My Musical Equipment List (as it existed in 1999)

(Note: all info on this page was as-of 1999-2000. I've trimmed my gear down considerably since then)

I've been playing bass guitar for nearly 30 years now, but I've only recently been able to afford what I consider to be a real 'professional' bass rig. I started putting my current system together a couple of years ago, and it's nearly complete. Ironic that since I could finally afford to actually acquire my 'dream' rig, I'm not working anywhere to show it off, and it's all sitting in my closet.

Click here to see a photo of my current rig.

Guitar:

My most prized possession is my 1971 Fender Precission Bass. Throughout my musical career I've owned a lot of different guitars, including an Epiphone, a Rickenbacker, a Gibson EBO, a Gibson 1976 reissue Thunderbird, and a Peavey T-40.

But I've never liked any of them as well as my good-ole P-Bass. It is equipped with Seymour-Duncan active pickups, and I use GHS Pressure Wound strings exclusively. It was originally finished in the classic 'Tobacco Sunburst' finish, but in a fit of utter stupidity I decided to re-finish it. It now has a fairly nice walnut finish, but I wish it still had the old scared and scratched sunburst.

I also bought a new THL hard case for it, and had the interior custom modified to include a fitted space for my Hamilton guitar stand -- that way, no matter where I take my guitar out of the case, I've always got a stand available to put it in.

Amp Rack:

I use a Rhino 9-space rack, and I've added heavy-duty casters and handles to it. Contained inside are:

Furman PM-PRO Power Monitor & Conditioner Strip
Korg DTR-1 Tuner
BBE 462 Sonic Maximizer
Peavey Series 800 multi-effects unit
Gallien-Krueger 800RB Bi-Amp Amplifier
Samson SR-22 Wireless Receiver
1-Space Rack Drawer w/lock

In the back of the rack I have a Horizon Direct Box (for those pesky sound guys who don't like the 'processed' signal from the amplifier line out). Also in the back of the rack is an 4-pole twist-lock connector for my bi-amp speaker cables.

I also use 2 foot switches to control the Korg tuner -- a Boss FS-5U Momentary and a Boss FS-5L On/Off. Using these 2 foot switches daisy-chained together, I can temporarily or permanently mute the system for tuning. The momentary switch is really handy for dummies like me, because it only mutes the system while your foot is on the switch -- as soon as you step away from it, the muting is released (i.e. no more accidently having the system muted when the drummer counts off the first song of the show!)

Speaker Cabinets:

My primary speaker system consists of:

(2) Hartkey standard 115 cabinets (for the Low side of the bi-amping)
(2) Hartkey customized 210 cabinets (for the High side of the bi-amping)

I still have my original Hartkey 410 cabinet for use in smaller situations.

All cabinets have heavy-duty casters and handles installed, as well as twist-lock 4-pole speaker connectors pre-wired for bi-amping. To connect everything, I have custom-made 4-pole speaker cables which are also pre-wired for bi-amping with 4-pole twist-lock connectors. I've got a total of 100ft of cable, in various lengths.

Commercial Advertisement:

With very few exceptions, I buy all of my musical gear from

in Greenwood Indiana. They're great guys to deal with, and I highly recommend them to anyone in the area! Click on the logo above to visit their website, or call them at 317-885-1510 or 800-233-9907. Tell them that 'Mark Holler' sent ya.

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