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Classical bass guitar
- Thread starter Hallic
- Start date
That’s BWV 1010, Bourrée I from Cello Suite No. 4.
The really famous one is the e minor one, BWV 996, from Lute Suite No. 1
I’ve played the second one but not on the contra guitar. I’d love to try it as a duet with the contra guitar.
Love the Jethro Tull cover, too, of course!
Haha, yes! I haven't listened to that in a while.
6.6 million views, wow.
Bach's music has been transcribed for so many different instruments that it is everywhere.
My teacher got back from traveling and asked how I was coming along with the first Cello Suite, BWV 1007, on the contra guitar. Alas, I am nowhere, but I have a better shot at it on this instrument than I do on the cello!
I'd kill for tab of the bass solo riff in the center of that (the double-stop stuff).
Got most of it by ear from memory, but that part has always eluded me...Thanks.
While we're on the subject, you may have checked out the Sarabande from the 5th. One lugubrious piece, but with a 3 octive spread it might be a candidate for the contra bass.
Funny you mention that because I am working on that Sarabande on the classical guitar, where it is BWV 995. Bach transcribed it himself for the lute from BWV 1011. See: Suite in G minor, BWV 995 - Wikipedia
It is an achingly beautiful piece, so spare, and, yes, melancholy.
Here is Jason Vieaux performing it:
Most of it looks doable on the contra guitar but I have not tried it yet. Look at 2:19 in the video, though. He does a funny stretch with his thumb on the F#on the sixth string, all the way to the C natural on the first string. The F# is a quarter note and is supposed to be held over the eighth note C natural.
Here is the measure:
Well, there is no way I'm going to be able to do that on the contra guitar!
The Esteve PS75 is great. Are there any classical 4 string bass guitars on the market that are a bit cheaper? The Esteve is great but hard to find and fairly expensive.
To be honest, I've never seen any other 75cm four string bass guitars cheaper than the Esteve. I doubt there is much of a market for them which is why they're built as a custom item by luthiers, for a lot more money. You can order the Esteve directly from Spain but it will still cost you a couple of grand. Check Reverb for used ones, sometimes they show up on there.
I have never seen another 90cm six string contrabass for sale anywhere. Please post a link if you find one.
I imagine they're built to order and only come on the market when someone goes bust or dies... ...I'm just happy to know they exist!
Wow, twelve pounds! I think my good classical guitars weigh about four, haha. I wouldn't put that beast on an ergoplay either.
Definitely watch out for those hip joints! I played cello for a few songs at church last week and wore pants that didn't have quite enough give. I definitely felt it the next day... Getting older sucks!
I think you're on the right track with the tripod idea. Let us know how it works out!
Yeah, I think my classical guitars are only four or five pounds. This thing is an elephant in comparison.
The latest thinking on the tripod is as follows:
I will try to get a custom head/cradle made from here:
Invalid Link Removed
without any clamps on the soundboard, and mount it on a computer monitor arm, like this one:
http://loctek.us/products/monitor-mounts/loctek-desk-mount-monitor-swing-arm-w-usb-d7a/
which will support up to 19 pounds,
and mount that arm on a tripod, like the ones shown on the Viking website, I suppose.
All suggestions or thoughts welcome.
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I imagine they're built to order and only come on the market when someone goes bust or dies... ...I'm just happy to know they exist!
Haha, yeah, but somebody must have these contra guitars in order for Hannabach to sell strings for 90cm scale.
So, I have the guys at Hannabach looking into whether I can use some other string for the high E string. My teacher suggested getting something that had more brilliance, brighter. The string does sound a bit dull to me. The second string, the B string, is awesome.
Surprisingly, my teacher was impressed with close intervals on the low strings and is excited to arrange music that includes the contra guitar.
I'd be willing to try a different wound string or a nylon-only string for the high E. As far as I know, in the classical guitar world, all strings are nylon strings because they all have a nylon core. A guy on the classical guitar forum is sending me some 40lb, 50lb, and 60lb fishing line but I am a bit worried about the tension. I think the high E string is under about 16 pounds of tension on a 65cm regular classical guitar but I have no idea what it would be on a 90cm scale guitar.
I am waiting for the product manager from Hannabach to give me his opinion. They seem more than willing to work with individual players. They asked me what was missing in the string, what I wanted, and how I tuned it, in Hertz.
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The high E from the Hannabach Invalid Link Removed is .0338 gauge. I don't have a not-installed classical guitar string handy at the moment, so I don't know if their typical winding length would be long enough to reach the rightmost tuner on your specific contra. If they are, while you wait for an answer from the horse's mouth you could get a bunch of standard guitar A strings and/or extra-hard D strings and experiment.
A word of caution (so to speak - there's no risk involved): don't expect monofilament strings to necessarily sound brighter just because they are used as trebles in sets: they might, they might not. For example, I've recently learnt that there's a Savarez set with all-wound (!) strings, the 520P1. Reviews say they're grippier, squeakier but actually brighter than normal trebles.
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HOWEVER!
On second thoughts, there may be something to that .0338 string. Using a guitar A string tuned to its usual tension on an instrument which has essentially 5 frets' worth of extra scale length (actually almost 6) what you'd get would be an E2, not the desired E3. Tuning further up until you hit the octave up E would mean 4 times the tension, i.e. about 60 pounds! (In theory, that is: the string would probably break well before reaching the target note.)
In other words, the original Hannabach high E is in every likelihood less massive than a standard A of similar gauge, with some detail in its construction increasing the diameter but not adding significant weight.
I'd revise my suggestion above, and point toward a standard guitar G string (either plain or silver-wound, or even plastic-wound like the aforementioned Invalid Link Removed).
That's kind of what I feared. I don't think any standard guitar string would give me enough extra length to string it on a 90cm instrument. 65cm to 90cm is a pretty big jump. I will need to get a string custom cut by the manufacturer. Manufacturers aren't in the business of selling extra long strings that would just get clipped shorter, with the extra thrown away.
I know that Peter Constant buys custom length strings from Hannabach for his 88cm four string bass.
I'll just have to see what they come up with. Oh, Hannabach also asked me how long the string should be for me to be able to string it. I said 100 or 110cm should be enough.
I wonder if Savarez sells custom length strings. They don't sell any 90cm strings, do they?
Eeeh... Ya never know. Electric guitar strings, for example, are wound up to 38" by some manufacturers (D'Addario, GHS and others) for no reason that I can surmise. And I mean normal strings, not only those from baritone or archtop guitar sets. If you have a standard classical set laying around, try and measure the G and D. I can't guarantee it will be enough for your present need, but as for waste of string, there definitely is some. Ha, it might turn out it would have been be enough if you had gotten a 75cm scale contrabass.
Eeeh... Ya never know. Electric guitar strings, for example, are wound up to 38" by some manufacturers (D'Addario, GHS and others) for no reason that I can surmise. And I mean normal strings, not only those from baritone or archtop guitar sets. If you have a standard classical set laying around, try and measure the G and D. I can't guarantee it will be enough for your present need, but as for waste of string, there definitely is some. Ha, it might turn out it would have been be enough if you had gotten a 75cm scale contrabass.
Haha! Well, I actually looked into buying a 75cm scale contrabass and even contacted the people who import them from Spain but a friend of mine in the trio I played in said he did not like the sound of them. After that, I found the videos of the 90cm guitar I posted earlier in the thread and fell in love with the sound.
I can't wait to try some ensemble work with this guitar. At the moment, it seems like everyone is out of town.
My recollection of the length of the strings from restringing my classical guitars is that they won't reach but I will look.
I did find the remnants of a D'Addario EJ44 set. I've measured both a plain (G) and a wound (low E) string, and both are about 101cm long. I admit 11cm is not a lot to work with if you have to tie both ends, to the tie block and the nearest tuner, so it might be a chore, but... yah, just FYI.
I did find the remnants of a D'Addario EJ44 set. I've measured both a plain (G) and a wound (low E) string, and both are about 101cm long. I admit 11cm is not a lot to work with if you have to tie both ends, to the tie block and the nearest tuner, so it might be a chore, but... yah, just FYI.
Thanks, yeah, I don't think that's enough string to make it. Now, I realize I told them that I needed only 100 or 110cm but I'll probably need more. I asked the guy how long their high E string was in the set, whatever that is will be fine. I'll take one out and measure it. I've been stockpiling them, I have four sets. Maybe I should buy more in case they stop selling them over the counter. ;-)
