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.
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 louder 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 ideas to discuss. Also gave me a really good tip on a Bay area dealer. I’ll be calling him tomorrow. - LB
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!
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!
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!
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-equipped 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.
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:
So the weekend was uh-mazing. The benefit was total mayhem and a great success. We reached maximum capacity 3x throughout the night- it was packed shoulder to shoulder. I had one of my students and her sister sit in, which was super cute (they’re 9 and 11 years old). … I have some video and some great pix for you, which I am working on compiling.
This week, I am taking off for a short 4 day Northwest tour with Jerry Hannan. Just a reminder, he wrote Society for the movie
Into the Wild and also helped me to put together this whole benefit. His site:
jerryhannan.com
I watched the new vid you put up on the dna site…. I’m super excited for the new cabs! Aaaah! They sound really clear on the vid!
Anyhoo- Thanks again Lane for all your help and support. I’ll be in touch…..
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!
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!
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.)
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):
After his debut album “Snow Owl” his second CD has now appeared, and it completely surpasses its predecessor. Juan Garcia-Herreros is one of those who can tell whole stories on the electric bass guitar. This takes more than just technique, this demands also life experience and a broad horizon. Juan Garcia-Herreros possesses both in abundance. His compositions are more than just notes put next to one another, he establishes melodies, he establishes songs and he establishes states. He is assisted with this creation -among others- by Lew Soloff, Klaus Dickbauer and Pete Nater. If there exists a heir of Jaco Pastorius, Juan Garcia-Herreros could be it.
- Alfred Krondraf (Concerto Magazine)
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!