Any guitar players?

[Daryl Hunt]

I spent 23 years playing Fenders. Not from Cars or Trucks. And I can't think of a deadlier up close weapon than a Fender Precision.

...or the shorter scale Fender Jazz bass for really close up. Then bury them in an Ampeg SVT cabinet. Plenty of room in there.

On and off (mostly on) I wore that Precision strapped to my neck. It's like having an entire lumber yard hanging from your neck. But the best sounding lumber yard ever devised by man. If you need one sustained note for the entire set, you could pluck it, order a drink, sit down and only have to get up to end that note. Break out the bengay. Never weighed the thing. But the Jazz was a faster instrument by far. Just didn't have the sustain.

I bought a brand new Gibson Les Paul recording bass in '74, before I got out of the Army. Most unwieldy guitar ever made, unless you count those round-back Ovation acoustic guitars that slide off your knee when you're sitting. Bought that, a fender Jazz bass, and a crappy Acoustic solid state amp. Glad I didn't keep the bass, it would only be worth about $2 grand today, which isn't all that much appreciation.

Some of the Fender Stratocasters I had back in the 70's would probably be worth more. Nothing beats a real Strat played at an appreciable volume through a 100 Watt Fender Twin Reverb with 2-12" speakers, or an old Marshall JCM800 with double-stacked cabinets.

I played the Precision out of a Fender Bassman 135 6 tube and a JBL Caberet 15 cabinet. I was part of a warmup band for the "ReEntry of Johnny Rodrigez" tour so Fender sold me the Precision and the Head for dirt bottom. Otherwise I couldn't afford them. Now, I don't know the real power output of the 135 but it wasn't 135 watts. I played bass in a 1 acre club. We tried to feed my bass through the mains but the bass was bottoming out the 15s in the mains. I ended up playing just through the Fender/JBL combo. I spend the first set standing in front of it. But my ears were well above it. But the back of my legs went to sleep from the punishment. I ended up going off to the side for the rest of the evening and never made that mistake again. You can still find a couple or three Cabarets out there for less than a grand. But if you do find a Bassman 6 tube 135 get ready to shell out over 3500 bucks for it in any condition.

And I agree with you on the Fender Twin Reverb 4 tube. At one time, I owned one of those as well. I played a Tele through it. There still isn't anything with the versatility nor the warmth of that amp. Oh, and I am still a strat fan especially when you throw the back pickup out of phase.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

I bought all of these in the mid to late 70's, and only still have the Rick.

Fender Strat x 2
Fender Telecaster
Rickenbacker 4001 stereo bass (dayglo blue)
Gibson Thunderbird bass - was like holding a dead body while playing bass
Fender Precision bass

For one Gig, I owned a T-bird bass. Couldn't get rid of it quick enough.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

I also owned a Beetle Bass. Looked neater than hell. Didn't sound too bad but it had one flaw. Pick it too hard and the strings would jump the rear nut. The P-Bass replaced it. I was known as Hammer Hands of the local #45.

 

[the other mike]

 

[the other mike]

 

[Muhammed]

I look around me and see an awful lot of weapons. I like to keep a variety of guitars at home. Usually a Les Paul, a Telecaster and a Stratocaster. And I also play bass and sometimes I prefer a 5 string bass, other times a 4 string bass. So I gotta have both of those. And acoustic guitars too. I need a 6 string and a 12 string acoustic. And a classical guitar too. That's 8, minimum.

And my wife plays too. So she's always got 4 or 5 of her guitars here too.

At any given time there's at least a dozen guitars she could attack me with.

 

[the other mike]

This ESP would make a good one.

 

[the other mike]

 

[Daryl Hunt]

When I was at my first normal duty station, we all sat down and the only instrument available was the Tamborine. The Guitarist told me that I should never try music because I had no talent. I couldn't play a friggin tamborine. To this day, I still can't play a friggin tamborine or any other percussion instrument either. But I grew up doing Concert Music on Reeds from age 6. And changed to strings and made a whole lot of money playing Bass and Guitar as a Single, Duo and all the way up to a big stage production band. I hadn't made the change to strings at that time and did feel intimidated. But that episode made me make the change. He pissed me off.

To be totally honest, if I had it all to do over again and I knew what I know now, I would have started out on the Piano which is the most versatile instrument of them all. And most of the 4 and 5 piece bands I was in didn't have keyboards. But when you reached a 6 piece, the Keyboard as almost always the 6th piece and the sound just blossomed. But you had to pay for 6 pieces. But as a two piece, the keyboard was always the second piece along with the git fiddle.

2 piece Guitar and Keyboard
3 piece Guitar, bass and drums
4 piece 2 Guitars a bass and drums
5 piece 2 guitars a bass drums and maybe keyboard or another guitar or banjo
6 piece at least 2 guitars (never more than 3) Bass, Keyboard, Drums and a supporting instrument(s)
Larger than that and Horns and strings get added.

Singers have to beware. No matter how hot they think they are, there is always at least one Musician that sounds as good as the best Vocalist but would rather just play the music. More than one Egotist has been replaced by making a Musician step forward into the spotlight. I got moved from the Pit to the Stage on a number. For the first time in my life, I didn't have my instrument to hide behind. I felt naked. The background singers worked with me and taught me about drinking a glass of wine before performing. Before the first performance, each group taught me that lesson and gave me a tall glass of wine. To say the least, I was lit for the performance. The Director said I was smmmoooootttthhhh and it was the best performance from me she had ever seen. I didn't walk onto the stage, I glided. I was so glad when they got a replacement signer and I could go back into the Pit.

 

[BULLDOG]

I took 2 lessons on the base, and then I got a gig.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

I took 2 lessons on the base, and then I got a gig.

I didn't have any lessons on the bass when I started as a bass player. But I was a guitar finger stylist and played the bass lines with my thumb. I still do. Deaden the E and the A string and play them harder than the other string and get the bass line going along with the index or one two other fingers doing the melody or rythem. It's called Chicken Picking by some. My Hero has always been Chet Atkins who was the absolute best at it. And no, I never was that good. But who else is?

 

[the other mike]

 

[BULLDOG]

I took 2 lessons on the base, and then I got a gig.

I didn't have any lessons on the bass when I started as a bass player. But I was a guitar finger stylist and played the bass lines with my thumb. I still do. Deaden the E and the A string and play them harder than the other string and get the bass line going along with the index or one two other fingers doing the melody or rythem. It's called Chicken Picking by some. My Hero has always been Chet Atkins who was the absolute best at it. And no, I never was that good. But who else is?

I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it, but I had a bass, and that was enough. None of the other kids in my little town had one, so the other guys were willing to tell me where to put my fingers. We played fast and loud, but not very good. Going back to the drums was my only logical choice, but even the small amount I learned before changing back helped me understand how to more smoothly blend with a bass line.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

I took 2 lessons on the base, and then I got a gig.

I didn't have any lessons on the bass when I started as a bass player. But I was a guitar finger stylist and played the bass lines with my thumb. I still do. Deaden the E and the A string and play them harder than the other string and get the bass line going along with the index or one two other fingers doing the melody or rythem. It's called Chicken Picking by some. My Hero has always been Chet Atkins who was the absolute best at it. And no, I never was that good. But who else is?

I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it, but I had a bass, and that was enough. None of the other kids in my little town had one, so the other guys were willing to tell me where to put my fingers. We played fast and loud, but not very good. Going back to the drums was my only logical choice, but even the small amount I learned before changing back helped me understand how to more smoothly blend with a bass line.

Most people think that people dance to the Drums. In reality, they dance to the Bass. The drums sets the rhytm but the bass sets the pace. The Bass is tied directly with the bass drum. And the Bass is a fraction of a second ahead of all the rest of the music. Low notes take longer to reach a distance so it has to start first. Otherwise, it drags. What you learned was that the Drums and the Bass are actually one instrument played by two different people in cooperation. No matter what the rest of the band does, if those two are in sync the music will be good. If they aren't it's going to suck. I have had a fill in drummer that I have sat on for 4 long hours forcing him to play a certain way. It's a long friggin night for both of us. We might be playing Country but he tries to play Punk Rock. But a good, veteran bass player can force him to play country. Trust me, they won't be taking long walks in the park and taking hot showers together in the future.

But I have known only two drummers that I have been completely comfortable with. It just clicked. I had a drummer work with me at an early time and he made me better. The other was at an open jam. He wasn't in music but he and I just clicked and easily made music. And you could tell it in the crowd.

 

[Mindful]

For me, the best.

I think he played a Gibson.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

For me, the best.

I think he played a Gibson.

I always thought the Strat was the most versatile while the Tele was the best lead but the Gibsons were the best R&B guitars.

 

[sparky]

I took 2 lessons on the base, and then I got a gig.

I didn't have any lessons on the bass when I started as a bass player. But I was a guitar finger stylist and played the bass lines with my thumb. I still do. Deaden the E and the A string and play them harder than the other string and get the bass line going along with the index or one two other fingers doing the melody or rythem. It's called Chicken Picking by some. My Hero has always been Chet Atkins who was the absolute best at it. And no, I never was that good. But who else is?

I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it, but I had a bass, and that was enough. None of the other kids in my little town had one, so the other guys were willing to tell me where to put my fingers. We played fast and loud, but not very good. Going back to the drums was my only logical choice, but even the small amount I learned before changing back helped me understand how to more smoothly blend with a bass line.

Most people think that people dance to the Drums. In reality, they dance to the Bass. The drums sets the rhytm but the bass sets the pace. The Bass is tied directly with the bass drum. And the Bass is a fraction of a second ahead of all the rest of the music. Low notes take longer to reach a distance so it has to start first. Otherwise, it drags. What you learned was that the Drums and the Bass are actually one instrument played by two different people in cooperation. No matter what the rest of the band does, if those two are in sync the music will be good. If they aren't it's going to suck. I have had a fill in drummer that I have sat on for 4 long hours forcing him to play a certain way. It's a long friggin night for both of us. We might be playing Country but he tries to play Punk Rock. But a good, veteran bass player can force him to play country. Trust me, they won't be taking long walks in the park and taking hot showers together in the future.

But I have known only two drummers that I have been completely comfortable with. It just clicked. I had a drummer work with me at an early time and he made me better. The other was at an open jam. He wasn't in music but he and I just clicked and easily made music. And you could tell it in the crowd.

I've been a bassist for decades, couldn't have said it better!

~S~

 

[Mindful]

 

[the other mike]

 

[the other mike]