Thanks Tyro!

Hey all, new video up...this time I'm experimenting with a BOW. Got double bass bow yesterday and wanted to try it out, being inspired by the great Michael Bernier. Recorded the video before I went to work...so I'd only been playing with it for about an hour (be kind, haha).

My experience? The only playable strings are strings 1, 10 and 6. I'm using DBR tuning, light gauge. The 10th string is plain and is very sensitive to bowing, I think maybe a Violin bow would be better as I tend to put too much pressure on the string and it bends out of tune. String 1 works nicely though, since it's wound it can stand up to the friction a little better. Maybe a heavier set on the low end? Roundwound strings are not too kind to bow hair. Hmmmmm...

String 6 is just bliss...you have to watch out where you bow because directly over the pickup (I have a flipped ACTV-2), the first 6 frets are great, but the 7th triggers a harmonic. I have to move slightly so I don't have a huge "5th-above" come out instead of the fundamental.

Other than that, I have never used a bow in my life...so..haha - there's some uber-terrible technique going on. Used a looper (Boss RC-2) to set up a groove.

Now, there is rosin on the strings, and on the wood. I'm trying to be careful to clean it after every use so I don't get too much caked rosin. I know the strings will deteriorate, that's a given. Every once in awhile I'll have to give the wood some more attentive cleaning too. The difference with the Stick is that the part that gets rosin on it is not the part that I touch with my fingers. If you bow an electric bass or guitar, your fingers get all sticky from the rosin dust.


Sorry in advance for squeaks and stuff...I wanted to capture the moment though since I was having so much fun!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWXVWP__JAQ[/youtube]

Fantastic!!!

Very nice! The sound reminded me some of the Metallica covers by Apocalyptica

Congratulations, Daniel.

New Song!

This is a cover of Dave Martone's "The Goodie Squigee Song". Dave is an amazing guitarist from Vancouver BC, and a colleague of mine here in Vancouver. This song comes from his latest CD, "CLEAN" on Magna Carta Records.

http://www.davemartone.com

New in this video...I tried to use some new fret markers, I feel like I need a different set for certain relationships on the melody side (the fourths bass side). I just used a single hole punch on some address labels to create fret markers that are temporary and can be moved easily.

The other new thing for me, is that I'm now rocking a STICKUP! SO happy to finally get that original and magical Stickup tone after having an ACTV2 Block for 7 years.

Of course, now I have two gaps in the pickup channel. I did see a solution when I got to play Jim Meyer's Alto Stick, which apparently used to belong to Greg. This instrument has a Stickup, but used to have a bigger pickup - in the gaps were triangular space fillers in the same type of wood as the Stick itself. I'll get something to fill the gaps one of these days, maybe triangular black plastic to match the pickup rather than the wood itself.

Anyway, enjoy - had fun with this one!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUGkOYFpVic[/youtube]

Is it a general rule that harder strings sound more clunky? I play a Grand 12 MR light guage and I like a smoothly singing sound rather than a clunky - but I'm wondering if 12-string MR medium guage would give a better tone due to slightly fatter strings? (with a PASV-4 this is)

So I've been playing around a bit with my megatar, and I find that I gravitate towards the bass side of the instrument. So I'm wondering if maybe a dual-bass setup might be the way for me to go. A couple thoughts/concerns I had though:

I was thinking about a slightly modified tuning with 10 strings, having the first 5 strings tuned like a 5-string bass instead of a 6-string, then having the 5ths tuning begin on string 5 (low B) in order to increase the overall range of the instrument. I'm not as familiar with all the technical aspects of the instrument, but do you guys think this would work?

I currently have a regular 10-string on order (not a grand), do you think I would have any issues with the spacing if I had them change the tuning?

I think my biggest concern, though, is that I'm pretty much a beginner, and using a non-standard tuning might cut down on my resources. I was planning on getting Greg Howard's book in matched reciprocal and trying to learn from that, but if I had a different tuning, it might make things difficult.

One more thought: maybe I'm just gravitating towards the bass side because of my abilities on the instrument. I have difficulties playing both sides at once (mostly because of the large neck and my tiny hands, heh), so two-handed tapping on the bass side is the most natural technique for me to use.

I'm just kinda brainstorming here, so any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Damon,

I find the right hand technique is basically the same on my Ten String Grand in DBR as it is with higher pitched tuning. Emmett's instruments are easily and precisely adjustable, so I can get the action just right and easily tweak the truss to compensate for humidity and temperature changes. This makes it easy to tap on the lowest string, even up above the 12th fret. So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be discouraged on the concept if you don't like the results of your experiment on your instrument. It's a great concept, and on The Stick it works great.

The biggest problems you're likely to have would be with the instrument's setup. Without an adjustable nut (your instrument has a "zero fret" I believe) or an easily adjustable truss, getting the "play" of the strings at the lower frets to work well can be a big challenge.

My first experiments with this tuning were on a standard 10-string Stick, and it worked great, but the strings are a little easier to pluck on the Ten String Grand due to the wider spacing, But if you think the extra spacing might be to your liking, you should consider changing it.

As far as shifting the low strig over one positions goes, I don't think the extra range you will get in the 5ths would be worth the trade-off of shifting the low string from position 5 to 6. You're probably better off having the higher 4th.

I hope those are helpful suggestions. Go DBR!

Hi, guys, back in the saddle. Learned how to type while I was away. Also have my own laptop so I can hear what others are doing on the Stick finally. It's a good thing guys w/ technique don't intimidate me. Reunited w/my pal from Visual Noise Disturbance n we're gonna start recording. Putting new strings on the Devious, Balistic, and Reproachable Stick and 1/2 bari (I'm telling you guys, octaves in the middle). The new year will bring beautiful/disturbing music from the bowels of New Jersey. I'm back, and gonna Stick around this time.
Peace, Marty
"The present day composer refuses to die" -Edgar Varese

I'm getting my Stick this week and it has a Stickup as well - How does the 5th string sound on the Stickup? I was under the impression that it's designed for a large unwound string and that it would be too quiet with something like an 0.080" over it... Hence the reason for Greg's custom Stickup with the EMG-FT pickup installed. Greg, you wouldn't want to sell that Stickup, would you?

The Stickup sounds great, and is easily balanced for each string with the pole pieces underneath each string.

What tuning are you getting on your Stick?

As to your request, I don't think so...