This Takes the Cake

[Possum]

....

DAD??? I thought you were dead????

[David Schwab]

Y'all are just a bunch of young punks

Well I got 41 years playing guitar and bass, 29 years in graphics/pre-press/design, 40+ years fine arts (painting, sculpting, etc.), started repairing and modding guitars about 37 years ago and building 19 years ago, and finally to pickups about 4 years ago.

So I'm right behind you. I don't have no awards though... except from 3rd grade art.

[mkat]

I've had people tell me I'm opinionated after reading some of my posts at TalkBass. They still bought pickups though lol

I remember a thread on a set of pickups there a few years ago, both of us responded in a similar vein, which the mod closed (LOL) 'cause certain people couldn't handle the truth about these particular basses? Crickey, the situation is so sad it's a crack up. After the first response I knew something was on, I waited for the BS in response to almost every one of our posts after that. I noticed recently that the last one or more pages leading to the close have been removed - they censored it - LOL...LOL...LOL...

[Possum]

...

Screw the awards. For awhile I was a member of some advertising clubs in the towns where I worked. That whole life is really plastic, supposedly the more awards you get the more money you make, which is bull. Truth is the better salesman you are the more money you make, talent is way behind that one :-)

I look at the design annuals last couple of years and the quality of the work is nowhere near it was in the 70s and early 80's, really sad to see. I don't miss that world. I do find it disturbing that you dont have a jewelry art background or lapidary experience :-) That stuff comes in real handy in making pickups, I'm doing a tele set for an art guitar thats going to sell for thousands of dollars, a cooperative of a bunch of talented artists. The top of the flatwork will be made of faux turquoise with gold plated magnet slugs, should be fun.....

[David Schwab]

I remember a thread on a set of pickups there a few years ago, both of us responded in a similar vein, which the mod closed (LOL) 'cause certain people couldn't handle the truth about these particular basses? Crickey, the situation is so sad it's a crack up. After the first response I knew something was on, I waited for the BS in response to almost every one of our posts after that. I noticed recently that the last one or more pages leading to the close have been removed - they censored it - LOL...LOL...LOL...

I remember that, but forget what we were discussing. Guess it wasn't that important.

And last night at a rehearsal studio I had to use an SVT4 pro... so now I can safely say I don't care for that amp either! No where as clear sounding as the SWR I used last week.

[David King]

David. I remember when I had one of the first SWR 400sm rigs in town and I thought I was a real cool dude.
I was helping a great local hiphop band record at a very nice recording studio and thought it would be cool to lend them my rig for the live sound.
The engineer who was a bass player that had been around since the early 60's looked at me and my rig and said, "OK you set that thing up and here's a Neuman U47 for the cone". I did my best finding the perfect location over the driver and getting the absolute best grain structure through the amp with the levels perfect and the EQ set for just the best possible low end.
Meanwhile this engineer pulls out a ratty looking Ampeg B15 from a closet and casually drapes a Shure SM57 over the top of it, sets the EQ flat and asks me to come back into the booth.
I have never been so completely humiliated in my life. I sold the SWR a week later and found a POS B15-N for $200 and have never looked back since.

[David Schwab]

David. I remember when I had one of the first SWR 400sm rigs in town and I thought I was a real cool dude.
I was helping a great local hiphop band record at a very nice recording studio and thought it would be cool to lend them my rig for the live sound.
The engineer who was a bass player that had been around since the early 60's looked at me and my rig and said, "OK you set that thing up and here's a Neuman U47 for the cone". I did my best finding the perfect location over the driver and getting the absolute best grain structure through the amp with the levels perfect and the EQ set for just the best possible low end.
Meanwhile this engineer pulls out a ratty looking Ampeg B15 from a closet and casually drapes a Shure SM57 over the top of it, sets the EQ flat and asks me to come back into the booth.
I have never been so completely humiliated in my life. I sold the SWR a week later and found a POS B15-N for $200 and have never looked back since.

See, I owned a not so ratty 60's B-15N. That was my first good amp. Sorry, not the same tone at all, and not the tone I'm going for. On top of that, the SVT4 doesn't sound like the B-15. But then the B-15 doesn't have a lot of high or low end. It's also a myth that the Jamerson tone is a B-15 or B-12. He used a B-12 in the studio as a monitor, but the bass was recorded direct. It's a very pleasant sounding amp, but isn't very hi-fi. I used mine on many recordings mic'd up. SM-57's are the mic to use with bass or guitar, if you want to mic a cab.

What I look for in a bass amp is something to make the bass louder, and not mess with the tone at all, unless I want to change it. I get a great tone DI into a board, so I expect the amp to get the same tone. Ampegs can't do that. They have their own tone, and that's about it. It was also not as clean as the SWR. The SWR made my Jazz pickups sound like a chocolate piano. You could hear ever nuance. Though the SVT they were very middle of the road... not much highs or lows, unless I used the Ultra Hi and Lo switches (which I hate), and then that messes with the mids. It was also much easier to hear me over all the other band members with the SWR.

They just aren't very accurate sounding amps. I also don't buy into all the bass tube amp crap. I have a very nice all tube amp (Mesa 400+) and I like my Trace Elliott much better.

A lot of sound men only know how to get one tone from gear they are used to. But that's their tone, and not your tone.