3-string mystery bass

[NoiseNinja]

Pretty cool, although I'll stick to my 4 string, couldn't live without the high G string.

Whatever floats your boat I guess though.

Sandman from Morphine made 2 string slide bass sound great, and Stig Pedersen from the Danish band D.A.D swear to 2 string basses as well.

And although Stig Pedersen's bass lines are pretty basic, guess that is why he only need 2 strings, and nothing to write home about, the actual basses he uses have some pretty odd refreshing innovative and spectacular visual designs.

Here's a couple of his basses:

 

[Volker Kirstein]

Anyone know what the point is for the 3 string? Anyone ever hear him explain it?

Tuned in 5ths (AEB, DF#C#, etc), it allows a different, more melodic way of playing.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I would quite like to have a go on a three string bass tuned ACE, playing things like 12 bar blues on it - tumbling around within the chord you're on would be so easy, but every change of harmony a real event.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Mark Sandman only needed 2

 

[Deleted member 349741]

I was at Aden's house the other day and had to ask "what's the deal with the 3-string basses?" He explained that someone had been asked to invent the ultimate honky tonk bass and this is what they came up with, a p-bass with 3 strings. When he got the gig with Miranda, he decided that what better way to stand out than to play the ultimate honky tonk bass. At first it was just a novelty, but then it grew on him and he realized that it was having a good effect on how he approached the bass. He was thinking horizontally up the neck instead of vertically across the neck. If you want to go up an octave, you have to slide up the neck, where the tone is fatter, due to the string being shorter up there. I got to see his two Glendale 3-strings, which he used extensively for years. Nowadays, he is using custom-made Brimstone 3-Strings.

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Hi ShaggyGreen. I feel the same way about my 3-string bass. It has a much fuller sound going up the neck and using the same strings than going across the neck (if having the added G string). Its like you are staying with the larger gage strings and like keepin' the deep, man. Plus for me, the 3-string has a nice "hand feel" in that it is easier to use chords as in occasional strumming (I use a pick), and the use of drones. Thank you for your informative post!

 

[spatters]

3 strings? Too many!

Chris Ballew played his entire career with a two-string "bass", which was a guitar with two very heavy strings tuned to drop C# and G#.

You heard him all over the radio in the 90s, in The Presidents of the United States of America.

The guitarist only strung up three strings of his guitar. Yes, that means there were only five strings in the entire band.

 

[Deleted member 349741]

3 strings? Too many!

Chris Ballew played his entire career with a two-string "bass", which was a guitar with two very heavy strings tuned to drop C# and G#.

You heard him all over the radio in the 90s, in The Presidents of the United States of America.

The guitarist only strung up three strings of his guitar. Yes, that means there were only five strings in the entire band.

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That sounds low, man. Cool!

 

[Lenny JG]

Ive been thinking if I could find a 2 or 3 string shorty and tune down to AE on 2 or AEA for a 3 it could be fun.