Pinball

Emily Sings is the first of several planned singles and videos from the experimental new album “Blue and Hazy”, which is scheduled for release late in 2020. I hope you enjoy it. Recording took longer than I expected due to a number of errr challenges. There is only vocals, acoustic and bass guitars on this track but without drums the guitar and bass are also the rhythm section and had to be spot on to get the sound I wanted. I envisaged using double bass but in practice that didn’t have enough sustain and notes faded out too quickly. Pete suggested trying his Ibanez SRH fretless bass. This sorted the tone and sustain but it lacked high end and bite. Additional bass was added with a Eastwood Sidejack Vi, a 6 string bass that was played over the top in tic-tac style with a pick. The guitar signal was split into two and recorded as both an acoustic and effect signal. These were then blended back together for a tighter sound. That also allowed sume subtle fading in and out of the reverb. I used a favourite Taylor (mahogany) guitar, with a Strymon Big Sky reverb pedal. It generates all of the choral, background swells and is also used on the solos. Vocals were tweaked by Charlie Lintern in the studio. Some lines were changed later and I found that my voice had changed slightly, as I’d had corona virus. A permanent change I’m told, not that it sounds better or worse, just slightly different. Recording Credits: Eddie Mole: Guitars, vocals and bass Peter Brownbridge: fretless bass Sound Engineer: Charlie Lintern Recorded at 13 sound studios at Weston super Mare

"Tic-tac bass" is a method of playing, in which a muted baritone guitar doubles the part played by the bass guitar or double bass. The method is commonly used in country music" Emily Sings is experimental and new for me and I ended up revisiting an old bass technique. I needed to as with sparse playing and no percussion it does the job of the rhythm section well. It's a fretless with a bass Vi picking out the beat. There is similar treatment in the other tracks. Doing your own thing and being able to experiment is fantastic. I hope that you like it.

That is what I thought but I have to say that I'm hooked and would have no problems using my Vi where I don't need a low B I find I'm not a fan of the Fender, Squire Vi's and I find them thin sounding. However I just don't like the sound I get from them but....I'm using a Burns Barracuda and Sidejack Vi on recordings and love them both. Both are E-E and 30" scale. They sound great recorded and like you say open up a whole new world of creativity. I use them in the following ways: 1. As a regular 4 string bass and play all my usual bass lines on the lower 4 strings without having to alter how I play 2. I finger pick with it like a regular guitar, provided I focus on playing up the neck and avoid the open A and E string is sounds great. Note: If I incude the deep notes it gets muddy 3. Chords, especially when focussed on the high 4 strings and higher on the neck-either to add rythm, to give a fuller sound or as a feature iin it's s own right. 4. Fot tic-tac bass to add treble and presence to either fretless or double bass. I am playing it more and more as it is so much fun. I'll put some samples up when the recordings are released. Bass Vi is a great instrument in it's own right.

I I think that this pickuard upgrade, made by the previous owner to my Eastman sidejack Vi lifts it into one of the most beautiful basses around catogory. It also has a pickup upgrade and sounds wickedly good. 😍😍

Hi, any more positive experiences of this company? I can't find many reviews that compare with other companies on line

Across all of the strings it measure 53mm, so there is a difference. A couple of mm can make a big difference in terms of feel. I prefer a wider necked acoustic guitars with a nut of 44mm plus and stuggle to finger pick cleanly with anything less. I love playing these. I play with a pick and finger pick it haha. The sidejack mush be around the same dimensions as they both feel the same to me.

According to my trusty steel ruler the strings are about 11MM. The Burns has a MIK sticker on it. It is very well made IMHO. I'll put some pictures below. I'm going to have to sell one of these at some point but am enjoying them at the moment. I definately have a place for a Vi both live and in recordings. When playing them I imagine that I like the Sidejack more but then when I listen to them recorded I can't hear the difference. Both have that cool growl that you get with baritones. Note: I'm not sure why the camera flash picked up the "panel like" finish on the front of the Burns as it doesn't look like that in real life.

Hi, just thought I would chip in here. I'm using my Vi alternatives all the time at the moment. I am lucky enougjn to have two. The Sidejack sounds and plays really well. It has grea build quality. This one has a custom pickuard and upgraded pickups so is not origonal. I recently heard a Sidejack baritone usd live so would be confident that they are good instruments. I also have a Barracuda, that I like very much in every respect. The electronics are stock. I have had a Fender Vi in the past and really didn't get on with it so sent it back for a refund. I am happy with both of these. I have them tuned like a guitar E to E. I can pick out chords on the higher strings and play the lover 4 strings like a standard 4 string. They souond great as both and take on a life and style of their own when palm muted. They always get noticed when I play them out. . I am recoding at the moment and can confirm that they are bot are great sounding instruments and very versitile. I can't understand why they aren't more popular. Out of the two I prefer to play the Burns live, as the balence suits me better and I don't need the trem.

Cheers I really like the outfit so have put both my Orange and GB outfits on Gumtree and will be happy to keep whichever I am left with. If it is the Orange I'll keep both of the cabs

Thanks!

OK sorry if this is a stupid question but I'm a tad confused. I have only ever owned two gigging amps/cab sets, both of which were a well matched cab and head. My current (bought after advice from this forum) is a GB 600w/4ohm Streamliner & NXT 212T 4ohm cab. I have always been happy with it and have looked after it. It has plenty of life left and is in great condition I recently obtained another kit. An Orange Terror 500 (can be set to either 4 or 8 ohm) head and ultra compact SP212 and SP210 cabs, both are 600w 8ohm. It sounds lovely has only ever had home use and has ever been pushed. Yesterday tried them both out after rehearsal and wow they were so different but both sounded great so I'm trying to decide which to keep. Very different beasts. The GB was comparatively clean sounding and transparent, while the Orange stuff was a bristling rock monster. However I could get some sweet middle ground from both, thanks to an effective "clean switch" on the Orange and by upping the gain on the GB. My question is how to get the best from the Orange with: 1. both cabs and 2. One cab. Is it just best to keep the Terror running on 8ohms with either 1 or both cabs or is there a place to use 4ohm? Any advice would be appreciated as I don't want to do any damage and want to try out all of the options next time.

I have had that experience with a Sandberg Jazz and another bass fitted with a Delano system. It sounded great at home but in the band I was continously messing with the controls. It the end I lost my objectivity and everything that I tried started to sound "wrong". Scince then I have used a Stingray, Bass Collection, ATK and now a Dimension and have never had a problem. It is your sound so if you aren't happy change it In the end you want to be enjoying the moment not thinking about how to change your sound.

Get the opnion of others or the rest of the band Dave74200? The reason I ask is that I know that I hear things in my own way and am always like to hear strong low frequesncies. It's always worth getting a 2nd opinion from the sound man or someone that you trust. I would also say if you aren't happy and have to keep searching for your sound, trade it as you probably never be truly happy.

I just can't handle the concept of a Fanned Fret Fretless bass. Three reasons: 1. I play 5's so after a few drinks I would find it really difficult to talk about my "fanned fret fretless five", especially if Fender made one. 2. A fretless bass is a bass with no frets yes? So a fanned fret fretless can't exist. It would just be a fanned fretless wouldn't it? 3. I'm not keen on fanned fretted bases anyway. I have tried one and agree with Donald Trump's assessment, when he tried one and said "It's nasty, very bad" Thanks for reading, I'm glad I got that off my chest!

Yep that sums up my experience. I found myself trying to look at the lines all the time, where as when I when unlined and used my ears and the side dots for a reference I learned really quickly. I also think that improved my fretted technique. I was playing a SR5 fretless and not have an Ibanez SRF5, which I rate very highly