Cars and Trucks and Things that Go

I’ve owned a lot of cars. I mean, a LOT. As of right now, I’ve owned twelve, and I’m about to pick up another to replace the Geo Metro I sold this past spring. That’ll make the tally thirteen cars in nineteen years.

Cars have always been a simultaneously maddening and rewarding variable in my life; maddening because of their expense and hassle, and rewarding because I’ve learned gobs and gobs about mechanics. I prefer to work on my own cars, and more often than not I curse myself for that decision halfway through whatever operation I happen to be performing. I’ve done countless brake jobs, replaced wheel bearings, brake lines, carburetors, rotors, drums, wheel cylinders, various electrical components, water pumps, belts, radiators, stereos, entire interiors, ball joints, tie rods, shocks, etc.

The cars I buy don’t follow any particular trend; no two have been the same. I have a tendency to buy a car that is completely unlike any of the ones prior. I suppose I’m the same way with cars that I am with basses; I like to experiment, always searching for The One. There have been a couple that were just wrong from the start, like my ’83 Jeep CJ-7, ’92 Jeep Cherokee, and ’78 Nova. The CJ and Nova have rap sheets lengthy enough to warrant their own posts.

The one that started it all was my first car, a 1976 Chevrolet Chevette donated to me by a friend of the family. It didn’t run and needed body work, but that didn't matter. It was mine. After towing it home from his house, I bought a battery and spark plugs for it and set out to get this funky little car running. Mind you, I had no experience working on cars and had a very, VERY limited knowledge of mechanics overall. All I had was a Clymer manual and a crazed sense of urgency. I also had time, because I was still months away from getting my license.

Getting the engine going was relatively pain-free. It just came to life one day and I was then able to move on to tackling the bodywork. The lower portions of the doors were rotted, so I riveted some copper scrap and bondo’d the seams. All in all, it looked surprisingly good. I then decided to paint the car a solid white, wheels included. It was 1988, so the monochromatic theme was in (I’m pretty sure I got the idea from a picture of a bb Porsche 928). My father and uncle painted it for me in our garage, and once that was done, my excitement welled tenfold. I was now looking at a customized, running example of my first car, and I gotta tell ya, I got a lot of compliments on it when it was finally on the road. I have a single, poor quality Polaroid of the entire operation, and it’s just of the car up on blocks with all the masking. Why I didn’t take more pictures of this grand metamorphosis, I’ll never know. As a finishing touch, I hand-painted the Chevrolet badges and emblems in red, including the hubcaps. We’re now ready to roll. In a high school parking lot filled with beat-up Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs and a Roadrunner, it was quite a standout.

It was a funny little car with a four-speed manual transmission. I have yet to drive another car that begged for another cog in the transmission like the Chevette did. It was probably designed as a city car, so highway speeds had that engine screaming like a banshee. It had no tachometer, so I have no idea what the RPM was at 55 MPH, let alone 65 MPH. I’d probably put it at about 328,000. In short, it was a very loud car on the highway. It was also missing a floorboard on the passenger’s side. I was fortunate that the company my father worked for had a lot of scrap material (hence the copper), so he grabbed me a half-inch thick piece of Plexiglas. It fit perfectly under the carpet, and was not unlike a glass-bottom boat. Also, the engine had an exhaust leak at the manifold because one of the studs was broken. So, I devised a clamping system that consisted of a piece of wood(!) and a C clamp that acted as a lever, holding the exhaust pipe flange against the exhaust manifold. It worked well and only required a tightening of the C clamp every now and then. Not surprisingly, the wood would get charred and I’d have to replace it every couple hundred miles. If you’re wondering how it never ignited, I don’t know either.

I drove to band practice one day and as I approached an intersection, the brake pedal just went straight to the floor. Hmm. It never occurred to me to check the brakes when I got the car. It was all about “Does it run? Does it look good?”, and that was pretty much the extent of it. “Brakes? Bah. I’m sure they’re fine.” What happened was that the rear brake lines ruptured due to corrosion. I had no idea what to do about it because I didn’t even really know how brakes worked. I just knew there were pads and fluid involved somehow. So I looked it up, went out and bought some brake line, and replaced them. Then I seemingly had to replace every brake component on it within a couple weeks.

I was finally driving a solid car that started, went, stopped, and looked great. I got to enjoy that euphoria for maybe four months until I injured myself at work with a utility knife, lacerating my calf (thereby requiring twenty-seven stitches). I couldn’t drive because it was my clutch-side leg, so I let my brother borrow it while I recuperated. One day after work he told me that it was running rough and had little power. Since I wasn’t working, I spent an afternoon trying to sort out the problem. I figured the timing belt needed to be changed. I didn’t have a good reason for coming to this conclusion; I just figured it was the problem. It wasn’t. I replaced it and it made no difference. I then tried timing it, and that process was brought to an abrupt halt because as the engine was running with me leaning over it, the fan grabbed the flannel shirt I was wearing and ripped right off my body.

I closed the hood and called it a day.

The next day, I had the revelation of a lifetime: ALWAYS check the simple things first. I started with the spark plugs. First one looks good…second one looks good…third one loo..waaait a minute! It was the spark plug equivalent of one of those cardboard phony computer monitors you see in a furniture store: it was just a shell of a spark plug with no electrode in the middle. If I checked that first, I would have saved myself about eighteen hours and untold frustration. That lesson has stuck with me all my life.

Then it developed a problem I could never remedy. I’d be driving on the highway for awhile, and for some reason, the engine would just backfire, once, and extremely loudly. Like a canon loud. I’d never know when it was going to occur, so all my highway driving was incredibly tense, always anticipating that godforsaken explosion. It's the kind of tense when you know your older sibling is lurking in the house somewhere, waiting to jump out and scare you out of your skin. When the backfire finally loosed itself, I’d look in my rearview mirror and see a huge cloud of black, swirling smoke, much to the horror of everyone around me. Also, I’d take a turn, and without warning, the power would just disappear and kick back in again. Hmm.

I took the car to a garage (after replacing the carburetor) to see if they could figure it out. The mechanic told me “I honestly can’t get it to run any better than you can.” That statement was met with equal parts flattery and sadness, because a certified mechanic could do no better than my green 17-year-old self, but it also meant the end was near for my beloved Chevette. I took a trip to Amherst to visit my brother at college, and the symptoms only worsened. Somehow, it made it all the way up and back, but as I pulled into the driveway, it just died.

After weeks of deliberation, I got a line on another car and decided it was time to put the Chevette to rest. I assumed I’d have it towed, but out of curiosity, I figured I’d try to start it. Fired right up. Not wanting to waste any time, I jumped in and drove it to the junkyard. Really, it never ran better than it did on that trip. I just couldn’t understand it.

I “donated” a couple cars to that junk yard over the years, and the guy who ran the place would always tell me “you know, a lot of people have asked about that Chevette...they love it. It’s a good-lookin’ car.” I’d just reply with my usual wistful “yeeeeah, it was. Maybe I’ll come back for it someday.”

I still have dreams that I did go back for it.

Unfortunate Marketing, Chapter 461

We have a water cooler in my office, and Poland Spring supplies the water. We got a delivery this morning, and the delivery guy left a little promo thing that’s most likely intended to hang on a 5-gallon water bottle, though it looks curiously like a "do not disturb" sign. I grabbed it on my way out the door because I was intrigued by why Poland Spring was offering a “do not disturb” sign. I did a double-take as I saw what they were hawking: The Aquapod®. But it wasn’t the item so much as the name that caused the double-take: it looked like it read Aquapoo.

The name is goofy enough, but the marketing strategy is even sillier. It’s an effort to get kids to drink water. Naturally, they have to use selling points like “cool new bottle!” and that it’s “great-tasting.” Personally, I think that good water should have no taste at all. And somehow, this little guy is fun to drink. Man, when did our standards for fun becomes so...so...lame? But the bottle shape makes me chuckle:

“It’s water! To the extreeeeeeeeeme!”

Next they’ll have it play some generic heavy metal guitar riff and put sunglasses on it.

Bassic (sorry) Instinct

A dear friend of mine asked me for advice the other day regarding his first bass purchase. Not surprisingly, I gave him a most verbose dissertation. He then suggested I put that advice into my web log. Well, I've opted for a different approach:

I have owned so many basses and amps, I might as well just list them and my experience with them. Hell, I've spent (often wasted) a lot of money over the years trying this stuff out; the least I can do is dole out free advice. This list will be old news to those who have read my old website, and for the casual (read: not gear-obsessed) reader, it will be an utter bore. But for that other %.0003, enjoy.

Basses I've Owned (in reverse chronological order)

23 (pending).

Because of the pleasant surprise my Les Paul turned out to be, I have fallen in love with the Epiphone EB-3. It's gorgeous and sounds simply fantastic.

22. Peavey Foundation Fretless, tobaccoburst

After unloading my fretless Pilot, I longed for another. I looked for a looong time for another fretless but just didn't want to pay a lot. My Pilot was an outstanding bass that I got for $125, so that was my (unrealistic) point of reference. So, after many months, I spotted the Foundation, and it was $100. It was filthy and needed a lot of work, but, forgive the pun, is a great foundation. I love this bass. It weighs very little and has a broad tonal palate.

21. Epiphone Les Paul Standard, ebony/chrome

I had too much gear that I wasn't using, and I don't like to hang onto things that I just don't use. So, I sold it all, including my beloved Stingray. Sometimes one just has to do things like this no matter how ludicrous it sounds. I bought a new, ebony & chrome 4-string Epiphone Les Paul. LOVE it. I can get a surprising variety of tones out of the 2 humbuckers. It doesn't just sound like wood like the Thunderbird did even though the pickup configuration is the same. Near as i can tell, there simply aren't too may black ones out there. all the stores seemed to only carry the cherryburst version. Cherryburst is a lovely color, but I fond the black (Epiphone calls it Ebony) more timeless.

20. Galveston Acoustic/Electric Bass, translucent green

It has a no-name preamp in it, replete with EQ and presence. And you know what? It actually sounds really good! It's a shallow body, so the low end isn't especially loud. But it's definitely voiced for midrange. So, it's good for practicing quietly or when I just don't feel like plugging into something when playing along with CDs and stuff. I think I got my money's worth out of it and I really like it. Sold it.

19. Dean Rhapsody 8-string, natural

My brothers and I went to see the band Doubledrive over the summer, and their bassist Josh Sattler was playing a Hamer 8-string. HUGE sound. I had been thinking about getting one for quite awhile, but this sealed the deal. Hamer versions are very hard to find, so I found a used Dean Rhapsody on the internet. I love it. It's such a beautiful, lush-sounding instrument and I enjoy it very much. It can't be used in every application, but it's a lot more versatile than one might think. Sold it and greatly miss it.




18. Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 4-string, orange

I added the obligatory Hipshot and swapped out the pickguard from white to black, then to clear. I love this bass to bits, and it will remain a permanent member of the stable. I had to sell my Thunderbird and Jazz for it, but it was totally worth it. Every now and then you stumble on something and say, "this is going to be with me, ALWAYS." I'm happy with how it is stock, but I wouldn't mind installing and EMG pickup and preamp. I found that I was using it all the time and my Warwick was just collecting dust, so I sold the Warwick to make room for.....


17. Epiphone Thunderbird 4-string, tobaccoburst

I think the Thunderbird is one of THE most rock and roll-looking basses ever made. I've always wanted one, and the Gibson versions are prohibitively expensive. So, I found a used Epiphone version on the internet. These things are LONG. I was forever ramming into stuff with the headstock. Unmistakable tone. Just huge and piano-like. Very well made and I loved it a lot, but since I'm both a fingerstyle and pick player, I could never get it to sit comfortably enough to play both styles. Wish I still had it.

16. DeArmond Pilot 4-string, cobalt blue

I was in another band that required some pretty significant public transportation in order for me to get to rehearsal. Carrying my Warwick with me turned out to be a major pain in the ass. So, I bought the Pilot for $140 from a closeout Sam Ash was having, and I would just leave it at the rehearsal space. Probably the best $140 I've ever spent. This bass seems to weigh just ounces, has a great neck, and the electronics aren't half bad. What's also cool is that this turned out to be two basses in one. I wanted another fretless but didn't want to spend too much, so I converted this one to fretless, SUCCESSFULLY. All it took was a couple hours, sandpaper, and wood filler. That's it. Oh, and flatwounds. Sold it. Shouldn't have.


15. Warwick Corvette Standard 4-string, natural

Now this was an impulse buy, but a great one. I went to the store for strings and walked out with this. I saw them on the wall every time I went to the store, but never gave them a second look because they seemed so cold and sterile. On a whim, I tried one, and that was it. It felt great, had beautiful tone, and the look really grew on me. And the quality of it was unbelievable. It had some really cool innovative stuff like an adjustable nut and bridge. Plus I just had a lot of fun telling everyone it was made of Bubinga. I put in Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders (THIS batch worked) and a Hipshot. It was my #1 for awhile.

14. Ibanez ATK 300 4-string, honey

I'd always loved the crushing, springy middle punch of a Stingray. I still couldn't afford one, but I had heard about Ibanez ATKs and how similar they sounded to Stingrays. I sought one out on the internet and found one. Another really heavy bass, but it was beautiful and well made. It had some crazy coil-tapping options, but all I wanted was the Stingray sound. It came close, but not quite. And the strange thing was that this bass was active, but it didn't have the kind of output one would expect from an active bass. It was a maple neck, my fave, but I just couldn't get used to it for some reason.

13. Fender Squier Jazz 4-string, red

This was actually a Fender Squier, Mexican-made, not like the Squiers you see today. Great bass right off the shelf, but I opted to modify it. I got a Warmoth maple neck, some knobs, and pickup covers. The thing became a trailer queen, really. I was more impressed by how it looked than sounded. I installed some Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders, but I must have gotten a bad batch because they were weak-sounding, even weaker than stock. And they weren't wired out of phase or anything. It just didn't make sense. So the stock pickups stayed. Should have kept it.

This is also around the time I decided that I didn't really like more than 4 strings, so I started to install Hipshot D-Tuners on all my basses.

12. Gibson Les Paul Special 5-string, cherry

Man, this thing was a total beast. I don't even rememember what prompted me to seek one out, but I found one used on the internet. Everything about this bass was thick. Two humbuckers, high-gauge strings, ebony fretboard, the WEIGHT. My God, the weight. I couldn't believe how much this thing weighed. I think it was made of mahogany. Or slate. I liked it okay and it sure looked impressive, but the novelty wore off quickly. It was gorgeous and I didn't really want to part with it, but it was a lot of work to play and I could never get the sound I wanted out of it. Traded it.


11. Danelecto Longhorn Reissue 4-string, Commie Red (really)

I'm not sure what drew me to this bass, but it was the complete antithesis of the Les Paul 5-string. I saw its unusual shape and lipstick pickups, and that probably did it. Then I played it. I couldn't believe that wall of sound came out of two guitar pickups. And it weighed absolutely NOTHING. I love all things quirky, and this certainly fit the bill. I played it for quite a bit, and although its short scale took some getting used to, it was quite pleasant actually. I did a couple shows with it despite numerous testimonials of the strap pins coming out. I even recorded a demo with it. The strap pins did finally let go once, and I completely boogered up the jack because of it. However, Danelectro sent me a new jack free of charge. The only problem other than that is that I play aggressively, and because the bass was so light, I had a hard time keeping it anchored. It was as if it was trying to run way from me all the time. But again, it was a joy. Should have kept it.


10. Yamaha BBN-5 5-string, natural

I love Yamaha stuff. It's relatively affordable and put together extremely well. Very comfortable and it didn't weigh as much as some 4-strings. This one had two J pickups in it, and they were ultimately what led me to trade it later on. They were just too weak. I couldn't find appropriate aftermarket pickups for it, so I traded it.

9. Jay Turser JTB-440 Stingray knockoff 4-string, blue

I always wanted a Musicman Stingray but sure couldn't afford one, but I stumbled on this. Not to mention it was approximately 1/5 the price. It did the job for quite awhile, actually. Now that I've owned a Stingray and have also learned a lot since then, I now realize that it sounded absolutely nothing like a Stingray, despite how it looked and even with the humbucker. OLP makes a much better version of it now.

8. Peavey Milestone 4-string, sunburst

I really liked this bass. Very clean and simple. Didn't keep it long because I did a direct trade for #9.

7. Fender Precision fretless 4-string, Inca silver

Then it was time to sate my appetite for a fretless. This was a beautiful bass with a black headstock and no fretlines. I had absolutely no business buying this thing. I had it a couple months and lost my patience with it. Fretless requires a fair amount of discipline, and it's painfully obvious when you don't know what you're doing. Playing it live was especially nightmarish when you couldn't hear yourself. Sure looked impressive, however. Give me something fretted, pronto. Wish I had it now, though.

6. Ibanez SR406 6-string, blue

Naturally, I just had to get a 6-string after having my appetite whet by a 5-string. If I thought I hit bum notes with a 5, hooooo boy. Having a high C was cool for chordal stuff, but it was tough to hear those high notes when playing live. I was seriously out of my league with that one. I ultimately sold it so I could buy Christmas presents. Surprisingly, I don't regret selling that one. Nice bass, though.

5. Peavey Foundation 5-string, black

This is when things started to REALLY get interesting. I had joined a band where the lead guy was a multi-instrumentalist named Mac Ritchey. He had some amazing gear, most notably a fretless 6-string Pedulla. Thus began my re-energized lust for a Pedulla and a newfound interest in fretless and a low B. Well, I'm not a Rockefeller, and I wanted to start off slow, so I bought a used fretted 5-string Peavey instead. That took some getting used to and I hit a lot of bum notes at first. But at the time, I thought laying a low B under something was just cool as hell. Sold it.

4. Hohner B-bass 4-string, black

Now, this was quite a step up for me. It had active electronics, and I didn't even know what that meant. But the even cooler feature was that it had a Steinberger-licensed bridge. So, I could drop from E to D with a flip of the lever at the bridge. The electronics were absolute garbage. EMG Selects. I probably would have kept them despite their sound, but they would just cut out all the time (in hindsight, the problem was the preamp and not the pickups). So, without any research or knowing any better, I ordered real EMGs for it because someone at my music store said they were the best. I'm glad I did, because it was a great-sounding bass after that. It had a small body, 24 frets, and was pretty light. This was the bass that began a long legacy of Seller's Remorse.

3. Peavey Foundation 4-string, black.

My first foray into Peavey basses. At the time, I was amazed by the thing. Very well put together, it sounded great, and it came in this crazy molded plastic (VERY tough) case that looked like a big breaded fish fillet. I installed some Bartolini pickups in it (J and P), and it made it sound even better. I also refinished this one and attempted to convert it to a fretless. I shouldn't have. I ruined a perfectly good bass.

2. BC Rich P-bass knockoff 4-string, white

Definitely not one of the US-made models. Budget parts and even a pointy headstock. But it was still pretty good. I knew absolutely nothing about basses or guitars when I bought it, and I distinctly remember choosing it because the A string had this weird dead sound to it. I thought it was a 'feature' of the bass and bought it. Obviously, the 'feature' disappeared as soon as I changed the strings. I refinished it with a honey stain. I shouldn't have.

1. Mako P-bass knockoff, white

My very first bass, and as I recall, it wasn't too bad. It was certainly good enough to learn on.


Bass Amps/Rigs I've owned, in chronological order.

1. Sears guitar amp

Handed down to me by my older brother. It sufficed for what I needed for, which was playing 12-bar blues for hours on end, quietly. Interestingly, it had a knob for 'reverb'. Well, it wasn't reverb. It was tremolo. I don't even know where that amp went.

2. Peavey Basic 50 combo

I outgrew the Sears amp pretty quickly, so I finally went out and bought a real bass amp. This was my first experience with anything Peavey, and it was a great experience. I've loved their stuff ever since. I later sold it so I could buy Christmas presents.

3. Randall Combo

Being ampless just wasn't working out since I got an offer to join a band, so I quickly went out and bought this odd little used Randall amp. I knew absolutely nothing about amps back then, but I'm pretty sure it was 60 watts, solid state, and had a 12 in it. I've never seen another like it, and it sounded great when pushed to the limit. Still wasn't loud enough, so...

4. Peavey Mark IV, Peavey 210 Powered Enclosure, Peavey 1x18 cab

My God, a real bass rig. Way out of my league with this one. I had no idea how to run the thing other than turn a few knobs and adjust volume. I've never been a big fan of 18s because they always struck me as being too slow. Well when you only have 210 watts pushing it, it's just gonna be that way. The powered 210 was a pretty cool idea, and I knew nothing about biamping. I used that rig to about 1/8 of its potential.

5. Peavey Minx

I had enrolled in a university to study music, so I needed a practice amp. Well, I *was* a student after all, so I was broke. I traded in my huge 300-watt rig for this little amp with 30 watts and a 10. It was kind of a sad day and that was the first time I experienced firsthand how much one gets screwed on trades at music stores. Not to mention I dropped out of the university about 2 months later, even more broke and carrying a wee amp. Sold it pretty soon after that.

6. Peavey TNT150 combo

I was still bandless for awhile around that time, but I pined for a bigger amp. So, a great friend of mine (thank you, Whitney) actually bought me one in exchange for the promise that I wouldn't just turn around and sell it in a couple months. I kept that promise. It was the first amp I had that had chorus in it, a feature exclusive to Peavey. I LOVE Peavey chorus. I really wish they still had it in their amps. It was a real bonus. Sold it eventually.

7. Peavey KB60 combo

I'm not sure what prompted me to pick up a used keyboard amp, so I'll chalk this one up to an impulse buy. I'm pretty sure I got it to run my drum machine through it. A great amp, too. I discovered that in a pinch, they make great portable PAs. Reverb! So with this, my TNT, and Minx, I basically had a rig that looked like a Peavey snowman. Sounded great, too!

8. Sunn Coliseum 300 head

I finally joined another band, but for some reason found that the TNT wasn't loud enough. In actuality, it should have been. The problem was with my inability to EQ the thing correctly. Smiley-face EQs settings do NOTHING to use the amp's power potential. So, I bought the Sunn. I liked it because it was very clean and simple-looking, and from what I remember, it sounded very nice too. Solid-state and mostly trouble-free.

9. Peavey 4x10 cabinet

Of course, I had to have something to run the Sunn through. So I bought my first 410. I was now in the big leagues again. A great cabinet that could handle a lot of power. Sold it.

10. Peavey Mark VIII head

Onto a different band. We played a show in the city (which was thrilling as hell for me because I'd only played in basements), and I forgot a speaker cable. I figured there was no difference between an instrument and speaker cable, so Boy Genius here used a guitar cable. Yup, cooked the head mid-set. After getting an estimate on the cost of repair of the Sunn head, I decided a new head would be smarter in the long run. It didn't take much convincing or shopping around. I went straight for the Mark VIII. Very powerful, lots of cool knobs, and it had the chorus I love so much.

11. Peavey 1x15 cabinet

So now that I have a head that's so powerful, I need a 15 bottom cabinet to fill out the sound spectrum when added to the 410, right? Damned straight. Also sounded very good and could handle a lot of power. Sold it. Sold everything I had, actually, due to disenchantment.

12. Peavey TNT150 combo

After having my own place for awhile, I got the jones again. So I saw an ad for a used TNT 150 for short money and bought it.

13. Peavey Minx

I determined that the TNT was a little much for my shoebox-sized apartment, so I bought another used Minx because it had a headphone jack. The neighbors rejoiced. Wish I still had it.

14. Kustom 410 combo

I bought this little oddity at Wurlitzer's. A used amp, the salesman sold it to me as a bass amp. It wasn't. I really should have known better that it was a guitar amp because the cabinet was just too shallow to be a bass amp, and it had reverb and tremolo, for cryin' out loud. Now that I think of it, it would have made a really cool guitar amp. Anyway, the thing was just wrought with many problems. Cool-looking with the purple jewel and black
tuck-and-roll, but I just couldn't get rid of it fast enough. So I traded it for......

15. Yamaha 115B combo

What a weird amp this was. It was 100 watts and had a 15, but the thing was something like 4 1/2 feet tall. It sounded very...paper-y. It had a buzz in it whose source I could never find. Off it went.

16. Peavey 210TX combo amp

This was the first new amp I had had since my first TNT, and I had to order it. I also traded my 410 in for it. Really a stunning amp, but it just wasn't loud enough. 210 watts alone and 300 with my 1x15 hooked up to it, but it just didn't have the headroom. But it really sounded great otherwise. Chorus! Traded it in for...

17. Peavey Megabass head, Peavey 210TXR cabinet

I ordered a 210 cabinet with a 2-rackspace provision in it to fit my recently-acquired used Megabass head. What a setup. Ah, that Megabass. This was Peavey's first foray into digital bass amps. Two channels, 200 watts each.
This was one of the loudest amps I've ever owned, and I still don't know why. It had something to do with its being digital, and good God did that thing crank. Chorus! Unfortunately, it also had a slight crackle I could never fix. Should have kept it anyway.

18. Peavey 1x15 cabinet

Needed it to pair with the Megabass/210, naturally. The pair just annihilated.

18.5 Ampeg 212 cabinet. I didn't keep it long. It had a rackspace in it for a power amp, but was an extranneous cabinet.


19. Carvin RL6815 combo

I finally figured out why it was I kept experimenting. I wanted something that was powerful and great-sounding, but I also wanted it to be small. With this combo, it had a 600-watt head encased in a 1x15, 2x8 cabinet. I figured "now this is THE combination I need!" Nope. The combo cabinet just simply couldn't project the way one or more separate cabinets could. So, I took the head out, installed it in a rack and used it through...

20. Peavey 2x15 cabinet

I got tired of hauling two cabinets around, so I picked this up. These cabinets have a ridiculously low wattage rating for a bass cabinet, but they CRANK. It was trouble-free despite how many watts I pushed through it, and I ultimately sold it to make room for.....

Around this time, I was using the Carvin/215 rig, and the head blew during a show one night. That was expensive as I had to ship it all the way from MA to CA, and THEN pay for the repairs as well. Turned out to be a defective part that Carvin had opted to upgrade in the next version, and I think they should have upgraded mine for nothing. But what's done is done. Thoroughly disgusted with how that turned out, I got the repaired head back and sold it. Onto....

21. Peavey Max bass preamp, Samson F1200 power amp, Ampeg SVT50 Isovent cabinet

I stumbled on the Ampeg cabinet first. It had two 10s, and two isobarically (clamshell) mounted 15s. It weighed a good 841 pounds, it seemed, and what a beast. I figured it'd make an ideal replacement for my 215 cabinet as it could be used biamp or full-range all in one cabinet, weight be damned. I knew it'd take a fair amount of juice to run it, so I decided to go with a separate preamp and power amp as opposed to a head. I never had much luck with it. The effects loop in the preamp, when used, would short something out. I bought the preamp used, so God only knows the abuse it had seen. I had a Samson 1200-watt power amp running the whole thing, but I just couldn't get any decent volume out of it. The cabinet didn't work out, so I traded it in on...

22. Peavey 4x10 cabinet

Hey, they sound great. What can I tell ya.

My Samson/Max/410 rig disintegrated on a New Year's eve gig. Not only did the power amp melt down, but it also took two of the 4x10 speakers with it. Cha-CHING. I got the Samson fixed for nothing under warranty and sold it to a friend of mine. So the problem wasn't with the Ampeg cabinet but the power amp. Go figure. I sold the preamp, too. The next day, I went out and bought a new.....

23. Peavey Nitrobass head

This thing is great. Pretty damned powerful, and has a lot of really nice features. When my previous rig crapped out, I knew immediately that I was going to buy tried (and tried and tried and tried) and true Peavey. Unfortunately, Peavey no longer includes chorus on their bass heads, BAM heads notwithstanding. But again, I love this thing. It's still part of my current rig.


24. Peavey 210TX cabinet

I traded the 410 with two blown speakers for this. Fair amount of woof for its size, buy I felt like I was hurting it all the time. Sold it.

25. Peavey Mark IV head

Tired of having my rigs disintegrate and having no backup, I bought a used MKIV. Technology that's almost 25 years old, but these are still great heads(!) even today. Sold it.

26. Crate BE215 cabinet

I got this to use along with the 210 or sometimes as a standalone cabinet. It handled a lot of abuse. I don't think it's rated for more than 200 watts, but I easily exceeded that every live show and it never showed any signs of being taxed. Sold it.

26. SWR Henry 8x8 cabinet

Onstage, I sometimes have difficulty hearing myself. 15s throw the bass very nicely and all, but I can only feel them onstage and not hear them. Unless I'm 20 feet in front of the cabinet, but I haven't gotten to play those size stages yet. I'd bring my 210 cabinet to cover the upper frequencies and to hear myself better. It worked, but hauling both the 215 AND 210 got to be tiresome after awhile. So, I decided to get a Henry 8x8. Projects right where I need it, has a surprising amount of woof and great punch, and will take a whole bunch of power. My favorite cabinet to date and still part of my rig.

27. Peavey Basic 112 combo

I needed a practiuce ampo that could also be used at smallish shows, and this was the answer. It's 60 watts, expandable to 75 when another cabinet is added. It's a great, no-frills amp that does the job quite nicely. Still have it.

So. Any questions?

Coolest Prop Ever (for me, anyway)

I recently did a photo shoot for my friend Josh's band, Medina Sod (it's an obscure reference from The Big Lebowski). They're a super-talented and great bunch of guys, and I highly recommend checking them out. They do shows on the east coast, so it's pretty likely they're playing near you sometime. Anyway, these are a couple of my favorite shots.

This first shot is from the inside of the singer's Volvo. I don't know what year the Volvo is, but it's old, lovingly restored, and cooler'n hell.