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"Jaco BOD (action) - Anybody know?
- Thread starter Introvox
- Start date
I would naturally assume low action, only becuase it was a fretless, so he didn't have to worry about fretbuzz, so it wouldn't really be nessicary to set it up so high. That and having it lower would make it easier to play that many notes and slides and stuff. But thats just what I assume.
I played Jaco's bass for a couple of minutes once during one of the several lessons I had with him. The action was not really low in my estimation, but on the lower side...not stand-up like! I like my action very low and his was definitely a bit more of a challenge for me. His neck felt really fast...easy to play. His hands were extremely strong. When you shook hands you would feel as if he could crush your hand in the shake.
thats funny that you say that because when i listen to most of his recordings where he is playing longer notes there is quite a bit of buzz, and i was of the belief that to get that jaco fretless tone you would need newish strings and a low action
maybe he had a way of getting that out of his hands or maybe he changed his setup as he progessed through his career, but as was said above, i guess we will never know for sure.
Dave
maybe he had a way of getting that out of his hands or maybe he changed his setup as he progessed through his career, but as was said above, i guess we will never know for sure.
Dave
fretless Bob said:
His action wasn't so high as to not get the growl. Just higher than what I enjoy and consider to be low fretless action. Also, the epoxy coating he used helped a lot in getting that growl even without very, very low action.
Also, my impression is that he plucked harder...getting more string movement and because of this would get more growl in spite of having a bit higher action.
Lastly, you are probably right about changing his setup..even if he didn't do it himself or if it was done simply due to the weather! I have heard him live and recordings/vids of his bass when it didn't seem to growl as much when other times it growled like a monster.
AndroWal said:
that all makes sense, man i bet it was great to get lessons from the man himself
Dave
Don't know about the BOD, but if you watch him setting up the instrument on the instructional vid at the beginning, he seemed to favor a pretty much medium action - nothing notable one way or the other.
Oh, and when he plays Jemmott's fretless, the low action on that almost seems to mute his playing. He seems to me to be really being careful with the low action there.
Oh, and when he plays Jemmott's fretless, the low action on that almost seems to mute his playing. He seems to me to be really being careful with the low action there.
fretless Bob said:
It was a great experience. I wasn't completely up to the task at the time and only took several. He was teaching at the Drummer's Collective in NYC and I had to travel a way for each lesson. I was a bit intimidated as you can imagine! I was shaking during the first lesson to be there with "the" bass god. He was in a relatively good space as he had recently gotten out of Bellvue and was pretty mellow. He taught me quite a few patterns that I continue to hear him having used in different recordings. What made the greatest impression was how he held his instrument and the technique in his hands. His articulation was just perfect. His hands so strong. The bends of his fingers so perfectly shaped to execute his musicality. Just to watch him up-close was the bulk of the lessons.
AndroWal said:
are you one of a very few people to ever get lessons with him or did he teach quite often?
Dave
fretless Bob said:
I don't know the true count of how many took lessons with him at the Drummer's Collective, but from things he said, my impression is that he didn't have a full schedule. Interesting, Percy Jones was teaching there at the same time.
I have heard Jaco also taught in Florida at times in his career.
I had a chance to play his fretless while guarding it for him backstage while he soundchecked with the fretted one before a show with Herbie Hancock in early 1977.
It had very low action.
I also hung out with him for about an hour. He showed me how to play "Portrait of Tracy" and some other stuff, but my most vivid memory is of him whipping through "Chromatic Fantasy" to warm up, and telling me, "Man, I can't pull off half the stuff I used to... I don't get to practice these days..."
It had very low action.
I also hung out with him for about an hour. He showed me how to play "Portrait of Tracy" and some other stuff, but my most vivid memory is of him whipping through "Chromatic Fantasy" to warm up, and telling me, "Man, I can't pull off half the stuff I used to... I don't get to practice these days..."
In his video he talks a little about practicing a good bit on a fretted bass because if he practiced on his fretless the neck would be destroyed. I am thinking he may have used round wounds or semi-flats and not flats or tape wound strings. A good bit of his growl could have come from this as well. I am doing what I can to pull harmonics out of a fretted bass with round wounds. I can't imagine pulling them from a fretless with tape wounds.
dougjwray said:
that thing about him not practising is absolutely crazy man,
the guys that had a chance to meet him when he was young were priviledged.
Dave
He used Rotosound Swing Bass strings (roundwound stainless steel).
A big part of his growly tone was in fact the buzz of the strings against the fingerboard, thanks to the low action, very bright (and rough) strings and the hard surface of the fingerboard (boat epoxy, etc.).
A big part of his growly tone was in fact the buzz of the strings against the fingerboard, thanks to the low action, very bright (and rough) strings and the hard surface of the fingerboard (boat epoxy, etc.).
bucephylus said:
That's strange because I've read that Jerry Jemmott prefers high action as he started on upright.
tightbidness said:
ive heard that too, but watching that DVD it does appear to have quite low action, and when Jerry plays it there is tons of buzzing.
Dave
