Here’s a trivia question for you: Who was the first major endorsee amongst Warwick’s immense roster of bassists? As the title of this review might suggest, it is the legendary Jack Bruce. Best known as the bassist and vocalist for Cream, Bruce’s virtuosic musicianship and vocal offerings from the seminal power trio were massively influential, arguably to the levels of his bandmate Eric Clapton.
Jack Bruce has played Warwick basses since 1985, leading to his first signature model with the company in 1988. And recently, another product of this longtime collaboration made its debut at the 2012 NAMM show. A bass that takes on the characteristics of its master, the German-built Jack Bruce Survivor exudes classic looks and a warm, lyrical persona.
Pieces of Bruce
The Jack Bruce Survivor is a clear combination
of Bruce’s past and present basses.
While the body is influenced by one of his
earlier instruments (the Gibson EB-3), the
neck, electronics, and hardware represent
Warwick’s approach to Bruce’s modern
preferences. Both the body and the neck
on this neck-through-designed beauty are
constructed from mahogany, and the tigerstripe-
ebony fingerboard is available in both
fretless (tested here) and fretted versions.
For electronics, the Survivor is outfitted with a pair of passive MEC pickups that look like humbuckers at first glance, but are actually single-coils with a shape that adds to the instrument’s vintage vibe. Wired to an active MEC 2-way preamp, the Survivor’s controls consist of a pushpull volume, balance, and stacked bass/ treble knob.
The bass also features Warwick’s highquality hardware, highlighted by the Justa- Nut III Brass nut and the company’s 2-piece, 3-D bridge—both of which offer a large degree of adjustability. Last but not least, Warwick installed LED side dots, which act like 13 red-nosed reindeers to help guide a bassist along the unlined fingerboard—especially nice for low-light gigging situations.
Jet Set Jewel
When I first removed the Survivor from its
included flight case, I was surprised to find
such a lightweight bass, particularly one
made of mahogany. While the bass required
a few tweaks of the truss rod and bridge
due to some extensive travel getting to us,
nothing raised any major concerns and I
was quickly ready to check it out.
There is an old adage that says one can determine the excellence of an instrument in three notes. From the very first pluck of the Survivor, it displayed its quality. Compelled to hear the natural voice of the bass, I played for sometime while unplugged and in a seated position. Instantly, the warmth and “mwah” of each note was delivered with a quick response and steady bloom, supported by a slight, low-mid punch. Anything my hands requested of the Survivor was easily communicated, from harmonic slides to varying vibratos. There was nothing in the construction that fought the vibrations of the strings, and for a solidbody bass, it conveyed an impressive amount of resonance.
Jazz bass lovers will likely enjoy the slim profile of the neck with its fast and smooth feel. Despite my personal preference for satin necks, I felt comfortable shifting over its glossy finish. The Survivor seemed a bit neck heavy for my playing style, given that it naturally settled into a horizontal position when strapped around my body. That said, it may work for you, depending on your penchant for perpendicular playing.
Open Up and Say Mwah
To assess the electric tone, I plugged the
Survivor into a Phil Jones D-600 amp paired
with a Glockenklang 410 cabinet, as well
as a Peavey Headliner amp and Headliner
410 cab. Starting with the volume knob
open and the pickups balanced, I found the
Survivor’s mids were complemented by the
onboard preamp, which was quite capable
of enhancing the articulate voice of the bass
with warm lows and airy highs.
Ratings
Pros:
articulate tone. comfortable fretless neck with cool
led side markers.
Cons:
expensive. neck heavy.
Tones:
Playability:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$10,085.50
Warwick
warwick.de
The bass was adept at recreating classic, fretless tones. By rolling the balance knob slightly toward the bridge pickup, I was able to produce a sound similar to ’80sera Pino Palladino. Mick Karn fans need only boost the bass and treble a bit, which results in tight lows and a present midrange that just begs a bassist to emulate Karn’s slides and leaps around the fingerboard. Though Jaco disciples may not necessarily find his voice lurking within the Survivor, they may very well discover their own through this expressive instrument.
Whether it was plugged into an amp or sent through a DI, the Survivor was a nice tool to have in live situations. It created a sweet, lyrical foundation to ballads, as well as an eclectic vibe to free-form jams. While some jazz and bluegrass bassists may not find the Survivor to be an alternative to schlepping their upright around town, its tone found a place for both these styles to my ears. Surprisingly, the Survivor was also able to emulate the lower strings of an oud. Just by lightly plucking the strings right in front of the bridge, I was able to create this unique timbre—and that was loads of fun.
The Verdict
The Warwick Jack Bruce Survivor is a bass
that truly channels a player’s voice. The
more than $10,000 price may not be for
everyone, but the Survivor will certainly
appeal to fretless aficionados and fans of
Jack Bruce. Bruce, who turns 69 this year,
calls the new signature bass “the best there
is.” And if the Survivor inspires him to keep
making music, perhaps investing in this
burgundy beauty will inspire you too.
The new AD200 is still designed on the premise that the best tone comes from the shortest signal path from bass to speaker. Whatever type of bass, playing style, or genre of music, the AD200 faithfully retains the tone of that instrument.
The addition of a new clean switch, in combination with a powerful three-band EQ, gives AD200 players an even broader frequency spectrum to dial into their amp. In addition, a brand new output transformer, with 3 inches of laminations, harnesses double the power at 30Hz, offering better response at low frequencies. ‘It now pushes more air, flaps more trouser leg — simple as that,’ explains Orange Amps Technical Director Ade Emsley. From mellow hues to heavy, percussive growl and even slap bass, the ultimate incarnation of the AD200, has just become even more versatile.
Internal changes make the amp easier to service and maintain. Each output valve now has its own 12 turn bias pot, so unmatched valves can sit side by side. ‘Now, any tech with a multimeter can bias the amp and match the valves into the amp,’ explains Emsley. ‘So, if you’re on the road with a band, you can go swap a worn valve for a new one, dial it in and you’re good to go.’ Whilst the four KT88 output valves push 200 Watts of power, the amp will run equally as well on 6550s or a combination of the two.
‘It’s a big improvement on the previous version,’ says Ade Emsley, of his work on the updated AD200. ‘It still does everything the old one does, it’s still the industry standard, but it’s now simpler, easier to use, easier to service and futureproof.’
The new, decluttered front panel design is reminiscent of the company’s iconic 1970’s amps with its original ‘bubble-writing’ Orange logo and the ‘pics-only’ hieroglyphs, all wrapped in the company’s distinctive orange Tolex covering.
Over the last forty years, the Orange Bass Cabinets have become an undeniable industry standard. They have been remodelled to use Celestion Pulse XL bass speakers across the OBC810C, OBC410HC, and OBC115C cabs. The upgrade delivers a tight, punchy low-end with a warm mid-range that’s full of presence. The premium build of these cabinets remains, delivering players, bands and techs the road-worthy dependability they demand. In addition, the popular OBC410HC has been modified by removing one vertical partition and strengthening the horizontal one to be lighter and tighten up low-end response.
For more information, please visit orangeamps.com.
Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, EGC Chessie in hands, coaxing some nasty tones from his Hiwatt.
The Jesus Lizard’s sixth album, Blue, served as the band’s final statement from the frontlines of noisy rock for the next 26 years. By the time of their dissolution in 1999, they’d earned a reputation for extreme performances chock full of hard-hitting, machine-like grooves delivered by bassist David Wm. Sims and, at their conclusion, drummer Mac McNeilly, at times aided and at other times punctured by the frontline of guitarist Duane Denison’s incisive, dissonant riffing, and presided over by the cantankerous howl of vocalist David Yow. In the years since, performative, thrilling bands such as Pissed Jeans, METZ, and Idles have built upon the Lizard’s musical foundation.
Denison has kept himself plenty busy over the last couple decades, forming the avant-rock supergroup Tomahawk—with vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn (both from Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier of Helmet—and alongside various other projects including Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. The Jesus Lizard eventually reunited, but until now have only celebrated their catalog, never releasing new jams.
The Jesus Lizard, from left: bassist David Wm. Sims, singer David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and guitarist Duane Denison.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
Back in 2018, Denison, hanging in a hotel room with Yow, played a riff on his unplugged electric guitar that caught the singer’s ear. That song, called “West Side,” will remain unreleased for now, but Denison explains: “He said, ‘Wow, that’s really good. What is that?’ And I said, ‘It’s just some new thing. Why don’t we do an album?’” From those unassuming beginnings, the Jesus Lizard’s creative juices started flowing.
So, how does a band—especially one who so indelibly captured the ineffable energy of live rock performance—prepare to get a new record together 26 years after their last? Back in their earlier days, the members all lived together in a band house, collectively tending to the creative fire when inspiration struck. All these years later, they reside in different cities, so their process requires sending files back and forth and only meeting up for occasional demo sessions over the course of “three or four years.”
“When the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.” —Duane Denison
the Jesus Lizard "Alexis Feels Sick"
Distance creates an obstacle to striking while the proverbial iron is hot, but Denison has a method to keep things energized: “Practice loud.” The guitarist professes the importance of practice, in general, and especially with a metronome. “We keep very detailed records of what the beats per minute of these songs are,” he explains. “To me, the way to do it is to run it to a Bluetooth speaker and crank it, and then crank your amp. I play a little at home, but when the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.”
It’s a proven solution. On Rack—recorded at Patrick Carney’s Audio Eagle studio with producer Paul Allen—the band sound as vigorous as ever, proving they’ve not only remained in step with their younger selves, but they may have surpassed it with faders cranked. “Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style,” explains Allen. “The conviction in his playing that he is known for from his recordings in the ’80s and ’90s is still 100-percent intact and still driving full throttle today.”
“I try to be really, really precise,” he says. “I think we all do when it comes to the basic tracks, especially the rhythm parts. The band has always been this machine-like thing.” Together, they build a tension with Yow’s careening voice. “The vocals tend to be all over the place—in and out of tune, in and out of time,” he points out. “You’ve got this very free thing moving around in the foreground, and then you’ve got this very precise, detailed band playing behind it. That’s why it works.”
Before Rack, the Jesus Lizard hadn’t released a new record since 1998’s Blue.
Denison’s guitar also serves as the foreground foil to Yow’s unhinged raving, as on “Alexis Feels Sick,” where they form a demented harmony, or on the midnight creep of “What If,” where his vibrato-laden melodies bolster the singer’s unsettled, maniacal display. As precise as his riffs might be, his playing doesn’t stay strictly on the grid. On the slow, skulking “Armistice Day,” his percussive chording goes off the rails, giving way to a solo that slices that groove like a chef’s knife through warm butter as he reorganizes rock ’n’ roll histrionics into his own cut-up vocabulary.
“During recording sessions, his first solo takes are usually what we decide to keep,” explains Allen. “Listen to Duane’s guitar solos on Jack White’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night,’ Tomahawk’s ‘Fatback,’ and ‘Grind’ off Rack. There’s a common ‘contained chaos’ thread among them that sounds like a harmonic Rubik’s cube that could only be solved by Duane.”
“Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style.” —Rack producer Paul Allen
To encapsulate just the right amount of intensity, “I don’t over practice everything,” the guitarist says. Instead, once he’s created a part, “I set it aside and don’t wear it out.” On Rack, it’s obvious not a single kilowatt of musical energy was lost in the rehearsal process.
Denison issues his noisy masterclass with assertive, overdriven tones supporting his dissonant voicings like barbed wire on top of an electric fence. The occasional application of slapback delay adds a threatening aura to his exacting riffage. His tones were just as carefully crafted as the parts he plays, and he relied mostly on his signature Electrical Guitar Company Chessie for the sessions, though a Fender Uptown Strat also appears, as well as a Taylor T5Z, which he chose for its “cleaner, hyper-articulated sound” on “Swan the Dog.” Though he’s been spotted at recent Jesus Lizard shows with a brand-new Powers Electric—he points out he played a demo model and says, “I just couldn’t let go of it,” so he ordered his own—that wasn’t until tracking was complete.
Duane Denison's Gear
Denison wields his Powers Electric at the Blue Room in Nashville last June.
Photo by Doug Coombe
Guitars
- Electrical Guitar Company Chessie
- Fender Uptown Strat
- Taylor T5Z
- Gibson ES-135
- Powers Electric
Amps
- Hiwatt Little J
- Hiwatt 2x12 cab with Fane F75 speakers
- Fender Super-Sonic combo
- Early ’60s Fender Bassman
- Marshall 1987X Plexi Reissue
- Victory Super Sheriff head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60—2 combos in stereo with Celestion Neo Creamback speakers and Mullard tubes
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Mantic Flex Pro
- TC Electronic G-Force
- Menatone Red Snapper
Strings and Picks
- Stringjoy Orbiters .0105 and .011 sets
- Dunlop celluloid white medium
- Sun Studios yellow picks
He ran through various amps—Marshalls, a Fender Bassman, two Fender Super-Sonic combos, and a Hiwatt Little J—at Audio Eagle. Live, if he’s not on backline gear, you’ll catch him mostly using 60-watt Blackstar HT Stage 60s loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. And while some boxes were stomped, he got most of his effects from a Line 6 Helix. “All of those sounds [in the Helix] are modeled on analog sounds, and you can tweak them endlessly,” he explains. “It’s just so practical and easy.”
The tools have only changed slightly since the band’s earlier days, when he favored Travis Beans and Hiwatts. Though he’s started to prefer higher gain sounds, Allen points out that “his guitar sound has always had teeth with a slightly bright sheen, and still does.”
“Honestly, I don’t think my tone has changed much over the past 30-something years,” Denison says. “I tend to favor a brighter, sharper sound with articulation. Someone sent me a video I had never seen of myself playing in the ’80s. I had a band called Cargo Cult in Austin, Texas. What struck me about it is it didn’t sound terribly different than what I sound like right now as far as the guitar sound and the approach. I don’t know what that tells you—I’m consistent?”
YouTube It
The Jesus Lizard take off at Nashville’s Blue Room this past June with “Hide & Seek” from Rack.
