What on earth?

[BassFace1991]

 

 

Apologies if already posted. Please delete if so.

 

 

[naxos10]

Wow, but I bet he can't get his thumb on the centre of neck with that bass.

[Tim2291]

So he has 17 strings and uses 2 of them... Extended range instruments can sound great in the right situation, but anything by ZZ Top is far from the right situation! 

[Rich]

I still can't believe (actually, sadly I can  ) the amount of luddite hate that ERBs get on Farcebook whenever a pic of one is posted in a bass group. It amuses me that everyone who posts "that's not a bass it's a harp" or "just get a piano" or "Jaco only needed 4" seems to think they're the first ever to say it. Still, at least by publicising their bass bigotry it makes it easy to know which idiots to block. 

ERBs are very much not my cup of darjeeling, but I take my hat off to anyone who makes music with one. I like to see boundaries being pushed. Although only using 2 strings seems like a weird waste!

Edited November 10, 2022 by Rich

[BigRedX]

When I was playing Dad-rock covers I could have got away with a 2 string bass tuned to E and A for most of the songs. I once took my Atlansia Solitaire single string fretless bass to a practice just to see how useful it was in a "real-world" situation. IIRC the fretless aspect was more of a drawback than the fact it only had a single string.

Edited November 10, 2022 by BigRedX

[Barking Spiders]

whoops my bad! I should've played the vid but couldn't as I was at work. Good to see him sending up the whole ERB thing👍

Edited November 10, 2022 by Barking Spiders

[BreadBin]

ZZ Top have always played stupid looking instruments for show...

[Acebassmusic]

I've always thought ZZTop were a band that included a hefty dollop of humour in their act. Anyone remember the furry guitars they used to play or listened to their lyrics (eg: Pearl Necklace!!)? 🤣 For me they always seemed to take their music seriously but not themselves. Anyone notice the barrels on the front of Frank Beards kit? My guessing is they're not there for the nuances of bourbon infused tonewood 🤣🤣

 

@Rich I know what you mean about some of the "luddite hate" and there are certain key subjects or phrases which trigger the same predictable responses from the same people.....ZZZZzzzzzzz 💤😴 Trigger words and phrases include (but not limited to)  ERB's, slapping, tapping, anything above the 5th fret, non-Fender basses, basses without a tort guard, any developments in bass guitar design since 1968, heft, valve watts, class D, tone woods.....🤣🤣 But I guess thats a whole controversial thread on its own!

 

Anyway, I've now clambered down from my soapbox and back to the video.....always liked a bit of "You Got Me Under Pressure" 👍

Edited November 10, 2022 by Acebassmusic

[warwickhunt]

C'mon... it's tongue firmly in cheek! 

[bassbiscuits]

I’m just impressed he can lift it and wear it for an entire song! That’s a lot of wood there. 

[WinterMute]

It's a well know fact that ZZ Top need somewhere to land their tour jet...

 

I'm sure it sounded as good as the Furry guitars with the floppy strings.

[Grimalkin]

It's called satire. 

[SteveXFR]

4 strings were enough for Sid Vicious

[Nail Soup]

I'm no ZZ top fan, but this made me smile.  Love the way the only two strings he plays are the furthest apart ones.

I like to think that Dusty Hill would find this funny too.

 

[fleabag]

Brilliant - some bassisters have a sense of humour

[Adey]

1 hour ago, SteveXFR said:

4 strings were enough for Sid Vicious

That many?

[Cato]

8 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

I’m just impressed he can lift it and wear it for an entire song! That’s a lot of wood there. 

 

I can't believe how light he makes it look.

 

It makes my back twinge just seeing it.

[SteveXFR]

2 hours ago, Adey said:

That many?

 

I think he used two of them sometimes. 

[adamg67]

Funny seeing people taking ZZ Top more seriously than they take themselves It's clearly done for a joke, most of the strings look the same anyway, in fact I wondered if they were all E strings.

 

4 trussrods though.

[warwickhunt]

You've all clearly missed the biggest joke.  

 

It says Fender on the headstock... and we know Fender only make 4 string basses!  

[Cato]

Article with a bit more detail about how and why.

 

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/zz-top-bass/