The Orange Terror Bass 500 rocks bass our bench tests! gear All gear, all the time. bassgearmag.com Issue 6

Marco De Virgiliis, 10 years of Markbass!

$7.50US

LeCompte CBSC4 Markbass MoMark System Zon TJ5 Fretless Custom Bass Guitar Simply stunning! A technical analysis Modern fretless wonder

Cover Story – Special Focus: Markbass

24 Markbass Factory Tour Vic Serbe takes us behind the scenes at the Markbass factory in Chieti, Italy. 18 A Technical Look at the Markbass MoMark System Tom Lees takes a detailed look at the three power frames and numerous modules which comprise the MoMark system. bass QUICK LOOKS gear 8 Markbass Studio Pre Bass Preamp 10 Zon Standard Series Bass Guitars 12 Dingwall Combustion Bass Guitar 15 3Leaf Audio Groove Regulator Bass Pedal

FULL REVIEWS

33 Zon TJ5 Fretless Custom Bass Guitar Joe Zon has one of the coolest names in the industry, and he also happens to build some of the coolest basses. Vic Serbe dives into this custom fretless wonder.

42 LeCompte Guitars VB5 and CBSC4 Bass Guitars This story has it all! Vintage inspirations, modern twists, fancy woods, cult- following-worthy pickups, international intrigue and even romance! Tom Bowlus tells Bud’s tale…

53 TC Electronic RH450 Bass Head and RS210 & RS212 Bass Cabinets TC Electronic brings a level of technology to the bass amplification market that we really have not seen before. Vic Serbe gigs the rig, while Tom Lees puts on the white lab coat.

70 Orange Terror Bass 500 Bass Head and SP210 & SP212 Bass Cabinets Alan Loshbaugh gets “juiced!” Our friends from across the Pond at Orange Amplification show us their unique take on the “micro” amplification market.

INDUSTRY NEWS

82 2011 Winter NAMM Show

94 2011 Winter NAMM Show Awards

bass 4 gear COLUMNS

issue How I See It 6 “So long, Neo! We hardly knew you!” Has neodymium now become unobtainium? What the changes in the market mean to the future of light enclosures.

From the Bench 96 6 Output wattage is an important start. Technical Editor Tom Lees explains how this figure is just part of the story, and it tells less than you’d think.

A Closer Look - TC Electronic Active Power Management, Demystified 100 Tom Lees throws the RH450 into a steel cage death match with another class-D head to show us just what Active Power Management brings to the table.

Dealer Profile: Austin Bass Traders 38 Glenn Kawamoto serves bass players around the world from a secluded bunker in the Austin, Texas area. Get to know the man behind the website.

In The Doghouse – Headway EDB-1 Preamp 104 Should I use a pickup or a mic on my upright? How about both? Doesn’t that create problems? Chris Fitzgerald makes some headway on the topic.

Philthy Talk – Rickenbacker Restore 106 “Why dual truss rods isn’t always a good idea;” or, “How Playboy centerfold Star Stowe inspired Phil Maneri in ways that no bass ever could.”

The Upright Perspective – Getting Your Bass Playing the Way You’d Like, Part III 108 Setting the action of your upright is a very personal process, and getting it “right” can reap huge rewards. The bridge and the nut are vitally important to this goal.

Manufacturer’s Response 111 Yes, 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 Issue 111 BGM takes an editorial mulligan and corrects a few errant swings from issue #5.

Fundamental Support – Mr. Holland’s Opus 110 “A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting music through donation of musical instruments to young musicians.” What could be more right than that?

bass gear 5 How I See it Tom Bowlus, Editor-in-Chief

How long has it taken mainstream bass players the case of neodymium, it’s a pretty clear-cut Of course, it is possible that the sky is not be to accept that neodymium speakers are the model. China controls over 95% of the actively falling. Not just yet. This may be a temporary “new cool?” 8-10 years? The introduction of mined neodymium (or “rare earth minerals,” road bump, and we may see the market neodymium-based drivers in the bass as it is sometimes called) in the world, and for respond to this situation more quickly than amplification marketplace was interesting, to all practical terms, they are the only current expected. Engineers and capitalists, alike, have say the least. For some older… er, I mean, supplier of neodymium to the commercial a knack for turning lemons into lemonade. In “more experienced” players who had grown market. No other potential producer is likely to the meantime, expect price increases and more accustomed to lugging around the biggest, be capable of supplying neodymium within discontinued models. There may be a few heaviest rig in the band, the concept of the next two years. The Chinese Ministry of harbors in the midst of the storm, though. showing up to a “real gig” with some helium- Minerals sets quotas for how much rare earth These quotas (and taxes) apply to the raw filled lightweight toy seemed laughable, at can be mined, and going by the current material, not to drivers which are first. And if we are honest with ourselves, we quotas, China will hit the cap in August of 2011, manufactured in China. While some China- must admit that at least some of the early neo and the mines will not be able to sell any based manufacturers may employ the lessons bass enclosures did leave some sonic additional neodymium until January of 2012. learned in Econ 200 and increase their prices in performance behind in favor of extreme China cut the exportation of neodymium (as a the wake of decreased supply and increased weight savings (or simply from not bothering raw material) by 60%, and the price of demand, others may not. Bob Gallien tells me to redesign a cab to accommodate the neodymium and neodymium-based drivers that GK has calculated that the cost of different specs of the new drivers). has risen to double or more of what it was a producing their neodymium magnets will only year ago. increase 10-15% over the next few months, and But some folks got it right, and gradually, we that these costs are not going to be directly began to see more and more speaker What does that mean for us bass players? Well, passed on to the consumer. manufacturers do the same. The sonic in the short term, it most certainly means that performance of a well-designed neo-based the prices of neo-equipped cabs are going to In any event, the decreased supply and design was on par with the sonic performance have to go up. Cab manufacturers can’t absorb increased price of neodymium is an important of a well-designed ceramic-based design – all of these costs without passing them on to global event which will have an impact on our only the neo cabs weighed a little to a lot less. the consumer. Some really killer neo-based industry, so be forewarned. I applaud Those “more experienced” players became cab designs are probably going to be dropped companies like GK, who is holding the line on converts, once they realized how much their – and indeed, some already have. Bergantino their prices, and I sympathize with companies aging backs appreciated the lightweight cabs. Audio Systems has already discontinued the AE like Bergantino, who had to make the difficult Heck, some speaker manufacturers were line of cabs, which were probably some of the decision to drop a successful line of bass starting to put out neodymium drivers with best-performing neo cabs in the market, and enclosures. We, the bass-playing community, performance numbers ceramic drivers could which were quite successful. Fortunately, we will get through this, and we’ll still have plenty only dream of. The fantastic 3012LF and 3015LF have other technologies available (such as our of killer-sounding cabs to play through. Lift drivers from Eminence come to mind. All of a good old friend, ceramic). Bass amplification with your legs, folks, and we’re all gonna be sudden, neo was the new cool. will go on. Other industries and other products, just fine. such as hybrid vehicles and wind turbines, And now it may all go the way of the dodo. may find it more difficult to fill the role played That’s how I see it. by neodymium magnets, and these industries Why? Well, economics, of course! Supply and are likely to be more aggressive about going Take care, Tom. demand rule many aspects of our lives, and in after the remaining supplies of neodymium.

bass 6 gear bass BGM Online Resources gear Read issues online! EDITOR IN CHIEF Tom Bowlus -For the lastest issue, go to: [email protected] http://www.bassgearmag.com/web/ TECHNICAL EDITORS Tom Lees magazine_flip_pdf_1_n.php [email protected] -For archives, go to: Phil Maneri http://www.bassgearmag.com/web/ [email protected] past_issues.php CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Terry Buddingh -Subscribe to BGM online at: http://www.bassgearmag.com/web/ [email protected] subscribe_entry_1.php STAFF REVIEWERS Vic Serbe Alan Loshbaugh BGM on YouTube @ Ed Friedland youtube.com/bassgearmagazine STAFF CONTRIBUTORS Chris Fitzgerald -See the latest NAMM Show coverage, [email protected] plus interviews and gear reviews Robert “Jake” Jacobs BGM fourms @ [email protected] http://bassgearmag.com/forum/index.php Anthony Lucas -Come join the discussion! Arnold Schnitzer [email protected] Check out the BGM Photo Galleries @ ART DIRECTOR George Keller http://www.bassgearmag.com/blog/ [email protected] zenphoto/index.php ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Joshua Bubniak -NAMM Show and Musikmesse galleries [email protected] -Supplemental photos which did not make it into the print reviews/stories INFORMATION TECH Diego Waisman PHOTOGRAPHER Steve Burkhalter BGM blog @ [email protected] http://www.bassgearmag.com/blog/ COVER PHOTO (this issue) Sandra Mosca -Read the latest news and catch up on past editions of Bass Gear Bulletin Editorial inquiries or review product shipping: Bass Gear Magazine 207 N. Park Ave. Fremont, OH 43420 USA +1 419-332-8260 Bass Gear Bulletin @ Advertising inquiries should be directed to [email protected] http://www.bassgearmag.com/web/ Publishing and reprints office: subscribe_entry_1.php Bass Gear Magazine 207 N. Park Ave. Fremont, OH 43420 USA +1 419-332-8260 -Sign up for our periodic e-mail

Subscriptions and back issues: $30 US for 6 issues, US$36 Canada, US$50 International. Back issues are $10 US, US$12 Canada and US$15 International. Please pay via paypal.com to [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 at bassgearmag.com. Please send us your address corrections at least two months before moving to [email protected]. All material published in Bass Gear Magazine is copyrighted ©2011 by Bass Gear Magazine, Ltd. All rights reserved. Published and printed in the USA. bass gear 7 By Tom Bowlus end “pure” sounding preamp with some fine- Quick Look tooth tone-sculpting tools thrown in. Well, it can fit The Company Line: that role just fine, but this preamp is also capable Markbass We have been telling our readers about Markbass of dialing in the ideal bass overdrive/grit/grind Studio Pre products since issue #1, and much of this issue is (without having to tote around a small arsenal of devoted to Marco De Virgilis and his Italian amp pedals). It is basically two preamps which can be and cab-making company. As such, I will spare you used independently, or blended together. The the company profile and background and stick to Clean channel features tone controls for Low, Mid what makes the Studio Pre unique. Let’s start with and High, plus one Pure Parametric Filter (PPF), the name. Few players would look at the extensive which allows you to choose a center frequency list of Markbass products and pick out the Studio from 60Hz to 2kHz and features a variable Q control (0.5 to 8). All EQ controls claim a boost/cut range of 16dB.

The Amp channel has Low and High EQ, Markbass’ trademark VPF, a defeatable compressor and – my heart be still! – a variable high pass filter. The heart of this channel, though, comes from the three knobs labeled Amp1, Amp2 and Amp3. Each of these knobs has pull-on activation (allowing you to Pre as the three-headed snarling monster of the use any or all of them at the same time) and rotary lineup. In hindsight, I think that “Cerberus” or gain control. The Mix control allows you to blend “Chimera” might have been more appropriate the Clean and Amp channels. Taken together, these names. I had initially presumed this to be some controls allow an unprecedented level of control studio-grade, neutral, clean bass preamp back over fine-tuning the amount and character of the when it was introduced at the 2008 Winter NAMM. drive added to your bass signal. As it turns out, it can do that, but it also packs three independent overdrive channels (or “Amps”). I You may have noticed the signature on the front was immediately intrigued, but admittedly panel. This belongs to Italian session bassist Paolo somewhat bewildered, by the array of knobs and Costa (Alejandro Sanz, Sergio Mendes, Laura how they worked with each other. But when I got Pausini), who helped Marco design the Studio Pre. a chance to play through it, from the first moment Paolo is a very versatile player, and this versatility I pulled out one of those Amp knobs, I knew I had definitely carries over to the design of this preamp. to check one out. The front panel is rounded out with a single ¼” input (500 kOhm) paired with a tube-driven Gain control (with clip indicator LED), and three “Out Levels” for Clean, Amp and Master – which control the independent Clean, Amp and Mix line outs on the rear of the preamp. Speaking of the rear panel, Markbass has provided independent ground lifts for each output (very nice), an unbalanced Mix out (in addition to the XLR), a tuner out, effects send and return, and a jack for the optional footswitch First Impressions (which allows you to turn the Amp channel on/off Once again, going by the name – and the fact that and also lets you turn the Pure Parametric Filter it is a 2U tall, full rack width dedicated preamp – on/off). the initial thought is that this is yet another high-

bass 8 gear A Closer Look pass filters in bass overdrive devices for some time, In clean mode, with no EQ applied, the tone is so I am thrilled to see it employed here. The control Manufacturer: Markbass fairly similar to my trusty LMII, though not has a range of 20Hz (which is effectively “off”) to identical. The Studio Pre is a little cleaner and more 1kHz, with a -3dB slope. I preferred the High Pass Made in: Italy crisp, and the LMII a bit more dark. The Studio Pre control set 30-40% “up” – if you cut out too much, has more air, but less punch. Breaking out the the overdrive gets thin and just sits on top of the F500, and again leaving the EQ controls set at clean lows. The Variable Pre-Shape Filter (VPF) is Preamp Type: Tube Gain, Solid State Clean noon, the Studio Pre has more sparkle and clarity basically a variable cut centered at 380Hz. My Channel, Two Tube Amp Channels, One Solid up top and a bit more rumble down low. By preferred setting was all the way off, but other State Amp Channel comparison, the F500 sounds a bit more focused Markbass players just love this control. and controlled. The Studio Pre also seems to be a bit more dynamic, with more harmonic content The Pure Parametric Filter is also worth a second Inputs: One ¼” Input Jack, ¼” Effects Return, (likely the result of that ECC83S tube in the Gain look. I really love a parametric filter that includes a Footswitch Input section). Overall, the tone of the Clean channel is variable Q (bandwidth) control. This allows you to closer to that of the F500 than the LMII. determine whether you will boost/cut a narrow Outputs: Balanced (XLR) and Unbalanced (¼”) band of frequencies, or a more broad range of The Amp channel is difficult to describe, as the frequencies centered around the frequency Mix Out, Independent Clean and Amp Balanced range of potential tone settings is staggering. selected. Personally, I will often use a narrow-Q cut Outs (XLR), ¼” Tuner Out, ¼” Effects Send Examining them independently, Amp1 features to notch out frequencies which might be out of two ECC83S tubes (the European designation for balance. On the boost side, narrow bumps tend to what we would call a 12AX7 here in the States) and sound less natural to my ear, so I will generally use EQ (Clean Channel): Low, Mid, High, plus one is capable of a nice tube overdrive ranging from a a more broad bandwidth setting when boosting Pure Parametric Filter hint of grit to full-on Iron Butterfly saturation. The with a parametric EQ. To my ears, the boost was touch response is excellent, and this channel gets much more noticeable than the cut. The ability to EQ (Amp Channel): Low, High, VPF, Variable the most fuzz of the three. Amp2 employs one turn this filter on/off with the optional footswitch ECC83S tube is all about growl. It can definitely get opens up a whole new range of uses (such as High Pass Filter pretty hairy, but stays clear and aggressive. Amp3 switching between a fingerstyle tone and a slap is entirely solid state, and is the darkest of the tone). DI: Balanced XLR, Post-EQ, Independent Ground three. It features a controlled, focused kind of Lifts saturation. I did notice that when Amp3 was Lasting Impressions engaged, it seemed to introduce some high end Shortly after its initial introduction, the Studio Pre cut, even when blended in with other Amp was mated up with a 500-watt output section in Other Features: Defeatable Compressor, channels. These three channels let you dial in a the guise of the Studio Pre 500 head. While this Clean/Amp Mix Control huge range of mild to extreme overdriven tones. In head has been (sadly) discontinued, it is worth fact, the Studio Pre is capable of a good bit more noting that Markbass now offers a stand-alone overdrive than even Markbass’ own all-tube power amp, the 1U, 8.38 lb MB 1000 (500w + 500w Optional: Footswitch monster, the Classic 300 (reviewed in issue #2). into 4 ohms or 1,000w bridged into 8 ohms), which should pair up nicely with the Studio Pre. Think Dimensions: 14.5” x 11.9” x 3.39” The High Pass filter is worthy of special attention. about it – a two-channel amplifier mated with a This allows you to dial in the frequency below preamp that sports dedicated clean and dirty which the signal will not be affected by the Amp outputs… That being said, many folks may indeed Weight: 5.9 lbs channels. In other words, it lets you dial in clean use this head mostly as a studio tool. For the lows with overdriven mids/highs. If you’ve ever session bassist (like Paolo) who may be called upon Warranty: 2 Years spent the time/effort to dial in your ideal to cover a wide range of clean to dirty tones, the overdriven tone, only to find that when you fired it Studio Pre is an undeniably compelling option. up in a band setting, the lows turned to mush, you Either way you slice it, the Studio Pre is a uniquely Price: $2,099.99 MSRP, $1,299.99 street should immediately see the benefits of this filter. I powerful preamp with deceptive (and exceptional) have been calling for the inclusion of variable high capabilities. Thank you, Marco and Paolo!

bass gear 9 By Tom Bowlus but seems to be up to the task (more on this Quick Look below). The 24-fret neck also features a graphite nut, dual-action truss rod, and The Company Line 19mm string spacing at the bridge. Zon Sonus If you don’t know who Joe Zon is, Standard 4 then by all means proceed The Mosaic Standard 5 had an alder body, immediately to Vic Serbe’s Zon with a very nice figured bubinga top. Many and Mosaic fretless review on page XX for a features are shared with its 4-string brother, more detailed back story. Briefly, such as the rosewood fingerboard (also 12” Standard 5 Joe started his shop in Buffalo back radius), dual-action truss rod, 19mm string in 1981, and moved on to California spacing, graphite nut, flat satin finish, and in 1995. He has pioneered the use of hardware/pickups/electronics. Other than graphite as a neck material and established body woods and the number of strings, the himself as one of the true artisans of the differences include fret count (22 for the bass lutherie world. However, costly raw Mosaic) and scale length (35” for the Mosaic). materials and extensive hands-on time from Both basses arrived with an excellent setup, a master luthier inevitably result in and played great right out of the box. instruments which not every player can Nothing about these basses gives away that afford. Fortunately, Joe has recently devoted they are an “import” model, and only the much time and effort to establishing a more maple necks clue you in that these are not affordable line of basses, the Standard US-made Zons. Series. A Closer Look The Standard Series basses consist of Both basses had a very even response from three body styles (Legacy, Sonus, and string to string, and a nice “ping” to the Mosaic), all of which are available in 4 attack. The low B on the Mosaic was nice and or 5-string flavors. These basses are tight. The overall tone of both basses is made in Korea to Joe’s specs, and decidedly clear, but not sterile. The alder- then inspected and set up at Zon’s main bodied Mosaic was a little darker sounding facility in Redwood City. While Joe wanted to than the maple-bodied Sonus – which, make an affordable bass, he was adamant compared to a nice J-bass (my ’73 Jazz, in this that all of the new basses must live up to Zon case), was itself a little darker, more standards (pun intended). These basses use compressed, and a touch more burpy. I could quality components (Hipshot hardware, dial in a bit more air up top with the EQ, but I Seymour Duncan pickups), but opt for more could not get it to sound exactly like my Jazz traditional wood necks. Bass. That being said, it was a nice blend of a modern tone and a classic J-bass tone – First Impressions which is exactly what the US-made Sonus Joe Zon sent us two of his Standard Series model has been known for since the ‘90s. basses: a 4-string Sonus and a 5-string Mosaic. The Sonus Standard 4 featured a Speaking of the EQ, I totally expected this to maple body, a nicely quilted maple top, 34” be the Achilles’ heel of the Standard Series three-piece maple neck, and a 12” radius line, being the only “no name” component. I rosewood fingerboard. The body and neck was pleasantly surprised to find that the EQ is were both finished in flat satin. I was pleased really quite good. It is very quiet, and highly to find Hipshot hardware (brass, black finish) usable throughout most of the travel in both and US-made Seymour Duncan pickups. The cut and boost directions on all three bands. 3-band preamp is not from a name brand, With some EQ tweaks, you could definitely

bass 10 gear get these two basses to sound a lot alike. Manufacturer: Zon Guitars While each bass features controls for volume, Model: Sonus Standard 4 blend, bass, mid, and treble, the Sonus opts Made in: Korea for stacked bass/treble controls, whereas the Mosaic sports five full knobs. Both also share Body: Maple, with quilted maple top an active/passive switch (which is an option Neck: Bolt-on, 3-piece maple that I appreciate, especially in this price Fingerboard: Rosewood, 12” radius range). Bridge: Hipshot Pickups: Seymour Duncan Dual-Coil Comfort, balance, and playability were quite nice on both basses. Of the two, the neck on Active/Passive: Active (with passive mode) the Sonus Standard 4 was decidedly sleeker Controls: Volume, blend, bass, mid, treble and felt “faster.” I would imagine that the (active/passive switch) neck on a 4-string Mosaic Standard would be Tuners: Hipshot quite similar to that of the Sonus. The Sonus Strings: Zon SS Rounds Standard 4 weighed in at 9 pounds on the money, and the Mosaic Standard 5 proved to Scale Length: 34” be a bit heavier, at 10.4 lbs. The pickups in all No. of Frets: 24 Standard Series basses are wide-aperture, Weight: 9.0 lbs dual-coil designs in “soapbar” sized shells. Accessories: Zon padded gig bag All Standards ship with a padded Zon gig bag. (included) Lasting Impressions Price: $1,599 Several high-end US builders have been able to find success with import lines. Sadowsky, Lakland, and MTD immediately come to mind, Manufacturer: Zon Guitars and they owe the success of their import Model: Mosaic Standard 5 basses to their dedication to quality control and their active involvement in (or at least Made in: Korea control over) every step in the process of Body: Alder, with figured bubinga top making the bass and getting it in the hands Neck: Bolt-on, 3-piece maple of the player. Joe Zon is clearly taking this Fingerboard: Rosewood, 12” radius same hands-on approach. Not only are the Bridge: Hipshot results an affordable, sonically flexible, workhorse bass, but also a stylish instrument Pickups: Seymour Duncan Dual-Coil with clear Zon heritage. Zon basses have Active/Passive: Active (with passive mode) always had their own character and appeal, Controls: Volume, blend, bass, mid, treble and the Standard Series plays heavily upon (active/passive switch) both. These are basses that the neophyte or Tuners: Hipshot the most jaded gear snob could gig with pride. Whether you are looking to upgrade Strings: Zon SS Rounds from your current axe, or whether you get Scale Length: 35” cold sweats when you think about exposing No. of Frets: 22 your big dollar basses to the rigors of the Weight: 10.4.0 lbs road, the Zon Standard Series basses should Accessories: Zon padded gig bag be on your short list of instruments to check out. (included) Price: $1,699

bass gear 11 By Vic Serbe to none. Read Issue 2, go to his web site, whatever. Quick Look Take a close look and see for yourself what those superb hand-built specimens are made of. Of The Company Line course, with all that, comes a high price tag, so they Dingwall Back in issue 2, we reviewed Sheldon won’t be within the reach of the masses. Sheldon Dingwall’s amazing Z3 bass, has been watching other fine brands address the Combustion 5 covering the origin and consumer market for a while now and has been goals of his choice to go trying to find a way to introduce his designs to that with the Novax Fanned Fret market without compromising on quality or tone. System (NFFS), so we won’t He’s found it, and it’s called the Combustion. rehash all the details here. However, a quick recap is in order. The traditional First Impressions method of building stringed instruments The secret sauce here is not really all that secret… it follows a design which keeps all the strings the was simply a lot of hard work in establishing same length, despite the fundamental of the open partnerships with outside manufacturing where he tuning being different on each string (in most could reliably define and control quality. It was also cases); simply using a larger gauge of string for through limiting options to simplify the process the lower notes. Compare that to a piano, where and further reduce cost. All this made it possible to the lower notes are played on strings that are not assure final product would not only be truly only larger gauge, but also longer. The idea behind representative of his work, but also be much more the design on the piano is that lower notes are affordable at the same time. based on longer wavelengths, so the strings should not only have more mass, but also be However, with all the work that’s been done, it’s longer to help the fundamental note ring truer. not over yet. Sheldon is just as passionate about The NFFS simply implements this concept for a the Combustion basses as he is any of his products, stringed instrument. and as such, he’s continually looking to improve it through personal review and customer feedback. Let’s debunk something right now. People often Some of that involved yours truly in the process of assume the longer strings will make the low end writing this very article, as you’ll soon see. on an instrument like this overpowering. Well, don’t confuse “ringing truer” with being “overly The woods are pretty straightforward. The body is powerful.” In fact, done right, the result is quite the made from 2-4 pieces of alder, and the shape is opposite. Sheldon’s design goals are to have an based on the Afterburner model. The upper horn is instrument with truer-ringing fundamentals and a right over the 12th fret for good balance on a strap, particularly consistent response from string to and the lower cutaway provides easy access to the string. Achieving these goals provides the kind of last notes on the neck. The offsetting nature of the pure and coherent tone that can have a strong mix fanned fret system actually helps the offset nature presence, without overcrowding it. For example, of the horns look a lot more natural. The neck is 5- some people really love the sound of the longer B piece maple, with either a maple or sonokeling string on a 5-string bass with a 35” scale, but then (aka East Indian rosewood) fingerboard. A 5-piece may also lament the fact that the extra long G neck, made from carefully selected stock, means string has somewhat odd overtones, compared to exemplary stability, even without steel or graphite the 34” scale basses that are more traditional. reinforcement rods. It’s held on by four neck bolts with metal ferules, and the neck/pocket fit is very This is a non-traditional system, and requires good. I was able to slide a piece of paper into part someone with the ability to build best of breed of the pocket on top the neck, but it tightened up instruments to pull it off. While Sheldon Dingwall is quickly, and I was unable to get a piece of paper in not the only one to have built instruments with the at the bottom at all. The neck profile is a “medium- NFFS, he’s probably the one that’s been the most thin D.” This means it has a lot of meat to it for successful with it, and his instruments are second good tone, but doesn’t feel bulky when playing the

bass 12 gear instrument. The fingerboard radius is 15.75”. That Electrosocket output jack comes off the bottom of Manufacturer: Dingwall Designer Guitars means it’s going to feel pretty flat. It’s also a the body such that the cord points up, and will “simple” radius, as opposed to a “compound” easily route between the strap and the body Model: Combustion 5 radius on his in-house instruments (7.5-16”). The without having to loop around, like on other basses headstock doesn’t have a kickback to it, but it does with end jacks pointing down, or face jacks. have a string retainer, and this assures proper Made in: China (set up in Canada) down-force on the strings as they pass over the This bass shipped in a hard vinyl-covered nut. The review piece was finished in flat black, rectangular case, but other that, no accessories with no pickguard, but it’s also available in were supplied except a fresh set of strings. Body: Alder Natural, 3-tone burst, Black, White, Blonde, Candy Apple Red, and Candy Green. You can also order it A Closer Look Neck: Bolt-On, 5-piece maple with either a White Pearloid, Black Pearl, or “Baltic At just under 9 pounds, this bass is easy to shoulder Amber” pickguard (which looks to me like a all night. The neck profile feels good and the first variation on a tortoise shell theme). fret reach is not bad at all for a bass with a 37” scale Fingerboard: Maple, 15.75” radius for the lowest string. The pickups are clear and So what about the hardware? The frets are small, strong, with a particularly even response from low Bridge: Chinese-made monorail design “banjo size,” and are made of a hard nickel silver to high. The lower strings are great musical alloy. The tuners are imports that look somewhat extensions of the higher ones, and vice versa. You similar to Hipshot, and were selected for their won’t have to play around peaks and valleys in tone Pickups: Dingwall FD 3A minimal weight and smooth operation. The bridge on this bass. The neck pickup is fat. I pretty much is unique to the Combustion in the Dingwall line didn’t have to use any EQ on this at all. It sounds like (but not unique to Dingwall). It’s a monorail type a modern twist on a P-bass. The bridge pickup is (B-Boosted) design where each string literally has its own much more aggressive, as you can imagine. If I private bridge assembly. The idea behind this is to strongly favored it or soloed it, I pretty much had to Active/Passive: Active isolate inter-string interaction as much as possible, also boost the bass control. It’s also pretty bright, so and it also allows for fanned fret operation I would often drop the treble control as well. I have without ordering any custom parts (all the bridges to say I really like how these pickups mate with the (Now Active/Passive) on the other Dingwall bass models are custom EMG preamp. I’ve heard the BT preamps with other parts). pickups before, but I’ve always liked the BT preamp Controls: Volume, volume, bass, treble much better when paired with EMG pickups. I also The electronics are part custom, and part off-the- like the fact that the treble control in this bass is shelf. The preamp system is a two-band EMG BT centered in a sensible place for a bass. I hate it Tuners: Chinese-made (Hipshot style) system, with the boost/cut bass control centered when a bass preamp has a treble control up at some at 30Hz and the boost/cut treble control centered ridiculously high frequency, like 10kHz, which at 4.5kHz. It’s a four-knob control layout, and the basically makes it nothing more than a noise Strings: Dingwall stainless steel other two controls are the individual volumes for control. I’ve never understood that. each pickup. That brings us to the pickups. The FD (.127” .095” .075” .055” .045”) 3A pickups are custom for this model and are I didn’t notice any dead spots throughout the range made in the Canadian shop (split-coil design of the neck. The fret level was great, but I found under a typical soapbar-type cover). They are also myself limited in exploring just how great. I ran out Scale Length: 33” to 37” the first Dingwall pickups to use Alnico magnets of saddle height adjustment where I felt I could still (Sheldon uses neodymium magnets in the other drop the action some. To most people this won’t No. of Frets: 24 (nickel-silver alloy) models). The bridge pickup is wired in series, and matter. I was really exploring limits, but to some, it the neck pickup is wired in parallel. For the more may be an issue. Usually, this means the neck adventurous technical customer, it is possible to pocket should be cut a little shallower, and most Weight: 8.8 lbs alter these configurations, as the pickups are people will “shim” the neck to get adjustment back. designed to allow access to the necessary wiring Infact, Dingwall offers a full-contact tapered shim to points. The system takes a single battery, and it’s adjust the neck angle. I really like how this bass sits Accessories: Hard case easily accessible on the back of the instrument via in a mix. It’s got a midrange character that cuts and battery box. Simple. I like it. The recessed gives presence without sounding boxy or nasal, and Price: $1,600 list; $1,200 street

bass gear 13 without compromising a big yet controlled low end. The high end is also very sweet... not brittle at all, yet, with plenty of snap to make the slap tone come alive. This is really a set/forget bass. It doesn’t have a ton of controls... just a basic preamp and a couple volume controls... which is all it really needs, but I will share that Sheldon plans to offer active/passive switching and his four-way rotary control with a master volume in the future.

So, what about the fanned fret system? I’ve read a lot of opinions about these after forming my own, and I think my experiences were pretty typical. When I first picked up the bass and started noodling around on it, I was like, “Yeah, this is no big deal at all.” I also observed how the natural rotation of your forearm tended to follow the slope of the frets from low to high. Think about it; if you hold your upper arm still and just sort of rotate on that axis, your hand will form an arc that’s pretty complimentary to the fanned fret system. However, after I spent more time with the system, I started to notice the differences a lot more. Walking bass lines and short hops are no big deal at all, but longer jumps will get you until you retrain your muscle memory. Further, if you do chording or harmonics, that takes some getting used to. Personally, to maintain a high level of proficiencey I would probably have to dedicate myself to having the fanned fret system or not having it. However, I will stop short of being critical of the system. I do feel it has a lot of strong merits, and if I was a one- bass kind of guy, I think once I got totally comfortable on the instrument, I’d wonder why I waited so long to get into it. At the same time, it’s hard to argue the fact the traditionally fretted basses’ success history, which of course continues to this day.

Lasting Impressions The Combustion is a great bass and a great value, no doubt. It’ll cover just about any kind of music and support any playing style without any problem. But it will take some getting used to. I would say if you were intrigued to try the system out, you can’t go wrong with this instrument.

bass 14 gear “What I love is that it gives me everything: Power, Warmth, Clarity and Dirt. I am rocking the Blacksmith every night - it’s KILLER !” - Troy Sanders

tcelectronic.com/bass By Josh Bubniak your Tone knob, which controls the maximum Quick Look cutoff frequency of the filter. Think of it like the tone knob on your bass. When set lower, The Company Line it will increase the warmth of the filter, and 3Leaf Audio Spencer Doren is a pedal junkie, like the rest when set higher, it will accentuate more of of us who are into effects. The GR2 is the the treble frequencies. GR2 product of Spencer wanting a more portable and more easily tweakable version of the New to the GR2 is the Wet/Dry blend knob. If famous Lovetone Meatball, and was you’re going for a more subtle envelope originally going to be a one-off pedal he filter tone, you can blend your dry signal built for his own personal use. After realizing back in using this knob. Fully counter- that many players would benefit from his clockwise is a completely dry signal, and design, he began production under the name completely clockwise is your filter tone. 3Leaf Audio, and I for one, am There are two switches on the pedal. The first certainly glad he did! is the Range switch, which controls the frequency range of the filter. 3Leaf ships the The GR2 is the second version of pedal with it set to Hi, which works well on the immensely popular Groove both bass and guitar, but if you want the Regulator envelope filter pedal, deepest and fattest low-end, go with the and has been out since the Fall Low setting, which is what I used the of 2010. I’ve had the pleasure of majority of the time. playing with both the original Groove Regulator and the GR2 The GR2 (and the original Groove Regulator) and enjoy both of them, for a also have an effect loop built in to the pedal variety of reasons, but the that allows you to do a couple of really fun enhancements in the GR2 have things. You can use it just like any other really made this pedal stand out effect loop and use the GR2 to trigger the from the envelope filter crowd. effect plugged into the loop. If you do this, and leave the effect in the loop on, it will be First Impressions turned on and off with the GR2. You can also The controls on the GR2 from left to right, use the loop to trigger the GR2 via an starting at the top left of the pedal are: external trigger. To do this, you plug your Sensitivity, Attack, Decay and Tone. Below instrument into the FX Return, and then them, again from left to right are a switch for whatever you plug into the In jack will Hi and Lo ranges, a Dry/Wet trigger the filter. 3Leaf claims that you can mix knob, and a switch to use anything as an external trigger, but I choose either Up or Down for used a drum machine and a synth with great the filter’s sweep. You adjust results. the Sensitivity knob for the output of your particular The GR2 can be powered either by an internal instrument: lower for high- 9v battery, or with a 9-18v DC adaptor. You output instruments, and will need to use the 2.1mm Boss-style higher for low-output (center-negative) type. I powered the pedal instruments. The Attack knob with a Cioks DC10 at both 9v and 18v with no controls the initial response issues whatsoever, other than the power jack of the filter and the Decay being a tad touchy if not seated correctly. knob controls the time it This also brings up one of my major gripes takes for the filter to sweep with this particular pedal. I could not use my the note you played. If set 1 Spot by Visual Sound adaptor to power the high, the Decay develops pedal, as it did not fit in the power jack long, sweeping envelope correctly. The hole on the pedal is a bit too sounds. When set lower, the setting will small for the adaptor to fit snugly. At home, produce shorter, bubblier sounds. Next up, is especially when testing new pedals, I use the

bass 16 gear 1 Spot for power, so I then had to scrounge for will allow you to dial in up to 6dB of gain if a 9v battery – which I rarely have around – you find the volume of the pedal lacking. because of my personal stance on using batteries; which is that they’re not so great, Build quality on the pedal is excellent. The for a variety of reasons. Is it a big deal? Not enclosure is a typical Hammond 1590BB, Manufacturer: 3Leaf Audio really, as all of the daisy chains I have worked powdercoated black. Internally, Spencer with the pedal, as well as both the Cioks decided to use all PCB-mounted jacks (all power supply, and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power Neutriks), and the main switch is mounted on 2 Plus. It would be nice to see this fixed on a separate PCB and attached to the main Made in: Seattle, USA the next batch though, as I know a lot of folks board via pins, which gives the switch board who use that particular supply as their only the ability to move a bit without flexing the means of power. main PCB. This is a fantastic design which Enclosure: Hammond 1590BB, will enable the pedal to operate for the life A Closer Look of the switch without causing any issues with At first glance, it would seem that we’re done the main board. All of the switches are also with any of the tweakability of the GR2, but attached to the main PCB. This all makes the Powder-coated black this version has a few other tricks up its pedal very easy to work on, should there sleeves, or should I say, in its enclosure. ever be the need after the one-year warranty Inside the pedal, there are three internal from 3Leaf Audio runs out. switches and a trimpot for a bit more control Primary Function: Envelope Filter over your desired sound. On the original I used the pedal in a 4-piece band setting, Grove Regulator, you had only the one filter and loved the bubbly wobble I could get out type available to you. In the GR2, you can of it for a few of our funkier tunes. I Secondary Function: Effect Loop now select between a low-pass filter and a especially loved the GR2 with an octave in band-pass filter. In my opinion, this is a great front of it to give it some more love. My addition. The band-pass filter produces a bandmates also tried it on guitar and we more aggressive sound that will cut through even tried it on a Rhodes Stage II with great Voltage: 9-18v DC a mix a bit better, but it will be at the cost of results! Being able to use the pedal with some of your low end. 3Leaf says that the whatever input source you choose makes the band-pass filter sounds great with some dry GR2 a fantastic choice for anyone needing an Battery Operation: Yes signal blended in. The low-pass filter envelope pedal. produces a more deep, full sound that will retain your low end. Lasting Impressions All in all, the GR2 is an extremely well Price: $229 The next internal switch took the Feedback thought-out pedal with the features and switch from the original Groove Regulator appointments that make it obvious that this and moved it inside. This switch has two pedal was designed and built by a player, for modes, RES+ and RES-. RES+ produces a more other players. With all resonant, ”wetter” sound and the RES- the hype recently produces a more subtle sound. The third regarding hand-wired switch is for switching between true bypass pedals, true bypass and buffered bypass. True Bypass will versus buffered connect the input to the output, which gives bypass circuits, and you the purest signal path when the pedal is so many boutique disengaged. The buffered bypass routes your pedal makers making bypassed signal through an input buffer, their presence known, which can be great for driving long cable runs 3Leaf Audio, and and will help eliminate the annoying true Spencer Doren are bypass pop. The benefit other than that is making their mark, that in the buffered bypass mode, the effect one musician at a loop will still be active, even when the GR2 is time. bypassed. Bam. Last, but not least, there is a gain adjustment trimpot in the pedal that

bass gear 17 FIG. C STACK OF AMPS AND MODULES

A Technical Look at the Markbass MoMark System by Tom Lees

bass 18 gear Modular electronics is a concept that is widely External Construction chassis for receiving modules. embraced by engineers. Inside most amps, The external structure of the MoMark series is you will find preamp circuitry separated out illustrated in Fig. A, B and C. The basic system As of the time of this review, Markbass is from power amplifier circuitry and even power starts with an amp frame, which includes three offering a staggering number of modules. supply circuitry. The concept of user- module bays. Each bay must contain an There are seven different preamp modules, six interchangeable modular circuitry for appropriate module in order for the system to different equalizer modules, and five different musicians however, has yet to fully take off operate. More particularly, from left to right master modules. For you kids keeping score at into mainstream acceptance. Sure, keyboard looking at the front of the chassis, bay one home, including the four possible amp frames players have enjoyed modular synth units must contain a preamp module, bay two must to choose from, that makes 840 different since the 1960s, thanks to pioneers such as contain an equalizer module, and bay three potential combinations. Moog and Buchla. Even guitar players have must contain a master module. The various had modular units available to them, via modules will be described in further detail A closer look at an individual module can be products from Seymour Duncan, Randall, herein. seen in Fig. D and E. Each module is contained Egnator and others. Now, Markbass steps up to within its own ABS plastic housing. Installing a represent bass players with a new, user- Independent of any module installed in the module into an amp frame is a quick and configurable modular system for bass system, the back of each amp comprises simple process. Simply slide the module into amplification – the MoMark system. We cannot speaker jacks, a tuner output, effects loop and the appropriate bay. When the module is conceivably address every aspect of the DI output. Currently, there are four amp frames properly seated, you should hear an MoMark line in one review, and our testing was available (three of which were sent to us for authoritative “click” as the connectors on the not intended to be exhaustive. However, with testing), each differing in power amplifier module mate with the socket within the a relatively concise set of measurements, we circuitry. Otherwise, each amp frame contains chassis. Once the module is installed, use the can get a feel for what the MoMark line has to the same external connectors on the back of provided Allen wrench to install four screws. offer. the chassis and three bays on the front of the Two screws are attached to the top of the amp

FIG. A Front of amp illustrating the three bays. FIG. B Back of amp illustrating connections.

bass gear 19 Tone Stack Options The MoMark series, in general, leans towards a fairly flat EQ characteristic – as illustrated in Fig I. The optimally flat curve is achieved substantially with all controls of the installed equalizer module at their “noon” positions. Depending upon the amp frame and equalizer module selected, our measured 20Hz to 20kHz sweep ranged from approximately +/- 2.6dB to +/- 4.7dB. However, within an optimally flat passband of 80Hz to 8kHz, the measured frequency response was within +/- 0.5dB for FIG. D Module and tools required for assembly. every combination measured.

frame chassis and two screws attached to the because the key to understanding the MoMark The various EQ modules collectively provide a bottom of the amp frame chassis. In our test series is to simply select three modules, substantial amount of tone shaping units, the modules installed easily and the including a preamp module, an equalizer capabilities. We’ve included frequency sweeps holes between the chassis and modules lined module and a master module. Within the of the EQS4, EQ42S and EQ7G modules. The up precisely. To remove a module, the user seven preamp modules, there are three basic suite should provide a good idea of the tone must first remove the four screws that secure varieties, including solid-state, tube and shaping capability of the EQ sections. In the module to the chassis of the amp frame. acoustic. Within the six EQ modules, there are general however, the EQ controls offer Once the screws are removed, install the three basic varieties, including “no EQ,” semi- approximately +/- 15dB of adjustment. provided pull tool (wire handle) into the holes parametric and graphic. Within the five master Moreover, the control bands tend to overlap, on the outside edges of the face of the module modules, there are three basic varieties, making each control interactive and influential approximately midway up and pull the handle including master volume control, master on other EQ controls within an installed EQ of the pull tool to slide the module out of the volume control and filter(s) and master volume module. chassis of the amp frame. control, filter(s) and line out control.

Internal Construction Fig. F and G illustrate a few illustrative gut shots within the 600-watt amp frame. Each frame includes space efficient and well laid-out circuitry that takes advantage of modern surface-mount technology. This technology is carried over even to the modules themselves, as illustrated in Fig. H , which shows the internals of the two preamp modules.

Module Mayhem Growing up as a kid listening to Schoolhouse Rock! I was taught that three is a magic number. That lesson has served me well, FIG. E Back of the EQO module illustrating card connection.

bass 20 gear We’ve also included sweeps all of the master module filters, which can include the Markbass vintage loudspeaker emulator filter (VLE) and the variable pre-shaped filter (VPF), which are found in the MVV, MVVL, M2VLF (VLE only) and MVVL-HE master modules.

Tube Preamp Markbass claims that the T1M tube preamp module T1M Preamp Module has a full sound that is harmonically rich. To test this, we applied a 200Hz test signal and swept the gain knob with a 400 mV RMS signal. At low settings, the T1M preamp module produced an output that included reasonably strong second FIG. F Gutshot of amplifier circuitry and third harmonics. Even with the gain knob three quarters of the way up, the harmonic and the MO master module. We rated output (which is borrowed from the preamp of the structure of our 200Hz test signal was well power at 5% THD, due to the character of the Little Mark II). Under these conditions, we were behaved, as each measured harmonic product tube in our test T1M preamp module. Under able to obtain approximately 317-watts scaled consistently. these conditions, we were able to obtain continuous, 325-watts burst at 8 ohm, and approximately 280-watts continuous, 345- 488-watts continuous, 497-watts burst into 4 Output Power watts burst at 8 ohm, and 534-watts ohm. The MoMark series master modules offer a bi- continuous, 659-watts burst into 4 ohm. band limiter that is intended to control the The 800-watt amp frame also includes a class- lo-end while allowing the high end to free The 600-watt amp frame includes a class-D D amplifier. This amp frame was tested with resulting in a dynamic and natural sounding amplifier. This amp frame was tested with the the S1M-HE preamp module, the EQ7G response. The limiter indeed seems to respond S1M preamp module, the EQ42S equalizer equalizer module, and the M2VLFM master quickly, recovering within approximately 0.25 module, and the MVVL master module. We module. We rated output power at 1.5% THD Sec. under our dynamic test signal. rated output power at 1.5% THD at 8 ohm and for both our 8 ohm and 4 ohm tests, due to the 3% at 4 ohm, due to the character of the solid character of the solid state circuitry in the S1M- The actual specification of output power on state circuitry in our test S1M preamp module HE preamp module. Under these conditions, these devices is a little tricky, because the “character” or “color” of the signal is largely dependent upon the selected preamp module. To represent a good cross-section of options, we tested each amp frame with a different combination of modules.

The 500-watt amp frame includes a solid-state analog amplifier similar to that found in the Little Mark II. The test setup included the T1M preamp module, the EQS4 equalizer module FIG. G Gut shot of the module connection circuitry to the amp.

bass gear 21 looking for versatility. It is clear that a lot of thought and energy has gone into making this a useful and flexible platform to build a user- configurable bass rig.

I do have a few suggestions. It would be nice if the system could be engineered such that the pull tool is not required. Alternatively, it would be nice if there was a cool and clever way to stow the pull tool on the chassis. Also, I would like to have seen the star Allen tool replaced with conventional screws. A musician is likely to be able to find a screwdriver at a gig much more easily than a set of star-head Allen FIG. H Gut shot of the tube preamp module. wrenches.

we were able to obtain approximately 425- The results of our first tests can be seen in the The only technical speed bump I encountered watts continuous, 482-watts burst at 8 ohm, figures which illustrate that the 500-watt amp was that on the 500 and 800-watt units – both and 635-watts continuous, 817-watts burst into frame handle both positive and negative peaks equipped with a high-end (HE) preamp 4 ohm. gracefully, and gradually settled into a steady module – I was able to drive the amp state rail. The 600-watt amp frame clamped sufficiently hard to cause it to blow a fuse. In general, the gain characteristics of all the positive rail quickly and allowed a very Fortunately, the fuse is quick and easy to amplifier combinations tested were rock solid brief peak transient to pass through. change and the fuse compartment contains a and substantially ruler flat up to the point of Correspondingly, the 800-watt amp frame spare fuse. Admittedly, I was pushing these clipping. However, differences were noted appeared to allow very large dynamic peaks to modules further than what is reasonable from among the various amp configurations. The initially pass through. However, the limiter the perspective of the performer driving the analog 500-watt amp frame (as configured settled into the steady state rail more quickly amps well beyond their clipping points. That and as tested) performed well under our burst than the 500-watt frame. said, I would be careful saturating the input testing. In general, the 500-watt amp frame module and driving the output module to its was able to provide bursts of approximately Conclusions limits. 120% of its continuous output. The 600-watt Overall, this is a great package for anyone amp frame didn’t fare so well under our burst test. First tests yielded results that were substantially the same as the continuous output measurements. It appears that the limiter must engage quickly in the combination, as tested. The 800-watt amp frame seems to handle dynamic bursts better at 4 Ohm. In general, the 800-watt amp frame was able to provide bursts approximately 113% of its continuous output at 8 ohm, but approximately 128% of its continuous output at 4 ohm. FIG. I Optimally flat.

bass 22 gear

by Vic serbe driver was telling us about a tragedy and earthquakes. My cohort, Terry April 14th, 2009 Buddingh, and I thought he was giving us a history lesson about the area. Well, he was, but it was very recent history… as in just earlier that morning! If it weren’t for the news on the television that night, we’d Once you're inside, it's a whole different story. Everyone's office have never known about opens directly to this shared space, where much of the creative the terrible tragedy that brainstorming happens. had befallen an area a mere 40 miles away from where initially high spirits were definitely dampened we were staying! The news was We stayed at the Hotel Esplanade (on the left) in Pescara Italy, by the horrible news, our plans to visit the whose front directly faces the beach of the Adriatic Sea. Spectacular dominated by reports of a huge Markbass thankfully went forward. view! earthquake that essentially destroyed the town of La Aquila and We were picked up at our hotel and taken to taken hundreds of lives along with it. the industrial park where the factory resides in Monday morning was beautiful. Flying out of Thankfully, the Pescara/Chieti area we were in Marco’s personal vehicle. The ride was a brief, Germany after the 2009 Frankfurt Musikmesse is much newer over the Swiss Alps and having a smooth flight development, so it was to Pescara was a real treat. Upon deplaning, it quite safe – and as far as I was a peaceful afternoon bathed in beautiful know, completely weather. In the cab ride from the airport, the unblemished. While our

Outside of the Markbass/Parsek/Mark Audio facility. Pretty unassuming, nestled in a very industrial area, which is the way they like it. Markbass founder, Marco De Virgiliis, in front of some equipment being prepared for shipment to an awaiting dealer.

bass 24 gear but pleasant. Markbass precipitated from the their product line Parsek manufacturing company, so the at an astonishing building bears the Parsek logo as well as the pace. You just Markbass and Markaudio logos. On the outside, can’t get around it appears as any other typical manufacturing the question of,

This was one of the most interesting Markbass-designed test jigs – the acoustic isolation booth.

Most of the time, Marco drives the larger SUV class vehicle. This is what they were in previously. Upstairs is general he drives when he wants a little more excitement on the road. “How can they do this?” A look administrative and engineering, and inside the building reveals the downstairs is manufacturing, storage, business, one that could be making something answers, and we’re here to provide that look shipping, and receiving. We initially went as mundane as plastic packaging materials. for you. Enjoy the ride, stay seated at all times, upstairs to connect with Marco, who was waiting for us. When you first walk in the door upstairs, you feel like you just walked into a cross between a recording studio and an exclusive recreational gathering place. The perimeter is lined with instruments, artwork, and office doors. The entire space is slathered in natural light due to the huge skylights (which are also present in the office spaces). A beautiful wooden floor covers the entire

The warehouse area a newer expansion, and was as clean as it was superbly organized.

But looks can be deceiving, and in this case, and please keep your they most certainly are. Cloaked in this hands inside the car. unpretentious shell, lies some of the most talented people in the music business, creating The Markbass factory world-class best of breed products, in one of resides on two levels the most creatively conducive environments in a recently acquired I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. Markbass is a space, as they’d The reception desk, with a collection of Marco's fine personal instruments, and relatively small company, yet is expanding outgrown the space antique radio sets on top the shelves, behind.

bass gear 25 equipment – including a grand piano, a if I could move in! At one point, we asked Marco couple keyboards, a drum kit, and an about some basses hanging on the wall. He electric upright bass. On the music stand, Summertime , by George Gershwin… one of my favorites. I didn’t know An amplifier power module being assembled by one of their whether I highly trained technicians. should be asking to see central area, except for one space covered by the rest of the space or an astro-turf type material, where the The bass and amplifier suite that are used to drive the cabinets being tested in the isolation chamber. refreshment bar, dining told us that most of them were gifts and one table, exercise bass was even signed by many of his friends, machines, fans, and endorsing artists – including Jeff foosball table, Berlin, of course. and ping- pong table all Before heading downstairs to tour the reside. manufacturing space, Marco walked us around Opposite all to show us the various offices and introduce us that was a to some of his staff. These are the think tanks group of where a lot of the magic happens, but not all of instruments A shot of the assembly and production test area. Most of what was being worked it. Some also happens in that central space. We and on that day were amplifier modules and small combos. asked Marco about that space, since it was such amplification a significant presence, and was clearly an

Pass. I watched several products tested from time to time over the course of the A MicroMark 801 combo being checked for fit/finish and being prepared for entire day and never saw one fail. driver installation.

bass 26 gear important and expensive feature of business. Often, innovation comes from their work environment. The thinking out of the box, which means you have innovation that defines Markbass to do just that. You have to leave your office happens in part because of innovations in the work environment Marco has put in place. He clearly understands that creativity flows Another shot of the power modules being built and tested. Note the best in a organization and use of carts to keep lots neatly organized. workspace that

Some completed amplifiers being run through automated and bench testing.

space and simply do something else to free your mind. He said it was not unusual for them to have impromptu jam sessions from time to time. This serves to both put their own products in practice, but also fosters a team spirit, camaraderie, and release from pressure and stress; a powerful tool in Markbass’s belt, allowing them to be the market force they are, despite a surprisingly small staff. Another A burn-in test rig. It takes a completed circuit board, powers it on, drives it hard, phrase comes to mind: “The whole being heats it up, and monitors signal paths against quality standards, all at the same time.

A shot of the antique radio collection above/behind the reception desk. I won't even begin to guess at what they are.

is both comfortable and greater than the sum of the parts.” We also pleasant to be in. The creative visited his office briefly, which looked more like process often flourishes during a living room in an upscale home. It’s the kind the “brain breaks” that are of place you could really relax and create. While These are the parts that didn't pass their stringent quality standards; this cupboard is necessary in such a fast-paced we’ve mentioned in previous articles that notably bare.

bass gear 27 environment Marco has worked so hard to create, we of course wanted to see his approach towards the manufacturing process, so we proceeded downstairs. As we approached the manufacturing area, the smell of freshly painted Lunchtime! Marco took us to a local restaurant especially surfaces reminded me of known for seafood dishes traditional to this part of Italy. It A very old basic p500 amp being repaired for a customer. Some companies was fantastic. the recent move into this simply discontinue support, Markbass is clearly interested in supporting new space. Upon entering their products as long as possible. Marco is a saxophone player, he also has the manufacturing area, it was shelf. In fact, much of it is custom made. Marco several trumpets also clear that Marco is very has designed a custom fit platform for the and even a particular about efficiency and main board of each amplifier, with conductive Flugelhorn in his cleanliness. Each area on the rods carefully placed to make contact with office – all of construction line was carefully various test points. These are often called a which he also plays from time to time, though with his busy schedule, I’m guessing mostly just for short periods to get a break from the daily pace. More horns in Marco's varied instrument collection. Oh yeah, he can play sax and After seeing what clarinet, too. a great creative

Marco holding the p500; deservedly proud of that product's success.

outfitted for specific “bed of nails.” The purpose is to monitor the tasks, and well amplifier at various internal stages while it is organized. both fed an input signal as well as stressed with great amounts of heat. The heat is If you’re a tech nerd supplied and monitored by a custom test like me, one of the module, which is connected to a plexiglas case, first things you notice which isolates the amp and makes sure the is test equipment. It’s heat is evenly distributed. Interestingly, so pretty obvious there’s much heat is used, it’s literally too hot to touch a lot of equipment when it comes out of the “oven.” At one point, that was not The bottom of the Classic 300. Note the high level of technology, and the care taken I looked at the meter and it read 64 degrees purchased off the to use silicone adhesive to protect components from vibration. Celsius (yes, that’s almost 150 degrees

bass 28 gear There were needed everything it could deliver. Obviously, carefully especially with the larger cabinets, it would be organized racks intensely disruptive to production to do this in full of power open air space, so an isolation booth was built sections, main with heavy sound protection included. It is boards, cabinet large enough to house an 8x10, so every components, cabinet can be tested in the same way.

Of course I had to get a shot of the back of the p500 to go with the other shots.

Fahrenheit!) and I think it speakers, may have and even went even modules higher than for the new Another shot of the burn-in tester being used. The spikes press the board that. Each [at the down against contacts underneath for monitoring. and every time] amp is MoMark product. Similar to rigorously the amplifiers, each An interesting side note, while we were there, stress tested Micromark combo was fully an old Markbass “basic p500” amp was on the Marco "supervising" the test of a MicroMark combo, this way. kidding around a bit with the tester regarding his playing tested skills. I think the guy on the right was complaining the before Various MicroMark was so loud it was blurring his vision. being different boxed up. products were being both built and tested In their case, they are all concurrently the day we were there. Products literally tested by someone spanning from the Classic 300 all-tube amp to plugging a bass into it and the Micromark single 6” speaker bass combo playing through it while were on the line being completed and tested. altering its settings. Every single one was tested… no exceptions. One other This is reading the current temperature in the burn-in tester. Yes, that's thing that Celsius, which means 147 degrees Fahrenheit. caught our eye was the speaker cabinet isolation repair table. I’d never even heard of this amp, booth. Marco is a firm believer and it predates the current black and yellow that a cabinet is not tested unless visual theme that pervades the entire product it’s driven hard, as if it were at a line these days. This amp was one of the An ancient oscilloscope by today's standards. I think Marco said it even performance where the player predecessors to the current amplifier line, still worked.

bass gear 29 Even though this product was far different than anything else currently in production, the customer was still being supported with repair service.

Every area of the A lot of MicroMarks assembled and tested; ready for packaging and manufacturing shipment. floor was being probably most comparable to the TA501, as it fully utilized except Marco with one of his special basses, autographed by many friends and professionals in the business, including of course Jeff Berlin. had a built-in tube compressor, a similar EQ design, and a 500- product on this shelf, especially since all it watt power section. takes to be put on this shelf and marked “not We didn’t have time for sale” is a small defect in the paint. I to plug anything in personally picked up one of the pieces and and see how it might couldn’t find the defect until it was specifically compare, but it was pointed out to me. interesting to see what came before Finally, we passed through the warehouse. This the products we’re is where everything from brand new most familiar with Another angle of the warehouse storage area, giving a better perspective component parts to complete products boxed now. Also, it’s an of how much product flows through this shop. Product does not sit long on the shelves, either. indication that customer service is king at this company.

A new adapter jig being built for the burn-in tester.

for one… the defect shelf. up and ready to ship to a retailer are stored. It Considering how much was a very large percentage of the space in the product pushes through building, yet it was generally full, despite the MoMark 500W (top) and 800W (bottom) power modules ready for final product this plant in a given week, fact that it’s regularly rotated as product is assembly. I’d expect there to be more both built and shipped. Again, it’s amazing

bass 30 gear served traditional seafood dishes historically popular for the area. It was a huge plate full of all kinds of delicious seafood, mostly broiled, and several side dishes to accompany it. I wish I could tell you what was on it, but I couldn’t Marco takes a moment to respond to some important email. When he was read the menu, so I’ll finished, he even picked up a horn and played it just to show he wasn't just about the bass. just leave it at a new, Opposite Marco's desk in his office. This is the think tank area rare, and delicious where he works in smaller groups with others on key topics. how much product a place this size can generate – and with a relatively modest number of team members, all experience for a simple, displaced things considered. Similar to the Midwesterner. manufacturing floor, it was a textbook case of cleanliness and organization. Finally, it was time to go, so we were kindly shuttled back to our hotel, Before heading out for lunch, we where we attempted to digest all we’d stopped at the refreshment bar and taken in. We’d seen a lot that day, but had some sort of wine/soda drink. I really, everything we saw boiled down can’t remember what it was called, to these things; innovation, efficiency, but it was somewhere between apple One of the last pieces played at a recent after hours jam session in the open and service. Yeah, they’re successful; area pictured earlier. One of my favorites. they have great products, and all for good reason.

A shot of the marina near the restaurant where we had lunch. It was a beautiful day. juice and wine. It was unique and delicious. Lunch was an especially nice treat, and a great way to cap off the visit. Marco took us to a very A popular drink in Italy, a mixture of 50% soda and 50% red wine. It was nice restaurant right on the Adriatic Sea, which surprisingly tasty. I've never had one before.

bass gear 31 T! TES Tbass gear

By Vic Serbe

The Company Line Joe Zon was a bassist with a talent for building and repairing guitars, so back in May of 1981, he started his own custom guitar and repair shop (named Zon Guitars) that was based out of a retail store named “The Buffalo Guitar Outlet.” Clearly, as a builder and repairperson, neck issues like structural instability and tonal inconsistency were a constant source of work... both for anything he would repair, as well as build. He set out to design a neck that would be immune to such issues, as well as reduce weight and improve balance on a strap. The result is the formula he still uses today on his premium instruments – a graphite composite material with a “phenowood” fingerboard. Joe describes phenowood as, “Wood (usually birch) that has been impregnated with a phenolic resin. Layers of wood are compressed under heat and pressure, resulting in a material similar to ebony in hardness and appearance, yet it is much more stable.” This aspect plays particularly nicely into the fretless arena, which we’ll get into more later.

1981 would be a big year for Joe. He founded his shop, attended NAMM for the first time as an exhibitor, and established an endorsement relationship with the R&B/Funk icon, (the now late) Rick James. The years that followed larger space in 1995). One other iconic brings some unique tools to the table, brought more endorsers such as John Wetton milestone I’d like to point out is that the Sonus although the bass being reviewed here is (Asia) , and the very well known Michael model was added to the product line in 1992, as outfitted with a Bartolini preamp with a Manring, who probably remains today as the well as its accompanying slogan, “The Jazz voicing designed specifically for fretless. best known Zon endorser to the bass playing Bass for the ’90s.” The primary reason for this community. Michael still often plays his was that the pickup type and placement was Just as Joe’s products are a culmination of legendary Hyperbass, which he co-developed designed to generally yield a Jazz Bass type years of experience and collaboration, it makes with Joe to have the greatest flexibility on the sound, but then also benefit from Joe’s perfect sense that the “TJ” fretless featured market for alternate tunings (a moniker it still technological advancements in neck here is also a culmination of collaborative bears today, literally more than 20 years after technology and also electronics. Speaking of works. This particular bass primarily gets its its inception in 1990). The shop moved to which, one of the preamps he still offers today name from the deep lower cutaway, which was Redwood City California in 1987, where he is made by Polyfusion, which is the same developed in collaboration with Todd Johnson remains headquartered to this day (though no company he worked with to develop the in designing his 6-string Signature model longer in the original building; he moved to a preamp for his early prototypes. This preamp (delivered to Todd at the Bassquake during the

bass gear 33 2005 NAMM show). But there’s more. This bass the dark grainy katalox border provided by the length is a comfortable 34”, which I also also benefits from work done in collaboration tone plate, and backed by the generally tan believe contributes to a more familiar overtone with another great bass player, Damien look of the alder. The lower cutaway is also set than shorter and longer scale electric Erskine, which is primarily where its voicing beveled on the back to make it particularly basses. The headstock has a modest kickback, ideas came from (pickup type and placement). comfortable when you’re playing way up so no string trees are necessary to maintain So it has the look Todd worked on with Joe, and “above the money.” When designing this good downward force in the nut – which could the sound Damien worked on with Joe. Maybe cutaway with Joe, Todd said “Don't offer me all otherwise result in buzzing or rattling when it should be called the TJDE Fretless? those notes and not allow me access.” being played.

Pieces Parts The neck and fingerboard are the classic combo One other thing I’d like to say about the neck Let’s look at the woods. The full-on Todd of Joe’s magic composite neck material and concerns the use of truss rods. This bass sports Johnson Signature model sports an alder body phenowood fingerboard. As mentioned before, a truss rod just as most (if not all) of Joe’s and a figured maple top. This bass actually has phenowood is designed to benefit from its basses do now... but didn’t always. As I said a much more unique combination of woods in inherent stability and consistency as a before, the neck material is so strong and stiff the body. It has an alder body core with a composite material, but feel like the ebony so it will never move on you no matter what the katalox tone plate and madrone top. Alder is a many of us are familiar with; which is exactly ambient conditions are, and no matter what super familiar body wood, especially if you how it felt to me, as well. I think that makes it string tension is doing. Joe originally simply want to have a little more going on in the mids a particularly ideal fingerboard material for a molded what he felt was the ideal relief into and a strong low end. It’s part of what a great fretless. Most Zon basses sport a 24- the neck itself and shipped basses without ‘60s Jazz Bass gets its tone from, it’s easy to position/fret fingerboard, but this one goes all truss rods, because he felt they were work with, doesn’t weigh too much, and looks the way to 36 positions. The fingerboard pretty unnecessary, since the neck would never need great with just about any kind of finish on it. As much butts up against the neck pickup. The adjustment due to seasonal change or altering a nice touch, Joe used control knobs made out position markers are inlaid perfectly and are all string gauges. Well, he hadn’t taken into of wenge. This gives the knobs a nice textured but invisible if you get any distance from the consideration how strongly people would black look to compliment the body woods and fingerboard. The neck profile is slender and prefer to have their relief set to something follow the theme of the black hardware and fast. I’d describe it as a shallow “C” profile. It other than his original design, so he added the pickups. Madrone is a particularly hard and has no volute out under the nut because the feature. However, it’s hard to call it a truss rod, dense wood that readily burls, making it a neck material is so strong, it doesn’t need any because truss rods are traditionally known as a great wood for exotic applications where both such reinforcement. The finish on durability and beauty are key. The body is a Joe’s necks used to be more of a double-cut design that looks pretty much like a gloss finish, but in recent years, he’s standard Sonus model on top, but of course migrated to a satin feel, which is

with the ultra-deep cutaway on the bottom featured on this bass. That makes it providing free access well above the second feel a touch more like wood, and octave. The highly figured madrone top is a doesn’t tend to feel as “sticky” at beautiful pumpkin orange, complimented by times like a gloss finish can. The scale

bass 34 gear way to compensate for climatic change and generally a piece of plastic or wood placed way this bass hangs on a strap makes it pretty string tension (two things that don’t affect a somewhere in the plucking area that matches much moot. The neck profile is just fantastic. I Zon). Yes, they’re designed to set relief, but the radius of the fingerboard. It prevents your have smaller hands, so the slender profile of they’re adjustable and readily accessible for fingers from dropping too low between the this neck, combined with the satin feel, and the reasons I just stated. With a Zon, you strings while playing... it’s a tool which the narrower (by today’s standards) 17mm literally set it once and forget it forever. In fact, encourages more consistent technique and string-to-string spacing all combine to make it the adjuster is hidden in the neck pocket also provides a pleasant feel for those who like a thing of beauty when playing it. Just as has because you should very rarely need to access them). They are also held in and adjusted with been described about this bass, the it. I happen to own a standard Sonus 5 model 4 screws instead of 2 or 3. I’ve always preferred fingerboard feels a lot like ebony, which is also that predates the truss rod - feature and the this for best control over pickup eight and my favorite fretless playing surface. neck has always been perfect no matter what angle. The Bridge is custom Zon, and nice solid the weather was doing and no matter what piece. It’s easy and quick to re-string and The tone of this bass is thick and rich from low strings I’ve had on it. adjust. The tuning machines are Gotoh, which to high. The lows are not too wide and open, is well-known high quality stuff Joe’s been and the high end is very crisp; though I must The preamp used with this bass is made by using for quite some time now. admit, I found myself rolling them off most or Bartolini, and is based on the NTMB product all the way pretty much all the time. I’ve never line. This preamp is newer to Joe’s product line The bag that ships with this bass is a Zon- been one for the zingy sheen of round wound than the aforementioned Polyfusion, but is not branded case made by Access. It’s a Stage 5 strings on a fretless. I like the way they feel, new. Joe’s worked with Bartolini preamps for model, and has become popular with several but don’t really need the crisp edge up high. I years now and had great results with them. In high end bass builders these days. It’s a semi- like it a lot smoother. In fact, I typically use flats fact, my personal Zon bass also has an NTMB rigid tear-drop form factor with plenty of on a fretless. I did like to boost the mids from preamp in it, and I love it. It’s a three-band padding inside, neck bracing, ample pockets, time to time, but I found cutting the mids to be preamp with 15dB of boost and cut at 30Hz, and solid zippers. It also has nylon cordura and a detriment to the overall low end of the sound 330Hz, and 3kHz for bass, midrange, and treble, vinyl patches where hardware would rub of the bass, so I consider that to be a boost- respectively. It can run on either 9 or 18 volts (9, against it inside to protect the lining, and a only control on this instrument. The bass here), with the battery inside the electronics removable pad in the body area to compensate control was great to add some girth to the tone compartment, accessible via the common for shorter basses so they fit snugly. I have one especially when soloing or even just favoring cover on the back. Some builders like to use a of these that I got with another bass, and it’s a the bridge pickup, and I found it quite usable separate battery box, but some don’t. Joe is great bag. I predict Access will sell a lot of them all the way out to about 50% boosted. That’s one of the latter folks. He believes they aren’t both as OEM bags as well as non-branded actually a lot of usable adjustment for an reliable enough, and that the batteries need to models direct. integral preamp, in my opinion. be replaced so infrequently (hundreds of hours of use) that it’s a non-issue. I have to admit it’s One Slick Performer Just like any Zon with the synthetic neck (they never been a problem for me, either. Ok so let’s talk about performance situations. I also make wood neck models), every note must admit I’m somewhat biased, as I used to rings amazingly true and consistently with What about the bolt-on stuff? The pickups are own a Zon fretless not too long ago. Not this every other note. Sustain and tonal purity is custom Bartolini dual-coil humbucking soap model, but one designed against similar goals. superb. Yeah, that means this bass has some of bars wound for low-mid enhancement, and It was a Sonus Special. Similarly to this one, the the most impressive “mwah” you’ve ever placed a bit closer to each other, almost in a pickup types and location were specifically heard, and since Joe’s basses take fantastic Stingray/Jazz combo of positions. This is targeted at midrange performance. Until I setups, you can put the action right down on designed specifically to provide a very played this bass, it was my all-time favorite the deck and get mwah for days. For a bass articulate focused sound. Again, this is perfect fretless bass. This one has an even fuller sound, that doesn’t have a wood neck, it also has a for a fretless. The pickups are also radiused, is more versatile, and has easier access to a particularly organic tone. This is another thing and they provide a nice ramp-like feel when greater range of notes. At 9.5 pounds, it’s just I’ve always liked about Zon basses, and this playing over the top of them (a ramp is slightly heavier than I generally prefer, but the one pretty much plays itself. My “happy place”

bass gear 35 on this bass was favoring the bridge pickup just on the line they correlated to, as if it was an slightly, boosting the bass about 15%, and unlined fretless. I should note this is a purely dropping the treble control all or most of the personal preference, and Joe can build the bass way. I could get right up on the end of the either way no problem. Hey, I had to pick on fingerboard and make the bass sing like crazy something, right? Can’t just have a perfect with beautifully blossoming notes, or I could instrument... or can we? get back down over the bridge and make it bark like an angry junkyard dog... all without The Bottom Line touching a single control, just by moving my This is a superb instrument in every aspect. It’s right hand around. got a greater note range than any other 5- string I’ve played, it’s got the perfect voicing There’s one tiny thing I’m a little torn about, for an electric fretless, it’s got the tonal purity and it’s the side markers. Since this bass is a and consistency of the synthetic neck without lined fretless, the side markers are behind the giving up on natural organic tone, it’s got top line marker where the note would be – just as quality componentry (and carrying case to if it was once a fretted bass and had the frets match), and it’s built to perfecting standards, removed. I’m pretty sure this was done for a assuring effortless play and long service. Yeah, familiarity thing with people are used to it’s got it all. These basses don’t come cheap, playing de-fretted instruments, but without but if they’re within your budget, they’re worth the face markers to go along with them, they every penny. seemed a bit awkward to me. I think I would have preferred to have the side markers right Photos by: Josh Bubniak

bass 36 gear In Memory

Thursday June 30th was a sad day for the international bass community. Jess Oliver, honored as the “Godfather of Bass Amplification”, passed from us. Born Oliver Jesperson in 1926 to a Danish father and Irish mother, he worked on electronics as a boy, became a guitarist and bassist in high school, and then later combined those passions to bring us the Ampeg B-15 in 1960. This amp, over 50 years later, remains a highly respected tonal reference by which other bass amps are still judged. We at Bass Gear Magazine had the distinct pleasure of meeting this man at the January 2011 NAMM show in Anaheim CA. We’ll treasure those precious moments forever. Somewhere in the beyond, a true legend has just joined the band. Rock on, Jess. We miss you. Dealer Profile: Austin Bass Traders

Location: Austin, Texas extended range (5 and 6-string) basses were communicating with these luthiers and Owner: Glenn Kawamoto concerned, and I was not content with the manufacturers, my forte has always been the Website: www.austinbasstraders.com status quo. So I began contacting these ability to survey my customer to find out their creative and talented builders/designers to see specific requirements, expectations, and about solutions. Some of them dreams regarding the performance began building and characteristics – such as the inherent voice of implementing some of my the instrument relating to its frequency ideas into my instruments – response, dynamic response, its intended and some of them got very application, and also qualities such as string tired of my “silly/crazy” action, string tension, amount of transparency requests. Some were tireless in or focus of the “body of the note”, the their gracious acts of trying to “weight” of the “body of the note”, and placate the numerous requests velocity of attack of the instrument, etc. As a from me, a virtual unknown. I result, ABT’s success rate regarding customer am eternally grateful to those satisfaction is relatively high, especially when who didn’t just write me off it comes to custom orders, and I am grateful for and who indulged my the many who have placed their faith in me “madness.” Bill Bartolini and and who have allowed me to serve them. Michael Tobias come to mind. Thank you!! Some of those ideas/concepts led to How did ABT get started? improvements in the state of the art of the My philosophy has always been to strive to Although I founded Austin Bass Traders in 1996, bass industry. Some... well we won’t talk about exceed my customer’s expectations by making two years after moving to Austin, my quest for those that ended up in the “closet.” Through sure that I understand exactly what it is that the highest performance in instruments, the hundreds of phone calls, meetings, and they want. I remember my frustration in the electronics, pickups, amplification, and late night hangs (no e-mail or Twitter back days when I was trying to attain certain tonal associated gear began much earlier. In the then) trying to communicate sonic qualities to or dynamic qualities in an instrument, and I early ‘80s, I was a professional bassist playing these builders and designers, I was able to was trying to ascertain from the music store a variety of gigs, sessions, and tours. The level develop a language with which to speak bass. salesman which bass would deliver these of performance available from basses at that I have strived to continue to refine and develop qualities, or at least come closest. They “told time was relatively limited, and there was a this language throughout the years, and I have me, sold me, and shipped me” the instrument. kind of void in the “state of the art” of bass. found that it helps me to better serve my When I received it, it sounded nothing like The instrument builders, electronics customers. what I had requested – like how I was told it manufacturers, pickup manufacturers, speaker would sound – or anywhere close to what I designers, string manufacturers, etc were What makes ABT unique? was expecting. How frustrating! How essentially in the “infancy stage” as far as Because of my experience with expensive! How much a waste of my precious

bass 38 gear time! That is the reason that I got in the What is your most memorable ABT moment? business... to help others to not have that kind Too many to pick just one... but every time I get of experience. to help a customer get what they want that’s a huge one for me. Also, being able to work with What did you do before ABT? some of the world’s most talented luthiers – I have been a professional bassist since 1975, and being able to call many of them my good and have played in a variety of musical genres friends – means a lot to me. Being able to help and settings, from night clubs, to dance halls, customers who aren’t necessarily professional to concert hall stages, to arenas, to recording musicians, but love music, and love to play the studios, TV, and radio. Being able to try bass... I am grateful to be able to serve. Being different instruments, gear, and electronics in a able to help professional bassists find solutions “real time” setting (as a side guy “ghosting” and helping them with my experiences... I am on many recordings, as a band member in humbled to have that opportunity. Being able support of a variety of artists, as a soloist, and to meet up with, talk, and hang with my fellow as a producer) has allowed me great bassists... that’s absolutely priceless!” advantage. My association with fellow pioneers in search of this “Holy Grail” of bass has been a great blessing as well. Thank you, David Inamine. Your ideas, vast technical understanding, great musicianship/ artistry, and commitment to excellence have been a tremendous inspiration to me.

ABT does not have a “walk in”/ open to the public store front. How do you meet with your customers? I work by appointment, and ABT’s service is very tailored to the individual customer. We tend to spend a bit more time with each of our customers. This level of personalized service, and commitment to customer satisfaction comes at a slightly higher premium, and on the surface it would appear that we are not the “lowest priced.” If a customer is just shopping for the lowest price they may or may not find it here. However, we actually save the customer time, money, and frustration by getting the instrument right the first time... we understand that time is precious, and we value yours… and ours. t ZON s

e TJ5 t r

s Fretless s a a e

b g Custom

CONFIGURATION GENERAL Strings: 5 Company: Zon Guitars Style: Double cutaway, offset 780 Second Ave Overall length: 45” Redwood City, CA 94063 USA Body Dimensions: 13 ”W x 20”L Tel: 650-366-3516 Body Contouring: Moderate http://www.zonguitars.com Weight: 9.5 lbs Country of origin: USA Warranty: 1 Year, non-transferrable NECK List price: $6,800 Street price: $5,100 Scale length: 34” Options: Fretless-lined, blank or half lined (no dots on board face), Neck width at nut: 1.935” Matching headstock, Piezo bridge, Black hardware, Gold Neck width at 12th fret: 2.662” Hardware, Hipshot x-tender, Left-handed Neck width at joint: 2.928” Accessories: Zon branded Access Stage 5 semi-rigid teardrop style case Neck thickness at nut: .835” (included) Neck thickness at 1st fret: .740” Available colors: Clear Flat Satin (Standard), Clear Gloss, 3-Tone and 2-Tone Neck thickness at 12th fret: .830” Tobacco Burst, Translucent colors such as Red, Amber, Charcoal, Neck thickness at joint: 1.121” Caribbean Blue, and Cobalt Blue. Solid colors are also available. String spacing at nut: .35-.37” Acquired from: Zon Guitars String spacing at saddle: .772” Dates: August-September 2010 Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: Slight compound 10” to 12” / Very Flat D Locales: Illinois, Ohio Peghead break angle: 8-13 deg Test gear: Bergantino AE210, Epifani UL410, Markbass F500, Carvin BX1500, Bridge break angle: 15deg Mesa M9 Afterlength at nut: 2.24” to 5.653” Afterlength at saddle: 1.205”- 1.398” Attachment: Bolt-on Pocket gap: None TEST RESULTS Truss rod type/access: Double-acting single rod, body end 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Fret count: 33 lines Fretwire: N/A in-hand on-bench Features: 3.5 Overall Construction 3.5 ELECTRONICS Tonal Flexibility: 4 Wood Choice 4 Ease of Use: 4.5 Materials Choice 4 Pickups: Custom Bartolini Dual-Coil Aesthetics: 4.5 Joinery 5 Pickup location(s): 2.15” and 4.168” from Bridge Ergonomics: 4.5 Fretwork Electronics: Bartolini NTMB Tone: 4.5 Fit and Finish of Adornments 4 Controls: Volume, Blend, Bass, Mid, Treble Value: 4 Quality of Finish Work 4 Shielding: Paint Ease of Repair 3 Preamp Circuit Voltage: 9V Potential Range of Setup 3 Balance on Knee 3 CONSTRUCTION In-Hand Score Balance on Strap 4 4.21 average Overall Electronic Quality 4 Body woods: Alder core, katalox tone plate, madrone burl top Solder Joints, Wire Runs 4 Neck woods: Graphite Composite On-Bench Score Clarity 4 Fretboard: Phenowood Noise 4 Body finish: Satin natural polyurethane 3.69 average Shielding 2 Quality for Price Range 3.5 Neck finish: Satin SONIC PROFILE: Lows : Full yet controlled, particularly strong and focused fundamental HARDWARE Mids : Punchy, quick, rich, thick and aggressive Highs : Crisp and clear Strings: Zon Stainless Steel Round Wounds Gauge: .045, .065, .085, .105, .128 Attachment: At bridge TONE-O-METER Bridge/color: Zon, black Nut: Graphite The TJ Fretless Custom is a perfect Tuners/color: Gotoh GB-7, black execution of a fretless bass. It Knobs/color: Metal, black is sublime in its ability to both growl Pickguard: None and sing. Control cavity cover: Plastic Phil Maneri’s lines are shrunk back a touch, so years, Zon made basses without a truss rod the top surface of the fingerboard adjustment. The graphite necks were so stable, BASS has subtle dips where frets they did not need adjusting. So it is unlikely “should” be. This doesn’t affect the that a given player would need access to the LAB way it plays, and should not truss rod more than once, anyway (if that). become a problem in the future, so Zon TJ5 long as the fret line material does not shrink In a weird construction issue, the pickup is Fretless over time. poking into the route in the control cavity. I don’t understand why this should be, as there Custom The side dot markers are placed exactly where is plenty of room, without that large of a cavity I admit that I am more of a vintage bass they would be on a fretted bass – not entirely route. As such, the shielding is broken in that aficionado. I don’t have any “modern” basses useful with a fretless, unless you are looking spot. Indeed, the shielding is incomplete in my collection, but perhaps I should – what over the fingerboard to see where you are. I throughout the compartment with gaps under with their stable composite materials, glassy prefer my fretless necks to have no lines and the battery that lives in the control cavity with low action, high-buck slices of fantastic lumber side dots right on the fret locations, rather than all the components. Not good. With regard to sandwiched in very thin environmentally between. That way, I can hit wide position the Bart NTMB circuit, I prefer to run it at 18v friendly finishes that are light, resonant, and shifts on the fly in tune. If you need to look at instead of 9v. I think it sounds more open with finely crafted to an inch of their life… As it them you haven’t practiced enough. But then a lower noise floor at 18v. stands, though, I am a P-bass kinda guy, and again, that’s just me… this sometimes affects the way I look at a bass. With the exception of my nit picks above, But this isn’t really about what I like, The truss rod access is in the body end of the everything else is exactly right on this bass. personally. It’s about what this bass has to neck. You have to take the neck off to tweak it. Great finish, great joinery, solid materials. It offer. If you like “modern,” this is that in That was a pain in the ass in 1952, and it still is; shows the attention to detail and clean spades. one of the problems in my old P-basses I have manufacturing that I would expect for the price to live with. Of course, with the Zon neck, once on this bass. It’s not my sound, but it sounds This Zon fretless has a lot going for it. It has you dial it in where you like it, you probably like it is supposed to. A great choice to get a even response everywhere, long sustained won’t ever need to tweak it again. In fact, for modern bass sound on tour across the planet. notes, and that typical modern bass sound. The side benefit of the composite materials is you can play this thing on a gig in the Sahara, put it away and pull it out in your next gig outside in the Tundra, and it will play and sound exactly the same. For touring cats, that’s a big deal.

As usual, I find some nits to pick. The neck is super thin and wide, with no meat, which may not float everyone’s boat (it is uncomfortable to my hands). However, if you prefer thin necks, then this bass delivers, for sure! The fret

bass gear 41 T! TES Tbass gear

By Tom Bowlus models: a 5-string version of his “Violin Bass” alone, he was finding “projects” at pawn and a 4-string semi-hollowbody single-cut shops, repainting stuff, or even ordering When trying to decide which one of Bud design – the CBSC. These would be new builds, Warmoth bodies and putting instruments LeCompte’s thirty (yes, that’s 30!) different made to order for this review. As we began together. Then, he inherits a bunch of models to review, I must admit, I felt kind like discussing the woods to use for each bass, a woodworking tools from an uncle, and all of a that kid in the candy shop who sees so many crazy thought came to life – what if we made sudden, he has a wood shop! Though largely different delicious choices, he is torn with these two very different instruments from self-taught as a woodworker, Bud did find that indecision and unable to pick just one. First exactly the same woods? This turned out to be many of his existing skills translated over to there was the modern – and dangerous- a very cool idea, with some interesting results. luthiery. Auto-body repair taught him how to looking! – ST SS, then the Fender-inspired think things through and plan ahead, and both Acid-J, the Star Trek-evoking UV, the I LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER vocations involve knowing how to line things “Thunderous” THB, and entrancing single-cuts, The voyage that each bass-builder takes to up properly. like the ECH and AGT… Truly, a mind-numbing come into their profession is as unique as their array! So I hedged my bets and picked two! creations. Bud LeCompte had tried a couple of AutoCAD skills have also been very helpful for career paths, picking up some AutoCAD skills Bud, and are a big part of why he has thirty After looking at tons of pictures of different and some auto-body skills along the way. But different models in his lineup. He makes full- models, and talking with Bud about his his mind was always turning to basses and size patterns using CAD, and then lays these offerings, we decided to order up two different guitars. Not being one to leave well enough out on wood templates, which can then be

bass 42 gear used to guide his router. Bud does not use CNC, though, and everything is made by hand. Bud’s thoughts are that if you take the time to get your templates right, you can get repeatable “machine-quality” results. When roughing out his necks, he makes an individual neck pocket template for every neck he makes. He does hand-shape all of his necks, though, beginning with an angle-grinder sporting a sanding disk, and then moving on to various micro-plane rasps, sanders, or whatever else he has laying around. He likes a fairly thin neck, and shoots for a thickness (front to back) of about .78” at the 1st fret, with a “flattened ellipse” shape.

Bud first started selling his work in late 2004 (a Firebird guitar being his first commissioned item). The online bass forum TalkBass.com was a big help early on, and allowed him to connect to a wider audience. One of his first bass models was the ST, and both it and the derivative ST SS are still some of his biggest sellers. The VB is also near the top of the list.

So, building basses can help you get chicks, right? Well, I’m not convinced that it’s a sure- fire thing, but it did work out for Bud. He was an active participant in the alt.guitar.bass newsgroup, which had a usenet website that was maintained by a lass named Linny. The members of the group wanted to thank Linny for her work, and about twenty or so people been happily married for nine years, and Bud electronics, and other differences between the contributed towards building her a Warmoth owes it all to a bass (and a usenet group). two. Being a true custom build, throughout the bass (to be assembled by Bud). They did not process, Bud provided me with photos of really know each other before this effort TWO FOR ONE EXTRAVAGANZA! multiple choices for each wood selection. You began, but through their conversations about Although we initially began discussing each can view some of these photos, as well as pics this bass build (Linny was aware of the project bass (and the woods for each) separately, the documenting the build processes, at: – no surprise gift, here), an undeniable idea developed to make both basses from the http://www.bassgearmag.com/blog/zenphoto connection was made. So much so, that by the same woods. These particular combinations /index.php?album=LeCompte_Guitars . time the bass was done, Bud not only delivered should work well for both of these very it in person (did I mention that Linny lived in different designs, and with the materials being The VB model reflects Bud’s desire to make a England at the time?), but they ended up identical, we can more closely examine the bass that looks like a Hofner Violin Bass, but getting married on the same trip! They have contributions of the construction, pickups, which is put together more like a Fender. The

bass gear 43 test VB5 features a solid mahogany body, an manage to show up for a gig with a strap, but either bass would have suffered much if we exquisite book-matched flamed koa top (with no Straploks! had skimped on that particular option. The a thick layer of walnut sandwiched between finish that Bud uses is very subtle, and the the two), a bolt-on maple neck with bubinga The CBSC is an interesting bass. It’s a single-cut, application is superb. In natural lighting, this and wenge stringers, a flamed maple semi-hollowbody instrument with some ties to finish really lets the wood’s natural beauty fingerboard with ebony binding, an ebony basses of yore (most notably Guild), but shine through. I do have a couple of gripes, “pickguard” inlay, Hipshot tuners and Hipshot numerous modern influences. The same woods though. The finish does show fingerprints fairly B-style bridge, Nordstrand Big Singles pickups and hardware make an appearance, but now in easily, and some artificial light can create (wired volume/volume), a passive tone control, a passive format, sporting two Hammon diffused reflections which don’t really show as and a Nordstrand 3-band EQ. Simple yet Engineering Dark Star pickups (which “glare,” but which do make it difficult to see elegant ebony knobs complete the look. One of definitely help tie into that Guild/Casady vibe – the details in the grain in certain lighting Bud’s concerns with this body style was neck in fact, Bud says that even though he’d love to conditions. dive (especially with that longer neck). To help build a CBSC with different pickups, all of his combat this, Bud installs two strap anchor customers to date have opted for the Dark DIVERGING PATHS positions on the neck side of the body. The Stars), and a passive tone bleed. This body The active, 5-string VB5 is without question Dunlop flush-mount Straplok on the top edge style has multiple chambers (which you can one of the best-sounding instruments I have of the body, near the neck, allows for a more see in some of the pics in our online gallery), played. It is full and even from top to bottom, natural angle of the bass relative to the player’s and a single f hole. It doesn’t have enough and has that elusive mixture of warmth and body. A Dual Design Straplok located at the volume to be played acoustically, but those clarity. My playing notes include phrases such back of the neck heel reduces some of the chambers definitely have an impact upon its as, “killer tone… powerful… earthy (but not headstock dive, and comes in handy if you amplified tone. muddy).” With the neck pickup soloed, the tone is a bit more barky/punchy. Dialing in both Esthetically, the goal with each bass was to pickups predictably yields a more refined, present an instrument that was very organic precise tone. Soloing the bridge pickup is not and elegant, but which did not look as bright as I had expected, and actually “unapproachable” when it comes time to sounds kind of synthy/trippy (it had me getting ‘er out on a gig. The mahogany bodies playing Flashlight in no time!). The Nordstrand were chosen for the powerful low-mids, and Big Single pickups sound like… well… “big” good balance through the mids and highs. single-coil Jazz pickups. The bite/cut/growl is Maple boards bring some snap, cut, and growl there, but so are some big, burly lows. While up top. The flamed koa that Bud found is truly not a strictly traditional-sounding pickup, they some of the best I have seen. It was quite do bring some of that “J-bass on steroids” tone fortunate that he was able to find a piece of to the table. The Nordstrand preamp (available koa this good that was big in 2-band and 3-band models) has definitely enough to make both of become one of my favorite on-board preamps. these tops. The inlaid The amount of boost/cut available is 12dB for Macassar ebony all three bands, set at 50Hz, either 400Hz or “pickguards” are of course 1kHz for the mids (controlled by the mini- purely cosmetic, but they make a striking toggle selector switch), and 4kHz on the high visual impact, and tie in nicely with the ebony end. That second mini-toggle switch is for binding on the fingerboards. I had debated the active/passive control. walnut accent stripe between the mahogany and koa, and while I do like it, I don’t think that The full-on bass boost is still usable, though and mids, and more warm/round/solid very solid with both pickups. Soloing the the full-on cut thin things out to an unusable throughout its range, with the Nordy offering bridge pickup yielded somewhat different degree. This is a full-sounding bass to begin more growl and a brighter attack. results than I normally expect. The lows are with, so I only found myself using this control definitely more tight and dry, but much more to adjust to a particular rig or room. Likewise, As expected, the CBSC4 is “big-n-rich,” with a full than I typically get from the bridge pickup the VB5 has a lot going on in the midrange, so reverberant, round low end. Somewhat going it alone. If you are accustomed to a subtle boost or cut goes a long way (with a surprisingly, it is also very clear in the highs, boosting the low frequencies a bit when full-on cut reducing overall volume with a touch of sparkle, and good cutting favoring the bridge pickup, this bass may dramatically). Cranking the treble boost up ability. The midrange is very versatile, surprise you! Another unique characteristic is through about half of its travel is pretty subtle, depending upon the pickup blend. With the that the CBSC4 does not have that typical but higher than that gets very noticeable (and neck pickup soloed, the tone is big and growly bridge pickup “squawk” in the upper mids to accentuated some electrical interference I was (I was somewhat surprised to find that it lower treble. With the bridge pickup soloed, experiencing in one venue). Cutting the treble growled more with the neck pickup soloed the highs are still fairly open/airy, and are all the way gave a more focused result than than with the bridge pickup soloed), with more similar to the high-end response you get rolling the passive tone control all the way off, some low-end bloom and very present upper with two single-coil pickups full on. It is worth and ended up being slightly less muffled mids. Bringing up both pickups, but favoring noting that the Dark Star pickups have the sounding. I really liked the results I heard with the neck, really seems to emphasize the poles mounted off-center, and you can easily a slight treble boost, offset by rolling off the “hollowbody” attributes of this bass, and this flip one or both of them 180 degrees for even tone knob a bit. Compared to the Nordy vJ5 was my preferred setting. Both pickups full on more tonal options. which I reviewed in issue #3 (and which has takes away a lot of the growl, really smoothes these same pickups and preamp), the things out, and cuts the upper mid punch. Comparing the two of them, both basses have LeCompte is more meaty and full in the lows Though more polite in the mids, the tone is still warmth and power, with good note-to-note

bass gear 45 articulation. The VB5 is more balanced, with interesting coincidence, it may also help to LeCompte is a luthier who would take care of tighter, more controlled lows, and stronger explain the potential humidity/moisture any issues which might crop up (as they midrange. The CBSC4 has more bloom to the differences which may have caused the fret invariably will, from time to time). low notes and more life in the high notes. It issues. Even with the slightly raised frets, with does have more peaks and valleys in the a medium height action, I had little to no THE BOTTOM LINE midrange, but is definitely the more responsive problems with regard to fret buzz. Both basses exhibited excellent craftsmanship of the two to pickup volume/blend changes. and attention to detail. They both look flat-out Quality guy that he is, though, Bud said that I fantastic. They both feel great, and play well. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE should send the basses back for him to repair Tonally, each conveys a certain kind of magic. I did experience a couple of issues with the the fret issues. While I admit to feeling pretty The full, solid, articulate VB5 is at home playing fretwork on both basses. Some of the frets “special” after hearing this news, I should a variety of styles, and its sweet 3-band seemed to have popped up slightly, and some point out that Bud would do this for any of his preamp allows for a lot of useable adjustment. of the fret ends seem to have pressed out customers. So, I packed up both basses, and The big, yet clear, CBSC4 can go from raucous to against the ebony binding, making very small sent them off to Bud. After he was done with smooth, and shows that passive axes are by no cracks in some places. Both of these are likely the fret touch-ups, Bud sent the basses back to means one-trick ponies. Although these two explained by moisture issues. The maple Phil Maneri for a re-check, and I picked them basses represent a small sampling of the fingerboards could have been slightly wet up after Phil was done. I must say, as happy as variety of models offered by LeCompte Electric (though Bud says that all of the wood he buys I was before Bud’s repairs, I was even happier Bass, it is clear from these builds (and others) is properly kiln-dried), or it could be that the afterword. The fretwork on both basses is now that Bud LeCompte really knows how to difference in relative humidity between coastal 100% correct, and they play even better than connect with his customers’ vision of their Texas and inland Ohio are to blame. In fact, before! It was interesting to be able to ideal bass. What’s more, he has the chops to these basses – much like our friend, Jack Flash experience the LeCompte customer service deliver the goods. – were born in a cross-fire hurricane; Ike, to be firsthand, and I am very confident that Bud exact. Hurricane Ike made landfall in Galveston, Texas (very close to Bud’s home & shop) in 2008, just as these basses were getting finished up and prepared to ship out. Bud had to put everything he was working on in a “safe room” and hope for the best. Fortunately, Ike spared his buildings, but wreaked havoc on his trees, causing the need for a lot of cleanup (and leaving Bud and his family without power for three weeks).

Ike then traveled north, just past Austin, and continued all the way – oddly enough – to Ohio, where it finally petered out (but not after doing damage to BGM Technical Editor Tom Lees’ home and leaving much of Cincinnati and Dayton without power for days). The VB5 and CBSC4 followed Ike up to Ohio as soon as Bud had power back and was able to get things operational again. While this makes for an bass gear 47 t LeCompte s

e VB5 t r s s a a e b g

CONFIGURATION GENERAL Strings: 5 Company LeCompte Electric Bass Style: Single-cut Country of Origin USA Overall length: 45” Warranty 1 year Body Dimensions: 12 ”W x 17”L Listed Price $2,710.00 Body Contouring: Minimal Street Price $2,710.00 Weight: 8.85 lbs Accessories Gig bag Price As Tested $2,990.00 NECK Available Colors Numerous Available Options Numerous Scale length: 33” Neck width at nut: 1.89” Acquired from LeCompte Electric Bass Neck width at 12th fret: 2.56” Dates October 2008 to November 2010 Neck width at joint: 2.668” Locales Ohio Neck thickness at nut: .959” Test Gear Mesa/Boogie WalkAbout, M9 and PH610, GK MB500 and MB Neck thickness at 1st fret: .795” Fusion, Bergantino AE410, HT110 and HT322, EA iAMP200, Carvin Neck thickness at 12th fret: .922” BX500 Neck thickness at joint: .953” String spacing at nut: .336” String spacing at saddle: .724” Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: 12”, D Shaped Peghead break angle: 12 Deg Bridge break angle: 12-15 Deg Afterlength at nut: 2.13” to 4.89” Afterlength at saddle: .9”- 1.04” Attachment: At bridge Pocket gap: None TEST RESULTS Truss rod type/access: Single compression rod 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Fret count: 20 Fretwire: 101 x 43 in-hand on-bench Dynamics 3.5 Overall Construction 3 ELECTRONICS Dead Spots 3.5 Wood Choice 4 String to string balance 4 Materials Choice 4 Pickups: Nordstrand Big Singles Access to upper register 3 Joinery 5 Pickup locations: 1 7/8” and 5 3/8” from bridge Ergonomics 3 Fretwork 4 Electronics: Nordstrand 3-band Preamp Left Hand feel 3.5 Fit and Finish of Adornments 4 Controls: Vol, vol, passive tone, bass, mid (400Hz or 1kHz), Aesthetic appeal 4.5 Quality of Finish Work 5 treble; switches for active/passive and for mid Tone 5 Ease of Repair 4 freq Value 3 Potential Range of Setup 2 Shielding: Copper foil Balance on Knee 3 Preamp Circuit Voltage: 18V (2 batteries) In-Hand Score Balance on Strap 3 3.67 average Overall Electronic Quality 4 CONSTRUCTION Solder Joints, Wire Runs 4 On-Bench Score Clarity 4 Body woods: Mahogany, walnut, koa Noise 4 Neck woods: Maple, bubinga, wenge 3.71 average Shielding 3 Quality for Price Range 3 Fretboard: Flamed maple (ebony binding) SONIC PROFILE: Body finish: Satin conversion varnish Lows – big & warm, but controlled Neck finish: Satin conversion varnish Mids – powerful throughout; no big peaks or valleys; earthy, but not muddy Highs – slightly subdued; good definition, but not a lot of zing HARDWARE Strings: DR Sunbeams TONE-O-METER Guage: .045, .065, 0.85, .105, .125 Attachment: At bridge The VB5 is a supreme tone Nut: Plastic machine, with drop-dead Tuners/color: Hipshot/black gorgeous looks and a wide Knobs/color: Ebony range of tones on tap. Pickguard: Inlaid “faux” ebony pickguard Control cavity cover: Plastic Phil Maneri’s due to drying of the wood, or extreme differences in humidity). BASS Per the LeCompte standard warranty, this bass was sent back to LeCompte Electric Bass to have LAB the frets leveled. Upon receiving it back for inspection, I am pleased to LeCompte say that the frets look well attended to, and the bass played great. VB5 If you have yet to read the review of the other LeCompte bass, I’ll point out here my Nobody I know of ever used a Gibson EB1 bass exuberance over the finish work on these for very long. They kinda sucked. They are cool basses. As I said there, it’s a super hard, super looking, but in practice, they don’t offer much light, super thin, finish that was expertly to the average player. This is the second applied; so well you hardly even notice it at all. offering we’ve seen from LeCompte, and it continues the obscure vintage bass homage Where the CBSC is a passive bass with Starfire- thread, this time honoring the Gibson EB1 – or style Dark Star pickups, this is an active 5-string perhaps the Hofner Beatle bass, as they have a with a set of Nordstrand Big Singles into a very similar silhouette. This has the same Nordstrand 3-band active circuit. The controls vintage bass lines underneath modern wood are laid out like a Jazz Bass with a preamp and construction vibe as the CBSC4. In this case, tacked onto the back end. It has volume a departure from Gibson or Hofner in that the controls for each pickup and a passive tone roll- neck is not set, but bolted on. off, just like a vintage Jazz Bass. Those hit a passive/active switch that can send the stock J- The neck joint looks “CNC good,” and very well bass vibe to the jack, or with a flip of the may be. Its six sturdy bolts carry it well into the switch, unleash the fire-breathing active circuit. body of the bass – no chance of a neck shift The bass sounds very good. there. The top is koa with a strong flame that is book matched over a thin slice of walnut, The low B is big, but tight, and balanced topping a mahogany core. This bass also sports against the rest of the strings. It feels better an inlayed ebony pickguard, like the CBSC. than I suspected playing it strapped on or on the knee. Even though I don’t really dig the Like its brother, this bass initially suffered from look all that much, it’s a very nice bass. some frets which were popping up a bit (likely

bass gear 49 t LeCompte s

e CBSC4 t r s s a a e b g

CONFIGURATION GENERAL Strings: 4 Company LeCompte Electric Bass Style: Single-cut Country of Origin USA Overall length: 44” Warranty 1 year Body Dimensions: 14 1/8”W x 18”L Listed Price $3,205.00 Body Contouring: Minimal Street Price $3,205.00 Weight: 8.55 lbs Accessories Gig bag Price As Tested $3,445.00 NECK Available Colors Numerous Available Options Numerous Scale length: 34” Neck width at nut: 1.519” Acquired from LeCompte Electric Bass Neck width at 12th fret: 2.175” Dates October 2008 to November 2010 Neck width at joint: 2.225” Locales Ohio Neck thickness at nut: 1.055” Test Gear Mesa/Boogie WalkAbout, M9 and PH610, GK MB500 and MB Neck thickness at 1st fret: .779” Fusion, Bergantino AE410, HT110 and HT322, EA iAMP200, Carvin Neck thickness at 12th fret: .917” BX500 Neck thickness at joint: .998” String spacing at nut: .395” String spacing at saddle: .756” Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: 12”, D Shaped Peghead break angle: 15 Deg Bridge break angle: 8-10 Deg Afterlength at nut: 2.12” to 4.927” Afterlength at saddle: 1.0”- 1.15” Attachment: At bridge Pocket gap: N/A (set back) TEST RESULTS Truss rod type/access: Single action 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Fret count: 20 Fretwire: 101 x 46 in-hand on-bench Dynamics 3.5 Overall Construction 3 ELECTRONICS Dead Spots 3.5 Wood Choice 4 String to string balance 5 Materials Choice 4 Pickups: Hammon Engineering Darkstar Access to upper register 3 Joinery 4 Pickup locations: 3” and 7.25” from bridge Ergonomics 4 Fretwork 3.5 Electronics: N/A Left Hand feel 4 Fit and Finish of Adornments 4 Controls: Vol, vol, passive tone Aesthetic appeal 4.5 Quality of Finish Work 5 Shielding: Copper foil Tone 4 Ease of Repair 4 Preamp Circuit Voltage: N/A Value 3 Potential Range of Setup 2 Balance on Knee 3 CONSTRUCTION In-Hand Score Balance on Strap 3 3.83 average Overall Electronic Quality 3 Body woods: Mahogany, walnut, koa Solder Joints, Wire Runs 4 Neck woods: Maple, bubinga, wenge On-Bench Score Clarity 3 Fretboard: Flamed maple (ebony binding) Noise 4 Body finish: Satin conversion varnish 3.50 average Shielding 3 Neck finish: Satin conversion varnish Sonic Profile: Quality for Price Range 3 Lows – big, round, and a hint of bloom with neck pickup soloed; very HARDWARE controlled with bridge pickup soloed Mids – somewhat scooped with both pickups full-on; more upper mids and Strings: DR Sunbeams growl with neck pickup favored Guage: .045, .065, 0.85, .105 Highs – surprisingly bright and lively, but not thin Attachment: At bridge Nut: Plastic Tuners/color: Hipshot/black TONE-O-METER Knobs/color: Ebony Pickguard: Inlaid “faux” ebony pickguard The CBSC4 is an earthy, Control cavity cover: Plastic articulate bass with a lot of personality (in both the looks and the tone departments). Phil Maneri’s thick ebony binding; too thick to my eye, but that is purely taste. It appears BASS to be executed quite well, though. The hardware is the now common Hipshot LAB B-style bridge and Ultralight keys. Fine choices in off the rack stuff. The tuning machines are too close together on the “3 LeCompte side” of the 3-and-1 peghead, though, so winding CBSC4 strings on and off is troublesome.

Used to be, if you played a Guild Bass, you were The finish was subtle and didn’t call attention to either a pot smoker or broke. Until recently, the itself, but I’d like to. I thought it was a beautiful Starfire (and its brethren, like the Jetstar, the B301, example of practical understatement. It appears or my favorite the M85) have been highly super thin and light, while still filling in the wood overlooked or discounted as not “pro” basses – or grain well. It is satin and really allows the look of at least relegated to the department of kitsch. This the wood to show through. So often, gloss finishes homage to the Guild Bass is proof that modern attract attention to themselves, rather than let the players are looking at those designs in a much wood show off. In this case, it’s a super hard, super more positive light. light, super thin, finish that was expertly applied; so well you hardly even notice it at all. This LeCompte is a modern bass with shadows of vintage Guild basses. It features a set-neck, Shielding is copper and looks really good. It is chambered body construction, with a bass-side f obvious that lots of time was spent in the wiring hole. There is an inlayed pickguard shaped slice of compartment; more than adequate for a passive ebony surrounded by a sea of highly flamed koa, circuit. One picky point is that the shielding should which is book-matched fairly closely. I like the encompass the whole compartment. There were exercise of the inlayed pickguard, but from an gaps right at the edges where the wood showed aesthetic view it’s not doing it for me, personally. It through. There are cases of incomplete shielding is well executed, however; that inlayed pickguard is where the cavity acts more as an antenna than if not an easy thing to accomplish. The peghead there were none there at all. In this case, with this somehow seems at odds with the body, and passive circuit, I’m sure those gaps are irrelevant. If though proportional, the two designs seem one were to add an active circuit later it could pose disparate. more of an issue. The tone cap has 1cm leads exposed, which carry hot signal. Should they come Upon initial examination, I found several high frets in contact with the ground (like the body of the rocking our straightedges from either a bad pot), it can dead short the instrument. I always try crowning job, or more likely popping up. The fret to insulate hot leads in cavities to prevent onstage ends are sticking out from wood shrinkage – issues. There is heat shrink on the pot leads, so presumably from dryness. This bass – and it’s clearly someone has taken the time here. To be sibling, which had similar moisture-related issues – complete, I’d do the tone cap on the pot side as was sent back to LeCompte Electric Bass to have the well. There is a slight alignment issue with the pole frets addressed. When it came back, the frets were pieces not centered along the string lies. While they fixed to my satisfaction, and the overall fretwork are close enough, in this price range, you have to was fine. Note, this same level of service would be nail those details. apply to any LeCompte customer. Overall, this bass shows a lot of experience on the The neck has a very nice maple board with very luthier’s part, especially in the finish work.

bass gear 51 T! TES Tbass gear

bass 52 gear A New Read on Old School TC Electronic RH450, RS210, and RS212

By Vic Serbe have not done the research to verify this claim, I familiar, but in the interest of being complete, I’ll find it very easy to believe. And you have to mention it again here. The input jack of this amp The Company Line recognize how fitting it is that a company founded looks like any other ¼” input, but this one has a In the Staccato ’51 Quick Look from Issue 5, we by musicians is making products with a particular special feature in that it can automatically handle generally covered that TC Electronic is well known focus on meeting the most stringent musical gain differentials between active and passive in the industry for making some of the highest demands. basses, so there is no need for an active/passive quality and best respected equipment on the switch. Next, the Gain control. This works as you’d market, but was relatively new to the bass As of early 2002, TC Electronic is a member of TC imagine, except that the LEDs indicating level will amplification market. We mentioned how Uffe Group, which also includes Tannoy Group, reduce in count if the SpectraComp multi-band Hansen (VP of Business Management and a bass Lab.Gruppen, TC-Helicon, and TC Applied compressor kicks in, to indicate how much player) was the driving force behind the success Technologies. I’ll let you folks go to the respective compression is happening. Speaking of the story in that market so far, and is now also the head web sites for more details, but it suffices to say that compressor, this is a feature that TC Electronic is of the bass division. But let’s fill in a bit more all these companies have a common goal and very proud of, often describing it as a “per-string” background this time. vision of making the highest quality sound compressor (though it’s more like a tri-band in processing and reproduction equipment available, reality). The company was founded in 1976 by Kim and John and I’ll bet you recognize at least some of these Rishøj… a couple of brothers who were also names. It makes perfect sense to me they ended up Above the Bass control is the tuner display. The musicians. In the beginning, it was just guitar doing bass amps, and things seem to be tuner is one of the coolest features of the amp. It’s effects pedals, but they later graduated to rack- progressing well for them. They showed some great constantly on, and displays which note you’re mount processors. One of their mantras that dates new bass products this year at the Winter NAMM playing as well as which direction you need to all the way back to the beginning is a focus on Show, including a huge big brother to the amp adjust its pitch to be in tune (if it’s out, of course… noise reduction. As a result, their products have reviewed here. “Bass market, TC Electronic is here if it’s on pitch, it will show a circle). For example, an become a staple, a standard by which others are now,” and I think to stay. arrow pointing to the right means you’re flat, and judged, in the studio recording business. Their web need to raise the pitch to become in tune. An arrow site claims, “It is estimated that up to 90% of the Rebel Yell to the left means you’re sharp, and need to lower professional recordings worldwide some way or We’ll start with the front panel. For those who’ve the pitch to become in tune. Clearly, this is fairly another have been through TC processing.” While I read the Staccato ’51 review, some of this will be “low resolution” tuning for quick adjusts during a

bass gear 53 the sound of an all-tube amp… the behavior of both preamp as well as power amp tubes. I am still a fan of this control, and while I’d still stop short of saying this amp will send all the die hard all-tube fanatics to self-storage and the nearest TC Electronic dealer, I will say it’s among the best emulations I’ve ever heard of a tube amp. The Master volume control and headphone jack are unchanged from the Staccato 51. I will note once again that the headphone jack automatically mutes the speaker output when used, and it features a built-in “mild speaker filter” to enhance the bass response in the headphones. When headphones are plugged in, the Master control becomes a level control to use as a balance control between your bass and the music fed into the AUX input on the back.

There are five buttons across the top; the three memory location buttons, the Shift button, and the Mute button. Let’s go backwards on this one. The last button is the Mute control. I have to point out a significant feature of this amp here, at least for me. I’ve been through countless amps with mute controls that simply don’t work properly. On those amps, even with the mute engaged, if you disconnect and/or reconnect an active instrument, you’ll still get some sort of crack or pop at the speaker cabinet(s) and/or even worse, out of the DI into the front of house. The Mute control on this amp works properly. Absolutely nothing is heard at any output when an instrument is disconnected or reconnected.

Next is the Shift button. This control changes the front control functions (and no, you do not have to performance. For higher resolution tuning, Bass control ranges from 71Hz to 1.1kHz, and the hold it while accessing these shifted functions). The whenever the mute is engaged, the LEDs that center (12:00) position correlates to 280Hz. The Lo- Gain control now becomes the SpectraComp surround the Bass control (which would typically Mid control ranges from 100Hz to 1.6kHz, boosts up control, each EQ control now becomes the control to indicate the Bass level setting) now provide a to 15dB, cuts up to 24dB, and the center position adjust the center frequency, and the TubeTone now higher resolution display of whether you’re sharp represents 400Hz. The Hi-Mid ranges from 200Hz to sets the “preset level.” The preset level is important or flat, and by how much. 3.15kHz, boosts up to 15dB, cuts up to 24dB, and the mainly to make use of the memory buttons more center position represents 800Hz. The Treble control convenient. If you’ve ever used a multi-preset The 4-band EQ section is next. All four bands of the ranges from 400Hz to 6.3kHz, boosts up to 12dB, effects unit, you know that certain sounds require EQ section are semi-parametric, so you can not only cuts up to 24dB, and the center position represents adjusting things such that the overall output of that set the amount of boost or cut, but also the center 1.6kHz. preset is now different than some others. The level frequency for each control, which makes the amp control allows you to “trim” each amp highly customizable. This is multiplied by the user Next is the TubeTone control. As I mentioned in the configuration so the overall output level is the memory feature, which we’ll get into a bit later. The Staccato ‘51 review, this feature seeks to emulate same when switching from one stored setting to

bass 54 gear another using the memory function. Once again, TC has enough mass to stay put when you use it. The Fortunately, TC’s cabinet selection allows for a Electronic is keeping the focus on practical matters rubber pad on the bottom helps greatly in this plethora of cabinet configuration options, which is for the professional musician. regard, as well. The RC4 controls not only the Mute exactly what drives the market desire for “2-ohm control, but also all three user presets on the amp. minimum load support.” Then there are the memory buttons across the top. It also has an “always on” tuner display that always I described the function of these buttons in detail in runs in “high resolution” mode. Fit and finish is once again top notch. Like the the Staccato ’51 review, and their function remains Staccato ’51, the RH450 isn’t the smallest or lightest the same on the RH450. When an amp has as many A couple things going on under the hood bear head in its class, but that seemingly negligible tone-shaping tools as the RH450 (and especially mentioning. It has a universal power supply, so all amount of added heft do help to keep the head when almost every control has multiple functions), you need is the appropriate power cord to plug it in from getting knocked off (or pulled off) of the the three memory settings (and the ability to easily anywhere in the world and play. It also has a cab(s). Despite its minimalist design, the built-in go back to the factory default settings) become feature called “Active Power Management.” This is handle is stylish, ergonomic, and practical. very useful. another feature developed with tube amps in mind. They describe it as “an integrated circuit that kicks I was fortunate enough to participate in an “amp Turning around to the back, you’ll find the usual in when the amp gets close to its maximum tweaker “ project TC Electronic put on with a few fused power cord receptacle, as well as the dual- performance and starts to compress and limit the folks – including a few members from a popular purpose Speakon connector. There’s a DIN peaks of the bass signal similar to the way a tube web forum for bassists, TalkBass receptacle for the RC4 remote control (footswitch) amp would do.” Technical Editor Tom Lees discusses (www.talkbass.com ). This project demonstrated and the AES/EBU digital recording output (another this feature in greater detail on page XX, but the net that this head is designed to be highly unique feature shared with the Staccato ’51). The result is that the amp manages power in customizable, merely by reprogramming some of output of this connector is a 96kHz 24-bit digital accordance with the way the human ear works to the internal componentry. This is exactly how TC representation of your bass signal (twice the make the amp perceivably “louder” than we would Electronic worked with Rocco Prestia to come up resolution of a typical audio CD) for recording typically hear with an amp in this power class. with the voicing and configuration of the Staccato directly into any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) ’51. A special platform version of the amp, with the software suite. Next are the auxiliary input RCA TC Electronic has done another interesting thing associated software and connecting cable was jacks for a personal MP3 or CD player – this is a with this product line. Despite the fact that this amp shipped to us. Our task was to play with the great head for learning new songs and playing has a 4-ohm minimum load, you can actually drive variables and make suggestions. The good news is, along! The Insert Pre/Amp I/O (preamp out, power up to three of their 8-ohm rated cabinets with this we all largely felt the amp was pretty much “done amp in) can be used as an effects loop or for amp. Yes, the math doesn’t quite work out on right” the way it was, just maybe with a few small amplifier chaining. The transformer-isolated DI has paper, but this gets into the difference between changes (some of which have now been a PRE/POST switch, and is designed to not be passive loads and DC resistance versus reactive incorporated into later designs). One such change damaged if production crew accidentally provides loads and AC impedances. The short version of the which TC did implement was related to the “high- phantom power. TC claims it can drive at least 100m story is, if you’re using anybody else’s cabinets, you pass filter” (HPF) which is part of the native voicing of cable without any degradation of audio quality. have to stick to your guns and limit yourself to the of this head. Pretty much everything above 5kHz is usual 4-ohm configuration – such as a single 4- sharply rolled off. Some of their amps have a As I mentioned in the Staccato ’51 review, I am a big ohm cabinet or two 8-ohm cabinets. But, if you use control to adjust this, called “TweeterTone.” Most of fan of the RC4 footswitch. Despite its slim profile, it their speaker cabinets, you can “cheat” a bit. us felt the RH450 would benefit from this feature,

bass gear 55 and both the new Blacksmith and RH750 models incorporate this feature. The “amp tweaker” project highlighted the fact that TC Electronic really cares about what folks in the field think about their products and are very interested in improving their products through customer feedback. It is also worth noting that the HPF is not a super big deal. 5kHz is pretty “high” for a bass guitar, so most folks felt it didn’t need much adjustment from where it was set. This is a very well-designed and constructed amplifier, period. top cabinet back (so the backs line up). This better than other products with painted finishes, Cabs with an Ax(is) to Grind provides something they call “acoustical tilt” – it’s still not durable enough for my tastes. Does RS mean Rebel Speaker? Ok, just kidding… I basically angling the sound upwards as if they were think. These cabinets are quite a departure from the kicked back. I tried this, and was unable to really With recessed handles on the sides these cabinets more typical 2x10 and 2x12 cabinets I’ve played tell much difference other than moving the top were clearly designed to be carried with both through. The first thing you’d notice is they’re cabinet back reduced the off-axis effect (just like if hands in an upright position. I found the RS210 to shaped differently. Not only do they not have feet, I were to simply step away from the rig). be really easy to carry, while I found the extra but they also don’t have stacking corners. They depth to the RS212 to be noticeably more difficult to have rounded corners to improve acoustic Looking at the back of the cabinets, you find the manage. Still an easy carry for a 2x12 cabinet, but performance and also generally follow the look of tweeter control, dual Speakon connections, and the you notice the difference when moving both, one the RH450 head shape. rear ports. Because of this rear-porting, you’ll have right after the other. The handles are solid and well to make sure to keep them at least 6-8” away from made, and comfortable in your hands. Another thing that makes them at least somewhat any surface to avoid interference with the port different than most other cabinets is that they don’t operation. The tweeter control works as expected, Final Examination use a separate tweeter. Instead, they use one reducing the amount of high end coming out of the The RH450 is a particularly solid-sounding, and coaxial (dual) driver, where the high frequency high frequency driver. The Speakon connectors are feeling, amplifier. The handle feels great in your driver is mounted in the center of one of the not the combination models, so they only accept hand, and the amp has enough weight to it that it woofers (using a titanium diaphragm with a 33mm Speakon plugs, and our review cabinets didn’t have sits firmly and securely atop the cabinets with no voice coil). The other woofer is a conventional ¼” connectors – though some units are equipped risk of cables teetering it off from cable tension – single-driver design. Both are custom made for TC with both. yet it’s very lightweight from a carrying Electronic by Eminence. The RS212 is the same perspective. I absolutely love the tuner function. It height and width as the RS210, which means there I do have one negative comment about these was quick, accurate down to the low B string, and wasn’t much space for a separate tweeter. Further, cabinets. I’m not a fan of the finish, and TC has even very easy to read in low-light conditions. Speaking TC Electronic folks simply felt the coaxial drivers fit gone through a second (or third?) iteration of it. It of that, I also like the fact that checking your the tonal design goals of the cabinets better, shows marks and chips too easily for my tastes. settings can be done in the quickest glance with anyway. This is also complicated by the fact the cabinets those bright LED indicators the way they’ve done don’t have feet or corners, so the finish is always them. The amp has a wonderful classic tone, and Another goal behind the shape of the cabinets was taking full contact of whatever the cabinet is sitting the TubeTone is as faithful a tube amp emulation to design them to stack in a uniform way either on (even if it’s another cabinet). The pictures here sound as I’ve heard. It simply sounds wonderful in vertically or horizontally. The only dimensional show both the older (RS210) and newer (RS212) a blues, rock, or R&B setting, especially with a difference between the two cabinets is in depth. finish. The newer finish is shinier and supposedly Precision-style bass. Dialing in clean tones is really The RS212 is just under 20” deep, while the RS210 is more durable, but I didn’t want to put it to the test. easy to do and you’ll never hear a brittle note come about 14” deep. If you look at the manual for the It’s at least easier to clean. Their claims on the finish from this rig. I must admit at the time of writing cabinets (a single-page document shared amongst are that it’s supposed to resist scratching, and it’s this review, I have not seen the test results, and the RS210, RS212, and RS112), it shows the stacked supposed to be designed such that the cabinets will maybe it’s for the best, but this amp just seems like configuration with the cabinet fronts lining up. This tend to stick together and not slip. I must admit, it has more power than it’s printed ratings. It has to made the most sense to me, though they have a they never scooted on me. I’m just not a fan of be the punchiest “450 watts” I’ve heard. I’m pretty video on their web site that suggests moving the painted finishes on cabinets, and even if these are sure this has to do with their Active Power Management function. One thing I found “line array” type of configuration. I have noticed course both have tweeters, so it’s not like a “top” interesting about the head is that there’s a fairly comb filtering on stage before, but not nearly as and “sub” configuration. I did find I had the best significant output jump as you pass 9:00 on the much with this kind of speaker configuration. A results putting the RS212 on the bottom, but each Master control. It’s not a problem at all, but it is quick observation of comb filtering is that as you one is perfectly usable by itself. The main difference noticeably non-linear. It’s easy to get used to, but walk from side to side on stage, you get to “dull I heard was that the RS212 seemed to be a little curious. spots” from your rig. What you are hearing is phase more authoritative around 125Hz, whereas the cancellation from speakers sitting next to each RS210 seemed to have a bit more going on maybe From a full rig perspective, I played rock, blues, r&b, other in a cabinet. If you make all the drivers in a up around 600Hz or so. I say this purely from a funk, country, and even worship music with this rig. vertical line, this eliminates (or at least dramatically subjective perspective, however. The tests will I also used the head with various brands of speaker minimizes) the problem... at least from the show the ultimate truth. Compared to other 2x12 cabinets... all with great results. I hate to be boring, perspective of wandering around stage. I guess as and 2x10 cabinets, these cabinets seem generally but I most often used this rig with the amp set long as you don’t jump up and down a lot on a more tightly voiced than most. I hear a little more “flat.” I almost never messed with the Bass control stage trampoline, you’d never notice it at all with going on in general around 800Hz as a 2x10/2x12 because I already felt it was full yet controlled, this rig. rig compared to other rigs with similar speaker which is exactly how I like it. I did find myself configurations. boosting the upper mids and maybe highs from Another benefit of this is exactly what they time to time to get a bit more edge and sheen up describe in their literature, which is raising the top The Bottom Line top, but that’s about it. I will say while I liked the cabinet such that near field monitoring on smaller TC Electronic has done a typically fantastic job of RH450 with pretty much any kind of speaker stages is not as far off-axis as it would be with a really thinking through how they can put the most cabinet, it’s clear these products were carefully cabinet much lower to the ground. It makes it so capability into the smallest space. They’ve also very matched to each other. Everything you do with the much easier to hear yourself with exactly the sound carefully considered not just live gigging scenarios, amp seems to directly correlate to something the that’s coming out of the front of the cabinet. This is but also recording and even private practice session RS cabinets are specifically designed to support. especially helpful when you’re playing gigs where scenarios as well. Just keep in mind these products Change was clearly heard, pretty much no matter stage sound is part of what the audience hears. If are designed with the more classic type of bass what you did with the sound of the amp. you are EQ’ing your rig based on what you hear off- sound firmly in mind. If you want something that’s axis, your sound will probably be too bright and particularly bright on the high end, these products I also really like their direction with the cabinets, maybe too strong in the upper mids to really sound may not be what you’re looking for. But if you’re and careful impedance matching such that you can the way you want it to out front. This is the main looking for a mainstream sound with a strong drive up to three of their RS cabinets with one reason I used to kick my 4x10 back on smaller foundation and a smooth upper end, these head. I only had the pair of cabinets in this review stages. No need for this with the RS cabinets, and of products should be next on your evaluation list. to play with, and of course you can’t add a third course having the tweeter located in the top driver And the choice will strictly be tonal. The quality, cabinet unless it’s a TC Electronic RS cabinet. But helps as well. feature set, and ease of use are superb. honestly, I would probably never need more than that anyway. I also really like their design being Comparing the two cabinets to each other was oriented towards vertical stacking – in more of a interesting. Both are very full sounding, and of

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ENCLOSURE GENERAL

Material: die-cast aluminum Company: TC Electronic A/S Dimensions: 11 ” W x 3” H (with feet) x 10 ” D Sindalsvej 34, DK-8240 Risskov Weight: 8.8 lbs Denmark www.tcelectronic.com Country of Origin: Denmark PREAMP Year of Origin: 2010 Warranty: 2 years (EU only); 1 year (outside of EU) Inputs: 1 x 1/4” List Price: $1395 Mode: Digital Approx. Street Price: $900-1000 Tubes: N/A Test Unit Options: None Input Impedance: 851 kOhms (200Hz, 400 mVrms Sin) Accessories: RC4 footswitch ($195 MSRP); carrying bag EQ Type/Features: 4-band semi-parametric: Bass (shelving), Available Colors: Gray/Black Lo-Mid (bandpass), Hi-Mid (bandpass), Available Options: None Treble (shelving) Acquired From: TC Electronic Compressor/Limiter: 3-band spectral compression Dates: October 2010 through December 2010 DI Output: transformer-balanced XLR; Pre/Post switch Locales: Ohio and Illinois Effects Loop: Preamp Out/Power Amp In Test Gear (in-hand review): Skjold Pro Series Deluxe, MTD 535, Sadowsky Additional Features: AES/EBU digital recording out; memory JJ5, Sadowsky PJ5, Fender J4, Bergantino presets; integrated tuner; AUX input; AE210, Carvin BX500 headphone out; mute; remote footswitch control

POWER AMP

Mode: class-D (with Active Power Management) TEST SUMMARY Tubes: N/A 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Outputs: 1 x Neutrik Speakon & 1/4” combo Impedance Options: 4-ohm min on-bench in-hand Power Supply/Transformer: switch-mode Cooling System: fan Internal Parts 4 Features: 4 Line Voltage Options: universal 90-240 volts External Parts 4 Tonal Flexibility: 4 Overall Assembly 4 Ease of Use: 4 Output Power Rating 2 Aesthetics: 4 MEASUREMENTS Ease of Repair 1.5 Ergonomics: 4.5 Instructions/Manual 4 Tone: 4 Freq Resp – Pre & Power Amp: Quality Per Price 4 Value: 4.5 Full Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 9.2dB Layout/Cooling 4 Limited Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 80Hz – 8kHz +/- 4.6dB Limited Bandwidth (optimally flat): 80Hz – 8kHz +/- 0.6dB 8-ohm 4-ohm On-Bench Score In-Hand Score Power: 133 watts 236 watts 3.44 average 4.14 average Burst: 133 watts 243 watts THD (at Max Power): 2.5% (at 32 Vrms) Input Signal: 1 kHz Sin TONE-O-METER

CERTIFIED POWER Sonic Profile: Lows: Full yet tight and controlled, very focused 4 ohms 8 ohms Mids: Punchy, quick, and even throughout, good cut 236 watts 133 watts Highs: Smooth and clean, sizzle without crackle and ping Tom Lees’ at the block diagram illustrated overload indicator occasionally lights up. Then, in Fig. B and see if we can sort back down just a bit. If you are used to running AMP this amp out. Setup of the amp sound or working with digital gear, this will not can be logically broken down be so foreign. However, I wanted to raise this LAB into four steps, including level issue because some performers may intuitively calibration, equalization, think of gain in terms of the amount of TC Electronic character assessment and finally, master level. distortion or volume level associated with the Truth be told, performers likely go through bass signal, and not in terms of setting the RH450 these steps subconsciously, and interactively. level of the signal hitting the front end of the In a world overcrowded with “me, too” However, the RH450 provides the preamp. attitudes, TC Electronic makes the bold unprecedented ability to break each step down statement that they have a produced a bass and focus on it with succinctness. The next step is setting the equalization. Unlike amplifier that is “revolutionary.” I take this statement seriously. Products are frequently evolutionary, and rarely revolutionary. For instance, I can think of only a handful of inventions that are revolutionary. The wheel, written language, irrigation and paper money come to mind as revolutionary. In modern times, I consider the transistor and the Internet Fig. A Side shot gut shot. as being revolutionary. So, let’s see if TC can live up to their claim. many amps, where gain and EQ can be an Level calibration begins at the Gain knob. Here, interactive process, the RH450 keeps these Understanding the Amp the key is to think more in terms of gain steps well isolated. EQ usage is too subjective Technology is written all over this amp. From staging in the digital domain. The RH450 lacks to discuss here. However, one can quickly begin the sleek styling of the chassis, to the LEDs an active/passive switch. This is because the to use the amp in a basic manner by adjusting around the knobs, this amp stands out as being RH450 adapts to the signal level of the bass the Bass, Lo-Mid, Hi-Mid and Treble to taste. anything but conventional. At the same time, plugged in. However, to maximize The advanced equalization capabilities of this the RH450 also boasts several features that are performance, the user should plug in their amp will be discussed in greater detail below. familiar and comfortable to musicians, such as instrument and begin playing. While playing a limited number of conventionally labeled normally, turn up the Gain knob until the The next step is to set the “character” of the knobs, a single input jack and only a few amp. The character of the amp is set by the buttons to navigate. Taking a peek inside the amp (as seen in Fig. A ), the RH450 boasts a clean circuit board layout that integrates a blend of surface mount integrated circuits, passive components and a more or less centered cooling fan.

To optimize the performance of this amp, it may be necessary to reprogram how you think about approaching your tone. Let’s take a look Fig. B Block diagram. bass gear 59 Tubetone™ knob. Turning this knob allows the personality of the amp to change from clean, to grit to classic overdrive. Finally, the signal is adjusted to the desired output level by adjusting the Master knob. As the block diagram illustrates, there are some features that appear to be buried, such as the spectral compressor, and the Tubetone pre and post processing. Hold tight, because we will get there.

The Hidden Power Of The Shift Button The Shift button is one of the keys to unlock the power of the RH450. Take, for instance, the SpectracompT™ multi-band compressor. By

Fig. C All controls at noon vs. optimally flat. pressing the Shift key and turning the Gain knob, the depth of the compressor can be adjusted. Don’t think of this as just another compressor. Rather, when using the Spectracomp, the RH450 divides the bass signal into three bands, including lows, mids and highs. Each band is compressed differently to smooth out the bass signal.

I really dig controls that combine multiple functions. In this regard, the Spectracomp may be one of the most effective single-knob controls you may come across. This control uniquely adjusts makeup gain, compression threshold and compression ratio across three separate frequency bands. If I am counting right, that is like adjusting at least nine parameters with one knob. The ambition – and more importantly, the execution and implementation – of this feat is not lost on this reviewer.

Fig. D Optimally flat settings. We are not done with the Shift button, though. By pressing the Shift button and turning any one of Bass, Lo-Mid, Hi-Mid and Treble knobs, the frequency of that control can be adjusted. This feature is evaluated in greater detail below in the discussion of the tone stack. Why should we stop there? By pressing the Shift button and turning the Tubetone knob, the level of the currently selected preset can be tweaked.

Speaking of dual functions, the Master volume knob also functions as the level control for the headphone jack. The headphone output also plays back any signal connected to the AUX IN (“Rehearsal”) input jack found on the rear panel of the RH450, so that a musician can play along with an audio source such an MP3 player, CD, etc.

Fig. E Optimally flat settings (Shift engaged).

bass 60 gear The Tone Stack A plot in Fig. C illustrates “all controls at noon” compared to “optimally flat.” With all controls at noon, the amp exhibited a small bass bump around 75Hz, a mild dip around 200Hz and a gentle roll off around 4kHz. Overall, with all controls at noon, the RH450 exhibits a frequency response of +/- 9.2dB at 20Hz - 20kHz, and +/- 4.6dB in a limited passband of 80Hz - 8kHz.

One feature that is noteworthy about the equalizer, which is most readily seen in the optimally flat curve, is the roll-off on the bass and treble sides of the response curve. The cutoff on the bass has a relatively steep slope compared to the treble side roll off. It appears Fig. F Bass sweep. as if there is a fixed, non-adjustable hi-pass filter in the preamplifier that contributes to this response. The use of this high-pass filter should result in a tight yet deep bass response.

Despite the inherent equalization curve, the tone controls are tweakable to achieve a substantially flat response of +/- 0.6dB over our optimally flat bandwidth range of 80Hz to 8kHz. Figs D and E illustrate the settings used to achieve the “optimally flat” curve in Fig. C . Notably, the EQ in the RH450 is semi-parametric. The photo in Fig. D illustrates the frequency settings of the tone controls, which were programmed using the Shift button. The photo in Fig. E illustrates the Gain settings for the tone controls.

Referring to Fig. F , a few illustrative bass sweeps are shown. The bass sweeps indicate that the bass is a shelving type control that provides a wide range of amplitude adjustment. Moreover, by Fig. G Lo-Mid sweep. setting the frequency of the Bass control, significant tonal adjustments can be made well into the midrange and even treble frequencies. I like the way that the semi-parametric shelving control interacts with the fixed high-pass filter to provide low frequency signal shaping.

Referring to Figs. G and H, the Lo-Mid control is a band-pass control that allows adjustment from approximately 100Hz to approximately 1.6kHz. Correspondingly, the Hi-Mid control is also a bandpass control and allows adjustment from approximately 200Hz to approximately 3.1kHz. Again, as is especially apparent Fig. H , the inherent bass boost at approximately 75Hz and high-pass filter combines with the semi-parametric nature of the Hi-Mid band-pass filter to provide deceptively complex tone shaping. Fig. H Hi-Mid sweep.

bass gear 61 Referring to Fig. J , the Treble control is a shelving type of control. By adjusting the frequency using the Shift control, a wide range of adjustment may be implemented. Keeping the bag of tricks wide open, the Treble control yields an interesting result. When the Treble frequency is set to its maximum clockwise setting, the control interacts with the inherent treble roll off to exhibit a response the is decidedly shelving in its signature. However, as the frequency of the Treble control is rolled back, the control begins to function like a bell filter when boosting, but a shelf when cutting the gain from its “noon” position.

Fig. I Treble sweep. Spectracomp The effects of compression are often easier to hear than to see. However, to try to illustrate the effect of multi-band compression, refer to Figs. J and K, which break down compressor performance into the gain domain ( Fig. J ) and the frequency domain ( Fig. K ).

In Fig. J , three traces are illustrated, plotting the gain of the amp on the vertical axis, and the input signal level on the horizontal axis. As the compressor depth is turned up, the knee where compression starts to kick in decreases. To illustrate, for the exemplary level settings under test, the depth of the Spectracomp was initially set relatively low. Under this set of test circumstances, a gain of approximately 45dB was achieved for signals below just under 200 mVrms. As the signal level exceeded 200 mVrms, the gain began to steadily decrease, demonstrating that the compressor threshold was exceeded. With the depth at approximately halfway, the gain of Fig. J Compressor performance (gain domain). the amp for low signal levels rose to approximately 50dB. However, the threshold signal level kicking in the compressor lowered. At maximum depth, the gain rose to approximately 54dB for low signal levels. However, the threshold of the compressor lowered even further. Looking primarily at gain, a few interesting observations can be derived. As the depth knob is turned up, the compression threshold decreases, and the gain before compression increases. Moreover, the slope of the gain reduction changes.

Referring to Fig. J, I swept a signal from 20Hz to 20kHz and varied only the depth of Spectracomp. Because the depth control affects the gain, I normalized the frequency response to observe the effects of the multiband compressor. As the compression depth is increased, the overall frequency response flattened out. Fig. K Compressor performance (frequency domain).

bass 62 gear Can Tubetone Deliver? TC claims that the Tubetone circuitry is useful for adding tube personality to the tone of the amp. However, unlike a simple overdrive, the Tubetone purports to recreate the personality of a tube amp in both the preamp and power amp stages. Tone is subjective. Referring to Fig. L, M and N, and leaving subjective assessments aside, the distortion products scaled appropriately for a typical tube amp. Tubetone emphasized the 2nd and 3rd harmonics with Tubetone set low, as illustrated by the “stairstep” harmonic response. As the knob is turned up, the harmonics predictably scaled up and leveled off. Fig. L Distortion products, Tubetone set low. Output Power Referring to Fig. O , a plot illustrates THD +N as a function of output voltage. At both 4 and 8 ohm, the steady state rail was measured at about 30 Volts. As you can see in Fig. P, the gain of the amp was linear at about 45dB for signal levels up to the point at which the amp hit the steady state rails.

Before measuring the output power of an amp, we look to see what distortion levels are inherent in the amp. This is because the preamp stage can intentionally color sound in a way that should not affect power measurements. The way we accomplish this is to push the amp with a steady state signal up to its rail. We then look at the THD+N at just below the steady state rail and use that for purposes of power testing. In the case of the RH450, the amp measured about 2.5% THD+N when we hit the steady state rail, and that is what we used as our baseline for measuring this amp. Fig. M Distortion products, Tubetone set medium.

Under these conditions, we were able to obtain approximately 133 watts continuous (133 watts burst) at 8 ohm, and 236 watts continuous (243 watts burst) into 4 ohm. Referring to Fig. Q , our dynamic signal test yields a result that mirrors our burst testing. The limiter in this amp has a fast attack, yielding almost no dynamic transients beyond the steady state rail for negative swings, and only a few dynamic transients exceeding the positive rail for positive swings. On the other hand, the release of the limiter appears to be on the order of around 400 msec.

If our data seems unbelievable, I encourage you to hop towards the back of this issue, and read my From the Bench article, where I dig deeper into TC’s Active Power Management technology. If there was Fig. N Distortion products, Tubetone set high.

bass gear 63 a poster child for trusting your ears more than your eyes – or manufacturer stats – this is THE amp.

Conclusion So, is the RH450 a revolutionary amplifier? I will leave that up to the readers to sort out for themselves. Let’s be honest. Where else have you seen an amp with memory presets, a built-in tuner, built-in multi-band compressor, tube emulation circuitry, 4-band semi- parametric EQ, headphone jack, transformer balanced DI, effects loop, rehearsal/auxiliary input, remote control… Heck, I am too tired to finish listing out the features.

Fig. O Distortion as a function of output. There are a lot of things that are really positive about this amp. If I had to single one thing out, I love the way that this amp is deceptively simple to use. However, behind each knob turn, there are numerous changes going on behind the scenes. Kudos!

However, it is my personal opinion that TC handled the rating of the output power of this amp all wrong, and it runs the risk of breeding misunderstanding in the technology behind this amp. I think this is too bad, because in many respects, the ideas and implementations represent a legitimate way to address output power. TC should not say that the RH450 “is” a 450-watt amp. If TC would have said “feels like” a 450-watt amp, they would have been reasonably characterizing the amp.

Looking at this another way, most musicians are already willing to Fig. P Gain is linear up to hitting the rails. accept that “tube watts” are different from “solid state watts” (fallacy aside). Heck, the if TC would have said that the output power is equivalent to approximately 250 watts of tube power, this is in the ball park of the venerable SVT tube amp. I have never heard anybody say that their SVT tube amp just was not loud enough.

Fig. Q Dynamic response.

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Enclosure General Configuration: 2x10 Company: TC Electroinc Listed Impedance: 8 ohms Sindalsvej 34, DK-8240 Rated Power Handling: 400 watts Risskov, Denmark Inputs/Outputs: Two Speakon (and Two 1/4") www.tcelectronic.com Dimensions: 26.1"h x 14"w x 14"d Country of Origin: Denmark Weight: 43.6 lbs Warranty: 2 years (EU only); Ports: Rear-ported 1 year (outside of EU) Covering: “Anti-skid” dual component surface List Price: $695.00 Baffle Board: 18mm plywood Street Price: $500.00 Cabinet: 18mm plywood Test Unit Options: None Grill: 1.5mm black perforated steel Accessories: None Handles: Two (side-mounted) Price as Tested: $500.00 Feet: None Available Colors: Grey Casters: None Available Options: None Corners: None (rounded carved hardwood corners) Acquired from: TC Electronic Driver Mounting: 8 screws Dates: October 2010 through December 2010 Drivers/Crossover Locales: Illinois, Ohio Test Gear (in-hand review): Skjold Pro Series Deluxe, MTD 535, Woofers: Proprietary Eminence 10", stamped-frame Sadowsky JJ5, Sadowsky PJ5, Fender J4, Cone Material: Paper Bergantino AE210, Carvin BX500 Voice Coil: 2" Copper Magnets: Ceramic (38 oz.) Tweeter: Eminence ASD 1001 tweeter (33mm aluminum coil) TEST SUMMARY Adjustment: Adjustable L-pad 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Protection: None Speaker Connections: Faston & Spring-Loaded (tweeter) on-bench in-hand Crossover: 3.8kHz, Butterworth, 18dB/octave Options: None Portability 4 Features: 3 Road Worthiness 3.5 Tonal Flexibility: 3 Measurements Components 4 Ease of Use: 4 Hardware 3.5 Aesthetics: 4 Cabinet Construction 4 Ergonomics: 4 Measured Impedance: 10.54 ohms Wiring 4 Tone: 4 Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 97.06 dBSPL Cover/Finish 2 Value: 4

On-BenchScore In-Hand Score 3.57 average 3.71 average TONE-O-METER

This cab is a chest puncher. Sonic Profile: Focused in the lows, and strong in Lows: Tighter than the RS212, but still very full and great focus the upper mids. Cuts very well. Mids: Powerful, hits you in the chest, especially good cut Great as a "top" to a stack with Highs: Very present but even sounding, not harsh or overpowering the RS212. Tom Bowlus’ claims are that it is also the hip looks and desired friction with easy to repair, but in all enhanced durability. honesty, I’d prefer to not CAB have to repair my cab’s The sturdy metal grill is cool enough to warrant finish in the first place. The a closer look. It is mounted on six threaded LAB fact that there are no corner nuts with plastic stand-offs, and the grill does protectors and no feet on not extend all the way to cabinet edge. This these cabs (the RS410 does ship with optional creates the illusion that it is suspended within TC Electronic feet) means that this finish gets exposed to the confines of the front baffle without actually RS210 and RS212 wear and tear to a greater extent than would touching it. The implementation is simple cabs with these forms of protection. It does enough, and the protection provided is more Bass Cabinet appear that TC is experimenting with a number than adequate. But TC manages to sneak in a of different formulas for this finish, though. My little extra dash of style and creates a unique The first thing that strikes you about the RS- hope is that they can find a recipe that mixes look. series cabs is definitely the look. The curved corners, “knockdown” finish, and svelte profiles definitely stand out from the crowd. But there is function in that form, as well. The curved corners are made from shaped pieces of hardwood (the rest of the enclosure is made from plywood). The shape of the cabs allow for a variety of stacking configurations – using two cabs, most folks would likely stack them vertically; with three cabs, horizontal stacking works better. The finish is designed to have a sufficient level of friction to keep the cabs from sliding around in either configuration, and I must say, it functions well in that regard. This finish does not appear to be exceptionally durable, though, and is easily scratched. The

On and Off Axis ( 15 , 30 , 45 ) Frequency Response Impedance Curve t

s TC Electronic e

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Enclosure General Configuration: 2x12 Company: TC Electroinc Listed Impedance: 8 ohms Sindalsvej 34, DK-8240 Rated Power Handling: 400 watts Risskov, Denmark Inputs/Outputs: Two Speakon (and Two 1/4") www.tcelectronic.com Dimensions: 26.1"h x 14"w x 19.7"d Country of Origin: Denmark Weight: 50.2 lbs Warranty: 2 years (EU only); Ports: Rear-ported 1 year (outside of EU) Covering: “Anti-skid” dual component surface List Price: $695.00 Baffle Board: 18mm plywood Street Price: $500.00 Cabinet: 18mm plywood Test Unit Options: None Grill: 1.5mm black perforated steel Accessories: None Handles: Two (side-mounted) Price as Tested: $500.00 Feet: None Available Colors: Grey Casters: None Available Options: None Corners: None (rounded carved hardwood corners) Acquired from: TC Electronic Driver Mounting: 8 screws Dates: October 2010 through December 2010 Drivers/Crossover Locales: Illinois, Ohio Test Gear (in-hand review): Skjold Pro Series Deluxe, MTD 535, Woofers: Proprietary Eminence 10", stamped-frame Sadowsky JJ5, Sadowsky PJ5, Fender J4, Cone Material: Paper Bergantino AE210, Carvin BX500 Voice Coil: 2" Copper Magnets: Ceramic (38 oz.) Tweeter: Eminence ASD 1001 tweeter (33mm aluminum coil) TEST SUMMARY Adjustment: Adjustable L-pad 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Protection: None Speaker Connections: Faston & Spring-Loaded (tweeter) on-bench in-hand Crossover: 3.8kHz, Butterworth, 18dB/octave Options: None Portability 4 Features: 3 Road Worthiness 3.5 Tonal Flexibility: 3 Measurements Components 4 Ease of Use: 4 Hardware 3.5 Aesthetics: 4 Cabinet Construction 4 Ergonomics: 4 Measured Impedance: 11.54 ohms Wiring 4 Tone: 4 Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 98.30 dBSPL Cover/Finish 2 Value: 4

On-BenchScore In-Hand Score 3.57 average 3.71 average TONE-O-METER Sonic Profile: This cab is a gut puncher. Big but not Lows: Bigger and rounder than the RS210, but still very focused boomy sound in a medium small box. Mids: Strong, hits you more in the gut, great support and thump Pairs particularly well as a "bottom" Highs: Sweet and complete, a bit warmer than the RS210 to a stack with the RS210. Technology-wise, TC isn’t doing anything too more compact presentation, and is especially remove/repair/replace a given driver multiple radical with these cabs, but as always, their helpful in the case of the RS212, which pretty times during the lifetime of the cab. implementation and packaging of this much fills the front baffle, leaving little room technology tends to stray from the rest of the for a separate tweeter. pack. The drivers employ ceramic magnets and stamped frames, and the use of two drivers The wiring was neat and of decent quality. The plus a tweeter is nothing unusual. The coaxial thick foam insulation lining the interior of the mounting of the tweeter within the dust cap of enclosure was securely applied. The drivers one of the drivers, however, is not so common. were secured via eight wood screws. While all It’s not entirely unheard of (Euphonic Audio the screws were nice and tight, I do have a and Bag End, among others, have also preference for using nuts with threaded employed coaxial drivers), but it is certainly inserts, as the screws can use some of their bite not the norm. This design does allow for a if it would become necessary to

On and Off Axis ( 15 , 30 , 45 ) Frequency Response Impedance Curve T! TES Tbass The night was dark and gear foreboding as I loaded a big, bulky rig out of yet another skanky, back alley night club.

“Psssst...Hey, buddy; howzabout you try a nice, lightweight rig for a change?” I could barely make out the fedora-topped outline of the stranger leaning against the lamp post. “Who are you?” I asked.

He exhaled, and pungent cigarette smoke swirled around the trench-coated figure standing there against the lamp post. “Tom; Tom Bowlus,” he answered. Next to him were three small boxes labeled “Orange Amplification,” a name conjured up out of rock and roll’s dark past. “First one’s free”, he said.

I’d heard that before, and I should have been wary, but I was tired…

In retrospect, I should have known it would end like this, but I was naive and thought, “That’ll never happen to me.” So how does a nice guy and generally modern tone addict end up huddled in a corner crying over “Where’s the next fix of thick delicious Orange Tone coming from?” Relatively easily, as it turns out... nearly as simple as throwing a switch. “Confessions of an Orange Addict” Orange Terror Bass layout is very simple, but “backwards” from what most of us in the U.S. are used to. The 500 Bass Head input jack is located to the far right, and the and SP210 & SP212 controls run from right to left, instead of left to Bass Cabs right. To the far right is input Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble, master Volume and the Off/Standby/On By Alan Loshbaugh switch. Having both an input gain and a master volume lets you control total output of the The Conversion Process amp, while dialing in how hard you push the I took the three boxes home and opened them preamp tubes, allowing for both clean, and up. One held a small, lightweight head that variably over-driven tones. In addition to input looked relatively safe, friendly and familiar; gain/master volume and preamp controls, the kind of like a Dreamsicle. The other two boxes Terror Bass’ front panel holds the ¼’’ input jack, held two small, relatively lightweight speakers. active/passive selector, and power status jewel The threesome made a cute little stack. “Nice light – which is, or course, orange! enough”, I thought, but surely this can’t really hold up in ClubLand. There are two Speakon outputs and an 4/8 ohm selector on the back panel. The right side I cabled it all together, plugged in my Lakland panel holds an XLR output (with ground lift) P5, left the EQ flat, set Gain and master Volume and ¼’’ effects send and return. All this is to about half each, and threw the on switch. I was immediately blown back... Remember the old JBL loudspeaker ads with the guy sitting in his chair, hair all windblown from the output of his new JBL speakers? Yeah, it was like that. Where was all this coming from?

Riding the Tide of the British Invasion Well, it all started in Great Britain the ‘60s, as it Orange Invasion isn’t all from Britannia. The housed in a stout, white steel chassis – a turns out. While Orange amps may be a new Terror Bass head has is made in Orange’s own departure from Orange’s orange vynide name to some bassists, Orange amplifiers have plant in China, and the SP Series cabs sold in covered wood case for their tube amps. populated the front line of rock and roll bass the U.S.A. are made in England. However, Orange’s trademark retro-chic styling and guitar amplification since 1968. Artists like remains; from the simplicity of the control Stevie Wonder, BB King, Jimmy Page, John Inside The Orange layout, to the icons used above each control to Mayall, Ike and Tina Turner, and James Brown The Orange Terror Bass is a 500-watt, class-D indicate function. The Terror Bass weighs a very rode the swelling tide of British amplification powerhouse, fronted by two 12AX7 preamp friendly 11 pounds, and has an easy to use grab into America, and by the mid-’70s, Orange tubes which control the input gain, and the handle on top. The very nice tote bag has a were outselling Marshall. preamp’s active Bass, Mid and Treble controls. cutout for the grab handle, and a front pouch The Orange design philosophy has always that’s large enough to carry the power cord, Cliff Cooper’s initial offerings were tube- pursued ease of use for the player, and the plus your speaker and input cables. powered amps of his own design, built for Terror Bass surely achieves that goal. Orange by Matamp. Now, Orange design and The SP210 and SP212 cabinets that came to me build their own high-powered tube amps for Just like big, all-tube powered sibling, the with the Terror Bass maintain typical Orange both guitar and bass. However, the current Orange AD200, the Terror Bass’ front panel styling cues. Tough orange-tinted vynide with

bass gear 71 I had problems getting the clarity out of the rig I wanted, until I discovered that to maximize the rig’s treble response, it was necessary to turn the Bass end of the EQ down significantly. Don’t fret over this: the SP series isobaric cabs and Terror head have plenty of heft in them, and a fat, clear tone is entirely possible.

If grit and grind and your thing, the Terror Bass head is really adept at doing just this. Sweeping through the range of the input Gain control will net you from clean, fat tone to completely sick overdrive and everything in between. The Terror Bass adds a nice squishy an “orange-peel” texture covers the outside, have a very hefty, very vintage tone – and a lot power tube “emulation” as you go through the and a black woven grill cloth covers the of it. I couldn’t turn the rig up without all kinds range. I didn’t really explore this at home, as speakers. The Orange logo is displayed of things in the house vibrating and shaking that’s just not my bag. What I did explore was prominently, dead center, in the middle of the along with the rig! seeing how the Terror’s darker tone fit into a grill. However, the SP range of speakers mix by playing along with some of my favorite employ new cabinetry for Orange: isobaric Both cabs have output and low end response CD’s with the stereo cranked way up. design! Isobaric speaker design allows for a that belies their small size. The SP210 and SP212 Hmmmm: it actually fit really well... I found I smaller cab to be tuned like a cab twice its size. sound very similar, with a small nod going to kinda liked it! The rear of the cabs holds a simple plate the SP212 in terms of low end extension. The holding two Speakon output jacks. Each of the SP210 has a little more upper mids and treble, Small Amp, at Large two cabs is rated for 600 watts at 8 ohms. though both cabs, being tweeter-less, are on Stage One of out of home Terror-ization was to the dark side of things. take the head and the SP210 cab to my first Britannia on Home Turf rehearsal with a new band. This setup made for With the rig all plugged in and thumping at The treble extension of this rig is rather limited. an easy one-trip load in/out, and all went well. home, I was left with mixed impressions. This “Real clean” might be another way to describe was no fault of the rig’s, but rather of my own the native tone in my head, and while the Terror Stage Two was a small jazz trio gig with background and sonic preferences. Let me Terror’s input Gain and master Volume piano/sax/bass I go to most Thursday nights. I explain. I lean towards a much more modern combined with its huge headroom mean you took the Terror head and SP210. While jazz sound than the Orange delivers: all my cabs don’t have to run this amp “dirty,” the Terror’s might not seem an optimal use of the Terror have horns, and two of four of my cabs were native tone is outside my “normal.” gear, I sure appreciated the easy schlep in and custom made for me with pretty aggressive out. I took my 1972 Fender Telecaster, which is treble response. I’ve never bonded with a cab While the head makes gobs of power, its EQ loaded with a Dark Star pickup, and wears without a horn, and only fully bonded with just section seemed to me to have only a limited LaBella black nylon flatwound tapes. This a few off the shelf cabs that do have horns. ability to shape it’s tone. The Terror’s preamp is worked out great, and the little rig had way the same as the preamp in the AD200, and more than enough headroom to fill the little While I was very impressed with the overall delivers the same signature Orange sound – speakeasy, even with both the input and output of the Terror Bass stack, I was initially which is great, if you like it. However, if you master gains set at about 9 o’clock on the dial. less than digging the tone coming out of the don’t, you might be disappointed to find that The tone suited the mission: dark and smoky, cabs (in the context of my own personal the somewhat limited range of the EQ will not but punchy, driving, and easily heard between preferences). The Terror Bass head and SP cabs let you “knob twist your way out if it.” the piano and sax. A bass player and guitar

bass 72 gear player from another jazz group were there, and Lakland P5 and its nickel rounds sounded limited: if you don’t like its native tone, there’s both commented on how full and articulate the exceptionally great through this rig. At this not a lot of room to tweak it. If it’s your thing, rig was – which just goes to show the Terror point, I have to admit, I was thoroughly it’s a very nice thing! system need not be all about its nice overdrive addicted to the Terror Bass /P-bass tone! and crushing volume. Again, I found myself The SP series cabs adhere to this formula: they liking the Terror-tone more than I thought I The Alleva-Coppolo sounded nice too, but the sound and perform very well. They have a very would, given my own personal preferences. tweeter-less SP cabs didn’t represent the J- nice output to size/weight ratio, and work very bass with stainless rounds as well as a well with the Terror Bass head. The Terror Bass Here’s where the going got weird, for me horn-loaded cab would. This was a job where I and SP cabs deliver a punchy and articulate, anyway. During third set, the band-leader was normally would have taken my 4x10 cab, but albeit darker, overall tone that can be quite chatting to the crowd more than usual. So, in not pushed it very hard. The SP212/SP210 stack addictive! between songs, I experimented with readily put out this sort of SPL with no progressively turning the input Gain up and the complaints at all, and might well be master Volume down, a little bit every song. approaching 4x10 performance. I never had an Call me an overdrive newbie if you like, but, I opportunity to push this rig to its limits during really had no idea how nicely that can fit into my time with the Orange stack. situations where I never would have thought to have used it. The Terror head fattens up and The Bottom Line gets richer in nice ways, long before it goes “all The Orange Terror Bass head seems to be a well British Invasion Crunchy” on you; that was both made, high performance, piece of pro-quality fun and educational for me to play with. I used gear. It delivers the big, fat, creamy, and highly the SP212 cab the following week, and I found I addictive power and tone that Orange are liked the slightly punchier SP210 for that gig. famous for, but in a smaller and easier to manage package. It’s also more than ready to Terrorizing the Midwest Stage Three was a go from big and fat to big and nasty depending Friday night job with the new blues band upon where you set the input gain. However, (which the rehearsal was for) and consisted of the EQ abilities of the preamp are rather bass, drums, guitar and piano in a small nightclub. I took my Lakland Precision 5-string, and Alleva-Coppolo LG5 J-bass. The Terror Stack filled the club without FOH with absolutely no problems, and again showed that you can have fat, punchy and articulate in the same package. The deep, darker tone of the rig combined with the kick drum to really drive the band well. While the Terror rig doesn’t give you that “horn-loaded, I can hear those round wounds bounce off the fingerboard” tone I generally go for, man, did it ever work well in this context! It filled the mix – and the room – and kicked and punched all night long. I had fun playing with the input Gain level and varying the amount of grit in the tone when it was appropriate to do so. The

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ENCLOSURE GENERAL Material: 1.5 mm Zintec Dimensions: 12" W x 6-1/4" H x 5" D (Height measurement Company: Orange Music Electronic Company, Ltd. includes feet but not handle) Borehamwood, Hertfordshire Weight: 10.8lbs WD6 2JA, UK www.ornageamps.com PREAMP Country of Origin: China Inputs: 1 x 1/4” Year of Origin: 2010 Warranty: One year (two if registered) Mode: Tube List Price: $1,089 Tubes: 2 x 12AX7 Street Price: $859 Input Impedance: 743 Kohms 200 Hz, 400 mVrms Sin Test Unit Options: None EQ Type/Features: Treble (High Shelf) Mid (Cut Only Band at Accessories: None approximately 650 Hz) Bass (Low Shelf) Price as Tested: $869 Compressor/Limiter: Non Defeatable Limiter Post Effect Loop/Pre Available Colors: Orange, Black, White Class D Amplifier Available Options: None DI Output: Balanced with Ground Lift Acquired from: Orange USA Effects Loop: Yes, Series,Fixed Post EQ, Non User Adjustable, Dates: January 2011 through March 2011 Jacks on Right Side of Amp Locales: Missouri, Ohio Dedicated Tuner Output: No Test Gear (in-hand review): Mesa/Boogie WalkAbout, Fender Telecaster Construction: PCB and Precision basses, Lakland P5, Alleva- Additional Features: Front Panel -10 dB Pad Switch; Combination Copollo LG5 Power/Standby Switch

POWER AMP Mode: Class D TEST SUMMARY Tubes: N/A 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Outputs: 2 x speakon Impedance Options: 4, 8 ohms on-bench in-hand Power Supply/Transformer: Switch mode Cooling System: Fan Internal Parts 3.5 Features: 3 Line Voltage Options: 120 External Parts 3.5 Tonal Flexibility: 3 Overall Assembly 3 Ease of Use: 4 Output Power Rating 4.5 Aesthetics: 3.5 MEASUREMENTS Ease of Repair 4 Tone: 3.5 Freq Resp – Pre & Power Amp: Instructions/Manual 3 Value: 4 Full Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 9.0dB;400mv swept sin Quality Per Price 4 Limited Bandwidth (all controls at noon): 80Hz – 8kHz +/- 3.2dB; 400mv swept sin Layout/Cooling 3.5 Limited Bandwidth (optimally flat): 80Hz – 8kHz +/- 1.9dB; 400 mv swept sin 8-ohm 4-ohm Power: 494W 519W In-Hand Score On-Bench Score Burst: 637W 972W THD (at Max Power): 5% 5% 3.63 average 3.50 average Input Signal: 1kHz 1kHz TONE-O-METER Sonic Profile: Lows: Big and punchy CERTIFIED POWER Mids: Present, rich and mix filling 4 ohms 8 ohms Highs: Fairly dark. If you’re looking for 519 watts 494 watts modern treble extension, this isn’t that. Tom Lees’ The preamplifier circuitry, DI circuitry and the power amplifier are located underneath the chassis, as illustrated in Fig. C . The two preamplifier tube sockets mount to the preamplifier printed circuit board, and the power AMP supply (located on top of the amplifier chassis) couples power to the preamplifier and power amplifier using a handful of wires. Due to the LAB tight packing of components underneath the chassis, the DI circuitry and Orange Terror Bass 500 Bass Head If you are a fan of old school horror/drama films like I am, you will appreciate that the face of “terror” can come in many forms. Over the years, I have been terrified by body snatching aliens, large green monsters, blood-sucking undead, man-eating sharks, demon-possessed FIG B. Power supply mounted on top of chassis, rear view. girls, serial killers, a mysterious flock of birds, the list goes on… Orange is making a bold statement by self-proclaiming a lunchbox amp as a Terror. effects loop are located to the side of the chassis. While uncommon to Can this amp inspire fear? Let’s take a look. locate jacks on the side of an amplifier, I think that the compromise is reasonable and outweighs the option of omitting these features. Internal Construction As I disassembled the amp, I envisioned the terror I was about to see. Understanding the Amp What would it be? Some yet unknown alien circuitry? Would I see devices The amp has a rather understated elegance to its operation. This clearly that looked to be from the lab of one of my favorite protagonists, Victor cannot be where the “Terror” name comes from. A single input couples to a tube gain stage controlled by the Gain knob on the front panel. The signal then couples to a tube-driven tone stack controlled by the Treble, Mid and Bass knobs on the front panel. The output of the tone stack drives a non-user adjustable serial effects loop and a non-user adjustable buffered, balanced DI out. From the output of the effects loop, the signal feeds a final preamp stage, controlled by the Volume control on the front panel, and then passes through a non-user adjustable limiter before being amplified by the class-D power amplifier.

The Tone Stack Again, nothing too frightening here. The frequency response of this amp with all tone controls at noon reveals a recognizable mid scoop. As FIG A. Power supply mounted on top of chassis, front view. illustrated in the frequency response plot of Fig. D , the Treble, Mid and

Frankenstein? Well, in short, the internal construction was not all that terrifying. To the contrary, the internal construction of this amp is clean. As illustrated in Figs. A and B, the amplifier power supply sits on top of the chassis and is protected by a two separate structures. The first cover bolts to the top surface of the chassis over the power supply. A cooling fan at one end of the first cover provides circulation to keep the amplifier running cool. A second, independent cover bolts around the side of the chassis and provides a face plate that contains control labeling and a handle.

FIG C. Preamp and power supply. bass gear 75 Bass controls take on the feel of a conventional passive tone stack. Moreover, the control settings to obtain an optimally flat setting should be familiar to Fender players: Bass and Treble off, Mid on full, as illustrated in Fig. E .

One characteristic of the tone stack is that for each knob, the majority of the range of adjustment seems to be bunched up between fully counterclockwise and noon positions. Correspondingly, turning each equalizer knob from the noon position to the maximum setting yields a relatively small adjustment. This can be seen in each of the EQ plots of Figs. F, G and H, which illustrate the knob fully counterclockwise, noon FIG D. All controls at noon vs. optimally flat. and fully clockwise.

Output Power The output power of this amp is where things really get terrifying. At four ohms, the amp was able to crank out 519 watts continuous, with a burst power of 972 watts (cue the theme music from Psycho ). The amp handled dynamics and transients well under lab conditions. It does appear as if the non-defeatable limiter can really clamp down on the

FIG F. Bass sweep.

FIG E. Optimally flat settings.

signal, and the limiter appears to have been programmed with a relatively long release time, exhibiting a recovery that exceeded one second in our dynamic burst signal. Results from our burst signal test are illustrated in Fig. I . FIG G. Mid sweep. The amp also performed well in our gain tests. As the input signal was swept over a range typical of bass signals, the output and distortion products behaved predictably and linearly up to the steady state limits of the amp, as illustrated in our plot of distortion as a function of output in Fig. J .

The preamplifier has a lot of gain on tap. With the Gain knob relatively low (e.g., round 9:00), the output exhibited a relatively clean signal with strong second and third harmonics. As the Gain knob was turned up, the distortion products increased significantly, as illustrated in our distortion product plots of Figs. K and L. FIG H. Treble sweep.

bass 76 gear One somewhat unique feature of this amp is that the output power is rated at 500 watts regardless of whether the load is 4 ohms or 8 ohms. How does Orange accomplish this feat? Through intelligent limiting. The power amp is definitely capable of putting out 500 watts into 8 ohms, and the impedance switch reprograms the limiter, or otherwise sets an arbitrary peak signal ceiling, when the switch is in the 4-ohm position.

Our tests bear this out. With the switch in the 8-ohm position, the amp output about 500 watts at 8 ohm, with a burst of 637 watts. On the other hand, with the switch at the 4-ohm position, the amp output just over 500 watts, with almost 975 watts burst. The burst output is drastically different for different loads. Also, in our continuous power FIG I. Dynamic response. measurements, we recorded about 62 Vrms at 8 ohms, and approximately 45 Vrms at 4 ohms. Here, you can see that the amp is scaling back the maximum continuous output when the impedance switch is in the 4-ohm position.

Conclusions The real story of this amp, from a technical perspective, is its performance in power testing. At 4 ohms, the measured output power of our test amp exceeded the manufacturers rated spec of 500 watts, producing nearly 1,000 watts in our dynamic power tests. The tone controls provide simple tonal shaping, and are better suited for a user in need of coarse adjustments, rather than surgically precise adjustments. If I had to nitpick, I would have liked to have seen the range of adjustment for each FIG J. Distortion as a function of output. EQ knob spread out more evenly across each its range of adjustment. Each knob seemed to provide the most significant range of adjustment between its counterclockwise and noon positions. Otherwise, for a “lunchbox amp” that weighs under 11 lbs, this amp truly is a terror.

FIG K. Distortion products gain at 9:00.

FIG L. Distortion products gain at 12:00

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s Orange e t SP210 r s s a a e

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Enclosure General Configuration: 2x10 Company: Orange Music Electronic Company, Ltd. Listed Impedance: 8 ohms Borehamwood, Hertfordshire Rated Power Handling: 600 watts WD6 2JA, UK Inputs/Outputs: Two Dual Speakon www.ornageamps.com Dimensions: 16"h x 13"w x 15"d Country of Origin: England Weight: 35.4 lbs Warranty: 90 days (speakers), one year craftsmanship Ports: Slot-ported (one driver; other driver is (two years if warranty is registered) sealed) List Price: $1,080 Covering: Tolex Street Price: $779 Baffle Board: 18mm plywood Test Unit Options: None Cabinet: 18mm plywood Accessories: None Grill: Fabric Price as Tested: $779 Handles: One (top-mounted) Available Colors: Orange, Black, White Feet: Two wood “rails” Available Options: None Casters: None Acquired from: Orange USA Corners: Metal (black) Dates: January 2011 through March 2011 Driver Mounting: 8 screws Locales: Missouri, Ohio Test Gear (in-hand review): Mesa/Boogie WalkAbout, Fender Telecaster Drivers/Crossover and Precision basses, Lakland P5, Alleva-Copollo LG5 Woofers: Proprietary Eminence 10", cast-frame Cone Material: Paper Voice Coil: 2.5” Magnets: Neodymium (7 oz.) Tweeter: N/A TEST SUMMARY Adjustment: N/A 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Protection: N/A Speaker Connections: Two Speakon Dual (also takes 1/4”) Crossover: N/A on-bench in-hand Options: None Portability 4 Features: 3 Road Worthiness 4 Tonal Flexibility: 3 Measurements Components 4 Ease of Use: 4 Hardware 3.5 Aesthetics: 4 Measured Impedance: 10.29 ohms Cabinet Construction 4 Tone: 3.5 Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 90.79 dBSPL Wiring 3.5 Value: 3.5 Cover/Finish 4

On-BenchScore In-Hand Score 3.86 average 3.50 average TONE-O-METER

The SP series cabs provide low end Sonic Profile: extension and output much bigger than lows: Isobaric design allows for low end extension bigger than the box size! their size, great punch and mix filling mids: Present and mix filling mids, and will take all of the Bass Terror's highs: Not a lot of treble extension available, some tweeter-less cabs provide more 500 watts without flinching. Tom Bowlus’ This approach has not been tradeoffs. For instance, the overall output from two widely used in the dedicated drivers in an isobaric configuration will be the same bass enclosure market, that from one of those drivers in a conventional CAB although both Ampeg and design. Our tests of the SP210 and SP212 bear this Euphonic Audio have offered out. They are about the size of a typical 1x10 and cabs using isobaric loading in 1x12, respectively, and they put out about the same LAB the past (though technically amount of volume. But they definitely go deeper the EA iL-110 does not meet than their single-driver (similar size) counterparts. Orange the “equal weight” test, as it used a combination Another drawback is cost. Drivers cost more than of 8” and 10” drivers). While it is attractive to wood (especially neodymium-based drivers), so SP210/212 have that additional low frequency response in a from a cost perspective, you’d be better off using Bass Cabinet smaller enclosure, the design does have its one driver and doubling the size of the enclosure.

Isobaric speaker enclosures are nothing new. A quick look at wikipedia.org tells me that the technique was introduced by Harry F. Olson in the early 1950s, and that the primary goal is to lower the frequency response of the enclosure (allowing you to get the same low frequency response in a cabinet half the size of what would normally be required). The name is derived from the Greek term isobares , which means “of equal weight.” In an isobaric enclosure, two identical drivers work together to function as one unit. There are several ways to configure the drivers, including “cone to magnet” (which allows the drivers to work in phase with one another), “cone to cone” and “magnet to magnet.” These last two require the drivers to be wired out of phase. In the “Smart Power” line of enclosures, Orange employs the “cone to magnet” approach.

On and Off Axis ( 15 , 30 , 45 ) Frequency Response Impedance Curve t

s Orange e t SP212 r s s a a e

b g Bass Cabinet

Enclosure General Configuration: 2x12 Company: Orange Music Electronic Company, Ltd. Listed Impedance: 8 ohms Borehamwood, Hertfordshire Rated Power Handling: 600 watts WD6 2JA, UK Inputs/Outputs: Two Dual Speakon www.ornageamps.com Dimensions: 18"h x 15.25"w x 15"d Country of Origin: England Weight: 42.4 lbs Warranty: 90 days (speakers), one year craftsmanship (two Ports: Slot-ported (one driver; other driver is years if warranty is registered) sealed) List Price: $1,200 Covering: Tolex Street Price: $869 Baffle Board: 18mm plywood Test Unit Options: None Cabinet: 18mm plywood Accessories: None Grill: Fabric Price as Tested: $869 Handles: One (top-mounted) Available Colors: Orange, Black, White Feet: Two wood “rails” Available Options: None Casters: None Acquired from: Orange USA Corners: Metal (black) Dates: January 2011 through March 2011 Driver Mounting: 8 screws Locales: Missouri, Ohio Test Gear (in-hand review): Mesa/Boogie WalkAbout, Fender Telecaster Drivers/Crossover and Precision basses, Lakland P5, Alleva-Copollo LG5 Woofers: Proprietary Eminence 12", cast-frame Cone Material: Paper Voice Coil: 2.5” Magnets: Neodymium (7 oz.) Tweeter: N/A Adjustment: N/A TEST SUMMARY Protection: N/A 1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable) Speaker Connections: Two Speakon Dual (also takes 1/4”) Crossover: N/A on-bench in-hand Options: None Portability 4 Features: 3 Road Worthiness 4 Tonal Flexibility: 3 Measurements Components 4 Ease of Use: 4 Hardware 3.5 Aesthetics: 4 Cabinet Construction 4 Tone: 3.5 Measured Impedance: 10.16 ohms Wiring 3.5 Value: 3.5 Average Sensitivity (200Hz-900Hz): 93.30 dBSPL Cover/Finish 4

On-BenchScore In-Hand Score TONE-O-METER 3.86 average 3.50 average The SP series cabs provide low end extension and output much bigger than Sonic Profile: their size, great punch and mix filling lows: Isobaric design allows for low end extension bigger than the box size! mids, and will take all of the Bass Terror's mids: Present and mix filling 500 watts without flinching. highs: Not a lot of treble extension available, some tweeter-less cabs provide more Heck, that bigger single-driver box might even materials I have seen used. The steel corner The SP210 and SP212 are unique enclosures that are weigh less, too. It is also worth noting that today’s protectors, comfy yet sturdy strap, and wood skid not cut from the same mold as most of the other drivers are able to deliver significant low frequency rails all contribute to a very durable, road-ready 2x10 and 2x12 designs on the market. They have output in enclosures that are far smaller than what package. Once again, I find wood screws instead of their own strengths and weaknesses, but they are used to be required to get good low frequency my preferred threaded bolts, but I will note that very well made and highly competent at doing output from the drivers available to engineers back they used a really nice gasket material that not only what they were designed to do. in the ‘50s (or through the ‘90s, for that matter). makes for a nice seal, but also has a good amount of holding power all on its own. The wiring was If you were to make a list of all the benefits which neat and clean. I did not pull both drivers, but there an isobaric design brings to the table, and then was no insulation to be seen either behind the first counterbalance that with a list of all the drawbacks driver or at the back of the slot port. of an isobaric design (in relation to the other modern design options available), it is likely that no one would ever build an isobaric bass enclosure again. I am very happy the folks at Orange decided to stray a bit from conventional and offer up the SP line of cabs to the bass-playing market (a 4x10, the SP410, is also available). These cabs are pretty darned small, light enough, and they sound flat- out huge. They are easily the deepest sounding cabs I have heard in their size range. What’s more, the tone is very much in line with what the “Orange bass tone” is all about. I know I’m supposed to focus on the technical aspects of the enclosures, but I have to mention that I spent some time driving the SP210/SP212 stack with my AD200, and this was one of the most satisfying tube bass tones I have heard. I just need to figure out how to stack the AD200 on top of those cabs…

Looking at the rest of the construction, the orange tolex was expertly applied and very durable. This is definitely one of the higher-quality tolex-like

On and Off Axis ( 15 , 30 , 45 ) Frequency Response Impedance Curve Late last year, he actually cancelled due to a severe illness – a very severe one – part of whose resulting treatment involves chemotherapy. If you know anything about chemotherapy, it pretty much takes you out of the game. Makes it hard just to live life sometimes. Well, the attendees formed a grass roots effort and put the show on anyway… this time specifically in Pete’s honor. In attendance were Dale Black, Oscar Cartaya, Chris Tarry, Ben Jones, Pennal Johnson, Brian Bromberg, Norm Stockton, Alex Al, Brian Beller, Scott Ambush and many helping friends for all of them (including an iPod for Brian Bromberg). I have to say, it felt special this year even to me, despite my barely knowing the man outside of a few messages here and there. Bryan Beller kept us informed as things went, and ironically, nearly missed the show himself due to the temporary uncertainty of things. I’m sure most folks didn’t even know there was a problem (a good thing). Here’s the best news… Pete posted on his Facebook page on January 30th that he was being released from the hospital and a full recovery is expected. Christmas came late, and couldn’t have come for a better man. I very much look forward to next year!

We also made it to the Markbass 10th Anniversary Bash, attended by Hadrien Feraud, Michael Manring, Jeff Berlin, Alain Caron, Evan Marien, and many friends. Then there’s the classic rock show put on at the Imperial Ballroom, sponsored in part by the good folks at 65 Amps, creators of the wonderful Apollo all-tube Winter NAMM bass amp. Good times. Not to mention performances and jams by folks such as Billy Sheehan, Victor Wooten, Stu Hamm, many of the folks from Bass Bash, 2011 Bobby Vega (whose ’66 Jazz bass I got to play!), and many more. What about the gear? Well, you’ll be reading about a lot of it in the magazine, Highlights but a few things stuck out for me. Keep in mind this is far from a comprehensive list of all the cool stuff at the show… just the ones I remember best. I have to By Vic Serbe start with the Carvin SB series basses. These are the new Jazz-inspired basses from Carvin. They partnered with the fantastic talent of Sekou Bunch to create a My daughter hates winter time, and she has also learned to hate me around the bass modeled generally after the ‘70s Fender Jazz basses, but with several same time every year in January. I live in the Midwest, and every time I come modern adjustments. I feel like they have a huge hit on their hands with this to the NAMM Show in Anaheim, I usually leave a wintery wasteland to come to bass, and so far, the buzz seems to agree. Ampeg has some great new offerings a summery paradise… definitely a better place by comparison, no matter what along the same line with their new Portaflex heads and classically styled the weather is doing in the LA area. So it’s become a tradition for me to take a accompanying cabinets. Even better, we were there for the dedication of the snapshot of a palm tree against a sunny blue sky and send it to her cell phone new hand-wired, USA-made Heritage B-15 reissue amp to the father of the in a MMS message. Such was also the case this year, but even more than that, original amp himself, Jess Oliver. Ampeg even went a step further to have the it was also appropriate to think about being in better places, and the NAMM amp operate in both ’64 and ’66 native modes, so the proud owner of one these Show this year was no exception. The mood was up, the numbers were up, (only 50 to be made for the US market – initially, at least) will literally have both success was up, and the economy is looking up (maybe somewhat like my amps in one chassis. Don’t expect a bargain on these though. They’re rare and daughter’s blood pressure when viewing my annual message!). exclusive pieces.

Let’s do the numbers real quick. The NAMM organization reports 90,114 TC Electronic has a new mega-powerful 1,600-watt head now, named the registered attendees. That’s a 3% rise over last year, which was already better Blacksmith. Mike Lull has a Tom Petersson signature model bass, which is a than expected, considering the state of the economy at the time. While that custom spin on the Gibson Thunderbird. Jimmy Coppolo brought some rainbow single-digit increase may not seem like much, it’s more significant than it glitter painted basses to the show. Gallien Krueger showed the new MB800 800- appears. It also represents a new attendance record for the 109-year history of watt ultra-light and portable amp. Genz Benz brought a genuine tube sound the show so far. That’s a big deal, noting that also includes years where the and behavior to the small ultra-light market with the new Streamliner models. economy was booming. International registration was up 2%, 247 new Mike Pope has a crazy new signature model Fodera with a removable portion of exhibitors showed up for a total of 1,417, and the event was covered in over the fingerboard to convert from 24 to 20 frets. Our friends at F bass, Skjold 5,600 stories by over 1,100 media outlets world-wide (including yours truly). Design, Nordstrand, MTD, Jerzy Drozd, Markbass and so many more also brought Without getting too analytical here, the bottom line is, this year’s NAMM Show their A-Game to the show. rocked, borrowing the slogan “take it to 11” from one of my favorite movies This Is Spinal Tap . There was just too much good stuff to see. Hopefully, the accompanying photos will help you get a feel for the range of fine people and products to see at the We always have to go to the Bass Bash (fka the Bass Quake), which was stellar Winter NAMM Show. again this year… but it was most nearly the year it didn’t happen. I have to take a moment here to point out that the Bass Bash is put on annually over the last several years largely by the coordinative efforts of a man named Peter DeCuir. Photo credits: Steve Burkhalter, Josh Bubniak, Vic Serbe and Tom Bowlus

bass 82 gear Meet and greet time at the Bass Bash at J.T. Schmid’s. Godin gives us 5-strings to Shift.

The David Gage Czech-Ease and Neck-Off Basses.

How the neck comes off.

The compact hard case for the Neck-Off Bass. Norm Stockton performs at the Bass Bash.

bass gear 83 The mighty TC Electronic Blacksmith

Oscar Cataya at the Bass Bash.

Aguilar goes lightweight Brian Bromberg chats with Bobby Vega

Jimmy Coppolo shows his more colorful side. Jess Oliver with Tom Lees and his B-15N restore article. Phil Jones hit us with a 600-watt, 2-channel Mini Might.

5000 watts of Terror!

The compressor pedal you’ve been waiting for.

Tonegrinder tube replacement.

Reverend basses are back!

Ibanez SR Premium with Nordstrand pickups. bass gear 85 Doug West, Dan Van Reizen, Randall Smith and Jim Aschow pose for their “cover shot.”

Warwick WA series You can never have too much Moog. heads and WCA series enclosures.

Prat Basses continue to impress.

60 years of P-bass glory. ZT enters the bass lunchbox market. Ashdown has a couple all-tube fliptops of their own.

SWR was quite happy with their BGM presentation.

Rocco Prestia and Vic Serbe, together at last.

Pat Wilkins goes all out Sgt. Peppers on us.

Wyn Guitars was back, and even more Three award winners in one booth! impressive! Pete Skjold, Carey Nordstrand and Roger Baer. The NAMM Show floor on a light day.

Jimmy Coppolo let’s his basses do the speaking for him.

The Ernie Ball Game Changer.

Ritter’s finishes continue to amaze!

Fbass Alain Caron classic series. The new Fender Rumble series heads.

bass 88 gear Bobby shows us the new Peavey Rudy Sarzo bass. Carvin’s lightweight BX250.

Damien Erskine plays his signature series Skjold.

Okay, GK, you can stop making ever-larger MB Series combos. Tom’s pinky does have it’s limits!

Ibanez now sports a killer 2x10 wedge in the Promethean line.

This Skjold 4-string left us with our jaws on the floor. The incomprable Michael Manring with his Zon Hyperbass.

TC’s booth is always a busy spot.

The Hartke Kilo lines!

Hartke nabs another bass hero, Billy Sheehan!

Graham Henman has a new builder, the legendary Rick Turner!

Spector. Nuff said.... Jens Ritter takes aim!

Dan Elliot and Tom Bowlus check out the Kala Solid Body U-bass.

The always cool and classy Kevin Walker lays it down on Yves Carbone with a many stringed Jerzy Drozd bass. his Brubaker bass.

Sebastien Aquilina and his Shelby inspired bass. GK presents the Little Bear, Momma Bear and Poppa Bear of the MB series lineup. The best of the old and the best of the new, the Moog Taurus III pedals!

Jeff Genzler and Tom Bowlus discuss the hot new Streamliner 900.

DR Strings had a lot going on.

Tom Petersson enjoyed the debut of his new signature model from Mike Lull.

Hugh McDonald also seemed to enjoy it...

Eden’s new WTDI pedal, Markbass offered up yet another killer bass head, the TTE 500.

More Spector... pretty colors.....

Genz-Benz packed a one-two punch with the Streamliner heads.....

..... and the Shuttle Max 9.2.

Like a stealth fighter jet, the Basswitch IQ DI created quite a stir. 2011 Winter NAMM

r

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b g Awards Gallien-Krueger By Tom Bowlus

The 2011 Winter NAMM Show was a revival of sorts. The economy was moving forward (not a ton, but it was moving forward), and in general, spirits were high. We saw plenty new and worthy product offerings which reflected this optimism, but the observant reader will notice that we are giving out fewer show awards than we have in the past. This is not due to a lack of worthy candidates. Rather, it is a decision on the part of the BGM staff to trim down the number of awards and to focus on the true standouts of the show. With that in mind, here are the six products which really knocked our socks off and earned the Bass Gear Magazine 2011 Winter NAMM Show Awards:

Gallien-Krueger – MB800 Bass Head GK leads off a group of three repeat BGM NAMM Show Award winners. Having recently earned some acrylic for the MB Fusion (a head which has found its way into the gig rigs of multiple staffers) GK dropped a bomb on the micro head market with the MB800. The MB Fusion and MB500 are already top contenders in this field, but the MB800 ups the ante to 800 watts (at 4 ohms) and introduces illuminated Carvin controls with indicators for when you are clipping the input, and need to engage the -10dB switch, or for when you are hitting the rails and need to engage the limiter. Oh, and it’s under 5 lbs, and under $700! Very slick, very small, very loud, and all GK. www.gallien.com

Carvin – SB Series Basses I can’t stress enough how impressive Carvin has been over these past several years. This is not to say that they haven’t been impressive in the past or that they have not been a major player for decades. Rather, it is that despite their long and distinguished heritage – and a knack for bringing top tier products to the market at near entry-level prices – Carvin is still upping their game not only when it comes to amps, but also basses. Sekou Bunch worked with the Kiesel family to develop a unique – but true to function – take on the Jazz Bass. The SB series includes the 4- string and 5-string SB4000 and SB5000, and more recently the chambered-body versions, called the SB4001 and SB5001. As always, Carvin offers an amazing number of options, and you can customize to your heart’s content. But what is really amazing, is that in a world of $3k+ Jazz-inspired basses, Carvin is going toe-to-toe with the best in the biz at prices starting under $1k! Whether you have tried Carvin Ampeg basses in the past or not, the new SB’s should be required playing. www.carvinguitars.om bass 94 gear Ampeg – Portaflex Heads and Cabs Ampeg continues their relentless onslaught of hella cool bass gear. They’ve expanded the Heritage series to include a B-15, but at 4 grand and limited production, most players won’t get to experience the wonder and the joy. This doesn’t mean that the kind folk at Ampeg did not want to spread the fliptop love around a bit more! Far from it. They also introduced the new Portaflex line, featuring two heads (PF-350 and PF-500) and two cabs (PF-210HE and PF-115HE). Either head can be mated to either cab, and they do store upside-down in true fliptop fashion. The 350-watt PF-350 features the Micro-VR preamp, and the PF-500 has a similar preamp and feature set to that of the SVT-7Pro. The sealed enclosures are new designs which do a great job of copping both vintage and modern vibes (variable tweeters, ftw). In case y’all haven’t noticed, Ampeg is back, in a big way! www.ampeg.com

Skjold Design Guitar – Skjoldslayer Basses Pete Skjold has been quietly sliding his way into the ranks of the top custom bass Skjold Design Guitar luthiers in the world, and for good reason. This year, Pete introduced the new Skjoldslayer model, which joins the ranks of his Standard ’92, Offset ’92, Whaleback and Lion’s Pride models (in addition to several signature model basses). Any of these models would be deserving of this award, and any model can be configured with a variety of pickups, preamps, finishes, and stunning wood choices (including some crazy knobs and even tuning pegs from THG Knobs). The Skjoldslayer model is an adaptation of his Offset ’92 model, but with its own curves and a very different vibe. Being the latest offering, these basses showed off some of Pete’s most recent developments. The new satin and “estate” finishes nicely complement the high- gloss option Skjold has offered for years. Every bass in the booth was a work of art and they played like buttah. www.skjolddesign.com

MXR – M87 Bass Compressor Pedal “Wait a minute… first you say that you are narrowing down the number of NAMM Show Awards you’re going to give, and then you use one of these precious few on a compressor pedal?!?” You betcha! But this isn’t just any compressor pedal. This is the compressor pedal we all wanted when we first decided to give compression a try. It has all the essential controls you’ll find in a rackmount unit: attack, release, ratio, input gain, output gain. It has that upper-class defining pedal “must have,” MXR true bypass. And it has these super cool LEDs which let you know just how much squashin’ is going on. That is a nice feature set, and it comes in a durable, compact, and affordable package. This would all be meaningless, though, if it sounded like crap. Fortunately, it does not. In fact, the M87 excelled at sounding obvious when you wanted obvious compression, and sounding non-existent when you did not. Game, set, match. www.jimdunlop.com

Michael Pope Design – Flex Core Onboard Bass Preamp In the world of bass preamps, the name Michael Pope carries high esteem. His work with Fodera established Michael as a guru of high-end onboard bass preamps. When he branched out and introduced the MPP-1 and MPP-2 rackmount preamps, a whole new group of players were introduced to his EQ magic. Now, Michael is casting his net even wider with his first non-OEM onboard bass preamp system, the Flex Core line. Not content to merely throw his hat into a fairly competitive ring, the Flex Core preamp system is designed not only for sonic fidelity, but also for ease of installation/customization. The system is (no surprise) very flexible, and can be configured for nearly any electronics setup imaginable. The online configuration tool is very handy. All required connections are solderless, allowing even the Michael Pope Design neophyte to perform their own preamp upgrade without fear. www.michaelpopedesign.com bass gear 95 From The Bench By Tom Lees

magnitude, which spans from the maximum positive to maximum The Long Winded and negative (V peak-peak). Overly Detailed However, we can also look at the waveform another way, which we typically refer to as the “rms” value of the signal. This stands for “root Explanation of mean square” and it’s basically a statistical measure of the magnitude of Amplifier Power the signal. Huh? For all you math-heads out there, we are computing the quadratic mean by taking the square root of the mean of the squares of Rating the values we are measuring at various points within a cycle.

Talking about amplifier power rating is like talking to your best friend’s For you non-math-heads out there, we are really interested in how much ex-girlfriend as to why they broke up. You ask a simple question, “Why work this wave can accomplish over time. Peak voltages are not very did you guys breakup?” She answers, “It’s complicated.” You immediately useful in that regard, because a peak tells us nothing about the think yourself, “Well, just how complicated can it really be?” So you make remainder of the signal. The rms value gives us a way to measure the a foolish mistake. You make the simple statement, “Explain anyway.” So amount of work that can be done by any arbitrary signal. she does… and the more she talks, the less you want to listen, and the more you realize, it really is complicated. With that background, let’s get back on topic. I start with a question, “When is a watt really not a watt?” The answer is that it is not. A watt is Okay, before we get started, please note that I understand that an a watt no matter what… “What? That cannot possibly be, because we all amplifier is not an ex-girlfriend… but sometimes it may feel like one. know the undeniable truth that tube watts are louder than solid state watts, right?” … Uh… no. Let’s start with some basic background or “Audio 101” information that will set the stage for a discussion that we will come back to later on. Take First, I will use some trickeration to prove my argument. I want you all to a look at a wave. Although deceptively simple, we can characterize at see that there is nothing up my sleeve. Ready? The watt is a standard least four different measurements from this signal. unit of power and represents a measure of energy per unit of time. For our purposes, power is the product of the current and voltage produced by the output stage of our amplifier. V peak V peak-peak V rms P = V*I (W) (Equation 1)

From Ohm’s law, we also know that power is the ratio of the square of the output voltage to the load. V 2 P = (W) (Equation 2) V peak R

We can talk about the signal in terms of the maximum magnitude going “If you are now asking yourself why upward, i.e., the positive going peak (Vpeak) from a centerline. We can also talk about the signal in terms of the maximum negative magnitude we mess around with power and watts going downward, i.e., the negative going peak (V - peak). Notably, not all when we can specify gain, then you signals are symmetric. As such, Vpeak and V - peak may not have the may actually still be awake.” same (absolute value) magnitude. Still further, we can talk about the

bass 96 gear Done… Did you catch the slight of hand behind my trickeration? The amplifier is not affected by changes in temperature or any other scandal is that I did not provide a “secret” formula for computing tube environmental conditions, and further exhibits stability over long periods amp power – because it does not exist. That is right, both tube and solid of time. state play by the same rules for computing power. If you are now asking yourself why we mess around with power and Enough joking. In my opinion, we are really talking about the cart, and watts when we can specify gain, then you may actually still be awake. we have not even looked at the horse, so let’s go back to the front of the Seems like a natural question. The problem is, we don’t really live in an amp and work ourselves through. The signal that comes out of our bass ideal world. Let me give you an example to demonstrate. Let’s say I’m is relatively small and weak. The purpose of an amplifier is to… well… playing a nice soft passage that really shows off my finger finesse. Let’s amplify our signal. In this regard, one characteristic of amplification that also assume that I’m using a passive bass and the peak voltage of my we should look at first is gain. signal is approximately 40 mVrms. Let’s also assume that I have an amplifier with a gain of 50dB, which is not out of the question. In basic terms, we can think of our amplifier as a black box. We put in a signal having a level of X, and expect to get out that signal at a level of Y. Looking back at our schematic for our perfect amplifier and using the formulas above, we see that a gain of 50dB results in a voltage gain of approximately 316. Thus, our amplifier amplifies our bass signal to a level Current Current of approximately 12.64 Vrms. A typical bass amp is happy to provide that In Out Perfect Amplifier voltage, sweet. Note that I chose to use the rms value, and not the peak Voltage or peak to peak, because I am interested in how much work this amp will Voltage Output In Gain = Out be able to perform. Input Let’s take this further and assume that we want to know how much output power the amplifier is producing into a purely resistive 4 ohm Voltage Out Voltage Amplifier Gain (Av) = (Equation 3) load. From Equation 1: Voltage In 2 P = 1 2 .6 4 = 39.9W 4 Current Gain (Ai) = Current Out (Equation 4) Current In Now, let’s slap out a funky line that generates an input signal that has a peak of approximately 1.0 Vrms (again, not unreasonable) on the same Power Gain (Ap) = Av X Ai (Equation 5) ideal amplifier with a gain of 50dB. “Houston, we have a problem!” Recall that the voltage gain corresponding to 50dB is 316. As such, our amplifier needs to be capable of generating an output signal of 316 Vrms. We are It is often useful in audio to describe gain in terms of Decibels (dB). The likely to hit the practical limit of voltage amplification long before Decibel is just a fancy and convenient way to express gain in logarithmic reaching 316 Vrms. Let’s take this further to better clarify the problem. terms. When describing gain in Decibels, a positive gain value represents Assuming that we can somehow output a 316 Vrms signal, how much an increase in the output level compared to the input level, and a power is that into our 4-ohm load? negative value represents a loss within the amplifier relative to the input 2 level. If you have been out of school for a while, the below equations may 316 P = 4 = 24,964 W bring back terrifying memories from 12th grade math. Did I read that right? Almost 25,000 W. Well, I did say their amplifier was Voltage Gain (dB) = 20 log (Av) (Equation 6) “ideal.”

Current Gain (dB) = 20 log (Ai) (Equation 7) “Thus, the design of the power supply can Power Gain (dB) = 10 log (Ap) (Equation 8) have a big impact upon how the amplifier In our ideal situation, the amplifier gain would remain constant for performs, especially when operating around varying levels of our bass signal. We haven’t yet talked about frequencies, so let’s assume that our perfect amplifier is not affected by the limits of the amplifier in response to a frequency. Signals of all frequencies are amplified by the same amount of gain. Let’s go even one crazy step further and suggest that our ideal reactive load.”

bass gear 97 Let’s make this a little more complicated. A typical bass amplifier is not a From our above-example, an exemplary 500-watt amp may have +/- 63 single amplifier. In fact, it is a combination of one or more small signal volt rails, and may be able to amplify a signal to approximately 45 Vrms. amplifiers and a large signal amplifier. We generally think of this as the Now, assume that we are plugged in to a real speaker cabinet having a preamp and power amp sections. However, even within the preamp, we nominal 4 ohm rating. Further, assume that at a certain frequency, the can have multiple small signal voltage amplifiers and the problems impedance drops to 2.6 ohm. To amplify a signal into that 2.6 ohm load described above for voltage gain apply to each stage in the amplifier cleanly, our amp will be required to deliver approximately 780 watts. design. Since the output voltage is limited by a fixed rail, we can see from our equations for power [P=V*I (power = voltage times current)] that the amplifier must make up that additional power by providing more current. Positive Steady State Roll At some point, the amp will run out of the ability to produce current. Thus, the design of the power supply can have a big impact upon how the amplifier performs, especially when operating around the limits of the amplifier in response to a reactive load.

If you are keeping score, we have seen that gain, transient response and steady-state response are each telling of an aspect of amplifier performance. However, each, on its own, is insufficient to completely Negative Steady State Roll characterize amplifier performance. I wish that we could stop there. However, we have yet to address compression, limiting, variation in wall voltage, perception of loudness and other psychoacoustic effects, speaker Let’s bring ourselves back to reality. To do so, let’s add the concept of efficiency, sound pressure levels and frequency, and a host of other output rails. The output rails define the continuous maximum magnitude factors. These will be topics discussed in future From the Bench that the amplifier will allow the signal to swing between without causing installments. significant distortion in the signal. As noted in the graph above, a first cycle of the signal does not hit the rail, so it is amplified normally. The Until then, I hope you all use this as a source of information, but are not second cycle hits the rails, but does not exceed them, and is also agonizing over amplifiers. Pick up that instrument and make music. At amplified properly. The third cycle however, would push beyond the rail the end of the day, the average person in that bar, concert hall, or level. However, the rail sets the limit, so the signal is cut off, causing wherever you are playing, is not going to know or care how much power distortion. your amp can put out. They will care if you do not lay down that groove.

“Wait, that makes measuring amps easy.” If we know the rail, we use Ohm’s law to figure out the maximum power for a given load, right? An amp that produces 500 watts into a 4 ohm load must be able to produce a sinusoid signal of about 45 Vrms; thus, the rails should sit at about +/- 63 Volts. To understand the math, refer back to the introductory paragraph on peak compared to rms measurements. An amp that produces 1,000 watts into 4 ohms must be able to produce a sinusoid of approximately 63 Vrms, and thus must have +/-90 volt rails. “Wow, that is easy!”

Well, no it is not. It is a bit more complicated. First off, certain amplifiers are capable of actually amplifying a signal beyond the steady state rail for brief periods of time (transients). As we discussed above, power is the ratio of the square of the output voltage (in rms) to the load. Up till now, we have assumed that our load is constant and purely resistive. That makes the math easy. However, musicians do not plug our amps into purely non-inductive resistive loads. Rather, we connect our amps to speakers, which are complex in and of themselves. For instance, the resistance of a speaker can vary as a function of frequency. So, that 4- ohm speaker rating is merely a “nominal” rating when we are talking about real-life situations.

bass 98 gear bass gear 99 A Closer Look By Tom Lees

TC Electronic Active Power Management

When looking at amplifier performance, we instinctively want to look at the power output capability. The manufacturer’s power specification is a valuable measure. However, in many cases, the power output measurement is often an incomplete statement of power amplifier performance. Unfortunately, we are conditioned into thinking that larger numbers equate to louder amplifiers. TC Electronic’s Active Power Management ™ may just change the way you think about measured output Fig. A Blue Trace RH450 , Red Trace Brand X power.

One of the characteristics of bass guitar that makes the tone of the instrument so appealing is that the instrument does not… and cannot… put out steady amplitude, pure sine waves. To the contrary, long, heavy vibrating strings are dynamic. That means that the output of the bass while a performer is playing will vary over time, from large amplitudes to smaller amplitudes, as the signal decays. As such, we should be as concerned about how an amplifier performs over time, and how the amplifier responds to signals that decay, or are otherwise at less than the amplitude required to cause full output power. Fig. B Blue Trace RH450, Red Trace Brand X , 20dB Down Let’s cut to the chase. In simple terms, Active Power Management is an adaptive technology built into the TC Electronic RH450 that actively reacts to the applied signal. As the stage begins to reach towards the maximum capabilities of the amplifier, the Active Power Management begins to compress the signal peaks, then limit the signal peaks to prevent hard, ugly overload.

“Wait, don’t many amplifiers have a limiter to prevent overload?” You bet. However, like many things in life, the devil is in the details. What appears to set the Active Power Management technology apart is a paradigm shift in thinking. Fig. C Blue Trace RH450 , Red Trace Brand X , 15dB Down

bass 100 gear Many limiters are designed as a protection device. That is, the job of the limiter is to stay out of the way, and only kick in to prevent amplifier overload. However, it appears that the Active Power Management technology takes a different perspective, and accepts that the compressor/limiter will work as an integral part of the sound of the amplifier to define a non- linear gain characteristic. By embracing compression as part of the tone of the amplifier, the RH450 is able to provide relatively more gain to lower-level signals compared to traditional amplifiers that strive to be linear, thus increasing the apparent loudness of the amplifier when looking at the Fig D Blue Trace RH450 , Red Trace Brand X , 10dB Down envelope of the signal over time.

Enough talk, let’s see it in action! As seen in our bench tests, the RH450 is incapable of producing bench-measurable 450 watts continuous into a 4-ohm load. However, TC claims that the RH450 is as loud as a 450-watt amp. To examine the veracity of the claim, I set up a simple test.

First, I applied a 400 mVrms, 200Hz sine wave to the RH450, and adjusted the gain to produce maximum output without clipping. I then took another amplifier (Brand X), which is capable of producing well over 450 watts, and applied the Fig. E Blue Trace RH450 , Red Trace Brand X , 5dB Down same test signal. This time, I adjusted the Brand X amplifier to produce 450 watts for the same input signal. To be fair, I adjusted the amps to approximately the same level of THD+N, and connected each amplifier up to a 4-ohm, non-reactive load.

I also created a set of test signals. Each test signal is defined by an envelope that comprises a 200Hz sine wave having an initial transient amplitude at full output (calibrated to 400 mVrms in this test) followed by 200 ms duration of reduced amplitude. The test signals differed in that the 200 ms duration is 20dB, 15dB, 10dB, 5dB, or 2.5dB down from the transient for test signals 1-5 respectively. Fig. F Blue Trace RH450 , Red Trace Brand X , 2.5dB Down

In Fig. A , steady state maximum output signals are illustrated for the RH450 and the Brand X amplifier. The RH450 output is illustrated in blue. This signal is approximately 31 Vrms into a 4- ohm load, or approximately 240 watts continuous output. The red trace is the Brand X amplifier, which was adjusted to approximately just over 42 Vrms into 4 ohms, or close to 450 watts.

With reference to Fig. B , the 20dB down dynamic response is illustrated for both amps. As illustrated in the transient peak Fig. G Blue Trace RH450, Red Trace Brand X , Actual Bass Sample bass gear 101 region, the RH450 (in Blue) does not deliver the portion that is 5dB down. For instance, the based upon their observation of tube amplifier maximum levels that Brand X does (in Red). Brand X amp output was approximately 125.5 performance, and in many ways, their analogy This should not come as a surprise. However, watts at time 2.40 on the above scale, is fitting. note that initially following the transient, the compared to approximately 128 watts of the RH450 levels mirror the levels of the Brand X RH450. However, I do not think the comparison to amplifier. Moreover, as the compressor of the tubes should overshadow what I take as being RH450 releases, the signal towards the end of With reference to Fig. F , the 2.5dB down a large accomplishment. TC has managed to the 200 ms burst is actually greater for the dynamic response is illustrated for both amps. take a 250-watt amplifier and turn it into a RH450 compared to Brand X. For instance, the Here, the RH450 finally runs out of gas, and is product that can keep up with and outpace an Brand X amp output was approximately 4.5 unable to keep up with the Brand X amplifier amp twice its power rating – under certain watts at time 2.40 on the above scale, for the lower-amplitude signal portion that is conditions. compared to approximately 12.5 watts of the 2.5dB down. For instance, the Brand X amp RH450. output was approximately 214.2 watts at time Perception is subjective, and the effects of the 2.40 on the above scale, compared to Active Power Management are largely With reference to Fig. C , the 15dB down approximately 175.7 watts of the RH450. dependent upon the envelope of the bass dynamic response is illustrated for both amps. signal applied to the amplifier. So, will this amp As illustrated in the transient peak region OK, enough theory, let’s throw an actual bass feel like a conventional 450-watt amp? That is again, the RH450 (in blue) fails to deliver the signal at the RH450. Under conditions of an up to you to decide. But if it does, you are not same maximum levels that Brand X does (in actual bass signal, the RH450 again fails to being fooled. You are experiencing Active Red). This by now, should be familiar. However, produce transient peaks as strong as the Brand Power Management doing what it was the RH450 does manage to out gain the Brand X amp. However, once the peak transients of designed to do. X amplifier for the lower-amplitude signal the signal pass, RH450 clearly amplifies the portion that is 15dB down. For instance, the envelope of the bass signal with greater gain When our interest peaks in an amplifier, it is Brand X amp output was approximately 13.3 than the Brand X amplifier, as illustrated in Fig. common practice to turn to amplifier ratings. watts at time 2.40 on the above scale, G, where the RH450 is in Blue and the Brand X Amplifier ratings are meant to succinctly compared to approximately 31.6 watts of the amp is in Red. summarize information that characterizes RH450. amplifier performance. However, the Conclusion convenience of condensing an amplifier’s With reference to Fig. D , the 10dB down Our ears/brain connection does not generally performance can deceive us into dynamic response is illustrated for both amps. process information based upon instantaneous misunderstanding the true nature of an As illustrated in the transient region yet again, levels. Rather, our ears/brain sense of amplifier. Active Power Management is a the RH450 (in blue) fails to deliver the same perception averages out the information that technology that, on paper, may result in an maximum levels that Brand X does (in Red). we take in during a period of time. From our unsatisfying continuous power measurement. However, the RH450 manages to out gain the bench tests, it appeared that the RH450 could However, in our lab tests, this technology Brand X amplifier for the lower-amplitude not produce large instantaneous peaks, and delivers the goods under the appropriate signal portion that is 10dB down. For instance, these additional tests bear that conclusion out. circumstances. Don’t get hung up on the the Brand X amp output was approximately 41 However, the real story here is the ability of numbers, use your ears to decide if this watts at time 2.40 on the above scale, this amp to handle the envelope of the bass technology is right for you. There is no real compared to approximately 73.2 watts of the signal and to process that envelope in a scandal here folks, just good engineering. RH450. manner that “feels” as big as a 450-watt amp. Based upon our numbers, under certain With reference to Fig. E , the 5dB down dynamic circumstances, the RH450 “feels” bigger than a response is illustrated for both amps. As 450-watt amp. illustrated in the transient peak region again, the RH450 (in blue) fails to deliver the same The Active Power Management technology maximum levels that Brand X does (in Red), implemented in the RH450 appears to be a but manages to keep up with the Brand X legitimate, albeit different, approach to amplifier for the lower-amplitude signal amplification. TC claims that this approach was

bass 102 gear For more information about MHOF, and howyou may also contribute to this important program, please visit their website at http://www.mhopus.org/.

bass gear 103 In The Doghouse By Chris Fitzgerald

somebody invents the piece of gear that - Warm, natural, and articulate preamps Headway fills the function I wanted, but I end up - Small and light enough to fit in the EDB-1 using it for something else entirely than pocket of a bass bag what I envisioned at first. The Headway - Choice of XLR or 1/4” inputs on the EDB-1 falls into this last category. second channel Every so often, I find I have a specific - Phantom power on the second channel, musical application in mind and think, “I In this case, the specific application I had in case the mic was a condenser wish somebody would invent a piece of in mind was a device that would blend - Ground lift for sending to the main PA gear that would do this.” Sometimes, I the signals from a mic and a pickup - High pass filter (more about this later) never see that piece of gear, and it together to allow me to amplify a double remains a “what if?” thought in the back bass through a stage amp. The device I Such a device, I reasoned, would enable of my mind. Other times, somebody does had in mind would have the following me to mix a mic and a pickup into invent the piece of gear, and it either features: virtually any amplifier I happened to be does exactly what I had hoped perfectly, - 2 channels with independent volume using, whether it be my own amp for gigs or it turns out to be a complete controls around town, or whatever backline I was disappointment. Still other times, - More than 3 bands of EQ supplied when traveling. Understandably, when I saw the specs of the Headway EDB-1 and started hearing the first reports coming in from early users, I was extremely interested in trying one out.

Once I had the unit in hand, I found that it did indeed do everything I was hoping for, but there was one small thing keeping me from using the unit as I intended; something that had nothing at all to do with any drawback with the unit itself. My regular amp, the PJB Super Flightcase, needs to be sitting on the floor/stage in order to take advantage of its design for bass response. In my experience, mixing a mic and a pickup only really works if the speaker can be placed in such a way so that it is “invisible” to the mic – which means that the speaker needs to be either above the level of the mic, in front of it, or both to be effective and reduce the risk of feedback issues. This obviously wasn’t what the Flightcase was designed for, so I feared that the Headway, which had

bass 104 gear exactly the feature set I was hoping for bright for my taste with the double bass. nearly as strong a signal as the pickup in and sounds great, would be superfluous, But in boomy and muddy rooms, that channel 1. in spite of all the great features. clarity is more than worth the price of admission, and a valuable tool to have in If I were ever to use the EDB-1 for As it turns out, I was wrong, but not in a the gig bag. blending in a live scenario as my one and way I would have expected. While I found only means of amplification, I would do it that I wasn’t able to use the Headway Second, the Headway unit shines is as a in the following way: take a powered full- unit to blend a mic and pickup through portable preamp that can be used to get a range speaker (like a powered PA my amp (it does function beautifully as a good sound out of a substandard amp of speaker) or a speaker cabinet that can be blender in other configurations, however the sort that traveling bassists get stuck mounted on a pole so as to get it up and – more on this later), it still serves as a with from time to time. At the university over my shoulder, and send the blended wonderful Swiss army knife type of where I teach, the bass amps range from signal to the elevated speaker. I used to device that is incredibly useful, even “basically okay, but not great” to “truly do something similar with an Acoustic without the blending capability. First, it is awful for double bass, but better than no Image Focus head and an EA VL-208 useful is as another preamp voicing for amp.” In all cases with amps of this type cabinet, and the results were really any rig that for whatever reason isn’t and range, I was able to dial in a much superb. The sound was a little more airy getting the right sound in a particular better sound with the EDB-1 as the front and ambient than what I have now, and a room or setting. I love the dark warmth end than I was able to get using the little more prone to wolf tones due to the and thickness of the PJB amp in about 8 preamp of the amp itself. This has led me mic (see my previous articles in the first rooms out of 10 that I play. In rooms that to use the Headway pre along with an old three issues of BGM for details), but worth are very reflective and boomy, however, it Polytone for all but the most important it if you don’t mind the schlep (which was can be a bit too dark and undefined, and university performances, and has allowed about twice as complicated than what I that warmth and thickness turns directly me to get away with a lot less schlepping currently carry). In the end, the issue of to mud, leaving me with very few options of heavy gear when I don’t need my “to blend, or not to blend?” is always a other than to cut a ton of bass and absolute “A Team” gear to fulfill the choice, and it’s nice to have so many muddle along with a thinner sound than I function of the performance, but still options these days, isn’t it? normally like. want to sound good. For me, this function alone makes the unit worth the price. In conclusion, the EDB-1 is a great multi- Enter the EDB-1. I won’t pretend to purpose tool to have in the toolbox, understand or care about the tech-speak As a blender – the original function I especially for those who occasionally play that gets thrown around about “class-A foresaw when I first heard of the unit – in boomy rooms with their own amps or inputs with two FET stages” or “amplifies the EDB-1 does exactly what it’s supposed who find themselves having to use the upper partials like a tube amp,” but I to and sounds good doing. While I haven’t various house amps on the road. With it, will say that the voicing of the Headway used it this way in a performance because you can find a decent sound with just preamp is very clean and hi-fi sounding, of the issues I described earlier, I have about any halfway decent amp and carry with a clarity of presence in the mids that used it to send a blended signal to the that capability with you wherever you go. isn’t there on many bass amps. For many front of house in a boomy room, and the For those who blend a mic and a pickup rooms, I don’t need this or even really results (by all accounts) were stellar from and have the physical logistics of that want it (in which case I can dial it back on out front – clear, detailed, natural, and covered, the unit will allow a lot of the EQ). But for boomy rooms, this articulate. I took the line out into my amp options, like powered PA speakers to voicing is a godsend, and it allows me to and kept it far lower than I normally become a possibility that may not have cut through a mix and hear myself in a would have in order to avoid feedback. been practical before. Well worth the way that I couldn’t do with the regular While I would like to have had more stage price (MSRP $349, street prices found preamp voicing. It makes the mids and volume in that instance, everything online between $290 and $320 as of this highs more articulate, and seems to put worked out just fine. I have also plugged writing). A hearty two thumbs up! some extra focused center in the sound the Headway unit into a powered monitor that wasn’t there before. Like any color, it in my music room at home and gotten has its strengths and weaknesses, and in very usable results, although I notice that very dry rooms, the sound can be a bit the output of the mic in channel 2 is not

bass gear 105 Philthy Talk By Phil Maneri

Rickenbacker There are two truss rods in those instruments, the past had dug out a cavern below the truss each a piece of thin bar steel folded back on rod nuts, presumably to allow tool access for Truss Rod itself with a threaded end sticking out about an the bent rods, instead of bending them back inch from where the folded back portion where they belonged. Then they tried to make Adventure stopped just above it. The nut tightened down the aluminum piece stable by digging holes in to a slab of aluminum shared by both rods that the cheeks of the truss rod routes and burying Winter thawed into spring in Ohio early in 1977 served as a backing plate for the folded-back shims in there in an unsuccessful attempt to and my hormones rose seeing the Star Stowe end to compress up against when screwed freeze the mechanism and get the rods to bite centerfold in Playboy early that year. All of my down from the front. The tension on the bar again. Right idea, wrong execution. Our job favorite things were staring at me. That increased with screwing down to the was to make it all work and play as good as or fantastic Rickenbacker 4001 bass in Azureglow aluminum block, causing the top of the rod to better than new. was just to much for a 15-year old budding bass bow, thus pushing the neck back against string player. The most important bass players to me tension. They live in a channel routed through Several things need to happen to accomplish during that time wore Rick basses, Geddy Lee, the neck under the fingerboard that allows the that. First, I removed the rods and Chris Squire, and Mike Rutherford. Thanks to rods to be removed and replaced, even after straightened them up in a vice. Then, I cleaned Star, my preoccupation with the Rick 4001 construction, without removing the up the threading with taps and grease. I filled started concurrent with the onset of puberty. fingerboard or routing. in the cheeks of the peghead rod route with wood to make them stable and allow for me to Like many preoccupations in early life, the The core of the problem with these necks lie in later cut fresh notches for the new metal block. wanting was far more satisfying than the the many issues with these rods. Over time, We discussed at length how to deal with the having. I love Rick 4001s. I hate Rick 4001s. the aluminum block deteriorates as the nuts extra wood removed below the rods and opted Over the years I’ve bought and sold a whole screw tighter and tighter down onto it, causing to do nothing, even though the neck became mess of them never really bonding with them holes to bore into the aluminum, rather than like I did with early ‘60s P-Basses. What I the rod to tighten up and back-bow the neck. “wanted” didn’t link up with the voice I The string tension is lost in the aluminum. The “needed.” Those basses were cantankerous, threaded portions of the rod push downward clunky and really bright-sounding instruments into the floor of the rod channel over time, that looked way better in photos than they making it almost impossible to turn with any performed on stage for me. The hard maple kind of tool. The pitching downward gets bodies and necks couldn’t be warmed by the worse still as the aluminum block rocks super soft, thick Pau Ferro fingerboards, forward from the pressure pushing on the especially with how much lacquer they gunked backside of the block. All of these things on them. The dual truss rod system buried in release any tension in the neck that would the early neck-through construction could oppose string tension, and the whole neck never really hold back the tension of the pitches forward under that tension, making it Rotosounds or Labella flatwounds that bow upwards and become impossible to play. sounded the best on them. Over the years, they would bow and bow, and the truss rod Recently, an original owner brought his ‘74 Rick system couldn’t hold off the eventual warps in 4001 into the shop with these problems. The the super thin necks. frets were original and worn out. Someone in The patient, post-surgery.

bass 106 gear extremely thin there because of what had to reset the spot where they work from. So I been removed. Intervention was risky, given pulled the frets, striped the lacquer from the the dimensions and curves there. It was fingerboard without damaging the binding or possible to cut through the neck altogether the remainder of the finish, and exposed fresh while trying to fit in replacement wood. That wood for leveling. Using planes and sanding broken peghead could cause more problems bars I flattened the neck so the truss rods, than we were trying to solve. It had lived that when in use, will back-bow the neck, or leave way a long time, the owner said. Sometimes, relief, as needed. I then refretted as usual with it’s best to leave well enough alone. clean tight slots so there is no fret compression, but no slack either. I reshot the lacquer on the What has to happen after that is to create a fingerboard, cleaned everything up and set it better structure for the stock rods to rest up for the client. Now, we have a perfectly against when they do their work. The playing Rick 4001 that can sit flat under string aluminum is a terrible material to use for that tension or be set up however your taste in relief kind of tension. It crumbles over time and the might be. tension of the rod releases and they stop working. I choose bar steel, like the rods The key to the whole thing is to understand themselves, only bigger and thicker. I then where the tensions from the strings tuned up open a channel wider than the peghead truss to pitch are being absorbed into and nailing rod route so the bar steel can key into the wood down everything that moves around, releasing and freeze it from falling forward or backward that tension. The idea is to have a fingerboard or moving at all. With some precision that under no string tension can be perfectly measurement and fancy footwork on a drill flat, capable of moving into a backbow, and press, I drilled a pair of holes that don’t skew then can return to perfectly flat under full the rods or rip the threads or go to wide as to string tension. The modified truss rod structure not hold the tension. With a bit of wiggle and a solid refret do just that. wiggle, the whole thing falls in place and the rods work perfectly again. After everything is all buttoned up, it’s hard to tell anything has changed save for a refret over When a neck sits warped like that for as long as the binding rather than inside it. Had I been this one had it, never really straightens out able to play a Rick like this back in the ‘70s I with the truss rod, even without string tension. might have just kept them all. At least I’d have As soon as you add string tension, you are the bass, if not the girl. sunk. But the rods do work now; I just needed

Ironically, at the same time that I was working on the ‘74 Rick, another customer brought in this ‘73, which, to my surprise, had the original truss rods in good working order.

bass gear 107 Upright Perspective By Arnold Schnitzer

The NUT: The nut should be made of a durable strings may need to have two different nuts, hard, dense wood – generally ebony. The because the diameters are so different. In Getting Your grain direction of the wood is perpendicular this case, gluing the nut down obviously does to the grain of the fingerboard. For most not make sense. Bass Playing the basses, the width between string centers is set at 10mm. Some luthiers like to graduate Extended, or “false” nut: Sometimes a nut is Way You Want this spacing, putting more space between the fitted for the purpose of shortening the Part III - The lower strings than between the higher ones. vibrating string length of a bass. A piece of (I am not a fan of this method, as I believe the fingerboard is removed, and an extra- Bridge and Nut that the player’s fingers are most long nut is installed. Care should be taken as comfortable with constant spacing from this will move all the notes down onto the The bridge and nut serve two important center to center.) The slots should be cut to bass’ body, unless the bridge is moved mechanical functions; they locate the strings within about a business card’s thickness of upward the same amount as the nut is in relation to the bass’ neck and body, and the fingerboard, and should angle down to extended. Extended nuts can be made either they provide an end point for the vibration of deliver a straight pull to each respective in the shape of a “T,” or as a simple rectangle. the strings. Both are crucial to the efficient tuner shaft. Each slot should be only a tiny bit The rectangular style is preferred by some, and ergonomic set-up of a bass. wider than the respective string, and the because many bass players reference the string should sit 1/2 to 3/4 of its diameter into lower positions by gently touching the nut The way the nut and bridge are configured the slot. The intonation point (where the nut with the first finger of the left hand, and the greatly affect a bass’ playability and sound. If and fingerboard meet) must be the highest rectangular shape maintains this reference the nut slots are cut too high, the lower spot of the slot, or an open string buzz may point. When fitting an extended nut, it is positions of the bass will be difficult to finger result. Gut strings require slightly higher nut crucial to shape the long string grooves with with the left hand, and those notes will lack slots, as these strings vibrate with more a constant downward curve toward the tuner “ring.” If the slots are cut too low, the open amplitude. shafts, or buzzing will occur. strings will buzz or rattle. If the bridge is too high, the entire range of the bass may be There is a minor controversy over whether to The BRIDGE: Bass bridges are made from difficult to play, and it may sound boomy and glue the nut in place. When it is glued down, tight-grained, quarter-sawn maple, usually difficult to control. Conversely, if the bridge is it is stable, and cannot be accidentally grown in high altitude regions of Europe. too low, the strings may rattle all over the bumped around, or slid out of place when Maple possesses all the qualities needed for fingerboard, and the bass will lose much of changing strings. But removing a well-glued the tasks of holding the strings securely in its acoustic voice. A bridge with inadequate nut can damage the nut and the neck shelf place, and aiding the vibration of the or incorrect arch can cause the bassist to play under it. Since the nut is removed whenever instrument’s sound chamber. Maple is strong, inadvertent double-stops when bowing. Too dressing the fingerboard, it makes sense to stiff, attractive and resilient, and has for much arch in the bridge may inhibit a facilitate this removal. My technique is to centuries been the luthier’s choice of wood pizzicato player’s dexterity, and may cause an glue the nut in place with a few tiny drops of for bridges. Several companies in Europe arco player to use excessive motion to cross cyanoacrylate (super glue). It cures in a provide bass bridge blanks in various sizes strings. matter of seconds, and releases easily with a and “cuts” (styles). My preference is for the couple of light taps. Despiau brand, made in France. Good bridge No single set-up of the nut and bridge will blanks are also made by Teller and Aubert. serve the needs of every player. The set-up Bass players who regularly change strings for details will be different for a bluegrass player different purposes (concert pitch to solo Many decisions should be made before a new than a jazz player. A classical orchestra player pitch, for example) should have the nut bridge is fitted to a bass: What width will will do best with a somewhat different set up grooves set to the wider string’s diameters. A best enhance the instrument’s sound? What than a soloist. bass that is used with both steel and gut type of bridge cut will work best? Do I want

bass 108 gear adjustment wheels in the bridge? At what sideways, and actually lowering the side you angle should the bridge be mounted? What meant to raise. The strings should always be should the spacing between strings be? centered on the fingerboard; if you can’t In addition, when cutting a new bridge, the achieve this without mal-adjusting your luthier must take into account whether it will bridge, an adjustment to the bridge crown is need to be tilted to compensate for uneven in order. top table settling, an asymmetrical body or a neck that is mounted a bit off-center. Keep in Generally, the north-south angle of the mind that a bass bridge should always be bridge should create a neutral pull between mounted in the center of the bass’ top table, the vibrating length of the string and the speaking east-west (side-to-side). afterlength between the bridge and tailpiece. Put in simpler terms, the back of the bridge The width of the bridge should generally be should mimic the vertical line of the bass’ about the same as the width between the lower corner. There is a bit of room for upper eyes of the f-holes. The bass side adjustment in this angle, which allows the bridge foot should rest directly over the bass luthier to make small adjustments to the bar, the bar located slightly to the outside of instrument’s string length. the foot’s center. Occasionally, the bridge will need to be slightly wider or narrower than String spacing is commonly set at 26 to the distance between the f-hole upper eyes, 28mm, center-to-center, for a 3/4 or larger to properly rest on the bass bar. If the bridge bass. (As with the nut, I am not a fan of is too narrow, the tone may lack depth. If it is graduated spacing.) For an arco player, keep too wide, it may lack definition. A bridge that in mind that the narrower the spacing, the is too wide can also negatively affect the top more the fingerboard must be arched. And table, pressing down at the f holes and the higher a player sets his strings, the more distorting the top table arching. the fingerboard will need to be arched as well. For most instruments, a “French” cut bridge works perfectly. This type of bridge has Thicker, lower-pitched strings vibrate with moderate-length legs, and should have about more amplitude and require more clearance 30mm or more space between the heart- than thinner, higher-pitched strings. Because shaped cut-out and the string grooves. of this, it is common to set the string heights Soloists, and other bassists who prefer a with an increase of about 1mm per string brighter sound often use a “Belgian” cut when measured at the end of the bridge, which has longer legs and less mass fingerboard. An average set-up positions the in the bridge body. strings at 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, and 9mm, for G to E respectively, using steel or hybrid Adjustment wheels have become standard- strings. This assumes a fingerboard which has issue for bassists living and working in been nicely dressed and has adequate arch. temperate climes. The bassist can easily Gut strings require considerably more adjust the string heights to compensate for clearance. Some players prefer their strings changes in humidity and temperature, or to lower, some higher. Final adjustments to a relieve sore chops. Also, the bridge can be bridge crown will be dependent on bow raised to create more acoustic volume when clearance, ease of pizzicato, and the player’s needed. A few studies have been done, and personal taste. seem to show that bass bridges with adjusters sound as good as, or better than Making the right decisions regarding the set- those without. A word of caution; raising one up of nut and bridge is an important step in side of a bridge is a bad idea, because the getting your bass playing just right for you. geometry of the bass fingerboard will throw everything out of whack, moving the strings

bass gear 109 FUNDAMENTAL SUPPORT Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation

The charter of this foundation is to provide That’s powerful evidence, to be sure. I can’t By Vic Serbe new and refurbished instruments to school- help but quote the movie here, because it based music programs that would otherwise summarizes the reasons why foundations Anybody who’s seen the Award winning film lack the resources to support a viable music such as MHOF are important and why they “Mr. Holland’s Opus” will surely remember program. MHOF itself is broken into three exist better than I ever could: the movie and its message. The arts all too programs. The Melody Program addresses K- often take a back seat to school functions 12 school music programs. The Special “...Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous, that simply make more money for the Projects Program supports after-school at least not outside of our little town. So it school... regardless of their value as a programs, and The Michael Kamen Solo Award might be easy for him to think himself a culturally enriching experience. The value of provides appropriate instruments for what makes us beautiful as human beings, outstanding musical students with more our creativity, is being dismissed for narrow- demanding requirements. Once a school and minded and short-sighted economical its music program meet the selection criteria reasons. Don’t get me wrong, I understand of the foundation, and is selected to receive a economic pressure, but I think sometimes the grant, the new and refurbished instruments choices that are made by those in power are are supplied and become the property of the not made with a comprehensive thought program. No strings attached... so to speak. process. The movie followed one music program in one small town, but MHOF serves on the order of failure. But he would be wrong, because I 10,000 musical students across the country think that he's achieved a success far beyond every single year. These are students with riches and fame. Look around you. There is real gifts to offer, who would have otherwise not a life in this room that you have not never realized these gifts, much less share touched, and each of us is a better person them with others, which is when we all truly because of you. We are your symphony Mr. benefit. Here are also some statistics from the Holland. We are the melodies and the notes MHOF web site I find particularly telling about of your opus. We are the music of your life.” their success, and how their contribution spills over into other aspects of school and I get choked up every time I hear it. MHOF is community growth. A study in 2009 based on “Keeping Music Alive in Our Schools,” and I’m So if we can’t rely enough on the support of data collected in 2008 concluded these truly thankful for them. those controlling our tax dollars, how do we things: preserve the nurturing of these precious gifts -Attendance: 71% reported an increase For more information about MHOF, and which we’re all given? One way is through -Parental Involvement: 86% reported an howyou may also contribute to this philanthropic organizations such as Mr. increase important program, please visit their website Holland’s Opus Foundation (MHOF). Inspired -School Involvement: 86% reported an at http://www.mhopus.org/. by the message of its namesake’s message, increase MHOF was founded in 1996 by the film’s -Test Scores: 43% reported an increase composer, Michael Kamen. -Community Recognition: 86% reported an increase bass 110 gear Corrections for Issue #5 Several of the charts were mislabeled in the Amp Lab technical review of the Markbass F500. The graph at J belongs with the caption at H. The graph at L belongs with the caption at I. The graph at I belongs to the caption at J. The graph at H belongs to the caption at K. The graph at K belongs to the caption at L.

On page 72, we listed the sale length on the Ernie Ball Music Man Big Al 5 as 35”, when it should have been listed as 34”.

Manufacturer’s Response Sheldon Dingwall Regarding switching back and forth between regular and fanned- fretted basses, a quick search of online forums will turn up many threads on this subject. I’m not discounting Vic’s experience with switching back and forth, as it really comes down to the individual. I just want to point out that the responses I see on this topic suggest that switching back and forth between fanned and regular frets really isn’t a big deal for the majority. At least no more so than switching back and forth between 34” and 35”, fretted and fretless, 4-string and 5-string, or how about between electric and upright.

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