Playing Music
I haven't been playing as much as I was a few years ago when I seemed to be in 2 bands all the time. I think it's because many of my friends have had kids and now have no time. I also got burnt out gigging a lot with the Tequila Bedspins. My friend Ralph Barrat manages to be 4-5 gigging bands at anyone time - not sure how he pulls it off. I hope with having a jam space (cold as it is) that I can get to the same musical level I was at a few years ago. Starting to practice daily is the first step. What's really odd is that I get blisters on my fingers but my thumb is still solid for slappin'.
Gear Whore
I have been told I am gear whore (def.). However, I have always had a 'tone' that I was looking for and I was never satisfied until I captured it. I considered my favorites tones to be either fairly 'woody' sounding in the neck pickup and the bridge to be more full sounding but nasal, almost horn like. It took a while for me to realize that the beater (i.e. player) 1991 Warwick Fortress I found back in 2005 was in fact the sound I was looking for. It's still my favorite bass though my dropped D 4 string bass has a nasty snarling sound that is totally fun to dig into.
At this point I think I need to start selling some gear not used (the Kinal and some effects pedals). A few things (like the Bass Synth) I would never use live but are fun to have around.
Current Gear
Basses
- 1991 Warwick Fortress One 5 string
- 1993 Warwick Fortress one 4 string
- 1996 Warwick Fortress one 4 string
- 2003 Kinal MK5 5 String
- 2006 Ibanez Ergodyne 4 String
Main Rig
- Eden 4x10 XLT
- Eden WT-1000 Navigator Preamp
- Carvin DCM-1500 Power Amp
- Korg DTR-1000 Tuner
- Furman PL-8
Practice Rig
- Eden Metro Combo
Effects
- BOSS CEB-3 Bass Chorus
- BOSS ODB-3 Bass OverDrive
- BOSS OC-3 Super Octave
- BOSS SYB-5 Bass Synthesizer
- Electro-Harmonix Bass Balls
- Ibanez WD7 Weeping Demon Wah Pedal