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New bass project, 2024

Managed to find another History KBJ short-scale bass from a Japanese seller. Snagged it for under $200 (but the shipping cost was about the same price).

This time around I'm kitting it out as a BEAD-tuned fretted bass.

Upgrades will be:

Hipshot KickAss bridge in black (their version of the Leo Quan Badass II)

Hipshot Ultralite tuners, black

Set of short-scale BEAD strings with a .130 low B from Pitbull Strings

Swapping the stock pickups and electronics for an EMG MJ set - this is their set for upgrading Mexican Jazz Basses which often had same-length neck and bridge pickups, which is the case here. Also includes EMG vol/vol/tone controls and output jack.

Kilo International black knobs with white line pointers

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Aaaand I’ve sold the iD4, the Minilogue, likely will sell the NI M32, and switched to Logic because I had a license for it… but gained a custom baritone guitar.

Studio 2023

So here's my studio setup going into 2023-2024:

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I wonder how many people realize that we wouldn't have most of the genres of electronic music we have today without black people, and what it says about that when you consider how much various electronic musical disciplines are more often associated with white people.

If it weren't for funk, jazz, soul, disco, dub, dancehall, and more, we wouldn't have house, techno, drum and bass, UK garage, even most forms of industrial dance music.

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Suiko // ST Series 50 - 10 // Koto Synths (1980s)

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MacDrums (drum software from...1987!!)

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adventures in synthesizer shopping part 1

Bought a Korg minilogue 🎹 described as being in “new” condition off the interwebs and it arrived, shall we say, loosely packaged, and thus dented. 😠 😖

I realize they don’t teach how to pack things in school, so please, folks, check out this tutorial at HowToGeek.

Thankfully it’s covered with shipping insurance, so I should be able to get it fixed, but in the meantime I’ve gone ahead and purchased a minilogue XD module - I didn’t realize the original minilogue didn’t have the poly chain feature, and if I end up getting along with the XD it’d be nice to be able to expand it to 8 voices.

Here’s hoping this one is more solidly bubble-wrapped.

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Studio 2023

So here's my studio setup going into 2023-2024:

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I think this makes Kim Gordon the only actually famous musician to use a Yamaha Pacifica onstage

I mean! Pacificas are perfectly fine, excellent value for money, nice platforms for upgrades, and I think they look cool, but for some reason they never really caught on with major artists the way their basses did.

sonic youth

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This is cool: A new software startup, GPU Audio (gpu.audio) seems to have done what many said was impossible: Adapt audio DSP algorithms to run on graphics processors, with solutions and an SDK to let app and plugin developers tap into the power of Nvidia, AMD, and Apple M-series chips.

This means the capability to run multiple tracks with complex effects processing and audio/synth plugins in near-realtime, providing very low latency (ie roundtrip time) for monitoring while recording.

Normally, this is stuff your CPU would handle, but even high-end CPUs aren’t optimized to do that kind of digital signal processing. That’s why, for the last few decades, producers have relied on specialized audio DSP hardware to get that kind of power, like Avid’s HDX cards for ProTools, Universal Audio’s plugins powered by UAD2 cards, etc.

For Mac users, the multiple GPU cores in their M-series chips can now be tapped, with no extra hardware required.

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This is the Ibanez EHB1005SMS.

That's a horrible name, but that breaks down to:

Ergonomic Headless Bass, 1000 series, 5-string, Short Multi-Scale.

Ibanez introduced the EHB series a few years ago, and at first I thought they were weird looking.

And then I started listening to demos and reading reviews.

This particular one is a "multi short scale" - the low B is 32" and the high G is 30" scale, so it's shorter scale overall, but gives the low B a longer scale for a tighter feel - low Bs on short scales tend to be flabby otherwise and it's hard to get strings for them.

That longer upper horn helps it balance really well; it's got a chambered body to reduce weight (it's about...7lbs??); everyone says the neck is super comfortable, and it definitely seems versatile sound-wise.

Seriously debating selling my two History basses and getting one of these. I should try one in a store first, though.

Now starting to see my collection as:

Two Fender mini-strats unless I sell one?

EHB1005SMS fretted bass

Future Bass VI / Hooky 6 style instrument for New Order-y stuff

Future EHB fretless conversion from the EHB1000S 4-string shortscale?

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So I’m now seriously planning my first complete custom build.

It’ll be a Bass VI style instrument, a 30” scale six-string tuned an octave below a regular guitar.

There’s a few of these on the market:

Fender’s Bass VI, which uses a similar body as their old Electric XII twelve-string, with three Jaguar-style pickups and vibrato unit. Originally produced in the 1960s as a ‘tic tac’ bass, for country music, where it doubled lines below the guitar. It’s periodically been available since then, currently as a Squier Classic Vibe and previously as a ‘Pawn Shop’ version with a Jazzmaster pickup at the bridge. They had a bit of a revival in the shoegaze scene.

Ernie Ball Music Man’s Silhouette Bass. This one could be strung as a baritone or as a Bass VI. Nice, clean, compact design, but it’s hard to get in any colors other than black or white and it seems to go in and out of production.

More recently, Ibanez introduced a ‘hybrid’ 6-string as part of their Soundgear bass series, the SRC6, and lately upgraded it into a multiscale instrument with fanned frets. It’s got a Soundgear style body, a fixed guitar-style bridge, and bass tuners. Only available in dark brown.

I think what I’m going to build is something like the SRC6 but borrowing features from Yamaha’s current basses.

an Attitude style body but downsized proportionally; using chambered roasted alder to reduce weight

deep-set 3-piece neck, using inset machine bolts instead of screws, with two angled end bolts to pull the neck deeper into the pocket

Maybe a Babicz bridge? I talked to them about if their guitar bridges could accommodate an 0.90 gauge low E and they said it could be done by filing the saddle a bit, but I’m not sure I’d want to do that. If not, something similar.

Debating pickups. Tempted to go with Lace Alumitones for their hi-fi quality and lighter weight, but Lawing Z-Core Vintage might add some character.

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Well, consolidated and finished my pedalboards!

Decided to sell the TC Plethora X5 as it just felt overcomplex for my needs.

Guitar board is now:

TurboTuner -> MXR reissue Dyna Comp -> EHX Electric Mistress flanger -> TC Flashback delay -> Keeley Dark Side fuzz / tape delay sim / vibe -> Ernie Ball volume pedal -> Keeley Aurora reverb

I might revisit the pedal order at some point but i think this will work for Police-y rhythm sounds and reverby volume swell leads.

Bass board is now:

TC Polytune mini -> Aguilar Octamizer -> Aguilar TLC Compressor -> Tech 21 Bass Boost Chorus -> DSM Humboldt Bass Station preamp/cab sim/DI

The Bass Boost Chorus has a pretty blue sparkle finish. I’ll try to photograph it later.

I love the Bass Station but in a weird way I wish it was physically larger as many of its key controls are fiddly mini pots - and its size and orientation make it a bit hard to mount on a Pedaltrain; I ended up sticking it on sideways for now. I might mount it to a metal baseplate and then velcro that to the pedalboard.

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Is that a Kurzweil K250 I spy?

TDK Cassette tape AD in BRUTUS magazine, No.125(1985)

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Bowie's Custom Steinberger Guitar

Bowie liked his Steinbergers – he plays one in the video for Valentine's day and this one (which was signed by the whole band in 1992) has a particularly interesting story which has been retold by Reeves Gabrels. Reeves had asked for a ‘tin’ guitar to use in Tin Machine, but the silver Mylar covering on the neck and frets made it pretty much unplayable.

"I came up with the idea because I wanted a distinctive guitar to use for a video we did for a song called “One Shot,” the first single from the second Tin Machine album… unfortunately, they didn’t really chrome it but covered it with a chrome/silver mylar and put a sealer on the entire guitar, frets included. Every time I bent a note, it scraped some chrome slivers off. Eventually I scraped enough of that off so I could play it.

Reeves continues: “David saw mine and decided he wanted one like it. My guitar tech called the factory in Newburgh to see if they could make another chrome L series. Apparently, they had a guitar they used as a test run for the chroming process. That one had a normal fretboard (it did not have a chromed fretboard) making Bowie’s copycat completely playable while mine was not. The non chromed fretboard is the easiest way to tell them apart. Oh and another thing, his was free…”

Bowie used this Steinberger guitar for the 1991-1992 Tin Machine tour as well as during recording sessions for Tin Machine II. You can also see it in the video for Tin Machine’s “You Belong In Rock And Roll.” – davidbowieautograph

more steinberger pics~ ♥️

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Also: Check out that custom chrome-finished Steinberger GL2T!

David Bowie photographed by Brian Aris in a lime green Thierry Mugler suit at The Factory in Dublin, Ireland in 1991 during the filming of Tin Machine’s ‘You Belong In Rock n’ Roll’ music video.

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Kip Winger with the Hamer Impact bass.