Archived Edition of Chromatic Musings

Vendor mania

While I was at BPL, I had to check out the vendor floor. I can't remember who said it, but this was basically a NAMM show just for bassists. Vinny and Joey from Fodera were there, as was Jon. Also around were Ibanez, Fender, Lni 6, Roland, Ampeg, Lakland, Hartke, G&K, Aguillar, Epiphani, Ashdown -- well, lots of people. Here are some thoughts that I have on the gear I saw:

• Line 6: They have produced a bass that has modeling on board. Roll the knob, you get a Fender J. Another turn, Rickenbacker, or a pseudo-upright (the neck is fretted, so there's only so much it can do). Instead of having a blend knob (to balance the bridge pickup and the neck pickup on a J, for instance), the blend approximated moving the pickup forwards or backwards under the strings. My take on it is that the wood is okay, and the modeling is about 80% there. I'd use for a chessy cover band, but that's about it.
• Kustom Amplficiation: Good for being loud. Big as all get out, too. Didn't care for the sound all that much, though.
• There were quite a few boutique resellers displaying their wares. Next time I head up to NYC, I might have to pay them a visit
• Ashdown: I'm in the market for some new cabinets, so I checked out all the vendors. Epifani's are still my favorite, but those are some serious bucks. Ashdown's cabinets had a good sound, though. Very nice and clean.
• Roland: I talked with the tech rep about Roland's MIDI pickup for bass, asking if there were any plans to provide a model that could be mounted entirely inside the body of a bass as a part of the pre-amp (instead of leaving a controller taped onto the body). He indicated that there may be something in the future, but not right now.
• Lectrosonics: They are working on an advanced digitial wireless system. This would be good thing for me, as I've hunting for a good solution (that's still being supported) for sometime.
• Ampeg: They are coming out with a new amplifier that I rather liked. Two rack spaces, analog controls with digital memory. Roll the knobs to the setting you want, save them, change to something else, save those -- up to four settings, all which can be selected by a foot controller. No audible drop when changing programs, nor any audible delay in making the switch. Very nice indeed.