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All gear, all the time. bassgearmag.com Issue 7 $7.50US Ark Amps Rhino Head and Cab Like nothing you’ve seen before bass gear AER amp three German mini might Wyn 5-String Bass As good as it looks AudioKinesis Thunderchild Rewriting the rules
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Transcript of Issue7.pdf - Bass Gear Magazine
All gear, all the time. bassgearmag.com Issue 7
$7.50US
Ark Amps Rhino Head and CabLike nothing you’ve seen before
bassgear
AER amp threeGerman mini might
Wyn 5-String BassAs good as it looks
AudioKinesis ThunderchildRewriting the rules
T H E R O U N D S O U N Da m p e g . c o m
Copyright © 2012 LOUD Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved.
S O M E T H I N G T O T A L K A B O U TBehind virtually every great artist and history’s most enduring songs is a bass player who counts on
Ampeg to deliver the very best tone possible. From Bonnie to Willie; from Ziggy to Taj... Hutch is a first-call
musician of the first order. Whether you need an amazingly portable and value-loaded combo or an arena-
rattling SVT rig, Ampeg can make your next tour something to talk about.
Photo by Sandrine Lee
H U T C H H U T C H I N S O N
NEW! PF-500
SVT-2PRO
SVT-610HLF
NEW! PF-115HE
VISIT AMPEG UPSTAIRS IN DEMO ROOM 209A/B FOR AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS WITH HUTCH HUTCHINSON,
GEEZER BUTLER, STANLEY CLARKE, JUAN ALDERETE, EVA GARDNER, MIKE INEZ, DUG PINNICK AND MORE.
GOING TO NAMM?
NEW
S O M E T H I N G T O TBehind virtually every great artist and history’s most enduring songs is a bass player who counts on
S O M E T H I N G T O TBehind virtually every great artist and history’s most enduring songs is a bass player who counts on
A L K A B O U TS O M E T H I N G T O TBehind virtually every great artist and history’s most enduring songs is a bass player who counts on
A L K A B O U TBehind virtually every great artist and history’s most enduring songs is a bass player who counts on
Behind virtually every great artist and history’s most enduring songs is a bass player who counts on
deliver to Ampeg
musician of the
rattling SVT rig, Ampeg can make your next tour something to talk about.
Photo by Sandrine Lee
possible. tone best very the deliver
. Whether you first ordermusician of the
rattling SVT rig, Ampeg can make your next tour something to talk about.
Photo by Sandrine Lee
T H E R O U N D S O U N D
Willie; to Bonnie From possible.
need an amazingly portable and value-loaded combo . Whether you
rattling SVT rig, Ampeg can make your next tour something to talk about.
T H E R O U N D S O U N D
Hutch aj... TTaj... to Ziggy from Willie;
need an amazingly portable and value-loaded combo
rattling SVT rig, Ampeg can make your next tour something to talk about.
T H E R O U N D S O U N D
first-call a is Hutch
arena-or an need an amazingly portable and value-loaded combo
VISIT AMPEG UPST
GEEZER BUTLER, ST
GOING TO NAMM?
AIRS IN DEMO ROOM 209A/B FOR AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS WITH HUTCH HUTCHINSON,VISIT AMPEG UPST
ANLEY CLARKE, JUAN ALDERETE, EVGEEZER BUTLER, ST
GOING TO NAMM?
AIRS IN DEMO ROOM 209A/B FOR AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS WITH HUTCH HUTCHINSON,
Copyright © 2012 LOUD T
A GARDNER, MIKE INEZ, DUG PINNICK AND MORE.ANLEY CLARKE, JUAN ALDERETE, EV
AIRS IN DEMO ROOM 209A/B FOR AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS WITH HUTCH HUTCHINSON,
a m p e g . c o m
echnologies Inc. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2012 LOUD T
A GARDNER, MIKE INEZ, DUG PINNICK AND MORE.
AIRS IN DEMO ROOM 209A/B FOR AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS WITH HUTCH HUTCHINSON,
a m p e g . c o m
echnologies Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A GARDNER, MIKE INEZ, DUG PINNICK AND MORE.
bassgear
2011 Summer NAMM Show
2011 Summer NAMM Show Awards
Cover
QU I CK LOOKS
F U L L REVI EWS
I N DU STRY N EWS
92
99
86
81012
38
70
16
24
60
78
F bass Big F Boost Bass PedalArk Amps Rhino Bass Head and CabAER amp three Bass Combo
Yamaha BB2025x 5-String Bass GuitarVic Serbe takes the latest and greatest iteration of the Yamaha BB for a spin and shows uswhat it’s all about.
Wyn Guitars 5-String Bass GuitarFrom making blockbusters for Disney to making custom bass guitars, Randall Fullmerbrings unique artistic vision and tireless work ethic. Tom Bowlus admires the art.
Pedulla Nuance 5-String Bass GuitarAfter helping to invent the high-end, custom bass market, Mike Pedulla shows that he stillhas a few more tricks up his sleeve. Vic Serbe gets Nuanced.
Ampeg SVT-7Pro Bass Head and PN-410HLF Bass CabinetAmpeg takes the King of Amps and crams it into a class-D package, then gives us a spiffynew neodymium-based cab to go along with it. Tom Bowlus checks out these mightylightweights.
Audio Kinesis TC112AF Bass CabinetAlan Loshbaugh braves the storm to check out the mighty Thunderchild TC112AF fromnewcomer (to the bass world), AudioKinesis. Amazing things do come in small packages.
Reeves Amplification 4x10 & 1x15 Bass CabinetsReeves Amplification rocked our world with the mighty and glorious C225 head. TomBowlus shows us two great cabs from Reeves to help round out the set.
Mike Pedulla and Doug Johns
Player Interview: Doug JohnsVic Serbe talks basses, cars, drummers and more with Ohioboy done good, Doug Johns.
4 bassgear
7issueCOLU M N S
SPECI AL F EATU RES
44
50
A Technical Look at the Nitewalker Bass Guitar Tube PreampTechnical Editor, Tom Lees, gives us his special insight into exactly what the
Nitewalker Bass Guitar Tube Preamp is bringing (back) to the table.
The Current State of iPad/iPhone Interface OptionsTom Lees compares and contrasts the AmpliTube iRig, Peavey Ampkit, and
Pocketlabworks iRiffPort interface options for iPhone and iPad.
How I See ItBack to basics, or bring on the latest and greatest? When it comes to technology, you
need to find your balance.
From the BenchThe most powerful measuring tool out there isn’t one you can buy in a store.
Tom Lees gives us an earful…
In The Doghouse – High Pass Filters/fDeck HP-PreSometimes the best way to lay down the low end is to lose some of it, especially whenyou are playing a large reverberant body. Chris Fitzgerald discusses the magic of high-
pass filtering.
Philthy Talk – “I Hate the Way My Bass Sounds”There are a lot of factors which impact just how your bass will sound. Phil Maneri shares
his insight into which factors matter the most, and why.
The Upright Perspective – Getting Your Bass Playing the Way You’d Like, Part IVIn this installment, Arnold Schnitzer talks about the impact of choice of strings, tailpiece
and wire, and the saddle.
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 #6.
Fundamental Support – Blues in the SchoolsAlan Loshbaugh shows us how more and more schools are getting hip to the
transformative educational power of the Blues.
6
100
104
106
108
111
111
101
5bassgear
How I See itTom Bowlus, Editor-in-Chief
of playing. But other folks – say, those
engineers at Yamaha – are looking for
ways to impart the benefits of the
aging process into new instruments
(see Vic Serbe’s review of the
BB2025x). Still others are looking to
new materials and new compounds
with which to make instruments, such
as carbon fiber, resin-impregnated
plywoods, and different plastic
compounds.
Who is right, and who is wrong? Well,
people from any of the “camps” I have
just mentioned can argue until they are
blue in the face espousing theirs as the
one true vision, but I don’t buy into the
notion that there is any one path that is
superior to the rest. Much like the
values which a parent chooses to (try
and) pass on to their child, the choice
of tools which an artist embraces to
help their share their art with the world
is a very personal judgment call.
It’s a balancing act, but we all get to
walk our own tightrope. If you want to
mix it all up, and jam your vintage
Gibson through an iRiffPort, then
have at it! It’s your muse to serve, and
no one else’s.
That’s how I see it.
Take care, Tom.
Personally, I feel that there has to be a
reasonable balance to this child-
rearing dilemma, and I’m proud to say
that while my kids know how to use a
smartphone and a word processor, and
can – with supervision – surf the
internet, they both still love to read
books, draw pictures, and build things
with Legos. And yes, they can still
form complete sentences (though
admittedly, neither has reached their
teens, yet).
So what does this have to do with
music, Papa Bowlus? Well, the
players may change, but the game’s
the same. All-tube heads with NOS
glass, versus tube emulation in the
digital realm. A ’51 P-bass with
“only” four strings and no batteries,
versus an 11-string extended range
bass with active electronics. Standing
in front of a “wall of sound,” versus
in-ear monitors. Vinyl versus MP3.
You get the idea (I hope). Technology
advances at an ever increasing pace,
and it’s really amazing what you can
do in the digital realm (just check out
Tom Lees’ article on iPhone/iPad
interfaces in this issue). But music has
deep roots, and even the most simple
of instruments can work magic in the
right hands.
Some people swear by “old wood”
when it comes to instruments. Phil
Maneri’s mid-Nineteenth Century
European upright certainly supports
this theory, as do any of a number of
vintage Fenders I’ve had the pleasure
As we transition yet again from one
year to the next, I find myself
reflecting on the value of the “old”
things in life as well as the value of the
“new” things. Must we really let go of
all that is old to make way for what is
new? I would hope not, but yet if we
hold on too strongly to what has gone
before, we can indeed lose sight of
what is yet to come. This leads us to
the inevitable balancing act, and it
takes on many forms. In this issue, I’d
like to talk about the relative merits of
old versus new – and simple versus
complex – technology.
As a parent, one of your major tasks is
choosing which values to try and pass
on to your children, and then to try and
find a way to effectively instill these
values in your offspring. I have some
friends who see an ever more
“plugged-in” world – and see
teenagers who are glued to their
smartphones and cannot spare enough
time to form complete sentences – and
they have taken a firm stance against
such technology, banning computers,
video games and cell phones from
their home, and instead, surrounding
their children with books (real,
tangible books!), art supplies, and
Lincoln Logs. Other friends have
taken the opposite route, and have
their kids launching apps on their
iPads before they can launch peas off
of their spoon. After all, it’s an ever
more technological world out there,
and I don’t want my kid to be left
behind!
6 bassgear
bassgear
EDITOR IN CHIEF Tom Bowlus
TECHNICAL EDITORS Tom Lees
Phil Maneri
STAFF REVIEWERS Vic Serbe
Alan Loshbaugh
Joshua Bubniak
STAFF CONTRIBUTORS Chris Fitzgerald
Anthony Lucas
Arnold Schnitzer
ART DIRECTOR George Keller
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Vic Serbe
INFORMATION TECH Brandon Lehmann
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 [email protected] +1 708-7400-BGM
Publishing and reprints office:Bass Gear Magazine 207 N. Park Ave. Fremont, OH 43420 USA +1 419-332-8260
Subscriptions and back issues:$30 US for 6 issues, US$36 Canada, US$50 International. Back issues are $10 US, US$12Canada and US$15 International. Please pay via paypal.com [email protected]. Or mail a check to Bass Gear Magazine 207 N. Park Ave.,Fremont, OH 43420. Free on-line only digital subscriptions are available atbassgearmag.com. Please send us your address corrections at least two months beforemoving to [email protected]. 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
F bassBig F Boost
Quick Look lucky enough to get unit number
twelve in to test out.
First Impressions
The Big F Boost is not
necessarily a boost pedal, but is
the F bass preamp in a pedal
form, with knobs for Volume,
Low, Mid and High. The F bass
preamp is manufactured by PE-
EQ Research, also based in
Hamilton, and was developed by
Garry Poplawski. The F bass
preamp is a boost-only preamp,
with the EQ points set at 40Hz for
the Low knob, 350Hz for the Mid
knob, and 7kHz for the High
knob. An advantage of a boost-
only style preamp (especially this
one, which has a volume knob) is
that you can boost the EQ to your
heart’s desire, while still being
able to maintain the volume of
your bypassed signal. George
also has commented about his
preamp being boost-only by
saying, “When you work so hard
to put all those good tones into a
bass, why would you want to take
any of that away?” The pedal is
powered by either a 9-volt battery
or by 9-18 volts via a center-
negative power adaptor. The
pedal is housed in a Hammond
1590BB enclosure with
Switchcraft box style jacks, and
the preamp PCB is securely
attached to the top of the
enclosure. Wiring of the pedal is
done fairly cleanly, with nothing
to complain about. The only thing
that bugged me about the internal
construction of the pedal – and it
is admittedly a small niggle in the
grand scheme of things – is that
the battery is held in a cardboard
sleeve within the enclosure, and
By Josh Bubniak
The Company Line:
George Furlanetto is a very well
respected luthier that began
building “F instruments” in 1978
and continues to this day at the F
bass shop in Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada. George has continually
changed his company and
instruments to meet with the
demands and requests of players
over the years. Following in this
tradition, F bass announced that
they would be releasing their
famed preamp in a true-bypass,
stompbox format for use with any
instrument back in 2009. In
January of 2010, F-Bass
announced that they had finished
their first run of the Big F Boost
pedals – which had sold out
before the run was even complete
– and that they were already
taking orders for their second
batch. The response was
obviously great, and we were
8 bassgear
Manufacturer: PE-EQ Research
Made in: Canada
Enclosure: Hammond 1590BB
Exterior: Powder coated black
Voltage: 9-18v DC
Battery Operation: Yes
Price: $379.95
pressed down on by a strip of
foam in the lid of the pedal. I’d
think that in a pedal in this price
range, a clip isn’t too much to ask
for. Again, at least for me, this is
small potatoes since I use a power
adaptor ninety-eight percent of
the time and generally wouldn’t
keep a battery in the pedal –
except to cover the emergency
style situation where I forgot a
power adaptor, or something of
that nature.
The beauty of the F bass preamp
is its transparency and ability to
maintain the overall tonality of
your instrument without
overpowering it with its own
color. I was able to use the Big F
Boost pedal with a passive
Precision bass, as well as a
passive Jazz bass and loved the
ability to add just a touch of what
I needed without having to reach
back for my amp to tweak things.
It was also very useful for playing
at a church with a passive bass.
Generally speaking, there is no
amp for tone shaping at the
churches I play at, and this came
in very handy for those situations
– especially when the sound
engineer asked for a little more or
less of something. There is also a
use for this pedal for those folks
who play active basses. For me, it
was having a couple of songs
with small parts where slapping
was required by the musical
director. My general tone doesn’t
work so well for slap. In those
scenarios, it was great to be able
to simply click a pedal on to
achieve the slightly scooped tone
I like while slapping, but then be
able to quickly turn it off when
the part was done.
Another use is, as the name of the
pedal implies, as a boost pedal.
With the volume knob, you can
turn this pedal up past your
bypassed volume and use it as a
classic style clean boost, or you
can use the preamp to boost your
mids or highs for a solo to cut
through a mix a bit more
effectively or any combination of
the EQ that you need for your
particular situation.
Lasting Impressions
All in all, the Big F Boost is a
great pedal that has a variety of
uses for any bassist looking for a
Swiss army knife style pedal that
will cover several jobs on their
pedalboard, depending on how
they decide to use it. All that, plus
having years of research and
refinement at your feet backed by
one of the big names in custom
basses. You know…no big deal.
9bassgear
Quick LookArk AmpsRhino BassHead and Cab
controlling gain/volume are round; the
tone controls are oblong or asymmetrical.
The lighter wood “spot” indicates the
relative position of each knob. The
switches at one point allowed for multiple
input gain settings, but were later
removed (these photos are of the initial
prototype). The rear of the head has taps
for 4, 8 and 16-ohm loads. While the
choice to add a 16-ohm tap, instead of a 2-
ohm tap, may seem strange to most bass
players, it is worth noting that Ark Amps
intended the Rhino to function not only as
a bass head, but also as a jazz guitar amp,
for those skinny stringers looking for a
more robust tone. A ¼” line out, power
cord receptacle and switches for power
and standby round out the back panel.
The companion bass enclosure offers
more than initially meets the eye – and
that’s saying something, considering its
visual impact! Though I initially
presumed it was a 1x15 from its size and
shape, the cab houses a single 12” driver.
It also appears to be a sealed affair at first
glance, but further inspection reveals two
downward-firing tube ports located on the
bottom of the enclosure. There is no input
jack to be found; rather, a ¼” speaker
cable is tucked away within the cutout for
the single handle located on the top of the
cab. This cable extends out of the cab a
sufficient length to allow you to plug it
into the head when placed on top of the
cab (with some room to spare). Neat
feature!
I was fortunate enough to have checked
out this amp/cab combo back in its
prototype stage, and one of the issues I
conveyed to the guys at Ark was that at
higher volumes, the cab would send
enough vibrations to the head on top to
rattle all that glass. My suggestion was
that they needed to come up with some
way to isolate the tubes in the head from
the vibration of the cab. Turns out they
came up with a couple of different – and
unique – options. The first innovation was
to run metal rods all the way through the
cab which connect to the floor on one end,
ByTom Bowlus
The Company Line
Any product which is designed to play a
part in the creation, capture or
performance of music has a certain
amount of “art” about it – boutique
products, arguably more so than their
mass-produced counterparts. Ark Amps
embraces this notion, and while they
certainly deliver the goods from a sonic
perspective, it is undeniable that Ark
Amps also brings their unique artistic
expression to the visual presentation of
their products. Some products –
especially those with an especially strong
visual statement – exhibit a bit of a
disconnect between their looks and their
performance. Ark Amps, however, make
an amazing connection between their
looks and their sonic performance. The
organic shapes, deep, rich woods, and
varying textures can be heard as well as
they are seen. In other words, the unique
looks aren’t a marketing gimmick; they
are an extension of the artistic vision at
Ark Amps, which is more than just skin
deep, and extends to the soul of the music
which they help create.
The Rhino head is a 70-watt, all-tube
affair, with power derived from two
Svetlana 6550’s. The matching cab is a
bottom-ported 1x12 (which thinks it’s
really a 1x15). Impressive on their own,
together, they make for one cool-looking,
sweet-sounding beast of a bass rig.
First Impressions
Once you get past the unique
construction, one of the first features
which becomes immediately obvious is
that the controls have no markings, labels,
or other identifying features – other than
the size and shape of the knobs,
themselves. From left to right, the controls
are presence, bass, mid, treble, gain, and
master volume. As you can see, the largest
control is the bass knob, the next largest is
the mid control, and treble and presence
are the smallest. The two knobs
10 bassgear
Rhino Bass Head
Manufacturer: Ark Amps
Made in: USA
Enclosure: Cypress and Red Cedar
Exterior: Finished with a mixture of high-gloss Spar varnish, boiled linseed oil and
mineral spirits, hand-rubbed
Preamp Type: Tube
Output Section: Tube (two 6550’s)
Power Supply: Toroidal transformer
Rated Output Power: 70 watts @ 4, 8, or 16ohms
Inputs: One ¼” input jack
Outputs: ¼” speaker outs (4, 8 and 16-ohmtaps), ¼” line out
EQ: 3-Band, with presence control
Dimensions: 16” x 24” x 8.5”
Weight: 37 lbs
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty; 6months on tubes
Price: $1,700.00
Rhino Bass Cab
Manufacturer: Ark Amps
Made in: USA
Enclosure: Cypress and Red Cedar
Exterior: Finished with a mixture of high-gloss Spar varnish, boiled linseed oil and
mineral spirits, hand-rubbed
Driver: One 12” Eminence Delta Pro-12A
Porting: Two bottom-firing round ports
Dimensions: 21.5” x 26” x 13”
Weight: 42 lbs
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty; 12months driver
Price: $1,200.00
and the head on the other end. The rods
are isolated from the enclosure itself by
rubber grommets, which also serve to
maintain and airtight seal. I’ve never seen
anyone else do this, but it works! I had
concerns that the rods themselves would
rattle, but try as I might, I could not get
them to cause any noise or problems. The
other option is a cool-looking stand which
straddles the cab and holds the head just
above the cab, without touching it. This
stand can be quickly disassembled into
three pieces.
A Closer Look
As you might expect from a boutique, all-
tube head, the Rhino head is very
responsive to changes at the input jack, be
it from varying playing styles or different
instruments. Touch response was most
prevalent with passive axes, but the Rhino
seemed right at home with active basses,
provided that you kept the gain trimmed
down a bit. The voicing and EQ are
designed to allow for a fairly wide range
of tonal options, from warm vintage tones
to more modern clean tones. It does not
do an over-the-top overdrive, but it does
allow for a very nice range of musical grit-
n-grind at nearly any volume level. This is
a rich, clean head, with a lot of sonic
texture and harmonic content.
Considering its basic tone profile and the
rated output power of 70 watts from the
two Svetlana 6550C’s, I broke out my ’66
B-15N (last seen in issue #4) and a Trace
Elliot Twin Valve head for comparison
purposes. The B-15N was measured at 36
watts, continuous, with power coming
from two 6L6’s. The Twin Valve claims
100 watts from two fairly fresh NOS GE
6550’s. With a little tweaking, I was able
to dial in a fairly convincing B-15N tone
on the Rhino. For these comparisons, I
tried all three heads driving the Rhino cab,
and then all three heads driving the B-15N
cab. The Rhino head still had a bit more
articulation, and the B-15N still had a bit
more warmth/roundness, but they were
pretty close. The Twin Valve was the most
clear and clean sounding of the group, but
did not have the harmonic richness of the
Rhino. Volume-wise, the Rhino was a
little louder than the B-15N, but definitely
not as robust as the Twin Valve (those
GE’s deserve some of the credit, here).
The Rhino cab puts out an amazing range
of tones from a single, full-range
Eminence Pro Delta-12A. The output
from one cab was pretty nice, but I kept
wondering how a double stack would
sound with that head. Not to mention that
having the three “segments” (head, cab,
cab) would make the rig look kind of like
a giant rhinoceros beetle! When I was
reviewing the Rhino 1x12 cab, the closest
similar cab that I had on hand was my EA
CxL-112. Compared to the EA, the Rhino
had more lows, just as much overall high
end content (despite the CxL-112’s
tweeter), and was a tad louder. The EA
had more upper mids, and more “zing” up
high (though again, as far as musical
content is concerned, they were pretty
similar). Driving the Rhino cab with
different heads revealed that it, too, is a
versatile performer without a great deal of
coloration of its own.
Lasting Impressions
Talking to Matt Schellenberg and Bill
Compeau, it is abundantly clear that they
put their heart and soul into everything
they build. The blend of visual and
functional art which Ark Amps creates is
second to none, and a refreshing and
unique option, even amongst other
boutique brands. Fortunately, these heads
and cabs pack performance to match their
out of this world looks, and I would
heartily recommend their gear based upon
tone and performance, alone.
11bassgear
Quick Look they are voiced for acousticinstruments (though work very wellon electric basses), and have anextremely wide usable frequencyrange. The Bottom Line combos areeach designed to have their ownvoice, but they are definitely moresquarely aimed at electric players,though perfectly capable of handlingmost acoustic instruments (if youdon’t need an XLR input).
Ever since AER began production in1992, they have billed themselves as“The Acoustic People,” and theirdiverse product lines certainly bearthis out. Being Germans, they taketheir job very seriously and they areconstantly seeking to improve upontheir past efforts. Authenticity andcreativity are the prime motivatingfactors behind any AER product, andthe amp three is no exception.
First ImpressionsEven as smaller bass combos go, theamp three is a fairly diminutive affair.The two 8” drivers are positioneddiagonally and make efficient use ofthe real estate provided. The combocomes in at just a touch over 14” by16” by 12”, and it weighed in at 35 lbson the money on my scale. Myexpectations were good tone (at leastfrom the low-mids on up), but limitedvolume. Boy, was I in for a surprise!This is one loud amp, and the deep,full low end is entirely beyond whatanyone could reasonably expect fromsuch a small box. Major “instant grin”factor! Happily thumping away, Icould not resist turning it up a bit. Andthen a bit more… Okay, just a bitmore… Man, it’s still kicking! Surely,this is too good to be true, and I’mabout to hit its limits and make thisfine little combo go up in a puff ofsmoke, but I just have to find out whatit can do! Well, guess what? I did hitits limits, but not in the way that I hadfeared. Even with the compressorturned off, there is some definitelimiting going on – and that is a verygood thing! The amp three’s limiter is
AERamp three
By Tom Bowlus
The Company LineIf I told most players I know that I washeading out to a gig with an “AERamp three,” I would likely meet withmore than a few quizzical looks andconfused expressions. If I told thosesame players that I was heading out toa gig with a “kick-ass little German
combo amp that thinksit’s a big rig,” thoseconfused looks turn tonods of approval andrenewed interest. Thetruth is, the AER nameis not as well known asperhaps it should behere in the USA,especially among bassplayers who wear theirinstrument on a strap.AER is seeking tochange this with their“Bottom Line” productlineup, which includesthe amp one (200-watt1x10), amp two (240-
watt 1x12 with a 4” mid-high driver),and the latest addition, the amp three(200-watt 2x8).
Discriminating uprightplayers and more than afew electric playersmay be more familiarwith AER’s higher-endBassCube2, which sitsatop the “AcousticLine” of products. Thishighly regarded combo(550-watts, 1x12 plus1” coax tweeter) andalso theBasicPerformer (four50-watt amplifierspushing four 8” twin-cone drivers) are in theAcoustic Line for areason. They use two-
channel preamps, which allow for awider range of pickup options (andsimultaneous use of mic and pickup),
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Manufacturer:AER
Made in: Germany
Enclosure: Top grade 13-ply birch plywood
Exterior: Sprayed coating (water-based acrylic)
Drivers: Two 8” neodymium drivers
Tweeter: None
Preamp Type: Solid State
Output Section:Class-AB (bipolar)
Power Supply: Toroidal transformer
Rated Output Power: 200 watts (8-ohms)
Inputs:One ¼” input jack, ¼” aux in (stereo),effects return
Outputs:Balanced DI (XLR), ¼” line out, sub out,headphone out (stereo), effects send, tuner output,
footswitch
EQ: 3-Band, with parametric mids
Other Features:High/low gain, clip light, mute,colour, bass boost, tone balance, compressor, DIground lift, pre/post switch for DI, subsonic filter,
padded gig bag
Dimensions: 14.4” x 16.5” x 12.4”
Weight: 35 lbs
Warranty: 2 years
Price:$2,199 MSRP, $1,999 street
pretty aggressive when it kicks in, butit is fairly musical, and it definitelykeeps you from blowing it up (despitemy best efforts).
Setting aside the sonic impressions fora moment, the amp three makes agood physical impression, as well.The spray-on coating is among thebest that I have seen, being reasonablysmooth, though far from slippery, andseemingly quite durable. The sturdyleather handle is undoubtedly strongerthan it need be, and it makes for a verycomfortable carry. Unpacking thebox, I was pleased to find that the ampthree comes with its own zip-shutpadded cover. I will confess that I wasinitially somewhat skeptical of theskinny knobs, fearing not only long-term durability, but also possiblyimpaired usability. With my fatfingers, I sometimes find that skinnierknobs don’t have a good “feel,” orelse it’s too easy to turn them too far,too fast. Fortunately, after playingaround with them a bit, my fears weredispelled; the positive feedback andtactile feeling of the knobs was quitegood. In talking to the folks at AER, itis clear that they put a lot of thoughtinto the details, especially when itcomes to making gear that is compactand lightweight. Smaller, but sturdy,knobs are part of this effort. Theplastic I/O jacks on the back panelalso bear some special mention. Theseare specially made for AER byNeutrik™, and they are epoxied to thePCB. Not needing an externalretention washer means that they canbe placed closer together (and savesome weight). Very clever!
A Closer LookThe amp three has one (highimpedance) input jack, and features a“high/low” gain switch. The clip lightappears to monitor the signal not onlyat the input gain, but also through theEQ section and the master gain stage,as boosting too much at any point inthe signal path with cause the clipLED to light up. This is a nice, and
very useful, touch. The mute functionrenders the amp utterly andcompletely silent, no matter howrecklessly the user unplugsinstruments, drops the cable, or plugsin different basses (even with the gainturned up). The colour switch isbasically a mid-cut, treble-boostcircuit. While it does introduce a touchmore noise and some bite to the highend which I couldn’t quite dial out, ingeneral, I really liked what it did for theamp three’s tone, and I left it on mostof the time. The lows actually seem totighten up a bit with the colour turnedon. It gets just as “big,” but the lows aremore defined.
With an amp this full-sounding tobegin with, the bass boost (+10dB at55Hz) is not really needed, though itwas entirely useable, if you desire avery bottom-heavy tone. The bass andtreble controls are straightforward andappear to be relatively conventional inuse (though the treble control is atouch more subtle than I hadexpected). The parametric midrangecontrol features a choice of a narrow orbroad bandwidth, in addition to controlover the boost/cut and the centerfrequency. I’m a big fan of shelvingcontrols for bass/treble, matched upwith (semi) parametric midrangecontrol(s), and AER tone stack isrelatively simple, yet quite flexible.
But wait, there’s more! AER alsoprovides a tone balance control (whichis a relatively new feature to AERproducts). The balance knob allowsyou to dial in an emphasis in the bassregion when turned counter-clockwiseor in the treble regionwhen turned clockwise.The intensity knobadjusts – predictably –the intensity of thisemphasis. I’ve playedother amps with similar(though typically one-knob) controls, andsome of them can lead to major tonechanges. This control, however, seems
13bassgear
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
more adept at fine-tuning than dramatic shifts, and seemsmore noticeable in the lows. This is due in part to the fact thatthe tone balance control is run in parallel to the input signal,so the inherent tone of the instrument is preserved.
The compressor is nicely transparent when set fairly low. Ilike having both threshold and ratio controls (from 1:1 to5:1), but I will note that if you get aggressive with each ofthem, it clamps down so hard, it is not really usable. Theback panel cluster features a ground lift, headphone out, lineout, sub out, footswitch (for mute and effects loop in/out),effects send/return, an aux in, and a DI with adjustable leveland the option of sending a pre/post EQ signal.
Comparatively SpeakingWhile the two definitely strike a different pose, the amp threehas a lot in common with one of my all-time favorite basscombos, the SWR Baby Blue II. After a bit of head-to-headcomparison, the basic tone profiles were in the sameballpark, especially through the mids (though they eachdeliver the midrange in their own fashion). The SWR stoodout as sounding smoother, overall; the BBII has this certainsmooth sweetness to its high end that I just cannot replicatewith any other combo. The AER is louder, bigger in thelows, brighter (colour on), and more aggressive. The BBII isa touch more warm/round. With the colour turned on, theAER was more articulate and clear, but with it off, the SWRis more clear and present up high.
I was also able to compare the amp three to the Genz-BenzShuttle 6.0/12. The Genz-Benz is more airy up high, moreopen and clear through the mids, but not as full down low.The AER is more full and round from top to bottom, muchbigger in the lows, and seems to hit harder. When eachcombo is pushed hard, the AER has more low to low-midpunch, and the Shuttle has more upper-mid to high endattack. On the whole, these two combos put up a pretty fairfight, and it would certainly be a matter of personal tonepreference more than differences inquality/features/capabilities which would declare a winner.
Lasting ImpressionsIf you can’t tell by now, I really liked this combo. Thecontrols are very well thought out, it is tonally very flexible,and it has fullness and volume which seem to defy physics.It is nigh impossible to blow up, even when you try. It’s cute,but sturdy, and it comes in a cool padded carrying case.What’s not to love?
Don’t miss theZon Bass Guitar
Giveaway!!!www.bassgearmag.com
14 bassgear
TRADEMARKED LA BELLA STRINGS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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in the USA, and insists on a very high
level of customer service. Put both of
those things behind a product like his,
and it’s easy to understand why he’s
still around and doing well.
Mike did a lot of work for Mark Egan
and Tim Landers back in the day,
which is where a lot of his feedback
came from regarding what works and
what doesn’t. Mark Egan plays an
MVP to this day, and Tim Landers
plays a 4-string Buzz. Interestingly,
Tim is featured on the Pedulla web site
demoing a Nuance 5-string, and the
clip is great. You should visit
www.pedulla.com and listen to it. It’s
fairly rock-ish and does a good job of
showing off how fat and aggressive
the Nuance can be. Other well-known
names also populate that list, including
Doug Johns, who is also featured in
this issue in our player interview.
Currently, Mike offers several models
of basses based on very different
designs, each with its own tonal and
aesthetic target in the bass market.
Each is a culmination of his own
design ideas coupled with feedback
from the pros. Today, we’re looking at
the Nuance. I think you’ll like what
you see here. It’s clear from this model
that Mike is continuing to advance his
craft.
By Vic Serbe
The Company Line
Mike Pedulla originally went to New
York’s Clarkson University for
Engineering, but after only one year,
he transferred to the Crane School of
Music for a Music degree. For over 35
years now, Mike Pedulla has been
applying his love for both engineering
and music towards a passion for
building superb bass guitars. Just as
with other luthiers, the early years
were mostly about guitars, but
eventually led to bass building as well.
His early basses aren’t that unlike
what he builds and sells today. They
used maple bodies, quarter-sawn
maple for the neck (though it has gone
from a slab to multi-piece), and
Bartolini electronics. He’s been
successful since the first run of basses,
so he must have had a sixth sense for
what bassists wanted from the very
beginning.
Mike credits much of his early success
to Jaco Pastorius’s popularity, since his
Buzz model’s focus was to be a top
quality fretless bass... a model that
remains popular even now (though he
also made the fretted version, the
MVP, at the time, which also did
well). In fact, his fretless basses are
known for their “coated”
fingerboards, which is basically a
refinement of an idea Jaco had. Mike’s
very proud of the fact that all his
instruments are built completely here
Digging Into the Details
So what makes a Nuance? The
formula is deceptively simple. It uses
Mike’s signature body wood, maple. It
also uses a two-piece quarter-sawn
maple neck, ebony fingerboard, and a
spalted chestnut top. I had to ask Mike
about the chestnut top, because I just
don’t see that very often. He gives the
usual luthier type response about how
individuals all woods are, and quite
frankly just tried chestnut because he
liked the way it looked, and didn’t
even know what to expect. Turns out,
he feels the chestnut supports tight
low-mids and a crisp, focused high
end. He’s also a firm believer that top
woods affect tone (except for the very
thin ones). This is often debated
amongst luthiers, builders, and
players, but I happen to agree with it.
As for the body, he uses soft maple on
all his designs. He feels that it imparts
a clean and bright yet warm top end
with lots of attack and sustain, with no
mud.
The ebony board was selected for both
its tonal characteristics, but also
aesthetics, just like the top wood. I’ve
typically found that ebony is great for
a crisp high end as well, which would
fit right in with this bass. The
particular piece of ebony on this bass
has some beautiful “blistering” in it
which goes great with the aesthetic
theme of the bass. Other nice touches
are the matching spalted chestnut
veneer on the headstock and even a
wood truss rod cover with the Nuance
name on it, also made from the same
spalted chestnut. The contours of the
body are smooth and supple, and the
heel where the neck attaches is sloped
on the back for added comfort. The
neck profile is also a thing of beauty, at
least for my tastes. It’s a shallow “C”
profile, which means it generally feels
slim in your hands from front to back,
but with a gentle arc due to the large
radius.
The hardware is a mixture of custom
Gotoh tuners and a Hipshot style A
bridge (their high-end model, with lots
of adjustment options). Interestingly,
the stainless steel strings he’s used
exclusively on fretted basses for over
15 years now, are unique to him. They
are not simply a relabeled popular set
you can get anywhere else. The strap
buttons are standard style, and while
they function just fine, I personally
prefer locks. My favorites are the
Dunlop dual function model. If this
were my bass, the first thing I would
do is put a set of gold locks on it. I’m
not the craziest guy on stage, but I
insist on their added security. The
other thing hardware-related I should
probably comment on is the truss rod.
It is a bit different than most I’ve seen,
in that it does not take a standard Allen
key. It takes a square drive socket, and
is also reverse threaded (in other
words, you turn it counter-clockwise
to tighten it against string tension). I
18 bassgear
didn’t have any problem adjusting the
neck, but it did seem “backwards” to
me, and I also thought the requirement
for a special tool to adjust it might
present a potential inconvenience to an
owner if the tool was misplaced, since
Allen keys are readily available almost
anywhere for very little money, but
these tools are not.
The electronics are all custom
Bartolini. The preamp is a custom
flavor of the NTMB preamp, and
Mike is keeping details close to the
vest on it. I was unable to get the
specific EQ points, but it does seem
like it’s relatively close to the standard
NTMB voicing, just tweaked a little to
best compliment his custom pickups.
Probably the most interesting feature
of the Nuance, and what sets it apart
electronically from most other basses
I’ve played, is the custom midrange
circuit. It’s a two-position switch that
goes from a mid boost to a mid cut
mode. It’s internally adjustable,
though again, treated as secret sauce
(so I couldn’t get any specific details
on the voicing), but it’s easy to tweak
via a couple internal trim pots. The
idea is, you have quick access to both
a sweeter, deeper slap tone and a mid-
forward finger-style mode with the
flick of a switch.
He took a grass roots approach to
getting the pickups voiced. He told
Bartolini his tonal goals using
subjective “plain English” language,
and they went through iterations of
pickups until they got it right. For the
overall voicing of not only the
pickups, but also their placement,
Mike went for “a full soap bar bottom,
strong low-mids, with a sweet high
end that was clear and distinct without
being dry.” He describes the tone of
the bass in the context of playing
chords and being able to clearly define
each component of the chord with
very little “overtone interference.” I do
find that sometimes wide aperture
pickups – such as wide soapbars, like
these – can sometimes lack tonal
focus, but I don’t really hear any of
that with these pickups.
Finally, I asked Mike about his overall
design goals for this model. I can’t
improve on his response by
paraphrasing it, so I’ll simply quote
him here:
“The inspiration for the Nuance was
two-fold; my love of all the various
woods I was not using, and to
complement the existing line with
visually and acoustically different
basses from the rest. I was looking for
a good “all around” working bass
that could cover the demands of the
various music genres a gigging bassist
needs, while maintaining a
characteristic Pedulla sound that
musicians can make their own.”
At the Gig
The ergonomics on this bass are just
superb. Despite the fact that it doesn’t
have a forearm contour, the body is
very comfortable. It’s a little bit
heavier than I typically like, but it
balances well on a strap, so I really
didn’t notice it. And the very shallow
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Interestingly, in the mid-cut position, it
doesn’t sound overly scooped. It’s
more of a sweetened, balanced sound.
So it works well for both slap and
fingerstyle. In mid-boost mode, I
didn’t like the slap tone as much, but it
really worked magic for fingerstyle. I
found it most useful as a “solo boost,”
or if I was playing in a particularly
neck profile makes it easy to get
around on – even for someone with
smaller hands, such as myself. His
fretwork is impeccable, so I had the
action nicely lowered, with no “gank”
spots at all. His custom-wound
pickups seem perfectly voiced for the
EQ in the preamp, and when you kick
in the mid boost, watch out!
I Really feel like the magic ofthis instument lies in the midcircuit. It’s almost like havingtwo basses at your disposalwith the flick of a switch.
20 bassgear
busy mix, it was a great way to just
change the bass to a more aggressive
overall tonal profile. I have to admit, I
was skeptical about having the mids
on a dual-profile switch, instead of
simply adding a more normal third
band to the preamp, but I found this
feature especially usable... especially if
you mess with the adjustments inside
to fine tune it to your preferences.
Mike chooses not to release too much
information on this feature, but a little
bit of trial and error is all that’s needed
to set things where you want. I really
feel like the magic of this instrument
lies in that mid circuit. It’s almost like
having two basses at your disposal
with the flick of a switch.
Other than that, it’s the usual thing
with boosting the bass a bit when
favoring or soloing the bridge pickup,
but I really felt like the neck pickup
needed nothing at all if it was being
favored or soloed. All the hardware
worked great. The nut didn’t bite the
strings when tuning, and the bass held
its tune very well going in and out of
the case. The neck also didn’t need
further tweaking once the truss rod
was set. It’s highly stable.
The Bottom Line
This is a typical Pedulla bass. It’s
extremely well made, very tonally
versatile, and a pleasure to play.
Between the deep, cutting
fundamentals and the added mid
control circuit, it’s hard to imagine a
style of music this bass wouldn’t do
well with. It’s simply a joy to play,
hear, and look at.
in-hand on-bench
TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
CONFIGURATION
Strings: 5Style: Double cutaway, offsetOverall length: 44”Body Dimensions: 12.5”W (at lower bout) x 19”LBody Contouring: ModerateWeight: 9.5 lbs
NECK
Scale length: 34”Neck width at nut: 1.899”Neck width at 12th fret: No measurements were takenNeck width at joint: No measurements were takenNeck thickness at nut: .699”Neck thickness at 1st fret: .597”Neck thickness at 12th fret: .695”Neck thickness at joint: .914”String spacing at nut: .345” to .393”String spacing at saddle: .725”Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: 12”, wide thin C shapePeghead break angle: 14 degBridge break angle: 10 degAfterlength at nut: 1.909” to 5.287”Afterlength at saddle: 1.4”Attachment: Bolt-onPocket gap: NoneTruss rod type/access: Peghead access, double acting truss rodFret count: 22Fretwire: 95x33
ELECTRONICS
Pickups: Custom BartoliniPickup location(s): 2.29” and 6.026” from bridgeElectronics: Custom Bartolini NTMBControls: Volume, Blend, Bass, Treble, switch for mid-boost
or mid-cutShielding: PaintPreamp Circuit Voltage: 9v
CONSTRUCTION
Body woods: Soft MapleNeck woods: MapleFretboard: RbonyBody finish: Satin Oil/UrethaneNeck finish: Satin Oil/Urethane
HARDWARE
Strings: Stainless Steel PedullaGauge: .045, .065, .080, .100, .128Attachment: At bridgeBridge/color: Hipshot type A, goldNut: BoneTuners/color: Pedulla/Gotoh, goldKnobs/color: Metal knurled dome, goldPickguard: NoneControl cavity cover: Wood
SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Transparent and full, but controlledMids: Aggressive and cutting, but not nasalHighs: Crisp and clear, but not brittle
GENERAL
Company: M.V. Pedulla Guitars, Inc. 83 East Water St.Rockland, MA 02370-0226 USA.Phone: (781) 871-0073 Fax: (781) 878-4028http://www.pedulla.com
Country of origin: USAWarranty: 2 year parts and labor - original ownerList price: $4,599Street price: $3,700 (est)Options: Fretted or Fretless (with or without lines)Accessories: Pedulla hard shell case, special truss rod toolAvailable colors: Available topwoods are Maple Burl, Arbutis Burl, Red Heart
Quilted Maple, Redwood Burl, Spalted Chestnut
Acquired from: Pedulla GuitarsDates: June-August 2011Locales: Illinois, OhioTest gear: Bergantino AE210, Epifani UL410, Gallien-Krueger Neo112-II,
Markbass F500, Carvin BX1500, Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion
Features: 3.5Tonal Flexibility: 4.5Ease of Use: 4Aesthetics: 4.5Ergonomics: 4Tone: 4.5Value: 4
Overall Construction 4.5Wood Choice 5Materials Choice 5Joinery 5Fretwork 4Fit and Finish of Adornments 4Quality of Finish Work 5Ease of Repair 5Potential Range of Setup 5Balance on Knee 4Balance on Strap 4Overall Electronic Quality 5Solder Joints, Wire Runs 4Clarity 5Noise 5Shielding 4Quality for Price Range 4.5
This is a particularly versatile bass thatwould be at home with everything fromrock to jazz. It’s got a clear and full voice,and when the mid boost is engaged, it’s aforce to be reckoned with in a mix.
In-Hand Score4.14 averageOn-Bench Score4.59 average
PedullaNuance5-String
bas
sgea
rtest
TONE-O-METER
Pedulla has been making great basses
for a long, long time. The Buzz and
Pentabuzz basses would be inducted
into the hall of fame of great basses, if
there was one. Over the years, they
have worked many other designs,
some having better results than others.
This one is clearly a winner. It is a top
contender in the $3,000-$5,000 price
range.
As it should be in this price range,
there is very little to nit pick about this
bass. Every detail has been considered
and addressed in an elegant and
simple fashion. All the choices add up
to a great sounding, great playing bass.
Sometimes, in an attempt to set
oneself apart from the competition,
builders will add some stylistic cues
that push them into “love it or hate it”
turf. This has none of that. It is great
looking and solid without drawing too
much attention to itself. Everything
works.
Ok, one tiny thing. The nut doesn’t fit
quite right. It’s not carved into the
space it sits in as well as I
would expect for the rest of
the detail of the bass.
Somehow, it seems out of
place, and is not seated well
in the groove it’s supposed to
live in. It’s not polished up near as well
as the gleaming frets. Granted, it’s
hardly noticeable, works fine, and on
lower-dollar instruments I wouldn’t
point it out, but here it deserves
mentioning. Ok, well one more thing.
The shielding paint is not as neat as I’d
like to see. Connections and continuity
seem fine, but there are gaps here and
there. This doesn’t seem to affect the
sound or noise, though. [Editor’s note:
Pedulla reports that since this bass was
made, they have made changes with
regard to both the seating of the nut
and the shielding process.]
The custom Bartolini NTMB circuit is
installed in an interesting fashion,
forgoing external gain control for the
switched midrange circuit for user
presets with trim pots on the inside. I
thought it was weird at first, but it
makes things simpler for the driver
when working on the fly. Less stuff
adds to less confusion and quicker
adjustments. I’ve never liked the EQ
points on the NTMB for the treble pot,
though. In my opinion, it’s too high for
a useful adjustment in the mix. Your
mileage may vary, though.
Regardless of my nit picking, I really
love this bass. It reminds me of a Jazz
Bass, with its midrange punch and
sturdy but clean tone. Every note rings
as it should and is balanced across the
bass. There are no real idiosyncrasies
one has to put up with or play around.
Pull it out of the case and start making
money with it.
Setup factors are easy to address and
require no weird hoops to jump
through. The dual acting truss rod
works well; the Hipshot bridge is
perfect. The bolt-on maple neck adds
to that classic J-Bass sound. It’s great
to look at, and nobody will throw you
out the door when you pull this out on
any gig. This is not an ornament, it’s
made to be played and traveled with
and used as a tool night after night
without complaint.
PedullaNuance5-String
Phil Maneri’s
BASS LAB
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Ampeg SVT-7Pro Bass Head andPN-410HLF Bass Cab
By Tom Bowlus
Let’s rewind the clock a bit to the 2010
Winter NAMM Show. In the midst of
the introduction of the new (at the
time) USA-built Heritage line and the
first ever neodymium-based
enclosures from Ampeg (the Pro Neo
line), Ampeg also doled out two
“new” bass heads: the SVT-8Pro (a
monstrously powerful class-D head
which saw limited production before
the Loud Technologies acquisition,
and was now being re-introduced as a
Korean-built unit) and the SVT-7Pro
(a “little brother” of sorts to the 8Pro).
The Heritage and Pro Neo line
attracted most of the attention (and
between the two of them, earned
Ampeg a Bass Gear MagazineBest of
Show Award), and very little fanfare
was given to either the 8Pro or the
7Pro.
I will admit that I was a bit
preoccupied by some of Ampeg’s
other offerings that year, myself, but I
do recall liking what I heard of the
7Pro and thinking that it had a great
feature set. We had decided early on
that we wanted to review the PN-
410HLF, and the more we thought
about it, the more we felt that the SVT-
7Pro would make a good match. Not
only did this turn out to be a great
pairing, but the 7Pro definitely
impressed in its own right.
The King of Class-D Amps?
Ampeg is probably most commonly
thought of for its iconic all-tube amps
– the mighty SVT, the tone-machine
B-15, and the “just right” V-4B. But
Ampeg also made a name for itself in
the world of solid state output sections,
with the SVT-3Pro and 4Pro standing
out as milestones. The SVT-8Pro is an
engineering masterpiece, and one of
the most impressive class-D heads I
have played. But being “full-sized”
(filling two rack spaces) and fairly
expensive (North of $2,000), it doesn’t
really fit into the trendy “micro head”
market (downsized heads using class-
D output sections and switch-mode
power supplies, and typically coming
in at well under $1,000). The Micro-
VR fits some of these criteria, but
wasn’t really designed to compete in
this market, either. The newer PF-350
and PF-500 heads, however, certainly
do position themselves well within
this class, but it is the 7Pro which
seems ideally positioned to bring the
King of Amps into the crowded class-
D/SMPS market.
Granted, it’s bigger (4” by 15.6” by
11.5”) and heavier (15.5 lbs) than most
of the competition, but unless it’s
critical that you can fit your head into
the front zippered pocket of your gig
bag, the SVT-7Pro is certainly small
enough and light enough for most
players. It definitely feels like a
featherweight after hefting a forty-
pound SVT-4Pro, but when it comes
to features and performance, the 7Pro
is remarkably similar (on paper, at
least) to the 4Pro. The front panel
should be quite recognizable to most
players who have used the Ampeg
“Pro” heads, but might need some
explaining to the neophyte. The single
¼” input sits next to an LED indicator
that shows both clipping and mute
status. The Mute button and the
–15dB pad are next up, followed by
the (optical) Compressor, with its own
indicator LED, which shows when the
signal is over the threshold limit and
gain reduction is being applied. Next
up is the Gain control, which is typical
enough, but for those of you who have
not spend much time gigging Ampeg
heads, it’s worth noting that there are
lots of great tones to be found with this
knob turned up well past noon.
The Ultra Lo and Ultra Hi switches
also warrant more than a cursory look.
25bassgear
Leaving them disengaged allows the
SVT-7Pro to dish out warm,
somewhat mid-forward, vintage
Ampeg tone with ease. Engaging the
Ultra Hi introduces a 9dB boost at
8kHz, which is actually not so “ultra
high” as to add more noise than
musical content (which some high
frequency boosting circuits can do).
Ultra Lo does introduce a slight low
frequency boost (2dB at 40Hz), but
more noticeably, it also makes a
healthy 10dB cut at 500Hz. This
control is a real game-changer. The
Bass and Treble controls are fairly
straightforward, allowing +/- 12dB at
40Hz and +15/-20dB at 4kHz,
respectively. The Midrange control
takes a different approach. You can
boost up to 10dB or cut up to 20dB at
one of five different frequency centers:
220Hz, 450Hz, 800Hz, 1.6kHz, or
3kHz. All told, these controls add up to
one very flexible EQ section. The
front panel is rounded out by the FX
Mix (serial effects loop blend control),
the Master volume control, ¼”
headphone out (which mutes the
output section when plugged in), the
power switch and power-on indicator
LED.
The back panel of the 7Pro shows off
some of its additional features: ¼”
outputs are provided for tuner out,
effects send and return, preamp out
and power amp in, and footswitch
control for both the Mute function and
effects loop in/out. A pair of RCA
inputs (“Aux In”) allow you to play a
portable music device through the
head (or just through the headphones)
concurrent with the instrument input.
This is a great feature for playing along
and learning new songs, or just using
your 7Pro (and an attached speaker) to
crank out some jams! The full-
featured, transformer balanced DI is
tube-driven, and has all the controls
you would want (pre/post EQ, -40dB
pad, and ground lift). The pair of
Neutrik connectors accept both
SpeakonTM and ¼” cables, which is
quite nice. A voltage selector switch,
cooling fan, and IEC power input
receptacle complete the package.
How Does it Stack Up?
As previously mentioned, on paper,
the 7Pro appears to line up well with
the 4Pro, so I decided that a head-to-
head comparison was in order. But
why stop there? I also had an 8Pro and
a PF-500 on hand, so they were able to
join in the fun. The first thing that I
noticed was that these two heads
sound a lot alike (as would be
expected). The 7Pro was not quite as
warm sounding as the 4Pro, but more
defined. They both had a similar
“burp” and “purr” to them, when
coaxed. At the same Gain/Master
settings, the 7Pro sounded much
louder than the 4Pro (it is worth noting
that I was only driving a single 4-ohm
4x10 for these comparisons), but I was
able to crank the Gain on the 4Pro all
the way up (even with no
compression) without things getting
too nasty. The same could not be said
for the 7Pro, which seemed to get into
the unusable range of saturation if you
cranked the Gain beyond about 3
o’clock (without compression). I also
noticed that as you turned the Gain up
on both heads, audible preamp tube
overdrive came on much earlier with
the 7Pro. These differences could be
the result of different tapers on the
Gain pots, or possibly even variation
among preamp tubes. Overall, the
4Pro seemed to offer a broader range
of useable grit and grind.
While the optical compressors used on
both heads appear to
be quite similar, I
again noticed
differing behavior
throughout the travel
of the knob. On the
4Pro, there is not
very much audible
difference in the first
half of the travel, but the second half
makes up for it, and you can dial in
anything from a subtle taming to
brutal squashing. Conversely, the
compressor on the 7Pro seems to do
more early on as you begin to turn it
up, but squashes the signal less at the
highest settings.
Having basically the same tone
controls on hand (not counting the 9-
band graphic EQ on the 4Pro), you
can dial in a similar range of tones on
both heads. But whereas engaging the
Ultra Hi/Lo on the 4Pro almost gave
me the impression that it was fighting
its basic character, the 7Pro seemed
more at home with the transformation
(and it is a major tonal shift on both
heads when you engage these controls
26 bassgear
simultaneously). Adding both Ultras is
like flipping a “vintage/modern”
switch, though of course, you do have
to EQ a bit in either setting (I found
myself backing off on the Bass knob
on both units when I engaged Ultra
Lo). Hitting the Ultra Lo, but leaving
the Ultra Hi off, brought the 7Pro
fairly close to the tone of my Markbass
LMII (though a “1/2 Ultra Lo” switch
probably would have hit the nail closer
to on the head). After playing around
with the 7Pro in “modern tone mode,”
at first it sounded a bit mid-heavy and
“boxy” when I turned both Ultra Hi &
Lo off, but after a few minutes, it
sounds just right. In either “mode,” the
SVT-7Pro was very impressive,
making it a flexible option, indeed.
Bringing the 8Pro into the fray was
interesting. It does not have a
compressor knob, but does not seem
to need one (perhaps some fixed
compression going on?). The 8Pro is
the most harmonically rich of the
group (and packs the most preamp
tubes), and definitely allows for the
widest range of useable Gain settings.
Cutting some of the subsonics with the
Ultra Low (yes, Ampeg adds a “w” for
the 8Pro) set to position 2 (Sub Cut) let
me get even more drive without
farting out. The Power Reduction
feature on the 8Pro is supposed to
allow you to dial in some tones similar
to what you get from overdriving tube
output sections. It is highly useable
and very cool when the Gain is set
below noon, but it tends to be a bit
much when you are also dialing in
some drive from pushing the Gain
higher. The EQ section on the 8Pro
differs from that of the 4/7Pro in a
number of regards, and it seems to be
well suiting to really fine-tuning the
“vintage Ampeg” tone.
The PF-500 lifts its preamp section
largely from the 7Pro, but without the
12AX7. It seems to have a bit more
grit/grind at the same Gain/Master
settings as the 7Pro. The compressor
behaves very similar to that of the
7Pro, but seems to have less effect on
the amount of overdrive that you can
safely dial in. Tonally, it is very similar
to the 7Pro, though the 7Pro is
decidedly more full, smooth, and
warm, and the added power is very
apparent. The PF-500 sounds perhaps
a tad brighter, and has a touch more
hiss when you crank it up. Volume-
wise, the 4Pro, 7Pro, and 8Pro are all
capable of delivering massive output.
Each was able to drive my single 4x10
as hard as I would dare to push it. The
PF-500 is no slouch, but clearly not
able to keep up with its brethren.
The SVT-7Pro proved to be no less
impressive in a gigging environment. I
was able to play out with the 7Pro
using several different cab pairings,
and it did a great job each time. The
power and dynamics I heard at “the
shop” definitely translated to the gig. I
was also impressed by its ability to get
loud, without getting obnoxious.
Sometimes I find that a given head has
a very fine line between not being able
to hear myself and having the
guitarists jump down my throat for
being too loud.
With the 7Pro, I had
no problems in
either regard.
Pro Neo 410
Ampeg took their
time when deciding
to enter the
neodymium-based
enclosure market,
and this has both
advantages and
disadvantages. On
the plus side, they
definitely set out to
“do it right,” and
they did so with the
help of fellow Loud Technologies
company, EAW (who specializes in
manufacturing high-end professional
loudspeakers). The three Pro Neo
models (1x15, 2x10 and 4x10) are all
designed and manufactured in the
USA. The disadvantage of waiting to
enter this market would typically be
that your competitors who jumped in
27bassgear
ahead of you may be able to establish
themselves in the market first. This
can be overcome with quality
products from a strong brand name,
though. The real cost of this delayed
entry is that shortly after Ampeg
announces its first line of neodymium-
based enclosures, China hits the world
with the one-two punch of reducing
the amount of neodymium it will
allow to be exported, and increasing
the price on what it does let out of the
country. This issue is not unique to
Ampeg, though, and the long-term
impact on the market for neodymium-
based drivers remains to be seen. For
now, these cabs are still
available, and they are
quite good.
Construction is top-
notch, and the Pro Neo
cabs have a spray-on
“bedliner” style coating
which seems to be fairly
durable and is certainly
quite attractive. Overall
weight is fairly
reasonable 64 lbs.
Undoubtedly, Ampeg
could have made this cab
lighter, but it is clear that
they wanted a sturdy,
gig-worthy enclosure,
and the PN-410HLF
does seem to be built for
the rigors of the road.
After comparing the PN-
410HLF to a number of
different 4x10’s, it really
struck me as a great
blend of the big, round,
meaty SVT-410HLF and
some of the more
bright/clear/articulate
neo 4x10 competition.
Compared to an Epifani UL-410
(early Series 2), the PN-410HLF is
more warm, full and balanced, while
the Epifani is bigger/deeper, and also
more bright. The TC Electronic
RS410 is a closer comparison, but the
Pro Neo is a tad more refined, with
more clarity and separation down low,
and more high end content. It is not
quite as loud as the RS410, but the
PN-410HLF is more controlled, and
more balanced. The neo-based
Bergantino AE410 made for an
interesting comparison. The Pro Neo
is more full, round, and warm, but not
as scalpel-precise as the AE410. The
AE410 is not only brighter, but also
seems to maintain usable output
deeper than the PN. The ceramic-
based Bergantino HS410 was an even
closer comparison than the AE410,
with the HS410 being more precise
and the Pro Neo having a touch more
natural “growl.” Overall, though,
these two cabs had strong similarities.
On the whole, I would call the PN-
410HLF fairly dry & tight, but still full
sounding; a hint of warmth, but still
quite clear. It’s not easy to hit that
particular compromise and do it well,
but the PN-410 certainly does just that.
Much like the SVT-7Pro, the PN-
28 bassgear
410HLF is well-rounded and
versatile, and capable of delivering the
goods whether you strive for a vintage
vibe or more modern tones.
The Bottom Line
I am once again impressed with what
Loud Technologies has done with the
Ampeg brand. We discussed
Ampeg’s past glory and future
direction in greater detail back in issue
#4, so I won’t rehash too much of it,
here. But when you consider that
Ampeg was the brand that people
probably used the most often to
demonstrate the advantages of
smaller, lighter-weight rigs, to see
Loud not only enter both the class-
D/SMPS head and neodymium cab
markets, but to do so with products
that perform at the upper range of both
markets is very impressive. The SVT-
7Pro has substantial output, sports an
EQ that is both powerful and
understandable, boasts a great feature
set, and does it all in a relatively
lightweight, sturdy package. The PN-
410HLF is designed and built in the
USA, blends the best tonal attributes
of vintage and modern cabs, and also
does it all in a relatively lightweight,
sturdy package.
It would be easy for these two
products to get lost in the shadows of
Ampeg’s more iconic products. But
they are both so darned competent,
the SVT-7Pro and the PN-410HLF
are each going to turn a lot of heads
(and ears).
Much like the SVT-7Pro,the PN-410HLF is well-roundedand versatile, and capable ofdelivering the goods whetheryou strive for a vintage vibe or
more modern tones.
29bassgear
On-Bench Score4.06 average
In-Hand Score4.00 average
bass
geartest
on-bench in-hand
TEST SUMMARY1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
CERTIFIED POWER
Internal Parts 4External Parts 4Overall Assembly 5Output Power Rating 3.5Ease of Repair 4Instructions/Manual 4Quality Per Price 4.5Layout/Cooling 3.5
4 ohms763 watts
8 ohms457 watts
Features: 4Tonal Flexibility: 4Ease of Use: 4Aesthetics: 4Tone: 4Value: 4
AmpegSVT-7ProBass Head
GENERAL
Company: Loud Technologies, Inc.16220 Wood-Red Road NEWoodinville, WA 98072www.ampeg.com
Country of Origin: ChinaYear of Origin: 2011Warranty: 5 years (90 days, tubes), non-transferableList Price: $999.99Approx. Street Price: $799.99Test Unit Options: NoneAccessories: NonePrice as Tested: $799.99Available Colors: BlackAvailable Options: Rack ears (standard)Acquired From: Loud TechnologiesDates: January 2011 through June 2011Locales: OhioTest Gear (in-hand review): ’73 Fender Jazz, F Bass BN5, Alleva-Copollo LG4
Classic, MTD 535, various Ampeg heads, Markbass LMII, numerous competing 4x10’s.
ENCLOSURE
Material: Steel chassis, Aluminum faceplateDimensions: 15.25" W x 4" H (w/feet) x 11.5 in D (w/feet)
No Rack EarsWeight: 14.8 lbs
PREAMP
Inputs: 1 x 1/4”Mode: Tube/Solid State HybridTubes: 1 x 12AX7Input Impedance: 885 Kohms, 200 Hz, 400 mVrms SinEQ Type/Features: Bass (Low Shelf), Midrange (Bandpass 5
position selectable), Treble (High Shelf), Ultra Hi Switch; Ultra Low Switch
Compressor/Limiter: Compressor, User adjustable from front panelDI Output: Balanced, Tube Direct Out;Ground lift; line
level/mic level (-40 dB pad); Pre/Post EQ switch
Effects Loop: Yes, Series, UnbalancedAdditional Features: Headphone jack, Mute and -15 dB pad, all on
front panel, Dual RCA auxilary input jacks on back; Preamp out/Power amp In; Footswitchfor Mute and FX
POWER AMP
Mode: Class-DTubes: N/AOutputs: 2 x Neutrik Speakon & 1/4” TS comboImpedance Options: 4, 8Power Supply/Transformer: switch-modeCooling System: fanLine Voltage Options: 100-120 / 200-240 V user selectable
MEASUREMENTS
Freq Resp – Pre & Power Amp:Full Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 20Hz - 20kHz +/-10 dB Limited Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 80Hz – 8kHz +/- 4.6dBLimited Bandwidth (optimally flat): 80Hz – 8kHz +/- 1.6dB
8-ohm 4-ohmPower: 457 watts 763 wattsBurst: 483 watts 914 wattsTHD (at Max Power): 5% THD+N filtered 20 hz-20 kHzInput Signal: 1kHz
TONE-O-METER
Sonic Profile:Lows: Powerful; warm when you want itMids: Naturally full and mid-forward, but capable of clean, quick modern toneHighs: Quite flexible; can get grindy without becoming harsh
The SVT-7Pro is extremely loud andpowerful, and capable of a broad range ofuseable tones, from “vintage Ampeg” toclean, quick modern tones. Nice range ofgrit/grind/drive on tap, if you want it.
AmpegSVT-7ProBass Head
AMP LAB
Tom Lees’
I am sure that all of you tech heads out
there are familiar with “Moore’s
Law.” For the unfamiliar, Moore’s
law describes a trend in the computer
industry where the number of
transistors that can be placed
inexpensively on an integrated circuit
doubles every two years
(approximately). As a nugget for you
history fans, Moore’s law was coined
around 1970 by a Caltech
professor, Carver Mead,
and is named after Gordon
Moore, an Intel co-founder
who described this trend in
a paper in 1965. A lesser-
known fact is that there are many
other similar laws. Wirth’s law is the
law of bloat. That is, successive
generations of computer software
acquire enough bloat to offset the
performance gains predicted by
Moore’s law (sorry, software guys). I
could go on with other lesser-known
laws, but the law I want to focus on
today is what I am coining the
“Hughes-Cox Law,” which is a multi-
dimensional trend of SVT
awesomeness over time.
Internal Construction
The SVT-7Pro test amplifier was
possibly one of the easiest amps to
Fig. B
Fig. A31bass
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disassemble that I have had on the
bench. Moreover, the internal
construction is masterfully done. A
quick glance at the internals (Fig. A)
clearly demonstrates that this amp line
has steadily evolved since the inception
of the SVT brand. The layout features a
preamp section that is nicely shielded
from the power supply and power amp
sections. A daughter card hosts the back
panel jacks. The preamp section hosts a
nice blend of tube circuitry, holding a
single 12AX7 tube, a Vactrol-based
(optocoupler) analog compressor
circuit, surface-mount components and nice, panel-mount
potentiometers that feel smooth when turning (Fig. B). The main
circuit board hosts the class-D output section and power supply.
The result is a layout with minimal wire runs and a neat, intuitive
organization.
Understanding the Amp
Referring to Fig. C, the SVT-7Pro includes a single input jack,
and a switch for engaging a 15dB pad. From the input, the signal
is split into two paths. A first path couples to a buffered tuner
output. A second path couples to the input of the first tube stage.
The output of the first tube stage couples to a mute circuit. As
such, muting will not affect the tuner output. After the mute
circuit, the signal passes through the compressor circuit. The
compressor circuit utilizes a Vactrol for the gain control cell. The
output of the compressor couples to a second tube stage for gain
recovery. The output of the second tube stage feeds the Gain
control, as well as the tone stack. Accordingly, the compressor
Fig. C
Fig. D
Fig. E
Fig. F
32 bassgear
should be thought of as appearing first in the chain of
processing. The Gain and tone controls follow the compressor
circuit. A compression control is provided to set the amount of
signal compression, from no compression (fully
counterclockwise) to 10:1 compression at the fully clockwise
position. A threshold light illuminates to tell you when the signal
has crossed the compression threshold.
The signal is processed by the Gain control and tone controls
(Bass, Mid, Treble, Ultra Hi, Ultra Lo) in the same block. From
the tone controls, the signal is passed to the effects loop. As such,
the effects loop will always process the equalized, gain-adjusted
and compressed (when used) tone. The signal from the effects
loop feeds the Master control to the Preamp Out/Power Amp In
controls. The Power Amp In feeds the class-D power amplifier
section. The DI offers two options. The DI can take a pre-EQ
signal, which is tapped before the compressor but after the first
tube stage. As an alternative, the user can select post, which is
taken right after the effects loop.
The Tone Stack
There are a lot of options with this tone stack, so let’s just jump
in. With the Ultra Hi and Ultra Lo switches disengaged, and all
controls set to noon, the full range 20Hz-20kHz frequency
response shows a familiar mid scoop, slight bass emphasis and
gentle treble roll off (Fig. D) with an overall deviation of +/-
10dB. Subjecting the amp to our “optimally flat” passband test
of 80Hz to 8kHz, yielded an optimally flat response of +/-
Fig. G
Fig. H
Fig. IFig. J33bass
gear
1.6dB, compared to the “all controls at noon” response of +/-
4.6dB (Fig. E). For both measurements, Ultra Hi was switched
on, and Ultra Lo was off. For the optimally flat response in this
passband, set the tone controls as illustrated in Fig. F.
To see the effect of the Ultra Hi and Ultra Lo switches, we
compared the full-range, all controls at noon, setting with both
switches engaged, compared to both switches disengaged (Fig.
G). The Ultra Hi is capable of adding 15dB of treble boost
centered around 6 kHz. However, the natural low-pass filtering
of the tone circuit keeps this high frequency boost behaving
more like a bell curve than a high shelf, which keeps hiss under
control.
The Bass sweep is illustrated in Fig. H. The Mid sweep is broken
down into two charts, where positions 1, 3 and 5 on the midrange
dial are shown in Fig. I, midrange sweeps 2 and 4 on the
midrange dial are shown in Fig. J and the Treble sweep is shown
in Fig. K.
Output Power
On the bench, the SVT-7Pro tested well. At 8 ohms, we
measured 457 watts continuous, with bursts reaching 483 watts.
At 4 ohms, we measured 763 watts continuous, with burst
reaching 914 watts. All tests at 5% THD+N, filtered 20Hz-
20kHz. The amplifier consistently output just shy of 48dB gain
and a linear response in view of varying level (Fig. L). The
amplifier burst response is shown in Fig. M. In this test, we
deliberately push the amp into limiting, and this result shows the
signal gracefully entering and exiting the limiter.
Conclusion
To challenge the Hughes-Cox Law, I looked back to our 1974
Ampeg SVT, reviewed in issue #4. If our math is correct, our test
SVT7-pro sees an 83% reduction in weight, a 92% reduction in
tube count, and a 185% increase in output power, compared to
our ’74 SVT. The tests suggest that this amp performs like you
would expect an SVT to perform. Yep, the SVT is alive and
trending well. Now go forth and make music, no back brace
required.Fig. M
Fig. L
Fig. K
34 bassgear
On-BenchScore4.07 average
In-Hand Score4.00 average
on-bench in-hand
TEST SUMMARY1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
Enclosure
Configuration: 4x10Listed Impedance: 8 ohmsRated Power Handling: 850 wattsInputs/Outputs: Two Speakon (and Two 1/4")Dimensions: 26.5"h x 22.8"w x 17.5"dWeight: 64 lbsPorts: Slot-ported (front)Covering: Spray-onBaffle Board: 18mm Baltic birch plywoodCabinet: 15mm Baltic birch plywoodGrill: MetalHandles: Two (side-mounted)Feet: Four, rubberCasters: Yes, removableCorners: NoneDriver Mounting: 4 bolts (w/ T-nuts)
Drivers/Crossover
Woofers: Proprietary Eminence 10", stamped-frameCone Material: PaperVoice Coil: 2”Magnets: Neodymium (4 oz.)Tweeter: Eminence APT:50 Super TweeterAdjustment: L-pad attenuatorProtection: Light bulbs (two)Speaker Connections: FastonCrossover: N/AOptions: None
Measurements
Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 101.05 dBSPL
General
Company: Loud Technologies, Inc.16220 Wood-Red Road NEWoodinville, WA 98072www.ampeg.com
Country of Origin: USAYear of Origin: 2011Warranty: 2 years, non-transferableList Price: $1,539.99Street Price: $1,099.99Test Unit Options: NoneAccessories: NonePrice as Tested: $1,099.99Available Colors: BlackAvailable Options: None
Acquired from: Loud TechnologiesDates: January 2011 through June 2011Locales: OhioTest Gear (in-hand review): ’73 Fender Jazz, F Bass BN5, Alleva-
Copollo LG4 Classic, MTD 535, various Ampeg heads, Markbass LMII, numerous competing 4x10’s.
Sonic Profile:Lows: Plenty deep and full, but very controlledMids: Fairly dry and tight, but still full; capable of some growlHighs: Decent high frequency extension and clarity, but not overly bright
Portability 4Road Worthiness 4Components 4Hardware 4Cabinet Construction 4Wiring 4Cover/Finish 4.5
The PN-410HLF blends a variety of desirabletraits, such as full yet controlled lows, warmyet clear mids, and decent, though notexcessive, high end extension. It’s not thelightest neodymium-based 4x10 out there,but is probably one of the sturdiest.
Features: 3.5Tonal Flexibility: 4Ease of Use: 4Aesthetics: 4Tone: 4.5Value: 4
TONE-O-METER
bas
sgea
rtest
Ampeg
PN-410HLF
Bass Cabinet
Impedance Curve On and Off Axis (15, 30, 45) Frequency Response
CAB LAB
Tom Bowlus’
AmpegPN-410HLF
Bass CabinetDesigning a good “neo cab” is a good bitlike designing a good “bass cab.” In fact,these two level of efforts should beidentical. However, when a number of“neo cabs” hit the market, it appears thatthe “design” process involved nothingmore than throwing some neodymium-based drivers with similar specs into anexisting (ceramic driver-based) enclosuredesign. Sometimes, this yieldedsurprisingly good results. Other attemptswere not as fruitful. Ampeg took theirtime in bringing neodymium-basedenclosures to the market, but looking atthe Pro Neo line of cabs, it is abundantlyclear that they did their homework andthat they designed these enclosures fromthe ground up to be pro-level bass cabs(which just happen to use drivers withneodymium magnets).
From a technical perspective, there’s lotsto like about these cabs. The overallconstruction has a “heavy duty” feel about
it. The sturdy, slot-perforated metal grill isheld in place by tenscrews. Each driver isheld in place by fourbolts (though there areholes in the speakerframes for eight). WhileI am happy to see bolts
secured with T-nuts (wood screws cansometimes lose their grip if you have topull or replace drivers more than a fewtimes), I’d like to see more than four perdriver. Case in point, one of the driversonly had three bolts installed, and one ofthe three looks like it stripped some of thewood when seating the T-nut (see photo).I will note, however, that this particularcabinet was the demo unit, so productionrun PN-410HLF’s are likely just fine inthis regard. The horn was also held inplace with bolts & T-nuts – very nice.
The sprayed-on coating has a moderateamount of texture, but is not as coarse assome of these “bedliner” finishes can feel.I like it.
The lack of corners does give it a certainstylish look, but I wonder if addingcorners (say, small black metal ones)might enhance roadworthiness if you aregigging out a lot. Pulling one driverrevealed cross bracing both front-to-backas well as side-to-side, and fair amount ofacoustic insulation. Wiring runs wereneat, color-coded, and appeared to use atleast 18 gauge wire.
The frequency response was verybalanced from 100Hz to 800Hz, with aslight bump around 1kHz, and a biggerpeak around 3-4kHz, with acorresponding dip in between. Off-axisperformance was not far off the mark at15 degrees (1m out), but once you gotmore than 15 degrees off axis, resultsvaried quite a bit (which is not unusual fora 4x10).
The PN-410HLF is a pro touring qualityenclosure which takes advantage of thestrong performance and lighter weightoffered by neodymium drivers, but makesno compromises when it comes todurability or tone.
bassgear
TEST!
TEST!
By Vic Serbe
The Company Line
The Yamaha Corporation in Japan(though originally known as “NipponGakki Co. Ltd.”) was founded in 1887by Torakusu Yamaha, and was in thereed organ business. Since then, thecompany has diversified into a verylarge number of wide-rangingmarkets, from semiconductors tohome appliances, but the only onewe’re interested in here is theirmusical instruments, so we’ll stick tothat. The company set out to lead the
market in product and service quality,and has built a reputation for makinginstruments that are at the “best ofbreed” level. I’ve personally spoken topeople who play their horns, pianos,guitars, etc, and the common thread inall those conversations is quality andattention to detail. This is a trendfirmly entrenched in the company andremains strong even today, nearly 125years later. That’s something to bragabout.
Yamaha Corporation of America(YCA) was established in 1960,
though it was known as “YamahaInternational Corporation” at the time.It is the largest of all the subsidiariescurrently owned by YamahaCorporation in Japan, and is what theirmusical instrument business callshome.
Now fast forward to the late 1970’s,when the original BB series came out.Early models, such as the BB1200 (afour-string bass with a singlePrecision-style pickup), and BB2000(a four-string bass with a Precision-style neck pickup and a Jazz-stylebridge pickup) came out and becamevery popular very quickly. They wereaffordable, very high quality, andlooked great. These days, those arevintage instruments, but they’re stillvery popular with working bassistseven today... even sought-after.
Yamaha recognized the endurance ofthis popular model, and decided to dosomething very special. The goal wasto make a brand new instrument,benefitting from modern technology,but also benefitting from the pleasantcharacteristics typically associatedwith an instrument that’s been arounda long time, where the wood haschanged in some favorable ways from
38 bassgear
a tonal standpoint. This is what theydid with the BB2000 “x” line(2024x/2025x). How? Read on. It’svery interesting, and I don’t know ofanybody else doing what they are.
How Did They Do That?
As I mentioned before, this bass wasthe culmination of a special effort bymany experts at Yamaha ArtistServices Hollywood (YASH). It wasmade by Yamaha Music Craft(YMC), a special facility in theHamamatsu Japan headquarterslocation, but it was researched,designed, and prototyped at YASH.YASH is where artist relations arehandled of course, but it’s also asophisticated research anddevelopment center which they use astheir custom shop, since the twonaturally go together. What you getback from the pros in the field shouldtrickle back to production, if you wantto pursue a constant endeavor to makethe best instruments available.
First, let’s talk about the tech. Yamahawanted this bass to sound as if thewood was old... very old. To emulatethe passage of time, Yamaha employsa technology called AcousticResonance Enhancement (A.R.E.).Basically, it’s a carefully controlledenvironmentally friendly (chemicalfree) curing process using temperatureand humidity. They claim this processliterally manipulates the molecularcharacteristics of the wood to besimilar to the wood of an instrument
that’s been played for years. They’revery proud of the results of thisprocess, and even include acousticspectral graphs in the product literatureto show “with” and “without” shots toprove results. Going by those graphs,the results don’t seem like night andday, but they appear to be real, and atleast somewhat significant.
So if they’re using A.R.E forresonance, what are they using forattack? They use Initial ResponseAcceleration (I.R.A.). This is a processwhere they apply specific vibrations tothe finished instruments. The idea isagain to emulate years of playing.Their theory is, guitars literally adaptto a style of playing, based on thevibrations associated with that style.They feel there is literally stressbetween all the woods, nut, bridge,
and even the finish, and that stressmust be released to make aninstrument respond more accuratelyand even “adapt” to different playingstyles more rapidly. They also includegraphs to show “with” and “without”cases, and they appear to show visibleresults.
I have to admit, when I first read aboutthese technologies, I was seeingpictures of snake oil jars in the back ofmy mind. But at least from atheoretical standpoint, I think whatthey’re trying to achieve – and why –seems to make some sense. I guess theproof will just have to be in thepudding when people play thesebasses and see if they noticesignificant improvements in these twoareas.
with two thick mahogany stringers.One thing that’s new here vs. the olderBB’s is the neck pocket is 5mmdeeper than it used to be. This is alsoto improve tone. The fingerboard isrosewood, with mother of pearl ovalinlays (with a modified oval at the12th fret), classic to the BB heritageand very attractive. The fingerboardradius is huge at 23 5/8”, which prettymuch feels flat to me. The nut issomewhat unique in that it’s made ofnickel and silver. This is the samematerial the frets are made of. Similarto an instrument employing a “zerofret,” this is to improve tonalconsistency between a fretted note andan open note. I have to also commenton how tight the neck pocket is on this
bass. It’s a superb fit, and I’m a firmbeliever this also improves tone. Thetruss rod is also easily accessible at thebase of the neck from the front of theinstrument via front route.
They employ a string tree for the 2nd,3rd, and 4th strings, to improve down-force on the nut and keep the breakangle pretty much the same as the 1st
and 5th strings. Their “Vintage Plus”bridge is a dual-path model, whereyou can anchor the strings right at thebridge, or you can string through thebridge and use their “diagonal bodythru stringing” feature. This feature isnew for this model. They cite thatthrough-body stringing is good in thatit increases down-force at the saddles,but most through-body methods passthrough the body perpendicular to thesurface, which is too sharp of a turn forthe strings. They feel that by reducingthis angle, you still get all the benefitsof better vibration transmission, butwithout as much stress on the stringwindings. Just note that if you dostring through the body, you will needto get extra long strings. The bridgeplate is steel, but the saddles are brass.The bridge saddles also have an anglecut to them, which is intended toprovide a more specific fulcrum pointfor the string as compared to a typicalfull round barrel shape. The machinesare pretty classically designed, andwork well. Similarly, the strap buttonsaren’t locks, but they’re oversized andhold the strap firmly and safely.
What about the “electronics?” Thepickups are where they put a lot ofstock in the sound of the instrument,both being designed by YASH andbased on a lot of feedback fromworking pros. The neck pickup is aseries-wired P-style pickup, usingAlnico-V magnets. This is supposedto enhance the deep tones. The bridgepickup is sort of a J-style pickup andemploys a ceramic magnet, which issupposed to deliver better punch. Each
These basses feature some otherinteresting general constructionfeatures. The body is mostly alder, andlooks as if it’s three pieces (if you havea finish where you can see the grain, atleast), but it’s really five pieces. Thereare two hard maple splines joining thewings to the center block. Ironically,the goal of this approach is to improveresonance, which they say is morecharacteristic of a one-piece body.Otherwise, it’s a classically shaped BBbody, with an offset double cutaway,and some nice body contouring to becomfortable against your body andforearm.
They use four bolts to secure the five-piece neck, which is mostly maple, but
40 bassgear
pickup has its own chrome bezel, andadjusts very freely and easily. Bothpickups are wired to a three-positionpickup selector, then on to a mastervolume and master tone control. Allthree of the controls are mounted on ametal control plate that joins the plasticpickguard surrounding the neckpickup and extending into the lowerhorn. Pretty straightforward... that’srock and roll for ya.
At the Gig
This thing is alive, and it’s angry.Notes just jump off this bass and out ofyour amp. Even though the pickupsare generally kind of like a P and Jpickup, they’re really quite differentthan a typical Fender would soundwith their flavors of those pickups.These aren’t quite as bright and crispat the high end, but are particularly bigand full in the lows and mids, and havea lot of mid grunt. Especially for bluesand rock, this bass rules the roost. Ithas a particularly smooth high end.Even playing with a pick, I didn’t findmyself hitting the tone control as hardas other basses. The BB2025x soundsjust like all the BB basses you’veheard before and loved on SO manytracks, but it’s been perfected to addextra life and tonal consistency toevery note over the originals. I have noscientific way to specifically lock whatI’m hearing to their A.R.E and I.R.A.
technologies, but I’m compelled to sayI believe they work. This bass feelsand sounds significantly better to methan any other BB I’ve ever played,and at least from an attack andresonance standpoint, on par with thebest stuff on the market. This is only asubjective review, but I’m going to call“success.”
The neck profile is super comfortable,and even though I generally prefer afingerboard with a smaller radius, Ifound this bass to be particularly easyto play. The action could be set as lowas anyone could stand it and still not“gank out” in any particular zone. Inshort, the fret level was great. Iparticularly loved the neck pickupsolo’d with the tone wide open. Thebridge pickup was nice and biting, butI found myself reaching for the tonecontrol to warm it up and fatten it up.But when I did that, it bit very nicelywithout sounding too thin. However,this brings me to my first niggle withthis bass. With a pickup selectorswitch, you have no blending abilities.I realize a switch eliminates pickupinteraction (loading) present with dualvolumes or even a blend control, but Istill prefer that over a switch, forflexibility. I’m guessing they wentwith the switch for that tonal reason,but maybe also to simply be a veryfaithful reiteration of an original. But
on a gig, I’d still prefer to haveblending. In the case of fattening upthe bridge pickup without blending,you can use a passive tone control forsome of that, but if you do, you alsolose the high end, which could bebothersome. I guess as long as I’mnitpicking, I’ll mention the buzz/hum.With the bridge pickup being a singlecoil, unless you’re soloing the neckpickup, you get hum. How loud it is ofcourse depends on venue, so it won’talways be a bother, but in any “P/J”configuration, I prefer a hum-canceling bridge pickup. Nigglesaside, this bass is exactly whatYamaha intended it to be, and any BBfan out there would be in heaven. It’svery clear Yamaha took everycomponent into consideration whenthey were looking for ways to perfectthe original design.
The Bottom Line
For a “P/J” style bass, it’s hard toimagine anything playing, feeling, orsounding much better than this. It’sgutsy, growly, and the notes ring outpure and true. It’s simply a superbinstrument in many ways, and the bestexample I can possibly imagine of aBB bass with this configuration. Thatsaid, I do wish it was either volume-blend or volume-volume, rather thanhaving the pickup switch, and I dowish they could have designed a hum-canceling J-style pickup to reducenoise. I understand both were tonalchoices, but they do have practicaldrawbacks which I experienced. I alsounderstand they’ve employed someexpensive processes to achieve theirambitious tonal goals, which I feelthey did achieve. Sitting at the top ofthe BB lineup, the BB2025x may notfit within every player’s budget.Fortunately, Yamaha offers a wholefleet of BB’s, covering multiple priceranges, and they are all worthchecking out.
41bassgear
in-hand on-bench
TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
CONFIGURATION
Strings: 5Style: Double cutaway, offsetOverall length: 45.5”Body Dimensions: 14”W x 20”LBody Contouring: Belly and forearm contours, rounded edgesWeight: 9.7 lbs
NECK
Scale length: 34”Neck width at nut: 1.7”Neck width at 12th fret: 2.52”Neck width at joint: 2.686”Neck thickness at nut: .972”Neck thickness at 1st fret: .853”Neck thickness at 12th fret: .962”Neck thickness at joint: 1.043”String spacing at nut: .354”String spacing at saddle: .725”Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: 23 5/8”, wide C shapePeghead break angle: 10 degBridge break angle: 50degAfterlength at nut: 1.9” to 7.2”Afterlength at saddle: 2.25” through bodyAttachment: Bolt-onPocket gap: NoneTruss rod type/access: Single-acting single compression rod at body endFret count: 21Fretwire: 90x40
ELECTRONICS
Pickups: Split-coil (alnico V) and single-blade (ceramic)Pickup location(s): 2.46” and 5.6” from bridgeElectronics: N/AControls: 3P selector switch, master volume, master toneShielding: PaintPreamp Circuit Voltage: N/A
CONSTRUCTION
Body woods: Alder, with hard maple insertsNeck woods: Maple and mahoganyFretboard: RosewoodBody finish: GlossNeck finish: Satin
HARDWARE
Strings: NickelGauge: .045, .065, .085, .105, .125Attachment: At bridge or through bodyBridge/color: Brass saddle, steel plate, chrome finishNut: Nickel/silverTuners/color: Yamaha, chromeKnobs/color: Yamaha, metal, chromePickguard: Black-white-blackControl cavity cover: Chrome control plate
SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Rich and big, but controlled and clear, not muddyMids: Punchy and growly, lots of dynamics and gruntHighs: Warm and smooth, strong vintage character
GENERAL
Company: Yamaha Corporation of America6600 Orangethorpe Ave.Buena Park, CA 90620USAhttp://www.yamaha.com
Country of origin: JapanWarranty: 1 year parts and laborList price: $4,599Street price: $2,799Options: NoneAccessories: Yamaha guitar cord, rectangular hard caseAvailable colors: Natural, Black, and Vintage Sunburst
Acquired from: Yamaha Artist Services Hollywood (YASH)Dates: August 2010 through December 2010Locales: Illinois, OhioTest gear: Bergantino AE210, Epifani UL410, Gallien-Krueger Neo112-II,
Markbass F500, Carvin BX1500, Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion
Features: 3Tonal Flexibility: 3Ease of Use: 4.5Aesthetics: 3.5Ergonomics: 4Tone: 4.5Value: 3
Overall Construction 4Wood Choice 4Materials Choice 4Joinery 5Fretwork 4Fit and Finish of Adornments 4Quality of Finish Work 4.5Ease of Repair 4Potential Range of Setup 4Balance on Knee 3Balance on Strap 4Overall Electronic Quality 3Solder Joints, Wire Runs 4Clarity 4Noise 3Shielding 5Quality for Price Range 3
This bass is a rocker’s dream. Just listen toany track by Van Halen and you get thepicture. It’s simple and powerful, with afamiliar tone that’s been around for along time, and will likely continue.
In-Hand Score3.64 averageOn-Bench Score3.91 average
YamahaBB2025x
bas
sgea
rtest
TONE-O-METER
The Yamaha name shows up on all
kinds of things, from motorcycles to
musical instruments, including drums,
brass, woodwinds, pianos and even
bass guitars. With a broad spectrum
like that, you might expect their
products to be fairly generic, and in a
way, this electric bass is. Its
presentation looks like very
“Fenderesque,” with cues from
Fender, G&L, and Music Man, but
without really being any of those.
Yamaha has developed its own subtle
style cues over the years, including
thicker necks and pegheads, big
distinctive inlays, and larger-looking
body shapes than those they pay
homage to. As such, they strive to set
themselves apart from other
manufacturers. Under the hood, they
are more of the same.
This bass does lots of things right. It’s
very light for as big as it looks. The
sunburst finish is traditional and
gorgeous. The passive electronics use
Noble pots – a good and unusual
choice. The “strings through body”
drilling is on a bias from the bottom
edge rear corner that slightly
reduces the break angle
across the saddles. Usually,
we like as much break angle
as possible over the bridge,
but in some string-through
basses, the angle is so tight it ends up
in string breakage. Yamaha’s unique
approach, here, is a nice idea.
This pickup configuration has been
used in many basses, but the
Precision/Jazz pickup combo is
historically fraught with problems.
They suffer from a mismatch in
magnetism and polarity that creates
phasing issues and noise through
incomplete hum canceling. These
issues are present in this system, but
significantly reduced. In this bass,
these pickups sound decent together,
and very “Fender.” The instrument
contains a passive electronic system
with a selector switch, rather than a
blend and master volume (or
volume/volume) setup. Opting to
forgo a preamp at this price range is a
somewhat risky choice. The bridge
pickup is very good sounding,
although I kept wishing for a bass
knob when I was playing with it. The
P-bass pickup is average sounding by
itself, but with both pickups on, it
sounds better than I would expect for a
P/J coil mismatch.
The nickel/silver nut is an unusual
choice. Although it would in theory
help make the open notes sound more
similar to fretted notes, I have some
concerns about its longevity. Bone is a
longer-lasting alternative which also
sounds quite good. On this bass, the
nut was cut unusually low, so setting it
up for an aggressive player would
require a shim. That might be
acceptable on an under $1,000 bass,
but not so much at this price point.
The bass is well built overall, but
might be priced optimistically for the
level of manufacture. This is a very
competitive price range, and Yamaha
faces stiff competition from the likes
of the Music Man 5-string, Lakland
Skyline 5502, or the Sadowsky Metro.
Still, for a company that makes so
many different things, this is a pretty
solid bass.
YamahaBB2025x
Phil Maneri’s
BASS LAB
43bassgear
A Technical Look
at the Nitewalker
Bass Guitar
Tube Preamp
Fig. C
Fig. A
By Tom Lees
The Nightwalker Bass Guitar Tube Preamp is
intended to bring back the old school bass tones that
dominated the airwaves decades ago. All user
controls and jacks are conveniently located on the
front panel, which includes a single input and a pair
of outputs: one labeled “High Freq” and another
labeled “Low Freq/Mono.” Each of the outputs is
driven by a respective half of a single 12AX7 tube.
There is a volume control associated with the high
frequency output and a volume control associated
with the low frequency output. A switch roughly
centered between the volume controls and output
jacks is identified as a bi-amp switch. There is also
an overdrive switch and a footswitch input jack. All
in all, this is a set-and-forget style of preamp. You
will not waste a bunch of time trying to dial in your
sound. Plug in, turn up and groove.
Construction
The Nitewalker preamp is in a “brick” style
enclosure. The unit is not rack mountable, but the
housing is dimensioned so as to be easily placed on
top of an existing rig. Taking a look at Fig. A, all user
controls are panel mounted to the front panel and are
hand-wired to the circuit boards. A power cord and a
fuse extend from the back panel. The result is a clean
minimalist layout. A pair of circuit boards stand
mounted back to back, in a vertical orientation thus
dividing the inside of the enclosure into two sections.
The right-side section (looking from the front panel)
houses the preamp circuitry and a transformer for the
power supply. The left-side section (looking from the
front panel) includes a large choke for the power
supply and the power supply circuitry on a daughter
card that is coupled to the preamp circuit board by
brass standoffs.
Taking a look at Fig. B, the preamp circuitry is
soldered to a single circuit board that spans the entire
height and depth of the enclosure. The circuit design
takes advantage of a blend of vintage style capacitors
and modern capacitors. The single tube plugs into a
nice quality socket that is soldered directly to the
preamp circuit board. I pulled the tube from the
Fig. B
45bassgear
Fig. E
Fig. F
Fig. G
socket and reinserted the tube numerous times and
could detect no play or give.
Overall, the circuitry and construction inside the
enclosure takes advantage of quality modern and
vintage parts. The potentiometers have a nice feel to
their turn, and the knobs are easy to hold and adjust.
If I had one complaint, I would prefer nicer quality
jacks for the input and footswitch.
Circuit Layout
The Nitewalker preamp is a straight-forward circuit
that provides a single tube gain stage and some tonal
shaping from a hand-full of passive components.
However, there are a few twists that set this design
apart from conventional fare. First off, this circuit is
not a traditional bi-amp circuit. Rather, as seen in
Fig. C, the “high” frequency channel and “low”
frequency channel share a similar low end response,
but the high frequencies are extended slightly on the
high channel. Both the low and high frequency
channels include a vintage capacitor in a high
frequency compensation network at the anode of the
tube stage that participates in the gradual treble
attenuation. However, the low frequency channel
adds a second, series vintage capacitor, which the
designer credits as being a key contributor to the
difference in character between the two channels.
Both channels use a single stage of a 12AX7 tube.
As such, each output is inverting, relative to the
input, as seen in Fig. D. Note that in Fig. D, the input
signal is the black trace. The high frequency output
channel is the red trace and the low frequency output
channel is the blue trace. The outputs are adjusted to
unity gain. However, there is a slight amount of DC
leak that shifts the response down slightly. The DC
shift is slightly more pronounced in the low
frequency output channel. The slight amount of DC
shift varies depending upon the position of the
biamp switch due to the interaction of the two
channels when the biamp switch is in the up
position.
One feature that I find interesting about this design
is its use of grid-leak biasing of each tube stage. This
Fig. D
46 bassgear
Fig. I
Fig. H
is certainly not new, and was seen most frequently in
tube designs of the 1940s and early 1950s. Grid-leak
biasing has an interesting property, in that the
biasing point tends to shift as the input signal level
fluctuates. For instance, in our testing, the grid
voltage varied from -0.6 Vrms to about -1.6 Vrms,
depending upon the level of our test input signal.
What does this mean to the performer? The bias
voltage affects how the tube performs. Without
getting too techy, the user will perceive this as a
compressor/limiter-like effect that contributes to the
overall tone of this preamp. There is no dedicated
limiter circuit in this preamp. However,
compression-like effects can result because the tube
stage is biased towards and into cutoff for large input
signals, causing asymmetric gain leading into
positive edge limiting.
Effects of Grid-Leak Bias
To demonstrate the effect of this biasing scheme,
take a look a Figs. E-H. We applied a steady state
input signal at 100 mVrms, 400 mVrms, 600 mVrms,
and 1 Vrms on the bass channel. The volume knob
was adjusted to provide about unity gain at our 100
mVrms input and the volume knob was not adjusted
for the remainder of the test. Note that as the input
level is increased, the positive half of the output is
compressed and limited. This shows the effect of the
grid-leak bias scheme driving the tube into cutoff. As
these charts illustrate, the output level of the bass
guitar will strongly shape the character of the output.
A mild output bass will exhibit less compressive
effects. Likewise, a bass guitar with a strong output
can push the circuit into deeper asymmetrical output.
Whether that is a good thing or a bad this is purely a
matter of subjective opinion.
The effect of the varying bias is also likely the
culprit that contributed to the preamp causing a bit of
instability when testing with the Audio Precision test
analyzer. For instance, a steady state input of 630
mVrms caused the frequency sweep to become
unstable and to ring as seen in Fig. I. Now, keep in
mind that a bass signal is not a steady state signal,
like the test signals herein. Where a bass may exhibit
Fig. J
Fig. K 47bassgear
Fig. M
Fig. L
a peak up to or even exceeding 1 V, the envelope of
the bass signal will settle down to a level well below
the peak, and will typically be below 630 mVrms. I
could not detect any such ringing or other similar
effects when playing the preamp with an actual bass.
The biamp switch basically controls the interaction
between the two channels. In a first position, each
channel is directed to its own jack. In the opposite
setting, the two channels are mixed together and the
signal is output to the bottom jack. As such, the
controls are interactive.
The footswitch controls the overdrive mode of the
preamplifier. The overdrive mode can also be
controlled by a switch on the front panel. Again, this
is an interesting implementation. Because each
channel is a single tube stage, grounded cathode,
grid-leak biased configuration, the overdrive is
implemented by changing the value of the anode
resistor to increase the gain of the tube stage.
Because the tube stage is biased closer to cutoff, the
distortion experienced is largely due to asymmetrical
clipping.
Referring to Fig. J, the distortion is plotted as a
function of input signal level. For this test situation,
and as this chart illustrates, the preamp heavily
weighs towards coloring the sound. The lowest
distortion occurs with input levels below 10 mVrms,
with distortion levels reaching 5% with an input
signal just over 100 mVrms. A signal just under 1/2
Vrms can produce in excess of 40% distortion. Note
that this is completely consistent in what we saw
above with the asymmetric clipping of the positive
cycle as the preamp tube pushes into cutoff. Again,
this is the character of grid-leak biasing.
Handling a Burst to the Input Signal
Referring to Figs. K-M, an input signal was applied
that burst at full volume and then dropped 20dB. The
input burst at full volume was 100 mVrms, 250
mVrms and 500 mVrms, respectively. The tube
stage causes the overall response of the preamplifier
to be “loose,” not tracking the input level perfectly.
Rather, the asymmetry of the tube stage causes a
slight compression that can be clearly seen in the
envelope of the output of the preamp when
compared to the input signal (in black). This effect
gets progressively more dramatic as the input level
increases, which is again, consistent with the
character of a grid-leak biased tube stage.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that this is a preamp only. As such, you
will need to plug this into a power amplifier. The
amp you plug this into can thus affect how you
perceive its tone. Also, the grid-leak bias of the tube
stage can provide a wonderful compressive style of
response. Alternatively, it may not suit your playing
style. This is a subjective determination that you will
have to make. Also, you may be able to “play” the
preamp by controlling your overall volume to take
advantage of the compression-like effect of the tube
stage.
48 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 March 19, 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 thesimple instructions.
49bassgear
By Tom Lees
Time marches on, and so does technology. If you are still
wearing your Members Only jacket and parachute pants,
you may not have heard of, or care about, this thing called
the iPad®. If that is the case… move along, there is nothing
here for you to see. For everyone else out there, listen up. To
some of you, this technology may be a game changer.
I put the AmpliTube iRig®, the Peavey Ampkit™ and the
POCKETLABWORKS iRiffPort™ through their paces in
the lab, in my practice space and on stage. The verdict? This
technology is awesome today, and is only going to get better.
The winner? I think the better question you should all be
asking is, which one or more of these interfaces is right for
your needs.
As a preliminary matter, this review will not focus on
software. While I will comment on certain features that are
50 bassgear
bassgear
TEST!
TEST!
The Current State of iPad/iPhoneInterface Options
Fig 1A iRig
Fig 1B Ampkit
Fig 1C iRiffPort
of interest or noteworthy, the ultimate decision as to whether
you like or dislike a particular interface is a subjective
matter. Moreover, software updates and upgrades occur on
these products at a relatively quick rate. Still further, with
certain notable exceptions, you can mix and match
interfaces and software – but there will be more on that to
come.
With that in mind, to test these interface units, a software
“loopback” app was used to fold the input back out to the
output. This was done internal to the iOS device without
requiring the audio to be processed by a modeling app. This
tool thus allowed us to compare the electrical characteristics
of the interface devices without the influence of one
manufacturer’s interpretation of an amp model. It also
ensured that all settings during testing were the same and
repeatable. For the testing herein, the volume of the test iOS
device (iPad 1) was set to maximum.
So, let’s jump in and take a look at some of the defining
features of these interfaces. Preliminarily, the Figures having
an ‘A’ designation correspond to the iRig, a ‘B’ designation
correspond to the Ampkit, and a ‘C’ designation correspond
to the iRiffPort.
Form Factor
The AmpliTube iRig interface shown in Fig. 1A, is
packaged in a generally cylindrical tube having a 1/4”
instrument jack input on one end. A 4” cable extends from
a second end of the adapter opposite the instrument jack and
is terminated in a 1/8” male tip, ring, ring sleeve (TRRS)
connector for plugging into the audio port on an iPhone® or
iPad. As such, audio enters and exits the mobile device
through the 1/8” audio jack. The adapter also includes a 1/8”
stereo jack on the other end for plugging in a set of
headphones, an amp, etc. To use the interface, you plug your
bass guitar into the interface using a standard instrument
cable. The bass signal flows into the interface through the
guitar jack, through the cylinder and into the mobile device
via the built-in 1/8” TRRS cable. Your processed bass guitar
signal exits the mobile device back out the 1/8” TRRS
cable, back through the interface and out the 1/8” jack to
your favorite headphones, amplifier or other source. As
such, you will need to provide two cables to really get this
interface up and running. Notably, the iRig interface itself
Fig 2A Frequency Sweep
Fig 2B Frequency Sweep
Fig 2C Frequency Sweep
Fig 3A 1% THD 637 mv in, 1v out, Scope51bass
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52 bassgear
does not require power. This is one of the really cool features
of this interface and will be discussed below.
The Peavey Ampkit interface shown in Fig. 1B, is packaged
in a generally rectangular package that holds two AAA
batteries for powering internal electronics. The electronics
within the Ampkit provide some unique opportunities, as
will be described in greater detail below. One end of the
Ampkit interface includes a 1/4” instrument jack and a 1/8”
jack for plugging in a set of headphones, an amp, etc. The
opposite end of the interface includes a 14.5” cable
terminated in a 1/8” TRRS male connector for plugging into
the audio port on an iPhone or iPad. Thus, like the iRig
interface, you plug your bass guitar into the interface using
a standard instrument cable. The bass signal flows into the
interface through the guitar jack, through the circuitry
internal to the interface housing and into the mobile device
via the built-in 1/8” TRRS cable. Your processed bass guitar
signal exits the mobile device back out the 1/8” TRRS
cable, back through the electronics in the interface housing
and out the 1/8” jack to your favorite headphones, amplifier
or other source. Two cables are also required for this
interface.
The iRiffPort interface shown in Fig. 1C, takes a completely
different approach and uses a 6’ cable. One end of the cable
is terminated in a housing having a 1/4” plug that you can
plug directly into your bass, so no instrument cable is
needed. The rear of the housing opposite the 1/4” plug
provides a 1/8” stereo jack for plugging in a set of
headphones. As such, there is no need to run your
headphone wire clear to the mobile device. Rather, you
merely need the headphone cable to reach your instrument
jack. The opposite end of the cable is terminated in an Apple
dock connector. The back end of the housing for the dock
connector supplies a line out on a1/8” stereo jack. As such,
line out and headphone out connections are separated by the
length of the cable. This allows the user to run a line out
cable to an amp or other source in a convenient and tidy
manner. In use, your bass signal flows through the provided
cable, into the iRiffPort housing, where it is processed by
electronics within the cable. The audio then flows through
the dock connector and not the 1/8” audio jack on the
mobile device.
Fig 3B 1% THD 305 mv In, 1.1v Out, 1kHz
Fig 3C 1%THD 180mv In, 350mv Out, Scope
Fig 4A 5% THD 700 mv In, 1v Out, Scope
Fig 4B 5% THD 340mv In, 1.2v Out, 1kHz
Frequency Response
Both the iRig (Fig. 2A) and Ampkit (Fig. 2B) have
substantially the same frequency response. In general, these
interfaces exhibit a low-frequency attenuation and a slight
ringing in the high frequencies while connected to the test
analyzer. These features are likely a compromise to address
the inherent limitations in passing mono audio in, and stereo
audio out through the single 1/8” TRRS connection of the
iPad/iPhone. The iRiffPort (Fig. 2C) demonstrates a
substantially flat full-range response. The frequency
response of these interfaces suggests that there are
significant advantages of using the dock connector if full
range, flat frequency response is required.
Input headroom
To get a sense of the performance of these interfaces, I took
a look at a characteristic that compares the input level to the
output level for various target amounts of distortion. Figs. 3-
6 illustrate 1%, 5%, 10% and 20% THD+N measurements
respectively.
Looking first at the 1% THD+N charts, the iRig (Fig. 3A)
hit the 1% THD+N target with a 640 mVrms input,
producing a 1Vrms output. Also note that the input is
slightly out of phase with the output for the signal under test.
Comparatively, the Ampkit (Fig. 3B) hit the 1% THD+N
target with a 300 mVrms input, producing a 1.1 Vrms
output. Here, the input is inverted relative to the output. The
iRiffPort (Fig. 3C) hit the 1% THD+N target at 180 mVrms,
producing 350 mVrms output. Again, the input is slightly
out of phase with the output.
Looking at the 5% THD+N charts, the iRig (Fig. 4A) hit the
5% THD+N target with a 700 mVrms input, producing a
1Vrms output. We measured some weird distortion artifacts
at the peaks of the output signals. Comparatively, the
Ampkit (Fig. 4B) hit the 5% THD+N target with a 340
mVrms input, producing a 1.2 Vrms output and showing
signs of classic solid state clipping. The iRiffPort (Fig. 4C)
hit the 5% THD+N target at 338 mVrms, producing 600
mVrms output and appeared to have entered a soft-clipping
or wave-shaping mode.
Looking at the 10% THD+N charts, the iRig (Fig. 5A) hit
the 10% THD+N target with a 818 mVrms input, producing
Fig 4C 5% THD 338mv In, 600mv Out, Scope
Fig 5A 10% THD 818mv In, 1v Out, Scope
Fig 5B 10% THD 389mv In, 1.3v Out, 1 Khz
Fig 5C 10% THD 519mv In, 800mv Out, Scope53bass
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a 1Vrms output. Here, the distortion artifacts became more
visibly pronounced. Comparatively, the Ampkit (Fig. 5B)
hit the 10% THD+N target with a 389 mVrms input,
producing a 1.3 Vrms output and exhibiting progressive and
predictable hard clipping. The iRiffPort (Fig. 5C) hit the
10% THD+N target at 519 mVrms, producing 800 mVrms
output. The clipping appears more asymmetrically
pronounced with an exaggerated rounding of the bottom
cycle compared to the upper cycle of the waveform.
Just for fun, I cranked up the input levels to produce 20%
THD+N to see how these interfaces would react in the
steady state. The iRig (Fig. 6A) hit the 20% THD+N mark
with a 1.2 Vrms input, producing a 1.1 Vrms output.
Comparatively, the Ampkit (Fig. 6B) hit the 20% THD+N
target with a 550 mVrms input, producing a 1.4 Vrms output
and the iRiffPort (Fig. 6C) hit the target at 900 mVrms,
producing 1 Vrms output.
There is quite a bit to be groomed from this information.
First, let’s compare the iRig and Ampkit (because they both
use the 1/8” jack on mobile device for connectivity).
Because the non-powered iRig has relatively less gain than
the Ampkit, the iRig handled larger signals more gracefully
before causing clipping at the output, as would be expected.
On the other hand, the Ampkit, due to its internal active
circuitry, produced more overall level and gain compared to
the iRig. However, in an iOS device such as the iPad, there
is a fixed ceiling in the output level. Accordingly, this
apparent limitation in input level is not so much a
shortcoming of the Ampkit, but rather, a reasonable tradeoff
that Peavey made in view of the iOS ceiling, the gain that
Peavey intended from their device to balance noise and
feedback and to suit the characteristics of their amp models,
which can lean towards large amounts of distortion. One
clearly evident feature of the Ampkit is its analog behavior
when hitting the ceiling. As seen in Figs. 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B,
as the level increases, the output enters hard clipping of the
peaks.
The iRiffPort actually hits the 1% THD+N mark with the
lowest input of the test group (180 mVrms). However, the
iRiffPort apparently implements soft asymmetric limiting
circuitry that allows the output to gracefully distort relative
Fig 6A 20% THD 1.2V In, 1.1v Out, Scope
Fig 6B 20% THD 550mv In, 1.4v Out, 1 Khz
Fig 6C 20% THD 900mv In, 1000mv Out, Scope
Fig 7A 1 V rms Scope54 bassgear
to large input level swings as seen in Figs. 3C, 4C, 5C and
6C. This allows a relatively wide dynamic gain of the input
signal, despite the unavoidably low iOS ceiling.
For instance, the iRig allowed an input signal increase of
560 mVrms between 1% and 20% distortion, with a 60
mVrms increase from 1% to 5% distortion. The Ampkit
allowed and input signal increase of 220 mVrms between
1% and 20% distortion, with a 40 mVrms increase from 1%
to 5% distortion. The iRiffPort allowed an increase of 720
mVrms between 1% and 20% distortion, with a 158 mVrms
increase from 1% to 5% distortion.
Figs. 7A, 7Band 7C illustrate the iRig, Ampkit and iRiffPort
interfaces in response to a 1Vrms input signal for purposes
of comparing overload and phase at a common input level.
Correspondingly, Figs. 8A, 8B and 8C illustrate the input
compared to the output at the point of clipping of the output
signal.
Figs. 9A, 9B and 9C illustrate the harmonic spectrum of
each interface in response to a 1Vrms, 1 kHz input signal. In
the spectral traces herein, the iRig shows relatively stronger
odd-order harmonics compared to adjacent even-order
harmonics. The plot also shows an extended harmonic
spectrum where the odd-order harmonics dominate the
even-order harmonics into the higher order. This seems to
correspond with the scope plots showing the effects of
clipping due to hitting the iOS output ceiling.
The Ampkit shows slightly stronger odd-order harmonics
compared to adjacent even-order harmonics, but not as
exaggerated as the plot for the iRig. The higher order
harmonic levels follow a clear, downward step in this
spectral plot that tracks well with what we would expect
given the typical hard limiting response of the signal to
hitting the iOS ceiling. The iRiffPort shows a dramatic roll-
off of higher order harmonics. Moreover, the harmonics
drop off in a nicely defined slope. These effects track with
the earlier observation of asymmetric soft-limiting of the
signal.
Figs. 10A, 10B and 10C illustrate gain compared to input
level. The iRig shows a gain of just under 3.75dB with a
slight variance between left and right channels. The input
Fig 7B 1 V rms Scope
Fig 7C 1 V rms Scope
Fig 8A max point of clipping Scope
Fig 8B max point of clipping Scope55bass
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56 bassgear
gain drops off after crossing a hard knee just past 600
mVrms input. Again, this tracks with our earlier findings for
this interface. The Ampkit shows a gain just over 11dB
again, with a slight variance between left and right channels.
The gain begins to drop off just past a knee just over 300
mVrms. This is consistent with earlier findings for this
interface. The iRiffPort shows a gain just over 6dB, also
with a slight variance between left and right channels.
Again, this is consistent with earlier findings for this
interface.
In comparing the gain characteristics of these three
interfaces in Figs. 10A, 10B and 10C, the soft-
clipping/limiter of the iRiffPort is clearly evident with the
curved roll-off of gain, compared to the hard knee of the
iRig and Ampkit.
Figs. 11A, 11B and 11C illustrate distortion as a function of
input level. As each chart illustrates, the distortion
characteristics track well with other features described more
fully herein.
Software
The iRig software, Fig. 12A, is designed predominantly for
guitarists. However, a bass amp model is provided.
Moverover, the iRig software allows the user select up to
four effects pedals, as well as select a speaker cabinet
configuration. The software also includes a tuner,
metronome, recorder and an ability to load songs from an
iTunes® account, set loop points and adjust the playback
speed of the backing track.
The iRig software will work with both the iRig and Ampkit
interfaces (both using the 1/8” audio jack of the iOS device),
but the iRig software (as of the time of this review) will not
work with the iRiffPort interface. This is apparently, an issue
with the iRig software, not the iRiffPort interface.
The Ampkit software, Fig. 12B, is also designed
predominantly for guitarists, and really excels in distortion
tones. However, bass players will find a bass model labeled
American Bass King. Moreover, Ampkit allows the user to
set up a chain of effects pedals, as well as select a speaker
cabinet. The software also includes a tuner, metronome and
the ability to load songs from an iTunes account. The
Fig 8C max point of clipping Scope
Fig 9A max point of clipping FFT
Fig 9B max point of clipping FFT
Fig 9C max point of clipping FFT
Ampkit software worked with every interface tested.
The iRiffPort, Fig. 12C, includes a separate app for a
Gallien-Krueger bass amp. The iRiffPort also includes a
separate app for guitar. The Gallien-Krueger app includes a
page for setting the contour, boost level, horn level and
master output level. A separate page provides access to
treble, hi-mid, low mid, bass and gate controls. The user can
also select between a 4x10 and a 1x15 cab. The app allows
the user the ability to save presets and includes access to
your iTunes library to play along with your own music,
adjust the playback pitch and speed of songs and set loop
points.
Conclusion
I especially like the fact that the iRig interface is small and
does not need power from a battery. At the low price point
(under $40.00) this device carries, you should buy this
device, regardless if you also decide to buy one or more of
the other interfaces.
The Ampkit uses a battery, which allows better control over
higher gain amp model settings, compared to the iRig. In
fact, this interface provides the largest gain of the interfaces
tested in this review. This interface also carries a low street
price of $29.99 direct from Peavey.
The iRiffPort, with its dock connector interface, turned in
the best “on-bench” measurements. Another really cool
feature of this device is that the interface has a separate jack
for line out (at the dock port connector) and headphones (at
the instrument jack connector), providing a lot of
convenience in how this device is utilized. Further, the
internal circuitry is powered by the dock connector
eliminating the need to mess around with batteries or
worrying about power. However, this unit is substantially
more expensive than the iRig and the Ampkit, running
about $99.99 at most retail outlets in the US. iRiffPort also
offers a “trade-up program” where you can receive a
discount if you already own a competitive iOS guitar
interface.
I gig-tested, jammed on, practiced with and otherwise
worked out all three interfaces and software apps on an iPad
(playing guitar, not bass, mind you). The verdict? In my duo
act, this concept rocks. No lugging amps or heavy gear, just
Fig 10A Gain
Fig 10B Gain
Fig 10C Gain
Fig 11A THD+N Ratio vs Measured Level 57bassgear
an instrument, iPad, interface and cable to the PA. The tone
is not going to replace a nice amp, but for convenience,
portability or even as a backup, this is a hard option to
ignore. I not only survived gigs, but I flat-out enjoyed them
because of the convenience of the interface. Also, having an
iPad on stage, conspicuously turned towards the crowd
almost ensured that I would have no problem finding
someone in the audience that was curious enough about the
technology to talk with through the set break.
I do have one comment. For practicing, where you can set
the iPad on a desk, each of the interfaces work great. But
live, while their tone is giggable, the mechanical
connections do not inspire confidence. There are many
products that allow an iPad to be mounted on a mic stand.
However, these interfaces, especially the iRig, with its 4”
cable, do not lend themselves to easy, professional
attachment to an iPad clip for live use. Moreover, the thin
1/8” stereo mini jack for audio out is not a cable that I would
commonly carry. For the duo act, where I was
predominantly stationary, the mechanics of connecting the
iPad to a mic clip for live use was not bad. But if I were
performing in a band setting, I would go out of my way to
ensure that a rock star jump would not result in pulling the
iPad off the mic stand, etc.
At the end of the day, the iPad interface may not be for
everyone. But as a practice tool, all three options are top
notch compared to alternative technology. The ability to
interface with your iTunes library, play along with tracks
and even speed up, slow down and set loop points as in
some of the tested software, make these tools infinitely cool.
As a live tool, it is usable now and will only get better. So
which one? I have uses for them all, because in the right
circumstance, each has its merits, strengths and advantages.
Fig 12A software for iRig Fig 12B software for Ampkit Fig 12C software for iRiffPort
The frequency response of theseinterfaces suggests that there aresignificant advantages of using thedock connector if full range, flatfrequency response is required.
Fig 11B THD+N Ratio vs Measured Level
Fig 11C THD+N Ratio vs Measured Level
58 bassgear
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TEST!
TEST!
Outlaw in
DefiancE of
Physics
60 bassgear
ByAlan Loshbaugh
In The Beginning:
In the beginning, there was the Law,
and the Law was: “You can’t get
Light, Loud, and Low in the same
package.” The ‘’Principle of the Three
L’s.’’ Everyone in all of Bass-dom
knew the lowdown. Straight-up,
simple, backbreaking facts we’d all
been living with for years, toting
‘fridges back and forth to work for the
man.
Well, word on the street was there was
a guy downtown sayin’ different. It
was my job to investigate. My name’s
Friday, Sound Reinforcement Squad; I
carry a badge, and a bass. I had to get
to the bottom of this, no matter where
it took me. So, I jumped in the squad
car and found the guy under the 33rd
Street bridge, right where my
informant said he would be.
“Hey Pal,” I said, “What’s this I hear
about you goin’ all braggadocio on
breakin’ the Bass-ic Laws of Physics?
Rumor has it you’re in non-
compliance with The Three L’s. I don’t
need that kinda trouble in my town.”
‘’It’s true” he said. “Y’all plug in, and
see fo’ yo’self.”
I immediately recognized his accent
as Cajun, from down Louisiana way.
Little did I know then this caper
would end in Idaho.
Plug In, and Turn On
“Seriously,” I thought, “this guy must
be delirious.” The little thing sitting
next to him was barely bigger than a
box for Shaq’s shoes. No way
anything good was gonna come from
these sort of hijinx.
“Go ahead cap’n, give ‘er a spin.”
I pulled out my trusty 5-string,
plugged in, turned on, and laid some
down. That’s right about when I felt
reality spin on its axis. I wondered if
anything was ever going to be the
same in this city again.
“What’s your name pal?” I asked.
“I’m gonna have to write you up!”
“Duke” he said. “Duke LeJeune.” I
should have known; his is a name well
known in... other circles...
A Small Package, full of Big Things
At 24” high, 14” deep, and 14” wide,
the TC112AF is the smallest cab I’d
ever played through. The
Thunderchild comes in two versions,
the standard TC112, and the
TC112AF, or “Acoustic Friendly”
version. The TC112AF weighs in at
34 pounds, the standard TC112 at 31
pounds.
Much of what allows the TC112 to
violate the Rule of the Three L’s is its
custom 3012LF driver; a high output,
large xMax driver made by Eminence.
An off-the-shelf 3012LF is 8 ohms,
but Eminence worked with Duke to
develop a 4-ohm version for the
TC112. “I felt this was really
important. I wanted to deliver the most
out of a small, light, speaker cabinet,
and the 4-ohm version lets players get
the most out of the current micro-
heads.”
The compression driver is an
Eminence ASD-1001, married to a
Pyle Pro PH612 waveguide, which
ends up making the TC112Af look a
lot like a miniature PA speaker. “I
never heard a horn I liked until I heard
a 90 degree, constant-directivity horn,
like what was in the Altec Model 19.
This keeps the sound the same, no
matter what your location in the
room.”
The TC112AF differs from the
standard TC112 in that it has a rear-
61bassgear
firing tweeter: a Galaxy Audio Neolite
SNTR 1.5. The rear panel also has two
switches which control the horn,
giving the player options for fully on,
a gentle top-end rolloff, and fully off. I
ran the horn all-on, all the time. I can
see where some players looking for a
more vintage sound would choose the
padded back option. Turning the horn
off does not sound like a good, usable
option to me. Why these two switches,
instead of the more familiar
attenuator? “An attenuator alters
frequency response unacceptably, due
to varying the impedance curve to the
compression driver. We want to keep
the horn’s low-end response the same,
while trimming the high-end
response. An attenuator trims
everything going to the compression
driver, and that’s not what I wanted”
Both versions have two large 3” flared
ports. “I wanted to keep the
reverberant energy as correct as
possible. Flared ports color the sound
less than tube ports, and the rear-
mounted tweeter and rear porting add
depth and a 3-D feel, due to the timing
differential – it sounds richer and better
this way.”
The TC112’s rear ports are also
sealable via two plugs that come with
the cab. This changes both tuning, and
feel. With the plugs out, the cab’s
frequency response is stated as 56Hz
to 15kHz. “The crossover frequency is
around 2kHz for both the front-firing
horn and rear-firing tweeter. The
crossover topology is fairly complex
for a bass cab, with thirty elements for
the acoustic-friendly version and
twenty-one elements for the regular
version. The net acoustic slopes are
approximately 4th order, and most of
the crossover circuitry is devoted to
equalization of some kind. Down to
the upper 40’s, both ports open is
clearly the loudest. While one port
open is a bit louder below 47Hz or so,
by then the response is more than 6dB
down, so it’s no longer loud enough to
really be usable bass in most rooms.
Both ports plugged is definitely
tighter, less bassy... to the point of
probably being downright lean in
most rooms.”
While it may be diminutive in stature,
it’s surely not at all small in either
output or tone. When I got it back to
my Testing Lab downtown, I grabbed
a Sadowsky MV5, set a GK MB
Fusion on top of the nicely inset
handle, plugged into one of the two
Speakon jacks on the rear panel, and
turned on. My first thoughts were:
“Good gravy, that sounds just exactly
like my bass,” and, “This thing has
output much, much greater than its
size.” I’d had the opportunity to beta
test two of Duke’s early prototypes,
and I thought I knew what I was going
to get out of this box. I was wrong.
The TC112AF is amazingly flat and
even-sounding across its range.
Everything on the fingerboard jumps
out strongly and evenly, from the B
string all the way up the fingerboard.
The lows are tight, and well-balanced.
The highs are present, but super
smooth, and never harsh – even out of
62 bassgear
“When I set the rig up onstage, the bandmates alllaughed at me forbringing a shoe box to agunfight.”
my super bright ash/maple Sadowsky
MV5. The mids are just right: not too
much, not at all scooped.
From The Lab to the Gig
After only a few minutes of Lab
testing, I had to pack up the MB
Fusion, Sadowsky, and the TC112AF
and headed off to a big corporate gig
downtown. I took two GK Neo112’s
with me as backup, figuring that while
the TC112 seemed plenty capable at
the Lab, it might not cut it in a big
room with the classic rock band I was
working with that night. Again, I was
wrong.
When I set the rig up on stage, the
bandmates all laughed at me for
bringing a shoe box to a gunfight.
When I fired the rig up, they all quit
laughing. The TC112 has push waaay
beyond its size. Duke told me “It’s
basically a 3x10 equivalent,” and that
feels about right. We started fairly
quiet through dinner, and got louder
for the following three sets. Liquor-
fueled dancers filled the dance floor;
the TC112AF filled out the low end. I
kept turning up, and the TC112AF
never flinched; the low end never
compressed. It just kept giving.
Amazing! The bass is firm, forceful,
and controlled; the mids well-
balanced to the low end; the treble
present, but super sweet and never
harsh, even when slapping the modern
sounding ash/maple Sadowsky MV5
with fresh stainless strings and a little
treble boost. I never moved the MB
Fusion’s EQ from “flat.” I never took
the two backup cabs out of the truck.
I got an even bigger surprise the next
day back at the Lab, when I set up my
Mesa/Boogie WalkAbout and
plugged in my 1961 King double bass.
The TC112AF is, for me and my
preferences, the best cab I’ve ever
played through for double bass. The
3012LF does a great job at delivering
the big fat fundamentals of the lower
register, and moving up the
fingerboard, things just kept getting
sweeter: perfectly balanced mids, and
singing highs; finger and string noise
all nicely represented, and the rear-
firing tweeter adds a great amount of
depth and air to the mix. Very
impressive! I took this rig to one small
‘speak-easy’ jazz pickup gig, and it
was spot-on perfect for me.
When I shot the word upstairs to Big
Boss Bowlus that it did in fact seem to
be true that The Duke had cracked the
code on “Light, Loud, Low,” word
came back down from the top that the
TC112AF was gonna have to make
the trip to The Big Lab for further
scrutiny, and post haste. My days with
the sweet little gem were numbered. I
made the most of it though, and took
the TC112AF with me everywhere I
went. Swing band rehearsal with the
double bass. Rock band rehearsal with
electric bass. The weekly blues jam
63bassgear
open mic night. It continued to be just
as impressive every time I used it,
right till I had to box it up and throw it
on The Brown Truck to ride to The
Big Boss.
The Long and Winding Road
Just how did Duke do this? Well, it’s a
long story, going way back to his
childhood. Duke’s parents were big
music fans, and always had music
playing at home; but Duke’s tastes
were different. He soon wanted his
own stereo, and he got one. But when
he went to college, the guy across the
hall had speakers that sounded better.
Much better. All the parts looked the
same; Duke wanted to know why that
guy’s speakers sounded so much
better. “That started a lifetime of
research for me. I went to the
university library, read everything I
could find, and started building my
own cabs.” And so Duke entered the
home stereo speaker business, for
himself at first, and then as a business,
continually refining his product.
It wasn’t an immediate success;
“Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times
before he got the light bulb right, so I
kept at it.” Clearly, Duke isn’t a man
put off by much, and he had ideas of
what he thought should work, and he
thought “flat” was where it was at. He
spent much time and effort choosing
drivers and crossover components to
get to that goal of perfectly flat
response, and when he got there, he
was let down. “It didn’t sound right. In
fact, it sounded progressively worse as
I worked on it.” The difference
maker? It turned out to be a
combination of dispersion, and
crossover components. Duke kept
working on component and crossover
refinement until he had cabs that
sounded great all around the room,
and had the all right frequencies
coming out of all the right components
in the speakers.
Duke has been building home audio
speakers for years, and doing quite
well at it. His Dream Maker speakers
won a Golden Ear award in 2008. So,
how did he end up building bass cabs?
Furthering a Passion
“Listening to music can be a
transformational experience – it
changes you, makes you a little bit
deeper and better person than you
were before. But the high-end home
audio market was shrinking with the
economy. In a market where people
won’t buy high-end toys, they will still
buy high-end tools. I remember sitting
in night clubs in New Orleans,
watching these killer musicians play,
their fingers flying all over their
instruments, and thinking ‘I can’t
really hear what they’re playing, and I
bet they can’t either,’ and that I could
do better and enrich that passionate
experience for both the musicians and
the audience. It seemed to me that bass
cabs looked like there was room for
substantive improvement, and room
in the market for that.”
Duke wanted to build something
smaller, more accurate, and better-
sounding than anything else out there.
“I saw bassists struggling to be heard
through bad equipment, and I wanted
to do something about it. I really care
about it, and I’m especially happy
with the AF model for double bass. It’s
been a really satisfying project for me,
and it brings me closer to the music.
Music changes people. All the nuance
that a musician puts into it comes out
of this cab, and that has to be a positive
change. I’m not a musician, and I
probably never will be, but this lets me
get close to the music, and that’s
invaluable to me.”
The Bottom Line
As a player, I really respect Duke’s
mentality; it’s valuable to me too. So,
that’s the low-down on The Duke,
and, the TC112AF. I’m gonna talk to
The Duke about getting one of my
own. Then, I guess I’ll have to write
up another citation, for being in
violation of the Three L’s myself.
65bassgear
On-BenchScore4.57 average
In-Hand Score4.17 average
on-bench in-hand
TEST SUMMARY1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
Enclosure
Configuration: 1x12Listed Impedance: 4 ohmsRated Power Handling: 450 wattsInputs/Outputs: Two combined Speakon & 1/4” jacksDimensions: 22.5"h x 14.5"w x 14"dWeight: 31.8 lbsPorts: Two 3” ports (option to plug one or both)Covering: Spray-onBaffle Board: 1/2” Italian poplar (double thickness in places)Cabinet: 1/2” Italian poplarGrill: Metal (driver only)Handles: One (top-mounted)Feet: Four, rubberCasters: NoCorners: Yes, plastic stacking-styleDriver Mounting: 8 bolts (w/ T-nuts)
Drivers/Crossover
Woofers: Proprietary Eminence 12", cast-frameCone Material: PaperVoice Coil: 3”Magnets: Neodymium (11 oz.)Tweeter(front): Eminence ASD-1001Tweeter(rear): Galaxy Audio Neolite SNTR 1.5Adjustment: Horn full-off, top-end rolloff, horn full-onProtection: Inductor-basedSpeaker Connections: Binding postCrossover: 2kHz, 4th-order (approximate)Options: AF (rear-firing tweeter)
Measurements
Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 93.97 dBSPL
General
Company: AudioKinesis64 South 300 EastPreston, Idaho 83263www.AudioKinesis.com
Country of Origin: USAYear of Origin: 2011Warranty: 2 yearsList Price: $800.00Street Price: $800.00Test Unit Options: Rear-firing tweeter(AF)Accessories: NonePrice as Tested: $920.00Available Colors: BlackAvailable Options: None
Acquired from: Loud TechnologiesDates: September 2011 through December 2011Locales: Missouri, OhioTest Gear (in-hand review): Mesa/Boogie WalkAbout & M9, Gallien
Krueger MB-Fusion, Sadowsky Metro RV5 and MV5, 1961 King double bass with K&K Bassmax pickup & two band preamp
Sonic Profile:Lows: Tight and punchy, but not compressedMids: Very well-balanced, neither overpowering or lackingHighs: Super sweet; not aggressive, but plenty present
Portability 5Road Worthiness 4.5Components 4.5Hardware 5Cabinet Construction 4.5Wiring 4.5Cover/Finish 4
The TC112AF delivers everything you could askfor from a small cab, short of dub-grade lows,and super-slapper highs. Extremely well-balanced, outperforms its size, and the bestcab for doubling I’ve ever used. Its “PA cab”looks may put some off, but that’s their loss.
Features: 4Tonal Flexibility: 4Ease of Use: 4.5Aesthetics: 4Tone: 4.5Value: 4
TONE-O-METER
bas
sgea
rtest AudioKinesis
ThunderchildTC112AF
Bass Cabinet
CAB LAB
Tom Bowlus’
AudioKinesisTC112AF
Bass Cabinet
I have to admit, I was really chomping
at the bit to start digging into the
technical analysis of this little beauty.
Okay, and I was also looking forward
to playing through this cab, myself.
Alan didn’t want to give up the
TC112AF to let me do this, but who
can blame him? This cab is light,
powerful, and has a chameleon-like
personality; but Alan has already told
you all of this, so I’ll move onto the
technical deets.
The heart of the TC112AF is its
custom Eminence Kappalite™
3012LF. The stock 3012LF is
available in 8-ohm configuration,
only. In addition to the impedance
change to 4 ohms, the proprietary
A u d i o K i n e s i s
3012LF variant also
has improved
efficiency (as the
expense of some low-
end extension), and
more top-end
extension. This driver
is held in place by eight bolts secured
with T-nuts. Now that’s what I’m
talking about! The round grill covers
the driver only, and is clamped in place
by four more bolts (also secured with
T-nuts).
The soul of the TC112 is the ASD-
1001 1” titanium compression driver,
paired up with the big Pyle Pro PH612
horn. This horn has a 90 degree by 40
degree coverage angle, and it occupies
and imposing amount of real estate, at
6.4” high by 11.9” wide. Off-axis
coverage was very impressive, all the
way out to 45 degrees (see Fig. A). The
AF version is a bit more “soulful,” I
suppose, what with an extra tweeter on
the backside of the enclosure. The
Galaxy Audio Neolite SNTR 1.5
actually has a larger voice coil (1.5”,
versus 1”), handles more power (60
watts, versus 50), and goes deeper
(down to 1kHz, versus 2.5kHz) than
the primary Eminence high frequency
driver. But it is handed a somewhat
diminished role. The signal fed to the
rear-firing tweeter is attenuated about
10dB down, relative to the signal
going to the front tweeter. What’s the
point, you ask? Well, this is the
“acoustic friendly” version of the
TC112, so we need look only to an
acoustic instrument to find the
inspiration. An acoustic instrument
does not radiate sound in only one
direction. Sound waves emanate from
both the front and back of the body
(the sides, as well, but in much smaller
doses). This creates an audible effect
that you can hear even when you are
sitting in an adjoining room (relative to
the instrument and player). By also
radiating sound from the back, as well
Fig A - On and Off Axis (15, 30, 45) Frequency Response Fig B - On Axis Frequency Response with 0, 1, and 2 ports blocked
Fig C - Impedance Curve, 0, 1 and 2 ports plugged Fig D - High Frequency Profiles
68 bassgear
as the front, of the cab, the TC112AF
seeks to more accurately reproduce
the tonal experience of hearing an
acoustic instrument in action.
No Scarecrow, here, this loveable
character definitely has a brain, and
that is the massive crossover. I have
never seen a fraction of this much
copper inside of a bass enclosure
before. The slope of the crossover is
approximately 4th order, net acoustic
slope, using a combination of
electrical and inherent roll-off. One
concern I would have with such an
extensive – and heavy – crossover is
road worthiness, but great care
appears to have been taken to secure
all the components with screws and
zip ties. The added components
required to handle the rear-firing
tweeter are placed on their own
“daughter board.” In a cab which is in
so many ways all about being
compact and lightweight, this over the
top crossover may initially seem to run
counter to what the TC112AF is
shooting for. But make no mistake,
performance and tone come first, and
Duke LeJeune is obviously a believer
in the benefits of a crossover done
right. One listen will confirm that the
TC112AF makes no compromise
when it comes to tone.
Sealable or pluggable ports are
nothing new. Trace Elliot, for one, has
been doing it for decades. But Duke
has put his own twist on the concept –
literally. Either or both of the ports can
be plugged via use of the two supplied
3” diameter expandable “test plugs,”
which may be found in most well-
stocked plumbing departments. The
rubber sleeve gets shoved into the
port, up to a snug fit, and then the
orange plastic “plug” gets screwed in,
pushing against the sleeve and
effectively sealing the port. This has an
impact on both the tuning and
frequency response (see Fig. B) and
on the relative impedance (see Fig. C).
As you can see, by plugging one, two,
or neither of the ports, you can change
not only the tonal response of the
enclosure, but also the kind of load it
presents to your amp. To illustrate one
other unique feature of the TC112,
Fig. D shows how the high frequency
response is impacted by the three
settings available via the two switches
on the back.
This is one well-made cab. It is
supremely portable. It has a unique
feature set that is well thought-out and
which reflects a distinct effort to fill a
particular niche (or two). The wiring
used appropriate gauges, and all
exposed wire had been given a nice
solder treatment. There is very little to
complain about, but if I were to pick a
nit, it would be that the spray-on (roll-
on?) finish is not 100% consistently
applied. I do like the covering, in
general. But the texture is not entirely
consistent. All in all, it’s one of the
most impressive cabs I have had the
pleasure to review.
bassgear
TEST!
TEST!
By Tom Bowlus
The Company Line
Luthiers seem to take a variety of paths
before ultimately landing in that role,
but I believe Randall Wyn Fullmer
may have taken one of the most
unique and interesting journeys. Sure,
like some other bass luthiers, he
started out building guitars, and like
many others, he started out building
instruments for himself. Heck, even
the “12-year old kid gets mentored by
an elder statesman, who helps him
build his first guitar” story is not
entirely unheard of in
these pages. No, what
I think sets Randy in
rarified territory is the
twenty years he spent
at Disney, where he
animated on Roger
Rabbit, The Little
Mermaid, Beauty and
the Beast, and The
Lion King, and went
on to play the role of Producer on hits
like The Emperor’s New Groove and
Chicken Little. Nope, I can’t think of
any other luthiers with a resume quite
like that!
I can see where this background
would develop some skills that carry
over into the world of lutherie.
Certainly, Randy’s career at Disney is
evidence of artistic ability on a very
high level. The vision, drive, and
organization necessary to bring
together a feature animated film from
a variety of components is
undoubtedly an asset when trying to
create a singular, cohesive and musical
instrument from a collection of
disparate parts. But Randy picked up a
few more esoteric lessons, as well.
“When you start at Disney, you think
that you are going to be overwhelmed
by the other talent, but then you realize
that out the 1,800 or so other artists
who work there, maybe four of them
are truly gifted beyond the rest.
Everyone else succeeded through
good work ethics and not being afraid
to make mistakes.” Randy also
remarks that he learned to, “Be brave,
and have guts; be smart about what
you keep, and don’t fear failure.”
The passion for building guitars never
left, though, and within a short time
after leaving Disney, the itch hit him
stronger than ever, and Randy was
back in the saddle – this time, building
basses.
Wyn 5-String Bass
Going Organic
We’ve brought you photos of Wyn
basses before, and Randy earned a
Bass Gear Magazine 2010 Winter
NAMM Show Award – and that was
his NAMM debut! The Wyn Guitars
webpage (www.wynguitars.com) is
full of more pictures of Randy’s
creations. Even if you never pick up a
Wyn bass in your lifetime (which
would be a darned shame, I tell ya!),
these basses are worth examining for
their sheer artistic beauty, gorgeous
woods, and compelling lines. These
are the kind of basses which look so
earthy, rich and good, that your initial
thought is that there is no way they can
sound and play as good as they look.
Well, sometimes it’s good to be
wrong, and believe me, every one of
us who played those Wyn basses at the
2010 Winter NAMM Show was
blown away on every level. I knew
then that I just had to get one of
Randy’s basses in for review.
Those earthy, natural body shapes
almost seem like they were grown or
raised, instead of shaped by man. The
carved top instruments, where Randy
shaves off part of the top layer of
wood, revealing the underlying layer
around the edges, and leaving the “top
wood” as almost a second body
shape overlying the main body, is
especially organic and unusual. I
like how the trimmed down
“faux top” evokes a single-cut
body shape, contrasting the
double-cut body.
Our test instrument sports a full
top, and what a top it is!
Flamed, AAAAA curly
flamed koa, with a lot of depth
and variegation. A thick layer
of wenge frames the top very
nicely and gives way to an
71bassgear
African mahogany body core.
Flipping the bass over reveals that the
top only tells half of the story. The
lighter, “atmospheric” quilted/figured
maple back both perfectly matches
and yet perfectly contrasts the more
“earthy” koa top. The lack of an accent
wood where the fancy back transitions
to the mahogany body creates a totally
different vibe, as well. When I first
saw the back of this instrument, I had
initially thought that perhaps the finish
was not evenly applied, or that
perhaps Randy had done some
innovative staining techniques. But
no, the contrasting patches of lighter
and darker maple are entirely
unenhanced, which makes this piece
of maple all the more rare and
impressive. It is worth noting that
Randy does not use
stains or dyes on any of his basses.
What you see on each bass is the
natural color and beauty which each
piece of wood brings to the equation.
A cursory visual inspection also
reveals that this bass features a neck-
through construction. In fact, all Wyn
basses feature this construction
technique. Randy explains that with
this design, “The tuning pegs, nut,
fingerboard, pickups, bridge and
strings are all attached to one
unbroken continuous block of wood.
For the ultimate in sustain and
transmission of tone from the neck
and fingerboard woods, it’s the most
direct way to get there.” The use of
multiple laminations adds stability and
strength; the last thing you want on a
neck-through instrument is a twisted
neck. Many Wyn basses (the test bass
included) feature a taper core neck.
This is where all the laminations
outside of the core are exactly parallel
to the taper of the neck,
and it lines up the grain of
each board much more
closely with the
orientation of the
strings, as they widen
out from the neck to the bridge. This
technique definitely requires careful
planning and additional effort, but the
looks are quite striking, and Randy
believes it is a contributing factor to
the clarity of his basses. The 7-piece
neck on this bass features two larger
pieces of wenge, with figured eastern
rock maple rails and bubinga stripes.
The dark, rich wenge fingerboard
nicely grounds the overall esthetic
presentation.
Electrically Enhanced
All those good looks would be for
naught if the bass didn’t sport
electronics which were up to the task.
No worries, here. Randy uses
Nordstrand pickups in most of his
basses. He is really happy with them,
and consistently gets the sounds he
wants out of them. Bartolini pickups
are also available, upon request. He
would rather play around with
different wood options, and not have
too many other variables. The pickups
in this bass are Fat Stacks, which
feature a single-coil mode and a
humbucking mode. I have played
several other basses with these
pickups, and in each case, I distinctly
preferred the tone in single-coil mode,
but appreciated the ability to switch to
humbucking mode (with minimal, yet
noticeable, tonal loss) if hum/noise
became an issue. One of the basses I
played at the Wyn booth that first
NAMM Show – the one which spoke
to me the most, I might add – also had
Nordstrand Fat Stacks. I recall
commenting at the time that it struck
me that on that particular bass, the Fat
Stacks offered two equally good, but
decidedly different, tones. But that
was NAMM, and often times, it’s hard
72 bassgear
to get a good read on things in that
kind of environment.
Well, this bass seems to work the same
kind of magic with those Fat Stacks.
There is no “compromise” setting.
Both the single-coil and humbucking
modes sound flat-out great
(and there is no
appreciable noise/hum in
single-coil mode, either). I
asked Randy what his
secret is, and he modestly
replied that there are
several different ways to
wire up the Fat Stacks,
and he settled in on a way
to wire them up
where both
single and
d u a l
coils work
well. He may have a bit
of a leg up when it comes to working
with Carey Nordstrand’s pickups,
though. As Randy explains, back
when that building bug hit him again,
“I called my friend Carey Nordstrand
and told him that I’d work for him for
a week for free if I could ask him any
question that came to mind.” Carey
accepted, and obviously, Randy
soaked up a thing or two during that
week.
Two preamp brands are available:
Nordstrand or Aguilar. While I’ve
definitely had good luck pairing up
Carey’s pickups with his preamps, this
bass sports an Aguilar OBP-3, and in
this bass, I feel that it is a very good fit.
The FET-based OBP-3 gives you +/-
18dB at 40Hz, +/- 16dB at either
400Hz or 800Hz (push/pull the Mid
knob selects between the two), and +/-
16dB at 6.5Hz. It’s obviously a very
powerful preamp, so a little goes a
long way. Input impedance is 1
Meg ohm.
The Soul of an Artist
Randy runs a tight ship,
and his entire staff
responds instantly to his
every command.
Admittedly, that’s not so
hard to do when you have
a staff of one. Still, even as
a relatively new, one-man
shop, Randy builds about
25-30 Wyn basses per year,
and he is barely keeping up with
demand. At his heart, Randy is an
artist, and in addition to building
basses, he finds his muse in drawing,
painting, sculpture, leaded glass,
custom furniture, and music (he plays
piano, sax, guitar, and bass).
He plays guitar more so than bass, and
his first instruments were all guitars, so
I asked Randy why he’s making
basses, now. “I find the sensibility of
most bass players to be in tune with
the beauty and sound of the same
73bassgear
exotic hardwoods that interest me. In
my experience, bass players tend to
value individual one-of-a-kind guitars,
as compared to guitar players, who are
more looking for that perfect early
Fender or Gibson. Also, besides the
deep expressive tones, bass guitars are
just plain bigger and offer a larger
canvas for design, shape and beauty.”
Randy’s approach to each instrument
is very much based upon the particular
player the instrument is being built for.
He sends each prospective customer a
list of ten questions, then based upon
the answers, he asks ten more. Then,
he asks them, “If you were to win the
lottery, and you could pick any three
basses on my webpage, which three
would you choose?” This gives him
the insight he needs to design the
perfect bass for that player.
Randy works with a mixture of wood-
working machines and hand tools.
The machines can certainly make
some tasks more efficient, but
sometimes hand tools lead to better
results. “There is something magical
about a hand-made instrument; it has
a soul. You miss this with a machine-
made instrument, even when
machine-made is technically more
‘perfect.’” He believes that there is a
zen to everything, and gets
particularly excited about making a
musical instrument, “You launch it
into a different realm.”
Real World Performance
Tonally, this bass has a big, full tone,
with excellent high end extension. It
seems to have the high-end “snap” I
often associate with a nice bolt-on
neck, but without the “growl” in the
upper mids (more on this, below). The
midrange is nicely balanced, and the
notes sound decidedly smooth and
clear throughout its range. Instead of
copping one particular tone profile
(e.g., a ‘70s J-bass tone, or a ’51 P-
bass, or a Stingray vibe, or whatever),
this Wyn bass offers more of a blank
canvas upon which to craft your own
ideal tone. “Full, clear and smooth”
are the words that come to mind the
most when assessing this bass’
inherent tone. Having two pickup
voicings to choose from, switchable
active/passive modes, and a powerful
3-band EQ, this “blank canvas”
approach certainly allows for a wide
variety of very usable tones out of this
instrument.
Working through different pickup
blend and right hand placement
combinations always opens up a
whole new world of tonal possibilities
on pretty much any two-pickup bass,
but on the Wyn, this process led to
some interesting discoveries. The first
thing I noticed is that while the Wyn is
74 bassgear
incredibly smooth with the blend
control centered, it is very much
capable of dialing in some nice
(alder/rosewood –variety) growl when
you solo either pickup. The neck
pickup soloed sounds, predictably,
more P-bass like, and the bridge
pickup soloed is rather like what you’d
get doing the same thing on a fatter
than usual sounding J-bass. However,
I also noticed that when I favored one
pickup or the other, the overall tonal
balance did not change very much.
The feel (and midrange character) did
vary quite a bit, but the relative
balance of lows to highs did not.
Typically, when I solo the bridge
pickup, I find myself reaching for a
little bass boost, but this was entirely
unnecessary with this Wyn bass. Of
course, if you want to thin it out, the
OBP-3 certainly allows you to do that.
The fullness and clarity which I
experienced playing the Wyn on my
own at practice definitely translated
well on the gig. With the blend control
centered, the EQ set “flat,” and the
pickups in humbucking mode, I was
hitting my comfort zone right off the
bat. For songs which needed a little
more snarl and growl, I soloed the
neck pickup and dug in.
The overall neck thickness and width
is roughly the same as, say my
Sadowsky P/J 5, but Randy hand-
carves all of his necks, shooting for
playability and comfort, “It should fit
like an old pair of jeans.” It is, like the
rest of the instrument, organic and
inviting. Randy definitely strives for a
familiar feel, from the player’s
perspective, stating, “While I try to
break up the silhouette somewhat,
really, every
ergonomically
correct bass is
very close to a
Fender, because
Leo got it right.”
That being said,
I do notice that
the upper horn
strap pin is just a
tad bit south of
the 12th fret.
Combine this
with the 34.5” scale, and the reach to
first position is a little longer than what
you’d get on a Fender (or on my
Sadowsky). Overall, though, it has a
fairly “normal” position and reach,
and the balance on a strap is very
good.
The Bottom Line
The phrase “functional
works of art” can
certainly apply to many
instruments, but every
Wyn bass I have seen
really hits that nail on
the head. Producing
major animated
features for Disney is
certainly top of the food
chain in that particular
mode of artistic
expression, and
Randall Fullmer could
have settled into a
quiet, content
retirement after leaving
Disney. Ever the driven
artist, though, he has
forged ahead in a new
field, and I believe he is
destined to leave an
equally impressive
legacy in the world of bass lutherie. If
you ever get the privilege to play one
of these basses, savor the opportunity,
and start saving your pennies, because
Randy’s work is likely to Wyn you
over (sorry, I couldn’t resist!).
75bassgear
in-hand on-bench
TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
CONFIGURATIONStrings: 5Style: Double cutaway, offsetOverall length: 46”Body Dimensions: 20.5” long x 13.5” wide at lower boutBody Contouring: ModerateWeight: 9.5 lbs
NECKScale length: 34.5”Neck width at nut: 1.81”Neck width at 12th fret: 2.566”Neck width at joint: 2.86”Neck thickness at nut: 1.78”Neck thickness at 1st fret: .859”Neck thickness at 12th fret: .980”Neck thickness at joint: 1.187”String spacing at nut: .36” to .44”String spacing at saddle: .74”Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: 12” to 20” compound / wide C shapePeghead break angle: 5 degBridge break angle: 15 degAfterlength at nut: 2.55” to 5.11”Afterlength at saddle: 1.2”Attachment: At bridgePocket gap: None (neck through)Truss rod type/access: Double action rod at the pegheadFret count: 24Fretwire: 79x38
ELECTRONICSPickups: Nordstrand Fat StackPickup location(s): 2.5” and 6” from bridge takeoff pointElectronics: Aguilar OBP-3Controls: Volume, Blend, Passive Tone (single/dual coils), Treble,
Mids (400/800Hz), BassShielding: FoilPreamp Circuit Voltage: 9v
CONSTRUCTIONBody woods: African mahogany core, wenge tone block, curly flamed
koa top, quilted maple backNeck woods: Tapered wenge cores, with eastern rock maple rails and
bubinga stripesFretboard: WengeBody finish: Satin Oil/UrethaneNeck finish: Multi-coat, hand-rubbed poly/oil finishNeck finish: Multi-coat, hand-rubbed poly/oil finish
HARDWAREStrings: Dean Markley SR2000Gauge: .046, .063, .080, .102, .125Attachment: At bridgeBridge/color: Hipshot type A, blackNut: BoneTuners/color: Hipshot Ultra-Light, blackKnobs/color: Wood (rosewood)Pickguard: NoneControl cavity cover: Wood (wenge)
SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Full, warm, slightly round, but clearMids: Well-balanced, smooth with both pickups full-onHighs: Great extension and clarity, but never thin
GENERAL
Company: Wyn Guitars21350 Nordhoff St.Suite 114Chatsworth, CA 91311http://www.wynguitars.com
Country of origin: USAWarranty: 5 years parts and labor – original ownerList price: $5150 (w/ basic gig bag)Street price: $3865 (w/ basic gig bag)Options: Fretted or fretless (with or without lines), hard shell polyester
clear clear coat, wood pickup covers, ramps, custom knobsAccessories: Basic gig bag (no charge), Wyn-branded Mono gig bag (+ $150),
custom Levi leather gig bag (+ $250), hard case (+ $150), Wyn-branded Levi leather strap (no charge)
Available colors: Numerous wood choices
Acquired from: Pedulla GuitarsDates: July-December 2011Locales: OhioTest gear: Glockenklang Heart-Rock II, fEARful 12/6cube/1 and 15/6/1, Genz-
Benz ShuttleMAX 12.0, Acme Flatwound and Full Range, GK MB200, Bergantino HT110, Nordy vJ5, Sadowsky P/J 5
Features: 4.5Tonal Flexibility: 4.5Ease of Use: 4Aesthetics: 5Ergonomics: 4Tone: 4.5Value: 4
Overall Construction 4Wood Choice 4Materials Choice 5Joinery 5Fretwork 4Fit and Finish of Adornments 4Quality of Finish Work 4Ease of Repair 5Potential Range of Setup 5Balance on Knee 4Balance on Strap 4Overall Electronic Quality 5Solder Joints, Wire Runs 5Clarity 5Noise 5Shielding 5Quality for Price Range 4
Always full-sounding, and always clear, the Wynshows great balance and smoothness with bothpickups blended, but takes on a nice P-bass snarl or J-bass growl when you solo the neck or bridge pickups.A versatile, head-turning instrument, for sure!
In-Hand Score4.36 averageOn-Bench Score4.53 average
WynGuitars5-string
bas
sgea
rtest
TONE-O-METER
Phil Maneri’s
BASS LAB
Wyn Guitars5-string
I really like this bass. That’s sayingsomething, as most “hippie sandwich”instruments bore me. I like wood, butI’m not generally a fan of multiplepieces of glued-up lumber oninstruments. Here is the thing, glueand wood can sound like a bookshelf,but they can also sound very good ifit’s done right – even with “bookshelf”style plywood, like on New Standarddouble basses. Properly made hippiesandwiches can kick the tar out of agarden-variety plank bass, if they aredone properly.
This Wyn Bass is a great hippiesandwich – one of the better one’syou’ll see – and the work that wentinto it is fist rate. One of the coolestthings about this bass is the they wayhe laid out the stringers on the neck-through billet. Usually, billets keepstringers the same size through theirlength and are carved down, or addedto, for the peghead. Then, the bodywings are glued on to make up for thewidth in the body area. On this bass’neck billet, the two outer maplesections and their three short bubingapartners are straight from end to end,but the two center wenge sectionstaper from 2mm at the tip of thepeghead to 29mm at the base of thebody. They still have to glue on bodywings, but the whole run from end to
end is very elegant. Aridiculously tedious detailthat is easy to miss, but it’s avery nice design element andvery well-conceived. The restof the wood planks are verynice. A quilted maple back
and figured koa top sandwichedaround an African mahogany coremake it nice-looking, resonant, andrelatively lightweight.
I really like the smaller fretwire.Jumbo frets seem like big-soled boots,where I’d rather see a nice toe shoe.Smaller frets don’t last near as long,but generally play in tune better asthey wear out, and get your handscloser to the lumber – which keepsyou playing in tune better as yousqueeze a note in, rather than pullingthe note sharp because the frets are sotall.
The electronics are fantastic – a set ofNordstrand Fat Stacks run through adefeatable Aguilar OPB-3 preamp.Even the passive tone cap is the nicereissue Orange Drop. There are lots ofknobs on the face of this bass: Bass,Mid (with frequency center switch),Treble, Passive Tone (with coil tap,making the stacks big singles), Blend,and a Master Volume withactive/passive switch – pretty muchthe kitchen sink. Well-installed, well-shielded and great-sounding. The onlything I didn’t care for was the batterybeing held on by a Velcro strip. Thebody of the 9-Volt is defaulted toground, so if the Velcro ever failed andthe battery cut loose, it could touch ahot lead in the compartment and shortout the bass. Velcro would work if thebattery were encased in somethinglike electric tape, or a bag of somekind, so that if it did start movingaround, it wouldn’t cause anyelectrical issues that could interrupt ashow.
The hardware is all the usual suspectson this level of instrument: HipshotUltralight machines and bridge,secured by Dunlop Dual Designstraplocks – very nice.
A few other comments: the nut slot onthe bass side wasn’t fit quite right. Thetruss rod was set so the neck is flatunder string tension, but when thetension of the strings was relaxed, theneck fell into a profound back bow.That’s a pretty springy neck andfingerboard, by my standards. It worksfine, though, and adjusts right where itshould live for a range of setups. I feltlike this particular bass had a loweroutput B string and a little deadness inthe upper register on the G string; notunusual or maybe not evenproblematic for the average player. Itseems like a wood thing, and isprobably different on other versions ofthis bass. I only point it out because theprice range demands a high level ofsophistication, which overall I’d saythis bass delivers. I really think overallthis bass is built well, sounds great,plays great and is a worthy contenderin its price point.
77bassgear
bassgear
TEST!
TEST!
By Tom Bowlus
The Company Line
We introduced you to Bill Jansen
and the Cincinnati, Ohio-based
Reeves Amplification back in
issue #2, where we reviewed the
very impressive Custom 225 all-
tube bass head. At the time,
Reeves Amplification did not
make any bass enclosures of their
own, but the Custom 225
impressed when paired up with a
variety of other cabs. Up for
review now, we have not one, but
two Reeves-branded cabs to
consider: a 1x15 and a 4x10.
To refresh your memory, Bill
Jansen hooked up with the folks
at Music Ground (“HIWATT,
U.K.”) to manufacturer
amplifiers to be sold in the USA
under the name “Reeves
Amplification.” For the
uninitiated, the late Dave Reeves
was the engineer and driving
force behind the original
HIWATT brand (and Sound City).
The HIWATT brand name also
continues, but it is a completely
different company. Reeves
Amplification currently builds
their bass heads (Custom 225 and
Custom 400) and cabs here in the
USA.
Building a New Foundation
One of the cabs that they used
back when they were testing the
Custom 225 prototype was a
Sunn 2x15 with slotted ports.
Everyone liked the way that cab
sounded with the Reeves head, so
when Bill and co. set out to build
their own line of bass cabs to
support the C225 (the 400 would
come later), the first thing he
wanted to try was a slot-ported
1x15. I believe this was a smart
call, as was enlisting the help of a
number of local bass players to
assist in the process. Through a
process of trial and error – which
included swapping out lots of
different drivers and trying a
couple of different cabinet
configurations – they came up
with their first official bass cab
design. The driver which they
Reeves 1x15 and
4x10 Bass Cabs
settled on is a custom version of
the ceramic-magnet Warehouse
Guitar Speakers BG15C.
This new 1x15 seemed to be a hit
with nearly everyone who tried it,
but one of the rules in design and
manufacturing is that some
people will always be more
interested in what you don’t offer
than what you do offer. To silence
at least a few of those folks,
Reeves later developed a 4x10
enclosure. This process was a lot
more straightforward. To
maintain a consistent look and to
maximize production efficiency,
Bill wanted the enclosure to
retain the same exterior
dimensions as the 1x15. To work
well with their tube head, he
chose to go with a sealed design.
From there, it was a matter of
picking a 10” driver which would
work well in the box they had in
mind. Fortunately, this time
around, the first try was the
charm, and the off-the-shelf,
neodymium-magnet Eminence
Deltalite™ II 2510 hit the nail on
the head.
Both cabs are very attractive,
sturdy, and lighter than you’d
expect from their size. The neatly
applied tolex and thin white
piping provide a nice contrast to
the reserved, but classy salt-and-
pepper grill cloth. The real
beauty, perhaps, lies beneath,
where the 18mm void-free Baltic
birch plywood enclosure features
fingered joints and rounded
edges. The hardware is simple –
recessed metal handles, large
rubber feet, and a single ¼” input
jack – but effective.
Would You Like That With a
Twist of Orange?
When I was talking to Bill Jansen
about their design process for
these cabs, he mentioned that the
Orange OBC115 was one of the
1x15’s which they referenced
when developing the Reeves
1x15. Ironically, I had just
recently finished up some
comparative testing between the
Reeves cab and – you guessed it –
the Orange OBC115. It’s a great
cab, and it routinely gets
slammed by an all-tube head, so it
makes sense for use as a reference
point. Head to head, the Orange
and the Reeves have definite
similarities. The
Reeves has a more
extended high end
and a bit more
u p p e r - m i d r a n g e
presence. The
Orange is a little
more full down low
(through the low
E). The Reeves
sounds like it
might go a little
lower, but again, it
is not as full-
sounding through
much of the lows.
The Reeves is
more tight and
clear, and the
Orange is more
warm and round.
With some EQ,
either cab can be
made to sound
close to, but not exactly like, the
other.
Sticking with the brand-to-brand
comparison, I broke out my
Orange OBC410 to compare to
the Reeves 4x10. This
comparison is a little different
than the 1x15’s, seeing as how the
Reeves 4x10 is sealed and the
Orange is rear-ported (both
1x15’s are ported). In addition,
the Orange has a tweeter, and the
Reeves does not. The Orange has
noticeably more low end going
on, and the Reeves is more mid-
focused (not surprising, given the
ported vs. sealed thing going on).
What did surprise me was that the
Reeves has almost as much high
frequency extension, despite not
79bassgear
having a tweeter. It is also
noticeable that with the Reeves,
the upper mids surge right up to
and through the high end. With
the two-way Orange, it sounds
like there is a bit of a dip in
response between the driver and
the tweeter. This is no slam to the
Orange. In fact, in comparison to
your “typical” 4x10 (most of
which are ported and have
tweeters), the Orange’s response
is closer to average. Rather, this
goes to show that the Reeves is
doing something special, here.
Overall, the Orange is more warm
and full, and the Reeves is more
articulate and mid-punchy.
Not having any modern sealed
4x10’s on hand, I turned to my
1975 vintage Ampeg B-40 as a
second comparison point. I’d
always loved the B-40, especially
with its matching V-4B, but this
comparison points out just how
much more efficient modern
drivers have become. The Reeves
4x10 is notably louder and more
sensitive, but the most dramatic
difference was in the mids. The
B-40 has a definite scoop going
on, and the Reeves just pours it
on throughout the mids. The B-40
did have a bit more fullness and
warmth down low, and a very
strong low-midrange response.
The Reeves, however, is much
more defined in the lower
frequencies, especially when
playing on the B string (which in
all fairness, the old Ampeg just
was not designed to handle). The
B-40 does have surprising high-
end reach, which is a bit on the
thin side (relative to the Reeves,
at least), but sweet and clear.
Once again, the Reeves just has a
lot more output, especially up
top.
Which One Should I Get?
Okay, so Reeves now has two
killer bass enclosure options, but
which one is right for you? They
do share some common tonal
qualities, such as controlled low
end, strong midrange presence,
and more high-end extension than
you’d expect from cabs without
horns. The 4x10 has a bit more of
a balanced response through the
mids, and it’s a tad more full-
sounding, as a result. The 4x10 is
the louder of the two, and has a
bit more life up high. Overall, it is
a little warmer than the 1x15. The
1x15 is no slouch, though, and
has a bit more note separation
down low. I tried both cabs with a
mixture of different basses, and I
found that I tended to prefer the
4x10 with passive 4-string axes.
Conversely, I tended to prefer the
1x15 with active basses and 5-
strings. Not that either cab
wouldn’t do well with a variety of
basses, but for my preferences,
that’s how things panned out.
How about driving them both as
one big happy stack? Granted,
these two cabs sound and behave
more alike than you would expect
from two such different cabs
(more on this in the Cab Lab
portion of the review). But when
you begin mixing up the radiation
patterns of cabinets with different
80 bassgear
driver configurations, the results
are less predictable than when
you stack similar cabs.
Sometimes, you are pleasantly
surprised by the mix-n-match, but
more often than not, the sum of
the parts is greater than the
whole. Such is the case, here. If
you are inclined to drive two
Reeves cabs, I would suggest
making it a matching pair. Oh,
and grab some earplugs, because
at most sane volumes, either cab
is going to be plenty capable of
handling gig duties on its own. I
have to admit, though, two of
those 1x15’s would make for a
pretty darned sweet stack. But
then again, so would two of the
4x10’s…
Speaking of Gig-Worthy…
I have gigged my Custom 225
with a variety of cabs, most
typically of the 6x10 or 8x10
variety. It’s safe to say that these
covered the gig nicely. Turns out,
though, I was bringing way too
much cab… Either of these
Reeves cabs when paired up with
the C225 are capable of covering
a large gig with FOH support, or
a smaller gig with no PA support.
Most of my gigs nowadays
are one form of rock or
the other, and – with the
help of a few choice
pedals – I can cover any
of them with the C225
pushing either Reeves
cab. From time to time, I
fill in with some friends
in a country band, and on
one such occasion, I
brought the Reeves C225
and 4x10, and this was a match
made in heaven when paired up
with either my Sadowsky P/J 5 or
my ’74 P-bass.
I should point out that I have been
running my Custom 225 with
Tung-Sol KT120’s, instead of the
original KT88’s. This obviously
requires a re-bias, but the
transformers are definitely up to
the task. We didn’t get a ton more
output from the KT120’s (maybe
only 12% more power, or so), but
it did change the tone profile a
bit, with less of a dip in the
midrange, so the perceived
volume to a definitely jump in the
right direction. The C225 is not
lacking in volume with the
KT88’s, but if you want a bit
more midrange and little more
output, those KT120’s work very
well in that head.
The Bottom Line
I have to admit, the Custom 225
really set some high expectations
for me. That is one of my all-time
favorite heads, and when I heard
that Reeves Amplification was
going to come out with a cab or
two support their sweet all-tube
head, I was really hoping that
they’d be up to the task. I needn’t
have worried. These are two
excellent cabs that each pair up
very nicely with the Reeves head.
Oh sure, they work well with
other heads, too, but they look so
darned classy with a matching
head, why would you want to?
81bassgear
On-BenchScore4.07 average
In-Hand Score3.67 average
on-bench in-hand
TEST SUMMARY1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
Enclosure
Configuration: 1x15Listed Impedance: 8 ohmsRated Power Handling: 300 wattsInputs/Outputs: One 1/4"Dimensions: 24.5"h x 24"w x 17"dWeight: 62.2 lbsPorts: Slot-ported (front, bottom)Covering: TolexBaffle Board: 18mm void-free Baltic birch plywoodCabinet: 18mm void-free Baltic birch plywoodGrill: Grill cloth over 1/2” Baltic birch frameHandles: Two (side-mounted)Feet: FourCasters: NoneCorners: NoneDriver Mounting: 8 bolts (w/ T-nuts)
Drivers/Crossover
Woofers: WGS 15", cast frameCone Material: PaperVoice Coil: 2.5” (kapton former)Magnets: Ceramic (75 oz.)Tweeter: NoneAdjustment: N/AProtection: N/ASpeaker Connections: Spring-loaded binding postsCrossover: N/AOptions: None
Measurements
Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 104.60 dBSPL
General
Company: Reeves Amplification11120 Luschek DriveCincinnati, OH 45241www.reevesamps.com
Country of Origin: USAYear of Origin: 2011Warranty: 1 yearList Price: $799.00Street Price: $799.00Test Unit Options: NoneAccessories: NonePrice as Tested: $799.00Available Colors: Black tolex with salt-and-pepper grill
clothAvailable Options: NoneAcquired from: Reeves AmplificationDates: October 2010 through December 2011Locales: OhioTest Gear (in-hand review): Reeves Custom 225, Orange AD200, TC
Electronic RH450, Orange OBC115 & OBC410, ’73 Fender Jazz & ’74 Precision, Skjold LP5 Model B, Fbass BN5
Sonic Profile:Lows: Tight and clear; goes fairly deep, but not overly fullMids: Strong upper midrange presenceHighs: Good extension for a cab without a tweeter
Portability 3.5Road Worthiness 4Components 4Hardware 4Cabinet Construction 4.5Wiring 4.5Cover/Finish 4
The 1x15 goes fairly low, and is more “tightand clear” than “full and warm” with greatnote to note separation. It has strong punchthrough the middle to upper midrange, andgives a bit more high end than you’d expectfrom a single 1x15.
Features 3Tonal Flexibility 3.5Ease of Use 3.5Aesthetics 4Tone 4Value 4
TONE-O-METER
bas
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Reeves
1x15
Bass Cab
CAB LAB
Tom Bowlus’
Reeves1x15 and 4x10Bass CabinetsThese cabs do a great job of taking the
best that classic enclosure designs had
to offer and blending this with the best
modern materials and techniques. The
black tolex, white piping, and salt-and-
pepper grill cloth present a classic,
almost retro, look. The finger joints are
rounded over nicely on the edges, and
the entire cab is made from 18mm
void-free Baltic birch plywood. The
frame for the grill is made from ½”
Baltic birch, and the grill is held in
place by six strips of Velcro, which do
a nice job of holding it in place. I
noticed no rattles or looseness in the
grill, even after several gigs and even
when pushing the cabs pretty hard.
Pull tabs on the bottom of the grill
make removing it a
breeze.
The drivers are held in
place with my
preferred fasteners,
bolts threaded into T-
nuts. Eight are used on
the 1x15, and four per driver on the
4x10. The input jack on the rear of the
cab also follows a classic theme,
sporting only a single ¼” input jack.
Most modern cabs in this price range
have two or more input jacks (to make
“daisy chaining” multiple cabs easier)
and most offer Speakon™ connectors.
The Reeves heads do offer two
speaker outputs, so the daisy chaining
function is not a major issue, but some
heads which folks might want to use
with these cabs might only have one
4-ohm output jack, making it difficult
to drive two of the Reeves cabs.
Similarly, the ¼” speaker jack has
worked fine for most folks over the
past several decades, but on higher-
powered amplifiers, like the Reeves
Custom 400, Speakons would be
preferred.
The handles are large, recessed metal
jobs, and they are well positioned to
allow a comfortable carry. At 62 and
68 pounds, respectively, both cabs are
a little lighter than they look to be,
though both are plenty sturdy. The
large, textured rubber feet make for a
solid foundation. Casters are not
provided and are not listed as an
option.
Both enclosures have the same
exterior dimensions, though the 1x15
is slot-ported (bottom, front) and the
4x10 is sealed. Despite these
differences, both cabs have similar
overall tunings (see Fig. A), though the
1x15 has a few more dips in the
midrange and the 4x10 has a couple of
peaks in the 2kHz range. In addition,
the impedance curves line up fairly
closely (see Fig. B), though according
to Bill Jansen, both of these
similarities are more by happenstance
than by design.
The wiring in these cabs is very nicely
done, with heavy gauge wire; nothing
to complain about at all. Insulation is
of the pink fiberglass variety and
securely applied. There’s nothing too
fancy about these cabs, but that is part
of their appeal.
Fig. A Comparitive On Axis Frequency Response 115 vs 410 Fig. B Comparible Impedance Curve 115 and 410
83bassgear
On-BenchScore4.07 average
In-Hand Score3.67 average
on-bench in-hand
TEST SUMMARY1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
Enclosure
Configuration: 4x10Listed Impedance: 8 ohmsRated Power Handling: 1,000 wattsInputs/Outputs: One 1/4"Dimensions: 24.5"h x 24"w x 17"dWeight: 68 lbsPorts: N/A (sealed)Covering: TolexBaffle Board: 18mm void-free Baltic birch plywoodCabinet: 18mm void-free Baltic birch plywoodGrill: Grill cloth over 1/2” Baltic birch frameHandles: Two (side-mounted)Feet: FourCasters: NoneCorners: NoneDriver Mounting: 4 bolts (w/ T-nuts)
Drivers/Crossover
Woofers: Eminence Deltalite II 2510Cone Material: PaperVoice Coil: 2.5" (aluminum)Magnets: Neodymium (7 oz.)Tweeter: NoneAdjustment: N/AProtection: N/ASpeaker Connections: Binding postsCrossover: N/AOptions: None
Measurements
Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 106.20 dBSPL
General
Company: Reeves Amplification11120 Luschek DriveCincinnati, OH 45241www.reevesamps.com
Country of Origin: USAWarranty: 1 yearList Price: $1,199.00Street Price: $1,199.00Test Unit Options: NoneAccessories: NonePrice as Tested: $1,199.00Available Colors: Black tolex with salt-and-pepper grill
clothAvailable Options: NoneAcquired from: Reeves AmplificationDates: October 2010 through December 2011Locales: OhioTest Gear (in-hand review): Reeves Custom 225, TC Electronic RH450,
Orange OBC115, OBC410 & AD200, ’73 Fender Jazz & ’74 Precision, Skjold LP5 Model B, Fbass BN5
Sonic Profile:Lows: Somewhat lean, but solid, and very controlledMids: Strong midrange presence; fairly even throughout the midsHighs: Nicely connected to the upper mids; all the notes, none of the noise
Portability 3.5Road Worthiness 4Components 4Hardware 4Cabinet Construction 4.5Wiring 4.5Cover/Finish 4
This cab will hit as hard as you want, butstays in control. It has a decided midrangefocus and offers great definition in a mix.The leaner low frequency response pairs upwell with the massive low end from theC225.
Features 3Tonal Flexibility 3.5Ease of Use 3.5Aesthetics 4Tone 4Value 4
TONE-O-METER
bas
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Reeves
4x10
Bass Cab
Impedance Curve 1x15
On and Off Axis (15, 30, 45) Frequency Response 1x15
Impedance Curve 4x10
On and Off Axis (15, 30, 45) Frequency Response 4x10
85bassgear
By Vic Serbe
Doug Johns was born February 25th,
1965 and grew up in Elyria, Ohio – a
town about 1/9th the size of Cleveland,
and about twenty miles west, right off of
I-80. His family was very artistic, and the
house he grew up in was always full of
great music from Pat Metheny, Tower of
Power (TOP), Ray Charles, Jimi
Hendrix, Thelonious Monk, and even old
blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. No
musical stone left unturned, here. Doug’s
musical style is just as diverse. He covers
everything from the grittiest and greasiest
funk to the sweetest melodic passages
you’ve ever heard. He spends a lot of time
sharing his gifts through recorded music,
shows such as the NAMM show, and also
through clinics and other special bass-
themed events. I personally believe he has
yet to receive due recognition for his
abilities and contributions, so it’s a real
pleasure to be able to feature Doug Johns
as a player interview here in Bass Gear
Magazine. If you treat yourself to some of
his music, you’ll quickly understand. So,
who’s the man behind the drum kit
holding the bass and playing both at the
same time? Let’s find out...
VS: Doug, let’s start with your early
years. With the musical prowess of many
of your family members, you pretty much
grew up in kind of your own personal
Juilliard school. But have you had any
formal music instruction, and if so, what
and where?
DJ: No, nothing anyone would call
formal. Just on-the-gig instruction, if that
makes sense. I’ve always been one to
study up on what’s necessary for the next
gig and just be as prepared as I can.
VS: You’ve commented that you started
out on drums and have come to realize
that experience - along with continuing to
play them now - has been beneficial, and
you recommend learning drums to all
bass players. Do you have any advice on
how someone who doesn’t have any
experience with drums can work that into
their practice or even performance?
DJ: Yes, everyone should experience
drums, and not just from a mechanical
standpoint. I mean, I wouldn’t expect
everyone to necessarily be fluent on a
drum kit – I know I’m not – but to
understand that rhythm is the whole deal
is what I’m getting at when I say to get
behind a kit. I guess it doesn’t even have
to be a drum kit, but just some way of
tapping into your inner pulse, you know?
That rhythm in your body. I guess you
could work it into performance in a lot of
different ways; something as simple as
tapping your foot is definitely the place to
start. From there, maybe vocalizing a
drum beat, picking up a shaker or
tambourine – all good stuff that forces you
to be rhythmic.
VS: You mention picking up the bass out
of necessity, but that you eventually
bonded with the bass and even more, that
it kind of “chose you.” Can you tell us
how that came about?
DJ: Yeah, back in the day, everyone
wanted to be the guitar player, you know?
But there was just something about the
feeling of that bass. The tautness of
strings, the low sounds that penetrated my
body… it just connected with me
personally. I don’t know if I can really
explain it, Vic. I just knew.
VS: I’ve read that your older brother
plays guitar, which is also true for Victor
Wooten, and he says he actually learned
some of the techniques he uses on bass
from him. Did you have the same
experience?
DJ: Oh, definitely. I can vividly
remember sitting outside of my brother’s
guitar lessons when I was a little kid and
just listening. I’d have to say that’s really
how I started learning. I remember we’d
get home, and my brother would practice
what he’d learned that night. I was just
dying to pick up the guitar after him and
try to play what I’d heard from outside
that lesson door. Sooner or later, I’d get
my chance, and I’d end up interpreting
what I’d heard… and my brother really
had a lot of patience for showing me the
notes in whatever chords he’d learned that
Nasty Never Sounded So Good
86 bassgear
day. And I started making music. Funny,
I’m pretty sure this was right about the
same time I was so crazy about playing
drums. Makes me think I should change
my answer to that question you asked a
few minutes ago: I did have a kind of
“formal” education, from my brother and
my aunt, the drummer.
VS: Your first bass was some kind of
Fender Jazz copy, and now your main
bass is the ‘86 Pedulla Buzz which had
frets installed. Did you have any other
basses in between?
DJ: Yeah, I had a real cool Ibanez… man,
I can’t remember the name of it. But it had
a really small headstock. Oh, and I also
had a Gibson “Grabber” bass somewhere
in there… the one with the sliding
pickup? Now, that was cool!
VS: I always thought your Buzz was an
MVP, which I guess it basically is, since
that’s the only difference between the
current models as far as I know. I also
understand you have a new MVP you’re
getting acclimated to. How would you
compare the two?
DJ: Hmm, yeah, I guess I can understand
that – a lot of cats think I play an MVP.
Those frets I had installed actually came
out of circumstance. At the time I got that
Buzz bass, I was on the road with this
awesome funk band. And one day, they
were pretty much like, “Doug, we like the
fretless sound, but if you wanna keep this
gig, you’re gonna have to get a fretted
bass.” [laughing] So I sent it to Mike
[Pedulla], and he put frets in it for me.
But yes, I do have a new one… another
Buzz bass, to be exact. It’s pretty much an
exact replica of the original I bought back
in ‘86. I got it off of eBay – where else?
And of course, I sent it right off to Mike to
have frets put in it. Maybe someday I’ll
get a Buzz bass and keep it fretless, but I
just wanted an exact duplicate – or as
close as I could get to an exact duplicate –
of my current bass. Granted, I believe that
no two handcrafted instruments can ever
be exactly the same. That’s the way any
art should be. But anyway, I’ve been
developing a new relationship with my
new bass, and it’s going great.
What’s funny, Vic, is that my new bass
plays waaaay better from a mechanics
standpoint, but I’m just so used to my old,
worn-in bass that I’m still working on
bringing the new one to the stage. It’s kind
of like an old, broken-in shoe, you know?
I think a good musician should be able to
play on anything, but I’ve still got some
adjustment period stuff to work through.
It’s probably about 99% mental, to be
honest.
VS: It was an interesting story about the
funk band helping you finance that Buzz
in 86-87. How long was it before you got
another bass, and what was it? When did
you first start working with 5 and 6-string
basses?
DJ: Yeah, I’m so grateful to those guys
for pulling together like that. Gosh, I’m
guessing here, but I think it was
something like 10 years before I got
another one… yeah, probably about 10
years. It was a 6-string.
VS: I heard some wonderful fretless work
on your Tobias Growler 5-string in some
of your recordings, such as on the “Doug
Johns” CD. I understand you also have a
Fodera 6-string and a custom Jon Hill
bass. How much are those involved in
your playing schedule, and are there any
recordings you can recommend that
feature either or both of them?
DJ: Thanks, Vic. I love the fretless, and
sitting here talking about it makes me
think I really do need to spend more time
on it. I guess I could say that about the
Fodera and the Hill, too. Did you know
Jon Hill is a good friend of mine? He lives
here in the Cleveland area, now heading
up Bootleg Guitars, and besides being a
great luthier, he’s always been able to put
up with my attention to detail concerning
instruments. But anyhow, back to your
question, I don’t play all of my guitars as
much I’d like or should, but you can
definitely find all of them in any of my
recordings. My Pedulla definitely appears
the most, but I don’t think I can really
rattle off which one was used where,
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though. A peek at the liner notes might
narrow it down a little?
VS: You’ve mentioned that you’ve played
guitar before. If you’re staying involved
with guitar now, how are you integrating
it with what you do?
DJ: I like to use the guitar as a writing tool
– specifically, a nylon acoustic. I’ve taken
that guitar with me on hiking trips and
even used it as a lean-to prop on the beach
once [chuckle]. I love the wide neck and
the classic sound. Other than that, of
course I’m a huge fan of a good ole Tele,
Strat, Les Paul. Nothin’ like some
choppin’ funky James Brown chords,
know what I’m sayin’? I just love playing
the funky rhythmic guitar parts in my
recordings… It’s like adding hot sauce.
VS: What is your current bass rig?
DJ:
DR Nickel Sunbeams – gauges 40-
60-80-100.
Two 1986 Pedulla Buzz Basses with
frets put in them. Both have
stock Bartolini pickups with a
Bartolini TMB preamp
installed.
Fodera Monarch 6 – used primarily
for recording, but
occasionally shows up at live
performances
Jon Hill Custom Guitars – 4-string
custom
Genz-Benz Shuttle 3.0, 6.0 & 9.0 –
currently touring with the
Shuttle 9.0
Genz-Benz Uber 4x10 – one 4-ohm
version and two 8-ohm
versions
Dunlop Q95 wah wah, Envelope
Filter, and Bass Fuzz
Octaver
Pigtronix EP1 and EP2, Disnortion
Radial Engineering J48 & JDX DI’s
VS: Have you done work with alternate
tunings?
DJ: You know what? I haven’t. That’s
something I’ve always wanted to dive in
to but just haven’t. Maybe someday…
But not yet.
VS: What about pickup blending? Seems
like a lot of your work is fully or nearly
fully blended most of the time, but I have
heard bridge-favored a lot as well. What’s
your “home base” on that?
DJ: Good ears. You’re pretty much spot-
on with your assessment, Vic. I basically
have three settings I favor: Both pickups
wide open, A little more bridge than neck
pickup – for that tight tone like on
Satchmo, or full neck pickup like on HHP
from my first CD. But my home base as
you put it, Vic, would probably be both
pickups equally 100%. That’s my most
common setting.
VS: What about EQ? How do you
typically set your tone controls or
instrument EQ, and what about bass rig
EQ?
DJ: I think this is mostly answered in the
previous question, with the exception of
the two tone controls for the individual
pickups, which I run 100% also. On my
Pedulla, my pot arrangement is bass and
treble knobs at 100% full, volume at unity,
and the last knob is a pickup blend. On my
Genz-Benz Shuttle 9.0, bass and treble
knobs are at about 12:00, and in the mids
I cut 12kHz minus15dB. That just seems
to work for my particular bass/hands, etc.
Actually, I recently did a video for Genz-
Benz showing a detailed view of my amp
settings – it’s on the Genz web site.
VS: How about your bass setup? You’re
definitely into using your frets as a
significant part of your sound, which is
really great. How is your bass typically set
up, and is the truss rod cover missing on
your Buzz just because it’s been lost over
the years, or because you tweak it often to
keep your action “perfect?”
DJ: Boy, you’ve got me figured out on this
one, Vic. The truss rod cover was
intentionally removed. Because I’m
traveling a lot, I always have to do minor
adjustments – you know, humidity,
dryness, exposure. Actually, depending on
where I’m traveling, sometimes I do an
adjustment even before I leave home…
definitely a benefit of the long relationship
I’ve had with my Pedulla.
But you know, it’s not just because I
“know” my Pedulla so well that I make
those little tweaks – I’d do it with any bass.
I really believe that a musician should have
a handle on how to adjust their instrument.
So many people are afraid of the truss rod
and all that, but it’s not really any mystery.
I can’t tell you how many instruments I’ve
picked up that had a great feel but maybe
didn’t get played as much as they should
just because of an adjustment needed in the
setup. That’s why I always try to explain
basic truss rod science at my clinics…
people are so intimidated by it. But it’s not
that scary once you understand how it
works.
But back to your original question, Vic,
and my frets, I just like a really flat neck
with barely any counter-bow, or relief. It
just works for me. Yeah, it’s noisier, so you
have to be conscious of that. Like, say I
have a recording date; I might put a little
more relief in the neck to sort of clean up
the notes a bit. But at the same time, I love
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all those “things in between.” They help to
add up to my sound. It’s a Pedulla Buzz
bass, right? [laughs].
VS: I’ve seen a video where you talk
about the “in betweens” regarding the
notes in a bass line. I’m a HUGE believer
in that and how it can bring a bass line to
life. Tell us how you arrived at that style,
or at least realized the importance of
them?
DJ: Yeah, that’s a good follow-up. I
wouldn’t say I ever consciously arrived at
that style – I’ve just always seen a stringed
instrument as naturally percussive, and I
tend to beat on my basses like they’re
drums. There are a lot of neat sounds you
can come up with by that approach. A lot
of the time, those little sounds in between
are just my body getting into the groove,
so I embrace them instead of trying to
cover them up. I think it adds to the
overall rhythm of the groove. Sometimes
you might get a weird sound – like
slapping the fret with a string – but if
you’re willing to play with it and it’s
musical, then I think it’s great!
VS: You’ve commented that Hammond
B-3 left-hand bass lines have strongly
influenced your style. In what way?
DJ: I’m a huge TOP guy, and a lot of my
years coming up were in Hammond trios.
Hammond bass lines – left hand or foot
pedals – just seem to move and groove so
hard. I just love it! It’s so fluent and
percussive… moving the chords in such a
complimentary way… It’s hard to
describe. I’d say you could almost learn to
groove harder if you listen exclusively to
killer Hammond players. Is there such a
thing? Grooving harder?
VS: You and drummer Chris Ceja have a
very (sur)real connection, which is
obvious to anyone. How did your clearly
benevolent relationship start, and what
was the key to its longevity?
DJ: You know, Chris and I met years
ago… probably close to 30 years now. So,
we have time together, and nothing beats
time spent with a musician. You start to
gelatinize – yep, gelatinize… I always
wanted to use that word somewhere. But
anyway, we started to gelatinize in a way
that was almost subconscious. I’ve
always said that Chris is the other half of
my musical brain, and that’s really not a
joke.
But on the other hand, Vic, I think anyone
can relate when I say you’ve got to be
careful about the possibility of stagnating
in a long-term relationship. Even though
Chris and I will always play in some
capacity, he needed some time away this
year to pursue other endeavors, and that
made me realize it was time to open my
mind to other players and possibilities.
And musical outlooks, you know?
It was tough at first. I think I forgot the
importance of a different, fresh approach.
I’ve been playing with a new drummer
for a few months now – Jordan Simmons
(JSimms) – and it’s been really, really
cool. Not only is J really talented, but he’s
got a different take on my tunes that I
probably never would have considered
before we played together. And it’s
opened me up to all sorts of new ideas…
I’m even playing a couple of dates this
year where I play with drummers I pretty
much don’t know at all. Exciting and
scary… two good emotions to have when
making music!
VS: You’ve worked with a lot of very well
known people, but I’d like to ask you
about a couple in particular. Tell us a little
bit about your experiences working with
Victor Wooten and Chuck Rainey.
DJ: You’re going to need a whole issue
for that one! Man, what do I say about two
great guys like them? For Victor and
Chuck, I have to say that – even though
they’re absolute monster players – that
my first thought of either cat isn’t really
connected to bass. I think about them both
as truly great human beings. I don’t know
what else to say. I’m grateful – and really
feel privileged – for the time I’ve spent
with them.
VS: I’ve heard many tracks with effects,
octaves, fuzz, envelopes, and maybe
more. Which effects boxes do you use
most often?
DJ: Without a doubt, my favorite effect is
the good ole wah-wah. Funny thing is, up
until… I don’t know, maybe 6 or 7 years
ago, I never used any effects. But I found
that they’re fun toys to play with in a duo
setting. They just add that extra color.
VS: With each release, you seem to refine
and hone your sound, especially with
your latest release, Stank, in October
2010. The grooves are funky and nasty,
but also very melodic and harmonic, and
some downright sweet passages. I hear
strong influences of funk, jazz combo and
big band, rock, folk, and even some
country influence in particular on a tune
ironically named “Funk Tree.” What was
the inspiration for that song?
DJ: [Laughing] It’s good to hear you say
that, Vic. Thank you. I’m glad I’m not the
only one who thinks there’s some growth
going on. But I just love that chicken-
pickin’ thang. And playing it on the bass is
just fun! I’m working on another “pickin”
kind of tune right now – I’ve always loved
the acoustic-electric pickers. So much
rhythm! The title of that song was actually
89bassgear
meant to be a play on words: Instead of
“country” it’s Funktree… get it? Had to
be careful with the spelling on that one,
though [laughing], and now everyone
thinks I’m referring to a tree.
VS: Also, the last track on Stank, “With
You in Mind,” is particularly beautiful.
May we ask about the inspiration for that
song?
DJ: My wife, Jennifer. That song was
something I just threw down years ago –
a total stream of consciousness, one-take
recording. But the life moment behind it is
something I prefer to keep private. It’s just
“mine.”
Although I might regret saying this, my
wife actually wanted me to name it Jenn
Song, and campaigned that name pretty
hard for a long time. But eventually, over
breakfast one morning, we were
brainstorming about song titles, and she
suggested I call it With You in Mind. The
name stuck.
VS: You do a lot with clinics and bass-
specific gatherings like BassQuake, Bass
Player Live, Bass Slam, BassBash, Bass
Fest, NAMM show booth performances,
etc. You’ve commented it’s tough to do the
4-5 piece group thing, but hope to have a
full swing band to do some select
dates. I’ve seen you do your impressive
duo and solo work, which included some
really cool work, such as slap versions of
James Brown “I feel Good”, Jaco’s
“Continuum”. However, I would love to
see the full swing band project, which at
least instrumentally, would probably be a
little more representative of your CD
releases. Can you tell us about how that’s
going?
DJ: Well, I’ll tell ya, Vic, it’s a tough road
taking the full band out, even for select
dates. The duo actually only came about
from economic necessity – my vision has
always been to play my music with a full
swingin’ band. I agree it would be more
representative of my recordings, and I’ve
been working on ways to make it
economically feasible.
Earlier in the year, the full band was
actually a priority goal for me. I’ve had
just about all of my music charted – by the
way, those charts will all be available for
sale on my website here pretty soon – but
as I started to crunch the numbers on a full
band gig (flights, hotels, musicians, all of
that), I realized I just flat can’t afford it. I
don’t know what else to say.
It’s not like I’ve ever been into the music
for money, but fact is that I’m not
independently wealthy, and clubs aren’t
paying an independent jazz/funk artist the
kind of cash it takes to get everyone to the
gig and treat them fairly. As a band leader,
I feel I’ve got an obligation to make sure
everyone is comfortable and gets paid for
their work and their time. It’s just the right
thing to do… and unfortunately, my
budget just doesn’t allow it right now.
But you mentioned the bass-oriented
events, Vic, and I’ve gotta say it’s a
GREAT time for bass right now. With all
of these bass events, we’re actually
making our own scene, and they are
providing me with the forum I need to get
the music out there, which is really what
it’s about. I’m not going to give up on the
full band performances – they WILL
happen – but for now I’d rather play the
20-30 duo gigs I can afford over the
course of a year as opposed to just 3 or 4
full band performances. It’ll happen, just
not right now.
VS: You’ve been to Pedulla recently to
discuss a bass we’re reviewing in this
issue, and I’m going to assume to discuss
other things as well. Can you tell us more
about that trip, and what it’s like to work
with Mike?
DJ: Yes! First off, I’m not gonna lie: I was
like a kid in a candy store seeing all the
Pedulla basses and how Mike handcrafts
each and every one. It’s funny, a lot of
people think I get free basses from Mike
– I don’t know why – and that’s just not
the case. Honestly, I wouldn’t want it that
way. Being a craftsman myself, I know
the hours and passion involved in creating
art, and I truly believe people should be
paid for that. Mike especially – he’s a
master.
I’ve known and been dealing with Mike
for 25 years now, but we’ve become
much closer over the last 6 or 7 years…
talk about birds of a feather. I just feel such
a kindred spirit with Mike, like we’re both
on the same page. We’re into a lot of the
same things, especially when it comes to
our love and respect for nature. That’s a
really big deal for me.
But one of the more interesting things
about the time I spent at Pedulla had
nothing to do with nature or basses. Mike
is also a pilot, and he took me up for a
flight around Cape Cod. Talk about
awesome! I’ve always had this sort of
secret dream to be a pilot, so I was just
loving the experience of being right there
by the controls. Very cool.
But back to the Pedulla basses, I had the
chance to play a couple, including the
new Nuance. You know I’m a creature of
habit and generally won’t stray too far
from my ’86 Buzz bass, but this Nuance
was something else. It was honestly one
of the most responsive instruments I’ve
ever played. I was really impressed. And
of course, I dug around in the back room
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for some old MVP or Buzz basses, just in
case there was one there I might have a
chance to rescue [laughing]. No luck,
though.
VS: I read on your website that you love
to build racecars. I never got into it nearly
as deeply as you are, but I’m an old
school gear head from days gone by. One
thing I recall about those days is working
on cars typically puts knuckles and fingers
at risk; ever worry about that?
DJ: Yeah, it’s a constant threat, no doubt.
I work with band saws, cutters, mills,
sanders, welders… and from time to time,
I do get “bit.” But hey, it’s the nature of the
business. You have a day where you’re
mind might not be quite as sharp on the
task at hand, and whoahahaha – blood hits
the floor. I try to always be careful, but
I’ve had a time or two where there was
blood on the strings at a gig from some
fabricating injury. But I don’t ever
consider giving it up. I was doing it
yesterday.
VS: I always ask an interviewee what
they’d tell a fan if one were to seek them
out for advice. If someone were to ask you
for your thoughts on how to develop a
style of their own, what would you tell
them?
DJ: Rhythm and musicality. Those are the
words that instantly pop into my mind
when I hear you ask that question. Like
we were talking about earlier, this is a
great time for bass. I get to meet a lot of
players out there with these ridiculous
chops, yet I’d say maybe only 1 out of 10
of them is truly musical. I don’t know how
to say it. Just because someone’s selling a
digital recorder doesn’t mean you’re
ready to be using it, know what I mean?
You’ve just got to put time into the
instrument, and I mean years and years.
Sure, there are some wunderkind
prodigies out there, but for the rest of us,
years of playing and practicing is the only
way to find a true voice of your own.
You’ve gotta get into every different
musical situation you can find, screw up,
do good, and screw up again. That’s how
you find your voice.
Finding your style is more about how you
react to running out of water 2 miles into
a 10 mile desert hike than it is about
learning every hot bass lick you can.
We’re talking about life here, the rhythm
of your soul, and it’s a journey that never
ends. Get out there and jam with someone
and believe in yourself while you’re doing
it. If you don’t, it’ll show.
VS: Thanks, Doug. It’s been both a
pleasure and an education, just like every
time I hear you play.
Folks, do yourselves a favor and pick up
a copy of his latest release, Stank, or
maybe even his previous releases Pocket
Fulla Nasty or his self-titled CD. Heck,
buy all three, and watch out for any events
where you might be able to see this man
perform. You’ll be glad you did.
91bassgear
treat it was to hear live music walkingto and from the Nashville ConventionCenter. This is first and foremost amusic event, and everywhere youlook, you are surrounded by richmusic history. The Ryman Theater,where the first Grand Ole’ Opry washeld, is right next door! If you wouldlike to see some fine historic andvintage instruments, Gruhn Guitarshas you covered. You can stop in forgreat local food and music on HistoricDowntown Broadway.
Let’s switch gears before I sound likea tour guide for the host city. Based onwhat I have been told, WinterNAMM is so busy that it takes theentire four days just to get through thebass guitar and amp manufactures –and even then, you still might not getthrough it all! The flip side of that isyou can almost walk the entire
Summer NAMM twice in three days.
What am I getting at here? It’s prettysimple; at Summer NAMM, you getto talk to a lot of the owners, builders,reps and designers of anything thatstrikes you. These folks are here toshow off their latest and greatest, andyou have the time to pick their brain.There are up and coming companiesthat you can “discover” who wouldget lost in the shuffle at WinterNAMM. The bigger companies havea platform in which they have face-to-face time with reviewers, distributorsand customers.
To give an example, shortly afterreturning from my trip, I stopped intothe local music store and lo andbehold, there was a rep making a call.After laughing about SummerNAMM, he then went on to illustrateabout how Winter NAMM is too
busy. Trying to conduct business in anoisy environment, where people arelooking for endorsement deals,
impressions and insight as to whypeople really are missing the boat bynot supporting this under-valuedevent.
First, it’s held in Music City, USA!Forget the years it was held elsewhere(look at what happened to attendance,then). I cannot tell you how much of a
by Tony Taylor
There is some negative talk about thefuture of Summer NAMM. “Should itbe continued?” “What’s the point?” Agrowing number of smaller showsseem to be watering down itsrelevance. Being a first-time attendee,I thought I would give my
The One Word That Sums Upthe Importance of Summer NAMM
In the heart of Music City, you’ll find amazing talent on every street corner... literally.
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sounds a little counter-productive. Justimagine you are there, trying toconduct business and constantly beinginterrupted every five secondsbecause some hungry player iswanking away on an amp turned upway too loud, or wildly crashing acymbal, in the hopes to get someone’sattention for a sponsorship deal. Thisis one booth, mind you. Now multiplythat by 1,700! Can anyone say“headache?”
The Summer NAMM Show isroughly a quarter of this size. Thedrastic contrast can make it initiallylook stark and less attractive. Butthat’s looking at the glass half empty.Granted, you don’t want it to blow upto Winter NAMM chaos, but a fewmore “anchor companies” couldreally turn things around.
So why not take advantage?“Accessibility” is the magic ofSummer NAMM and the one keyadvantage over its bigger sibling. Amusic show in the music capitalmakes perfect sense to me.
“Borealis” and “bass” both start with a “B”, so why not?
Cort offers basses for both types of people: Those whowant to look like Gene Simmons and those who don’t.
Solid body basses from Boulder Creek.
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Waterstone Musical Instuments had lots of eye candy on display.
Nashville has more than it’s share of upright playing cats,and Lemur Music is a popular destination.
Kevin Brubaker shows off his Brute force.
Traynor’s mighty YBA-300 packs 12 616’s but canstill be carried (short distances) in one hand.
G-wiz Electronics gives you a variety ofways to go foot loose.
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It’s official! Hal Leonard ishandeling our distributionin music stores worldwide.
Tom plays an Ansir bass.
The historic upstairs “vault” at Gruhn Guitarsholds many treasures.
Doug Somervell, formerly of Curbow fame, has a new gigdesigning basses for Whitelight Design.
Leo Lopez shows off the USA and Skylineversions of the 44-51.
This Overture Tricera was tops in our book! 95bassgear
Stuart Spector makes such good-looking basses, I’d be tempted tohang them up as art, if they wern’t so darned fun to play!
Behold the beauty of Warrior pickups.
A relic’d Warrior? This bass playedand sounded incredible.
Steve Bailey with his new signature 6-string Warwick.
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Hmmm... grab the beer or the bass head? Tough call...
Maple Leaf Strings brought quite the collection of instuments.
Ansir decides to gogreen...
Kala expands their solidbody U-Bass line.
These Reverends were just begging to goout and play on Broadway.
Vic digs the Bootleg bass.
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Newcomer Tanner Guitarsblew us away with thisbeauty.
Boulder Creek had a nice ABGhiding amongst the skinnystring crowd.
The un-mistakable shape of aMusicvox Spaceranger Bass.
Definitely the best way to gat around Nashville!
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Awards
2011SummerNAMM
bass
gear
By Tom Bowlus
There was a lot of fun to be had and a lot of cool products to play with in Nashville,but these three products walked away with Bass Gear Magazine 2011 Summer NAMMShow Awards:
G-wiz Electronics – Foot Loose Foot Switch
Ever wanted to switch on that envelope filter for your favorite riff, but you forgot itwas coming up, and you are over hamming it up on the guitar player’s side of thestage? Ever needed to switch to a chorus for the next song, but you are out on thedance floor leading a conga line? Well, if these scenarios apply to you, or if you justfind yourself needing to switch a pedal on/off when you are not right next to it (forwhatever reason), then the Foot Loose wireless foot switch line of products may justsave the day. These have technically been available for a while, but G-wiz CEO TomGogue informally re-launched the line at Summer NAMM. If you have a use forwireless switching of effects, compressors, or any other pedals, these gadgets makeit easy as pie. www.gwizelectronics.com
Kala – 5-string Solid Body U-Bass
This award was both the hardest and the easiest to award. The BGM staff was in themiddle of a heavy debate over which instrument should get an award, and we hada number of really smashing electric basses in the running. The problem was, whichone really stood out from the others? Out of the blue, someone mentioned “thatkiller little 5-string U-bass,” and instantly we all knew we had our winner! TheAcoustic U-bass has been putting smiles on bass players’ faces for several years, andthe 4-string Solid Body certainly earned our respect at Winter NAMM. This new 5-string version totally amazed everyone who played it. For uniqueness and sheer“fun factor,” this 5-string Solid Body U-bass is a real winner. www.kalaukulele.com
Overtōn – Featherweight Series Amps and Cabs
Granted, I am likely to stop and smell the roses at pretty much any NAMM booth thatis packed full with bass goodies like amps and cabs, but when you set up an eye-catching display which not only involves a bass head but also a mug full (or half-full,even) of rich, dark beer, it’s like an irresistible force is pushing me into the booth...As it turns out, the amps and cabs, alone, were plenty reason to stop by. While allof the heads featured lightweight technology (class-D output sections and switch-mode power supplies), Overtōn offers both neodymium and ceramic-basedenclosures. Everything we played sounded great, and the different cab optionsdefinitely gave you a variety of tonal flavors to choose from. The amps areintelligently laid out, and feature rich. A relative newcomer, the Overtōn brand isdefinitely one to keep your eye on. www.overtonamps.com
G-wiz Electronics
Kala
Overtōn
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From The BenchBy Tom Lees
TheUltimateTestingTool
bones are held in place by a pair of
muscles. These three bones serve to
amplify the vibration of the eardrum,
which is necessary because the
cochlea conducts sound through fluid
(try pushing your arm through the air,
compared to pushing your arm
through water; the water creates much
more resistance, hence the need for the
amplifier). When stimulated by high
intensity sounds, a muscular
contraction stiffens the bones,
attenuating low frequencies (below
1kHz) that reach the oval window.
The inner ear includes the cochlea,
which is responsible for transforming
middle ear fluid vibration into neural
firings. The cochlea includes three
tubes separated by sensitive
membranes. The tubes are coiled, like
a snail shell. As the stirrup (third bone
of the middle ear) moves back and
forth, it creates a wave that moves
from the oval window down the
length of the cochlea. There are
thousands of fibers that extend width-
wise within the cochlea, extending
from this window. The fibers are short
and stiff near the oval window, and are
relatively longer and less stiff further
from the window. Higher pitches
vibrate the fibers closer to the window,
while lower frequencies vibrate more
intensely further down the length of
fibers.
approximately 130 million light
sensitive receptors. The ear is formed
from skin cells having approximately
15,000 receptors. Incidentally, despite
this difference in receptor cells, there
are about the same number of visual
and auditory cortical cells.
The operation of the ear is to transform
air molecule vibrations into the neural
firing that the brain uses to interpret
sound, including frequency and
loudness. For purposes of this article,
I’d like to run through a refresher on
the science of hearing.
With reference to Fig. A, the key parts
of our ear are shown. We can refer to
the ear as having three parts, including
the outer ear, the middle ear and the
inner ear. The outer ear includes a
pinna and ear canal. The pinna serves
as a frequency filter, so that as a sound
source moves relative to a listener,
different frequencies are filtered, thus
providing the brain with localization
information.
Once sound waves travel into the ear
canal, the waves vibrate our eardrum,
which is essentially a thin piece of skin
that is stretched taught by a muscle.
The middle ear connects our eardrum
to an oval window of the cochlea
within the inner ear by three bones, the
hammer, anvil and stirrup. These three
Last month, we took a look at
amplifier characteristics. Well, I
realized I may have put the cart before
the horse. You see, I recently visited
my audiologist to get fitted for custom
IEMs. Being a tech-head, I took the
opportunity to grill my doctor about
hearing, our ears and perception.
That conversation caused me to do
some digging around and it made me
realize something important. We have
been publishing fancy charts and
graphs that we see with our eyes.
However, we hear with our ears. The
perceptions we form in our mind
about sound based upon what we see
in a chart can sometimes be
significantly different than the
perceptions we form from hearing that
which was visually depicted in the
chart. I am sure that most of you have
figured that out. In this column, we
will look at why that is so.
Interestingly, (at least to me) the eye is
formed from brain cells having
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Fig. A
Fig. B
Fig. C
Now, here is where things get
interesting and mysterious. A structure
on a membrane within the cochlea
contains thousands of hair cells.
Movement of the hair cells generates
the neural impulses. Inner hairs
located along the inside curve respond
to vibration differently from the outer
hairs along the outside curve. The
inner hairs are arranged in a single row
along the lower membrane. The outer
hairs are arranged in three rows.
Despite having approximately four
times more outer hairs than inner
hairs, approximately 90 percent of the
vibrations of the auditory nerve
connect to the inner hair cells.
When the fibers vibrate at a resonant
frequency, a burst of energy is released
in that area, which pushes on
corresponding hair cells at that area.
When each hair cell is distorted, it fires
a pulse. However, a hair cell needs to
reset before it can fire another pulse.
No matter how hard the burst of
energy, the hair cell cannot fire again
until it resets.
It is believed that the fastest rate that a
pulse can be sent by a nerve is about
1kHz. Accordingly, the hair cells
transmit a pulse at up to 1kHz. Huh?
So how do we hear frequencies above
1kHz? Well, that part is still a mystery.
However, one theory is that the hairs
encode vibration information above
and below 1kHz by controlling the
number of cycles per firing. That is,
each hair fires a maximum of once per
cycle of vibration/burst of energy.
However, the hair may skip vibrations
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based upon certain patterns. The
cerebral cortex takes this encoded data
and makes sense of it.
Where is all of this going? In order to
detect pitch information, these hairs
need to fire in a way that encodes
sufficient information for the cerebral
cortex to decode the correct pitch. Our
cerebral cortex has logic built in that
attempts to distinguish “false triggers”
from real information. As such, a
number of vibrations must be detected
in order for pitch to be deciphered.
Until the pitch is deciphered, we
perceive the vibrations as noise. Some
research has shown that three cycles of
100Hz tone (about 30 milliseconds of
information) is required. It is possible
that the number of cycles can get
shorter for louder sounds. However,
even for louder sounds, the membrane
has to build up to equilibrium and
cannot instantaneously vibrate to its
full extent.
So, now take a look at Fig. B. This is
me playing a slap line. Notice that the
signal includes a sharp attack at each
note. Let’s focus on the first note. The
initial attack occurs just before 600
milliseconds, and exhibits a positive
peak of just under 1 V.
However, that sharp attack only lasts
one cycle. As we have learned, our ear
cannot discern pitch from a single
cycle. So, we may perceive noise at
this point, or our brain may be waiting
for more information before deciding
whether there was in fact, a sound, or
if one or more hairs simply misfired.
By the time our ear gets enough cycles
to interpret this as a note, our signal
level has dropped dramatically. As
each note is played, there is an initial
burst of energy, exceeding 1.6 V
positive peak at 2.8 seconds into this
performance. Despite peaking at 1.6
V, the instrument cannot sustain that
level for more than a cycle. Note that
my positive peaks varied from under 1
V to over 1.6 V. However, the bass
always settled into a range between
400 mV and 600 mV after the first
cycle. As such, our ear will filter and
average that peak out so that over
time, the envelope of our note is what
we will perceive.
Am I saying that you cannot perceive
those strong peaks? No. You may or
may not depending upon your ears,
your encoding mechanism and the
ability of your cortex to decode the
information fired from the hairs in
your cochlea. I am suggesting
however, that those peaks may not be
as important as you think. [I am setting
aside artifacts such as distortion that an
amplifier may generate attempting to
reproduce those peaks – that is the
subject of another article.]
Take a look at Fig. C. This is a walking
blues line. Note that the initial attack is
not as prominent as the case in Fig. B,
where I was playing a slap line.
However, our ears encode the
information that we hear, which
requires time/cycles to decipher. As
such, we tend to perceive our bass tone
based upon its average signal. My slap
line may have much larger peaks than
my walking bass line. However, my
walking bass line has a longer
envelope. Over time, our brains will
tell us that the line of either Fig. B or
Fig. C will sit in the mix and the
listener will perceive each – over time
– as being close enough in volume that
we will not be reaching for the volume
knob to change the level. All this,
despite the fact that at certain points in
time, the charts tell us that the slap line
should be clearly louder, etc.
So, why are we going through all of
this? Simple. It is easy to see a chart
and allow your eyes to tell you
something that seems clearly
plausible, if not down-right obvious.
However, our ears function differently
than our eyes. Look at the reviews,
study the charts and learn what you
can. But at the end of the process, pay
more attention to the in-hand review.
Then, go out and try the gear yourself,
and pay more attention to your own
in-hand review.
We spend hundreds, thousands, tens
of thousands, etc on gear in the pursuit
of tone. But don’t forget that the single
most complicated and sophisticated
gear we have is our ears. However, our
ears cannot be upgraded or replaced.
Moreover, no matter how hard you
work for awesome tone, if you
damage your ears, you will not be able
to appreciate it. Being a musician is
more like running a marathon, not a
sprint, so you owe it to yourself, in the
long run, to take care of your hearing.
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103bassgear
“The One”High-pass filteringin double bassamplification
and the“Fdeck” HPF-Pre
In The DoghouseBy Chris Fitzgerald
If you could only have one ____, whatwould it be? Obviously, this depends onthe answer to ____, but most people havea short list of their first choices for variousthings in their minds when this questioncomes up. For double bassists – who tendto be obsessive about their equipment –this is usually doubly true (at least, I knowthat it is in my case). If I could only haveone ____, it would be: kind of bass -New Standard LaScala; kind of strings -Thomastik Spirocore (sorry, Dominants,but you don’t work on every bass likeSpiros do even though you’ve been myfavorite on my bass for the past 8 years orso); kind of amp - Phil Jones Flightcaseseries; kind of pickup - Fishman FullCircle; type of equalization - a variablehigh-pass filter.
Dude, wait….what? Really? You’d giveup graphics, multiband semi-parametrics, full parametrics, notchfilters, all of these types of EQ and morein favor of a simple one-trick pony like ahigh-pass filter? Seriously?
Really. Seriously. Scout’s honor, I cannottell a lie, God’s honest truth, I kid you not,and by the way, no, my pants are mostdecidedly not on fire. I’ll do my best toexplain the reasons why below, and I’lltry to use as little “tech speak” as possible.
As you may recall, the oft-cited holy grailof double bass amplification is the sound
of “my bass, only louder.” The pursuit ofthis ideal over the past five decades or sohas led a whole lot of bassists to do a lotof crazy and/or expensive experimentingwith pickups, microphones, amplifiers,speakers, EQ, and all manner of littleblack boxes which purport to be thegreatest new thing that will help achievethe goal of the sound of “my bass, onlylouder.” Those of us who have beenaround awhile have likely been through anumber of these gearlust experiments,only to be disappointed each time in oneway or another, and a lot poorer in theprocess. After a while, most people realizethat it’s not the gear that’s really at fault,but the expectation of perfection itself.Along with this realization comes a morepractical mode of thinking, which isusually expressed as something along thelines of, “If I can’t have the perfectamplified sound, how can I manage toscrew up my beautiful acoustic sound aslittle as possible when amplifying?” Thisis generally where things start to getinteresting, and where some real progressstarts to be made.
If we’re going to try to figure out how toscrew up an amplified double bass signalas little as possible, we should begin byexamining the nature of the sound we’relooking to amplify. When discussing theacoustic frequency response of the doublebass, there are many mitigating factors –type of bass, type of string, the player, etc– but one of the biggest of these factors issomething called “proximity effect.”When stripped of all of the tech jargon,proximity effect as it relates to the doublebass can be described by the sentence,“The closer your ear or a microphone is tothe top of the bass, the more low-bassthere seems to be in the signal.” In otherwords, if you put your ear about a footfrom the top of a bass while a low E(41Hz) is being played, you will likelyhear a very thick bass tone rich in thefundamental; if you back up ten feet, you
will hear more of the upper partials of theovertone series of the vibrating string.Modern recordings of the double basstend to sound much fuller than olderrecordings because it is common thesedays to mic the bass from a close distance.The question we need to ask ourselveswhen beginning to amplify a bass, then, is“From what distance away do I considerthe frequency response of a double bass tosound ‘natural’?” For most people, theanswer is somewhere between two andtwenty feet, which represents anincredibly wide variation of possible bassfrequency response.
If we assume that your answer isanywhere between four and ten feet, thatnarrows it down quite a bit. At thisdistance, the ear will perceive far lessfundamental bass response acousticallythan if the ear was very close to the top.The problem when you start to amplifyusually begins with the mic or pickup –the front end of the signal chain – whichis typically either mounted millimeters orinches from the top of the bass (pickupand many, bass-mounted, mics) to up toabout 18” away (stand-mounted mics) forlive amplification purposes to increasesignal-to-noise ratio and decrease thebleed from the other instruments. As aresult, while the new pickups and mics doan incredible job of reproducing the actualsound of the bass in a “hi-fi” way, thenature of live amplification compels themto do it from a distance at which thefrequency response is inherently (andarguably) unnaturally overbalancedtoward the low-bass frequencies, whichwould naturally dissipate and blend infrom further away. Think about it; thisaspect of the very beginning of our signalchain is the sonic Catch-22 from whichmost of our subsequent amplificationissues ensue. Too close to the bass equalstoo much bass in the mix, which equalsunnatural sound. Yet try to back thepickup or mic up to a “natural listening
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distance,” and most of what you’ll hear isbleed from the other instruments on stage.
Enter the venerable high-pass filter. Thisvery simple device does one thing: reduceor “roll off” low frequencies below a setpoint, while letting all higher frequencies“pass through” the filter unaltered anduntouched. The roll-off is usually gradualand expressed in decibels per octave.Beyond this, there are two basic types ofhigh-pass filter: fixed and variable. A fixedfilter has a preset roll-off point that cannotbe changed, while a variable filter enablesthe user to adjust the roll-off point. Bothare useful, but if I could only have onetype of EQ control on an amp, preamp, oreffects unit, the variable high-pass filterwould be it, as it comes closest to solvingthe fundamental sonic challenge ofdouble bass amplification – or if notexactly “solving” it, at least giving theplayer the most amount of control over it.Strip away all of the tech speak aboutfundamentals, frequency response,overtones and spectrum analysis, etc, andwhat a variable high-pass filter allows theplayer to do is move the listener’s eareither closer to or farther away from thetop of the bass with a single knob beforefeeding this signal to the amplifier. Inaddition to allowing the player to controlthis basic parameter, a judiciously usedhigh-pass filter can also help amplifiersand speakers run more efficiently at highvolumes, since it takes more power toamplify low frequencies than higher ones.
The “Fdeck HPF-pre”
Many devices intended for the doublebass incorporate high-pass filtering.Unfortunately, very few utilize truevariable high-pass filtering (fixed filtersseem much more common). My favoritevariable high-pass filter for the doublebass is designed by Francis Deck, abassist from Madison, Wisconsin, whodescribes himself as having “a bit of anelectronics hobby” (this, in my opinion, isroughly tantamount to stating thatKareem Abdul Jabbar had “a bit of abasketball hobby”).
One of the results of Francis’ “hobby” is alittle device he calls the HPF-pre, aningenious little black box that servesseveral important functions which allamplifying double bassists need to have
the ability to control at some point orother. First, with piezoelectric pickups, itis always useful to have a device that hasoptimal input impedance (the HPF-prehas an input impedance of 10 Megohms,which makes for a strong, clean signal tofeed to the preamp). Second, and the mainfunction of the box, is a variable high-passfilter that is adjustable from 35Hz to140Hz – the frequency range that is mostin danger of being over-amplified. Third,the unit includes a phase (polarityreversal) switch, which is sometimes avery useful control to have in complexamplifying environments.
I have been using the HPF-pre for years,and can’t at this point imagineintentionally leaving for a gig without it. Iremember several years ago dropping myHPF-pre in a puddle after a gig inCincinnati and playing quite a few gigswhile waiting for the replacement unit toarrive. My amplified tone just soundedwrong without it. This unit is so simple, sowell-designed, and so idiot-proof (puddle-dropping notwithstanding) that it shouldbe featured on a Geico commercial forbass players: so simple, even Chris canuse it. At this point, it’s the only EQ knobin my signal chain I ever touch. Myamplification setup for a gig now consistsof the following: plug the bass into theinput of the amp, hook the HPF-pre intothe FX return of the amp (I like theresponse of the amp input straight fromthe bass), adjust the master volume of theamp, then adjust the roll-off point of theHP filter to taste. The louder I need to be,the more bass I roll off. That’s really it, asthe rest of the EQ settings on my amp – all
five bands of them – remain completelyflat (“noon” on the controls) at all times. IfI could have this unit built into thecircuitry of the PJB Super Flightcasecombo, I would consider it the ultimatedouble bass combo amp. As it is, I justkeep the HPF-pre velcroed to the back ofthe amp where short patch cables connectit to the FX send and return jacks, and it’sas close to perfect as I’m every likely toget: one volume knob, one EQ knob, andthe rest is all about playing music.
The HPF-pre currently comes in twoversions: the series 1 (as described above),and the series 2, which has all of thefeatures of the series 1 and adds a low-battery indicator and a volume knob,which helps keep the signal at a desirablelevel in the signal chain (this last is a kindof “set-and-forget” control which I havenever changed once I found the optimalsetting). I have both units, and both aregreat. If I had to choose only one, I’dchoose the series 2 – the extra features areworth the few extra dollars, and the box isonly a little bigger. Either of these units isa total no-brainer purchase for theamplifying double bassist who wants tocontrol one of the most difficultparameters of bass amplification, and Ican’t recommend them highly enough.
For more information on these units andordering information, check them out atFrancis’ web page:http://personalpages.tds.net/~fdeck/bass/hpfpre.htm. You’ll be glad you did.
105bassgear
Philthy TalkBy Phil Maneri
I Hate TheSound of MyBass... Or,Phil’s
Hierarchy ofTone
Most people fall in love their
instruments when they buy them. Very
often, over time the love fades and it
can be hard to win it back. Every week
we hear someone say “I hate the sound
of my bass.” In those cases, we
suggest you either modify it or get rid
of it.
There are many reasons people’s
feelings change. Sometimes, the
instrument changes, decay, wear, and
damage can erode a good tone. More
often than not, the player’s tastes
change, they become refined or morph
into a different expectation. I know I
did my time with the fretless bridge
pickup Jaco tone, then moved through
an electronic processed tone with
MIDI and multiple effect layers, only
to morph into a stripped-down
Motown Jamerson thing. Every time I
moved, I’d either modify or get rid of
a bass sometimes very stupidly too.
I’ll assume you know how to get rid of
an instrument somewhere between
eBay and a bonfire and let you have at
that. If you are considering
modifications, there are several points
to mull over before you do.
My most important and first Rule Of
Modifications is:
“You will usually get a result you like
coupled with at least one other side
effect you won’t that you’ll have to
learn to live with. “
This is particularly annoying with
irreversible mods. You have to be
certain you want to take this risk, or
don’t make the leap to do it in the first
place. Change from passive
electronics to active, and all of a
sudden there is this buzz you can’t get
rid of until you dump the $1,000
pickups and preamp and put back in
the $50 passive stuff you just took out.
That’s maddening.
Over the years, I have developed a
hierarchy of things that impact the
tone of your bass. These points can
help people understand the potential
modifications they can make and their
level of contribution to the overall tone
of the guitar.
1. The Player’s Hands. Single most
important thing in the hierarchy of
tone. When you hear Jaco play, he
sounds like Jaco no matter what bass
he played. Chris Squire sounds
unmistakably like himself whether
playing an old Rick or a Jazz Bass or
something else. “Modifications” here
have a huge impact. Lessons, practice,
lots of playing time, this is by far the
best bang for the buck. It avoids GAS
and puts the onus squarely on the
player rather than the gear.
2. Strings. The sound of 20-year-old
flat wound Labella strings is vastly
different than new DR Hi-Beams.
There are many shades in between.
Swapping strings can be just what the
doctor ordered and is a reversible and
often relatively inexpensive thing to
shake up your sound.
3. Wood. Generously lifted from
Roger Sadowsky. Wood makes a huge
difference in the tone of a guitar and is
far more significant than anything that
follows down the list. You can’t
usually change this much, if at all.
Why this is important is that
sometimes no matter what other
changes you make, if the wood isn’t
cutting it, then you are just wasting
time and money. A great sounding
piece of lumber can come from
anywhere. It might be in a $10,000 ’62
jazz or a $300 brand new Squier. The
opposite can be true to, just because
the instrument is expensive doesn’t
mean the wood is any good; it would
just be expensive tone-dead wood.
4. Setup and Fret Health. A well set
up instrument that is comfortable for
the player goes a long way to great
tone. Conversely, a player who is
constantly tripping over deficiencies
in setup or fretwork will never feel free
106 bassgear
though, and modifications here have
the least bang for the buck. These
tweaks are usually subtle differences
on their own, but when you do a
bunch of them they can add up to a
profound effect. Usually not as large
as changing things above on the list.
There are always cases that will be
exceptions, however. Overall this is
the category where your money goes
the shortest distance for the highest
dollar.
Go ahead and argue about all this if
you like. I’m sure smarter minds than
mine can banter about the details here
and there; there will always be
exceptions to the above. Don’t miss
the overarching points here. It’s
difficult to modify yourself into a tone
that you dream about from where you
are. There is always something gained
and something lost in every move you
make. Nothing is ever perfect, but you
can almost always make it better.
Most importantly, remember that the
solutions to tone primarily lie in the
hands of the player, not in any gear
you have or don’t have. That point is
blasphemy in a rag that lives and dies
by the obsession with gear, I suppose,
but here is where this point is best
made.
You cannot buy your way into
sounding like your favorite player;
you must practice and perform your
way there. Once you’ve trained your
hands, you are well served by
educating yourself on the fine details
of the tools you use to do your job. In
the end, when two great players, (with
equally nice demeanor) compete for
the same gig, the one with the great
sound usually gets it. Paying attention
to the little details outlined above go a
long way towards getting that gig.
enough to create the music they are
reaching for. Buzzing spots, intonation
issues, pickup height problems all add
up to either a great sounding axe or
one that is miserable to play. I can’t
count how many times a guitar has
been transformed for a player by just a
routine set up. A well-made
instrument with a lousy setup can
sound terrible, defying its high price,
whereas a garden-variety instrument
with a great setup can often sound
much better than its price range. No
repair man can turn a sow’s ear to a
silk purse, but a good one can make
your instrument the best it can be, for
whatever it is.
5. Pickups and Electronics. Notice
how far down the list this is. People
often go here first and are dissatisfied
when they don’t get the drastic
changes that they were looking for.
Mostly because they either have junk
lumber, the wrong strings or just flat-
out can’t play. Having said that, there
is a huge difference between the sound
of an early ‘60 s Precision Bass pickup
with a stock passive setup and a set of
Bartolini pickups hooked to a Mike
Pope Preamp. There are many shades
in this range and you can pull your
hairout and go broke finding the right
combination for what you want.
Mostly, remember that if you have
skills in your hands, good strings that
fit your style, and great lumber, you
can’t screw up with any version of
high-end electronics you choose. Pick
something and learn how to make
your sound with it… then leave it
alone, and focus on playing.
6. Hardware Changes. Bridges,
saddles, nuts, tuning machines, and all
the things that touch the string across
its stretch can affect the tone the string
produces. These are small changes,
107bassgear
Upright PerspectiveBy Arnold Schnitzer
STRINGS:
Never has the bassist had so many
types of strings to choose from. It
seems that every year another new
bass string comes onto the market.
Each new type is aimed at a certain
segment of the bass-playing market,
and of course claims to be the best
thing since the advent of the internal
combustion engine. At the risk of
sounding ancient, I learned to play the
bass when there were three types of
bass string available: gut strings,
Spirocores and Flexocors. Gut strings
were only being used by
traditionalists, Spirocores by jazz
players and Flexocors by classical
players. We made do with what was
available, and nobody developed the
malady of “string acquisition
syndrome,” buying and trying
everything on the market, and never
finding a completely satisfying string.
Nowadays, there are multiple varieties
of steel, synthetic, hybrid, and gut
strings (in several gauges) produced
by Thomastic, Pirastro, D’Addario,
Corelli, Jargar, Larson, Supersensitive,
LaBella, Innovation, Velvet, and
others. Some of these sets cost the
equivalent of an average worker’s
weekly wages, and few others are
inexpensive, so experimenting with
bass strings can get very costly in no
time at all. The permutations are
literally endless, and there is no reason
why any bassist cannot find a suitable
string set or combination that meets
his needs.
Your string choice can make a huge
difference in the way your bass sounds
and responds. You can brighten or
darken the tone, increase or decrease
sustain or decay, ease or tighten the
bow or pizzicato response, and even
make your bass louder or softer. The
best way to find the right string for
your particular bass is to swap with
other bass players, or visit a luthier
who can make recommendations
based on your bass and on the changes
you’d like to make. It also can be
informative to visit online forums and
take advantage of other players’
experiences with different strings – as
long as you take everything you read
there with a grain of salt. If you do
change string type, give the new
strings time to settle in, and give
yourself time to learn how best to play
on them. Be aware that the diameter of
different bass strings varies, and it may
be necessary to adjust nut and bridge
grooves when changing from one type
to another.
Amongst the current bass string
offerings, these are my personal
favorites:
Pizzicato Jazz: Thomastic Spirocore
Classical Arco: Tie between
Thomastic BelCanto and Pirastro
Flexocor (I like to use Pirastro’s
Permanent E string in place of the
Flexocor E.)
Dual Purpose: Pirastro Evah Pirazzi
Student: D’Addario Helicore Hybrid
Beginner: D’Addario Prelude
Gut: Pirastro Chorda
Classical Solo Tuning: Tie between
Thomastic Spirocore Solo and
Pirastro Permanent Solo
TAILPIECE and WIRE:
There is some mystique about the
function of the stringed instrument
tailpiece and the attachment wire.
Although the tailpiece is involved in a
bass’ tone and response, it is a minor
contributor when compared to things
like the bass bar and soundpost. That
said, there is increasing knowledge
regarding tailpiece material, style, and
tuning which is worth delving into
when searching for the final touch to
Getting YourBass Playingthe Way You
like!Part IV -Strings,
Tailpiece, Wireand Saddle
108 bassgear
make a bass feel and respond just
right. I believe the tailpiece serves two
important functions; it secures the tail
ends of the strings, and it serves as
both a tonal damper and “reverb unit.”
In general, heavier tailpieces are better
suited to arco playing, while lighter
ones are better suited to pizzicato
playing. When you pluck a note, the
vibrational energy dissipates fairly
quickly, and a lighter tailpiece will
take away less of this energy. When
you bow a note, the vibrational energy
excites the string for as long as you
bow the note, and a heavier tailpiece
offers more of an evening-out of the
arco sound of many basses, and may
reduce wolf tones. Of course, there are
exceptions! Most bass luthiers aim to
tune the string afterlengths at two
octaves and a perfect fourth above the
open strings as a starting point when
setting-up a bass, often tweaking this
tuning until it sounds and feels right to
the player. Some also get involved
with tuning of the tailpiece itself, and
some with mode-matching – both of
which can be positive, if subtle
tweaks.
Old guitar amplifiers use a spring and
some circuitry for a reverberation unit.
On a bass, a small amount of reverb
(or “wet” sound) is created by the
tailpiece in conjunction with the string
afterlengths and the tailpiece wire. If a
player desires a dry sound, this
“reverb” unit needs to be calmed
down, either with more weight, a
change in afterlength tuning, or a more
absorptive tailpiece wire. If a player
wants a wetter, or more resonant
sound, the “reverb” unit needs to be
optimized. When amplifying a bass,
though – especially at high volume – it
is a good idea to shut down the
tailpiece area resonance by winding a
piece of soft foam through the
afterlengths of the strings. This will
reduce unwanted resonances and
feedback dramatically. To give you an
idea of how your “reverb” unit is
working, whack the tailpiece and
listen to the resulting sound; clear,
multi-pitched and sustaining means
you are resonant to the max in that
area.
In recent years, much has been made
of the improvement in tone which can
be achieved by installing a flexible
synthetic material in place of the usual
metal cable used to string up the
tailpiece. My experiments with this
have been disappointing, and in each
case I found I liked the tone, response,
and resonance best with my usual
3/32” stainless braided cable. But any
flexible cable is an improvement over
a heavy solid wire hanger, because
flexibility in the wire enhances
volume and resonance.
There is a wire “tailpiece” being
marketed by Kevin Marvin which
replaces the traditional wooden unit. It
is basically four wires wound together
and attached to a ring which fits
around the endpin. The ends of the
wires have little loops through which
the strings attach. Some players really
like what this thing does for their bass,
believing it opens up the sound and
increases volume. I have had some
limited success with the Marvin
tailpiece, appreciating it more on
basses which are plucked rather than
bowed.
Many makers and players have been
experimenting with tailpieces which
have an angled upper end, which
varies the afterlengths of the strings.
Sometimes this type of tailpiece can be
helpful in reducing wolf tones and
evening out the response of the
different strings. I think this is because
it gets rid of the relationship of perfect
fourths which exists between all the
afterlengths with a normal-type
tailpiece.
SADDLE:
The saddle is the small piece at the
bottom end of the bass over which the
tailpiece wire lays. Generally made of
hard ebony, it protects the tail end of
the bass and sets the height of the
tailpiece wire. In most cases the saddle
is about 1/2” (12.7mm) high. Raised
saddles are fitted to basses if the angle
across the bridge is too high, causing
top plate sinkage, excessive playing
tension and/or wolf tones. Basses with
a short lower bout, or those with a
deeply set, highly angled neck, tend to
have a sharp angle across the bridge
(called the breakover angle).
Measured on the A string, the angle
should ideally be 30 to 34 degrees. A
raised saddle needs to be attached by a
means other than just gluing it in place
or it will topple. Most extend down
toward the endpin and are secured
with a screw into the tailblock. I have
been using an adjustable saddle I
devised on most of my handmade
basses; it gives me another tool with
which to tweak the sound and
response. Consider a raised saddle if
your bass feels tight, has strong wolf
tones, or if the top table is sagging.
Consider lowering your saddle if your
bass lacks adequate resistance for your
playing style, or to slightly increase the
power of the instrument.
Kindly refer any questions you may
have to [email protected] I look
forward to answering them in future
issues.
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By Alan Loshbaugh
FUNDAMENTAL
SUPPORTTimes are tough in our schools, and that’snot news. Cutbacks in education areeverywhere, and music programs in ourschools are often the first to suffer thebudget axe. That’s a shame. Early musiceducation has a hand in creating a lifetimeenjoyment through both listening andplaying music, and budding musiciansare suffering that loss now more thanever.
Furthermore, typical early Music Edexperiences in concert band settingsaren’t necessarily the most conducive tolead down the path to playingcontemporary jazz, blues and rock. Askany fourth grade concert band clarinetplayer to name his favorite clarinet player,and you’ll be lucky to get one name; but,ask who’s their favorite guitar player, andyou’ll have to stop them after ten ortwenty!
Towards this end, when my hometown(Columbia, Missouri) started its ownblues festival and BBQ competition(“Roots n Blues n BBQ”) one of thethings they wanted to do was providemusic education that would help bothpreserve and create the blues’ mostvaluable asset: it’s players! To do this,they coordinated with the event’ssponsors – the National Endowment forthe Arts, and Missouri Arts Council – touse the festival to secure funding to bring“Blues in the Schools” to ColumbiaPublic Schools.
What is “Blues in the Schools?” Well, inreality, there is no cohesive, nationallydirected initiative that is an establishedprogram for schools grades K-12. It ismore decentralized and individualized.
But, the Blues Foundation “Blues in theSchools” webpage is a great starting pointto help you find someone that’s rightfor your local school district and yourintended age group.
Blues in the Schools artists/teachers canprovide anything from an in-schoolassembly or all-day workshop, to a week-long residency culminating in an actualperformance at an assembly or event. Theweek-long residency is the route Roots nBlues n BBQ took with artist TJ Wheeler.
TJ brings everything but the kitchen sinkwith him to the classroom to provide abroad educational experience for the kids.“I bring a one-string diddley bow, a 7-string archtop jazz guitar, and everythingin between, including a washtub bass thatwhen broken down serves to carry allkinds of percussion toys, as well.” Hisclassroom experience varies by agegroup, of course, but includes a history ofthe blues, playing along with simplepercussion toys for the youngest kids,lyric writing groups, guitar lessons,combo work with older kids, and workingtogether as a team towards an all-agesperformance at the festival at the end ofthe week.
“Music has always been used to passtradition and history from one generation
to another. Blues history is the history ofour nation. Through the blues, studentslearn about pride, slavery, freedom, civilrights and the movement of Americatoward a more profound democracy.”- Chris Belcher, Columbia Public SchoolsSuperintendent
“In eleven years of teaching music, the2010 Blues in the Schools program wasthe most exciting and uplifting experiencethat I have had the opportunity to providefor my students. In addition to the positiveattention they received from T.J. and theadults in our school family, the finalperformance gave our students somethingto feel proud about.”-Pam Sisson, Music Teacher at GrantElementary
“Singing with TJ was great, because itwas fun to learn from someone who wasan expert in the blues. I thought it wasreally cool that we got to write our ownsongs together and not just sing from abook. Writing, performing and recordingour own songs made me feel like aprofessional!”-Henry, student at Grant Elementary
If you’re interested in bringing Blues inThe Schools to your community, you canget started at the Blues Foundationwebpage: http://www.blues.org.
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Udo Roesner, AERRegarding the Neutrik Plastic I/O jacks:It is a Neutrik component where Neutrik had problems with theirdesign in their early years of production (must be 10 years or moreago) … and we where one of the few customers in Germany usingthis component, if not the only customer. The problems we facedwhere communicated with Neutrik several times and they could notbe resolved. So the design and the product were discontinued. Butto support us (and to avoid a redesign of our product), they suppliedus with whatever they could get anywhere and kept production ofeven the relatively small quantity we needed… until they finallycame with the redesign, which addressed all problems and worksperfect ever since! We are very grateful to find professional suppliersreally feeling responsible for what they do.
Regarding the Bass Boost:An idea behind it worth considering is that depending on the stageand position of the amp, it may be fortunate to have the amp on akind of “stand” – lifted from the ground. Then, the bass boostcompensates for the low frequency loss you experience from notbeing coupled to the ground anymore.
Regarding the Tone balance:As you well understand, all EQ’s, tone controls, voicings or filteringsare mainly “filter networks,” as we call it, laid out differently andnamed differently. Here is part of the problem. Let’s say andequalizer equalizes, i.e. “corrects the tone,” whilst a ”tone control”harmonizes the ranges to the user’s taste. These filter networksmostly are in series with the signal, thus the “modification”effects the signal completely.
The AER Tone balance is a bit different… so first we have a problemof naming it. We choose to call it “tone balance” as it works on bassand treble at the same time, like a “pair of balances” and secondlyit is parallel to the signal, so it does not effect the signal“completely” and it leaves the midrange untouched.
Correctionsfor Issue #5
In the technical review of the TC Electronics RH450, on page 60, thedescription for Fig. D should have indicated “(Shift engaged)” andthe description for Fig. E should not have had this language.
Manufacturer’sResponse
Duke LeJeune, AudioKinesisThank you very much, Tom and Alan, for your thorough examinationof my little bass cab, both in the objective and subjective realms.
If I might comment on a couple of measurements, the actual weightcame in a bit below my claimed 33 pounds for the Acoustic Friendlyversion. This is because I’m making an allowance for variations inthe weight of the wood used. Also, the measured frequencyresponse shows a bit of a dip between 2kHz and 3kHz. Themeasurements are from the horizontal plane, and a series of verticaloff-axis measurements would show more output in that region.This is because, at the lower end of the rectangular horn’s range, itis too small in the vertical dimension to have good pattern control.The 2-3kHz dip you see in the horizontal plane is intended to offsetthe increased output in that region in the vertical plane, summingto a fairly smooth net in-room response.
Giving credit where credit’s due, my little cab owes a great deal tothe fEarful line of cabs (which began as a cutting-edge DIY projectand expanded into the commercial realm due to popular demand),whose success demonstrated that bass players are open to high-end, unorthodox approaches. The Thunderchild cab offers asomewhat different set of characteristics and compromises in hopesof expanding the range of choices open to bass players, but it couldrightfully be seen as a variation on the fEarful theme.
Randall Fullmer, Wyn GuitarsWhile I’m still using velcro for the battery clip, I am now installingtwo battery clips holding the battery instead of one, and I feel it ismuch more solid. Based on your comments, though, I will takeanother look and see if there is anything more that I can do.
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