Dimestore Liam
Member
Got me a Rocket, brothers and sisters! Finally!
I've wanted an Ampeg B-100R Rocket Bass combo since they first came out in 1996-97, both because it was designed to be a modern Portaflex and because it is actually not quite as heavy as my old Ampeg! I suppose I'm lucky they are so heavy, and nobody wants to mess around with shipping. I saw this one last week for well below the going rate, (pick-up only, of course) about an hour's drive from Detroit, so I decided to take a little road trip. Our next-door neighbour is in her 90s and not really into music (her oldest son loved a lot of the same kind of 50s & 60s jazz I listen to, like the Jazz Messengers and so on, but he passed last year), so we normally have to keep the volume pretty low. She is out of town for the moment, so I decided to see if I could figure out the bass-line to 'It's a Shame' by the Spinners...
From 1992 to 2001 we lived within a block of the Fortune Records building, a few blocks from United Sound, and a 5 minute bus ride from "the Motown house" as we all called it. Back then the Motown Museum was nearly always deserted, and the security guard/tour guide was a regular customer at the deli & sandwich shop where my wife & I both worked. He was a nice guy, and when I went up there he would let me take notes on the (surprisingly limited) outboard equipment in the control room and just generally hang out. Actually being able to touch the D.I. input that James Jamerson (and Bob Babbitt) used was nearly a religious experience...
I got something really cool for my wife, too- a Vox AC 4 Custom 12! She's been using my old Stage 65, as her little Fender Frontman 15R disappeared many years ago (neither of us even remember the details). She's thrilled, 'cause she always loved Vox amps (even before she started playing). Several other musicians we knew had Vox amps; about ten years ago my band's lead guitarist had gotten one of those Vox AC15 Handwired Heritage Amps (with the "TV-front" & cream tolex) and she was just drooling over it. It is so cool to be able to finally get her a Vox of her own!!!
I've wanted an Ampeg B-100R Rocket Bass combo since they first came out in 1996-97, both because it was designed to be a modern Portaflex and because it is actually not quite as heavy as my old Ampeg! I suppose I'm lucky they are so heavy, and nobody wants to mess around with shipping. I saw this one last week for well below the going rate, (pick-up only, of course) about an hour's drive from Detroit, so I decided to take a little road trip. Our next-door neighbour is in her 90s and not really into music (her oldest son loved a lot of the same kind of 50s & 60s jazz I listen to, like the Jazz Messengers and so on, but he passed last year), so we normally have to keep the volume pretty low. She is out of town for the moment, so I decided to see if I could figure out the bass-line to 'It's a Shame' by the Spinners...
From 1992 to 2001 we lived within a block of the Fortune Records building, a few blocks from United Sound, and a 5 minute bus ride from "the Motown house" as we all called it. Back then the Motown Museum was nearly always deserted, and the security guard/tour guide was a regular customer at the deli & sandwich shop where my wife & I both worked. He was a nice guy, and when I went up there he would let me take notes on the (surprisingly limited) outboard equipment in the control room and just generally hang out. Actually being able to touch the D.I. input that James Jamerson (and Bob Babbitt) used was nearly a religious experience...
I got something really cool for my wife, too- a Vox AC 4 Custom 12! She's been using my old Stage 65, as her little Fender Frontman 15R disappeared many years ago (neither of us even remember the details). She's thrilled, 'cause she always loved Vox amps (even before she started playing). Several other musicians we knew had Vox amps; about ten years ago my band's lead guitarist had gotten one of those Vox AC15 Handwired Heritage Amps (with the "TV-front" & cream tolex) and she was just drooling over it. It is so cool to be able to finally get her a Vox of her own!!!
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