Bass Rig Breakdown
Bass "Johnny Feds, Shadetree Mechanics, Pat Perone"
Interview by Roger Zee (05/20/19)
Roger Zee: How did you start with the bass?
Elmo John Lawson:
I guess the way many people my age did. Seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. It sold a lot of guitars! But from the beginning, I always loved the sound of the bass. I listened to music in the Sixties either on a RCA Victrola or some huge piece of furniture in the living room called the TV Console. When you dropped the needle on the record you could hear a low rumble and then boom, the room would fill with the warmest and biggest bass sound. It would wrap itself around your whole body. That inspired me. Fast forward to today where I still try to get that same sound out of my bass rig.
In 1974 at age fourteen, I started playing the bass with high school friends and continue to this day. I first purchased a cheap bass guitar in a pawn shop. When I tuned it too high, the neck pocket cracked! PS: I got my money back, lol. Then I noticed that in every picture I saw, the bassist played a Fender. So I went down to Sam Ash on 48th Street in Manhattan. I wanted to buy a Fender Jazz bass in Lake Placid Blue. Instead they brought out a White, Maple neck Precision Bass because they didn't have the Jazz bass. From there on, I became a P bass man.
Roger Zee: Tell me about your current instruments.
Elmo John Lawson:
Over my forty-five years of playing, I've acquired a number of different basses, most of which I still own. I've played them with four, five, six, and eight strings as well as uprights. But I always come back to square one -- Leo Fender’s P bass. The oldest come from the early 1970’s and from time to time I bring them out. But these days I mostly play what I call Partacasters. I found that even if I bought a new Fender bass, I would always make changes to something. So why not just build it from scratch with the parts I like. I usually replace the bridges with Badass or my favorite, Babicz. The basses fall into three categories.
1) 1970's split style P basses with Cream color pickups from DiMarzio, Emg, Alembic, and Seymour Duncan.
2) 1951 style P basses with Lindy Fralins, Nordstrand, and stock Fender pickups.
3) 1970's style Jazz basses. Yes, I play them too -- sometimes, lol. I use DiMarzio, Bartolini, Seymour Duncan, and Fender Noiseless pickups. Also Audre preamps.
Roger Zee: Talk amps, cabinets, and effects.
Elmo John Lawson:
Thank God they make amps smaller and more efficient nowadays. No more taking the refrigerator out for the night! For years, I've used a GK 400 as my main stay amp head. The room size determines which cabinet I bring. They range from a SWR 4x10 inch to a single 15 inch. I've also used single neodymium 12 inch cabs made by Bob Fusco. But when I play in larger rooms or with keyboard players who reach into the lower frequencies, I need a little more air movement. For smaller gigs, I own a GK 200 amp which fits into my bass case. I’m not a big effects guy. But I recently bought a Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig. It’s nice to have everything in one place.
What about strings and straps?
Elmo John Lawson:
I buy both roundwound and flatwound strings from Rotosound and DR Strings. I use Sadowsky padded straps which bassist extraordinaire Noel Kiko Gonzalez gave me. And a beautiful large black leather strap purchased by guitarist Ron Mirro who found it too big for himself. So he gave it to the largest person he knew -- Elmo, lol! Thanks buds.
Do you see light at the end of the equipment tunnel?
Elmo John Lawson:
I think life always evolves and my equipment will too. I always read about and look at the newest model of all things. But I’m pretty comfortable with what I currently own and use. Although now I focus a lot of attention on recording equipment, DAWs, and plugins. My favorites include DAW Pro Tools and Universal Audio Apollo Interface with all the plugins that emulate the old tube hardware and that TV console sound, lol.
©2019 Roger Zee