Recent content by conttador

Thank you!

Ellis is a 1 person shop so patience is key. Mine took a while because Ellis had to prep for NAMM. It took about 14 months or so. I would email Ellis every now and again. Ellis was good about updating me when I inquired. I’ve had mine for about 3 weeks now. It worked out for me because Ellis is...

An interesting project would be to build a Luthier tree. In essence, Fodera sprung off of Ken Smith; LEH from Sadowsky etc. Something like that might be helpful. Maybe you want a Carl Thompson but you don’t have the money or time for one so you go w Mr. Hilton. This is both historical and...

I got this one and it exceeded all expectations!

This is all you’ll ever need: https://www.fktaudio.com/articolo/the-fretless/ I use it on fretted basses too, the Reverb really captures that 80s funk tone.

The old Patitucci video from the 90s has a really good segment on string muting. In essence he uses his non-plucking plucking hand fingers to mute the low strings near the bridge and the palm from his fretting hand to mute the rest. I apply it though nowhere near as effectively…

I really only use the C string for soloing. I’ve tried using it for comping but it just doesn’t ring the same.

IMHO, what gives this song a slight bluesy, greasy feel is the slight behind the beat feel, and you nailed that feel. It’s not blues per se but it is bluesy and a key element is that behind the beat feel.

Yes, I almost always start on the root! Thank you for spelling out the inversions; I’ll definitely work on those too. I’ve listened enough in my time and I recognize that most musicians have a repertoire they pull from. I have no formal music training outside of regular lessons but I’m an...

Definitely helps but the key takeaway is understanding harmony is a must! When I play, I read a chord chart and I may know the key, understand that the piece is moving in 4ths but I don’t really know the harmonic relationship between the A & B section and that would probably help me build...

What’s your thinking when it comes to note choices? One of the things I get called out by more seasoned players is almost always starting on the tonic. I work in Risk and most everything I deal with is like “If X happens do Y.” I forget music is hardly this black and white. I guess it can be...

I think I’m expecting a magical portal to open but like anything; it takes practice; lots of it! It’s taken years to get to a point were I’m not thinking as much. One of the most liberating things has been learning g the fretboard. It’s one less thing to worry about when I play. My playing is...

I thought it was too simple; it’s rarely ever that simple lol

I think that’s the end goal. I can honestly say my ears and overall experience aren’t there yet so for me, I want to understand the concept so that when my ears & skill catchup it becomes just another tool. Most of the seasoned players I play with always tell me to listen but that skill is not...

You hit on something here: Soloing involves knowing the chord tones as well as the key center. The key center part is a blind spot for me. Tunes may have multiple key centers that differ from the key signature. Here’s an example from a book. How can I apply this in a musical sense?