EliasMooseblaster Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 I've moved, quite unexpectedly, into entirely new territory as of yesterday. I happened to be walking past a bass shop (licking the window as I went, of course), when my partner pointed out an 8-string bass in the window. A quick tryout and a bit of haggling, and suddenly I was the owner of a Hagstrom HB-8. I'd only gone out to buy a new pair of jeans... Still, I took it along to a rehearsal last night and had a play around. It's certainly good fun, even if the sound takes some getting used to! What I've been finding challenging is, unsurprisingly, simultaneously fretting a .100" E-string along with a .050" E-string. Does anyone have any useful advice on using one of these beautiful buggers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Surprisingly , even on you tube there isn't much to go on. Did you manage to play any songs with the rest of the band? I'm intrigued as an 8 string can be overpowering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Yeah, we had a bit of a jam and then tried a couple of songs. I did find I was having to play much more conservatively, though, as those doubled octaves fill up a lot more space (unsurprisingly!) I did have to switch back to my 4 in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 (edited) My eight string is a dodgily converted precision copy, but I've found that the ready-made sets of strings are heavier than I'd like. I've got a .040 to .100" set on the low strings and my octave strings are .016, .025, .035 and .045" bought as singles. The slightly lowered tension makes things that bit more comfortable. I rarely take mine out on a gig, but it's great with some overdrive for a different texture when we record. Edited April 26, 2013 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 I can see that helping a bit - certainly it's quite tiring fighting against that much tension. The thing I've been finding tricky is fretting the two strings together, though - not so much on the D and G, but on the E and A, where the octave strings seem to get buried under the low ones. Or is that just one of those things I'll get used to with more practice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 It's one of those things that you get used too with practice and I found that I had to change the way that I played certain songs. Great sound though, so it's worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny B Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 (edited) [quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1366975189' post='2059678'] It's one of those things that you get used too with practice and I found that I had to change the way that I played certain songs. Great sound though, so it's worth it. [/quote] Agreed - I've been really enjoying mine. I don't use it on every song, but it really suits some of them. Just stick with it. I also have my E strings tuned down to D, and it sounds HUGE! Like this... (not actually me in the clip btw...) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bGhJlTkhSM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bGhJlTkhSM[/url] Edited April 26, 2013 by Lenny B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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