I know some of you are probably wondering why I’m writing about a
bass player who is not really known for playing a Fender Bass, although
Bruce did play a Fender VI Bass early on in his career.
The main
reason I feel I should include an article about Jack Bruce is his
enormous impact on how the electric bass was played and perceived in
rock music, regardless of whether he was using a Fender or not.
When Fender first released the Road Worn bass line, I was both puzzled and fascinated with them.
I had always considered relic basses to be Custom Shop instruments, built by master craftsmen with a high attention to every detail, not stock production models that anyone can pull off the wall.
Of course it was inevitable that one day relic guitars and basses would be mass produced, given their huge surge in popularity over the last few years. The question is…are the Road Worn basses any good?
Changing bass strings for many players is often just a normal part of life. Whether you’re trying a new roundwound set, some new tapewounds, or just needing to replace some dead strings that you’ve had too long, we’ve all been there. But, some bassists have trouble with the task. So, if you’re still wondering how to change bass strings correctly, read on.
And while there is no one completely agreed upon method, I’ve found over the years that one way, especially for Fender Basses, seems to work best.
Good sounding practice amps are tough to find, especially one that still has enough power to play small gigs. I was recently searching for such an amp, with my main thoughts being something around 50 watts, not too heavy, with a decent speaker and a good tone.
Well, I’m pleased to say that I’ve found it in the Ampeg BA112 Bass Combo. This cool-looking,
Fender has completely revamped their American Vintage Series bass line for the first time since they introduced them in 1982. Gone are the ’57 and ’62 Precision Bass and the ’62 and ’75 Jazz Bass. Fender is now offering a ’58 and ’63 Precision and a ’64 and ’74 Jazz Bass.
So the question is….what’s the difference?
In 1959 Leo Fender and his design team started work on a new bass. The Precision bass had been Fender’s only bass model since 1951. After Leo and his build team redesigned the P-Bass in 1957 the marketing department at Fender pushed Leo to introduce a new model to augment to the bass line.
The original prototype Jazz bass was conceived as a “deluxe model” to appeal to guitar players who wanted or needed to double on bass. The neck was markedly thinner than a Precision bass, only 1 ½” at the nut compared to the 1 ¾” of the Precision. The body featured an offset asymmetric design borrowed from the recently introduced Jazzmaster guitar (hence the name Jazz Bass).
After Leo Fender introduced his revolutionary new Precision electric bass in 1951 he had to come up with an amplifier that could handle the new instrument’s low end power.
The first Fender Bassman was released in 1952, it featured a 15″ speaker and 26 watts of all tube power. It basically was a guitar amp with a little more low end response, but it set the stage for all bass amps to come that would literally change music forever.
Vintage-style bass amps seem to be harder and harder to find these days, especially affordable ones. For every vintage reissue bass amp, there are probably ten or more vintage guitar model amps available on the market. About ten years ago (or more now), I saw an amazing looking bass amp in a music store. It appeared to be an Ampeg B-15 Portaflex, the legendary bass combo from the 1960s. On closer inspection, I realized it was a new, solid-state remake of that classic old tube amp. It was the Ampeg B-100R Combo.
Since getting my Sansamp VT bass pedal a while back and playing through it for several years now, I’d have to say that it is hands down one of the best bass pedals that I have ever owned. I’ve owned several other pedals over the years, including the very popular Sansamp Bass Driver DI.
Both pedals are quite similar, and they’re made by the same company. So, I’ll compare the two stomp-boxes and explain why I prefer the VT bass.
At the beginning of your bass playing journey, you may not even know that flatwound bass strings exist. When you hear people talking about them or come across a discussion online, you still might not know exactly what the fuss is. They sound darker, or warmer? They were used by the pros in the “old days” maybe? Whatever you know about flatwounds from reading or interviews, you don’t know much until you play with them. At the beginning of my flatwound bass string odyssey…I sure didn’t.
