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sub contrabass tunings from '91

D.A.R.K.

D.A.R.K.

Supporting Member
Aug 20, 2003
5,753
3,632
Virginia
www.dougkallmeyer.com
#1
well, to show you can do it, and that it's been done by folks for a while,
i decided to dig up these old recordings of a group i played with in 90 and 91 in which i used a warwick thumb 6 tuned f#(or g) b, e, a, d, g.
now, i'm not claiming to have done anything first, i don't really care about that.. but i like these tunes, they're fun, live, and prove tuning low is no big deal although there are so many who enjoy debating it.
i used the stock warwick, with stock ken smith strings, 145, 120, 100, 80, 60, 40 or thereabouts. i thought it would be nice for these pieces to enjoy the light of day...here ya go:
http://soundcloud.com/d-a-r-k/tracks
 
#6
I have found my long lost below low end brother. I took the time to attentively listen to each track. And not only do I like each track overall, I love the bass playing. The grooves are killing. and your pocket is spot on. Overall your playing is extremely tasteful and not one time did I hear anything that sounded like you were stepping on any of the other players toes. Your playing on the tracks truly showed focus and maturity.


Please keep doing what you do. You really have something to say and so far I'm really digging what I've heard.



This is some of the best low end playing I have heard utilizing frequencies so low. You truly have represented my brother.


And you definitely have my support.
 
#14
Some good stuff there, D.A.R.K. There's times when the bass is roiling under there like a Leviathan that make it pretty obvious there's expressive possibilites that aren't so easily achieved with higher tunings.

About that same time frame I was not yet a bassist, but had a missive electronics sax rig (tenor and bari) and did a duo with a bass player up in Seattle, with both of us doing some sample programming for drums and occasional treatments. But I did have the low tuning concept and talked the bass player into going with it. We got a Dean Markley rep we met up at American Music interested enough to get some fatter strings wound for us.

I always felt for what I was wanting though, that on standard scale lengths that we could never get the snap that I wanted, the low-pitched stuff could do the undertow type stuff really well, but not things that seemed to want more upper content and attack definition. Ages later and now I am a bassist and have been doing low tunings for most of the last ten years, but still kind of find that limitation for what I want to hear, so I'm pretty much settled on A/G Hipshot for my lowest string, F#/E just doesn't have enough tonal versatility for my ear, I guess.

Again, I sure think you guys had the right band concept for this though!
 
#15
thanks again for all the positive responses!
greenboy, sounds like you were doing something along the lines of drums and tuba:
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really interesting stuff. love it. i've always wanted to play with great horn players, just haven't been lucky enough yet... i always wanted to be able to skip around intervals like a sax player.
the sub stuff is definitely tricky.. as per rez's comment,
i think using the direct signal combined with a wound up amp (or the right pedal would probably achieve the same result) to
excite the upper harmonics really makes a difference.
it helps the sound sit correctly in the mix, and still be reasonable on
limited bandwidth systems.
a big part of it for me is also playing higher in register on those low tuned strings... you get a girth that lighter strings don't have, and can still get punch and snap...
the lowest notes were more reserved for space oriented parts...
for me, they seemed to work best when held for quarter or half notes... allowing a little extra processing time for gear and brain...
can't wait to get the new setup together, i have a feeling that the strings available today will make a huge difference in presence and punch... luckily there have been some people working diligently to make this approach easier, and i get to reap the benefits of their hard work.:cool:
 

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