Bass Emporium Newsletter - Volume III, No. 8 Bass Sound on Stage Versus the Venue NS Design Introduces New "WAV 4" Electric Upright Bass Lakland Duck Dunn Signature Series Bass Ashdown Superfly Compact Digital Bass Amplifier Upcoming Brian Bromberg Clinic - Time & Date TBA Jens Ritter Bass Guitar Clinic at Bass Emporium 07/11/06 Ed Friedland Now Teaching at Bass Emporium New LOWER String Prices Owners Manuals Missed a Newsletter? New Bi-Monthly Contest Specials Page
Hello LowEnders!
What's in this issue:
Bass Sound on Stage Versus the Venue
NS Design Introduces New "WAV 4" Electric Upright Bass
Lakland Duck Dunn Signature Series Bass
Ashdown Superfly Compact Digital Bass Amplifier
Upcoming Brian Bromberg Clinic - Time & Date TBA
Jens Ritter Bass Guitar Clinic at Bass Emporium
Ed Friedland Now Teaching at Bass Emporium
New LOWER String Prices & Shipping Discount
Owners Manuals On-Line
Missed a Newsletter?
New Bi-Monthly Contest
Specials Page
One of the most misunderstood reasons for not using a direct box on stage is that bass players believe that the sound coming from the direct out on a bass amplifier is better. This in fact is not true.
Let me explain.
The sound that the bass player sets up with his amplifier is the sound that he uses on stage to create a comfortable working mix with the rest of the band. For instance, he may want a lot of mid range for punch or extra high end to cut through the guitars and cymbals. But setting EQs and levels to make the sound on stage work has very little to do with the sound in the venue.
In a large concert setting, the front of house engineer's job is to take all of the sounds on stage and mix them together so that they sound good through the PA system and in the venue. If the bass is too 'boomy' he may roll off low end. If it is bright, he may cut off some highs.
Basically, when the sound from the amplifier is used, he may be reversing the EQ settings that the musician has introduced which invariably will introduce phase shift and cancellation. The point here is he should tune the bass to sound right in the room. Starting from the original clean sound is the best way to do this.
This is not to say that the sound from the speaker is not important. In fact, many engineers will mic the bass amp and take a direct feed and mix the two together at the console. This can lead to exciting sounds. More importantly, it assures the engineer is able to work with a clean tone and make the artistic decision that suits the song, PA system and room.
In smaller venues like clubs, the problem is more acute. Bass is by far the most powerful end of the frequency spectrum. This means that it travels further and is very hard to contain.
On a small stage, with the bass amp turned up, the sound from the stage fills the room. If the bass player has all of the mids cut out to create a 'smiley-face' EQ, the house engineer will likely have to introduce a ton of mid range boost to add definition through the PA system. If the mid range is gone from the bass amp signal, where will he get it? By introducing a direct box before the amp, the engineer will have the instrument's original tone to work with. He can then sculpt the tone to compliment the sound coming off the stage.
The main reason direct boxes were invented was to provide a direct feed. Hence the name "DI" (or direct injection). You can certainly mix in the sound from the amp or speakers if you want to capture effects or distortion, but placing a DI like the Radial J48 in the signal chain to capture the natural tone is the very best way to ensure the bass gets heard in the room.
Peter L. Janis
President, Radial Engineering Ltd.
For more information about Radial products go to the Radial website at http://www.radialeng.com/dis.htm or our websiite at "http://www.bassemporium.com/bass_emporium.php?Radial%20Engineering".
NS Design's Ned Steinberger has designed a new series of affordable electric bowed instruments to be introduced to USA Dealers for the first time at the Summer Namm Show in Austin , July 14-16, 2006. The new WAV Series quality instruments share the essential design features of original CR Series professional performance instruments, and are available at an affordable price to seasoned musicians as well as student players.
The initial offering of this series is the full scale, WAV 4 electric double bass featuring NS Design's proprietary Polartm piezo pickup system. These basses will be presented in a choice of Red Stain "http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=NSDESIGNWAV4TRANSRED", Amber Sunburst "http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=NSDESIGNWAV4AMBERB" and Black "http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=NSDESIGNWAV4BLK" finishes and ships with a padded gig bag and foldable tripod stand. These basses are priced at only $1195 List, so if you have been wanting to get involved with an electric upright bass without breaking the bank this is your opportunity! Check out "http://www.bassemporium.com/bass_emporium.php?NS%20Design" for more information on these!
Duck Dunn's grooving bass is part of a '60s sound so distinctive that it is referred to as the "Stax Sound" to this day. He's backed Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Albert King; he's worked with everyone from Roy Buchanan to Bob Dylan, and Rod Stewart to Muddy Waters and Neil Young. With Booker T. and the M.G.s, Duck recorded bass parts so undeniably funky that they have influenced generations of bassists ever since. Duck is a key member of the Blues Brothers Band, and one of the world's preeminent players. Lakland has completely revamped their previous Duck Dunn Signature Skyline Model. This one retains the familiar body style and pickguard complement but adds a thinner 1.5" Jazz Bass shaped neck with white blocks and binding. An instant classic! You can check out the Duck Dunn that we just got at "http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=DDSKYCARRSW".
Ashdown Engineering's extraordinary new Superfly combines a sophisticated programmable bass preamplifier and a powerful 2 x 250 Watts RMS power section in a compact bass amp head that weighs in at just 10 pounds. A product of the innovative Ashdown Labs development programme, the Superfly is gifted with a powerful, authoritative sound with a strong, controlled bottom end and clear, precise highs, all courtesy of an advanced digital power amp section.
Programming the preamplifier is an intuitive and straightforward process. The user can store 69 programmes comprising of inputlevel, 7-band graphic equalisation and compression settings, and switch them via any MIDI-compatible pedal to achieve an exceptional degree of live performance control on stage. In addition, a further 30 factory settings are available.
Check out "http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=SUPERFLY500" for more information on this way cool amplifier and come by the store for a "test drive" if possible.
We are having a clinic with Brian Bromberg in the store and would love for you to attend. We don't have all of the information nailed-down yet and the exact date and time has not been set, but it will be the last week of October or the first week of November. So, I hope these dates stay open for you and when we get the information I will share that with you. For more information about Brian Bromberg check out our website at "http://www.bassemporium.com/clinics.php" or Brian's website at "http://www.brianbromberg.net".
Jens Ritter of Ritter Bass Guitars visited us from Germany and was in our store on Tuesday, July 11th at 7:00pm. Jens brought some basses which we had on display and talked about his basses, bass design ideas and concepts. We had lots of pizza and refeshment with a lengthy Q&A session which followed his presentation. For more information about Ritter Bass Guitars check out www.ritter-basses.com and our website dealing with Ritter basses at http://www.bassemporium.com/bass_emporium.php?Ritter. You can also see a picture of the Ritter clinic at "http://www.bassemporium.com/clinics.php".
Bassist, author, educator Ed Friedland is offering private lessons at Bass Emporium, starting June 2006. A former Contributing Editor for Bass Player magazine, Ed is now Senior Editor at Guitar World's Bass Guitar Magazine. In addition to hundreds of articles, Ed has authored 13 books and 2 DVDs, including Building Walking Bass Lines, Building Rock Bass Lines, Bass Grooves, The Working Bassist's Toolkit, Reggae Bass, The Way They Play - The R&B Masters, Blues Bass, the second edition of the Hal Leonard Electric Bass Method, and the best-selling Slap Bass DVD.
Ed has taught at Berklee College of Music, Boston College, Arizona State University, as well as privately since 1979. His performance credits include Larry Coryell, Michal Urbaniak, Robben Ford, Johnny Adams, Robert Junior Lockwood, Mighty Sam McClain, and hundreds of others.
Lessons are $30 per half hour, all styles, and levels taught. Beginners Welcome!
Call 512-663-9336 or email Ed Friedland for scheduling, lesson and payment information. Also, check out http://www.edfriedland.com/ for more information on Ed Friedland!
We have started looking at the string survey that many of you have already taken part in and have reassessed our string selection and pricing. We have lowered almost all of our string prices and we now feel confident that we are the LOWEST price that you can find for quality bass strings. The shopping cart has been updated and all pricing information is current. We are still evaluating whether to add more brands and models of strings, so if you haven't done the survey yet, now is the time to stand up and be counted. String sales have been increasing quite a bit, so if we run out of something, please be patient while we restock. Go to "http://www.bassemporium.com/catDetail.php?1090076928" to check out our string offerings. Remember, free shipping with order of $100 or greater!
Some of our customers were not aware ouf the collection of owner's manuals and specification guides that we have on our website. If you go to "http://www.bassemporium.com/manuals.php" you will see 275+ owner's manuals, specification sheets, wiring diagrams and brochures. This is a great resource and we are adding to this repsoitory all the time. If you can't find what you are looking for, please let us know and if we can find it, we will add it to the site!
All of our back-issue newsletter (excpet for the New In Stock information) is archived at "http://www.bassemporium.com/newsletters.php". So, take some time and go back through and see if any of this information is informative or helpful in your quest for tone!
We have a new contest in which we are giving away a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Floor tuner. Chances are that you are already registered (or you wouldn't be getting this newsletter), but pass this along to a friend so they can have a chance to win! The link to register is "http://www.bassemporium.com/subscribe.php".
Here is a reminder if you know (and a tip if you don't) about our Specials page. We list any discontinued items or any special buys that we may get on a singular page to help you find items that will make it a little eaiser on your wallet. Items will vary from a single bass string up to amplifiers and basses - we've also added a lot of videos, DVDs and Publications, so check out the Specials page at "http://www.bassemporium.com/specials.php" and save some dough!
Let us know if you have anything that you would like to see in the upcoming issues of our newsletter. Thanks and let us know how we can serve you!
John