File
date: April 28, 2010, by: Jeff Carlson and Lane on Bass
Videos:
042210/A
- Listening Test by Abe White 0042210/B - Listening Test by Roy Vogt More
to follow
This
report is a debrief subsequent to Operation: NASH BASH, a mad dash to and from
Nashville, TN, from my home town in East-Central Illinois. The entire evolution
occurred in a twenty-four hour period... sort of like that show on TV, but without
the torture. Well, except for some speakers, but it wasn't all that bad, because
we didn't have a really big amp head.
I
brought my drummer, James Jones, along for the ride and, boy, am I glad I did.
First off, he's young, and can help haul stuff around. Second, it was great to
have someone to talk to on the way home so I actually got there, if you know what
I mean.
Our
first stop was at Corner Music to see JD, an old
friend of David's and mine. James and I brought all three cabinets in, hooking
up each in its turn to the trusty old 550W head. I had hoped to avoid playing
altogether, but JD made me pound on them. In between, we talked tech; JD and his
guitar tech asked a lot of good questions, and offered their thoughts about some
options we'll be offering.
Shortly
after we arrived, Marc Williams come over to check out the cabinets. Marc is a
friend of Abe White's, and is very interested in becoming part of the family.
He's even more interested now that he's actually heard the boxes!
After
taking far too much of JD's time, James, Marc and I headed over to a Panera Bread
near the Musicians's Union (Stop #3). We hung out there for a bit, taking in the
sun and sipping iced tea, before my next meeting, which was with Barbara Crossman,
co-owner of The Learning Dock, publisher's of Roy Vogt's Teach
Me Bass Guitar. We had some TMBG stuff to go over, and it was a great opportunity
to sit face to face again.
From
there, Marc headed off for an appointment, and James and I headed over to a killer
chicken joint called Otter's. Tenders, wings and boneless wings any of three ways:
Buffalo, fried, or grilled, and pick your sauces and sides. Man! Abe caught
up with us there, and he agreed. Check 'em out next time your in town.
From
Otter's it was a hop, skip and a jump... and a bounce over a curb (really) to
the Musician's Union.
Uber-bassist and columnist Dave
Pomeroy has been the president for the past few years. Wan you believe it?
They're finally letting a bass player run things, and he's been doing a great
job!
Roy
and Abe are both members of the local, so Dave allowed us the use of the rehearsal
room - which was thankfully free at 7. Abe went first and went for a low volume
approach so he could hear the cabinet with as little of the room as possible.
We had it down to the point that we had no discernable reflections, so you could
really hear the voicing of each speaker. He spent a lot of time just thumping
one note and listening to the character, often prowling around the room so he
could hear the cabinet from different angles. Here's Abe's video:
Video
Report #042210/A Abe White tests the DNS speaker line
Abe
was very impressed, but since Roy had the best line of the day, I'll leave it
to him to sum up the day. Abe had to bail for a rehearsal with Cold
Truth. Roy got there just as Abe was leaving, bringing three basses with him,
including an electric upright.
Now,
Roy did his share of low level listening as well. But then he wanted to see what
it sounded like when he opened it up and let fly. It's kind of fun to watch a
player like Roy just beat on a box for a while... like a kid beating the living
room table with a hammer when his parent's aren't watching. Funny thing though,
unlike the table, the twelve took everything he could throw at it. Watch the video
to hear the Comment of the Day.
Video
Report #042210/B Roy Vogt test the DNA speaker line
We
had all hoped that Sean O'Bryan Smith would be
available at some point during our window, but by 9, he was certain his session
would last well beyond our 10:00 cut-off. We had already broken everything down
and loaded out when we had a surprise guest drop in. I have to get clearance before
naming him, so we'll just leave it at that for now.
I'll
be back with more video with a week or less to add to this report. Hopefully,
I can talk about the Mystery Man.
