The ShadowMusic Web Community

Hi
anyone used these for Standard bass lines
rather than specific songs
ive seen a couple of youtube reviews but not 100% sure
so if anyone tried these please let me know your views
regards
Jay

Hi Jay,

I've played bass in a 'local' band (nothing to do with my Shadows band) for 10 years and although I have a Precision and a Burns Bass, I've used a Bass VI exclusively all the time in that band. My only advice is to use a heavier low E - as standard they seem to come with quite a light one. I originally tried a 105 and that worked fine and restored the balance, but a 95 or 100 is ok. I use flat wounds (personal choice) and currently use a flat wound set that has a 95 low E. I rarely use anything other than the neck pickup, but that together with amp settings is personal choice.

Regards, Chas.

Thanks Chas
for the information, what flatwound strings do you use (la bella)?
im in two minds wether to try a BassVI for a 50's 60's rock n roll cover Band
ive seen a few youtube clips some good , bad , and some useless
maybe just need to get one and try it .

best regards
Jay

Yes, La Bella. I guess trying is the only answer.
If you want to play with fingers you may find it a little awkward, though Jack Bruce played his that way. I prefer a pick for most bass parts because the sound is clearer. I noticed over the years when watching bands in bigger venues that bass played with fingers tend to sound mushy and indistinct out in the audience compared to those played with a pick.

Chas.

I agree. Any time I've seen you play it's been with your fingers. I suspect you would not get much benefit from playing a Fender VI that way because it would disguise the character of the instrument.
Also I'm not sure what value the extra treble notes would give you unless you want to play some solo stuff.
IIRC Jet once played 36-24-36 on a Fender VI at Shadowmania. But the bass part in that is pretty much the lead.

Hi, happy New YEAR to all.
Just wondering whether to change the Squier Bass V1 original strings which are
coming up to 5 years old!!!
Still hold in tune well, and still sound ok to my ears anyway(I think)
Is the old addage true that Bass Players never change their strings if they are happy with
them?
Any advice welcome

Mike

I'd say if they're sounding good, feel OK and stay in tune, let well alone.

It is said that John Rostill never changed his strings and, if it was good enough for him ...

Incidently, although sorry to go slightly off topic...

Reading this thread, it occurred to me that as far as I can recall from photos, live clips and seeing him play live etc, Jet always used a plectrum/pick when playing.

I think Licorice always used a pick too, although I think John Rostill mainly used his fingers..

Any comments?

With my 'recording engineer' hat on, bass players who use a plectrum seem to achieve a greater precision in timing - the note begins sounding the moment the plectrum hits the string, whereas a thumb or finger doesn't have that same impact. For a lot of tunes it doesn't matter, but the bass part in 36-24-36 or the bass solo in Nivram rely on the timing precision that Jet could achieve with a plectrum. At the other end of the spectrum is Mark Griffiths, whose 'blurry' finger-style bass is very much a background sound.

For live work, where I'm playing bass with The Triumphs and singing a lot of the time, I've started using a thumb pick. You can't drop it by accident when you're concentrating on singing!

Going back to the six-string bass question, mine is strung 25/35/45/56/70/85 - a light roundwound set, but this is a Shergold Bass VI which I've set up more as a 'lead' instrument (think 'Diamonds') rather than purely as a bass. The string spacing (E to E) is 47mm at the nut and only 50mm at the bridge so using fingers would be tricky. It's intended for use with a plectrum.

cockroach wrote:Incidently, although sorry to go slightly off topic, it occurred to me that as far as I can recall from photos, live clips and seeing him play live etc, Jet always used a plectrum/pick when playing. I think Licorice always used a pick too, although I think John Rostill mainly used his fingers..
Any comments?

Yes, the 60s Shadows sound featured bass guitar played with a pick and both Jet and Licorice always did. John usually did too -- always on the old hits and also when making his characteristic 'clack' sound -- but would sometimes use fingers when he wanted to achieve a different effect.
Licorice nowadays always plays finger-style, even on Nivram. Of course he started out as a double bass player so I imagine this comes naturally to him.
I think both approaches are useful. If you're playing 50s rock'n'roll you'll certainly want to use fingers to sound closer to the upright basses used on so many of those records. I'm not sure how easy that would be on a Fender VI.