8-strings versus 12-strings and Who Uses ‘Em?

[Sean]

I’ve had a 12-string bass for a while and it’s seen a fair bit of use. I’m a huge Pearl Jam and Cheap Trick fan and love the unique sound of the 12 and also the (one or two people in the) audience reaction when it’s played.

I’ve used my twelve to fill the sonic gap left by absence of keys on Don’t Stop Believing, Final Countdown, Livin’ On A Prayer, Learn to Fly and some other classics as well as in songs that actually have 12-string parts on the originals.

I was wondering who else regularly uses 12- or 8- strings, what songs you use them on, what rig set up do you use, what effects etc.?

Also, does anyone use both 8- and 12-strings basses? How would you say they differ in their application, pros and cons of one versus the other?

After seeing Tom Petersson earlier this year and being blown away by his sound I’ve started running my 12 through a guitar amp and bass amp as a dual rig set up. Does anyone else do this and what’s your set up? 

I use a Boss LS-2 and run a split signal. Bass pot turned down on the guitar amp, treble turned down on the bass amp. Dirt and chorus on the effects loop of the guitar amp. Suggestions for improvement?

[Cuzzie]

@Sean utterly jealous mate.

I have serious 12ver gas and am waiting for a Hamer to come up, and I know I have a set up waiting for it with instead of the LS-2 I have a Tyler by KMA Audio Machines to blend modulators and dirt with a clean signal. This does not require bi-amping, I started a thread on it in the effects section with links to how it works.

so far as 8 vs 12.......although they are essentially tuned the same, to my ears the 12 is so much more, that extra octave string giving more presence in the mix. There is a reason why Tom, Jeff, dUg use a 12 and not an 8.

only 8 I have tried was the Spector, I was thoroughly unimpressed by it, could have been an off day for me, maybe I expected too much, but I await patiently.

[Sean]

@Cuzzie Please could you post the link to that thread? I've got some mucking about ahead and would like to try some different options. I've got a Dean Rhapsody 12, I picked it up for <£400 about two years ago. Quality is way beyond expectation and it just doesn't go out of tune, it's very stable.  It's the only bass I have that I haven't fettled in some way, the fret job is great.

From my experiences of an 8-string it was trying one that was the deciding factor in me getting a 12. Jeff also uses an 8 a lot (I've seen him play one live on RVM, Go and I think State over the years). Based on my Dean I think that with the width of a 12-string board and the area that the strings cover I could around an 8-string quicker so for trickier lines where more dexterity is needed it would be more like a 4. I have to say that when I swap from the 12 to a standard 4 mid-gig it's like putting down a rocket launcher and picking up a rifle.

[Cuzzie]

Of course mate

this is my new dirt pedal I play into the Tyler 

This is the Tyler thread

 

[Cuzzie]

You are more experienced than me in the multi string respect.

its irrational, but I don’t really want a Dean, I sort of want the real McCoy, I have big mitts so I should hopefully be Ok

[Sean]

9 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

You are more experienced than me in the multi string respect.

its irrational, but I don’t really want a Dean, I sort of want the real McCoy, I have big mitts so I should hopefully be Ok

Cheers for the links.

You'll get used to the neck size. A Hamer or Gretsch or a Chandler are a bit pricey for me. Although that Hamer 12 is a grunge icon and sounds like a beast, it's like a G&L ASAT inasmuch as the strap button makes it sit way too far forward but if like Jeff you love a Tbird I guess that's just dandy.

Edited December 7, 2017 by Sean
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[Cuzzie]

Oh I have had both a solid body and a semi hollow ASAT and that body position is meat and drink for me, so I have no worries at all.

really want a a solid body and I love a headstock so it’s kind of a Hamer for me as a Holy Grail.

just Found out Sandberg did a few 8 string custom builds, but they won’t do a 12ver.

I took good looks at Galveston, musicvox etc. And I know I haven’t played them, but they just don’t resonate(!) with me like a Hamer

[Sean]

52 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

but they just don’t resonate(!) with me like a Hamer

“She scratches a letter, into a wall made of stone

Maybe some day another child won’t feel so alone”

That’s why they don’t resonate the same.

 

Edited December 7, 2017 by Sean
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[Cuzzie]

Pretty sure @Wolverinebass is a 12 user, otherwise it’s just me and you so far mate!

[Wolverinebass]

11 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

Pretty sure @Wolverinebass is a 12 user, otherwise it’s just me and you so far mate!

I am indeed. Actually, I have an 8 string Warmoth explorer as well as my Hamer Chapparal. So, as to how they differ. The 8 (and all 8's I've ever played) have a more mid-range tone. The Hamer is much fuller in the low end. 

I've played loads of each. Only my opinion, but here we go. The Dean edge 8 is quite good. Circuit and pickups could get changed, but not bad. When I played a Spector I didn't like it. It's actually the circuit rather than the bass which plays well. A friend had an Esp (not the Frank Bello version). It was crap as it was a 4 saddle bridge. Avoid that and the Hagstrom for the same reasons.

As for the 12's. I didn't like the Dean at all. Neck is ludicrously wide. The Hamer is much thinner and has better pickups and circuit. There's a reason they cost more. I've played a Jeff Ament Hamer 12 and the neck profile is the same, but of course the body is different and it weighs a lot more.

As to how I use them, I use signal splitting via a crossover. Top is sent to a Digitech 2120 for distortion and in the case of the 12, quad chorusing. It's all mixed back to mono and there we are. 

I don't subscribe to the idea that an 8 is easier to get around because of the lesser number of strings. Set up well it doesn't matter.

[EliasMooseblaster]

Down at the more "historic" end of the 8-string range, I have a Hagstrom HB-8 (one of the modern reissues of the original H8), which comes out for a few songs in each set. Normally our guitarist and I keep busy enough that I can fill the space with a 4-string; the 8 comes out for two songs where I specifically decided to use it, and a couple of songs where we overdubbed a lot of rhythm guitars in the studio, which are obviously missing when we play them live.

The 8 probably gets short shrift because it goes straight into the same rig that's normally receiving Gibson Thunderbird or slightly modded Epi EB-3. To be fair, it holds its own pretty well with an all-valve head as the octave strings get a bit more trebly grit out of the preamp. It's a bit more of a crapshoot if we're using the house backline!

[Sean]

9 hours ago, Wolverinebass said:

1.  I didn't like the Dean at all. Neck is ludicrously wide.

2. I don't subscribe to the idea that an 8 is easier to get around because of the lesser number of strings. Set up well it doesn't matter.

The Schecter 8 I've played has a normal (40mm nut width) C shape neck and for me was much faster to play than my Dean, which I agree has a beast of a neck. 

The Dean is very affordable, though but I'm yet to try anything slimmer. It would be interesting to see how I got on with a Hamer or similar.