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FINALLY- A GREAT WAY TO MIC. A BASS

by Ray Graeff

In addition to doing sound re-enforcement, I also play bass in my wife’s band.. Sharon Graeff & HERITAGE... (sorry ‘bout th commercial)... anyway........ I, like all other bass players, have been over-looked, downtrodden and otherwise neglected for years... We bass players have suffered long and hard at the hands of soundpeople who want to wrap a Shure SM-57 or SM-58 in a piece of foam rubber (or a towel... shudder, shudder) and force it in under the tailpieces of our prized doghouse bass..... (well, there went the tuning, right off the bat, but... who’ll notice, it’s just the bass, right). In defense, bass players have fought back by putting a pickup on their bass and plugging it into the system direct... (now ya got “ping”, instead of “whoooom” like you wanted). Nobody liked that alternative either.... sooooo.... we started dragging bass amps up on stage (where allowed) and proceeded to try and get something like a true bass sound out of the sound system instead of something that resembles “made in Taiwan”.

That’s OK bassplayers..... all the rest of the band is sitting there saying - “HUH”?

But we know, don’t we?

A question from hundreds of bass players...... “Why don’t they make a microphone especially for basses...”? The answer.... “THEY DO”. Just one of the many is the one that I use, a Peavey PVM 520 . Wouldn’t you know the Drummers had it all the time, they were hiding it from us... Grrrrrrrrrr. The mics. are percussive and designed for low frequency response.... Dadgummit.... that’s what a doghouse is... percussive and low frequency. We’ll show em. But, how do I use it? I don’t want the thing on a mic. stand, I like to move around on-stage and if it’s on a stand, I’ll be away from it all the time, or too far...... or too near.... What th heck?

I saw all these shortcomings too, and thought about it a lot for a couple of years of being dis-satisfied with how the bass was sounding. I tried a lot of different things but kept comming back to the ole’ kick drum mic. Then something clicked and I thought ... hey.... hang the thing right on the face of the bass, protecting the bass all the while by using foam rubber and rubber hose ... or something.

Now... I also just happen to be a hobby welder, and have a full welding shop out in the barn..... Ok... I’m going to make a microphone hanger for a bass that will hold that kick drum mic. right where I want it... all the time, no matter how much I move around. TaDa........ I did it.

I’m gonna catch it again.... I know of at least 3 guys who claim to have invented this thing.... and everyone else stole it from them..... Oh well, here it is.

First of all.... it’s homemade and a welding shop will be a big help since they’ll have most of the parts on hand. Just hit print on this article and take it to your local friendly (or un-friendly) welding shop and you’re in business..... OH YEAH !... just one minor stop on the way.... Your local Radio Shack....

At Radio Shack, go back to Audio section and find a standard microphone holder. Inside the plastic package is also a chromed, threaded, nipple adapter. You’ll need that too.... don’t throw it away.

Now you can take a look at the picture and we’ll go from there.......

OK... you looked at it.... Here’s how I made it in about half a hour.....

Ask the welding shop owner for a 5/16ths or bigger, welding rod....

Borrow his hammer and tap on the welding rod to remove all the soft outter covering (the welding flux). You now have a iron rod... about the right length and size.

Go over to the vise in the shop... and insert the welding rod about 2 1/2 inches into the jaws and tighten the vise on it..... now you can make a nice bent hook in the end of the rod, that’l go right into the “f” hole on any doghouse bass.

Call the welder over and tell him you want the nipple you got at Radio Shack welded onto the abused welding rod, about 3 inches down from the top of the bend you just made, opposite the hook.

Next. You ask the welder for a 12 inch piece of 1 inch strap iron. Find the center of the long axis of it and tell him to now weld the other end of the bent welding rod ... right there..... at a 90 degree angle, looking at the flat side.... You should now be looking at a inverted “T”.... (after it cools off... hehehe).

Pay him and go home.... well, maybe... stop and think a minute.... If you wife dosen’t have a foam rubber pillow anywhere, you might want to stop by Wal-mart and find something that has at least 1 1/2 inch foam rubber in it, that you won’t mind destroying... (My wife took a dim view of this part of the operation).....

Now.... We’re back home with our $20.00 welding project and maybe some foam rubber from Wal-Mart (If you’re as smart as I think you are... wanting to stay out of trouble at home). Of course, if your wife is the bass player, what’s one little pillow?

Ok... we’re ready to finish this rascal up..... One more thing... before you glue the foam rubber pads on it.... go out to the garage and grab that can of flat black spray paint and fancy up your new helper just a bit..... (Surely you can wait a little till the paint dries...)

We’re now ready to tackle the foam rubber.... On each end of the flat strap on your new microphone holder you’ll need a rubber pad, so you won’t scratch up the finish on your (or your wife’s) bass. My pads measure 1 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches....

Send your wife to Wal-Mart...... don’t ask.... just do it....

As soon as her car clears the driveway... go out to the kitchen and steal her electric meat carving knife..... I know, I know.... but they’re about the only thing to use to make a really neat smooth cut in foam rubber. Proceed to destroy the foam pillow and make yourself two foam pads... 1 1/2 X 3 1/2 X 3 1/2 inches.... A felt tip marker makes a good line on foam rubber.... in case you hadn’t thought of it... Now... grab one of her paring knives and make the cut in the long center of the pads..... Apply some contact cement or other good glue to the metal ends and slide the foam pads over it...... find the package with the mic. holder in it.. (now, where did I put that thing?) don’t forget the little jam nut that’s in there too..... in case the mics. not in the right position when it’s tight, you can back it off just a little and run the jam nut up under it to hold it where you want it..... Drop in your PVM-520 and you’re ready to go.... Don’t forget there is a right end and a wrong end on the microphone... the long end goes toward the bass, you’ll see, just turn it around, it’ll swivel freely in the holder. In fact, you may want to wrap the mount stem on the microphone with a couple of rounds of electrical tape to take up the slack, so it presses into the mic. holder firmly....

Just one more little detail... you’re still going to be putting that bare metal hook into the “f” hole on your bass..... I went to an auto salvage yard and picked up a piece of windshild wiper vacume hose to slide over the hook... No scratches that way.....

Since the Peavey mic is low impedance (3-pin cannon plug), you’ll need a low to high adapter to be able to jack it into the input of a bass ampl. Radio Shack or your local favorite music store has them, no problem ($12-14.00). In fact, if you know you’re going to be playing into a bass ampl. sometimes, go ahead and buy it the same time as the microphone. remove the adapter and the mic. plugs right into the Universal Snake Box that all sound companies use or.......... unplug the sound comapnies microphone and plug your cable right in there. I guarantee the sound man will love it, don’t worry about that part...... have fun.

Be prepared to accept rave reviews about how great your bass sounds (Sorry, can’t help you with the money your wife spent at Wal-Mart).

See you next time .... Ray Graeff

AN EASY FIX (Bassplayers)

If you're tired of the peg of your bass sinking in the mud, scooting on a slick floor or having to buy too may crutch tips, you can fix that. I stole this idea from a friend and it works really good. Go to Wal-Mart tools section and pick up a wooden handled rubber hammer (around $3.00, I think). Take the hammer to your workshop and cut the handle off even with the rubber. Then drill a hole in one of the faces about 2/3rd of the way through the hammer head. The hole you drill should be slightly undersize the diameter of the metal bare peg on your bass. Then drive the metal bass peg into the hole in the hammer head and you have it. This will be a large foot that will prevent you from sinking into soft ground and will be a great non-skid helper. Careful on white carpet though, it might leave marks.

KAY BASSES & CELLOS - SERIAL NUMBER/YEAR CHART- APPROXIMATE

Ray ,here is the info you wanted on Kay . 1937 production started.

By Year.. then serial number of First bass produced that year

1938-sr # 800,
1939-2200,
1940-4700,
1941-7200,
1942-9700,
1943-10,500,
1944-11,300,
1945-12,000,
1946-13,000,
1947-15,000,
1948-17,000,
1949-19,000,
1950-22,000,
1951-25,000,
1952-28,000,
1953-31,000,
1954-34,000,
1955-37,000
1956-38,000,
1957-39,000,
1958-40,000,
1959-41,000,
1960-42,000,
1961-43,000
1962-44,800,
1963-46,600,
1964-48,400,
1965-50,000,
1966-52,500,
1967-55,000
1968-56,000,
1969-57,000

1969 end of production. SR# for Basses, cellos, etc. all run in order no matter which instrument. According to research there were only about 20,000 Basses made from 1937 thru 1969.

A NOTE FROM ROGER AT WWW.KAYBASS.COM

    This is the old list and the newest list is as follows: 1938 #1800; 1939   #4000; 1940 #6500; and 1941 #8500 These numbers are the last revision dated April 27, 2002. So the numbers on your website are older than 2002.

    Just a note: I removed the serial number list from my website www.kaybass.com because it was interfering with the research. It seems people were going to the list getting their date and not sending me the information on their models.

    Also please be advised that the information on the website is copyrighted, as noted on the website, and if you continue to use the info from the site please give proper credit.

Thanks,

Roger

www.kaybass.com
P.S.   Credit given.....   let's help Roger by logging onto his site and reporting the model and serial number of your Kay bass....   It will help him gather statistics....   I did...    Ray G.


	FINALLY- A GREAT WAY TO MIC. A BASS by Ray Graeff In addition to doing sound re-enforcement, I also play bass in my wife’s band.. Sharon Graeff & HERITAGE... (sorry ‘bout th commercial)... anyway........ I, like all other bass players, have been over-looked, downtrodden and otherwise neglected for years... We bass players have suffered long and hard at the hands of soundpeople who want to wrap a Shure SM-57 or SM-58 in a piece of foam rubber (or a towel... shudder, shudder) and force it in under the tailpieces of our prized doghouse bass..... (well, there went the tuning, right off the bat, but... who’ll notice, it’s just the bass, right). In defense, bass players have fought back by putting a pickup on their bass and plugging it into the system direct... (now ya got “ping”, instead of “whoooom” like you wanted). Nobody liked that alternative either.... sooooo.... we started dragging bass amps up on stage (where allowed) and proceeded to try and get something like a true bass sound out of the sound system instead of something that resembles “made in Taiwan”. That’s OK bassplayers..... all the rest of the band is sitting there saying - “HUH”? But we know, don’t we? A question from hundreds of bass players...... “Why don’t they make a microphone especially for basses...”? The answer.... “THEY DO”. Just one of the many is the one that I use, a Peavey PVM 520 . Wouldn’t you know the Drummers had it all the time, they were hiding it from us... Grrrrrrrrrr. The mics. are percussive and designed for low frequency response.... Dadgummit.... that’s what a doghouse is... percussive and low frequency. We’ll show em. But, how do I use it? I don’t want the thing on a mic. stand, I like to move around on-stage and if it’s on a stand, I’ll be away from it all the time, or too far...... or too near.... What th heck? I saw all these shortcomings too, and thought about it a lot for a couple of years of being dis-satisfied with how the bass was sounding. I tried a lot of different things but kept comming back to the ole’ kick drum mic. Then something clicked and I thought ... hey.... hang the thing right on the face of the bass, protecting the bass all the while by using foam rubber and rubber hose ... or something. Now... I also just happen to be a hobby welder, and have a full welding shop out in the barn..... Ok... I’m going to make a microphone hanger for a bass that will hold that kick drum mic. right where I want it... all the time, no matter how much I move around. TaDa........ I did it. I’m gonna catch it again.... I know of at least 3 guys who claim to have invented this thing.... and everyone else stole it from them..... Oh well, here it is. First of all.... it’s homemade and a welding shop will be a big help since they’ll have most of the parts on hand. Just hit print on this article and take it to your local friendly (or un-friendly) welding shop and you’re in business..... OH YEAH !... just one minor stop on the way.... Your local Radio Shack.... At Radio Shack, go back to Audio section and find a standard microphone holder. Inside the plastic package is also a chromed, threaded, nipple adapter. You’ll need that too.... don’t throw it away. Now you can take a look at the picture and we’ll go from there....... OK... you looked at it.... Here’s how I made it in about half a hour..... Ask the welding shop owner for a 5/16ths or bigger, welding rod.... Borrow his hammer and tap on the welding rod to remove all the soft outter covering (the welding flux). You now have a iron rod... about the right length and size. Go over to the vise in the shop... and insert the welding rod about 2 1/2 inches into the jaws and tighten the vise on it..... now you can make a nice bent hook in the end of the rod, that’l go right into the “f” hole on any doghouse bass. Call the welder over and tell him you want the nipple you got at Radio Shack welded onto the abused welding rod, about 3 inches down from the top of the bend you just made, opposite the hook. Next. You ask the welder for a 12 inch piece of 1 inch strap iron. Find the center of the long axis of it and tell him to now weld the other end of the bent welding rod ... right there..... at a 90 degree angle, looking at the flat side.... You should now be looking at a inverted “T”.... (after it cools off... hehehe). Pay him and go home.... well, maybe... stop and think a minute.... If you wife dosen’t have a foam rubber pillow anywhere, you might want to stop by Wal-mart and find something that has at least 1 1/2 inch foam rubber in it, that you won’t mind destroying... (My wife took a dim view of this part of the operation)..... Now.... We’re back home with our $20.00 welding project and maybe some foam rubber from Wal-Mart (If you’re as smart as I think you are... wanting to stay out of trouble at home). Of course, if your wife is the bass player, what’s one little pillow? Ok... we’re ready to finish this rascal up..... One more thing... before you glue the foam rubber pads on it.... go out to the garage and grab that can of flat black spray paint and fancy up your new helper just a bit..... (Surely you can wait a little till the paint dries...) We’re now ready to tackle the foam rubber.... On each end of the flat strap on your new microphone holder you’ll need a rubber pad, so you won’t scratch up the finish on your (or your wife’s) bass. My pads measure 1 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches.... Send your wife to Wal-Mart...... don’t ask.... just do it.... As soon as her car clears the driveway... go out to the kitchen and steal her electric meat carving knife..... I know, I know.... but they’re about the only thing to use to make a really neat smooth cut in foam rubber. Proceed to destroy the foam pillow and make yourself two foam pads... 1 1/2 X 3 1/2 X 3 1/2 inches.... A felt tip marker makes a good line on foam rubber.... in case you hadn’t thought of it... Now... grab one of her paring knives and make the cut in the long center of the pads..... Apply some contact cement or other good glue to the metal ends and slide the foam pads over it...... find the package with the mic. holder in it.. (now, where did I put that thing?) don’t forget the little jam nut that’s in there too..... in case the mics. not in the right position when it’s tight, you can back it off just a little and run the jam nut up under it to hold it where you want it..... Drop in your PVM-520 and you’re ready to go.... Don’t forget there is a right end and a wrong end on the microphone... the long end goes toward the bass, you’ll see, just turn it around, it’ll swivel freely in the holder. In fact, you may want to wrap the mount stem on the microphone with a couple of rounds of electrical tape to take up the slack, so it presses into the mic. holder firmly.... Just one more little detail... you’re still going to be putting that bare metal hook into the “f” hole on your bass..... I went to an auto salvage yard and picked up a piece of windshild wiper vacume hose to slide over the hook... No scratches that way..... Since the Peavey mic is low impedance (3-pin cannon plug), you’ll need a low to high adapter to be able to jack it into the input of a bass ampl. Radio Shack or your local favorite music store has them, no problem ($12-14.00). In fact, if you know you’re going to be playing into a bass ampl. sometimes, go ahead and buy it the same time as the microphone. remove the adapter and the mic. plugs right into the Universal Snake Box that all sound companies use or.......... unplug the sound comapnies microphone and plug your cable right in there. I guarantee the sound man will love it, don’t worry about that part...... have fun. Be prepared to accept rave reviews about how great your bass sounds (Sorry, can’t help you with the money your wife spent at Wal-Mart). See you next time .... Ray Graeff
	AN EASY FIX (Bassplayers) If you're tired of the peg of your bass sinking in the mud, scooting on a slick floor or having to buy too may crutch tips, you can fix that. I stole this idea from a friend and it works really good. Go to Wal-Mart tools section and pick up a wooden handled rubber hammer (around $3.00, I think). Take the hammer to your workshop and cut the handle off even with the rubber. Then drill a hole in one of the faces about 2/3rd of the way through the hammer head. The hole you drill should be slightly undersize the diameter of the metal bare peg on your bass. Then drive the metal bass peg into the hole in the hammer head and you have it. This will be a large foot that will prevent you from sinking into soft ground and will be a great non-skid helper. Careful on white carpet though, it might leave marks.

	KAY BASSES & CELLOS - SERIAL NUMBER/YEAR CHART- APPROXIMATE Ray ,here is the info you wanted on Kay . 1937 production started. By Year.. then serial number of First bass produced that year 1938-sr # 800, 1939-2200, 1940-4700, 1941-7200, 1942-9700, 1943-10,500, 1944-11,300, 1945-12,000, 1946-13,000, 1947-15,000, 1948-17,000, 1949-19,000, 1950-22,000, 1951-25,000, 1952-28,000, 1953-31,000, 1954-34,000, 1955-37,000 1956-38,000, 1957-39,000, 1958-40,000, 1959-41,000, 1960-42,000, 1961-43,000 1962-44,800, 1963-46,600, 1964-48,400, 1965-50,000, 1966-52,500, 1967-55,000 1968-56,000, 1969-57,000 1969 end of production. SR# for Basses, cellos, etc. all run in order no matter which instrument. According to research there were only about 20,000 Basses made from 1937 thru 1969. A NOTE FROM ROGER AT WWW.KAYBASS.COM This is the old list and the newest list is as follows: 1938 #1800; 1939 #4000; 1940 #6500; and 1941 #8500 These numbers are the last revision dated April 27, 2002. So the numbers on your website are older than 2002. Just a note: I removed the serial number list from my website www.kaybass.com because it was interfering with the research. It seems people were going to the list getting their date and not sending me the information on their models. Also please be advised that the information on the website is copyrighted, as noted on the website, and if you continue to use the info from the site please give proper credit. Thanks, Roger www.kaybass.com P.S. Credit given..... let's help Roger by logging onto his site and reporting the model and serial number of your Kay bass.... It will help him gather statistics.... I did... Ray G.