Bassman Gigged my SB-2 This Evening!

Yup.

RAGS put on a great show as usual. The venue is literally 1.3 miles from my house! A few weeks back at another RAGS gig, I had brought my '84(?) SB-2 to Bill and he not only rocked it but agreed to set it up and put new strings on it for me. So I was there to see tonights show, and to get my baby back better than ever. I don't even play bass (really!) but even I can tell that this is a special instrument. I feel fortunate to have gotten it tweaked by a good guy who knows what he's doing, but also to have seen Bills band so very local and in such fine form.









And about an hour plus into their (as far as I know, eternal) first set, this fantastic harmonica player guy joined them and added a whole new dimension to the sound. Wow! My buddy Chris who was with me (and seeing RAGS for the second time) swears this guy has been playing blues harp locally since the '70's, and saw the guy play maybe 30 years ago. Obviously, my friend is a LOT older than I am... ;+) Regardless, this guy is good! (help me with the name, Bill!) and the evening was great fun.



Anyway, thanks Bassman for the great set and for the fantastic set up. You rock indeed! - ed

That SB-2 is a sleek looking machine. Glad the show was fun!

Ed:

Nice looking SB-2. Is it an Alder or Poplar body?

I once sold an amp to guy. He came to my house to try it out, plugged in my ASAT and ripped it up. Unbelievable, the guy could rock out supreme! In my hands its never even come close to that glory.

That's a pretty massive rig Bill is playing through . What's up with that? Is he lined through the PA. Where is the PA?

Tom

Great photos Ed, and cool looking bass, however I am missing the lead players beautiful Pink Strat. Darwin

sickbutnottired: Thanks. She's a wonderful instrument. Note that it's a very dark (Bahama) blue, and not the (more common) black. I'm going to have to take a good photo of the SB-2 next to my L-1000 or '86 ASAT, where the difference is more apparent.

asphalt-abate: Hey Tom. I'm not sure of the body wood. But given my (limited) experience with MFD pickups, it wouldn't surprise me if the body was maple. One day maybe I'll pull the neck, get the dates as well as a look at the timber. As far as Bassman's rig, it's sounds great and is more than sufficient for the venue. As I keep telling my wife, it's not the size of the rig... ;+)

darwin: Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, the evening would have been perfect it the lead player had brought Pinkie. Maybe next time!

Still hoping and waiting for Bassman Bill to check in and throw in his two bits. Appreciate your responses! - ed

That SB-2 is cool Ed. I'm looking forward to the contrast picture you mentioned - it does look very much like black in the photos.

Looks like a fun gig, it's always good when someone unexpected gets up with a band.

I'm not sure of the body wood. But given my (limited) experience with MFD pickups, it wouldn't surprise me if the body was maple.

Bingo! Maple was the standard used for the 1st generation SB basses (and, for that matter, the earliest examples of the 2nd generation). Long ago, I believe I saw a matched pair SB-1 and SB-2 in mahogany, but I'm thinking those were probably made for NAMM or something.

Great basses! I have two currently (got a little GAS'ed-out last year) but one's on the block now 'cause something had to give and baby needs a new pair of shoes. If I ever need to thin down to just two basses, it would be this model and one of the Wunkays.

Yeah. I just love the aggressive sound of these early SB-2s. Got me a Wunkay too so maybe I ought to learn to play bass. In fact, there's an earlier thread where Bassman gigged my L-1000 as well (with photos). Great instruments, both (thanks Brock!!!) - ed

i apologize for not responding faster. I came down with the cold from hell right after this gig ended.
I have been in bed for two days.
I think that why my face is so red in these pictures.

The guy sitting in on harp is Neal Herron an he is great.
I have done plenty of gigs with him before and we just mentioned to him that we would be playing there so that he could come by. We were not disappointed.

The pink strat did not come out tonight, Pat got the gold top EPI Les Paul for Christmas and this is our first gig since he got it.

I brought two bass amps with me because I had not seen the size of this room. I ended up using my GK400RB though my Ampeg Porta bass single 10 inch cabinet. I also had my Markbass LMII with a 2 10 cabinet in my van. I didn't need the larger amp.

The PA we use is a single Bose L1. It is the vertical black column that can be seen behind the band to the left. Because it sits behind the band, we don't need any monitors. That cleans up the stage quite a bit.

Thanks to ED (Zapcosings) for letting me play his SB2. I think that it may have a maple body.
He wanted to just stay for the first set but the first set was 2 hours long. I finished the night on my Tribute L-2000.

Hope you're feeling better, Bill.

My basses both sound great in your able hands, and I really enjoy watching you play them. Thanks! - ed