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Don't hold back...How do we feel about 8 string basses?
- Thread starter BobbyDevlin
- Start date
You're entitled to your opinion, but to say that the most you go with is a 5 as opposed to an 8 string (four string double course) implies that you are ignorant as to what an 8 string bass is. An octave pedal barely gets you a similar sound. A chorus pedal can get you closer. Songs like "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Achilles Last Stand", "Gonna Raise Hell", "Success Story", "Trick of the Light", "You" would hardly sound as huge as they do with an octave pedal.
What is so over complicated about a second string tuned an octave higher paired with each fundamental string? Do you feel the same way about acoustic 12-string guitars?
I wouldnt mind playing one, but have no desire to own one! Hell, its taken me 32 years to learn to play 4 string poorly!
Electricblue said:
You do know that the extra strings are an octave up, right? It doesn't sound like two basses. It sounds like a guitar is doubling your bass line. In a three piece band where the guitarist likes to take a lot of lead breaks, the sound fills the holes in the rhythm nicely.
Sounds like a good idea actually. You could even intergrate some drum heads too, so you can substitute for another instrument as well.
Nick Lowe got a nice big sound from a Hamer 8.
<sarcasm> He could have just used an octave pedal and it would have sounded the same. </sarcasm>
Engine207
Losing faith in humanity...one call at a time.
TomA1234 said:
I gassed out a year or so ago for an 8. Some time needed to be killed while Mrs.Engine spent some of my overtime money at Beds, Bath & Beyond, so I strolled into the Tempe GC. I found a cool used LTD 8 and loved the sound. Fortunately, by the time I scratched together the shekels, it was gone - because it would have been a waste of money for me.
I can see using "octaving" for parts of songs, but not really all of a song. Instead, I got me an ElectroHarmonix MicroPog. Pretty cool little box, really. I can mix octave-above or octave-below with my dry signal and change the blend ratio to suit the sound I'm chasing. The best part is that when the "non-octaved" verse comes back around, I just kick the stomp off, and I'm right back to my standard 4 (or 5).
Does it sound exactly like an 8? I dunno...probably not...but it's close enough for government work.
Exploiter8
Demons run when a good man goes to war
I use fingers about 90% of the time. When we are at the end of the night, playing LOUDER, I use a pick for that "cut through anything" tone.
X8
Tbird1958, Wooo Hooo...love the "girlie" band.... talk about brave, thought i was, until that picture.. Tips me hat to the band..Love It!
Have my bought new Ibanez MC980 with me, and like op mentioned used it for Sabbath songs in a power trio. Many was the compliment after the gigs on the bass sound. Could not play it all night, very tiring. The MC980 is a 32" scale paired octave, still have the D'addario strings on it today that i put on in 1980. Spare unopened packet of same in case...grin. Played my other basses a while back ( 4,5,6,7 string fretted, 4 and 6 string fretless ) in front of other musicians, Guess which one they choose as "amazing sound". Have a VG-99 and VB-99 paired on the stage rig, clever as the pitch shifting is on both these instruments ( and i think they are great for live work ), the old 8 string just flat out sounds different, would that i could play it as well as it sounds. Really, am an addict.... started gathering the parts for a tri-paired 6 string ( 18 stringer ). Intended doing an 8 string fretless ( paired octave ), not that good a player, mores the pity.. Faned fret 6 is on the bench in its place.... man has to know his limitations, how true is that statement.
Regards to all.
Have my bought new Ibanez MC980 with me, and like op mentioned used it for Sabbath songs in a power trio. Many was the compliment after the gigs on the bass sound. Could not play it all night, very tiring. The MC980 is a 32" scale paired octave, still have the D'addario strings on it today that i put on in 1980. Spare unopened packet of same in case...grin. Played my other basses a while back ( 4,5,6,7 string fretted, 4 and 6 string fretless ) in front of other musicians, Guess which one they choose as "amazing sound". Have a VG-99 and VB-99 paired on the stage rig, clever as the pitch shifting is on both these instruments ( and i think they are great for live work ), the old 8 string just flat out sounds different, would that i could play it as well as it sounds. Really, am an addict.... started gathering the parts for a tri-paired 6 string ( 18 stringer ). Intended doing an 8 string fretless ( paired octave ), not that good a player, mores the pity.. Faned fret 6 is on the bench in its place.... man has to know his limitations, how true is that statement.
Regards to all.
Electricblue said:
Aha! Ok. It looks like I have fed my first Troll here on Talkbass! Well, you get a little wiser every day. And by the way, John Paul Jones didn't need any drum heads.
Aha! Ok. It looks like I have fed my first Troll here on Talkbass! Well, you get a little wiser every day. And by the way, John Paul Jones didn't need any drum heads.
Yeah but "Future Man" does! We'll just get the brothers Wooten together on a single 8 string bass guitar and there you go!
Aha! Ok. It looks like I have fed my first Troll here on Talkbass! Well, you get a little wiser every day. And by the way, John Paul Jones didn't need any drum heads.
Haha, not trolling buddy. Trolls do my head in
I would hate to try lay down a good bassline and run into other strings I don't even want to play.
I suppose it depends what kind of a bassist you are. If it's for technical stuff, I would hate it. If it was for straight rootnotes, maybe not so bad.
Exactly.
I never use mine for anything complicated, but it really shines on simpler rock tunes.
I always play with only one guitarist, and the 8 fills out the sound nicely, especially during guitar solos.
8's and 12's both have their place. Just different instruments with their own
unique sounds. Both sound cool.
unique sounds. Both sound cool.
I bought a 12 string (4x3) a few years back. It was a Galveston one but it was nice. It had a great sound and I liked the string spacing on it. but... I couldn't adjust to the 4x3 setup. It killed my fretting hand, I tried for months thinking I could adapt to it but I couldn't.
I turned it into an 8 string (4x2) and it was awesome. It still had that similar sound (obviously it wasn't the same as a 12 but it was still a good sound) and my fretting hand had no problems with it.
I got busy with other things in life and lost interest in bass for awhile. So I sold it to a pawnshop. I'm back into bass again and I think my next purchase will be an 8 string.
I turned it into an 8 string (4x2) and it was awesome. It still had that similar sound (obviously it wasn't the same as a 12 but it was still a good sound) and my fretting hand had no problems with it.
I got busy with other things in life and lost interest in bass for awhile. So I sold it to a pawnshop. I'm back into bass again and I think my next purchase will be an 8 string.
I love my 8. I never see anyone else in town using one, so it's a unique sound in more than one way.
I've wanted an 8 string since I heard "Trick of the Light" by The Who and "Achilles Last Stand" by Led Zeppelin. Of course, all the Cheap Trick work by Tom Peterson was pretty impressive sounding too. There have been others, of course.
Tom played a 12 string. Once I got to try one, I realized that it worked better in his band than it would in mine: it's a lot harder to riff on one of those. And this has come up in the discussion. Some guys think that 8s would sound good only for root notes. Sure, but only if that's all you can play. But with a 12 I generally stay with the roots, with an 8 I can do anything that I can do on a single course instrument. Yes, I use a pick for the 8. I can fingerstyle it, but I like the sound and feel better with a pick.
Interestingly, when I play acoustic guitar, I prefer 12 string particularly with slack key Hawaiian songs. I love to hear someone else shred the 6 string but I like to back them up with a 12er. So 8 string bass feel natural to me.
Does it work for everything? Of course not. Neither does a fretless, right? Showing up to a blues gig with an 8 string is like trying to match a wine to a peanut butter sandwich. Yes it can be done, but what's the point? But you can use it in a lot more applications than most people think. And nothing else sounds like it! No, not an octave pedal. No not a "four strings are all I need" P bass.
Not a Rhythm Guitar Player (god forbid). It just sounds so cool when you bust it out.
Music that bores me sounds more interesting on an 8 string. This is how I get through gigs playing Foo Fighters or other things that require second guitars.
Ok - here's what I really like with a 8 string: Chorus pedal.
And that cool VT bass pedal from Tech 21.
How about you?
The world of bass is so broad what with the styles of music created every day, the tones as a palette, the techniques applied, the technology available. The 8 string is, among others, another great way to express yourself and serve the music that we all love to create. I wouldn't feel that I'm a "complete" bass player without one.
Your mileage may vary of course....
I've wanted an 8 string since I heard "Trick of the Light" by The Who and "Achilles Last Stand" by Led Zeppelin. Of course, all the Cheap Trick work by Tom Peterson was pretty impressive sounding too. There have been others, of course.
Tom played a 12 string. Once I got to try one, I realized that it worked better in his band than it would in mine: it's a lot harder to riff on one of those. And this has come up in the discussion. Some guys think that 8s would sound good only for root notes. Sure, but only if that's all you can play. But with a 12 I generally stay with the roots, with an 8 I can do anything that I can do on a single course instrument. Yes, I use a pick for the 8. I can fingerstyle it, but I like the sound and feel better with a pick.
Interestingly, when I play acoustic guitar, I prefer 12 string particularly with slack key Hawaiian songs. I love to hear someone else shred the 6 string but I like to back them up with a 12er. So 8 string bass feel natural to me.
Does it work for everything? Of course not. Neither does a fretless, right? Showing up to a blues gig with an 8 string is like trying to match a wine to a peanut butter sandwich. Yes it can be done, but what's the point? But you can use it in a lot more applications than most people think. And nothing else sounds like it! No, not an octave pedal. No not a "four strings are all I need" P bass.
Not a Rhythm Guitar Player (god forbid). It just sounds so cool when you bust it out. Music that bores me sounds more interesting on an 8 string. This is how I get through gigs playing Foo Fighters or other things that require second guitars.
Ok - here's what I really like with a 8 string: Chorus pedal.
And that cool VT bass pedal from Tech 21.
How about you?
The world of bass is so broad what with the styles of music created every day, the tones as a palette, the techniques applied, the technology available. The 8 string is, among others, another great way to express yourself and serve the music that we all love to create. I wouldn't feel that I'm a "complete" bass player without one.
Your mileage may vary of course....
I love my 8-string basses. I've managed to sneak at least one 8-string track onto 95% of the recording projects I've been involved with over the past ~20 years...you whip that sucker out in the studio and someone is bound to go
"*** izat?!?! Must hear!"
"*** izat?!?! Must hear!"
