Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:00 pm
I pity the fool who makes fun of my generous array of knobs and oversized (though slightly tarnished) pickup cover.....
Remember, this was 1972 technology and about all we had for sound modification back then were tone control knobs. Those of you who were kids in the '70's have probably heard that bass, but just don't know it. We used to do a lot of TV commercials for companies like Heinz, AC Delco and Kellogs (ever watch "In the News" on Saturday mornings between the cartoons?)
Under the pickup cover is a fat old Gibson humbucker that's about the size of an output transformer. There is a P-Bass pickup stuck under the handrest because the guys at Elektra couldn't get a bright enough signal out of the Humbucker when recording straight into the board. Each pickup has volume and tone pots, then there's a master volume knob, a neck/bridge/both/standby knob and a toggle that works some sort of cut capacitor on the humbucker to make it sound like a Pedulla Buzz. The pickups each run through their own separate cord and were run through separate channels of an Acoustic 140 head and then through Sunn 118VH folded horns. The humbucker was set pretty bassy and the Precision pickup was set just as bright as possible and blended in for percussion. It's old and somewhat road-weary, but I keep it because it can make sounds that I've never been able to get with other basses. Kind of a deep bass note with the percussion of a big tom-tom, like when a drummer kicks the bass drum just as the bass player plucks a string.
Of course, back then there weren't all these botique builders and offshore guitar companies. The vast majority of people that I came across played Gibsons and Fenders. I bought the first Rickenbacker that I ever saw without even taking it off the wall. I love my pile of Rics and my Pedulla, but being a 20 year old kid and standing in front of one of those Sunn cabinets playing that old fretless with all those knobs that was built just for me was enough to make you feel like the "king of bass"
Remember, this was 1972 technology and about all we had for sound modification back then were tone control knobs. Those of you who were kids in the '70's have probably heard that bass, but just don't know it. We used to do a lot of TV commercials for companies like Heinz, AC Delco and Kellogs (ever watch "In the News" on Saturday mornings between the cartoons?)
Under the pickup cover is a fat old Gibson humbucker that's about the size of an output transformer. There is a P-Bass pickup stuck under the handrest because the guys at Elektra couldn't get a bright enough signal out of the Humbucker when recording straight into the board. Each pickup has volume and tone pots, then there's a master volume knob, a neck/bridge/both/standby knob and a toggle that works some sort of cut capacitor on the humbucker to make it sound like a Pedulla Buzz. The pickups each run through their own separate cord and were run through separate channels of an Acoustic 140 head and then through Sunn 118VH folded horns. The humbucker was set pretty bassy and the Precision pickup was set just as bright as possible and blended in for percussion. It's old and somewhat road-weary, but I keep it because it can make sounds that I've never been able to get with other basses. Kind of a deep bass note with the percussion of a big tom-tom, like when a drummer kicks the bass drum just as the bass player plucks a string.
Of course, back then there weren't all these botique builders and offshore guitar companies. The vast majority of people that I came across played Gibsons and Fenders. I bought the first Rickenbacker that I ever saw without even taking it off the wall. I love my pile of Rics and my Pedulla, but being a 20 year old kid and standing in front of one of those Sunn cabinets playing that old fretless with all those knobs that was built just for me was enough to make you feel like the "king of bass"
