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Roger's Gear

Andy"s Gear

Jonathan Holland - " Gear and Stuff ":

Basses: ( Click To Enlarge )

Schecter Stiletto Studio 5 string (main axe).

(The only brand new bass I’ve ever bought!)

This is a full featured “neck through” bass that has been my main instrument for the past 4 years. It’s a beautiful instrument made of Mahogany with Walnut and Maple stringers, Bubinga top and Rosewood fret board. The 35” scale neck gives a full 2 octave range, and is a “narrow” 5 string configuration for easy playability. I upgraded the bridge to a “through body” configuration for increased sustain and deeper harmonics (which are often described as “piano tones”). Electronics are a passive/active setup with EMG Hz passive soapbar pickups and an EMG active 18 volt 3-way EQ. I particularly like having an on-board midrange to help “shape” the tone to suite the room or a particular song. With the 18 volt pre amp, rolling on the bass control really means business! It’s strung with Elixir Nano-coated strings which I feel are the best round wound general purpose strings on the market. They sound great and last forever!

Peavey Foundation 5 string (back up axe).

Although this bass started as a 1992 Peavey Foundation, it’s hardly recognizable as such. I saw this poor abused pathetic creature, with dinged, cheap finish, crap hardware and a warped neck in a music store and couldn’t resist the challenge. As a luthier, I always have to have a project or I go nuts. The neck was coaxed back into correct form, and the frets were leveled and dressed. The nasty black polyurethane finish was stripped and the body custom routed to accept active electronics and an imbedded bridge. The existing cheap hardware was removed in its entirety. The body was refinished with “Daphne Blue” (a vintage Fender color) nitro cellulose lacquer and the headstock painted to match.

An upgraded “through body” bridge was used as well as upgraded tuners, strap locks and control knobs. Electronics were upgraded to an 18 volt Aguilar OB-2 pre amp using the “Super Ferrite” pickups original (and it’s only notable feature) to this bass. It’s strung with Labella “Deep talking” nylon wrapped strings, giving it a vintage Rock/Motown sound.

Other basses:

Fretless 5 string

I actually made this bass myself from scratch about 3 years ago. I needed a fretless, but couldn’t afford a decent one, so as they say, “necessity is the mother of invention”. This is the 1^st bass I built, and it sparked a passion (really more of an addiction) to luthier work. Swamp Ash body with a Zebrawood/Walnut 2 ply top. 35” scale Flame Maple neck with an unlined Teak fret board (2 octave length) and Zebrawood laminated headstock. Active electronics with Ibanez “Artist” soap bar pickups and 3-way EQ. It’s strung with Ernie Ball flat wound strings This is for when I’m feeling “jazzy” at home as well as coming in handy for studio work on occasion. I rarely play this one “live”.

Schecter Model “T” Robert DeLeo Signature series 4 string.

This was a GREAT pawn shop find. Black painted Alder body with 34” scale Maple neck. Active EMG 9 volt electronics with EMG Hz pickups in a P/J configuration. I also keep this one strung with Elixir Nano-coated strings. This is a great playing bass, and it used to be my “main squeeze” before I started playing 5 string exclusively about 6 years ago. I don’t play it often these days, but I like to keep it in my arsenal.

Stay tuned for new bass projects!

I’m currently working on my newest bass which is inspired by the one that started it all: the original Fender 1951 Precision Bass. It’s going to be a beautiful 5 string version with modern upgrades and exotic woods. It will hopefully be debuted in June, ‘08.

Amps:

Eden Metro DC210XLT

My all around favorite bass amp. This is a very versatile amp that is actually 2 amps in one. Channel 1 is a full solid state, modern sounding amp and Channel 2 uses a 12 AX7 tube for pre-amplification adding vintage “warmth” to the tone. David Eden designs incredible bass amplification, and Edens are considered to be among the best bass amplifiers available. It’s a very “musical” amp, meaning the true nature of the bass you play through it is quite apparent (for better or worse). The tone and punch of this amp is inspiring. This amp is capable of 600 watts! It’s a “combo”, with two 10” speakers built in, so it’s a breeze to carry and set up. Adding additional speaker cabinets can turn this civilized amp into an implement of absolute destruction when needed.

SWR 350X

This is a balls-to-the-wall, hard hitting, no excuses, rock and roll monster bass amp! 350 watts with tube pre amp and “Subwave” which is a ground pounding, sub octave type effect (gives one octave lower in addition to the note played) that should be handled verrrrry carefully around small children or the old and feeble. The SWR tone is legendary, and this amp is no exception. It gives a very warm, full tone with serious punch. Very authoritative! This is a great amp for venues with poor acoustics, as it just seems to sound good no matter where it’s played.

Gallien Krueger 400RB

This is the first generation in the “400” series (and in my opinion, the best), made in 1986. An oldie but goody. I’ve owned it for several years, and it’s seen a lot of miles with me. At 125 watts (175 watts at 4 Ohms), it’s not a rock monster. The strong point of this amp is that it has tone to die for. Gallien Krueger uses “voicing” switches in the old 400’s (and still does in its big brother, the 800RB) to boost the bass, scoop the mids or tweak the highs. I love this amp because I can get a great tone with the push of a button and not have to play with EQ’s at all. I typically play with all EQ’s flat and the mid-scoop voicing button engaged. This amp is actually quite adequate at small and mid sized gigs. This was my main gigging amp for a few years, but I keep it now mostly as a backup.

Speaker Cabinets:

Gallien Krueger 410 RBX - 4x10” speakers with tweeter

8 Ohms 800 Watts Bi-amp or full range selection I like a 4X10 configuration for added clarity. While it doesn’t have quite the low end “grunt” of a 15” cabinet, it’s actually more sonically effective. 4x10 means pushing 40” of air vs. 15”. This particular cabinet reproduces low “B” string frequencies very well. I use this primarily with my SWR 350X, but I also sometimes team it up with my Eden (for a total of 6x10’s) when complete seismic destruction is required.

Music Man 15 Folded Horn Cabinet

This is a very warm, “bottomy” sounding vintage cabinet made in the late 70’s. I’ve upgraded the driver to an Eminence Kappa Pro (450 watt). The folded horn configuration pushes a huge amount of air, giving this cabinet an enormous presence. I use this primarily with my Gallien Krueger 400RB head, but it can also be teamed with either of my other set ups and works particularly well for outdoor gigs when extra projection is needed.

Effects:

(Note: I use effects less than 5% of the time. I prefer to keep an organic, un-colored bass sound for the majority of playing.)

Bass Equalizer Boss BE-78B

This gives clean boost for solos. I keep the EQ flat and use it for the “boost” function only.

Bass Chorus-Boss CEB-3

Who doesn’t love Chorus? I tend to use this very mildly to give more depth in slow songs. I love it with my fretless!

Bass Flanger-Boss BF-2

Used very sparingly. Gives a good funk vibe, and can also add a “trippy” feel to songs.

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