Alvaro

Megacool Blog indeed!… if anyone else has anything it would be much appreciated. Great website Enjoy!…

WIll the concert be recorded? I would like to hear it.

Vernon

I’m not a musician but I love Baroque music. I’m not much of a rock fan, but I’ve always wondered how some of my favourite kick-ass Baroque pieces would sound on a lead electric guitar. A good f’rinstance is the first movement of Corelli’s Concerto Grosso Op. 6 no. 4, and here’s a rendition of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVM9MpCu_Jc&feature=related. Another example would be a movement from of Handel concerto grosso (can’t remember which one right now) in which the violin soloist goes crazy for a short time (I told you I’m not a musician!) and I’ve wondered for years how that movement would sound on a lead guitar. The idea became even more interesting when I found out that when Jimi Hendrix lived in London his house was literally right next door to the house that Handel spent his last years in.

So what do you think of the idea?

Regards,

Chris

I definitely agree that a farmer can’t rush his crops. But his final outcome is determined to a large part by the climate, the soil, the pests, etc. Preparation and cultivation take time, patience and hard work.

With that, I think our instruments do have some degree of influence over our sound. You plywood bass may never attain the tonal qualities of the Jay Haide, regardless of whose hands it’s in or how skillfully it is played.

I’d also add that, despite our limitations, our efforts at mastery never fall on barren soil. I bet you sound better on that thing than you give yourself credit for. And it has served you well for….how long?

Encore?

I’ll tell you, I’ve played a lot of EAB’s, owned 3 myself, and this is the best sounding one I can afford right now, and I really love it.

The biggest issue is strings though. EAB’s need to have phosphorbronze strings that are specifically designed for electric acoustic basses. These strings are expensive. I use the Thomastik’s. http://www.juststrings.com/thomastikinfeldacousticbassguitar.html

A set is like $65 including the high C single that I use, direct from JustStrings.com. When you go to GuitarCenter or anywhere else and play instruments in the $300-800 range, they’re unlikely to have the right strings on them. You’d be really surprised how much more tone you’ll get with the right strings.

And, of course, with physics being what it is, I don’t think a 34″ B works at all. You might as well use a high C.

The next really important thing is a really good setup by a great guitar repair shop. I’m so lucky to live near Jim and John Mouradian, that do fantastic work.

As far as other EAB models, the best ones I’ve heard though, by far, are the Wechters that J0nas Hellb0rg plays. Absolutely fantastic. I’m just a few thousand dollars short of the budget for that, so I’ll have to play the Dean for another decade or two. If I had any real money together anyway I’d buy a carved upright (5-string w/high C of course) or a 7-string bass gamba.

–Ben

I’ve shopped a bit for acoustic basses, but haven’t been happy with the tone I hear from most of them…until I get up into the serious 4 digits, that is. What brand is yours? What other brands to you like? What sorts of things should I look for in an acoustic model? (Why not write a post, ’cause that’s a lot.)

Enjoyed your playing, by the way! Nicely done.

All the best.
–Ben