After all these years...

[thewildest]

Dear all, this is my first post here. After 20 years playing the guitar I switched to tapping instruments, and learned how to master the Chapman Stick and finally settled playing my current 12 String Warr Guitar, a phenomenal hybrid between guitar/bass/synth/sound-bulldozer. I play it with my band, a Jazz/Rock/Progressive band we have named Krakatoa.

Several months ago I saw a post where a guy was selling his two 6 string basses, one of them fretless and I had the curiosity to make the investment and bring them home. Having listened (and sometimes humbly cried) at the talent and legacy of Jaco Pastorius, I started studying the art of bass playing since.

This process has humbled me quite a lot musically, and brought my appreciation for what most people in this forum do every day to a new level... to the point that after all these years, today, the first day of the rest of my life, I can announce..... I am a bassist!!!

I have been lurking for some while through the site, so today I singed in. Thanks everyone for the continuous flow of good info here, and I hope soon I will be able to contribute with articles of my own.

Regards

Gustavo

[89JazzMan]

I remember when I got my butt handed to me listening to Jaco and Richard Bona and people like that. It is a great feeling to know that you will be a student of the instrument forever. I have great respect for you being able to play the stick and you have a Warr guitar!!!!! That is amazing. What sort of amp/effect set-up do you use for it?

If you are going to go fretless...I would start with a 4 banger. Things can get pretty confusing at first. Start small and get bigger!

[pbd]

Wow, congrats, depending on who you talk too you just stepped into the light or into the dark side

great story!
Todd

[thewildest]

Thank you both for your replies. I do not know if I am stepping into the light or the dark side, but down to a audible wave-lenght, I am definitively moving farther and farther from the treble section

Originally Posted by 89JazzMan

...... being able to play the stick and you have a Warr guitar!!!!! That is amazing. What sort of amp/effect set-up do you use for it?

If you are going to go fretless...I would start with a 4 banger. Things can get pretty confusing at first. Start small and get bigger!

Regarding the Warr, I play on a Jazz/Prog Rock trio here in Montreal (www.krakatoa-music.com if you want to check, please take a look). For this I use quite a complex rig, as the instrument has dual outputs (Bass/melody) and Dual Midi outputs, so I pass the signal through preamps/multi effects and hard/soft synths. It all ends in my laptop, I use MainStage as my main tool and I am extra-happy with it, after years of carrying around fridge-size rigs. I plan to use it with the bass too.

For amplification I have a Bose L1 system that really passes through all the harmonics with great fidelity, and now that I am "going lower" frequency-wide, I will be thinking of adding a B1 (boofer) module.

The basses I got are a Yamaha TRB-6II and a Ibanez Prestige SDGR that was converted to fretless... both these babies have 6 strings and are absolutely different beasts, each with its own charm. Since I am coming from the 12 String environment, 6 strings are something I hope I will be able to handle.

Best regards!!!

Gustavo
www.krakatoa-music.com