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BIOGRAPHY and EQUIPMENT

Bio Coming Soon

 

EQUIPMENT

:: Basses::

Sadowsky P/J 5 String
My workhorse.  Sends a great signal in the studio and the preamp makes it a pleasure onstage.   Fabulous low notes, all the way down.    It blends beautifully.  The sound is rich with full fundamental, beautiful overtones, and forty second sustain.  Superb pitch definition.  This bass carries any band in any room.

 
http://www.sadowsky.com

’58 Fender Precision
My blues and oldies buddy.   It plays under the hands like dreaming.  Fitted with flatwound strings the notes resemble a kick-drum.  Having been used, abused, and bluesed for nearly fifty years, this thing is no longer a collectors’ item.   But if I get stuck on a desert island with only one bass, I hope it is this Fender.

Warwick Corvette 4 String
Looks wicked.  Barks, growls and rocks.   Bass parts off this thing stand out.   A blast to play on stage.   It has a wide range of sounds from the two pickups and the deep-cut/boost, two-voice preamp.   And everybody in the house knows what the bass player is doing. 

 
http://www.rudysmusic.com

 
Englehardt 3/4 Upright

This model is an even more basic version of a Kaye.  This particular bass has a very strong fundamental.   The lack of richness in the overtones has actually been helpful in controlling feedback when playing loud. 

http://davidgage.com


MTD 5 String
The “Blue Bass.”  Michael Tobias’s own imported line.   This bass looks great and has great attack.    As my other 5 string it serves as an on-stage backup to the Sadowsky. 

 
http://www.rudysmusic.com

Fender Squirer 4 String
The “Red Bass.”   Fender’s own full size copy of a P bass.  Usefull for guerilla street playing, camping trips, letting 5 year-olds experiment, potential sky-diving music videos, any use that needs a bass where the bass may not exist after the use. 
http://shop.firstflightmusic.com

 

 
:: Amplifiers ::

Crown CE2000 Power Amp
What can I say:  1350 watts bridged mono, also great in stereo mode.   Whether back-line on a concert stage, or filling a 750 person dance hall by itself, this amp has yet to show any strain.   It’s just strong.  It’s circuit protected and faithful to whatever signal is fed into it.   Perfect for pushing the twin Bergantino cabinets listed below, SVT 8x10s, or any other pair of big cabinets.

Gallien-Krueger 800 RB
400 watts.  No BS.  This head works.  Reliable. 

Gallien-Krueger 400 RB
200 watts.  Right now I’m using its pre-amp section ahead of the Crown.   Separately, this small head works for rehearsals, and as a backup.  Reliable

Kustom 200 (70’s vintage)
100 watts.    Fuzzy and deep old-school solid-state sound.   Fat bottom at low and medium volume.   Razory bark and bite when turned up.  Classic rock or blues in a small bar.  And yes, it is complete with a real vintage cigarette burn on the padded covering.

Ampeg B-15 flip-top (60’s vintage)
35 watts, built-in 15" speaker.   If you’ve heard blues played through one of these, you know it’s like heaven.   Blackie at Tubesville just brought this amp back from the near dead to fine gigging form.   I’ll be happily hauling it to gigs in rooms small enough for this low power, very heavy, very beautiful-sounding amp.

www.tubesville.com


Crate Taxi street amp

20 watts, built in 6" speaker, built in battery.  Works great, battery last for hours. 

 
http://shop.firstflightmusic.com

 
:: Cabinets ::

Bergantino 1x12 w/ attenuated horn
(2 of them)
For those not familiar with him, Jim Bergantino makes high-end cabinets for bass players.  Surprisingly big sound from this little cabinet, which needs (and handles) lots of power.   Deep like many 15s and quick like many 10s.  I’ve used one cabinet alone to fill packed blues bars.   Medium throw.  

Paired mono, they are very loud, deep, and throw further than one alone.  Great outdoors.  Split across the stage, these cabinets fill the house with bass.  The twins paired in stereo allow for both the presence of a clean channel and the buzz of a distorted or effected channel.  Packed on the road, their small size is a big help by leaving space for other equipment.  

 
www.bergantino.com



BLB 2x10 with attenuated horn

Fine back up.   4 ohms.  

www.rudysmusic.com

 
:: Wheels ::

Toyota Mini-Van
Reliable, holds a lot, easy on long drives, and small enough for New York City’s tight spaces.

Aluminum-alloy air-wheel hand truck
Don’t laugh, or not too hard.  This thing gets me, a bass, and an amp to gigs all over downtown New York.   Comfortable ride for the equipment (I’m told) and fantastic fuel mileage.


 

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