OmDave said:
Chris, As a fan of Bass for years (Lee, Squire, Manring, Malone, Pastorius etc.) and after hearing your bass work on Rooms
I am now considering Bass as my instrument of choice. In light of this inspiration, I would like to ask you how you began and what 4 string did you start with?
Also, as mentioned on the Forum (else where) it seems you are seeking a 7 string Bass for range, have you ever considered a Chapman Stick (stick.com) or a Warr (warrguitars.com) for touch and extended range as well? Bass and other Bass like stringed mutants have such wonderful diversity in tone, range and technique. Very Cool!
Thanx
OmDave-
*Gulp* Hearing about anything I've done musically mentioned in the same sentance as "Lee, Squire, Manring, Malone, and Pastorius" makes me nervous...LOL. I do appreciate your doing so, however!!! /forum/images/smilies/supergrin.gif
I started on guitar when I was about 13, studied classical for a couple of years afterwards until I got into "the METAL", then started playing around in garage bands at that time. I actually began playing bass when I was 16...which was about 2 years ago (Ok, a little more than that...about 15 more to be exact !
) mainly because it was next to impossible to locate a bass player to jam with. Realizing you couldn't toss a stone and not hit a guitar player, I put 2+2 together and realized this would be a great "job security" move, so I made the switch.
The first bass I actually purchased was a Charvel Concert 4 (I believe). This was the only bass I used until it got ripped off a couple of years later. At this point, my day job was at IMC (Charvel/Jackson/Akai) so I picked up a new Charvel bass, the Fusion IV, and shortly thereafter a Fusion V. This bass ROCKED. I've actually thought about trying to locate another one just to have it, for sentimental sake, but like so many other things, it sits on the back burner. Maybe someday!
Anyway, I digress...I've played several over the years...A Fender Jazz (that I mauled and put a Kahler Tremelo into...LMAO), the Jackson "Kip Winger" Signature (I liked these as well, had 2 or 3 actually, but they didn't hold up well to continued playing) however once I finally ended up getting my first Ibanez, the SR1306 (about 7 years ago), I fell in love. Most of the stuff recorded on the new CD is done with this bass. The rest is done with the 7 string I do have now, the Conklin GT7, which is a monster bass, but does take a lot of work to play.
As far as I'm concerned, my recommendation (if that's what you're interested in) would be for you to try an Ibanez Soundgear series, they have several in many different price ranges, in 4, 5 and 6 strings. They play well, have great necks (Except for the 800 series, I can't stand painted necks on a bass). Currently, I have two Ibanez 6 strings- the SR1306 mentioned above, and an SR2000 Prestige (Their "Top o' the Line, so to speak) but I'm having some issues with that one, unfortunately. Ibanez, if you read this, you can send me a new one if you like!!!/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif
I'm also looking at picking up the SR1305, the 5 string in the same finish (Paduk body, Wenge/Babinga neck) and I'd snap up a 7 string by Ibanez if they made one (hint hint)
I've looked at the Stick, and am interested in getting one...however shelling out so much money for something without getting a chance to even play one somewhere first scares me off of that at the moment. Maybe if I can locate one locally to check out, I'd probably bite. The Warrs I've never heard of, but checked out your link and those look pretty damn cool too /forum/images/smilies/wink.gif
Sorry for rambling, but let me know if you have any other questions or anything, I love to talk shop /forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif
Chris H
