Big Meat Rods

big meat rods

The band ‘Big Meat Rods’ played in the area around Winnebago, Illinois for many years. Bassist Bob Nimmo played a Hamer B12A 12-string bass at live gigs as well as in the studio. The bass started out in the standard ‘59 Burst finish but became a true work of art with the addition of many stickers.

Bob told us, "My rig is pretty basic but, for me, it’s the perfect combination of power, flexibility, and portability. The Gallien-Krueger head is relatively new to me after years of being a 'tube snob', but the extremely fast response and low end impact changed my mind about solid state. The tone is clean and uncolored which allows me to bring out the character of different instruments."

"You’ll also notice the ancient HUSH II plugged into the effects loop. If you’ve ever plugged into the same circuit with neon beer lights, you’ll know what that’s all about!"

"I’m not real picky about cabinets so I’m using Ampegs mostly due to their small size, light weight, and reasonable price. However, I’ve found them to have a really nice, punchy sound compared to the Bag Ends I was using previously. I run both full range."

"Although I’m not a big fan of multi-effects, the Boss GT6B has worked out really well for me. I set up a handful of patches to kick effects in and out on the fly just like regular pedals, so there’s no scrolling or patch changes during songs. And, to my surprise, the DBX compression model is excellent, so it’s on all the time at 2:1. I also use it to preset levels for different basses as well as EQ the 12-string a bit. The wah and synth models aren’t very good, so I rotate a Morley Bass Wah and an Akai synth pedal (not pictured) in or out based on our current song list."

"In addition to my Hamer B12A, I use Fender basses. I also have a Carvin 6-string which may or may not be for sale depending on which way our love / hate relationship is swinging at any given time."