GO EEP WITH FAMILY MAN BARRETT BOBBIE SHAKESPEARE FLABBA MOLT ; BILL LASWELL JAH WOBBLE THE VERVE PIPE 1ARRYL JONES GARY KARR

NOVEMBER, 1996 .

$4.95 U.S., CAN . $5.95, U .K. 2 .1 5 11 >

0 70989 35577 4 CHANCE! TIER FREEMAN PUBLICATION Contents Volume 7, Numbe r November 1996

BassNotes 12 News Basses Loaded, Carol Kaye CD , Web Watch, and more ! 11 Darryl Jones From the big stage to the big screen 13 Studio Shot: Billy Gould Shedding with Faith No More 14 Brad Vander Ark Smokin with the Verve Pipe 18 Rose Thomson Riding high with Babe The Blue O x 22 Beaver Felton On The Cover: Dub Bass Superchops 4 life 40 Dub Reggaes Low-End Legacy Product Profile s From Family Man Barrett to Flabba Holt, reggae bassists have created lines that support some of the most heavy and hypnotic music on record . Plus: A discography of crucial dub discs. By Bill Murphy 63 Eden WP-100 pream p 65 Trace Elliot Commando combos 43 Bill Laswell The bassist/music mogul loves to bust stylistic barriers, but the subsonic pulse of du b 66 Acme Sound cabinet s bass is always his foundation. By James Rotond i 68 Update: Pedulla Rapture J-2 bass 46 Jah Wobble Workshops For the British post-punker, dub bass is a way of life . By James Rotond i 50 78 Michael Manring Five Classic Dub Lines They sure look simple—but capturing that heavy-duty, trance-like vibe is a highl y Alternatives rewarding challenge. By Gregory Isola 80 John Goldsby Mastering Jazz Other Features 82 Dave LaRue Essentials 34 Gary Karr 84 Alexis Sklarevski It seems as if the entire history of classical bass has culminated with Karr, one of the mos Bottom-Line Bass t successful bass soloists alive. Plus: Garys tips on getting started with a bow . 85 David Ellefson By Timothy L . Stinson The Real Deal 86 Rick Turner 52 Bass Tec h Philly Bass Roundtable Is there something in the water? Philadelphia bassists Gerald Veasley, Charle 87 Mike Hiland s Fambrough, and Tyrone Brown try to explain why the Cit Ready To Rock y of Brotherly Love has turned out so many bass greats 88 Sitting In . By Bill Milkowski Bruce Elkingto n 32 Modulus + Departments SWR Giveaway Last chance to win a Modulus 4 From The Editor Quantum 5 Sweetspot bass, an 6 Letters SWR Super Redhead combo amp , 26 Meet The Advisory Boar d and an SWR Goliath Jr . III 2x1 0 29 New Gear cabinet—total value $6,148! 70 Reviews 89 Bass Marketplace 91 Classified Ads COVER INSET PHOTOS : PETER SIMO N 95 Manufacturers 95 Advertiser Index 96 The Great Basses

NOVEMBER 1996 9° BASS PLAYER 3

Product Profiles

Trace Elliot continued for adding crisp highs without get- No rats nest here—thi s ting harsh. amps interior is super clean. BRIGHT switch is a bit too subtle fo r How about that Commando 15 ? our tastes ; its effect is just barely Not surprisingly, the larger speake r / you 'll find nifty features like noticeable when you slap or stru m produces more floor-shaking bottom tuner-out jacks, tape inputs, and high-register chords . The TREBL E and a greater depth of tone. We found Commando headphone jacks, and sure—they'd knob, meanwhile, is plenty effective the 15's DEEP switch far more effec- 15 produces a very be nice to see on the Commando . Bu t ------tive and its BASS knob truer; the lows pleasing slap ton e Trace Elliot wisely chose to concen- Trace Elliot Command o on the smaller amp tend to get card - indeed. It really makes a n trate on an amp's most important fea- List price: $59 9 boardy at higher BASS settings. And argument for the combo amp as a ture—tone . The company's engineers IMIMI/InInEELIn despite the speaker's size, the 15 has viable alternative to bigger systems— set out to put that high-end British Construction : a remarkably similar top end to the although, realistically, there's just so sound into a small, lower-price d Electronics : smaller amp's . However, we couldn't much 100 watts can do in any con - combo, and we think they've suc- Sound : t bear to set the 15 's TREBLE knob past figuration . As a result, both of these ceeded very nicely. Hear, hear! Ease of use : 1 about 2 o 'clock when slapping o r amps are pretty much relegated to Value : strumming ; the tone just got too practice and small-band situations . DISTRIBUTORS ADDRESS Bottom Line: The gree n harsh and brittle. But with just a (Try finding any combo that can do Box 50 7 monster in a little package . touch of high end, some bass boost , battle with a Marshall stack! ) Bloomfield, CT 06002 ------and a little scoop in the mids, the If you look at other combo amps, (860) 509-888 8

speaker with incredible speed and designed to be very neutral-sound- a special 5" midrange driver that fill s Acme tremendous power handling. No ing," says Andy Lewis, designer of in the missing upper-mid details . longer will you have to forsake your the Low B system . "They won 't add (Another disadvantage is th e Sound lowest half-octave for the conve- a `tone' or `character' of its own to amount of power required to drive 2 nience of a compact enclosure . No r the signal." the 10s . More on this later .) Further Low B- will you need to carry a second , There are two main ingredient s clarity in the highs is provided by a larger cabinet to produce low - in Acme's tone recipe . The first is a and B-4 S frequency fundamentals that yo u custom 3-way speaker system . Both ACME B-2/B-4 CABINET Enclosures can feel as well as hear ." enclosures use special 10" woofer s Made in : U .S .A . Sounds too good to be true, designed to have a lower resonance Direct price : B-2, $395 ; By Scott Malandrone doesn 't it? Can you get big low-B (frequency), a deeper voice coil (fo r B-4, $57 5 tones from a cabinet as small as a less distortion in the lows), and a Warranty: Two-year limite d "If youre a 5-string player, you 2x10? Acme Sound 's Low B cabi- longer excursion (amount of back - Type: B-2, rear ported ; can now fully realize the potentia l nets are intended to do just that : and-forth movement) than standar d B-4, front and rear porte d of your instrument thanks to a cleanly reproduce the fundamental 10s . However, since these speaker s Power rating : B-2, 350 watts of a B string. "These speakers are are wound to go low, the trade-off RMS @ 452 ; B-4, 700 watts RMS @ is a dip in upper-midrange response . 8S~ To counteract this, Acme uses Frequency response: ±3dB @ 41 Hz-22kHz (-6dB @ 31 Hz ) Crossover frequencies : 1 kHz and 9kH z Sensitivity: B-2, 93dB SPL @ 1W1M ; B-4, 96dB SPL @ 1W1 M Speakers: Two (B-2) or fou r (B-4) 175-watt custom Eminenc e 10s ; one 50-watt Sammi 5, on e ferro-fluid-cooled 50-watt Auda x high-frequency drive r

Rear panel : Two 1/4" parallel - input jacks ; midrange attenuator (0o-0dB) ; high-frequency attenu- ator ( -0dB )

Dimensions: B-2, 23" x 153/4" x

16 1/2" ; B-4, 26 1/2 x 23" x 161/2"

Box material : 7-ply 3/4" birc h Weight: B-2, 49 Ibs ; B-4, 76 Ib s

i—= N

66 BASS PLAYER 9. NOVEMBER 1 996 Product Profiles

the braces and the inner walls . This ting big holes in the sides of the bo x means the braces are actually push- for large handles lowers the reso- ing out on the inside of the shell. nant frequency of the enclosure, " Why do this? "Stressing increases says Lewis. "Ultimately, the best the stiffness of the panels so they handles are no handles at all ." won't resonate, " says Lewis . "Basi- Do the Low B's perform a s cally, you want the resonant fre- promised? To test their limits, w e quency of the enclosure to be as high set up both cabinets in our Sound - as possible so it wo n 't interfere wit h lab and connected them to a Deme- the bass response of the woofers. I f ter VTBP-201 tube preamp and you look at the sides of enclosures, Hafler Pro 5000 power amp . Our you can actually see the panels bow - array of test basses included tw o ing out in the middle from the inter - 35 "-scale 5-strings : a Modulu s nal pressure ." Sweetspot Custom SPi and a Lak- Contents under pressure: A special system of shimmed braces pushes out on the side s Stressed-panel construction no t land Deluxe 5 . Other testing was of the box . The result? Cleaner, deeper bass response. only has structural and sonic ben- performed in a live situation with a efits, it keeps the enclosures ligh t Gallien-Krueger 2000RB (1,000 Fuvts shallow-horn tweeter . When these technique used in building aircraft , and portable. Most 4xlOs use heav- bridged mono) and an Ede n components are combined via a the cabinets have a very high stiff- ier plywood to produce the sam e WT-400 Traveler Plus head . W e rugged crossover, this full-range sys - ness-to-weight factor. (See photo , level of stiffness, and they can be a were especially skeptical about th e tem produces bass down to 31 H z above .) Here's how this works: The bear to lift . But it's easy to carry a n 2x10, but this little guy filled th e (the fundamental of the open B cabinet is built from birch plywood Acme box, thanks to their ligh t room with punchy, balanced bass string) and highs up to 22kHz. that's held together with glue and weight and perfectly placed handle s all the way down to B. Witnesses The second ingredient is a spe- screws. Then, braces of 2" x 2" pine (high and towards the front) . These were amazed that a 2x10 could pu t cially built Thiele-Small-aligne d are placed inside the box at strate- small, recessed handles may not be out so much clean low end . ("It enclosure. By taking advantage o f gic points and small wedges of wood the most comfortable we've felt, but sounds three times its size," said on e the "stressed panel" construction are hammered between the ends of there's a reason for that, too . "Cut- listener .) The 4x10 was especially MI■ ■■----E--II-Sri-I I-M----==-MME TheBASS BOOK A COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF BASS GUITAR S ■ -mow - -- - I Uny Bacon and Barry 17oorhous e

"BASS at the BASE" Get the whole picture of how the electric bass revolutionized popular music in 1951 and became the foundation of everything from rock to rap. Features 130 color photos of rare, classic and modern basses, an original interview with Paul McCartney, and exclusive photos and quote s from bass greats like Jack Bruce, Stanley Clarke, John Entwistle, and many others . 111118 II The World 's Most Dynamic Music Stores ! IN FtOINOA DIAL (6131889.381401 WWII 80f WIL MLC01AESPONDFIICE TO PO 1018060. TOMPL R 33514.8009 S22 .95, hardcover, 108 pages, Item #645. BP Q Available at book and musk stores everywhere . Or call toll-free (800) 848-5594 . TAMPA '' CLEARWATER SARASOTA s1 Hillsborough Avenue 923°McMullen Booth Road "7606 North TaimintnsTrail, Miller Freeman Books, 6600 Silacci Way, Gilroy, (A 95020 Fax (408) 8485784 e-mail : mfbooks@mfi .com aroma, FL 33610 Clearwater, FL 34619 Sarasota. FL 34243 T Distributed to music stores by Hal Leonard Corp .; to book stores by Publishers Group West. Millerrreeman Books visit us on the world-wide web at http://www.tbred-mus C c m/network

NOVEMBER 1 9 9 6 t BASS PLAYER 67 Product Profiles

, date : Pedulla Rapture Bass 5 Originally reviewed: July/August95 Jazz Bass fanatics will love Pedullas Rapture Bass J2 5-string . Why? Because it has one of the punchiest B strings around, complete with the throaty midrange of a good Jazz Bass. (Subterranean Jaco, anyone? ) The J2s modern-looking body i s

Two 3"-wide ports extend 12" into the rear of the enclosures . The 4x10 has an Acme cabinets are three-way systems ; carved from soft Eastern maple, an d additional port located in the middle of the front panel. All of the edges and port the highs and mids are adjustable on the its bolt-on hard-maple neck is topped openings are wrapped in 1/n" steel for protection . crossover plate. with a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard. Acme Sound continue d the amp clipped with certain play- The Acme Low B-2 and B-4 Hum-free sound is provided by two ing styles, such as slapping . Any dis - enclosures do require gobs of powe r beefy ; since the mids are handled by tortion in the preamp or power amp for peak performance, but the end special-design Bartolini J-style pick - a separate driver, they speak with a will show up as nasty farting in thes result is a rock-solid bottom end that e ups with a Bartolini NTBT active pre - more robust quality than is heard speakers—they're not very forgiv- will drive just about any band . And with most two-way cabinets . They ing. "As a general rule ," says Acme , once you get used to hearing the tru e amp; controls include master volume, also disperse much more smoothly. "when distortion is heard from thes voice of your bass, you may neve r e blend, bass, and treble . The con- Overall, the Acmes are very warm- speakers, it will be eliminated b y go back to your old cabinets again . sounding boxes without the usua l increasing amplifier power . This i s struction quality is impeccable : per- spikes in the midrange and top end ADDRES S . the unfortunate price we pay for a MANUFACTURERS fect fretwork, a crystal-clear finish , The 2x10 is fat enough for small- to compact enclosure with extended Box 2556 medium-sized gigs (a pair in stere o bass ." Acme recommends an ampli - Englewood, CO 8015 0 and a firm neck joint. In would be a great setup), while the fier with at least 200 watts RMS o f (800) 226-358 3 a nutshell? The new J 2 4x10 offers more volume. power, although we 'd suggest a t These cabinets are an acquire d least 350 watts (or more) for max------is every bit as impres - taste, though. If you're used to hear- imum headroom . In fact, the more Acme Sound Low B-2 2x1 0 sive as the single-picku p ing your bass with lots of speaker col- power you apply to the speakers, the Direct price: $39 5 oration, you may find them a bit punchier they are . (The 4x10 han- IMBEEBEI Rapture Bass 5, and it s soft-sounding, even with the mid an d dled the G-K's 1,000 watts with Construction: one of the best-soundin g high attenuators cranked . Rock and ease!) Also, you have to rethink you r Components: metal players who play with a pick, approach to setting up your ton e Portability: J-style 5s with active elec- for instance, may miss the upper - controls . It's best to experiment with Sound: tronics weve heard. List end aggressiveness of"modern" 4x1 0 the mid and high attenuators on the Value: n boxes . But jazz, fusion, and fun k back on the cabinet, rather tha n Bottom Line : A 2x10 that think s price is $1,995 ; many players will love the Acmes for their crank up the controls on your am p it s a 4x10 . finish options are fast-and-flawless sound . R&B, coun- or bass. In general, the less EQ with try, and reggae players will also di g these cabinets the better, as the y Acme Sound Low B-4 4x1 0 available . A their round and tubey tone . (A vin- don't need the low-end boostin g Direct price: $57 5 4-string version lists tage P-Bass sounded great through most cabinets require. the 4x10—perfect for blues .) Want to try a Low B cabinet? Since Construction: for $1,795. Contact These cabinets do have a healthy the company sells only direct, you Components: `e -I f Pedulla at Box appetite for power, though . We won't be able to test one in a store. Portability: n n n found we had to set the volume con- However, Acme does offer a two - Sound: n 226, Rockland , trols at higher-than-normal settings, week, no-risk trial period . And at less Value: nnnnn MA 02370; and the power amps tended to cli p than 600 bucks for the 4x10, it's hard Bottom Line : Balanced tones very easily. The 4x10 ate every last to imagine a better deal on quality, down to B. Just make sure youve (617) 871-0073 . drop of our Hafler's bridged-mon o well-built bass gear. (Shh . .. don 't tell got enough horsepower to drive it . Scott Molandrone 900 watts . Even at this power level, Andy his cabinets are underpriced!) ------ =1--M---1E =---=

68 BASS PLAYER ) NOVEMBER 1996