Bass Player Magazine gave Mike the Bass Player Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, and Flea was there to present it to him.

It is believed that the low key Mike Watt has been responsible for the sound that has created the Alternative Rock sound that has been developed over the years by bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam and many other “followers”. Mike is held in high esteem by many musicians who have been inspired by his sound. Being the sojourner who loves the road less traveled, but who by his unique talent and form of playing, opened the doors to the MTV world of listeners, and as a result we have all been those of who have enjoyed this genre of music that came as a result.

Core One Creative, located in Torrance, CA, is a neighbor to Mike Watt’s San Pedro stomping grounds. Ted McCann contacted him through Kevin Keller, an endorser of Bullet Cable and bassist/guitarist for bands Todd & the RankOutsiders, Jr. Juggernaut, Jeff Caudill and Motorcycle Black Madonnas. He asked Mike if he we could get a session with him so that he could try out Core X2 and Bullet Cable and give us his opinion about the cable. Mike, being one of the most accessible artists we know, said that he would be happy to give us some time and accepted our invitation to meet at Beach Cities Recording Studio owned by another Core X2/Bullet Cable endorser, Darian Rundall (formerly of Stall No. 2).

Darian was kind enough to host the session and we will introduce those recordings at a later date.

What followed during the session was completely outside the expectations of Core One Creative. For the purpose of warming Mike up to the cables we have created, we brought in some of the cables sitting in the studio: Monster and Live Wire (a generic cable that is a Guitar Center house brand). Ted explained how we specifically voiced each of our cables and we gave Mike the 20′ Silver Bullet, Bullet Coil, and Core X2 Bass Cable to play with. A comment that Mike made was that in all of the years that he has played (including the fact that he is about to go on the road on his 63rd tour) he had never really paid attention to cables. When he started to play with ours he was literally blown away that there was a very distinct difference.

His favorite seemed to be the Silver Bullet and the Coil. He was impressed with the Core X2 Bass cable (which was sampled against Monster which he found “wacky”, and Live Wire, which he thought sounded better than Monster with a more balanced vibe). He thought the Bass Cable had a good presence and a “nasal” thing that he said was needed to be strong when you kick in the bass with the performance since the low sound should aide the band and not get lost like what he said usually happens when the bass is not set up right.

Ted and Mike talked for over an hour and a half. The session really turned into one Master’s thought on tone and playing and performance and all the good stuff we want to know about to be better musicians.

When we were all talked out, and Mike was done testing, we asked him, “So are you a Bullet Cable fan?” Mike said that he is and even said he is going to tell his friends. “You know I know some people…”

At the very end we thanked Mike and he gave a bow to Ted. “I give you much respect Ted. I am really blown away.” Ted gave a bow back. Mike is a hero in Ted’s mind and was equally thankful for the experience.

—
To see raw video of some of the moments of the day, read more in the Daily Rant.

Core One Creative Bullet Coil Cables by Brian Fox

Be they braided, gold-plated or insulated, instrument cables have gone high tech and high fashion. On the retro tip, the Bullet Coil cable brings back the look of old-time rock & roll badasses who liked their amps loud and their cables coiled.

The Bullet cable’s name comes from the .44-caliber shell casings that form the straight and angled 1/4″ plugs. This hardy cable is built to last; underneath the brass casings, an epoxy mold seals in the shielded copper connections, protecting them from dirt and moisture, and the cable’s tips are capped with 24k gold. Core One Creative chose gold for more than just its “bling factor”. The precious metal’s conductive properties and corrosion resistance make it a popular among audiophiles.

The added length that comes with coiled cables tends to suck out an instrument signal’s high frequencies, but the Bullet fared well A/B’d with shorter high quality cables. In the trenches, the Bullet hit the mark, though its heavy coils formed minor onstage obstacles. (And stuffing the Bullet Coil in a gig bag was a bit like putting kitty in the bathtub- it just didn’t want to go.) But those were tolerable tradeoffs; the thing just looked cool. Plus, I actually enjoyed interacting with the cable onstage- it brought a new element of “play” into performing that I’d never experienced before. Bottom line: If you want to look as sweet as you sound, give the Bullet Coil a shot.

Bass Player
Sound Room
August 2006