[INTRO] Bio
Posted by: robbyw11 <robbyw11@...>
background.
I attend Unity Way Church in Vista, CA, a suburb about 35 miles north of San
Diego. We are a small church, with about 100 members. I occasionally play
bass to back the choir and other groups. We don't have a praise band - yet.
I didn't duck fast enough, so I am also the president of the Board of
Trustees. I came back to church about 15 years ago when I felt an empty spot
in my life.
Most Sundays will find me behind the sound console, pushing faders. I came
to this list via ChurchSoundCheck when I read posts by Dale Shirk and Karl
Freudenreich, among others.
I have been playing bass on and off, mostly off, since I was 15, which makes
it too many years (36). I played in a garage band in high school, then
sporadically until recently. I don't consider myself very good, but I get by
and enjoy the little playing time I get. My basslines are fairly simple. My
biggest failing is that I can't play by ear, as I have trouble
distinguishing notes. I can tell when it is the wrong note or out of tune,
but not what note. I have been working on ear training, but I'm not there
yet.
I have three basses: a 2002 Fender Mexi P-bass strung with Fender stainless
medium flatwounds, a Tune Bass Maniac 5 string with swamp ash body, maple
neck, J-style pickups and active electronics strung with medium GHS Boomers.
The Tune does a really good piano sound, and I tend to grab it first. My
oldest bass is a Conqueror violin body 4 string. It is one of the first
Japanese copies, with a 32 inch neck. It is very well built and has a neat,
woody tone. I put a set of Ernie Ball slinkys on it 10 years ago, and they
are just now developing that neat thud tone, while still playing true.
My amp is a Carvin R1000, and I play it through a 2x8+1x15 case that I
built. However, I rarely use an amp anymore, going direct into the house
system with a Countryman 85 DI. I am thinking about getting a PODxt and/or a
SANSamp box in the near future to help with the slightly dirty tone. My
favorite sound is that of a P-bass playing through a cranked classic SVT,
but I am pretty sure my congregation would run in fear if I brought one in.
I know my wife and neighbors would take a rather dim view of it too. I have
a serious case of mental G.A.S., but have learned to tame it, as most toys I
have tried just weren't what the claims made them out to be.
I am looking for a 35 inch 5 string. I live near the Carvin factory and have
tried their basses. I really like the feel of them, but have some hesitancy
about neck stability. I picked up the hesitation reading about some people's
experiences on the Bass Gear Review site, but everyone I know that owns a
Carvin loves it. My current dream Carvin bass would be a quilted koa top
without the neck exposed over koa body wings, a maple neck with either a
rosewood or ebony fretboard, and a matching headstock. I have small hands,
so the narrow style neck is important to me.
I have also thought about a Modulus Quantum 5 after playing one while
traveling in Kentucky. I really liked the sound and feel of it. Nobody
carries them around here, at least that I have found, so it will probably
have to wait until I get back up to Seattle or in a city with another big
bass shop.
In my day job, I am a consultant for a computer company, specializing in
HP-UX Unix system administration, problem solving and system design. I do
some travel, but try to keep it down to a reasonable amount. Sitting on an
airplane is _not_ glamorous.
I look forward to learning a lot and maybe contributing a bit.
Robby W.
Unity Way Church
Vista, CA