June 2, 2010 - NAMM approaches

The long weekend is over, the barbecues a memory, and summer is here in full swing. That means that NAMM is just around the corner.

DNA will not be exhibiting this time around, but I'll be there, walking the floor, and having some meetings. Of course, there's also the Low Notes For Nashville benefit concert to think about. Sean O'Bryan Smith and Mick Donner are working out details with several bassists, and we're all becoming more excited by the minute.

One reason that I'm so excited is that we are providing the speaker cabinets for the backline. More than a dozen top bassists will get a chance to hear the cabinets in a working situation. That should be a ton of fun.

For more information, see our Events page, and visit Low Notes For Nashville.

I'm even luckier than the rest, as I'll be using a rig this Saturday at Springfest. I haven't decided for certain, but I think I may use the DNS-410. I won't need it, but it's here, and it's bored. I'll report back next week to let you know how itgoes (went).

New Content: Practice Tip of the Week

May 27, 2010 - Bassists Bond for Benefit

The summer NAMM show is always a great experience. But this year it's going to be even better. Reason? Because the night before the show poens - Thursday, June 17, Low Notes For Nashville will host an all-bass benefit concert for Nashville flood relief. The concert will be headlined by Steve Bailey, and will feature a double-handful of top bassists including DNA endorsers Sean O'Bryan Smith and Roy Vogt. I'll be MC-ing the event and will do a short set as well.

For more information, see our Events page, and visit Low Notes For Nashville.

New Content: Practice Tip of the Week

May 19, 2010 - Second Honeymoon Fever

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that's just getting started. (With apologies to Greg Lake.) I didn't mention it last week, bu David and Judy enjoyed a wonderful second honeymoon in Hawaii last week. There are no pictures to prove they were really there, and all I really know is that David was totally unavailable for several days.

So, I'm not certain he was in Hawaii. He could have a new undisclosed location known to no one, even me. He could have been off in some very small foreign country doing weird stuff for guys that don't talk much and blend into shadows. You just never know. But, pictures or no pictures, the officail story is that they were in Hawaii, and until proven otherwise, I'm sticking with it.

Now, Sean O'Bryan Smith and his blushing bride Jami have a very different honeymoon story. They didn't wait hoonose how many years for their second getaway. They're doing it for their anniversary. I'm pretty OK telling you because they're both tweeting their fingers off, and they've even tweeted pictures. Plus Sean left me in charge (sort of) of the whole Low Notes for Nashville thing.

So, last week was interesting, and this week is interesting in a different way. My weekend will be spent mostly driving so my family can meet my bride of almost eighteen months for the first time at my mother's 80th Birthday party. No pressure there, right?

So, let's up the ante, then. I modified the lyrics to a song to make them about my mom and the kids, and how we got our love of music - and our talent - from her. (Dad loved music, too, but he couldn't carry a tune in a dump truck, much less a bucket.) My sisters are performing it with me, some thing we haven't done in decades. And we get one ten minute rehearsal themorning of the party. Should be fun...

Definitely check out Low Notes For Nashville. There's a lot going on, and there a lot of ways you can pitch in and be a part of it. The list of players involved is just amazing. We'll soon be announcing details on a benefit concert for the cause.

Over at the forum, we've given the place a name. Not surprising that the poll results showed The Gene Pool to be the clear favorite. We're now discussing potential member nicknames. We'd love to have you join the conversation.

As for new content, in addition to the Practice Tip of the Week, we posted a short video lesson for beginners. To be honest, I've been so busy talking to dealers, endorsers and such that I haven't had time to add more articles from Roy Vogt and Sean. Plus, they're both in Nashville dealing with the aftermath of the worst natural disaster they've had in at least five hundred years. So they've been a bit busy, too.

But things are getting better. And the NAMM show is just around the corner. Summer is shaping up to be pretty nice, I must say. But that's all I can say. See you in a week.

May 12, 2010 - Bass Players Unite for Nashville Flood Relief

One of the reasons we enjoy our work so much is that bass players are a wonderful community. And we're proud that many of our endorsers are at the heart of a new effort to assist with Nashville flood relief.

Low Notes For Nashville got its start when Sean O'Bryan Smith tweeted that he was donating all May download profits to flood relief. Within minutes, Lane on Bass followed Sean's lead. That was last Thursday.

By the end of the day, Roy Vogt and Polo Jones had stepped up, and Sean and Lane were already putting together a much larger effort than expected By the end of Friday, the group had a new web site - thanks to Roger "Spydah" Barlow - our Web UberGeek.

We immediately committed to providing loaner cabinets and whatever other assistance we could. Now, less than a week later, dozens of players have added their support, as have several manufacturers.

May 6, 2010 - Prayers for Nashville, Updates to Site

As you may already know, this has not been a good week for Nashville and the surrounding area. The Cumberland River not only flooded, but rose higher than it has in more than one hundred years. Some are saying it's the highest the river has ever been.

The last report we received said that, while official flood level for the Cumberland is 22 feet, the river crested at 2-1/2 times that level - an incredible 57 feet! According to some reports, downtown Nashville was under ten feet of water at one point. This has been devastating, to say the least.

We've made every attempt to reach our many friends and supporters in the area. We haven't reached all of them yet, but so far, everyone seems to be safe. We're very sorry to report that David and Barbara Crossman, owners of The Learning Dock, LLC, publishers of Roy Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar, were forced out of their home and probably can't go back. Thankfully, they got all of their belongings out, and the home was a rental. They also have close fmaily in the area, so they have a place to stay while they look for new digs.

Corner Music suffered mionor flooding; luckily, they were able to move verything off the floor before the water arrived. As of last report, JD and the crew had everything back together and were going strong.

Obviously, we're sending all the positive thoughts, prayers and good energy we can muster, and we hope you will do the same. If you'd like to do something more concrete, our friends Bryan Beller and Kira Small sent this link around for those wishing to donate to the flood relief:

Donate to Tennessee Flood Relief

In other news, David has authorized the declassification of a trio of photos of the prototype cabinets. While at an undisclosed location, he is combing through other photos and we may declassify more shots soon. View the pictures on our Cabinets page.

We also updated the Videos section, grouping videos according to type: Field Tests, interviews with David Hisownself, and endorser clips.

The SEAL Team page now has links to all Field Reports.

One last thing to mention - our Forum is going strong, and it's been great to see so many old friends join in the fun. Right now, we're running a poll to determine our own nickname for the forum. So if you join now, you'll have a say.

Visit Our Forum

New Content: Practice Tip of the Week

April 28, 2010 - Operation: NASH BASH

Hey, all y'all! Wow, what a week I've had! Operation NASH BASH was a success, but it took 23 hours from door to door. If you want all the details, check out my latest SEAL Team Report.

Another objective of the trip was to get over to Corner Music, our Premier Dealer in Nashville. Here's a quick introduction of JD, surrounded by some fine looking vintage Ps and Js.

Next week I'll have another clip of that wall of basses.

It's after 9:00, and I just got back from rehearsal, so I'm going to leave it here, because I still have to finish writing the report I promised a few paragraphs ago, as well as the Practice Tip of the Week.

If you want to keep up on the latest, visit the forum. I check all unread threads at lesat once a day, usually in the morning. And don't forget about Twitter, You Tube and Facebook. We'd love to connect with you there, as well.

New Content: Practice Tip of the Week.

April 21, 2010 - Field Testing, WATT hates volcanoes

Hi, everyone! I hope you're having a good week. I've been runing non-stop since Friday. The weekend was filled with personal stuff - going to see a band Glenda and I both love, then joining the guitarist and his wife for a big get together at their place to celebrate the bassist's Birthday. Sunday was the April dinner in the Danville Foodstock series. So by the time I hit Monday, I was in full swing.

As everyone on the forum already knows, I made a stealth trip up to ChicagoLand to pick up several prototype cabinets. It was a quick up and down run, with barely enough time to hang out with David. Yesterday and today I worked on coordinating with several endorsers, and finding a room for us all to use.

Tomorrow, I'm up at 5:00 in the Geez It's Early. We'll see if James, my Young Gun drummer actually wakes up so he can ride with me. I'll hook up with JD and the crew at Corner Music first, then grab lunch with Marc Williams, who may well be our first new member of the family. Then I have some time to kill before meeting up with Abe White, Roy Vogt, and Sean O'Bryan Smith to beat on some cabinets.

Once we complete the test, I"m hopping right back in the van with about eight ounces of straight espresso and heading home. I really a full day at the desk Friday, because I"m tied up for most of Saturday with a last minute fill-in gig for Doc Ashton & the Root Canals.

Doc runs the hottest Jazz band in the area. The bassist for this pair of clinics and a concert had to bail at the last minute, and I got the call. So I'm going to find out how rusty my Real Book chops are. As many of you know, Lane don't do much Jazz. And if the changes aren't on paper, you can skip the bridge and I'll see you at the end.

In other news, I got a short email from brother WATT. Seems he got stranded along with the rest of Europe thanks to an upset volcano. IF I understand correctly, the entire Iggy Pop and the Stooges band and crew was stuck.

Y'all... can you just imagine Iggy after several days stuck where he doesn't want to be? Hopefully, byt he time you read this, WATT will be on his way home to sunny San Pedro. It's an even bet whether he ever leaves again.

I've really got to cut this short and get some sleep. I'll have a good report on Friday, as well as more updates to the site, including this week's practice tip.

April 16, 2010 - Mike Watt in feature film, Eddie takes a call

Hi, everyone! Just wanted to post a few quick updates. First, Eddie at Bass Northwest sent us this picture one of his team mates snapped while Eddie was taking Dave Garcia's order for the first DNA cabinet sale. (See previous update.) Way to go, Eddie!

I also wanted to tell you the latest news about brother Mike Watt. He is featured in Guerilla filmmaker Brendan Toller's I NEED THAT RECORD! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store. Johnathan Perry, of the Boston Globe calls it "an elegy for a vanishing subculture...a lively, bittersweet film that examines - with caustic humor, brutal candor, and, ultimately, great affection - why roughly 3,000 indie record stores have closed across the nation over the past decade."

That's all I have for today. I'll see you next week with more DNA news!

April 14, 2010 - Meet our first customer, checking in with Traa Daniels, Sean O'Bryan Smith and Angeline Saris, new content

Greetings from the Deep End, all y'all! I'm in the middle of working on today's upload, which is going well. However, this just can't wait:

I'm thrilled to announce that David Garcia is our official Original DNA User (ODU for short)! David just sent me a text informing me that he just put a deposit down on a DNS-410. And since he emailed as I was writing this, here's the scoop straight from Dave himself:

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines...er, credit cards. Something. Dealers are taking advance orders.

Call an Authorized Dealer for Pricing

Back now at seven in the evening. Spent the afternoon calling and emailing dealers. It's only fair to let them all know the gate is open. So. Moving on:

Speaking of dealers, please join us in welcoming Corner Music, Nashville, TN, as our newest dealer. David and I have known JD and the rest of the crew for a god long time, and we're reaaly excited to be working with them again. Learn more here...

Had a great talk with Traa Daniels of P.O.D. yesterday. He's been back in the states for a few days in between legs of their South American tour. So far, things are going really well, and they're looking forward to continuing the festivities.

Another great piece of news is that P.O.D. is writing material for a new CD. Traa says everyone is pumped for the project and the songwriting is going really well. More on that as it develops.

Sean O'Bryan Smith had a total blast taping the Kenny Rogers 50th Anniversary Tribute special. And why not? What with all the legendary performers with whom he appeared. I'm hope ful that by next week I'll be able to tell you more and maybe even show you pictures.

Late last week, I got an update from Angeline Saris. She continues to improve after surgery and hopes to be back playing by the beginning of May. In the meantime she's keeping herself busy revamping her web site. She asked me to thank everyone for the prayers, good vibes and well wishes. If you sent her an email, she's been working through a few a day, and promises to answer every one.

New Content:

New Content:

Articles: Roy Vogt offers a series of articles on studio work

Studio 101: Old School

Studio 201: New School

Studio 202: Breaking In

Practice Tip of the Week: Practice in Your Head

That's about it for now. If you haven't voted in our current poll, please do so now. And don't forget to join us over at the forums to keep up with all the latest.

April 07, 2010 - Poll Results, Roy Vogt announces clinic, WATT in the news,

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all had an excellent holiday weekend! I took most of the weekend off, mostly because I just needed the rest! (smile)

The results of our first Players Poll are in. Here's how you voted:

Carpet came in first at 53%

Epoxy paint earned 37%

No preference came in at 10%

Our second poll has already begun; this time we're asking which speaker cabinet you prefer. If you haven't voted, please go back to the home page and vote now!

I'm very excited to announce that Roy Vogt will conduct a clinic in Chicago on Saturday, May 8th. Times are being nailed down, but it will probably start mid-morning and run through at least mid-afternoon. The clinic is being produced by Jauqo III-X, an old friend of Roy's and mine, and an outstanding bassist. I'll be there until about 1, when I have to leave to get back home for a gig. More on this as it develops.

And speaking of clinics, Snow Owl will be offering his master class at Berklee next week. If you can find a way to be there, you'll be glad you made it!

Got an email from brother WATT today, announcing some Stooges dates - a four-pack of shows in France and one in Spain, beginning this Friday. Check out WATT's Hoot page for more Stooges dates throughout the summer, as well as other WATT performances.

In addition to being the Godfather of Punk Bass, WATT is also a photographer with a new show: Eye Gifts from Pedro. The show features WATT's favorite shots of his hometown, San Pedro, CA. Read all about in this article.

That's all I have for now. I'll see you in a few days with more DNA news.

New Content:

Article: Be One with the I

Practice Tip of the Week: Hear it in Your Head

March 31, 2010 - Angeline OK after surgery, checking in with Roy Vogt, Sean O'Bryan Smith and Snow Owl, more videos, testing update, forum news

It's been a busy few days, and I've spent almost my entire morning on the phone, talking with endorsers and dealers. Man, I'm getting excited! Let me fill you in on some of the news:

Sister Angeline Saris has made it through surgery and is in good spirits. Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk long, becasue right after she called they came to take her to her ultrasound checkup on her artery.

Angeline sent me a pair of pictures earlier today. I feel safe posting the one below, but I'm going to hold off on the other one and make sure it's OK with her to post it, as it shows the drain, which only Gene Simmons could love. But it is a funny shot in an Oh, Gross! sort of way.

Angeline Saris recovering from surgery, with her friend Josh.

UPDATE: Angeline took a nap after the ultrasound, but called me a few minutes ago. She's still really tired after the surgery, and I hate to say it, but the test showed she may not be out of the woods yet. I won't say more until Angeline gets to talk to the doctors.

Angeline did say it was OK to post the second picture, so here it is:

Blech! A blood grenade! And it's mine! Eeew!

By the way, we're doing all we can to help Angeline raise funds to help pay for all of this. If you can pitch in a dollar, I'm sure she'd appreciate it. And I know that we would, too!

Spoke with Roy Vogt today, as he raced from one appointment to another. He's been keeping extremely busy, even during Spring Break, what with extra sessions, preparing for the final stretch of this school year, and dealing with the launch of his own learning community, Thunder Row. I'm assisting over there as well, and Roy and I both have blogs. We're also building a library of lessons, articles and videos, which will feature Roy's and my current library of material as well as new content. I'm also reaching out to other bassist/writers to invite their contributions.

While all of that is open to the public, there is also a forum which is divided into a public area and Chateau Groove, a private area for owners of Roy's course, Teach Me Bass Guitar. (You can read my full review here. Whether you're just starting out, are have been playing for decades, Thunder Row is a great place to improve your skills and pass some knowledge to others. I hope you'll join us.

And speaking of joining us, have you noticed that we launched the DNA Forums? Thanks to Roger Barlow, we got it up and running last Friday, just in time for the weekend speaker testing. (More on that in a minute.) We already have a couple dozen members, including many old friends. We've got over three dozen topics going, including discussions on gear and upcoming designs. If you haven't registered, please do so now, and join us as we build our community!

Snow Owl and I had a great long Skype call and caught up on several fronts. He's expecting to attend NAMM 2011, and we're going to see if we can work a few days in Chicago into his schedule so he can do some in-depth testing with us. Of course we also talked about his upcoming master clinic at Berklee on April 15.

One other thing we discussed - and I'm just so grateful to Snow Owl for this - was the video he sent me. It's of the Austrian band Rock Office, which includes Hans Baumgartner, one of Snow Owl's students. The video is of the band's cover of my song Time of My Dyin', Part 2, from Dig the Hole. Man, I was thrilled, and honored, they liked the songs that much.

Thanks to today's technology, I have a video of them doing it as an internationally-sharable keepsake. You can watch it here, if you're so inclined.

And just HUGE thanks to Hans and the rest of Rock Office - who did an excellent job! - and to Snow Owl for helping it all happen.

Now we get to the really fun stuff. If you haven't noticed, there are four more videos (five total) from last weekend's field testing. One word: amazinglyinstenselytotallyawesome. Check out the written report, including Jeff Carlson's toughts, on the SEAL Team report page. I haven't heard back from Mark yet, but I'll post his comments as soon as he weighs in. By the way, we also kept touch with the forum during the test. It's in the report.

While the schedule is not set, I can tell you that the first Road Trip for field testing will be to Nashville. In addition to Roy and Sean, Abe White will be taking part, as well as a new member of the family, Marc Williams. In fact, Marc is so new that he and I haven't met face to face yet, much less have his fake tooth with the cyanide capsule inserted, so it will be an event-packed trip for him. Of course, I'll be shooting video and stills (of the testing not the insertion of the ... never mind) during the test. If there's time I'm going to try to get each one of them to sit for a shoret interview.

OK. That's pretty much everything that's going on... or at least everything I'm allowed to talk about. I'll see you in a few days, with more.

March 29, 2010 - New video, Snow Owl clinic, Surgery for Angeline, more testing soon

Wow! What a weekend! I'm still recuperating from the trip, but I did manage to get one interview video done, and another almost there. The video is back on the front page.

To quickly bring you up to date in other areas:

Fellow endorser and good friend Snow Owl announced today that he will offer a master-level clinic at prestigious Berklee on April, 15, 2010. For those who don't know, Snow Owl is bass professor at Graz University in Austria. More details on the event here, and on Snow Owl here. If you have any change at all of attending, get there! You don't want to miss this special occasion.

If it fits for you, please offer good energy, thoughts of healing and prayers for sister Angeline Saris. As I reported some time ago, Angeline is dealing with a serious issue involving her left arm and her ability to play bass. Today, she undergoes surgery to hopefully correct the problem. She will be in our thoughts all day today, and I hope you will join us.

Finally, it's not definite yet, but it appears as if I'll be heading out on the road to do further testing with our SEAL Team. When I nail down the schedule I'll tell you more.

OK, it's already after 1 p.m. my time and I've got tons to do, especially if I'm traveling soon I'll see you in a few days with more news.

March 26, 2010 - DNA Forums go LIVE!

Hey, all y'all! To say I'm excited is a serious understatement. I am thrilled beyond words to announce that the David Nordschow Amplification Forums are now LIVE!

Spydah, AKA Roger Barlow, has completed his work and done an outstanding job. We just loaded the forum to test. Everything looks good, so we're open for business.

Please join me in a HUGE Thank You to Spydah! Then, go tell all your friends, and join us for a great new hang.

Visit the DNA Forums

March 24, 2010 - More intel from Sean, Traa on tour, Wes comes home, new video, new content

Here were on Hump Day again, and so far it's been a productive week. It also appears as if I'm going up for further speaker testing. We'll get to that in a minute. First let me catch you up on some other things.

For starters, if you haven't voted in our first Players Poll, please vote now! I'll wait while you run back to the home page, OK?

(humming)

Cool. Thanks, we really appreciate it. You see, we're very interested in your thoughts. We've got lots more of that kind of thing coming and we hope you'll take part in each one.

Now for some endorsers news:

Sean O'Bryan Smith tells me I can finally let the cat out of the bag on his participation in what looks to be a killer gig: The 50th Anniversary Kenny Rogers Tribute. The all-star homage features a wide variety of top names, and not all of them are country... not by half from what I hear.

Among other things, Sean will be performing the opening number featuriing Wynonna, The First Edition and a 40-member choir. More info to follow as the production company authorizes its release. If you want to keep tabs on the updates yourself, check out this web site. Scroll down and read just how successful Rogers has been. The man must have a small warehouse full of awards.

Traa checked in yesterday as well, but by email. He's down in South America with P.O.D. kicking off their tour plans for the year. The band always has a blast down South, and this time looks to continue the tradition. We should get a full report when the band returns Stateside. Catch his tweets here.

I also want to give a major shout-out to Wes Watson, who is finally back from Germany. Wes served a tour there with the Air Force National Guard. Not long ago, he served in Afghanistan. We're just glad he's home safe, we're betting his wife is, too!

The Homecoming party is this weekend, then Wes and his Lovely Bride head off for a delayed honeymoon before Wes settles back into his Civilian Life.

Today I posted a third video from the last field test. This is another interview with David, discussing ports and cones. There's a little more interview footage, but I think I'm going to wait until I'm back up there so we can go over those points again, and add a little more info.

As it turns out, I'll be heading back up North again this Saturday. David has the DNS-410 reay to go, and we're going to revisit the DNS-110 and DNS-210. Waiting to hear back from Jeff to see if he can make it. Also put a call out to a few others, in case they're in town.

Roger is putting the tweaks on the next major section of the web site. I'm being a pain in the neck about nitpicky little things, and he's being really patient with me!

No, I don't know when it will be done, and I'm not going to guess. Let's face it, any date i give you will be part hope, part wish, ad part dream. Instead, I'm going to stick with my "when it's ready" line and leave it at that. But, boy am I excited!

OK, that's about it for now. I'll see you in a few days. Until then, keep an eye on the Twitter stream, and don't forget to Subscribe and Friend Up with us over at You Tube.

New Content:

Lesson: Proper Hand Position, Part 2: Four Fret Warm Up Exercises.

Practice Tip of the Week - Build a Riff Encyclopedia

March 22, 2010 - First Players Poll launched

We are thrilled to launch our first Player's Poll today. Many thanks to our good friend Spydah - aka Roger Barlow to "civilians" - for doing such a great job assisting us with the code! (May his strings never rust!)

All kidding aside, David and I have long wanted to do this. David had his first team of field test bassists two decades ago. I know many of the players who took part in those tests back in the beginning - and the many tests since. Back the Dark Ages, when we built our first forum, we asked a lot of questions; we gathered a ton of useful info, but were unable to act on the bulk of it.

If you've been keeping tabs on us since we launched, you already know we've been talking to a lot of our endorser family. We've also been talking to a few other select people who can keep thier mouths shut. But we wanted to take the next Giant Step and talk to all of you directly. We want to know what you think.

While polling and meaningful surveys weren't possible in our "past life." they are now. The only thing holding us back was me, or rather, the fact that I don't do much pure code. Enter Spydah, whom I've known for quite a while, both through our mutual respect for David, and our mutual love of Spector basses.

See, Spydah does do code, and he's the one who built the poll. He's also going to teach me how to manage them so we can do more of them. Everybody shout out a huge Thank You!! for Spydah...

We've got more things in store, so keep an eye peeled and check back often. And, please, if you haven't already done so, go back to the Home Page and VOTE! Your future may depend on it.

March 17, 2010 - Seal Team report and video, Polo working an earthquake relief

I had a great talk with brother Polo Jones. He's been extremely busy producing a project for earthquake relief. Joining with NFL alumni from the Bay area, as well as Bay Area Celebrities for Earthquake Relief, Polo has cowritten and will produce the single When the Earth Shakes. The song will be a key element in the charity's efforts to raise awareness and funds.

Polo wrote the song with Zad Magau, with whom he has been working recently. "She's a phenomenal vocalist," Polo says, "and we have this great brother-sister relationship."

Polo is gathering many prominent Bay Area musicians, and hopes to shoot the video in about three weeks. If you think you'll be in the Bay Area around that time, send me an email and may you can be an extra in the video.

New Content:

SEAL Team Field Report 031310 and second video

Practice Tip of the Week - Build a Scale Encyclopedia

March 15, 2010 - SEAL Team Video Report

Greetings once again from the Land of Low. This is just a quick note to document the addition of SEAL Team Video Report #031310/A to the web site. A written report will follow soon. This report is an interview with David Hisownself, as he discusses crossovers and tweeter design.

To watch the video, return to the Home Page.

To review the Twitter stream during the test, visit our Twitter page.

March 13, 2010 - Speaker Testing Today

Oh, my. I didn't even know that Sautrday included a 6 a.m. time slot! I'm guzzling my second cup of coffee as I prepare to head north to our undisclosed location for further speaker testing. I need toothpicks for my eyelids.

Today we're listening to all the 10" cabinets: DNS-110, DNS-210 and DNS-410. We'll also give another listen to the cabinets we tested last time. David has installed the final crossovers and we want to make certain that went well.

Tomorrow, I'll be at the desk most of the day and will begin work on videos. I can't wait to show you what's going on.

March 10, 2010 - More Testing Soon, Sean survives NYC, Thunder Row, new content, last minute call

Hoo boy, what a week it's been. I apologize for not getting a small update done over the weekend, but I had a minor emergency to deal with. Everything's cool now, but it took up most of my time.

Much of my time has focused on helping Roy Vogt and the folks at Teach Me Bass Guitar prepare Thunder Row for launch. Thunder Row is a community created for those who want to learn, and connect with other aspiring learners. And while there are some special sections just for TMBG students (like a chat room and a private sub-forum), most of the site is available to anyone.

In order to begin the library of articles, lessons and videos, I've been preparing a lot of Roy's existing content for upload. Moving forward we'll will be writing new content, including each of us maintaining a blog, and creating some lessons videos. We're also reaching out to other pro bassists and teachers, and all members can submit content for consideration.

Keep your fingers crossed, and I'll announce here when we open.

Had a nice 2-cup chat with Sean O'Bryan Smith today. He's back in Nashville, having survived New York. In fact, he had an extremely productive time, with several successful meetings and a last-minute studio date that was really cool but we can't tell you until the track drops. It's always that way with Sean. I never know if I'm talking to a fellow bass player or some doubleOwhatever types.

Sean also did what everyone should do when in The City: have as much pizza as possible, and at least one really good deli run, and a slice of cheesecake.

I saved the best news for last - We're testing all of the 10" cabinets this coming Saturday. OhboyOhboyOhboy! Get ready for another video or two, and a lot more fun! (Check out our last test.)

The line includes 110, 210 and 410 designs. David has already done significant testing on all three and made several refinements. I can't tell you much yet, but I'll leak one thing now and beg forgiveness later:

At full rated power, the 410 easily and significantly passes the Threshold of Sensibility. We're talking lounger than a pneumatic riveter, and almost as loud as a jet engine! Check out this chart to get idea of what I'm talking about. It's OK. I'll wait.

You want to know what scares me? It took almost no time at all to think, "man, I'd love to have a pair of those babies!"

So... think I'm excited about Saturday's test? Ohhhhhh, yeahhh. Just got off the phone with Jeff Carlson, who's been testing with us for several years. He' in, and he's bringing three basses with him.

New Content:

Tip of the week: Keep Your Mind Open

Article: Preparing for an audition

That's it for this time around. Make sure you keep an eye on our Twitter stream on Saturday, as I'll be blasting updates. See you then!

P.S. - Literally just got off the phone with Angeline Saris. She's in preplanning stage for an update to her web site and had a some dieas to discuss. Also gave me a really good tip on a Bay area dealer. I'll be calling him tomorrow. - LB

March 3, 2010 - Sean heads for NYC, Traa heads for rehearsal, new content

I've been keeping in touch with Sean O'Bryan Smith lately because of a few projects. We wanted to get a thing or two tied up before he heads up to the Big Apple for a lightning round of meetings, a recording session and hopefully some great cheesecake! He said to tell everyone HI! and asks that you all keep your fingers crossed!

Traa Daniels checked in today. He as in the studio this morning, and was heading to rehearsal, so we got a few minutes to catch up. He's been keeping himself busy with studio dates and one-offs with P.O.D., and says life is good!

We spent most of the call talking about the new cabinets, which he'll ge to hear live shortly. He's really excited about them, and has been very involved in the design from the very beginning.

New Content:

Tip of the Week: Accuracy Exercise

Lesson: Diatonic Modes and Chords, Part 2

Lesson: Triads

Article: The Double Groove

Article: The World's Greatest Bass Solo (or, the Dutch version)

So, there you have it. I'll probably have a bit more before the weekend, or Saturday at the latest. See you then!

February 24, 2010 - Sean and Roy say HI!, new content

We caught up with Sean O'Bryan Smith this morning for a call and a cup. Sean's been very busy lately as he works toward the release of his second CD. Next week, he travels to New York for a packed schedule of meetings. He's also actively booking tour dates for the summer and fall seasons. This is all on top of his work with Anna Wilson as she looks forward to the release of her new CD. Sean shares our love of coffee, mostly for the caffeine, and now you can see why. We'll continue to update as more info becomes available.

Professor Roy also touched base, or bass, if you must. Roy's been keeping extremely busy lately, what with classes at Belmont, private students, and a packed schedule of studio and live dates. In addition to all of that, he's putting the final touches on Thunder Row, the community site for learning bassists of all levels. Roy and I will both be maintaining blogs over there, with a strong focus on learning and playing bass. We'll also be posting lessons and other articles, many of them from the BASS U. library, as well as videos.

Speaking of videos, Roy recently completed a series of free bass tips that you can sign up for over at Teach Me Bass Guitar. Once you confirm your registration, you'll get seven free video tips from Roy. We're already talking about doing a lot more, so if you have any suggestions or ideas, please send me an email.

New Content

Tip of the Week: Turn on the TV

Article: Subbing

Article: Protect and Serve

Article: Making a Case for Covers

Lesson: Practice Tips, Part 1: How to Learn to Play Bass

That's it for today. Before I go, though, I want to again thank all who have emailed. I make sure David sees every message, and we both appreciate all the well-wishes!

February 23, 2010 - Another SEAL Team video

Good morning! I just wanted to call your attention to our latest SEAL Team video, this one featuring SEAL Team member Jeff Carlson as he performs his first tests of the DNS-112N and DNS-115N. At the end of this video, there is also a bit of footage of me playing a G&L bass that David has used in every test since the beginning. It was on the front page, and it's also over here in the SEAL Team report, and on the Videos page.

Tomorrow I'll upload some new articles and other info. See you then!

February 19, 2010 - New SEAL Team video

Hi, all y'all. Just a quick note to tell you two things. First, recapturing the video from the camera worked! This time around, there are no annoying clicks and pops, so it's easier to listen to the audio.

Second, I uploaded another video using the new, cleaner file. Although there's a lot of playing on this one, remember that you're hearing the cabinet - the DNS-112N prototype - recorded off axis with the camera's internal mic... obviously not the best system. But at least you get a taste, as well as our reactions to hearing David's new designs for the first time.

On Sunday afternoon, I hope to put together a clip of my co-consirator ... uhm, testing partner ... Jeff Carlson as he thumps on his Dark Star-eqquipped P-Bass with "very dead strings." This bass, and Jeff's style offer a totally different read. We'll just have to see how the day develops. I will then re-do David's interview to get rid of the distorted audio, and post the new version.

Hope you enjoy today's video. See you again soon.

Watch the video.

February 17, 2010 - Site Update

Greetings, everyone. I hope everyone is now dug out from the recent blizzards. We've been lucky down in my area, only getting the fringes of the last two storms. David? Not so much. Luckily, David's used to it, having spent so many years in Iowa and Minnesota.

I've been keeping warm with my (not-so-)secret hot chocolate recipe and a space heater in my office. So, let me bring you up to date on everything:

Benefit for Angeline - Many thanks to those who have already made a donation to help sister Angeline Saris with her medical situation. We received another email from her yesterday to bring us up to date:

Angeline introduces her student, 11 y.o. Katie Phelan, sitting in.

Our First Local Liaison

If you saw the first SEAL Team video, you already know that Jeff Carlson is once again assisting with R&D testing. Today we are proud to announce that Jeff is our first Local Liaison. Jeff has been working with David and Lane for several years, helping with R&D and QC testing, and more. We're very excited that he will continue in that role. Please join us in congratulating Jeff on his roles as a DNA Local Liaison and SEAL Team member. By the way, Jeff also has the distinction of being the first bass player to every play through a David Nordschow Amplification speaker cabinet. (I was second.) Jeff's Bio

New Content

Tip of the Week: Turn off the TV

Lesson: Diatonic Modes and Chords

Lesson: Left and Right Hand Exercises, Part 2

Article: Freelancing

That's it for today. I have not had time to continue on creating video clips from the footage I shot last Thursday. As you can tell on the first clip, there's a problem with the sound. It appears that the download process corrupted the file, so I have to find a time when I can shut everything else down on this old box of mine and get a better file. I hope to accomplish that over the weekend at the latest.

See you again soon!

February 15, 2010 - Site Update

Greetings, all! I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend. Today I added the previously promised video to the SEAL Team report. You'll also find a little info on the team itself on the SEAL Team page. I also updated the home page so that it would provide links to more new content.

Thanks to all who have emailed to offer suggestions and catch my spelling errors! We very much appreciate your assistance, and encourage you to keep telling us what you think!

Next scheduled upload is on Wednesday. See you then!

February 12, 2010 - First SEAL Team report

Greetings, everyone. Lane (aka Agent L) here with the first (of many!) SEAL Team reports. The short version comes down to this: Hoo-boy!

As I tweeted earlier today, some things really are worth the wait. It's one thing to "know" David would outdo himself yet again. It's quite another to actually hear the results. And I'm here to tell you, the results more than met my expectations.

I've posted my report, as well as Agent J's report - without redaction - along with a couple of pictures. I'll be working through the weekend on the video footage I shot... cutting it down into small bites. And also editing out the things we can't release to the public quite yet. (See there are some things we don't want our competitors to know just yet.)

Read the full report here.

February 10, 2010 - Ace's Italy, update on Snow Owl's release, Angeline says Thank You! and more...

Today we've got a lot to cover, so grab your coffee and let's get started!

Benefit for Angeline - We got a very nice email from sister Angeline Saris for announcing the benefit concert to help with her massive medical bills. The concert is this Saturday, so if you're in the Bay Area, make sure you stop in and say HI! Read the article here, and please chip in if you can help.

The Italian Job - Brother Ace Livingston finally had time to download his camera and send us photos of his trip to Italy last December. Check them out here.

Update on Snow Owl's CD - To update our announcement of Snow Owl's new CD, Art of Contrabass Guitar, Here are some quotes from a recent review (translated from German):

Huge congratulations to Snow Owl, and our best wishes for strong sales!

New Content - New on the site today are the following:

Tip of the Week: Stay Focused

Article: So You Play Bass - Now What?

Article: Creating the Ultimate Gig Bag

Call for Content - As you may have noticed, we're working hard to offer useful, informative and entertaining content to the web site. (Gee, now, why does that seem familiar?) And we're inviting you to participate. If you have an article, lesson, or practice tip you'd like to submit, we'd love to see it. And if you'd like to suggest an idea for any of those, as well as glossary or FAQ additions, please send us an email.

Are You Social? - Finally, a quick reminder that we have set up pages on MySpace, You Tube, Facebook and Twitter. If you are on any of those social networks, please link up with us so you can keep tabs on everything we're doing.

That's it for today. If all goes as planned we'll be back in just a few days with more. See you then!

February 8, 2010 - The Snow Owl releases Art of Contrabass Guitar
We're very excited to tell you that the long awaited second CD from The Snow Owl (Juan Garcia-Herreros) has finally been released. Art of Contrabass Guitar is a tour de force for the young bassist, who is already acknowledged as one of the greatest bassists and composers of his generation.

Early reviews rave about the great songs and outstanding musicianship. We expect to hear and read more stellar reviews in the near future.

Congratulations to Juan for an outstanding CD! We can't wait to hear it live!

February 3, 2010 - Site Updates: New Artist, Benefit for Angeline, and more

Maurice Fitzgerald joins the family
Today we welcome our old friend Maurice Fitzgerald to our Endorser Family, and we're thrilled to have him with us. Check out his bio here.

Benefit for Angeline Saris
We have a member of the family in need of a little help. Angeline Saris has incurred large medical bills due to a blood clot in her arm. To help, friends have set up a benefit concert and are also accepting online donations to help defray these expenses. Read More...

Sean O'Bryan Smith tops chart with Anna Wilson single
We're thrilled to tell you that brother Sean O'Bryan Smith is back in the charts - this time on Anna Wilsons recently released single, You Don't Know Me, from her upcoming CD, Countrypolitan Duets. The song features Matt Giraud of American Idol fame, and of course, Sean on bass guitar.

The single debuted at #1 with a bullet on iTunes Jazz chart - in both the US and Canada - and is poised to be there for a while. We've been hearing all kinds of wonderful things about the CD. Unfortunately, we can't tell you, or Sean would kill us all for leaking too soon. However, we can tell you that the CD is awesome, and includes some stellar guest appearances.

New lessons this week include:

Practicing Perfectly - knowing how memory works will help you get more out of your practice time. Read...

Beginning Bass: Left Hand Dexterity - Professor Roy is back with more exercises to help improve your left hand. Read...

Practice Tip of the Week - Read...

Many thanks to those who have sent emails over the past week. Some have simply been greetings and congratulations - and we appreciate every one. Others have kindly pointed out misspellings and the like, and have offered additions to our glossary. It always helps to have extra eyes and we appreciate the time you took to help us out.

January 27, 2010 - Site Updates: New Artists, Glossary

Today we welcome two more members of our Endorser Family: Juan Garcia-Herreros (The Snow Owl) and Wes Watson. Both have been avid supporters of David for many years and we're thirlled that they will be a part of our new endeavor.

We also posted a Glossary of Terms in our Support section.

Over at BASS U., we loaded new articles and lessons.

We haven't been updating the Twitter stream too much lately, as Lane is taking a well-deserved break after the NAMM '10 show. He'll be back up and running next week.

January 20, 2001 - Site update: NAMM Reports, Videos and TMBG

For those who might have missed them, our VP, Sales & Relationships, Lane Baldwin (Lane on Bass) filed daily updates from the NAMM '10 show. Today, we loaded more pictures. View Here...

We also just loaded several videos featuring our endorers. This is a temporary solution while we build the section. We'll add more videos soon. View Here...

Finally, we added a page about Roy Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar - the most comprehensive, effective and entertaining bass guitar instructional course around. Whether you're a brand-new beginner or want to tighten up your technique and expand your horizons, Roy gives you everything he's learned in thirty years of teaching at the university level. Check out Teach Me Bass Guitar here...

January 13, 2001 - Welcome to a new era

Greetings and welcome to David Nordschow Amplification's new web site! We hope you're as excited as we are! We've been itching to launch this site - and this company - for some time.

We could have waited several more months to launch the site, but we thought it would be fun to let you be a part of our true start up. In fact, we want to ask you questions - lots of questions - so we can use that information to do our job better for you.

We will be continually updating this site, as well as our social sites: Twitter (where you'll get instant updates), You Tube, My Space and Facebook. You'll also soon see new features - company and artists blogs, S.E.A.L. Team reports, and an entire Community section featuring a forum and more.

We have two goals: to provide you with the ultimate bass amplifier so you can achieve your Perfect Bass Tone, and to provide you with the finest service available, before, during, and after, the sale so you can have Peace of Mind. We hope you will help us achieve both by letting us know what you want and need, not just in a bass amp, but in the company that builds them for you.

We've got to admit, we're really looking forward to the New Year! And we hope you are, too. May 2010 be a wonderful year for you and your family. May all your gigs be great! And may your bass never need tuning! (Well, we can hope, right?)

All the best!

The D.N.A. Team