Check out these hand made plywoods...

farmerdude · #1 05-10-2005, 11:49 AM

Interesting read on a bass builder. Look out China

http://www.ruralmissouri.org/05MayBass.html

While I cant agree with some of his comments, (who can think that the bass is boring

) I have to respect the man for building a finished product and doing what makes him happy. Thats what its all about. That said,I hope Mr. Branstetter doesnt see this.

JimmyM · #2 05-10-2005, 12:02 PM

Well, don't forget he's playing bluegrass, and it's not very exciting to play root-V all night. I am intrigued by these basses...might make a nice beater for swing and rockabilly gigs.

**Adrian Cho** · #3 05-10-2005, 12:25 PM

Gotta love his bass playing technique (in the photo). Check out the "treble" bar on the other side of the top...

Steve Killingsworth · #4 05-10-2005, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy Brown the Newsboy of the Town

. . . it's not very exciting to play root-V all night. . .

Depends on who you're playing with.

dcr · #5 05-10-2005, 12:33 PM

Looks pretty cool to me. He's only a 2-3 hour drive from me. I'd at least consider one. Especially since about all that I do on URB is 'grass any way!

dcr

**Damon Rondeau** · #6 05-10-2005, 12:37 PM

Yeah, if you don't like making that kind of music it likely would be boring...

There are a LOT of bass players on this board whose root-five on bluegrass would suck big time. Why? No feel for the bluegrass groove and no time spent developing it. Think that groove is easy? Let's hear your version...

Chasarms · #7 05-10-2005, 01:29 PM

I wonder if the "treble" bar is in lieu of the sound post?

mje · #8 05-10-2005, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chasarms

I wonder if the "treble" bar is in lieu of the sound post?

My thoughts exactly. Maybe that's why that fancy New York bass he spoke of didn't have no pluck to it...

pete27408 · #9 05-10-2005, 03:13 PM

Damon's right. It really isn't easy to make that groove sound good and in perfect time.

JimmyM · #10 05-11-2005, 12:05 AM

I have been playing root-V in various bands since before most of you guys were poopin' yellow in your preemie diapers! I can play it just fine, thank you. I have played it on electric basses, upright basses, tubas, and even washtub basses. I have played it in bluegrass, funk, rock, jazz, blues, and even Arabic music. I know a million ways to play root-V, all of them perfectly in time and with all the feeling of the best players of the genre I'm playing in. I just choose not to play it all night long because it does get a little tiresome.

mchildree · #11 05-11-2005, 07:10 AM

All depends on your way of thinking...if you're goal is to work to make the total band sound as good as possible, you do what it takes..even if it means root-V.

It's called "professionalism".

I play with some fairly traditional-minded guys and they impose no limitations on me to ride root-V constantly, and I don't. But when it sounds best, I do it.

Of course, if you're all about "ME ME ME".....

**Chef** · #12 05-11-2005, 07:30 AM

I'll call him and see if I can swing by, take some pics, and play one...

Steve Killingsworth · #13 05-11-2005, 07:40 AM

Jimmy,

There is no need to get defensive and begin throwing darts. You made a strong statement . . "it's not very exciting to play root-V all night". . that a lot of us bluegrassers don't necessarily agree with. I don't think anybody is advocating that we just stand there and pull two notes all night long like a robot. In fact, I imagine most of us branch out whenever possible. However, there are times and tunes when nothing sounds better than I-V and nothing adds more to the music than I-V.

One of the best thing about TalkBass is that we can disagree without being disagreeable. Just focus on the merits of the argument rather than the bathroom habits of the participants.

**Damon Rondeau** · #14 05-11-2005, 08:17 AM

While we're on the bathroom topic, lemme just say that if you're going to throw a turd, you'd better be prepared to catch one. It's called "peer review".

JimmyM · #15 05-11-2005, 08:33 AM

I'm not getting why, when I say something about not enjoying playing root-V all night, that my abilities and professionalism are coming into question. But you know what? That's OK. I make a pretty decent income by playing music for a living, and quite frankly, I have nothing to prove to anyone on here. And it's not like I have to play root-V all night because the bands I play in dictate it. But when I have to play root-V, I do it and I do it as good or better than anyone.

I'm being defensive? I threw a turd? Please! It's NOT very exciting to play root-V all night. Even guys who do nothing but play root-V all night will tell you that, and because of that, very few people do it. And to the ones who feel it IS exciting, it's a beautiful thing, but you're few and far between. So where this animosity comes from, I don't know, but even more so, I don't care. I think it says more about you than me.

Jason Sypher · #16 05-11-2005, 08:37 AM

1.........no,5........1........no,5

It's such a funny thing isn't it. This simplistic bass groove. Sometimes, it IS boring. But when the music is happening or should I say the magic is happening, I am not thinking one bit about what I am playing: one, five or a flatted 13th. And the better the band, the more freedom in the groove to do whatever the hell you want, and sometimes that's STILL one and five! It's beautiful thing.

mchildree · #17 05-11-2005, 09:13 AM

Quote:

my abilities and professionalism are coming into question.

Nope, you take my post all wrong... I merely described two schools of thought and didn't lump you into either. That's for you to decide, and nobody else. I just wanted to make a point that there are some players who play simply because they feel the music dictates it, and don't feel compelled to do anything more.

Chasarms · #18 05-11-2005, 09:44 AM

Since this thread is turning from the Medley Bass to a critical look at bluegrass bass, I'll throw in a coin or two.

I work very hard at being a better bass player every day. I study, I work on bowing. I look at various theory tools and cover a great number of exercises.

I play Bach, I play pops, I play Latin. If it's about good music, I'm there.

That being said. I LOVE playing bluegrass, maybe more than anything else. It might not be the most challenging, but, for me that is not the point.

There's no doubt that there's a certain amount of self indulgence to any musicianship, but for me it isn't about whipping out the latest riff that I worked up. I actually like the simplicity of bluegrass bass. I love that I can play and hold down the fort while enjoying the musicianship of the guys around me and focusing on melody and harmony of the vocals.

Playing and singing bluegrass is about as good as it gets for me. It's a great art form. Having grown up in rural Appalachia, it's just part of the culture. Once you learn the traditions of bluegrass and it's origins in Scotts-Irish traditional music and other European traditional tunes, you understand it and appreciate it.

Mountain music, which molded into bluegrass, was exactly to poor mountain white people what the blues were to southern blacks, a means of vocalizing who they were as people, their thoughts, their sorrows, their pleasures and their faith.

It's pretty personal to me.

**Damon Rondeau** · #19 05-11-2005, 09:55 AM

I agree 100% Jason (and Chas and Mike.)

JimmyM: it's the way of presenting your opinion. When your basic message is "playing bluegrass is very simple and thus boring" then you are essentially calling a number of us in this forum simple and boring. The deeper I get into playing that kind of music, the more opposite to boring I find it to be. Concommitant with that growing feeling is playing fewer notes and more plain root-five. Rhythm is practically everything for me in that music now.

If you're not into it and don't wanna get into it, why slag it? Why not just say "I don't like bluegrass and don't like playing it" instead of making it sound like it's a law of nature that bluegrass is boring. I don't think anyone on this board will slag anybody else's taste or artistic opinion when it's expressed honestly. When it's presented as literal or veiled slag against a whole category of music, then we got turd-throwing going on.

As for that venerable old dude that makes the treble-barred basses, I'm sorry to say I found him a bit pathetic. Hate the bass and wanna play banjo? Play the freaking banjo then! Give the bass to someone who likes it and knows what to do with it. Don't act like somebody made you spend your life in bass hell.

**Chef** · #20 05-11-2005, 10:19 AM

[quote=Chasarms]Since this thread is turning from the Medley Bass to a critical look at bluegrass bass, QUOTE]

Yeah.....