Restoring "Porky"

Elena's bass "Porky" is going to get back into circulation.  I am going to bring it back to life and put it in the hands of a young player to get it moving again.  This should be tons of fun.  Right now it needs:

• New endpin
• 2 seams repaired
• Bridge adjusters
• New strings
• Fingerboard dressing

Put all of that together and it should be a killer bass for someone to study and gig with.  Here's what I know about the bass:

The English translation of the label (not as easy to figure out as you might imagine) reads: "Built under the guidance of the master Eberhard Meinel in the masterpiece sites 'Musima' musical instrument making Gmbh Markneukirchen." Gmbh is the German eqivalent of "Ltd." or "Inc." The label also reads--in English--Made in Germany. These words alone tell us that the bass was made after the fall of the Berlin Wall in a unified Germany for export to the US market. Markneukirchen is a former East German city about 3 miles from the Czech border. Markneukirchen is also the birthplace of C.F. Martin, who came to the US and started the Martin Guitar Company.

As near as I can tell, Musima was a Soviet-era musical instrument factory in East Germany. "Eberhard Meinel" is not a real maker, but a label name put on a "factory" or "shop" instrument. After German unification in 1989/1990, this factory was still active and making basses. I believe they kept going until about 2004. So I am confident in saying that this is a German factory bass from the early 90s; it has gamba corners, a wide grain spruce top and very lightly flamed maple back and sides; simple thin purfling around the edges; and a round back. Scale length is 41.5"; single plate tyrolean bass tuning machines.

Here are some screen shots of a very similar model on sale at the Cincinnati Bass Cellar.  Very cool.

Xavieres 2013

More Ric Photos

Learn to Read

So I finally started my "Learn To Read" project last night.  I'm going to try to keep it simple.  It's based on Marcus Miller's statement about dovoting three months to learning to read.  I am going to try to do at least 30 minutes before bed every night.  I almost always surf YouTube looking at music clips, so this will be a more productive use of time.

My method is to use Ed Friedland's Hal Leonard bass books; copy the exercises in my own hand and then read them over and over again.  That part is based on something I heard Anthony Wellington say; he recommends WRITING music as a way to learn to read it. 



And here's the Marcus Miller interview that inspired me:

2013 Static Rig

This is the rig that's been getting it done this year.

Bass (the "Wayback Machine")

•  EMG J pickups (9v)
• LeoQuann BadAss II bridge
• GFS Paulonia lightweight body
• Squier 60s CV neck (sanded bare; treated w/ Tru-Oil)

 Effects

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Amp/Cabs

Get Paid / Buy Used

Well, that's one year of being in a band logged into the history books.  Time to do a little reflection on the past year and make some goals for 2013.

My Workstation

What we see here is my work area during a gig.  As the year went on, the job of running sound during a show fell to me, as did most of the PA setup.  I'll start by running through my own bass rig, which I have fined tuned to me a really workable setup.  At the beginning of the year, I was fanatically using the Peavey MegaBass, which is my favorite bass head of all time.  When it became clear I would be setting up the PA and running it all night, I bagged the bi-amped Mega for a simpler setup.  Here's what I am running now:

• GK 210MB combo amp (500w)
• GK 115MBE extension cab

I modified the 210MB so that it can be used with any external head; when I don't need to worry about running sound, I bi-amp the 2x10 and 1x15 with my MegaBass.  Pedalboard with the following:

• MXR M80 DI+
• MXR M82 Bass Envelope Filter
• MXR M288 Bass Octave Deluxe
• MXR M87 Bass Compressor
• TC Electronic Polytune

The pedalboard is great.  I only use the octave a envelope filter on a few songs, but they are necessary.  The compressor provides a subtle yet important "smoothing" of fingerstyle and slap playing, especially through the PA.  The DI+ is fantastic--splits my signal to go to my rig and to the PA with a nice mid-scooped tone, and the "distortion" channel can be used as a simple boost.  I just turn down all the distortion settings and use it as a "lead" or "boost" switch.  If I feel myself "disappear" in the mix, I just stomp that guy and get another quarter turn of volume (or whatever I set it for).  In addition to being an awesome strobe/needle tuner for bass, the Polytune is a nifty "mute" switch.  This pedalboard seems nearly perfect for me.

My "bar bass" is a Frankenstien made from a number of Jazz bass parts; it began life as a Squier Classic Vibe 60s Jazz Bass, which was a nice bass in its own right.  Here are the modifications, almost all of which were made with used parts from eBay or TalkBass:

• EMG active Jazz pickups
• Leo Quan BadAss II bridge
• Tru-Oil gunstock finish on the next (completely stripped and refinished)
• Tuners and hardware "aged" with acid
• Ultra lightweight paulowina body (Guitar Fetish)
• Schaller strap locks
• Tortoise pickguard
• GHS Bass Boomers M4045 roundwound set

The bass is perfect for gigging; it's punchy, super light, and has no dead spot.  With the "color" switch engaged on the M80, it's as deep as a P bass through the rig and PA.  Last night I played it on every song.  I also have some other basses, including a Rickenbacker 4003, which I don't like nearly as much as this Frankenbass which meets my idosincratic playing style perfectly.  My old 1964 Fender Jazz had the wrong headstock decal, and I fell in love with that style (from about the year I was born), so I have one of those on the headstock for nostalgia.  I also wanted to put some kind of small circular sticker on the bass just for fun.  I had an old Civil Defense sticker that was the right colors but too large.  While skiing at Alta this year, I found the prefect sticker, so it's on there.

PA Rig

We have significantly upgraded the PA throughout the year.  This matters to me because I need to run it.  I am proud of the Peavey stuff we run, and we fly the Peavey flag high at all gigs.  The mixer is still Matt's old Behringer, which has its plusses and minuses.  The power amps on that thing are mis-stated and totally inadequate for a rock band--not nearly enough juice.  We bypass them and run the 16 channel mixer which is actually quite servicable for our use.  Here's what we run:

• 4 vocal channels (all band members sing)
• Guitar amp mic'd
• Bass is DI from my M80 Bass DI+
• 3 drum mics (kick, snare & floor tom)
• Mono FOH mix
• Stereo (Stage L and Stage R) monitor mix

Last night Nick, a 15-year old bassist friend of mine, sat in on a few tunes.  I was able to go to the back of the club and hear the mix.  Our guitar player often gets buried.  Apart from that, the mix was good.  We are not super loud, which is great.  I use foam earplugs and prefer them over the -12dB musician plugs.

So I think I have a basically perfect setup now.  No need to tweak anything for a while.  I still love to mess around with things, so I think I will focus on learning and progressing as a player.  At some point I will sell the Ric and plow that money into other bass-related things.