A capo on a bass? Surely a transgression of the laws of the Universe!!

[basshead56]

[quote name='Tait' post='698077' date='Jan 1 2010, 04:19 PM']this is interesting, where did he put the capo? doesn't he need open E for the verse? and where does he slide live? the verse is hammered on, and the chorus just plays root notes, doesn't it?[/quote]


Don't actually know, read it a few years ago in some magazine.
As for sliding live, he did at Dublin (last gig before the breakup)
Its a slide from f# (so I assume 2nd fret) and as I said, the bassline is doubled over, according to said interview.
The E in it is 7th fret on A string as far as I can remember.
I've not played any Blink in AGES but im pretty sure that was it.
Still, I'm no authority on the matter

[skankdelvar]

The capo is an interesting musical tool and very useful in various scenarios across different genres. I suppose its association with beginner guitarists misleads those who have not explored the capo's potential.

While using a capo on a guitar (particularly partial capo-ing) opens many doors, I suppose that it's use on bass [i]may[/i] be comparatively less fruitful, though by no means to be discouraged.

Edited January 2, 2010 by skankdelvar

[twowheeledwriter]

[quote]I've never used a capo on bass myself but [b]if it's OK to use frets[/b] I can't see why it's not OK to use a capo - or anything else.[/quote]

Brilliant! I take the point of the original post, but really, anything goes and I'm sure there are plenty of fretless/double bass players who marvel at others' need for frets, amplification, effects pedals and so on. Although, having taken a look at the pedal board section on Basschat, are all those effects really necessary?

Edited January 1, 2010 by twowheeledwriter

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I was in this bluesy cover band,a couple of years ago. They played ancient songs(obscure singles from 60'70s)
Trouble is ,every other week it seemed ,they put capo's on their guitars and altered the tuning .
I borrowed one for a song , but it felt and sounded wrong in our opinion.

Apparently a 5 string is more convenient . (for me anyway)

I'd say 'horses for courses' . If it works for you ,cool. If not, it's not the end of the world .

[derrenleepoole]

I've been noodling on a bass using a 'harmonic capo' - like a normal capo but it fingers harmonics only!

The capo is designed for normal guitar, but it does work (sort of) on bass. I don't know of any demos to show on bass, so here's one on the guitar:

[skankdelvar]

...and then there's the Spider capo - any combo of open or closed strings. Not for those of a nervous disposition:

Edited January 2, 2010 by skankdelvar

[Golchen]

[quote name='donut' post='697850' date='Jan 1 2010, 12:21 PM']Bassists seem to love going on about how open-minded they are to new ideas and techniques. Don't see much evidence in this thread.[/quote]

I beg to differ. I think that bassists are generally the most close-minded bunch of musicians out there! Just pick any thread on slapping and see how much vitriol and negativity there is!

[phil.i.stein]

they only use it in the first soundclip, but here's some hairband/capo use. i can't tell much about the players' sexuality, but they make better use of the pedal than i can...

[Sarah5string]

I've never even thought about using a capo as I have a 5 string so have all the flexibility I need really If other people want to use it then great! If it helps them play better/easier/cleaner then I don't see how it can be a bad thing?

[Jigster]

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='697814' date='Jan 1 2010, 12:00 PM']bass on all kasabian stuff is quite basic(songs ive tried anyway)



no need for a capo, just needs to be quicker changing notes or learn his scales and fretboard[/quote]


basic isn't always bad -

[casapete]

[quote name='Jigster' post='698567' date='Jan 2 2010, 10:00 AM']basic isn't always bad - [/quote]


hey- basic is never bad!

[casapete]

[quote name='Doddy' post='698136' date='Jan 1 2010, 05:26 PM']Yes-because a drop tuner gives you notes that were previously unavailable-a capo takes
away notes that were previously available.

I don't really see the need for a capo on bass,but then again,I don't for guitar
either- I've never used one and neither do most of the guitarists I play with.[/quote]


Personally dont see the need for capo on bass,but then again why not?

For guitar though it's a godsend-enables songs to be performed in keys which would not usually sound great without
certain chord inversions and open tunings that would be otherwise unavailable.
Lots of famous players would never have made great recordings without the use of them
- my faves include James Taylor,Keith Richard, Ry Cooder etc etc.

Edited January 2, 2010 by casapete

[Jarhead]

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='698550' date='Jan 2 2010, 09:05 AM']
they only use it in the first soundclip, but here's some hairband/capo use. i can't tell much about the players' sexuality, but they make better use of the pedal than i can... [/quote]
I want it for the third soundclip lol, great DnB tone. if you sold yours, how much would you want?

Zach

[phil.i.stein]

[quote name='Jarhead' post='698926' date='Jan 2 2010, 06:12 PM']I want it for the third soundclip lol, great DnB tone. if you sold yours, how much would you want?

Zach[/quote]
speak to you soon, must go out, mate's wedding...back tomorrow..

[Doddy]

This seemed as good a thread as any to post this...........

[url="http://www.voicecapo.com/index.php/"]http://www.voicecapo.com/index.php/[/url]

[velvetkevorkian]

That's pretty cool. Doesn't look like it will fit my basses though...

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Anyone seen this on the tv shopping channel?
[url="http://www.guitarwiz.co.uk/"]http://www.guitarwiz.co.uk/[/url]

Imagine turning up to a gig and the guitarist was using one of these?



& they'll sell you a £13 tuner for £30

[JamieBenzies]

The simple answer is surely that you can also apply chord shapes to bass guitar, as opposed to just normal guitar - hence necessitating the use of one.

[Marvin]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='699162' date='Jan 2 2010, 10:50 PM']Anyone seen this on the tv shopping channel?
[url="http://www.guitarwiz.co.uk/"]http://www.guitarwiz.co.uk/[/url]

Imagine turning up to a gig and the guitarist was using one of these?



& they'll sell you a £13 tuner for £30 [/quote]
Watched QVC for half an hour in sheer amazement.
Stupendously bizarre.

Edited January 3, 2010 by Marvin

[phil.i.stein]

[quote name='benzies123' post='699174' date='Jan 2 2010, 11:00 PM']The simple answer is surely that you can also apply chord shapes to bass guitar, as opposed to just normal guitar - hence necessitating the use of one.[/quote]
yeh but who has more than 2 strings ?

[xilddx]

[quote name='Daquifsta' post='697731' date='Jan 1 2010, 08:23 AM']Well, the way I look at this is this: if it sounds ok, then it probably is ok.[/quote]

That's exactly it.

[spinynorman]

You think a capo's weird? Here's Jack Casady with a frog on his neck. ^_^

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0[/url]

[waynepunkdude]

Played the song last night with and without a capo and I must say it makes more sense with the capo, you can make the hammer ons sound a lot clearer every time and ultimately sounds better, which is what you want surely?

[cheddatom]

I wrote a song in a certain key, and it didn't sound right tuned down a semi-tone (which is what my band does) and I used a capo to raise it back up. The song was quite difficult and used open strings. I'm sure I could have learned it without a capo, but it would have taken a lot of practise which I couldn't be bothered to do!

[tauzero]

No-one's mentioned harmonics yet... I don't use a capo on the bass but if we had to shift the key of the songs I use harmonics in, it would be preferable (for me, anyway) to using forced harmonics.