dlloyd

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1389481850' post='2334747'] Hagstrom were making a well-regarded 8-string back in the late 60s. [/quote] Noel Redding used one for a while in the Jimi Hendrix Experience... Spanish Castle Magic was one of the tracks he played it on. Jimi also used one from time to time:

Indian made... late 80s/early 90s. Owned by Fender.

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1330011892' post='1551402'] I had one for a while. An OLP baritone tuned E-E an octave below a guitar. It sounded great when played in a band with another bassist, pretty much as Robert Smith is doing above. But it didn't cut it as a bass on its own. [/quote] This is what they look like... well worth trying out if you can find one. A credible alternative to the Squier Bass VI and probably cheaper. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dlloydbass/media/P3130002.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/dlloydbass/P3130002.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

D'Addario have a useful resource for comparing tensions of different gauges at different tunings: [url="http://www.daddario.com/DAstringtensionguide.Page?AxPageID=2371&Mode=0&ActiveID=&sid=0bddcd26-6f98-4828-be98-e8fc36752567"]http://www.daddario.com/DAstringtensionguide.Page?AxPageID=2371&Mode=0&ActiveID=&sid=0bddcd26-6f98-4828-be98-e8fc36752567[/url]

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1388489089' post='2322508'] That is why I'm doing grades but I'd like to play along to the CD now. [/quote] No quicker way of learning than to try and figure out the notes from the sheet music.

A bunch of them here: [url="http://www.lucaspickford.net/transbass.htm"]http://www.lucaspickford.net/transbass.htm[/url]

Bb is for tenor sax, clarinet, trumpet, etc. Eb is for alto sax, baritone sax, and a few others. They're all transposing instruments... when you read a C as written on the page, the instrument actually plays a Bb or Eb. Sounds confusing, but there are very good reasons for it.

C Try to get bass clef.

On a conventionally intonated bass with a well cut nut, tuning to open notes will give in tune fretted notes from around the fifth fret up, with the lower fretted notes being sharp by 2 to 3 cents, depending on the string. Some people get really hung up on this... I don't. With a well trained ear, in a quiet room and with some concentration, some of us will be able to hear this difference. In a band situation... seriously, forget about it. You won't hear it. Nor will anyone else. If it really bothers you, get an Earvana nut fitted or go for the Buzz Feiten system. Musicman and a few other manufacturers already incorporate compensated nuts.

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1388035666' post='2317987'] I understand that, good explanation. but here the Eb is over (under?) a power chord....Bb5....so a Bb with the 5th being an F. So if the Eb is played under and in addition to a Bb5.....wouldnt that then be a Eb5add9? [/quote] Yes. Or possibly an Ebsus2 (I've also seen them notated as sus9... not sure that's correct) I'm not familiar with the song, and I'm assuming the Eb is functioning as more than just a passing note, but add9 chords are great... Every Breath You Take by the Police is one of the more famous examples.

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1387995928' post='2317797'] well it isn't john taylor....he wasnt with duran then, i could be wrong but it could be bass-synth.....the bass does play an EB but not all the way thru....the drum lick must be one of the most popular of its time too. [/quote] But it's in the bass, right? Okay, some basic music theory. If a piano player is playing E, G and B with his right hand, it's an Em chord. If he adds a C with his left hand, the overall chord is a Cmaj7. What if a guitar player plays an Em chord and the bass player plays a C? Is that any different?

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1387962143' post='2317496'] And then there are USA Sub Sterlings (for confused newcomers - these are not the Sterling by Musicman Sub range) - very very rare but I seem to recall they have a 3 band EQ but no coil selector switch and the same fit and finish as the Sub 4 - don't think I've ever seen one apart from in photos or on EBay. Is it possible these have the standard Sterling ceramic series wired pick up? [/quote] I'm not sure of the magnets in the SUB Sterling, but the pickup as a whole isn't the same as the Sterling. The regular Sterling pickup is ceramic with an additional phantom coil for coil splitting. The SUB Sterling pickup doesn't have this feature. As to whether it's ceramic or alnico, I would have thought it more likely that they would have stuck to the already existing alnico SUB pickup rather than building a new model, but who knows?

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1387829515' post='2316288']during this song an Eb is sometimes played over a Bb5 (A#5!) [/quote] Who is playing the Eb? I would steer clear of George Russell by the way. Very advanced stuff.

I use these: Superb picks, 3.5 mm thick. Expensive though. [url="http://www.wegenpicks.com/#gypsy"]http://www.wegenpicks.com/#gypsy[/url]

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1387471733' post='2312407'] Ohh, power chords....be jesus most of that wiki bit went over my head....I don't know why but I always associate these with heavy metal....not sure why....but that isn't a chord is it, if 3 notes are a [i][b]tritone[/b][/i] that make a chord then a power chord would be more a power '[b][i]bitone' [/i][/b] [/quote] A tritone is a root-b5 interval (or root-#4).. So called because it is 6 semitones away (3 tones).

[quote name='Huge Hands' timestamp='1387471865' post='2312411'] I am no theory expert at all, but does it not mean A major wiith a sharpened 5th? Not saying that is the correct way to write it, but most guitarists I've met scribble down A minor as Amin, but A major as just A, so might have just added the #5 as an extra on the end? [/quote] A major triad with the fifth replaced with a #5 = A aug. An added #5 on top of the major triad would be odd, but would be A add#5

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1387389552' post='2311462'] If you like the bass you have but aren't so keen on the bulky neck you could always take the bass to a decent local Luthier and get him to slim the neck down for you, this may effect resale value so might not the best option if you are going to sell it soon. I loved the EBMM Sterling I had for a while but it was a bit too aggressive for my liking, I think they have brighter sounding ceramic pick-ups rather then more traditional Alnico ones. [/quote] They do, they have a triple coiled ceramic pickup (one phantom coil for noiseless coil tap). They also have a three way switch. The SUB Sterlings on the other hand had what were essentially Stingray pickups and electronics.

[quote name='action_panzer' timestamp='1387324301' post='2310839'] Eh up, Some of you may be aware I play a StingRay and love it to death. However, I have quite small hands and the neck isnt that conducive to a more expressive style of play - if I want to lock in and just be a solid rhythm part then it fits the bill perfectly. Is there anything out there with the same 'thump' of a StingRay with a narrow neck? I used to have a Jazz and that was nowhere near it, also have a cheap Squire Affinity P which is for messing around with, and it can sort of do thumpy but mostly just degenerates into downright boomy. Definitely looking for that solid, whumpy SR tone. Any ideas? [/quote] EBMM SUB Sterling. Same dimensions as a EBMM Sterling (with jazz like neck), but with Alnico humbucker and 3 band stingray preamp. Not many of them about though.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1387372236' post='2311166'] He goes on about it being a trivial matter changing the bass player again but they seem to go out of their way to make sure it's a woman each time. I guess they are just frightened of alienating their fanbase. [/quote] Presumably they also need vocals, and a female voice is fairly crucial for a large proportion of their back catalogue. I love the Pixies (first two albums especially) and grew up playing their basslines, but I wouldn't be all that convincing singing [i]Gigantic.[/i]

What it is very similar to is the Augmented scale, which is constructed from two augmented triads placed a b3/#2 apart: C E G# Eb G B (or D# Fx Ax if you want to stick to different letters of each degree of the scale and don't mind double sharps) C Eb E G G# B (or C D# E Fx G# Ax) Of course someone has added in the F#. I don't know if this is a recognised scale. Where did you see this scale?

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1386595483' post='2301882'] It's an altered dominant of some sort. You're in bebop territory here. Use it for soloing in a ii V i progression in Fm. It suggests C7b5#9 or C7#5#9. [/quote] Actually... spoke before I should have... it's got a natural B. Forget the above.

It's an altered dominant of some sort. You're in bebop territory here. Use it for soloing in a ii V i progression in Fm. It suggests C7b5#9 or C7#5#9.

Here's the Bjork one... no idea whether it is all Locrian or if that applies only to the bassline. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyEJxzQM24Q[/media]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1386538862' post='2301300'] Interesting. Sort of like did we invent or discover mathematics? [/quote] It sort of is mathematics.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1386527728' post='2301100']So is all musical theory just a way of wrting down and explaining what already sounds good to our ears?[/quote] In some respects, yes. But also what 'should' sound good (and offer options that you might not have thought of previously), what will sound bad, etc... I have major doubts about some of the received wisdom we have of early blues musicians being entirely ignorant of music theory. A lot of these guys, for instance Lonnie Johnson, were able to play equally well in a number of styles, whatever would pay the bills. They could read music and most likely could understand a fair bit of theory. BB King, in interviews, often talks in theoretical terms... but that doesn't fit with the notion of blues as a savage/primitive music.