bnt

On a related practical matter: getting strings for a 6 isn't always easy. I have to order strings for my 5-string (headless High C) from the UK, and I've never seen 6-string sets on sale here in Ireland. All the shops carry are standard 4- and 5-string sets from (mostly) D'Addario and EBMM. In fact, last week, at a university jazz gig, I saw the first 6-string I've seen in 8 years here. (An Ibanez BTB-406, new, and I never saw the bassist touch the 1st and 6th strings!) I know the're certainly [url="http://www.chrislarkinguitars.com/"]made[/url] here... maybe one day.

I honestly think a 6-string neck would be a bit much for you to be comfortable on, without a lot of practice. A 4-string bass is not somehow "less" than a 6-string, you're not "more" of a bassist if you have more strings. How about a 5-string? I play one tuned EADGC, which would also work in EADGB - I just have to buy "High C" sets.

Let me tell you a story... are you sitting comfortably? I played bass first, and tried guitar later, and when I did I found myself at odds with the standard guitar tuning. I came to the conclusion that the tuning makes sense in one specific context: for strumming full 6-string chords. Coming from the bass side, however, I was used to the strings being a major 4th (5 semitones) apart, so could I tune the guitar EADGCF? Turns out it works just fine for many things, and I still do it today, though I don't play guitar much. I have a system of working out chords (a spreadsheet), and the chords can be transposed in two dimensions - up the neck and across. There are even some chords that I can strum on all 6 strings: just not as many compared to standard tuning. Since you're (generally) [b]not[/b] going to be playing 6-string chords on bass - ewwww! - I think you have no reason to want the same tuning on the bass as the guitar. I think this is behind to some of the comments here about "thinking like a bassist" - and also our objections to the term bass [i]guitar[/i]. To get the most out of the bass, you will have to go beyond guitar techniques. Sure, it's possible to play a bass like a guitar, to lay a bassline down, and I don't mind when guitarists like Satriani and Vai do that - it gets the job done on tracks where it's all about the guitar. Those guys also know that if they want a more complex bassline, and more of a band feel, they need to get a bassist in to the studio.

Bass-related, it has to be plectrums, of which I have a few, I've basically given up on pick style, on the few occasions I tried it I dropped the plectrum anyway. I even have a Dunlop [url="http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=42&pmh=products/picks"]thumbpick[/url], which won't fall off, but it hurts my fat thumb. Non-bass-related*, it has to be one of these: the [url="http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-11197-The+attack+of+the+cat+paws+by+Bandai.html"]Neko Nyanbou[/url]. Literally "Cat Meow Paw", it curls up when you pull the trigger, so you can use it to scare people, or grab things. That site has a great graphic with "sample applications". * Now I think about it..?

I remember being highly interested in a [url="http://www.yamahamusic.com.au/products/musicalinstruments/guitars/electric/solid/sg.asp"]Yamaha SG2000[/url], after seeing Big Country playing them - loved the looks and the sound. More recently - yes, a Parker Fly would be very nice, especially the upcoming Adrian Belew signature model with MIDI pickup. Mmmm... What I do have, however, is one of these: Oink!

I like a good bit of older Dream Theater, but they kinda lost me with [i]Metropolis 2000[/i]. In 2002 I saw them three times in four days, in Dublin, and London where they did a double-header. That's when they do weird stuff, like JM breaking out the Stick on [i]New Millennium[/i], and on the second night they played the whole [i]Number Of The Beast[/i] album (Iron Maiden). Great, but I was kinda cured of the DTs after that experience. Anyone for [b]DragonForce[/b]? I've seen the video, and I don't know [i]what[/i] to think.

I've settled on 25-45-65-85-105 on my 5-string, tuned High C. On my newish Tune 4-string, it's currently Elites 40-100, which seem OK so far, though I might go for a EB Slinky set at some point.

For me it's complicated... I have a particular vision of what I want Rock Bass to be, influenced by my history of listening to Progressive music. It's not really compatible with most of what's going on today, I feel. Geddy Lee has been a big influence in the past, but to me his Fender + SansAmp sound of the last decade doesn't stand out the way his previous bass sounds did - my fave being the "light" Wal on [i]Presto[/i], and the Steinberger on [i]Grace Under Pressure[/i]. Even when he used the [i]same[/i] Fender Jazz before, it still sounded unique - like no-one else. I've enjoyed previous Muse albums, with Chris getting some great sounds out of his Pedulla, but he's also partly retreated to Fender. Though he's kept the fuzz boxes and has a Rickenbacker too. I suppose the main problem I have with Fenders and copies is a kind of elitism on my part: everyone's doing it, basses being cranked out like McDonalds Cheeseburgers, and I'm not hearing the variety in sound that I used to. I know Fenders can sound interesting if the player works at it, but I have to say that nearly all the bass sounds I've liked in the past were not Fender sounds. From McCartney through Entwistle & Squire, Mick Karn, John Taylor, Tony Butler & Pino, Tony Levin or Jim Glennie, through to Cliff Burton, John Myung, Fieldy & Chris Wolstenholme. I want to hear that bass stamp its authority on the song, so I can hear the player clearly as a full member of the band, not just part of the "rhythm section".

+1 for the Midge Ure book - pretty interesting. The story about how Warren Cann was kicked out was very interesting, because I really like the [i]U-VOX[/i] album that they made after that, with Big Country's Mark Brzezicki on drums. Probably the most intense musician's autobiography I've read was Neil Peart's [i]Ghost Rider[/i]. Even though I knew Rush was back with him in it, there was still a good amount of suspense as to how well he would survive what he went through.

It's a little confusing. On the one hand, I heard that the move to roundwounds was the main reason Rickenbacker developed the 4003 - because players of 4001s were having neck problems because of them. On the other hand, if I look at the tension figures that D'Addario publish on their website, the Flatwounds are slightly heavier than Nickel rounds for the same gauge, but a lot heavier than the stainless steel rounds. Chrome Flatwound CB105 E 0.105 41.5lb 18.82kg Nickel Roundwounds XLB105 E 0.105 40.3lb 18.28kg Stainless ProSteels PSB105 E 0.105 37.3lb 16.92kg

I find all this fascinating too, and sometimes I'm amazed that the equal-tempered scale works as well as it does. It's based on a particular mathematical formula (exponential) that is a very close - but not exact - match to basic harmony principles. Using that Cycle of Fifths as an example: we call 7 semitones or frets a fifth, but it's not really: - harmonic fifth: tones on the pure ratio of 3:2, or [b]1.5[/b] - 7 semitones: 2^(7/12) = [b]1.4983071[/b] If you follow both of those ratios round the cycle of fifths, you apply the frequency ratio 12 times, which in maths terms means raising it to the power of 12: - 7 semitones: 1.4983071 ^ 12 = [b]128[/b] = [i]exactly[/i] 7 octaves higher (because 2^7 = 128) = still in tune - harmonic fifth: 1.5 ^ 12 = [b]129.74634[/b] = 7 octaves and a bit sharp. Apologies for the maths - but one interesting side-effect of this process is the possibility of using octaves with a different number of semitones. There are folks out there with 19-tone guitars, and Steve Vai has a 16-tone guitar somewhere in his collection.

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='155667' date='Mar 12 2008, 12:00 AM']The guy from 'Talk Talk' (sorry, still don't know his name)[/quote] 'tis Paul Webb ye're thinking of * I agree. Also: Tony Butler (Big Country) Robbie Shakespeare (Sly & Robbie, UB40 & more) Cliff Burton (Metallica) Mark King (L42) Pete Trewavas (Marillion) Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads) Geddy Lee (Rush) - from [i]Moving Pictures[/i] to [i]Presto[/i] is all 80s edit: Mark "Bedders" Bedford (Madness) should be here too + I meant to list Scott Thunes, who was with Zappa in the 80s - though Patrick O'Hearn was still a monster in the 70s. lastly, my Enthusiasm Award goes to ... Andy McCluskey (OMD) PS: on the bass-related Equipment side, I think of: Fairlight CMI, for solid bass sampling & sequencing (ask Frankie & the Art of Noise); the rise of the 5-string bass; and, of course: Steinberger.

Sorry, folks - I've had a rethink, and won't be coming to the Bash after all. The timing was just too awkward, it required me to take time off university and miss lectures, which I would rather not do with exams 6 weeks away.

That looks like a rosewood fingerboard... have you considered Doing a Jaco on it? I hear the frets come out more easily if you heat them up with a soldering iron, and 2-part clear epoxy is inexpensive these days.

[i]I'm very disappointed in you. And I don't handle disappointment... well. [/i] edit: maybe I shouldn't assume you know who that bassist was: John Paul Jones, on one of his Manson 8-strings.

Like the OP, mine are not basses, either: - the bagpipes I played, in a pipe band in South Africa in 1990-1. You don't learn on full pipes, but on a "practice chanter" (similar to a recorder), so by the time I got around to trying the full pipes, my fingers were ready... but my lungs were not. On one memorable occasion, we flew from Pretoria (on the Highveld), down to Cape Town (sea level), which had an unfortunate effect on the reeds: I was one of several people who developed nosebleeds, trying to get the bloody thing to work. - I'm not much of a keyboardist, but at a music show a few years ago I fell in love with a Yamaha Motif 6. The sounds were great, but the emotion came in largely because of its responsiveness and keyboard action. For a few minutes I found myself thinking I could really make a go of keyboards as a second instrument. The way Geddy successfully integrated them in to Rush's sound has been an inspiration to me for years.

It's sometimes difficult to separate the band from the bassist, so I might think I'm recognising the bassist when I'm recognising the band. I think this list has to be about session players, and Pino has already been mentioned... TLev is the only other example I can think of. Edit: oh yes: Eberhard Weber too.

I'm looking at a way of getting there, partly with a slightly ulterior motive: I have a Chapman Stick (10-string) I would like to sell. I've concluded that selling it will mean a trip to the UK anyway, since shipping from Ireland is expensive and risky. I'd like a trip to the UK anyway, and if I stay in Northampton I'll get a Saturday in London too. Would anyone be interested in taking a serious look at the Stick, if I bring it across? I'll post a note in the For Sale forum too, with photos (later). I'd prefer to carry it one-way only.