If you haven’t heard of these yet, this is a collaboration between the Beach Boys and JHS (apparently, there is some kind of documentory on the Beachboys and those who recorded their songs in the works).
This is a recreation of what was being used for bass during this era (can anyone say Carol Kaye?).
I give you the JHS Punchline!
Sweetwater has an exclusive on these, I believe it is limited to 1,000 units. They are not cheap at $500, but as of last weekend, Sweetwater has dropped the price by $100 until they are gone. I was already planning on purchasing one, but the discount sealed the deal.
Mine arrived yesterday. I will be putting a new pedal board together today (the Punchline and a Korg Pitchblack tuner is all I will need), I’m looking forward to getting into this thing.
This tone is what lives in my head. On a side note, while it is definitely geared towards old school tones, you can also get some pretty cool, more modern tones as well.
Dare to say, I may have found my desert island setup!
For someone who records a lot and wants the convenience this unit offers as far achieving that 60s bass tone I think it’s great. It’s all there for you in a single pedal.
But even with modern digital and SS gear getting that Carol Kaye sound is all about flatwound strings, a proper string mute, and a pick. A PBass or another with a split coil neck pickup would help even more. The warmth can be gotten a number of ways without the need for a tube amp but having it built in to the pedal is nice.
Would I buy one? Probably not but only because I learned how to sound like that long ago. It was the bass sound of the '60s for most anything right down to flatwounds as the stock string on most basses. But I can also see why someone else might benefit from it because of the ease of getting that tone on a recording.
I hear you. I’m guessing that you’re a fan of plug a cable in the amp and get on with it.
Trust me when I say that I have a couple of old P basses set up with old flats/mutes/etc… (I’ve been playing quite a few years myself). I’m also an analog guy 100%, so I get it as well.
As much as I appreciate Karol (she is truly a legend), this is more about the studio recording gear that all of the recording bassists of the era, Joe Osborn is a personal favorite of mine, and let’s face it, it really boils down to the player; Carol with a pick and Jamerson with one finger. There are still some recordings that people can’t tell who played on it.
Give somebody an old P bass, with dead flatwounds and a horribly bowed neck, I would imagine that few players could pull off what James did. But, as you say, it is the starting point for this tone.
The difference is this pedal also allows for drive, compression, even amp modeling, which even allows for more modern bass tones.
This video is a perfect example.
The punchline is not a one trick pony and definitely not " why someone else might benefit from it because of the ease of getting that tone on a recording".
I am a fan of just plug in and play because when I began playing that was really the only option we had. If I wanted to emulate another bassist I had to figure out what they were doing and using. So I had a PBass and a JBass a couple of cables and the amp of the moment. I went through four or five over a five year period of time.
But the best I could get or most anyone else was to capture the impression of what another player would do and no one knew what I was playing or what I was trying to achieve anyway. The bass might be the most misunderstood instrument in a rock/r&b band. No one really knows what it’s place is and what you’re doing 'til you stop doing it. Then everyone knows. That’s when they finally get it.
I’m a fan of Josh’s pedals and this one is no exception. I believe it would be a great tool for recording. One thing I noticed in the demo is just how subtle the changes in the pots are. Not sure what he’s using but it seems hard to get a bad sound out of it. To me that’s the mark of any great amp or pedal. Make it so a player really can’t mess it up. It’s one reason why I love my Genzler Magellan as much as I do.
I don’t know how useful a Punchline would be live but if I had one I would surely try to use it live since it produces what I’m most accustomed to wanting to hear out of my rig. But as I’m not gigging or recording at the moment I won’t invest in one now.
