Dave Hope's Strings

5string5fingers · #1 04-08-2010, 09:39 PM

I was going through some old music I grew up on and remembered hearing this song all the time on my dads stereo as a kid and enjoyed watching the live performance of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB17uWuBrL0

Wasn't until after watching that video did I hear how huge Dave Hope's tone was. This may sound like a stupid question but did he use flats or rounds? There's a lot of p bass grind and grit,but I've heard that with both strings types before.

Sorry if this isn't in the right place.

fretlessguy · #2 04-10-2010, 09:29 PM

Thanks for the video heads up. It brought back great memories from my highschool days. I know he did play the P Bass on a lot of the Kansas stuff, including the reunion album Somewhere To Elsewhere back in 2001. He also played a Kramer around the time of Point of Know Return, and a Ric in the Masque album time. He played a P bass all the times I saw them live.
Judging from the tone I'd say he played rounds. I did a search on Dave but found no reference to his strings.

fourstringburn · #3 04-10-2010, 10:13 PM

Nice too see a younger/newer generation listen to Kansas. They are really a great band and have a lot of meaningful well orchestrated songs.

Many of their songs contain the many elements of music I don't hear much of today in rock music. These elements are harmony,syncopation and odd time signatures while still finding moments too totally rock out. Too hear a great example of this check out the song "Miracles out of nowhere" off the Leftoverture album.

This songs first part is a simple melody with nice trade off vocals and harmonies thru the chorus, then the solo section starts off with a keyboard line followed by perfectly syncopated counter and dual melodies by other instruments in 7/8 odd time. The last part of the song kicks up tempo and starts rock'n to the finale. Excellent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ekpO...eature=related

Dave Hope is a wonderful bass player along with Phil Ehart 's fantastic drumming creates a powerful and interesting rhythm section. As for his equipment, Not much if any was written up about him in the music mags at the time, But I saw him with Fender P basses when I saw them back in '79. He plays with a pick and I would say he uses Rotosound SS due to that heavy roundwound grind you hear.

My favorite albums by them are Monolith, Audio Visions,Leftoverture, and Point of no return along with many great songs from their other albums.

MonetBass · #4 04-12-2010, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fourstringburn

Nice too see a younger/newer generation listen to Kansas. They are really a great band and have a lot of meaningful well orchestrated songs.

My favorite albums by them are Monolith, Audio Visions,Leftoverture, and Point of Know Return along with many great songs from their other albums.

Fixed for ya.

Also check out Song For America, Two For The Show (live). Don't discount Vinyl Confessions either. Even though Steve Walsh was gone, the core of the group was still there and that album has some great tunes on it.

dave64o · #5 04-12-2010, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonetBass

Fixed for ya.

Also check out Song For America, Two For The Show (live). Don't discount Vinyl Confessions either. Even though Steve Walsh was gone, the core of the group was still there and that album has some great tunes on it.

Jeez, there goes Monet making another one of his Kansas fanboy posts .....

Count me in as another big Dave Hope fan. I know he found a higher calling and is doing what he believes in, but what I wouldn't give to see him perform with them again.... Thankfully he at least came back one more time to play on Somewhere to Elsewhere.

He's always been my nomination in the "most underrated bassists" threads.

I got a kick of the first time I took my wife to see Kansas, maybe about five years ago. She's heard me listening to them for the nearly 30 years we've been together but for some reason was expecting to hear a couple hours worth of "Dust in the Wind". She was shocked to hear songs like Down The Road and learn first hand that Kansas is a ROCK band!

Actually, Masque has always been one of my favorite albums. Here's a live version of "Mysteries and Mayhem", one of my favorites on that album.

fourstringburn · #6 04-13-2010, 07:20 PM

more great epic tunes...Journey back from mariabronn, Icarus born on wings of steel, Lonely wind, and yes Song for America. Great Bass lines on all songs!

5string5fingers · #7 04-15-2010, 09:22 PM

I cant help but love classic music like that because thats the music i heard in my dads work shop and garage when I was a kid. Kansas,bad company,van halen,eagles,etc.

JimmyM · #8 04-17-2010, 03:11 AM

dave hope said he once spent $35,000 on coke in a single year. that's livin'! well, not really. but that's a lot of coke. and now he's an anglican priest in destin, fl. wow!

always a precision with rotos, sometimes an svt, though i just watched a few vids and it looks like he used other amps as well. always had the precision, though.

fourstringburn · #9 04-17-2010, 08:43 PM

Well I'm glad to hear Dave Hope turned his life around, maybe there is "Hope" for others...

Tinman3012 · #10 02-22-2011, 08:24 PM

Rotosound round-wounds

7flat5 · #11 02-22-2011, 09:06 PM

Nothing about the strings, but two things really come to mind when I watch that "Carry On" video. I grew up in Kansas, and had a friend who talked to the guys from Topeka about the time that video was made. After all those hit albums, and Dust having run its course, the band still was in debt to Don K. In other words, after working their tails off for the record company for, what, 5 years or so, they had made Nothing. Standard contract, no doubt. There is a balloon in the video asking whether Steve was always in a bad mood. Just sayin.

And, Robbie's Dad, if I remember correctly, was the chair of one of the the KU music departments when I was there. I always wondered what he thought of his violin-playing son choosing this path.

Their first album is the most interesting. No hits, though. Great band.