is the $50,000,question although with inflation I guessthe 6 Million Dollar question. [laughs] Ithink the first step is to recognize thatyou have a choice in sounding likeyourself. I think one of the first thingsthat was liberating for me, was tounderstand that there was no “one way”to sound on the bass. That’s important,because so much of theway we learn in thebeginning involvesemulation. That is anatural and important partof the process, but at acertain point, it’s eyeopening to realize thatthere may be another waythat I can sound. So whensomebody says, “Man,how do I find my voice?”I’m like, “Congratulations,you’re halfway there.” Thenext step is embracingwho you already are. At acertain point, I think wehave something that wehear in our heads as ourprototypical voice, andwe’re also able to hearwhat our voice sounds likewhen we play.

So the question is how toget those two things closerin alignment. What I’vecome to understand isembracing the voice youhave. Instead of finding

your voice, it’s like embracing whatyou already sound like, and now seeingother ways to enhance that or to not betimid about that, to really have thecourage to show that.

For example, when B. B. King reachesup in the high register of the guitar,puts his index finger on a note, andplucks it kind of hard and wiggles it. Itjust goes through your body, that onenote. And though there may be amillion ways to play that one note, hesounds the way that is “him.” And noamount of guitar lessons is ever goingto take that away from him or makethat any better than what it already is.

VS: Agreed, and great comment. Well

that’s a wrap. Thanks so much for your

time. It’s been an absolute pleasure and

an honor for me.

GV: Mine too. I’m glad we got ittogether.

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