Please feel free to ask the bassists anything you would like. Please post in this thread only for dialogue with bassists. The following bassists are online with their websites here on Jazz Corner:


Ben Allison


Dwayne Burno


Avishai Cohen


Ray Drummond


Dave Holland

Andy McKee

Rufus Reid

Harvie Swartz

Ron Velosky

Dwayne: Would love to hear about your experience playing with Freddie Hubbard at Birdland last weekend. Care to share?

Was disappointed to find out too late that you were just in LA at USC!!

Valerie, I'm sorry I didn't call you while I was there. I thought I would have a busier schedule as the artists in residence but things got cancelled while we were at USC. I actually didn't make the gig with Freddie. I posted it because advertisements stated that I was to appear with him but let's just say it didn't work out that way. Quite naturally, my phone hasn't stopped ringing from people asking me how the gig went this weekend past. I'm headed back out there for the Playboy in roughly seven weeks so I'll be sure to holler. Take care.

Dwayne Burno,

How is Freddie Hubbard? last I heard he had cancer or the lip. I know he split his lip badly years ago because of his style of playing and had to stop playing.
....Fish

Avishai,
Wasn't able to make your concert in Tucson due to a gig, but really wish I could have - heard it was good. Did you hear about our Executive Director, Peter Williams? He left to take a job at Yoshi's, in Ca. Now we're stuck looking for someone else - we have three months to find someone else! Just a lil' update from Tucson.

I caught the film The Red Violin the other night. It got me to thinking about the bass. Most jazz musicians seem to used "old" bass'. Why is that? Do they still make bass'? Is the craftmanship of old bass' better? Just curious.

Has anyone know anything about bassist Lonnie Plaxico? I picked up a vinyl of Dizzy's 1985 release "new faces" with
kenny Kirkland and Branford. His playing is superb on that record. Anyone know of him and what elsa he has done?

Plaxico played with Art Blakey for a while; also with Jack DeJohnette. I've been listening to him recently on Jason Moran's "Sound Track for Human Motion" and enjoying his playing.

Dear hardbop:

It's hard to say exactly why the sound of old instruments of the violin family [violin, viola, cello, bass] are often preferred over new ones by players. One explanation is that most of the good spruce and maple wood (the primary varieties used in violin family manufacture) has been harvested long ago from the "old growth" forests of the world, and that there is very little of this old wood left today anywhere.

Another theory is that the secrets of making fine instruments have been lost by modern luthiers.

I think that both of these reasons come into play, plus the probability that older instruments have had a chance to dry out and "season" properly, making them resonate better than new ones.

This is not to say, however, that there are no instrument makers in the present day producing fine instruments. Quite the contrary, it is often a new instrument which is preferred because of its greater durability and "road-worthiness."

In general, the older basses which are the most sought-after by players of any stripe are those made in Italy and France during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, the typical contemporary jazz player relies on the electronic pickup and amplifier to produce most of his sound and does not need to spend the $20K + that these finer old instruments cost these days.

For recording "Riverwalk, Live from the Landing" on Public Radio (a program dedicated to the sound of 1920's and 30's jazz), I use a pretty nice German bass from about 1880, with a Neumann microphone wrapped in foam rubber set near the bridge. For our nightly live gig at the Landing jazz club in San Antonio, no mic or amp is used on the bass.

This was one of the requirements of the job which attracted me to it in the first place, because I was never satisfied with the sound I got with pickups and amps when I used them.

My bass is set up with gut strings and high action in the manner of the pre-war swing players. This Jurassic setup produces a much more percussive, high-transient attack than the modern setup, which uses very low guitar-like action, steel strings, and very elaborate electronics to produce the very loud bass sound required in today's high-energy jazz.

The setup I use has direct consequences for the sound of the rhythm section and the swing feel of the band. As guitarist Mary Grosz says, the higher action and thicker strings give the player the "fight" that lets swing happen.

I mention all this only to point out that there are many other variables that go into producing a sound and style on an instrument than merely its age.

Don Mopsick, Jim Cullum Jazz Band bassist

Don,
A couple of questions: Regarding gut strings, do you know where I can get an extended 'E' string ( for C extension )in either plain gut or wire wrapped? The good folks at Lemur have been trying, but so far, no product. Secondly, what Neumann model are you using, and is it mounted on the bass or on a stand?

Thanks,
Tom Martin

Tom:

I wish I had better answers to your questions. I myself buy strings from Lemur, so they are your best bet as far as I know.

I don't know model number of the Neumann mic that the sound crew uses for me, but I can tell you that it is mounted on the bass by wrapping it in some foam rubber, then wedging this between the bridge legs pointing up toward the scroll.

The Landing stage is quite small and the instruments are right on top of each other. The bass is standing right at the drummers elbow, so there is a need for some isolation of the two signals. This is why you will sometimes hear on the broadcasts that the bass gets covered by the drums during loud segments, out choruses, etc.

Don Mopsick

i'm moving to new paltz for their jazz program. anybody know of good hookups in NYC?

mike

I'm on the lookout for a new upright. I currently have a carved Romanian bass fairly new. The bass just isn't getting the sound I'm looking for. I have looked on the internet for some places, and all I have pretty much found are Hammond Ashley and David Gage's site. Any suggestions on shopping for older bass on the net?

Colin: Two sites to see are www.netinstruments.com and www.stringbass.com. Both have sections where basses are sold. Personally, the internet is not where I have looked for the basses I've owned (9)

Well, I'm open to any resource, not just internet related.

everyone and anyone,
i was wondering, what pickups do you use? I am looking to find a new pickup system because mine is not cutting it. What preamps do you suggest. The amp setup i have is a SWR Workingmans 2004 with a SWR Goliath Jr. III cabinet. My bass is a 1950-60s Kay with spirocored weichs on it. Please help.

Thanks
~Scott

I am a fan of Bass,though never tried my hands on it.
I wonder all the time how the(you) bassists
figure out the notes to demonstrate a chord progress,
for example a I-VI-II-V?
Thank you.

Ok, I heard that the B-Band statement pick-up is phenomoenal, but i want to know other people's opinion on it. it costs up to $400 in some stores and i really want to know if it will make my sound that much better. i like a pick-up with a nice fat, solid note while also picking up alittle of the background noises, like the snaps of the strings. is the B-band statement for me??

thanks alot,
ben