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Posted by: BigDBass Apr 9 2010, 09:28 PM

So tonight I sort of achieved a life goal of sorts...

20 or so years ago, I was a beginning bass player, I had this mental image of one day driving a Karmann Ghia convertable to a gig with the top down and my big ol' standup bass in the passenger seat.

15 years later, my, for lack of a better word, "dream" car shifted from a Ghia to the 914 which I acquired a year later. But by that time I was in semi-retirement from the music scene, and I never made a transition from electric bass guitar to acoustic standup.

So now I've been working my way back into playing bass in bands, and with spring reluctantly arriving in Chicago, tonight I (gently) tossed my gear to ride shotgun in the 914 and sped off to rehearsal and made a slightly modified version of my vision a reality.

Silly, sure, but satisfying nonetheless!

Posted by: 904svo Apr 9 2010, 09:55 PM

Keep on rocking and dreaming

Posted by: Silverstreak Apr 9 2010, 10:03 PM

Nothing silly about that. I have the same dream but with a surfboard inside.

Posted by: Rand Apr 9 2010, 10:08 PM

That's super cool.

I've handled a couple gigs in the teener. Scotty (the drummer) might appreciate this....
Bass drum in the front trunk first. Mad rally to pack all the rest. Amazing what this little car can hold.

Posted by: orange914 Apr 10 2010, 11:00 AM

excellent, took me 22 years to restore my mustang.

only the tough finish! more power to ya!!!

mike

Posted by: ahdoman Apr 10 2010, 11:51 AM

If you pull the seat pad on the passenger seat the amp sits a lot tighter which allows for more "spirited" driving.

Posted by: Scott Schroeder Apr 10 2010, 02:20 PM

Awesome!!!

About 15 or so years ago I actually looked for an extra top under the guise of bolting a Yakima basket rack to it to hold the parts of my kit I could not fit inside the car (kick drum primarily). Never came to fruition. Probably a VERY good thing! Ha!

I had a simply fantastic drum tech from 2004 - 2007. Those were the only years I was able to drive my car to a show once in a while. To finish a great show, sit and relax for a bit and then pull the top and head out on a warm summer night was the fricken greatest.

Again - kudos!!

Posted by: rick 918-S Apr 10 2010, 10:59 PM

Posted by: mrgjones Apr 10 2010, 11:13 PM

The first 914 I ever saw had a surfboard strapped to the top of it. From that moment I was hooked.

Posted by: 9146986 Apr 11 2010, 09:16 AM

Keep on rockin' in the free world!!

I used to take the spare out of the front trunk, and my guitar amp would fit perfectly with room for a gig bag, and other stuff. I would put the 12 channel powered mixer in the rear trunk with the mic stands (off the bases) and I could still get the roof in there, you couldn't fully close the rear trunk, but I never had any problem.

It was always fun to see the look on people's faces when I kept on getting gear out of the car.

Hey Scotty, it looks like we've found a bass player for our "All 914 Band"!! But the commute for practice looks like it's gonna be a bear!

I've got my Pearl kit Scott can play, and Dan I've got a 100 watt Peavey TKO bass amp, and an Ibanez bass if you don't want to bring any gear. I've got a sax/keyboard player and a great harmonica player who both love to play whenever possible (they don't have 914's though). Here's a pic from a jam last summer.


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Posted by: BigDBass Apr 11 2010, 11:42 AM

I can't imagine trying to fit a bass drum in there!

I can settle for the Peavey amp, but I'll bring my Musicman bass over the Ibanez. Next time I'm in TN anyway...

My 1x10" practice amp isn't bad, but I don't think I'll ever drive the 914 to a gig, since for my live rig I use an Eden 2x10" cabinet that ways about 90 pounds, I'm not sure I want to even see if it fits in a trunk. Maybe if I removed the passenger seat...

Another issue is I don't mix beer and 914, but I do mix beer and bass!

Posted by: 9146986 Apr 12 2010, 07:20 AM

Yea, just put your spare in the rear trunk, and I'll bet your amp will fit in the front trunk. Musicman is a great bass! Leo Fender's gig after he sold Fender to CBS. OK when's the jam???

Posted by: tat2dphreak Apr 12 2010, 08:56 AM

not a silly dream at all.

I've been playing since I was 15, but only played a few gigs... each time was a lot of fun!

btw, the best $100 you can spend is on a SKG case. my guitars have been tossed around on flights and everything but the case keeps them perfect. the only scratch on my guitar was from letting a friend use it for a gig one night... he put it down on a shitty stand and it fell off, I was not pleased.

Posted by: Scott Schroeder Apr 12 2010, 10:25 AM

QUOTE(9146986 @ Apr 11 2010, 07:16 AM)

Posted by: tat2dphreak Apr 12 2010, 10:26 AM

Posted by: Rand Apr 12 2010, 10:29 AM

Start one in the sandbox. It will be fun seeing what comes out.

Posted by: 9146986 Apr 12 2010, 11:03 AM

Yea Scott, that's my Pearl drum kit. I got it from Fork's Drum Closet in Nashville, a pretty good drum shop. It was a practice kit for a touring drummer, and I got a great deal. Needs new heads though, they're only about 17 yrs old!

Posted by: Scott Schroeder Apr 12 2010, 11:43 AM

Perry -
Let me know the drum sizes. I have a pile of new/unused heads - I am confident I will have a full set for you. What is the style of music you primarily play? How hard do you hit? All of my spares are Remo - primarily coated and clear Emperor batters (2 ply) and Ambassadors (single ply). I am pretty sure I have a couple of sets of Pinstripes as well (2 ply with an internal muffling ring). They are a bit dead sounding for my personal taste, but they do last and are extremely easy to tune.

I will start a new thread in the sand box - didn't mean to highjack.......

Posted by: lotus_65 Apr 13 2010, 03:11 AM

rock on, man!