As a bassist, I find bass jokes particularly funny. That’s because they’re talking about those other bassists, of course. So, in honor of all those other bassists… 
Q: What should you do when you come across a drowning bass player?
A: Throw him his amp!
Keep playing (and smiling),
Mark
Tags: amp, bass, bassist, drown, joke, player
Bass Guitar, Joke of the Day | Mark July 28, 2010 | 
Comments (0)
Most of us like to buy equipment when we can. Let’s face it: it’s like you’re a kid at Christmas all over again when you get a shiny new/new-to-you (insert new instrument/gear here) to play! No use arguing about this; I speak from experience. 
But some new equipment provides more excitement than others. New strings or mouthpiece? Nice…but how about a new axe? REALLY nice! See what I mean?
How would you like to double – or triple – the use you get from something you already own…and maybe free up cash for something that provides more satisfaction? This happened to me recently when I was faced with buying a second practice amp. I kept the cash I would have paid for another amp and put it to better uses…like applying it toward a new bass.
Did you know you could do the following with most practice amps?
Ah, that last one is where things get really interesting…and the money is able to be “re-purposed”. Let’s take a look at a typical practice amp, the Peavey Rage 158:
The Rage 158 is typical of practice amps – small, easily portable, and far more useful than is first realized. Amps are available that have two designated instrument ports, but with inexpensive amps like this one, the only thing you really sacrifice is the ability to control volume/effects for the second (CD/aux) input. Being a practice amp, this wasn’t a concern for us…and I suspect it isn’t for most of you, either. Plugging in the electric guitar to the standard input and the bass into the CD/aux, our practice went off without a hitch…and without spending a single dime more. That’s “found money”!
One other quick note: if you’re going to connect a CD or MP3 player, you’ll probably need to hit an electronics part store for an adapter and MP3 male-to-male extension cable. These are both inexpensive and incredibly useful items. I store mine in the back of my amp so they’re always handy.
So what do you think? Can you find other uses for the money you might have spent on an upgraded practice amp? Or do you have more uses for this useful little piece of gear? Share your comments and let’s find out!
Keep playing,
Mark
Tags: amp, Bass Guitar, Guitar, guitar gear, one amp, Peavey, Peavey Rage, practice amp, practice with CD, practice with MP3, save money, two guitars, two input practice amp
Bass Guitar, Gear, Guitar | Mark May 7, 2009 |
Comments (0)
