Off Topic Doing a speech on Musiman basses for college

[IvanHardy]

hey guys i'm doing a speech on Musicman basses on their sound, preamp, eq etc...my professor wants me to a little bit more broad on the subject and to think about how it would interest the audience(the class). But i love MM and i thought i'd do it just to get info out there to some non musicians and see where it gets them.

Does anyone have any ideas on what i should talk about regarding the sound or any other ideas?

 

[Bass Control]

In my Public Speaking class a few years ago, I did a small 10 minute presentation on how to build a simple walking blues bass line. Then a few weeks later I did a sales presentation on Bongo basses.

You could do a short presentation on the Leo Fender pedigree of instruments (starting with the beginning of bass) leading up to the development of Music Man and their instruments.

Hope that helps!

 

[IvanHardy]

In my Public Speaking class a few years ago, I did a small 10 minute presentation on how to build a simple walking blues bass line. Then a few weeks later I did a sales presentation on Bongo basses.

You could do a short presentation on the Leo Fender pedigree of instruments (starting with the beginning of bass) leading up to the development of Music Man and their instruments.

Hope that helps!

yeah i was thinking of starting with that. the history of how it led to ernie ball buying MM from Leo. lucky for me the speech is only 4-5 minutes

 

[Holdsg]

Make sure you mention that EBMM has issued so many new, innovative bass designs since buying it from Leo Fender and continues to push the envelope (think outside the box, whatever, profs love it when you use buzzwords) on both bass design and electronics.

 

[DTG]

I would find some way to tie in the Tony levin using a nappy story

 

[Aussie Mark]

"Green Basses Don't Sell" would be a cool topic.

 

[silverburst]

What sort of class is this speech for?

 

[dmarotta]

Check the sticky above " Big Poppa and the Roundtable".
There is plenty of great MM info there.

 

[MK Bass Weed]

Read BP's Blogs...

Priceless...

 

[adouglas]

My $0.02:

The history angle is very good. If all you talk about is basses and electronics and tone most of your audience will tune out immediately.

Start at the beginning with the invention of the electric bass, then with 7ender dominance… it's everywhere, on thousands of tracks. Anchor it with visual and audio aids… familiar songs that everyone can relate to, pics of Ps and Js. For example, play the Blues Brothers version of Soul Man and explain that this is a perfect example of the P-bass sound. Show a pic of Duck Dunn playing it.

Put it in context for the layperson. The electric bass changed the role of the instrument, bringing it out front and making it part of the melody… play some early-ish Led Zep with prominent JPJ bass lines. Still the 7ender sound.

That's the first half to two-thirds of your talk. It grabs your audience because it's something they can all relate to, musician or not. Remember that most people don't play and couldn't care less about your passion. You have to appeal to THEM using reference points they're familiar with.

Now that you've got their attention you can talk about the next bit… Leo's efforts to move past the P and J with active electronics. Play a familiar-to-all Tony Levin clip… say, Sledgehammer, or Steam, or Big Time. Point out the differences between the classic P/J tone and the signature MM tone. Choose clips that are really, really obvious.

Now you need a conclusion.

The dominance of the old school continues because musicians tend to fear change. That gives you a launching point to talk about BP's efforts to get the industry to move past 1953. Show the Bongo and talk about its addictiveness. Talk about thinking out of the box, pushing the envelope while honoring the past.

Don't slag 7ender. It's all good… we're all in this together.

Hope this helps

 

[JayDawg]

Don't forget to add about the generosity of the company and Big Poppa as well. From the foundation that he has to what eh has done for my family and others.

 

[IvanHardy]

What sort of class is this speech for?

this is for cms20. Public Speaking.
and thanks to everyone for the suggestions. i have a lot to work with now. so much to say in 4 to 5 minutes. i plan on taking my ray though i don't know how i don't want to carry that big case to college. so far i'm thinking of starting with fender and then how it led to production of MM to ErnieBall buying it and then all the different types of MM basses we have today.

 

[Manfloozy]

The history of Ernie Ball as a person and a family owned/operated company is also a good story and would lend well to a short speech.