Strap Locks

Back in the eighties when strap locks first hit the scene I scored a set from the local music shop and installed them on my bass with great excitement.  That excitement turned to dismay the first time they failed me at a rehearsal.  From that moment on I employed a different method to secure my strap to my bass.

I discovered that a nice sized set of fender washers would secure the strap to my bass without the risk of the strap slipping off the strap buttons.  It is a semi permanent solution that does not allow you to remove the strap from the bass but it also ensures the strap will not come off the strap buttons as well.  Since doing this simple modification I have never had a strap come off a bass under any conditions.  The trade-off of not being able to remove the strap from the bass is a small price to pay for the piece of mind I have gained.

Having my strap semi-permanently affixed to my bass does require one small additional step when putting my bass in its case.  To protect the body of my bass when stowing it in the case I lay a hand towel on it to protect it from the buckles on the strap. Other than that the fender washers do not interfere with playing, storing, or transporting the bass.  As far as low-cost/high value modifications this one has to be my favorite.  While the galvanized look is just fine for me I might try to put a patina on a trial set of washers with a blow torch outside to see how they turn out.  As a note to the reader galvanized steel off-gasses toxic fumes when heated so if you elect to try this out yourself make sure to do so outside in a well ventilated area and avoid breathing the fumes.

For now the galvanized fender washers somewhat match the color of the hardware on my bass.

Speaker Cabinets

I currently play through a set of Mesa/Boogie Subway 112 cabinets and I have traveled a long road to arrive at my current speakers.  I have never been more pleased on more levels with any other cabinet I have played through than these; they are lightweight, not cumbersome, and sound amazing.

I ran up to Sweetwater to test a number of cabinets. I brought my bass and my Bugera Veyron head to test all the cabinets below:

First in line was the Bugera 115 My initial impression was that I was surprised at how small it was - for some reason I was expecting something bigger. Not sure why. It had fabulous mids and highs but the low B string was mud. It lacked the articulation that I was looking for.

Second was the Hartke HyDrive HD115. This was moderately better but I expected it to be much better. A lot more clarity and articulation in the mids and highs but again the lows lacked the clarity I sought. The low-end clarity was better than the Bugera but still not what I was seeking.

Third was the Harke HyDrive HD112. This cabinet was excellent and I very nearly bought it. I played a pair of them and they were very articulate and clean even on the low B. I really really liked them.

Then for S&G's I played three Mesa/Boogie cabinets. I figured since I was there I may as well play them even though I had not budgeted for them. So continuing on:

Fourth I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 115. Wow. WOW. GREAT sound. Very articulate. Better than the Harke HyDrive HD112 although they were very very close. I spent about half an hour going back and fourth between them.

Next I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 210. It was good but not as good as the Mesa/Boogie Subway 115 and not as good as the Hartke HyDrive HD112. I played it maybe five minutes but that was enough to move on.

Lastly I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 112. It was almost immediate. I was blown away with how good it sounded. I ended up A/Bing this against the Hartke HyDrive HD112 for a good 20 minutes. My sales engineer switched cabinets for me while I faced the opposite direction so that I used only my ears without knowing which cabinet I was playing through. Each time, each test, I ended up choosing the Mesa/Boogie Subway 112. I took a ten minute break to grab a cup of coffee, reset my ears, and then came back and did it again. It was very very close but the Mesa/Boogie Subway was the clear winner for me.

Miracle of miracles my sales engineer found a demo and was able to cut me a deal that I couldn't pass up. So now these are in my basement. I realize everyone has different tastes and different needs. What necessarily works for one may not necessarily work for another. I can tell you that I believe the Hartke HyDrive HD112's were excellent and would have done quite well for me and I probably would have been happy with them as well. But given the right circumstances I was lucky enough to be able to get a good deal on what I found to be the very best.

Finding Time to Practice

Practice makes perfect was a phrase I grew up hearing a lot of.  I started off my musical journey in front of a piano for hours a day which was later scaled back to accommodate practicing trombone. When I started playing bass during my senior year of high school I had to find a way to practice bass that did not bother my parents.  While they were very supportive of the piano and trombone they were adamantly opposed to my playing bass.  If they could hear it they insisted I stop playing.  They even went as far as to prohibit me from storing my equipment at home and it had to stay at a friend's house.

The bass fit under my bed so I was able to hide it there out of sight and out of mind.  At the time, and through my first couple of semesters of college I worked at Pizza Hut and, worked a lot of irregular hours.  As a result I was not always able to practice during the day when my parents were away at work.  I would come home from work at 2 or 3 am and sit on the floor in my bedroom with my back against the bed and my bass resting in my lap.  I would play by laying my left ear against the horn of the bass so as to be able to hear myself without disturbing anyone else in the house.

Fast forward many years and I have a wife, a son, and a mortgage.  I have a basement where I can practice pretty much whenever I want and my wife is extraordinarily tolerant of my musical pursuits.  She even allows the band to rehearse here.  Still, to this day, I am conscious of the fact that not everyone appreciates what I play and I use headphones to practice so as not to to disturb anyone.  One of my favorite silent practice methods is to plug into my Focusrite Scarlett Solo USB Audio Interface which allows me to practice along with tracks from my laptop.  

When I am just jamming or fiddling around I find that I really like using my Zoom B3n Bass Multi-effects Processor especially if I am trying to write in a new style.  I find that all the various effects inspire me to try new things or new approaches to writing.  The Zoom B3n has a 1/4" stereo output headphone jack that works perfectly for private practice. It even has an 1/8" input jack that I can connect to the headphone output of my laptop if I do not have my interface with me when traveling.