And One For The Boss. Maybe Two!

We're all entitled to a certain number of things we think we deserve and someday might get.  Why else would be pick up a copy of Car and Driver magazine at Barnes and Noble and leaf through it.  Or stroll through Dovetails Furniture and stand next to a beautiful dining room table, 8 matching chairs, finished the same color as Grandma's.

It is a privilege to be able to act on that list, at least in the column headed "basses."

I've long been curious about an elaborate onboard preamp.  By nature I'm not a preamp kind of guy though I have flirted over the line a few times.  I have used, and actually enjoyed, the K&K PureBass preamp (made in Oregon, be it noted) as well as the Graphtech Ghost complete with peizo pickups, one per string.  Yet one day my interest would fade and that would be that.

The latest infatuation is with the Taurus TM-2 onboard preamp.  The upside is the modularity of the components which makes it possible to try them out without installing them.  The downside is that you can have up to 5 pots (knobs) and add one or two switches.  One would need a manual to which to refer.

That said, I powered ahead on a Bass For Lee.  Here are some progress images:

The center stripe is, from the center out, cherry, walnut, cherry, walnut, then the cherry bookmatched pieces.  

The back is bookmatched alder with a spiffy little knot pattern in the lower bout.  Center is pau ferro flanked with maple.

Flashy?  Yes.  Will it sound good?  Well:  It depends upon who is playing it!  

Nevertheless, the self indulgence has allowed a number of other bass bodies to get closer to readiness by drafting this one.  It doesn't have a number yet.  Soon.  Oh and one more thing.

Yes it's for the owner.  And in answer to your next question, sure, it may very well be for sale.  I have this other idea for a bass with just one pickup and the unthinkable simplicity of two--Just Two!--knobs.

Ginner, Barker Bass #99, gets a Graphtech Ghost System

Ginner (see blog post Friday December 12, 2008), built in memory of my mother, had actually been originally intended to have a Ghost System from GraphTech. Now became the time, so the first task was to bore and counterbore a spot for a fourth pot on the face, likewise a small toggle switch. At the time, I didn't have a fourth pretty knob so I used a stock black one just to be sure everything worked.

The serious electronic work started with excavating a filled-in section under the bridge, which accommodates the leads from the individual pickups. Things really get interesting in the electronics cavity--see the images--but if one takes one's time it all makes sense.

The double battery box is a Barker trademark. Some preamps like 18 volts, most work on 9. If 9 is enough, then the second compartment holds a new battery--as handy as a spare could be. These batteries, according to GraphTech, should last 500 hours, but anecdotally that appears to be a bit optimistic.

So we're into testing at this point, refining perhaps, but all in all it's the same bass with a greater breadth of sonic choices. The dramatic makeovers are the purview of cheap television series. This is real world, hands on, down and dirty, mechanics which, though helpful as a musician's tool, still points you back to your hands.

It's all in the hands.

Birth of a Barker Bass Prototype

As a manufacturer/craftsman, I like what I have designed and think, in my own selfish, unwindowed world that what you need you will find in my product line.

That is stinkin' thinkin', of course. In similar foolishness, I thought the mental construct was impenetrable.

But somewhere there was a micro fissure in my narrow world, and this Poco idea broached the gap. Two days of work and we have what you see.

Bass on a mic stand.

But wait, there's more!

Already Brent commented the "body needs work." Agreed. It also needs some drastic weight loss surgery. Too much mass, even when I changed the balance point from where you see to right under the end of the fingerboard.

And maybe it would benefit from a stand with a slightly wider footprint; perhaps a three-point stance would be better.

And the 360 degree mounting is good in concept but inadequate in position-holding.

And if we want it to go three ways--vertical on the stand, horizontal on the stand, and strap-slingable to boot, then there's a keen need for a smooth back unencumbered by attachment protrusions. As Bill Cosby's Noah says back to God, "RIGHT!"

Hmmm.

This is the kind of list that makes an innovator wring his hands in poorly-disguised excitement! Clear that bench! Bring in the boxes of metal thingies that have no other label than "metal thingies"! Leave me an amp of modest but adequate horsepower! Slide pizza under the door at appropriate intervals!

And then there's the stand. The mic stand shaftresonates like crazy when this bass is played!

What are we going to do with that factoid?

The patient has ailments. The doctor is in the house. The immediate prescription is Elixir of Time.

Jazz Bass Electronics And Wanda the Terrier: A Tale of Two Barkers

Several viewers of the OPB Art Beat segment about Barker Bass have noticed the cameo appearance of Wanda, the Pound Hound. She seems unaffected by the attention.

Very little in her life introduces changes, and she responds happily to routine. This would be contrary to other terriers, who are often described as "dogs who will do whatever you want them to do...whenever they decide to do it!"

When a Barker Bass reaches the "clean bench" which is the one in the office where all the electronic and stringup tasks are accomplished, it loses the individuality it had enjoyed in the initial construction processes. There, the wood is identified by some characteristic--"the one with the swirl toward the middle" or "the one with the stunning alder pattern on the back" and that nickname sticks, for a while. It may even generate special attention, particularly when Dean Mancini, our artful finisher, gets his hands on it.

On the bench, though, the instrument becomes less individual and the tasks more rote. The electronics we want to be dependable, functioning exactly the same, every time. When you roll the volume of the upper pickup just this far, you want it to sound the same as it did yesterday. Quality components and attention to detail are the guarantors here.

Wanda wants to go outdoors about 6:30am, and when she comes in, she heads straight to the food dish. If that has not been the focus of the same sort of rigorous attention that the volume and tone pots get at the shop, she gets in my way and stays there, moving adroitly but always staying face on, until I dredge the measuring cup out of the dogfood pantry and clatter the kibbles into her stainless steel platter.

The wires for the control cavity are cut according to a chart, identified by color and length, stripped, tinned (technical term for melting some solder into the strands so individual tiny wires don't stray out of their yard), and laid out for their turn to be soldered in place and coiled neatly out of the way.

When Linda and I innocently went to the Redmond Humane Society some 10 years ago, we were overwhelmed by the barking and yipping in the yard. Then we noticed this diminutive, warmly colored but excessively fozzie dog sitting quietly on her haunches and looking us right in the eye. Our hearts were toast at that point, and are still warm when she attends to us, or moans her sighs of contentment as she lies by the fireplace in the evening.

The Barker Bass does not shout its way into people's lives. They are often looking for something else when it catches their eye.

It's likely to become a constant, dependable companion. Character? Of course. Fickle, no.

Humility, Arrogance and the Barker Bass

Frank Lloyd Wright said there came a time in his life when he had a choice, and he chose "honest arrogance over humility." Most would grant him this, based solely on his architectural work. It was of his time yet beyond it in its timelessness.

In 2003 Linda and I journeyed to Portland, Oregon (125 miles away) and were gifted with delightful accommodations downtown courtesy of our son, Joel. That night we caught the Max light rail out to the Rose Quarter for a Yanni concert. Big room. Lots of people. Big orchestra, big sound.

Yanni prides himself on the internationalness of his musicians, and that would include bassist Hussain Jiffry from Sri Lanka. We had met him months prior, and in fact spent some time that afternoon with him in Portland. Now we were in his musical presence and he was playing a five string fretless Barker Bass.

After the concert, we walked back to the Max stop, delighting in the crisp fall weather. I was quiet; Linda commented on that. "Hummph," I probably responded. She stopped me, got in front of me, grabbed my sleeves at the biceps and shook me firmly: "Don't you get it?" she said, lips firm, "An instrument you made was just played by a world class bass player in front of thousands of people...and that is happening in cities across America and Canada. Don't you get it? You made that bass with your own hands!"

Humility is a thick crust to break.

The Dodge brothers, early 20th century creators of the car later called the Dodge, were a quiet and surly pair. In the apocryphal story a man walks into their dingy garage and asks, "What's so good about this Dodge Brothers automobile?" to which one sibling snapped, "Ask the man who owns one!" And went back to his wrench.

Einstein knew how fragile his work was. "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong."

Comments from the web from Ed Goode, whose custom Barker Bass has been chronicled in prior posts to this blog:

"The quality of construction is perfect, but those of us that play Barker Basses have come to expect the highest quality. This bass does not disappoint in any way! Flawless, and I truly mean that in its most literal sense .... not a blemish to be found on her.

"...in the several hours I have played it at home it lives up to exactly what you'd expect from a Barker. Great sustain, deep lower end and a clear, well-defined tone on the C string."

I can hear the words but sometimes I can't internalize them. Other days, yes. Today.

Dag Hammerskjold: "Never, 'for the sake of peace and quiet,' deny your own experience or convictions."

That is a very nice bass, Mr. Goode. Very nice. My hands to yours; play it in good health.

"...Booked out and bound to go..."

Big Bill Broonzy: "I got the keys to the highway, booked out and bound to go..."

Mike in Westminster, Maryland purchased a Barker Bass and it set out on the journey last week.

But before that, well, here's your behind the scenes peek. Though the inventoried basses hang in a pretty clean room, it's not perfect. Dust, like a desperate pilot, always finds a place to land. (You can get a feel for this room, including the photo corner, on this Oregon Art Beat segment from Oregon Public Broadcasting.) So first, cleaning. Compressed air first, microfiber cloth next.

Then to the bench for setup as if it were just assembled: Neck relief, string height, string spacing, string radius, pickup height, tuning, intonation and checking for the proper amount of Barker Mojo Fluid.

From there, back to the SemiClean Room for playing, double checking the feel of everything, noting the balance of string tone, and snugging down the Mojo Fluid Dipstick.

Wrapping is a little more involved than you might think, with protective foam between the strings and fingerboard, new, clean plastic sleeve over the whole instrument, custom cut foam blocking (the same foam insert in the custom box accommodates all three sizes of Barker body, provided this little added block is right) and then inserting the stand and bag set in the box, making sure the owner's manual is in there along with the wrench for string height adjustment.

Once all that is done and double checked, the final strapping goes on. It's ready to

"...leave here runnin', 'cause walkin' is most too slow."

It's a triumphant, top-o'-the-world feeling to have brought this instrument from nothing to something, attempting to instill in it my ideas about quality and beauty and joy, hoping that will be reflected through the hands of the new owner and into the ears of those who hear her or him play it.

Mike, welcome to the Barker family. She'll be at your door soon.

Take Your Barker Bass Dancing Tonight!

Terpsichore. Not a word we get to use in casual conversation often enough. From the Muse by the same name, the one who inspires dance. You probably know where this is heading: Matt Dancing

Here is simplicity overlaid with logistical complexity beyond imagining by someone who has two weeks of vacation a year. But if you used to have two weeks and now have no job, these few minutes could be good medicine.

The Barker Bass, from the point of view of the creator, your writer, can tend to be seen in the shadow of a sacrosanctity that would not allow humor.

But there are days when humor is not only the best medicine but also the only bottle in the medicine chest.

Hence these optional endpin addenda (which are indeed for sale) and may be just the right touch for that certain gig.

Installation requires the removal of the rubber tip (it's glued on but can be forced off) and the temporary insertion of a pilot shaft which is a permanent part of the accessory.

Accessorize your bass! Adornment! It's subtler than a rubber chicken, more environmentally friendly than a string of flashing Yule lights, and more easily removed than Nascar stickers!

Above all, take a moment to dance with Matt. Good for your head, your heart and your soul and everything in between.

Gregg Juke and the Mighty Web Site

It's got rhythm: Gregg Juke and the Mighty No-Stars. Start tapping your foot in a strong 4, and say those words. Bah Bop a da BoP ah BaDah. It's practically the whole song.

Last week on American Routes on public radio, Nick Spitzer did a long piece on the Meters, a funk band from New Orleans. One of the good stories was of their trip in their Mercury station wagon (just right, huh?) when the motor sucked two pistons but kept running and produced, for these four opportunistic, creative players, a beat that they converted to a song. My visual image is their lurching down the highway, a 2-laner, of course, smoke chuffing from the back of this faded yellow land barge, and hands on both sides out the window, thumping on the roof (Mercuries resonate particularly well in my imagination)in complex time.

Since then I've been sensitive to rhythmic opportunities, but in the end I come back to words.

Words like "full disclosure." Joel Thomas is a bass player who endorses the Barker Bass. He is the bassist in Gregg Juke and the Mighty No-Stars. And that's how I got to their newly-minted web site.

It's a dandy. In fact, as I was reading through it, I kept noting how well it was written. This was puzzling in its uniqueness, given what we often encounter in the way of words at band sites. The No-Stars paragraphs have panache. They fit the photos.

Though they don't put it up in a banner, I think there's a mission statement in the text, thoughtfully woven. Again I am wondering about the quality of the writing when I come across the part about Gregg Juke being a published writer. And we know he likes to read, and it's not just comic books, though he has the platinum self esteem to include them in his list.

And back to the photos. Ok, I give them a 7 for the ultra quaintness of the brick building with the creaky wooden staircase, but I'm up to a 10 for the messages on the faces. These are guys you'd invite to your table between their sets at your family reunion. (Provided Melvin wasn't there; he always tells the same trucker and accountant jokes. I get the feeling these guys have heard them all, too.)

There's something else on this site I have never seen before. They honor the subs. My observation is that most bands kinda mumble names when there's somebody new sitting in because Leon had the epizootic and couldn't get off the sofa. Not these guys. They put their pictures right up there, practically giving them equal billing, honoring them for what they are: heroes of the first water, willing to head to the front lines and see action when they're needed.

See what I mean? This is a site of sites.

Spend a little time.

Ponder that painting on the bricks. How'd they do that?

Now I think they owe me a T-shirt. Size L. I'll pay the postage. I didn't say all that much nice, and besides it's all true, nearly.

I'm headed back there to listen to some blooz: mightynostars.com

A Mercury Station Wagon is about all they need. Faded yellow if you can.

For now, giving up the Ghost

Friday witnessed a moment of clarity regarding my ongoing year long dance with the Graph Tech Ghost setup with the peizo pickups in the bridge.

I decided not to work on that for now. This is in spite of a finished body with all the necessary routing and prep work, including a special on-the-back dual battery case area.

The New Plan: Finish Leo's setup (this week) and then, as time allows, finish the ghostly B1 fretted four with Nordstrand J-bass pickups and the new Stellartone rig with a pan pot. I need to know how this is going to work, and the sooner the better. There is not a lot of time for tinkering at the present, so I want the projects to be focused and current.

There was considerable relief at this decision. That says enough.

Meantime, we are left with the question, "what happens with a peizo installed in a Barker?" If you can help, I think you'd have a lot of instant friends hanging on your every word of assessment once your project was completed.

I take comfort in the truth that an awful lot of "uprightness" can be achieved on the Barker with string choice and right hand finger finesse.

The Brio I've been playing regularly, with flatwounds, had a very woody quality to it. I did not go the next step--black tapewounds--but I think that would have brought more. I was happy with the combination of attack and mwah from that setup so I did not want to run to third base and then have to trot back to second. I just can't be that nonchalant.

I'm not even good at knocking the mud off my cleats.