ednaplate Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I found some videos on YT today which are amazing and I'm just wondering if anyone knows him as profile states that he is UK based. He plays a Zon bass with piccolo strings so he can play more easily in higher registers. It's very impressive. If he's already a member then make yourself known ;0) Here's a link [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2_k2Ag7Qiyk&feature=channel_page"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2_k2Ag7Qiyk&...re=channel_page[/url] Very good use of a loop pedal too! There was a topic on solo bass which I can't find. This guy is the perfect exponent of what can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Can he groove though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAlonBass Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 [quote name='ednaplate' post='393471' date='Jan 28 2009, 10:09 AM']I found some videos on YT today which are amazing and I'm just wondering if anyone knows him as profile states that he is UK based. He plays a Zon bass with piccolo strings so he can play more easily in higher registers. It's very impressive. If he's already a member then make yourself known ;0) Here's a link [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2_k2Ag7Qiyk&feature=channel_page"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2_k2Ag7Qiyk&...re=channel_page[/url] Very good use of a loop pedal too! There was a topic on solo bass which I can't find. This guy is the perfect exponent of what can be done.[/quote] Nope. Still don't get it. If you're that determined to sound like a six-string acoustic guitar, why not go and buy a six-string acoustic guitar, instead of modifying a Bass out of all recognition, so you can show how good you are on something that sounds exactly like a six-string acoustic guitar, while telling everybody it's a Bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 [quote name='BigAlonBass' post='394012' date='Jan 28 2009, 08:18 PM']Nope. Still don't get it. If you're that determined to sound like a six-string acoustic guitar, why not go and buy a six-string acoustic guitar, instead of modifying a Bass out of all recognition, so you can show how good you are on something that sounds exactly like a six-string acoustic guitar, while telling everybody it's a Bass? [/quote] Exactly. Honestly, I'm not knocking people who do these sorts of compositions on the bass, if they enjoy it, more power to them. For me though, I wanna hear some solid grooves, tight basslines and basically players who use the bass for its designed role. I remember watching Stuart Hamm do some Beethoven piece and it was just cringworthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 That was a bass ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 hmmm, think it's a perfectly valid thing for a bass, as is classical music (have a look at bach cello suites etc). Just because the basses original role developed as a supportive one in a band environment doesn't mean its uses can't evolve and expand. Boundaries are there to be pushed sometimes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 It doesn't really bother me that he plays this on a bass... not what I do with my bass but this is a nice performance nonetheless.... ped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdphysio Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 It's all good stuff as far as i'm concerned. Music is music, whether you're playing the comb & tissue paper, the spoon, or the bass! His version of 'Stairway...' is very impressive. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) If we all stuck to our traditional roles we'd still be living in caves and throwing rocks at mammoths. Edited January 28, 2009 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 If we all stuck to our traditional roles we'd be living in caves and throwing rocks at mammoths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toasted Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Some pretty luddite views in this thread. There seem to be a lot of members scared of change, which is kind of ironic considering that the thing that brings us all together is an instrument that was invented less than 60 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Toasted' post='394190' date='Jan 28 2009, 11:23 PM']Some pretty luddite views in this thread. There seem to be a lot of members scared of change, which is kind of ironic considering that the thing that brings us all together is an instrument that was invented less than 60 years ago.[/quote] I wouldn't say Luddite views, I'd say different opinions on what we enjoy listening to. If I wanna hear someone play a piano concerto, I'd prefer to listen to it on the the piano that the bass. It just leaves me cold when I hear stuff like this. I'm not knocking the bloke's musical ability, just wondering why he chose the bass. As for scared of change, this has been done so many times before and to be honest, it hasn't really caught on. Not with me anyway. Edited January 28, 2009 by WHUFC BASS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Jones Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) I disagree that it's "luddite" to state that whatever this guy is doing, he's not a bass player - at least in the sense that he's not fulfilling the role most of us play in a band and which defines us as "bass players". I didn't start doing what I'm doing because I wanted to sound like John Williams. I did it because girls danced to what I was doing. Taking the role of the instrument forward (whatever that means) does not necessarily involve playing three octaves above the normal range of the instrument. I'll get back to me cave now. Edited January 28, 2009 by Brother Jones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I can appreciate the guy's musicianship & technical skill - but he's put light-gauge strings on his bass, tuned it up an octave and is playing a piece using classical guitar derived fingerstyle. I'm sorry, but this breaks no boundaries, it's just eccentric. If I put a set of bass strings on my old Kimbara classical & recorded myself playing [i]Mr Pink[/i] I somehow doubt I'd be hailed as revolutionary on acoustic guitar forums. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Same reason i can't stand billy sheehan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hey Toasted I just noticed your user title - Moderator Emeritus - what's that about?! ped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor_of_the_bass Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 [quote name='Toasted' post='394190' date='Jan 28 2009, 11:23 PM']Some pretty luddite views in this thread. There seem to be a lot of members scared of change, which is kind of ironic considering that the thing that brings us all together is an instrument that was invented less than 60 years ago.[/quote] Agree completely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I really like his playing, it doesn't bother me he's playing an octave up because he makes a beautiful sound. I really wish I could play like that...I'm working on it, but might be a while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Look out! The bass Nazi's are about Good on him I thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 My take... He has technical mastery of his instrument and is a good musician. Is he a bass player... in as much as he plays an instrument referred to as a bass then yes. Though IMHO you have to accept that (to my mind at least) he is a guitarist who has adapted some stuff for piccolo bass, good for him and I enjoyed it. I 'doubt' he'd get a gig playing bass (at least like that) in a local pub band around here but he could play down our local Buskers and we'd all sit quaffing pints, thoroughly enjoying his mastery of the [s]guitar[/s] bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Well, as far as I can see if its tuned an octave up then its more akin to a lead /classical guitar, but with the top two strings missing. Surely the very word 'Bass' implies something to do with the pitch of the instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 He's playing a 4-string, long scale instrument using bass guitar technique. I think that makes him a bass player, even if he's not sticking to the low registers. It sounded pretty good to me. Stanley Clarke is well-known for also playing a piccolo bass and having another bassist onstage to play the low notes, and nobody would dare not call him a bass player. Jaco played up the neck a lot, sounding more like a baritone sax than a bass a lot of the time. Michael Manring (who is obviouly one of this guy's heroes) does it all - high/alternate tunings, unusual techniques, etc, and the man can also hold down a mighty groove. Just because someone can do the technically advanced chordal and melodic stuff doesn't mean they can't hold it down too. Absolutely nothing wrong with exploring what else your instrument is capable of other than what's below the fifth fret. Of course, as a working bass player in a band, 90% of the time you'll be playing the low notes, but, since the bass is capable of so much more than that, why not explore it? The bass guitar has a wonderfully complex sound, and, when played properly, is just as versatile as most of the other instruments considered to be solo, or lead, instruments. The players I mentioned above, amongst others, have proved this, and there's nothing wrong with someone being influenced by that. Cross-pollination of styles and techniques is a good thing - ever heard (the utterly amazing) Andy McKee, or even our very own Newton Faulkner? They both use bass-derived techniques on the acoustic guitar, including slapping. Does that mean they're not guitarists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Great technique. Clever - definitely. I'd like to be able to play like that for my own amusement. However, if I heard it in a lift I wouldn't flinch. Making an instrument sound like another isn't boundary pushing. Making it sound like nothing else on this earth is. IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golchen Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 As a multi-instrumentalist, I was quite surprised when I first came here. It seems to me that bassists, more than any other kind of musicians that I have hung around on forums with, seem to largely be happy to stick to their defined role and dissaprove of stuff that is out of the box, so to speak. It is fairly obvious as to why this would be the case, as a bass player within a band has a job to do, but I don't see what's wrong with embracing creative outlets on the instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomfeed Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) [quote name='kdphysio' post='394060' date='Jan 28 2009, 09:13 PM']It's all good stuff as far as i'm concerned. Music is music, whether you're playing the comb & tissue paper, the spoon, or the bass! His version of 'Stairway...' is very impressive. K[/quote] Quite!... he's got a good feel as a musician, whatever the instrument.... personally, I like his own compositions .... [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nEI_vzI_CWQ&feature=PlayList&p=4D4CEFEC7FBC84B2&playnext=1&index=4"]'Epic love'[/url] This is what he says about himself: "My aim is to play melodic music with a full and complete sound using my bass guitar. All of my original compositions and arrangements are played on my Zon VB4 bass with D'Addario PICCOLO strings (extremely light gauge strings that are very receptive to altered tunings and allow me to tune my bass to higher pitches). Essentially, piccolo strings can be tuned anywhere between standard bass tuning all the way up to the first four strings of a guitar. Altered tunings are a key part of my approach. Musical background: I am lucky to have received cello lessons from a young age before switching to bass when I was 17 (ten years ago). I learned how to play by jamming along with my favorite rock bands. When I was 21, I discovered Michael Manring and Victor Wooten and was immediately drawn to the solo bass scene... I hope you enjoy the music!" .....Seems pretty unpretentious Edited January 29, 2009 by bottomfeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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