Let's spread some musical misinformation

[Atshen]

Claims that "All strings are made in the same factory!" is utter nonsense. Each type is made in a different locale.

Flat wounds, regardless of manufacturer, are made in a small flat in East Sussex, hence their name.

Similarly, ground wounds are all made on a farm just outside of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, by rolling the strings on the ground until sufficiently abraded. Groundhogs are rubbed over the strings and if the fur snags, the strings are ground some more until the fine hairs of the groundhog do not catch.

Hex wounds are made in Haiti by voodoo priests.

Peculiarly, round-wounds have nothing to do with their shape, they're just made in Rwanda and the name over time has become transfigured.

Interesting. What about coated strings? And tapewounds? And gut strings for upright?

 

[Atshen]

Axl Rose is a talented, thoughtful vocalist.

Montrealers LOOOOOVVVEEE Axl Rose.

 

[zontar]

Axl has a cousin named Driveshaft Tulip-he's a one man band.

 

[Feral Feline]

Interesting. What about coated strings? And tapewounds? And gut strings for upright?

All strings are coated, some of the coating (ie silks) are removed with a small amount of silk remaining (strings are modest after all, and won't go totally nude). These silk coats are made in Andhra Pradesh, very colourful and stylish.

Tapewounds are another type of string whose name devolved from the original meaning. So it should come as no surprise that tapewounds are derived from "tapeworms", and harvested mainly from rural children just outside Abidjan, la Côte d’Ivoire.

Gut strings are derived from ... Tennis Rackets. Yes, after a natural gut-string tennis racket has lost its "bounce" the strings are removed, and replaced with fresh gut strings. The removed strings from the racket may be "dead" by tennis standards, but after weaving, winding and twirling them together, they have enough elasticity left for all manner of instruments, but are most sonorous on double-basses. Oh, and they are made in Catagniny, Germany (hence, of course, the term "catgut").

Any other string questions anyone may have, I'm only too happy to answer. I'll be here all week...

 

[Feral Feline]

PS: If a string breaks and there are no music stores near your gig, find the nearest supermarket, string-cheese will do in a pinch!

 

[Kragnorak]

Sick of their hippie image, Ben and Jerry's announced that they will discontinue some of their flavors in order to gain punk credibility. New flavors include Jello Biafra, Cherry Only (replacing Cherry Garcia), Minor Treat, Johnny Rotten Banana, Chocolate Chip Vicious, Peppermint Patti Smith, etc..

 

[zontar]

It's not widely known but many of the solos on Steely Dan albums were played by Peewee Herman, Carrot Top & Gilbert Gottfried.
And Fred Gwynne played bass on many of their hits.

 

[Jay2U]

The Warner Bros Merrie Melodies & Looney Tunes themes were composed and performed by Bucks Bunny himself.

 

[wraub]

If you break a string in the forest, and no one hears it, you're still gonna need a new string.

 

[Feral Feline]

Sick of their hippie image, Ben and Jerry's announced that they will discontinue some of their flavors in order to gain punk credibility. New flavors include Jello Biafra, Cherry Only (replacing Cherry Garcia), Minor Treat, Johnny Rotten Banana, Chocolate Chip Vicious, Peppermint Patti Smith, etc..

I scream, you scream, we all scream for punk scream!

Sorry, I don't melt out munch...

 

[zontar]

A capella music originated after Pete Townshend smashed all his family's instruments-although he did try to smash their voices.

 

[pklima]

The Eagles used to live in a hotel in California. Then they checked out, left, gave up music entirely, moved to Philadelphia and became a football team instead.

 

[frnjplayer]

A capella music originated after Pete Townshend smashed all his family's instruments-although he did try to smash their voices.

Wasn't that the first time he used a compressor?

 

[Jay2U]

 

[Tom Bomb]

If you are playing chords on any kind of bass when the wind changes, you will immediately become a guitarist, forever. Be warned!

 

[Jay2U]

If you are playing chords on any kind of bass when the wind changes, you will immediately become a guitarist, forever. Be warned!

Some 'winds' will cause you to play brown notes and chords. This comes with another curse. You'll be playing 50 year old flatwounds forever, whatever you do, try or buy.

 

[zontar]

Wasn't that the first time he used a compressor?

I thought it was a compactor...

 

[Tom Bomb]

Some 'winds' will cause you to play brown notes and chords. This comes with another curse. You'll be playing 50 year old flatwounds forever, whatever you do, try or buy.

Ahhhh! Yes! That struck a chord. I think I know what you're getting at with the breeze and brown notes. We, and by that I mean my wives and I, were talking about this down the pub over a few dozen cleansing ales, just the other day, as it happens. It seems you can increase your chances tenfold by setting up downwind of an industrial scale commercial dairy. I say that's a cow of an idea. Give me a chicken shack any day.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

It is a good idea to rub back of the neck of your bass with pine tar. It keeps your thumb from slipping off when your hands get sweaty.

 

[Ironbar]

Why doesn't anyone light their guitars on fire like Jimi Hendrix did? It's positively the best way to warm up before a gig.