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I'm not a bass player by any stretch of the imagination but I'd love to learn the bass line to 'She's Gone' ('Me and My Shadows' album)

A wonderful example of Jet's 'strolling bass' style.

Throughout the number, he is 'flipping' the notes when song moves from E to A and I've never been able to work out how he was doing it.

I've had a few conversations with Jet over the years and I regret never having asked him about this number.

Any suggestions?

Have you checked with Jay Bass?

Have listen to this sound file, Terry - it makes the bass easier to pick out
https://soundcloud.com/user763816310/shes-gone-bass-study?si=6396f3c8c0cc46e3be277a3519ce6a80

Jet and Licorice both started out at the 2Is as double bass players with jazz backgrounds; Jet is playing his bass guitar here in a jazzy double-bass style, rather as he also does in Nivram.
I think I’m hearing the E-chord accompanied by E-B-A-GE (doo-bee-doobydoo)
and the change up to the A-chord is punctuated by a downward arpeggio AGE-A (dubbada-bee-doobydo ...) followed by further walking (‘dubbada' said as in the letter ‘W’!)
all the other notes are in the respective scales for the chord and he can play any of them he likes, changing it slightly each time, as jazz players do
That rhythmic pattern is more important than the actual notes, which I may be hearing wrong…
JayBass is a classically-trained player and may well be able to improve on my self-taught analysis!

Thanks Iain - I have been messing around with the EQ enhancing the bass line and can hear it quite well. It's the technique that is defeating me trying to work out where he is playing those notes on the fret board and how he get those quick descending consecutive notes to sound smooth as they do.
From speaking to Jet over the years, I understand that he always used a pick but, as you say that sounds like a double bass technique.

Many of those early Cliff numbers had that Jet 'strolling bass' signature. As I've said in earlier postings the musical chemistry of that original line up was just perfect.

Kind regards

Given that Jet didn’t go up the fretboard much unless he had to, I guess he might have played A-GEA by playing the higher A on the G string second fret, then moving the fretting finger to D string second fret, thereby setting up the GEA. He would then pull the plucking finger across the 3 strings: G string open, D string fretted to E, and A string open.

That’d be a very double bass thing to do, but you could use a pick if you pulled it upwards over the strings in the same way.

Just a theory and I don’t have a bass to hand to check!

Sounds plausible, Iain. Thanks

Best way I found to replicate a double bass other than using one is to use my Ukulele Bass, it's awesome and very small - I don't have a clue why it sounds so good but it just does.

Ever since it was released I have liked the LP "Me and My Shadows" - mainly because it is just Cliff, Hank, Bruce, Jet, Tony plus a guy on harmonica! Also one could hear what each musician was doing - even better when listening on todays' digital equipment.

But to reproduce the nuances of Jet's playing, it would be helpful to have been a jazz musician in the 1950s IMHO? However it amazes me what some people put up on Youtube - for instance that guy, albeit not left handed, that reproduces the performances of Jimmy Hendrix, live and with no safety net!!

Kindest regards,
Christopher

dave robinson wrote:Best way I found to replicate a double bass other than using one is to use my Ukulele Bass, it's awesome and very small - I don't have a clue why it sounds so good but it just does.

Agreed. I don’t know if yours has a piezo pickup; I think they may be a factor in the sound. Anyway, bass ukuleles are a highly portable option if you want a vintage rock’n’roll sound during a gig.

My bass ukelele is a modestly priced (£97.50) one that I saw on eBay and it does have the piezo pickup with control panel and is fitted with black Thundergut Aquilla strings.
I love to sit playing along to any music that may be playing on radio or TV and working out fretting methods by way of learning techniques that help me with my recording.
It's so easy to play with fingers or thumb and you only have to have it at low volume to get the double bass 'feel'.
I'm also enjoying learning how to play my pedal steel too and doing these things is also improving my guitar playing, so it's a winning formula fo me.
I actually sat and worked out 'She's Gone' by playing the CD and listening and playing along.