Burnerblog

I’ve been busy. So busy, in fact, that I’ve neglected ol’ Burnerblog once again.

Here is the kind of post I hate to read on other people’s’s’s’s’s blogs.

I’ve been playing bass in two bands, playing Age of Conan online with friends, racing in NCNASCAR (and winning some races!), having friends over from out of town, reading neat websites with cool ideas, and many other things.

Next up for me is making a compost pile, organizing one corner of the garage, and waxing my car.

And maybe keeping this place a little more up-to-date than I have been.

Even though I’ve been playing since I was 13, I only just started playing with the same fervor as I have when I was a teenager. I went for quite a long time without playing, so it’s not like I’ve been playing every day since I was 13. If that were the case, I’d be super-awesome and in a band or something touring the world and being all rockstar awesome and stuff. But… I’m not.

I have been playing nearly every day for about 45 minutes to an hour, and I can’t believe how much I’ve improved my control, sound, and ability to play new songs by ear. It’s been a blast, and I have to admit that the new Jazz Bass has a lot to do with it. It just sounds so nice, the neck is so smooth and perfect for my hands, the action is just right, the pickups are just right… hell, I just love everything about it.

I find myself sitting here listening to Silversun Pickup wishing I could go upstairs and play the bass right now, but at 2:19 AM, I think I’d get shot by Sherry or a neighbor.

Not anyone, but slapping my bass. It’s something that’s eluded me for the 27 years I’ve been playing bass guitar. I’ve tried in the past but could never master it. I think I know why now. I’ve never had a bass setup to do it properly.

I just tried it on the Fender Jazz Bass that I set up yesterday, and WOW! I was able to do it! Not just a little, but actually quite well! I was also able to do some two-octave slap-pull stuff which really sounds FUNKY!

The one shortcoming I’ve had until today with my playing ability has been the lack of ability to slap. It’s one of those things that all bass players are expected to know how to do if they’re any good. I think I’m a pretty good bass player, but I’ve been out in the cold when it came to this one important area. Now, I’m a member of the club.

I plan on doing a lot more practice with this newly acquired technique, and I plan on being able to walk into a guitar store and sit down and slap, tap, and pull with the best of ‘em. It’ll take me some time, but it’ll be cool.

I think it’s neat that Gelli can walk into a guitar store, sit down with a guitar, and start playing some really cool stuff. I can do the same on bass, but when you play bass in a guitar store, if you can’t slap, you aint shit. Well guess what, Guitar Center? I can slap now. And I’m coming for you.

A quick note on the SB-2 I set up earlier this morning: I was able to play it today for the first time in what I would consider to be a normal manner. I can’t slap on it, but I can play all the songs we play on it, and it has great tone and sustain. It was the action that needed to be raised. Go figure.

So, I was curious after doing the cleanup on the Fender Jazz Bass. I picked up the SB-2 and played it; sure enough, I didn’t like what I got out of it. I took the bass to a luthier (a person who works on stringed instruments, particularly guitars) and he did a setup on it (where the height of the strings and the neck are adjusted). The action (the height of the strings from the fret board) seemed to me to be rather low for my playing style (I pluck with my index and middle fingers) and the pickups (the electronic coils that pick up the vibration of the strings and turn them into sound) were a bit high. Well, today, I adjusted them all myself. I raised the action a little bit, lowered the pickups a little bit, and was able to play without any rattle (which was the main reason I stopped playing this bass) and got rid of the pop on the A string (the second reason I stopped playing this bass).

What does this mean? It means I made the instrument more playable for my style.

I then picked up the Fender and played a little bit, and sure enough, the neck was straightening back out now that all four strings are on and the neck is back under tension. I can’t wait until alter today when I can play both of ‘em with the amp turned up loud while the family is out. Then I can REALLY test to see how they are.

As for my old trusty Samick? The Corsair (the model of the Samick bass I own) was cleaned up and made to look pretty again. Now, all three of my basses look sweet, clean, and are all playable.

This is the new Fender Jazz Bass I bought yesterday. It was made in 1996, and while it shows it’s age a bit, I cleaned it up today and she looks mighty fine! I played it quite a bit yesterday and today before changing the strings, and now it’s exhibiting that post-string change raspiness that will go away in a few days as the neck gets its tension back and gets straight again. If not, a truss-rod adjustment will fix that.

Although I have a G&L SB-2 (a collector’s piece, actually) and a less-known but nice playing Samick Greg Bennet Corsair MCR1, there’s always been a hole in my heart for the Fender Jazz bass that was stolen from me years ago when a friend borrowed it for a few gigs and his house was burglarized (I lost my amp in that burglary as well, a great old Crate amp). Also, while the SB-2 is a great piece, there’s just something about it that hasn’t been right for me. I think the setup wasn’t quite right for me, and the A string pops the pickups (which look to be too close to the strings for my playing style). I may mess with the setup myself later, but for now, I just leave it in its case as it’s the second SB-2 ever manufactured, and is the earliest known SB-2 in existence.

This Fender Jazz Bass is a Mexican-made model in black (while my original was a Sunburst American-made), but for the price and the condition, I couldn’t pass it up. I love playing it, and the sound is exactly what I’ve been looking for.

I spent quite a bit of time tonight cleaning it up and re-stringing it. It looks a whole lot better now, and I can’t wait to play it at next week’s band practice. Now, the old Samick will be the backup guitar while the SB-2 will remain in its case until I fix the setup and decide to start playing it more. I’ve thought of selling it, but that decision hasn’t finalized in my head yet. I still have this nagging doubt, and I don’t want to regret selling the only piece of musical history I actually own.

Here is a picture of the bass and the amp. I know… lots of guitar porn around here lately. I guess I’m just excited to be playing again. I spent a few hours tonight playing, mostly with Gelli. She’s really good, and it’s fun to play with her. Figuring out bass lines for her songs has been fun, and one of them actually is enhanced by the bass. Go figure.

It’s the hotness. Gelli, Sherry, and I jammed to this song this weekend. It was literally the song that wouldn’t end as I would keep reviving it during a jam we had. MAN was that fun!!! I cut and pasted the lyrics directly from The Rentals website, so please excuse the caps.

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Today, I picked up what is probably the best deal I’ve ever had on a guitar. I purchased a G&L SB-2 (First Model) bass guitar for a song. According to it’s former owner, it’s the second SB-2 off the assembly line, and a search online for the serial number shows it to be the earliest SB-2 on record. The former owner also played briefly as a backup bass player for Jerry Reid and Juice Newton, so my new bass has been on stage professionally. It’s a pretty black guitar with a maple fingerboard.

Best of all, I was told as I was leaving that the guitar has a name: Berniece. That kicks ass on a whole new level.

I also picked up a new bass amp with the guitar, and it’s also pro quality. I’m really happy with the deal I got, and I can’t wait to start playing more. I worked out the fingers on that guitar tonight for more than a few hours, and I’m looking forward to many years with Berniece.

I don’t play six-string; I play bass. I started playing when I was around 14 years old. That’s when I got my first bass guitar. Backup a little bit, however, to when I turned 10. That’s when my grandparents gave me a guitar for my birthday. A beautiful six-string acoustic that I never learned to play. I remember trying to play here and there, but without any training or lessons, it was futile. Eventually, when MTV came out, I watched John Entwhistle, Bill Wyman and Geddy Lee playing bass and I was hooked. I learned to play the first four strings on that acoustic as if it were a bass guitar. I eventually sold that old guitar to a girl I had a crush on for $40 and a Who album. I took that money and with some help from my parents, bought my first bass and amp. I had a Fender Jazz Bass and a Crate amp. I played that old bass ’til it was pretty worn out. I never did change the strings (should have many times), but played it and played it. It stayed in storage while I was in the Marines, but when I got out, I got back to playing the bass. Unfortunately, I let a friend borrow the bass and amp, and they were stolen from his house during a robbery. I got money from his insurance company, but I let the bass playing go by the wayside.

Then, about two years ago, my wife picked up an inexpensive bass guitar and amp for me. It’s a nice yellow colored bass guitar, but the electronics in it are pretty much shot. The pickups are corroded, and the strings are rusting. I bought some new strings for it, but I’ve yet to put them on because I don’t have a reason. At least I didn’t.

I’ve been asked if I’d be interested in playing in a little band that plays together in the Woodlands. They play 80’s and 90’s music, and they’re in need of a bass player. Although I can’t read bass clef sheet music, I can play by ear pretty well. I can read treble clef, but that’s not going to do me any good for the bass. Anyway, needless to say, I’m not only interested, but I’ve began playing again in preparation for our first “jam session.” It’s going to be fun!