3 Dec
Richard Bona & TecAmp en Burgos
Here’s a report on the fabulous Richard Bona/TecAmp clinic in Burgos on November 9th
Foto Alberto Uyarra
November 9th, 2009 was a very special day for us. We brought Richard Bona to Burgos for a very special night.
Richard plays a lot with his own band, but it is not so common to catch him on a solo performance. We were lucky enough to have one of these solo shows. Upon perspective, we feel it was an event that was a little historical in the bass world.
We picked up Richard at the Madrid airport Barajas, and the two hour drive to Burgos allowed us to have a relaxed chat with him, getting to know him a little bit. We talked about music business, TV (he doesn’t have a TV set), kids, Obama, Swine Flu, etc.
Richard has been a professional musician since he was 5 (he is 43 now), so as you can image he has loads of interesting stories. He is a good storyteller, among other things 
As soon as we reached Burgos, we left Richard in the Hotel and headed for El Hangar, the brand new venue where the clinic will take place. The Spanish distributor for Tec Amp “Suprovox” sent two representatives to help set a very comprehensive display of amps. We took several nice basses from the shop such as Fodera, Jerzy Drozd, Marleaux, Fender, Lakland, etc., for customers to try the amps before the clinic with a nice variety of instruments.
Soundcheck was surprising. Richard asked for very little volume in the stage monitors, and he set his signature Bonafide head in true stereo with two 4×10″ cabs but more than moderate volume. Accordingly, he asked the sound engineer to turn down the P.A. as much as possbible. So much, that we actually had to turn off the heating system and even the mobile heads (lighting) because the motors could be heard! Richard set his pedals and effects fast, and soon we were immersed into this very special atmosphere.
Richard used his beloved Fodera Imperial 5 string bass with active EMG soapbar pickups and passive electronics (Volume, Balance, Tone) and an array of pedals such as Line 6 M13, Volumen pedal, TC Electronic Chorus, Boss Octaver and Boss limiter (not used). He records the live bass loops on the Line 6 M13 pedalboard, and uses a Digitech Jamman for his voice.
Some images from the soundcheck:
45 minutes before the clinic started, doors opened and bassplayers took their place in the venue. Some of them got to try the amps and basses.
This is the TECAMP stuff that was displayed, complete with a brief description and price.
Please note: we are offering all TecAmp products with a special introductory offer. Don’t miss it. Just drop as a line at: info@doctorbass.net
Bonafide Head
The star of the show, no question about it. 820W mono at 4 Ohms, 400W x2 at 2 Ohms. 2 Channels, real stereo output section (twin power amps, bridgeable). Power amp 2 can be set identical to Power Amp 1 (true stereo, like Richard uses it), or it can be optimitezd for subwoofer operation (highpass filter and +12dB boost in the lows) at the flick of a switch. The two preamp channles have the same controls: 4 Band EQ, “Taste” filter, etc. The preamp switching is really flexible (channels can be combined too). A very nice feature is the Switching Power supply (it will work anywhere in the world) and the ultra low weight of just 2,2 kg
List price 1399€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 1260€ Incl VAT
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Puma 1000 Head
1000W mono at 8 Ohms/ 500W x2 at 4 Ohms. Adustable Compressor ajustable. Two power outputs (the second can act as a subwoofer amp highpass filter and +12dB boost in the lows). 4 Band EQ, “Taste” filter. A very nice feature is the Switching Power supply (it will work anywhere in the world) and the ultra low weight of just 2,8 kg
List price 1299€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 1169€ Incl VAT
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Puma 500 Head
500W at 4t Ohms, 500W/ 270W at 8 Ohms. 4 Band EQ, “Taste” filter. A very nice feature is the Switching Power supply (it will work anywhere in the world) and the ultra low weight of just 2,6 kg
List price 859€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 775€ Incl VAT
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Black Jag 350 Head
350W at 4 Ohms, 500W/ 250W at 8 Ohms. Compresor ajustable. 4 Band EQ, “Taste” filter. “Rock” Control for excellent saturation. Switching Power supply (it will work anywhere in the world) and the ultra low weight of just 2,8kg
List price 1099€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 989€ Incl VAT
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Bad Bull 700 Head
820W at 4 Ohms, 700W/ 250W at 8 Ohms. Valve preamp 1 x 12AX7, 2 x 12AT7. Adjustable valce Compressor. 6 band EQ. EL-84 tube at the power amp, adjustable. Switching Power supply (it will work anywhere in the world). Toroidal transformers for the valve section. Stereo power section allows bi-amping. Weight 10 kg!!
List price 2199€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 1979€ Incl VAT
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All TecAmp heads use a class-D power section, hence the low weight and maximun efficiency. Digital power amps have been among us for a while now, but many players and sound engineers were against them for the poor performance in the low end. Fortunately, modern technology and extensive research have made it possible to come up with class D amps that actually deliver great punch and performance in the low end, and TecAmp seems to be leading the way. We have thoroughly tested every single piece of TeAmp gear and we are happy to report that these amps are excellent. A new name in high end bass amplification. With the EQ at 0, these amps deliver a fantastic flat response, so you know that your bass will sound pure and uncoloured if so you with. The clever “Taste” knob goes from flat (center) to fat and warm (clockwise) or scooped mids (counterclockwise), which means you can get a wealth of useable bass tones just using this knob. Neat! The Black Jag adds adjustable compression and saturation for a more rock orientated tone, and the Bad Bull is a true rock valve monster, except it weighs in at a mere 10 kg!!!
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L410 Cabinet: 4×10″, 1200W, 4 Ohms, 25Kg
4 x 10″ speakers + 1″ horn with con Tweeter Switching System. Handles up to 1200W RMS. 4 Ohms, Freq response 35-19000 Hz, Sensibility 102 db, Weight 25 kg!
List price 999€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 899€ Incl VAT
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S212 Cabinet
2xx12″ speakers + 1″ horn with con Tweeter Switching System. Handles up to 600W RMS. 8 Ohms, Freq response 40-19000 Hz, Sensibility 102 db, Weight 18,5kg!
List price 849€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 755€ Incl VAT
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S210 Cabinet
2 x 10″ speakers + 1″ horn with Tweeter Switching System. Handles up to 600W RMS. 8 Ohms, Freq response 42-19000 Hz, Sensibility 101 db, Weight 17,5 kg!
List price 769€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 695€ Incl VAT
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S115 Cabinet
1×15″ speaker + 1″ horn with Tweeter Switching System. Handles up to 400W RMS. 8 Ohms, Freq response 32-19000 Hz, Sensibility 99 db, Weight 17,5 kg!
List price 769€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 695€ Incl VAT
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Dreambuzz Deluxe
Saturation/Distortion unit with great dynamics and a sound that only handselected Germanium transistors (New Old Stock) can deliver. Metal housing and True Bypass design for uncoloured bass tone when not in use.
List price 229€ Incl VAT
Special Doctorbass.net introductory offer____ 209€ Incl VAT
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All TecAmp cabinets use Neodynium magnet speakers. Actually, they pioneered the use of this rare earth ultralight magnetic element. This is one of the key elements to the low weight of this cabinet. The other element is the use of lightweight italian poplar, which has proved to be a great material for bass cabinets. The low weight of this type of poplar allows the cab to be extensively braced to avoid strange resonances and deliver a tight and focused low end.
A great feature is the revolutionary “Tweeter Switching System” horn control that allows the player to set the overal response of the high end according to his needs. This goes far beyond a standard tweeter attenuator, as it ofers two flavours of high end response, named Soft Attack and Hard Attack. What you get is a clever tweeter system that in fact mimics the response of different amps and lets you adapt the “character” of the cabinet depending on your preferences.
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Let’s get to the Clinic itself:
This Clinic is the first of a series of acts that we will be making for bassplayers. Instead of making these events in our shop, we chose a different location: the brand new venue El Hangar seemed like the obvious choice. This is a multifunctional room with rehearsal rooms, a full featured professional recording studio and concert hall that can take up to 1200 people.
The first part of the clinic consisted of a 40 minute solo concert . The atmosphere that Richard creates is nothing short of extraodinary. You couldn’t hear a fly. Richard enjoys when he plays, and he really transmits that all the time. In some other clinics or demos you start to wonder about the gear and sound pretty early, but in this case you get immersed into the Music with a capital “M”. That’s how special Richard is!!
With a really subtle use of effects and two loop pedals (one for his voice, one for his bass), Richard managed to create some amazing atmospheres. Obviously most of the audience (around 250 people) were bassplayers, but not all of them. The fact that Richard just plays from his heart can be appreciated by everyone, even not musicians.
An amazing version of Richard’s famous “Dina Lam” tune closes this part of the clinic.
Picture: Alberto Uyarra
Next comes the Question & Answer section:
While the big ovation from the audience is still bursting, Richard takes our own Fodera Emperor 5, plugs it into a TecAmp stack and plays a few notes before the Question & Answer section begins. Questions go from technique to gear, music, travelling, etc. Richard answers are pretty long and comprehensive, connecting ideas and concepts, so I did my best not to interrupt him, hopefully not forgetting anything when it’s my turn to translate. Richard was really relaxed and feltvery confident in this face to face situation.
As expected, there were questions about TecAmp and why Richard uses these amps. He says that after years using flat sounding amps lile Walter Woods and Epifani, he needed a true stereo head with two preamp channels and two power outputs (one per channel). This allows him to use a true stereo setup (with two 4×10″ cabs) for his stereo effects. This head is the brand new TecAmp Bonafide model. Richard said that apart from a great amp, he also needs a company that listen to his needs and supports him, and he said he is really happy with Thomas Eich’s work at TecAmp. He also has some nice words for Vinnie Fodera and Joey Lauricella and everyone at the Fodera team for making his fabulous basses.
The photo and poster signing section closes this magical night.
After the show we went to a nice restaurant where Richard tries some typical Burgos food. A few weeks before the amazing bassplayer from Barcelona Carles Benavent had played in Burgos with his quartet, and he gave me his lates CD for Richard. Here’s Richard taking the CD. You don’t get to give one of you favourite bass player’s CD to one of your favourite bassplayers!!
Picture with the Suprovox team and Doctorbass.net staff.
We had appointed Richard to come to Doctorbass.net next day to take a picture and say goodbye. Once he saw our stock of basses, Richard stayed for more than 1 hour trying different basses. We talked about his personal preferences in terms of woods, electronics, etc. Again, a true historical event for us.
These are the basses that he liked the most:
Pedulla Pentabuzz: he was already familiar with these great basses, especially the “Buzz” or fretless models. He dug the amazing growl of this Pentabuzz.
Overwater Perception fretless: Richard didn’t knwo these excelent British basses. He liked this fretless 5 string.
Marleaux mBase: this bass is not far from Richard’s own Fodera Bona Bass. He found it easy to play, expressive and versatile. The ultra low action is especially good for Richard’s technique.
Fodera NYC afinado EADGC: of course Richard is familiar with this one, and enjoys a lot the Tenor tunig (EADGC)
He also found interesting these ones:
Ashbory (silicone strings): Richard can pull a great sound out of almost anything. The proof is this Ashbory bass which was totally out of tune, but Richard could still music on it. Amazing!
Marco- Marcústico: he found surprising this 34″ bass handmade by luthier Joaquín Marco with a very convincng double bass tone.
Just as he was playing, we received in the shop a new percussion instrument called the Garrahand. It has several “tongues” that can be tuned and comes with a built in pickup. Richard started playing some nice rhythms and melodies as if had been playing the instrument for years. He wanted to buy it, but I decided to keep it (he signed it for me) and we agreed that I’d take him a new Garrahand to the next European Bass Day in Viersen (Germany) next Sunday, where he would be performing with his band.
What a great event, and what a great guy!
Here we are in Viersen, and you can see Richard with his Garrahand at dinner.
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