Wall of Mouths

wow.. a 42’ for an E string? man.. mine’s a 54, and i bend that motherfucker at the first fret! awesome!

my full gauges (which i’ve just looked up) are:

Aria : 11 14 20 32 42 52
Westfield: 12 15 26 34 44 54

and on my bass i used to have La Bella Super Steps, 45 65 85 105 (amazing tone and sustain for finger playing) but now i use Rotosound Swing bass 66 in 45, 65, 80, 105 becuase i’m playing more slap and with a pick.

I used to love the light-top-heavy-low sets like the super slinky’s but i find since playing bass i had a tendancy to over bend, which was some of the reason for changing to thicker strings.

Great exercise btw for improving left hand strength: play without using your thumb. extend your hand and stick your thumb straight out so it’s not even behind the neck. obviously not great for chords, but practice scales with it. for a while it’ll kick your ass but it’s worth it when it comes to legato playing!

actually buffalo boy, i was quoting you quoting michael, i’m sorry, that was probably unclear. I did not know that you have a HND in music, what area? (i.e music tech / music performance .etc.. i list these two becuase that’s all that was on offer when i did it, i’m not suggesting it’s necessarily either of those)

Other than the first paragraph (the quote) i was writing form a beginner’s perspective as well.

I also would have thought that if there was a theory element to our music course, you might have also known about root notes (see Idledevice’s reply to your previous post), especially if you’re playing thrash metal; which is essentially root notes and pedal baased riffs.

Title: Out of interest: String Gauges

I always used to play with d’Addario 9’s, on both my main electrics; however in a band two years ago I was playing so hard that I was breaking a lot of strings! Becuase of that, I got them both set up differently.

I have an Aria Pro II which now has Dean Markley 11’s; and a Westfield Strat copy with Dean Markley Jazz 12’s sitting on it.

It wasn’t too easy getting used to the tension of the strings after they’d been changed, but after about four months I was starting to get the hang of shreding on them. What I like to do now is hand someone else my guitar and watch them not be able to fret any notes above the fifth!

The great thing about the strings is the immense tone you get from the thickness. even the G string is wound along with the E, A and D. If you’re going for a thick Rock or Metal sound, I’d heartily recommend changing!

So what does everyone else use, and why? How often do you change them?

i’ve got a Vintage V900 Bass ( http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintagebass.html ) which is my first and only bass. I’ve been playing bass for about four years now, and i’ve never needed a different one, it came very well set up, and i’ve used a vareity of different strings on it.

It might be slightly over the £150 range someone said above but really it’s worth it for the active electronics, becuase you’re not likely to want to upgrade it for quite some time

although wait a minute, i don’t play rock music on it..

maybe just best to go to a shop and try some out then!

buffalo-boy wrote:

Buffalo-boy I don’t understand what is rhythmic about a bass, surely a guitarist can provide more rhythm than a bass player. He can pick faster anyway. I suppose the bass player usually locks in with the kick drum though, so is that rhythm for ya?
Thanks!

Buffalo boy; the bass plays plays ina lower register sonically to the guitar. even playing a note which is also on a guitar, due to the thickness of the strings, the way bass amps work and the electrics of the bass itself, the note will have more ‘low-end’ tonally than the guitar, for which the sound is produced with more mid-range. play with the treble and bass knobs on your guitar or amp to see what i mean.

This means that when a bass player ‘locks in’ with a beat played on the kick drum, it makes both sound more powerful. Through a venue PA system this sounds incredible. have a listen to any rock music and try to imagine it without the kick drum or the low end of the bass and you’ll see why it’s also a rythem instrument.

In terms of playing only one note, that single note, being lower than the guitar, can change so much of the music itself. Playing the same root note as the guitarist’s chord will cause the tune to sound tighter, and punky; however if you then play a note three frets lower, you’ll change the overall sound of what the guitar player is doing, and end up with a more ‘progressive’ sound. get a guitar playing friend and try this:

Whilst he plays the following progression: A minor / D minor / C major / G major; you play A, D, C and G. then keep him playing this, whilst you play C, F, A, E.

what the two of your are playing as a whole is Amin, Dmin, C and G in the first instance. in the second, where you are playing different notes, the resultant chords will be C, F, Amin, Emin. you’ve changed what he’s playing but just playing single notes. It’s awesome!

if you need tab or anything let me know.

PS in terms of the differences between electric and spanish (nylon strung) guitars, one of the biggest is that they are played differently. Electrics can be beaten and battered, changed through effects, and amplified loudly. Spanish guitars are virtually almost played fingerstyle (so strings are further apart in order to get your right hand fingers between them), and are normally amplified through the use of careful microphone placement. i can’t thing of a single classical guitarist who would use effects either. It’s not just the way in which they’re played, but the objectives of the people playing them too remember!