TecAmp Puma 1000 and S212 Review

OK – So I had my first gig with the TecAmp rig on Sunday arvo. My regular coverband – playing mostly rock stuff from the 70s – today. I rock up and show it off to the guitarist and he asks, “will that little thing be loud enough?”. I turn around and inform him that I am running the Puma 1000 bridged at 1000W @8ohms, I think it’ll be fine.

I plug in and have a little play with my “home” settings – basically, a tiny bit of boost on the lows and low mids. Everything else flat. The bottom end is quite boomy so I set the head flat and decide to just run the EQ from my Stingray 5.

The sound was just magical. Obviously, plenty of lows and mids, super punchy (something that had really been missing from my Schroeder setup) and clear highs – sounded esp great on some of those Duff Mckagan fills in Paradise City.

I sent Jon at Thump Music a message after the gig saying how I had found the sound that I have been searching for for a long time. It had all the lowend and punch that I have been craving since I sold my Labsystems monster cabs (410HPX and 210HP) and still all that clarity in the highs that I loved about my Schroeder cabs. The very light S212 cab just nailed it.

I got a few comments from the crowd about how great it sounded, including Bassman_Panta (Matt) who came down to check out the gig – and has seen my rig evolve over the last year or so. He commented on how great the bass sounded before he even got in the venue!!  And after one of the sets told me that I was not helping with his G.A.S (we are talking about a guy who runs a Eden WTX-1000 and 2 Eden 410 cabs!).

I can’t get over how easy it was to get such a great sound out of the Puma 1000 head. With my old Markbass LMII I was tweaking constantly to get the warmer sound that I love (my Eden WT-800A is somewhere around the benchmark for me). The Puma just nails it straight out of the box – but the cab helps a lot too. As I mentioned in my previous post – I had compared my old Schroeder 1212L to it and the Schroeder was more dominant in the mids and highs, whereas the TecAmp has the kick in the lowmids that I am absolutely loving.

I had been considering a TecAmp 410 or 610, but honestly, after the gig on the weekend I don’t think I need another cab for this – esp given the fact that my band will be playing this venue for 4 months from June and the load in and out with this cab is easy peasy!!! I think I could almost get my loadin back down to 3 trips.

Oh, and given the Puma head is such a little head, and I have it rackmounted, one of the things I love about it is the fact that the DI is on the front – I no longer have to fiddle around inside the back of the cab trying to get that cable plugged into the right spot!!

This rig really is everything I loved about a big heavy rig packed into a small lightweight rig that is a dream to take to gigs.

I think my WT-800A may be on the market very very soon!!!

Thanks Jon for bringing in such an amazing product to this country!!

Food, incorrect bills and dogs with shoes…

So with my friend bernie staying in the western suburbs for a while it was decided that she needed to experience some of the more cultured areas west of the bridge. So Laine organised dinner for her, Oscar and myself (and Tahlia of course!!) at a little place in Yarraville called the Cornershop.

Very rustic setup – old style school  bench for a seat, big wooden tables and a high roof. Big windows letting in lots of the setting sun on a gorgeous Melbourne night – disappointingly this sunset was shining straight into my eyes. “Don’t worry it doesn’t take long to set at this time of day” was the comment from the waitress. No worries Love, just allow me 20 or so minutes to recover from my temporary blindness before I can begin to read the menu.

About this point it was decided Oscar and I needed to get some cash out from the local hole in the wall. While we were getting our money what did we see, but a dog walking past with black shoes on its feet!! I kid you not! I am not sure if they were wetsuit type material or what, but it had shoes on.

So while we were gone Laine had basically decided the menu, which all appeared very organic and fancy (and no Coke at this restaurant!). The selected dishes to share for the evening were:

Olives and Turkish bread

Meatballs

Sauteed Kipfler Potatoes

Calamari Salad

Lamb Chops

Roast Duck Salad

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

As I don’t eat olives I can’t really give a review but everyone else raved about them, so I guess that’s a thumbs up. The meatballs were full of flavour – I could’ve eaten half a dozen of the things they were that good! Size wise they were about as big as a golf ball with a napolitana style sauce (which tasted almost as if from a jar) and rocket. This place loves rocket!! The potatoes came at the same time and were basically cut into think circles and appeared to be more shallow fried than sauteed, but hey, they’s just me and I liked them anyway, so I won’t complain.

The calamari salad and lamb chops arrived next. The calamari was very tender and quite nice, although fairly hidden amongst a plate of you guessed it, rocket! The lamb seemed a little dry to me, but was served with a nice tzatziki dip.

About this point the bill arrived – with double the amount of drinks we had ordered, and including the 2 meals that were yet to appear on our table. We thought this odd and pointed out the incorrect drinks. That set straight I then asked as to why the bill had arrived so soon given we were still waiting on 2 dishes – and hadn’t even considered dessert yet!! Apparently there was a mixup and the waitress thought we had asked for it.

Sorted and out came the duck, followed not long after by the chicken. The duck salad was very nice – i am sure there was plenty of rocket in there again but disguised amongst the spring onion and bits of chilli. It was a nice salad although, again, the duck seemed a bit dry. The dryness of the lamb and duck was outweighed by the moistness of the massive piece of chicken that arrived on the table. Almost the size of a dinner plate and encrusted with parmesan and bread crumbs, this was my highlight of the night! Mouth watering, soft chicken mixed with crunchy parmesan – the flavour of the cheese not overpowering but the perfect balance.

We then order some coffees – rumours had been floating around the table that this place made good, nay, great coffee – and some cinnamon donuts with chocolate sauce. The donuts (shouldn’t that be doughnuts in Oz?) along with 2 coffees and Lorraine’s tea. Strangely missing was my coffee – but I gave them a few minutes grace, a good coffee takes time. After noticing nothing happening at the coffee machine, I again questioned the waitress to which my coffee arrived quite quickly after that. the donuts were cooked just how I like, crunchy on the outside and nice and soft inside with a chocolate sauce that was not overly rich but thick enough that I could pick that little ball of dough up in my hand and smear the chocolate off my plate. YUM!!! And after the wait for the coffee, I gotta admit, it was very good!!

So now, it is time for bed – I feel like I haven’t stopped all day. Tomorrow night I am off to a friends for dinner, should be a great night.

Oh and today my gorgeous little girl rolled over for the first time by herself!! YAY!!! 🙂

What’s on my mind?

Hmmm…so much going on lately – raising a baby, learning tunes for auditions, working, trying to sell gear in order to afford new gear, wondering how I can afford a holiday and where to go and finally pondering what it is I want from my life….again.

Plenty else going on recently. Turned 30 and got to spend the evening in the presence of 2 great bass players – the awe-inspiring Victor Wooten and Australia’s own Mark Peric. Victor was out here plugging Mono gig bags – a product that I whole-heartedly endorse and am currently sporting their double and single gig bags as well as their Producer bag. They also do drum gear, so for you drummers out there take a look as well. If you like anything the guys at Thump Music and send Jon an order. For you guitarists and bass players he also stock R.Cocco string, which are great!! Not to mention all the other cool gear he stocks!

Victor is a monster and well known for his solo chops (for which he is an inspiration to many around the world), but in my eyes more than that is the fact that he plays what he needs to play, when it needs it. Take his work with the Flecktones. A lot of that gig is playing the role of a traditional bassist, and he does as well as any I have seen.

So – aside from turning 30, my gorgeous daughter is almost 6 months old. She is turning more and more into a little person everyday. Smiling, giggling, eating, spewing shitting!! All of it and more. Nothing even compares to the feeling I get when she smiles at me in the morning, and again when I get home from work and every other second in the day. I love watching her sleep, ever so peacefully. But the time has gone so fast and I can’t believe that in 2 weeks she will be 6 months old!! I will turn around and she will soon be a young woman about to start her life without me and I will wonder what happened to the last 18 years!! :p

I have also been looking at finding a new band. Had a great audition last night with a guy, so fingers crossed he asks me back. He has some rockin’ tunes and seems to have his head on and knows where he wants to take. He is passionate about his music, and I love the tunes, so I cross everything and hope to hear from him on the weekend.

Tossing up taking a trip somewhere. Options are Perth, Brisbane and Japan. Benefits of Perth are I can get in some sunshine, and catch up with Jon at Thump and try out a bunch of gear, relax for a week and enjoy some quiet time. Brisbane I get to catch up with some great friends, get some sunshine, and probably way too much drinking!! And well, Japan speaks for itself. I have never been, and always wanted to. If only it wasn’t so expensive once you get there!!

Anyway, it is Grand Final week down here in Melbourne and the city has gone football mad!! I think I might just give it all a miss this year, but hope that the Saints get up for the first time in a very long time!!

Will start trying to post somethings more relevant to the world more often. I have lost my touch lately and the words just aren’t flowing so well. Gotta hit this up when things are fresh in my mind.

Later skaters!!

ARGHHHHH!!!!

So – I just wrote a 600 word post and then it was GAWN!!!

Puts me in as good of a mood a when I stood in line at the Coles Cairnlea deli for 5 minutes waiting for a staff member to appear!

GRRR!!

Talk about slack

So, I was just looking back at some “recent” posts and realised that some relate to last year’s Tour de France and that it starts this time next week! Unfortunately Aussie Simin Gerrans – who was a stage winner last year and this year won a stage in the Giro – didn’t make his team. Disappointing news indeed!

In other news my new cover band, 3 Dudes and a Rock Chick, have our first gig on Friday! Exciting, but bit do I have a lot of work to do!

And finally, I am off to see my friend Dave Lourdes do his Corporate Rockstar gig this afternoon. Very excited! I have his blog linked on my page so check it out!

Iphone-talk about a learning curve

So I entered the world of the iPhone today. What an experience for a non apple and non PDA person. I’m out!!

Bistro Guillaume @ Crown – Melbourne

Two weeks ago I was fortunate enough to dine out at this amazing new restaurant from chef Guillaume Brahimi located in Melbourne Crown complex. Brahimi comes with a big reputation – working for Joel Robuchon at the 3 Michelin star, Jamin in Paris. After this he moved to Australia and was head chef at several Sydney restaurants, finally opening his own, Guillaume at Bennelong, at Sydney’s famed Opera House. Six years later he opened his Melbourne restaurant.

Positioned in between Nobu and Rockpool, this two storey restaurant is wonderfully set out. I didn’t get a chance to make it to the bar downstairs, but if it is anything like the upstairs, then the spiral staircase will lead to a wonderful surround.

The menu is wonderful and can been viewed on the restaurant’s website and I went for the French Onion Soup as entree and the Chargrilled Kingfish (which doesn’t actually appear on the website menu). The soup was superb. Lots of onion and the soup was a wonderful consistancy, just a little stickiness that you get with French Onion but not overly rich. The Kingfish was cooked to perfection, and was served with what was almost a tomato salsa. Without any of the sauce, the fish was a little flavourless, and the accompaniment was a little overpowering when mixed. The lamb special that Lorraine had on the other hand was perfect. Tender, melt in your mouth braised lamb. Superb!!

If only I could remember what I had for dinner. All I know is that it was good – and involved chocolate – just for something different!!

 

Overall, I found the experience fantastic. Afterall, a place such as this isn’t just a night out to dinner, you are paying for the reputation and the experience of the whole event. The surroundings were classy and even though the restaurant was full, it never appeared loud in there.

 

Food – 7.5/10 – If only the Kingfish wasn’t so overpowered by the sauce that went with it.

It’s been a while

Wow! So I just took a look and it has been a while since I wrote on this thing. Just so happens that I am back in South Australia today. In a little town on the York Peninsula called Kadina. A nice little town and only 2 hours drive from Adelaide.

Rollouts have been busy of late as it is getting to the end of the project. Next week sees me with over 1000km of driving. Should be fun!!

In other news, I have ordered and received the body for my jazz bass project. A nice alder body with spalted maple top finished in tobacco burst. Here is a link to it http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/bodies/large/BP323A.jpg.

I am looking at a blocked and bound maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. I already have the black hardware for it, and I am also in the process of determining the electronics for it. Currently on the list are some Nordstand Vintage humcancelling pickups and possible a Sadowsky preamp. Have also been perusing the Italia Straps site in search of a strap for it, and Mono for a gig bag for it. I might just go for another Moody strap if I can find a colour I like!! 🙂 Any suggestions?

I also have a food review to bring you and some more clothing updates! 🙂

Rendezvous Adelaide and some really good sandwiches

So this week saw me in Adelaide, South Australia for 3 days. Staying at the Rendezvous Hotel in Waymouth Street. A very modern hotel very close to King William St and Rundle Mall – these being probably the two best known streets in the city. My room was on the 7th floor and for a change I wasn’t confronted with a building right behind me, although, it wasn’t a spectacular view, it was nice to get some sunshine in the window.

My room however, was 2 single beds, not even pushed together. Quite disappointing, especially when I heard my colleague had a big king size bed, and monster bathroom. I must say that the bathroom in my room was very spacious, with a bath and shower, although the window into the main part of the room is a little daunting (although, since I was alone, there was no issue as long as I closed the curtain!!). After a big day in the office I discoverd that the bath was big enough for my 6′ frame. Very happy.

Wednesday night was dinner in the office and it was from a popular local pizza joint called La Trattoria. This place has fantastic pizza, and I believe even got a mention in a recent Qantas magazine. It is located on King William St and is definitely worth a stop in you feel like having some junk food.

That night we had a couple of drinks in the hotel bar and was offered some chips and toasted sandwiches from another table who over ordered. The sandwiches were delicious and the chips superb. Some of the nicest chips I have eaten in a while, and these were even straight out of the kitchen!! I can only imagine how good they were when they were hot!

I ordered breakfast in my room for the Thursday morning and had cereal, boiled eggs and toast. Now, here are my frustrations. One – I asked for my eggs boiled for 3 minutes (hoping for a runny centre) and they came hard boiled and with no egg cups in order to hold them in while I ate them. Two – I ordered toast, and it came to me a little crunchy, but not even golden all over. Very disappointing. The bacon, and sausages and hash browns that came with it were great though.

Thursday night saw us finish work at a reasonable time and we headed out in search of a meal. One of the guys had been to Adelaide previously on the project and recommended we head to Gouger St, which is at one end of Adelaide’s Chinatown. We wandered up and back and decided on E*Shan Chinese Restaurant. We got in about 15 minutes before they closed the kitchen and quickly made a selection of about 6 dishes. We ordered the Salt and Pepper Squid, Sweet and Sour Pork, Satay Beef, Lemongrass Duo, Fried Rice and the Mongolian Beef.

The Salt and Pepper Squid was not as nice as my favourites in Melbourne, but still very nice. The satay sauce on the beef was a little runny and didn’t seem to me to have a lot of flavour. The standouts were the pork, the Lemongrass Duo – which was a combination of chicken and beef in a lemongrass sauce and the mongolian beef. All had a great flavour and judging by how quickly these 3 dishes were consumed, they were everyone’s favourites.

After we finished our meal, we headed to Hindley St in search of a bar and somewhere to drink. We were pointed in the direction of Red Square and while the place looked empty, we were told that the place is open until anywhere between 4am and 6am. Perfect. We grabbed a table, some drinks and took over the jukebox. It was a great night as the hangover the next morning reminded us of our night out. This called for a great hangover cure, and the recommendation from the local staff at the office was the Bacon and Egg Rolls at the cafe down the street, Out of the Blue.

We had eaten there the day before, and I had ordered the “Adam’s Special” – a chicken schnitzel sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo and sweet chilli sauce. A monster of a sandwich and the best schnitzel sandwich this person has had in many years. I think it was the sweet chilli sauce. Friday morning hangover cure was the bacon and egg roll with BBQ sauce. It hit the spot perfectly! Runny egg yolk, perfectly cooked bacon all in a foccacia bun. It took me a while to get through, but boy did it do the trick!! 🙂

A great 3 days in Adelaide, our work was a success and the party was even better.

 

Allegra Rendezvous Hotel Adelaide – 7/10 – the breakfast and singles beds lost it points, but otherwise a great place to stay.

E*Shan Chinese Restaurant – 7.5/10 – 3 superb dishes outshone the others, but all in all a great meal.

Out of the Blue Cafe – 8/10 – a great place to eat lunch with some of the best sandwiches I have eaten in a long time.

 

This week I am in Perth, staying at the Sheraton, so I am sure there will be a review from there.

Motivation – or lack of…

So, I have been playing the bass guitar for a little over 10 years now. Most of that time I have spent playing with the same bunch of guys doing our original band – gravitate. Also during this time, at around year 3 of my bass playing life, I took up bass lessons. I found my skill, speed and dexterity improved greatly and over the next 3 years my playing progressed a very long way. Then my situation changed and I gave up the lessons, and at one stage put the bass down for a month or two.

I couldn’t live without it long and soon found myself playing again. For the past 3 or 4 years, though I have been playing in my band and jamming with other people, I have found that my skill level seems to have dropped dramatically. I can still play, and play reasonably well, but find I am taking more of an interest in not just the playing side of things, but also the technical side of the instrument. Which I think is a good thing, you know, knowing how it all works. After having put together a strat last year, I am keen to put together a bass. Two reasons: 1-the satisfaction of saying, “I built that”, and 2-in the hope of playing more.

I listen to a lot of music, but find myself playing the same things over and over again and find myself unable to play all this “new” music I am listening to. I say “new” as some of it is not necessarily new, but new to me. When jamming I find I am playing the same tired riffs over and over. I am in a rut, and I don’t know when it will end.

On the other end of the scale, I went to the Melbourne Stencil Festival and saw some amazing pieces from the likes of Ralf Kempken, A1one and Klingatron. Not to mention the very vibrant pieces by Paper Monster, his “First Date” piece will soon be adorning one of the walls in my house.

My interest in stencil art in particular began really when Lorraine and I started dating. Every year has seen a trip to the stencil festival and a new piece of art for the walls. We even began doing some of our own stuff – nothing in public though!! All in the safety and comfort of our own cold garage. I even entered one in an art competition at my place of work. I didn’t win.

It has probably been about 12 months since I did that piece, but after today, I think we are both motivated to do some more pieces, although, I don’t know where we will put them. Now just to find some colours that will really jump of the canvas.

In the end, I know that no matter what happens, I can walk into my music room and pick up a bass and play something, whether it is to relive some frustration after a long day at work, or just because I feel the need to play some funky groove. It is a little harder and time consuming to do that with a spray can – plus I have to move the cars out!!