On a Budget: Leslie Alternative for Hammond Xk-1

A while ago I mentioned I would take a picture of my rotary setup. It’s been a long, long while now–but here it is. (Pay no attention to the sound guy’s rat’s nest… I didn’t do it!) For my money, I get the advantages that a quality Leslie sound provides in a low-price and portable setup. Of course you can always go out and spend more than $300 for all the newest gear, but I didn’t, and I sure get a better sound than others who did.

rotary

58496_456042934508622_1722202661_n

I paired a Motion Sound Pro 3 with an Acoustic B100 bass amp. Here’s why:

Price: Total amount spent = $300. I bought the MSP3 on Craigslist for $200. I found the Acoustic B100 at Guitar Center in Boise, Idaho, while on tour for $100.

Sounds Great This is a solid-state setup (the only bummer here). But, you are able to adjust the overdrive, bass tone, and level difference between treble and bass.

Real Rotary: The duo essentially recreates a sound similar to a Leslie 147 with the back off and turned around, but with no need for a 1/4″ adapter or any further hardware. Don’t worry about the bass not being a rotary speaker, our ears aren’t equipped enough to REALLY notice the difference at 700Hz frequencies and below.

Compliments I think we all want to get noticed with our gear, right? Making others point, say wow, or ask for tips make me feel proud to play an tonewheel clone. In fact, I’ve seen people who know nothing about musical instruments point and say, “Look at the thing inside there go!” I want to explain what it is, and why it’s doing that. But overall, I’m happy because they’re paying more attention to me than the guitar player. Mission accomplished 🙂

How I hook It Up:

Basic setup is easy…

1. Setup Hammond Xk-1.
2. Run a 1/4″ instrument cable from the Hammond Xk-1 left out to the input on the MSP3.
3. Run a 1/4″ instrument cable from the MSP3 mono out to the B100 input.
4. Plug a pedal into the 1/4″ rotor control jack on the MSP3.
5. Mic rotor with one or two Beta 57s.
6. Mic B100 with Beta 52A.

Setup Specs:

MSP3: 6.5″H x 20″W x 16.5″D and weighs 27 lbs.
30W solid state amplifier with 700Hz crossover. Everything 700Hz and below is routed to the bass amp.

B100: 100W amp 1 x 15″ bass cabinet. Passive and active inputs, can control gain, volume, lows, lo-mids, hi-mids, and highs.

Aces Up Invited to 4th Annual Granger Smith Boot Walk

BootwalkAces Up and myself have been invited to participate in the 4th Annual Granger Smith Boot Walk.

The event is a benefit for the Boot Campaign, a national 501c3 non-profit dedicated to promoting patriotism, raising awareness, and providing assistance to military families.

The 100-mile march begins in Austin, and participants will spend five days wearing out combat boots on the way to Fort Hood, where a daylong concert sums up the event on May 8.

Aces Up is a firm supporter of our troops. Guitarist and Bonney Lake resident Jason Adams, served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Fallujah and Ramadi during the Iraq War.

“It’s a good thing to remember everyone who give their life in support of a greater cause.” Adams said.
As part of this event, I, along with Aces Up, have set up a sponsorship page with for those who want to help the band’s efforts toward the Boot Walk: http://www.crowdrise.com/AcesUp/fundraiser/brendanabshier.

“I know we all have heroes in our hearts in one way or another,” keyboard player Brendan Abshier said. “I think of my family, I remember friends, and appreciate how grateful I am for the life I have been granted through their actions.”

Other supporters for the Boot Campaign include Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Dwayne Johnson “The Rock”, and more.

If you are interested in learning more about our special CORPORATE and HERO sponsorships, send an e-mail to me: brendan.abshier@gmail.com.

Further Info:
4th Annual Granger Smith Boot Walk | http://www.bootwalk.com
Boot Campaign | http://www.bootcampaign.com/
Aces Up | http://www.acesupcountry.com
Granger Smith | http://www.grangersmith.com
Earl Dibbles Jr. | http://www.earldibblesjr.com/

Rae Solomon, Aces Up, Lace & Lead

Coming up this weekend on March 8: Rae Solomon with Aces Up & Lace & Lead @ Jazzbones, Tacoma, WA …

Rae Solomon, Aces Up, Lace & Lead

“Off stage Rae Solomon may be known as Seattle’s country darling, but, make no mistake, the moment she steps into the spotlight her high energy sass leaves her audiences begging for more. Possessing a very rare perfect pitch capability Rae’s bold voice jumps through the speakers and cuts through all the clutter you hear today. ‘The stage is my time to connect. I want to captivate people and make them feel something!’ says Solomon. ‘Music is so much more than just music. It’s feeling and emotion and memories.'” –Rae Solomon | Official Website

Aces Up Kickstarter, album pre-order, more!

Hey everyone,

Aces Up just launched its Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming CD. This is a great way to pre-order the album and get one-time-only, rare band merchandise. Head over and check out the cool stuff you can get, but be quick, this only lasts for a limited time!

Link: http://kck.st/1aq0sZM

Coming Soon: Tracy Lawrence, Lee Brice, Brett Eldredge … more!

We have some fun things coming up with week and next.

First off, we’re hitting the road for Wyoming to play with Tracy Lawrence (Paint Me a Birmingham, Find Out Who Your Friends Are) and Sarah Darling (Little Umbrellas). Then we headline in Idaho. After that we scoot over to Medford, OR to play with Thomas Rhett (Beer with Jesus, 1994). We know what he’d do if we could have a Beer with Jesus, but maybe he’ll settle for a beer with me.

After that we’ll head back to Idaho for a show with Brett Eldredge (Don’t Ya) and then down to Portland, OR with Lee Brice (Parking Lot Party, Hard to Love).

Somewhere in between I’ll be able to grab a nap, snap some pictures along the way, and share it all with you.

Pics: Tracy Lawrence/Thomas Rhett, Sarah Darling, Brett Eldredge, Lee Brice, Aces Up, Sleeping in Black Betty (RIP).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Jerrod Niemann, making friends

I’m a bit overdue on updating my posts. But let me get back into it by saying the year has continued to be a blessing. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some great people and feel honored to share the stage with some outstanding musicians.

Here are a couple pics from our shows with Jerrod Niemann. At these shows I got a chance to hang out with his keyboard player, Travis Mobley. Travis is an excellent player and if you’re ever in Nashville, you might find him playing at Legends Corner or elsewhere when he’s not on tour. We got a chance to talk about gear, stage setup, what kind of sound we go for and how we achieve that. All you keyboard players out there know the drill 🙂

The fans in Spokane, WA and Boise, ID were wonderful. Can’t wait to be back soon.

Pics of Travis, Spokane, and Boise:

Travis Mobley
Spokane, WA
Boise, ID

Aces Up | Florida Georgia Line (Video)

Hi!

Here’s a short little clip of some fan excitement for Aces Up with Florida Georgia Line. It’s my first attempt at trying to edit video taken with a flip cam, but it was a lot of fun testing it out. There will certainly be more videos from the road this summer and they’ll only get better!

Hope you enjoy!

@bkakeys

Florida Georgia Line

Hey y’all,

Last week I got the chance to play a couple shows with Florida Georgia Line. Here are a couple photos I was able to snap in my spare time. There was a lot of meet and greets, photo signings, and other activities that showcased the positive fan base that comes from eastern Washington state. I’m putting together a short video that will be up soon as well.

The FGL guys were all pretty friendly. I got a chance to meet the band and talk about gear, upcoming shows, and all that fun stuff. People were waiting 6+ hours to get into the shows so it was a bit of, as Aces Up guitarist, Jason Adams put it, “Beatlemania” — I think some girls in the front row were crying.

Next up are a few college shows and then a couple tour dates with Jarrod Niemann.

Have a good one!

@bkakeys