Hair Tie Users(whats the point)

tucker · #1 01-10-2005, 10:37 PM

Why is it that everyday when I see a bass player and his bass, I see hair ties on their basses. There's no point in putting a hair tie on your bass when you action is 12 feet off the fretboard, especially if you play punk, rock or hardcore. I see more kids nowadays try to emulate what Victor Wooten popularized by putting hair ties on their basses. I'll admit I tried it once but it didnt work, plus it looked dumb. It just wasn't me. So my question, Whats the point. Is it for looks, why's every jumping on this wagon?

Bernie Connors · #2 01-10-2005, 10:42 PM

It's to mute and control open strings while employing various techniques that would cause alot of vibration. As to why alot of people do it, alot of people copy whatever Vic does. That being said, there are also alot of guys that use them for the reasons mentioned above. Some may say it's cheating but if it works then don't knock it.

geoffkhan · #3 01-10-2005, 11:09 PM

Only use it if it really helps you play and makes a difference. I wouldn't put the hair scrunchie just to look like Vic. Personally, it makes my tapping a lot cleaner, and when I'm doing double-thumbing and all that it helps out, too.

willgroove2 · #4 01-11-2005, 12:21 PM

i have had students come in with them and i tell them to take them off,if your playing bass's with five or less strings there not really needed IMO.if you spend time cleaning up your technique, both right and left hand,you will have control over ringing strings.now 6 strings +? there is a case to be made

fastplant · #5 01-11-2005, 01:22 PM

I've never seen this, anyone have a pic of this?

Mon Rominee · #6 01-11-2005, 01:26 PM

fastplant, just picture a hair tie stretched over the headstock and onto the strings, just past the nut in the playing area.

Helps just enough, as someone has said, with ringing strings / not so stellar technique.

Never done it, but I've seen it.

Here's Woot, with the hairtie out of position...

and in position:

fastplant · #7 01-11-2005, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mon Rominee

fastplant, just picture a hair tie stretched over the headstock and onto the strings, just past the nut in the playing area.

Helps just enough, as someone has said, with ringing strings / not so stellar technique.

Never done it, but I've seen it.

Here's Woot, with the hairtie out of position...

ugh, I just lost a little respect for vic, you'd think he had better control than to need that.

the ombudsman · #8 01-11-2005, 01:47 PM

The funny part must be to pull the hair tie in place while playing.

peteroberts · #9 01-11-2005, 01:53 PM

I use them all the time...to pull my hair back.

eric atkinson · #10 01-11-2005, 02:02 PM

Yeah i as well use tons of them for my hair! LOL Makes my wife really mad when i still hers! So she started with the nasty fluffy pink ones!

tucker · #11 01-11-2005, 02:07 PM

like willgroove said, spend more time cleaning up your technique and you wont need to have it there. i do appreciate everyones response. i think hair ties are useless to some degree if you are not actually using it.
After hours of transcribing song More Love by vic i dont know if he plays it with hair ties but i thought to myself these overtones are a pain in the ass, so i figured how to mute it with out spending money on hair products. (well if you knew me 6 months ago you would see me at a local store buying hair products). I'm not knocking this new thing, but it wouldnt kill you if time was spent cleaning up technique and accuracy than going to the store.

Only · #12 01-11-2005, 02:37 PM

No one has mentioned this yet:

Put the hairtie over a good harmonic spot (12th fret, 7th fret, etc) and hit an open string. You get the open note with overtones from the harmonic.

Joe P · #13 01-11-2005, 02:50 PM

I keep one or two of the bigger ones on mine. I use one right up by the nut almost all the time, unless I need a ringy open string. If I'm trying to go over-the-top with compressed and heavily-distorted cheesy-stuff, I'll slide TWO of'em down (to avoid the harmonic-thing that Only mentioned).

When I do personal practice, though, I usually take it away so I work on my muting control. Maybe I'll hardly ever need them someday - but for now, when I'm playing out I need to sound as good as I can, so I use'em!

Joe

**embellisher** · #14 01-11-2005, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Only

No one has mentioned this yet:

Put the hairtie over a good harmonic spot (12th fret, 7th fret, etc) and hit an open string. You get the open note with overtones from the harmonic.

I use them for this sometimes. I only use them when playing 6 strings and tapping.

When I see somebody playing a 4 string with a pick, banging out quarter notes, with a hair tie at the nut, I laugh my a$$ off. I have seen several local punk players doing exactly this.

eric atkinson · #15 01-11-2005, 10:37 PM

Quote:

When I see somebody playing a 4 string with a pick, banging out quarter notes, with a hair tie at the nut, I laugh my a$$ off. I have seen several local punk players doing exactly this.

Man thats too funny! Do you think maybe ya could take a cell phone with ya or somthing and get some footage of that? I could watch that every day and just make my life a little better!

Aaron Saunders · #16 01-11-2005, 10:52 PM

To the "clean up your technique" crowd --

Double thumbing does NOT lend it self to muting strings, sorry guys. When playing, people generally mute the higher strings with their left, and the lower with their right. Works well fingerstyle, and even regular slap. But when you double thumb, it just doesn't work like that -- the lower strings aren't muted. As such, you get sympathetic vibrations.

The same goes for tapping. Things get a lot easier, and you can focus a lot more on what you're actually playing when you don't have your low B rumbling about 'cause it feels left out -- and a lot of chordal positions use up all of your fingers. People definitely shouldn't use the tie as a crutch, but discounting it entirely is about the same mentality that compressors are the worst thing to happen to those poor, uneducated, cro-magnan bass players who just can't conceive of good technique.

willgroove2 · #17 01-11-2005, 11:36 PM

i actually agree with that but when i see guy's playing "regular bass"(what's that?)with hair ties not doing double thumps or tapping just playing, i IMHO don't see why

Petebass · #18 01-12-2005, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the ombudsman

The funny part must be to pull the hair tie in place while playing.

Not a problem for Vic. I believe his hair ties are specially designed by the wonderful people at "Hipshot".

the ombudsman · #19 01-12-2005, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petebass

Not a problem for Vic. I believe his hair ties are specially designed by the wonderful people at "Hipshot".

Yeah, I know there are gizmos especially designed to do this (although from the pictures Vic looks like he's using a regular hair tie

), but you have to reach for it anyway. Must not be always easy.

Petebass · #20 01-12-2005, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the ombudsman

Yeah, I know there are gizmos especially designed to do this (although from the pictures Vic looks like he's using a regular hair tie

), but you have to reach for it anyway. Must not be always easy.

Look again... all he has to do is flip the lever at the back of it. Within .5 of a second, a little robot appears from the truss-rod cavity, grabs the hair tie, scampers down the neck, and places it in position.......

I was only joking. My sense of humour it too silly for TB sometimes............