I'm a bluegrass banjo picker who, apparently like others here, has always been intrigued with the upright bass. I play in a local bluegrass band and also host a weekly bluegrass jam in northern Utah county. I'm the only one in the band who can't play bass, something I'm going to remedy.
I just purchased a 1942 Kay M-1. It has steel strings and what I think is a Slowey aluminum bridge. No markings on it but it looks just like the pictures of Sloweys that I found on this forum. Stan Hooper, the luthier at Peter Prier, is planing the fingerboard, adjusting the nut, and doing a bit of cleanup on some bare spots on the edges. Hope to get it back this week.
I've looked at various instructional DVDs and decided on Todd Phillips' set. He seems to spend more time on technique. From my banjo days, I've learned painfully that getting correct technique down first is a lot smarter than trying to fix bad habits later. I've also signed up for Trisha Gagnon's beginning bass class at the bluegrass camp that precedes the festival at Grass Valley in June. With that and help from my friends, I'm hoping to get off to a good start.
Look forward to participating here.
Keith
I just purchased a 1942 Kay M-1. It has steel strings and what I think is a Slowey aluminum bridge. No markings on it but it looks just like the pictures of Sloweys that I found on this forum. Stan Hooper, the luthier at Peter Prier, is planing the fingerboard, adjusting the nut, and doing a bit of cleanup on some bare spots on the edges. Hope to get it back this week.
I've looked at various instructional DVDs and decided on Todd Phillips' set. He seems to spend more time on technique. From my banjo days, I've learned painfully that getting correct technique down first is a lot smarter than trying to fix bad habits later. I've also signed up for Trisha Gagnon's beginning bass class at the bluegrass camp that precedes the festival at Grass Valley in June. With that and help from my friends, I'm hoping to get off to a good start.
Look forward to participating here.
Keith
