Piccolo Bass Club!!

[BassClef 2010]

No one around here really talks about the piccolo, so I made a club out of it. Post pics and share about your piccolo bass!
I think that the piccolo is a beautiful sounding instrument.

Good example.

 

[gold_member_321]

I had one of my Arias strung up Piccolo for a while. It's fun to mess around on by yourself with a loop station/pedal. After a few months of messing around with it I decided it just wasn't as satisfying. Pretty fun though.

 

[toddsterbassist]

I've been writing songs on mine for quite a while.

 

[Luka38]

i would love to know more about piccolo bass, please tell me
is it the same construction as the normal bass but with thinner strings?
i love it's sound!

 

[Hoover]

I used to play piccolo bass (had an S.D.Curlee temporarily strung up as a piccolo, and then had a Gibson EB-0 permanatly modded into a full time piccolo) but it really only got used in the studio so it wasn't practical to keep one in my arsenal.

 

[Meddle]

5 posts and no mention of Manowar? This needs rectified!

 

[Demonator]

I think I heard a joke a long time ago about a guitar (electric guitar not bass) being a short scale piccolo bass.

 

[Vakmere]

Jeff Schmidt is a good example of playing piccolo. It's nice to have a little more range to ones play. It's the setting up of the bass that takes some careful attention. I'm getting a Pentabuzz soon and would like to string it up piccolo. I cant do it since I am not familiar with nut cutting and the other adjustments necessary to string it up. But I will investigate it and try.

 

[ysand]

I've made my first bass a piccolo bass in order to have a reason to play with it hehe
It's a fun instrument i must say, nor a bass neither a guitar. Needs VERY good technique to make it shine though, smth i lack :/

 

[lug]

I've owned this EBO since the early 70's. The first time I ever got a useful sound out of it was when I switched it over to piccolo!

 

[tomshad]

I have a Pedulla Buzz bass from 80s string as piccolo . You can hear it at Link Removed "for her" and "starling"

 

[PauFerro]

Here is my piccolo bass...it's my fav instrument right now. Just finished a first rehearsal with a new band, and the piccolo will figure in it as a solo instrument, melody instrument, along with my regular four string bass....

 

[Basshappi]

Great pics bwardmusic.
As I mentioned in your thread, I have a Warwick Rockbass Corvette 4 strung piccolo.
Here it is.

 

[PauFerro]

Nice! I built a Warwick Streamer for a professional player -- a knock off years ago. Always liked the chunky looks of the Warwick style of basses.

 

[Joshua Pickenpaugh]

subbed.

 

[Indiedog]

Holy resuscitated Thread, Batman!

But seriously, I am enchanted with piccolos lately (due to the great video by Miguelbass where he plays the Chris Squire piccolo bass line from Yes' "Be the One"). I have ordered some D'addarios and plan to "go piccolo")

Are there other folks actively playing piccolo bass currently?

(Oh, there is a companion video piece by Miguel Falcao...he did a tutorial vid to show us how he figured out the odd tuning that Squire used on "Be the One." It is quite valuable.)

 

[Bill Thompson]

The bass that I have that subs as a piccolo is my Kramer "Duke". This one spends most of it's time as a travel bass because of it's small size. Mods have been the installation of a DiMarzio Split P pickup in the neck position and shutting off one of the J pickups. The pickup closest to the bridge is on, the other is off, so it's a P/J setup. It has two volumes and a pickup selector switch. Also added was a leg rest from Steinberger. Those who have heard it as a piccolo say it sounds Strat-like. Cheers. ;^D. P.S. It's the one in the middle.

What do you get when you cross Felix the Cat with the rock group KISS? Why Felix the KISS....

 

[Indiedog]

Looks like you are gunning for a unique approach to bass playing there!

 

[Bill Thompson]

Looks like you are gunning for a unique approach to bass playing there!

Weapon of Mass Destruction!!!!!

 

[jmetcher]

I never found a six that I liked the sound of (or even a five, for that matter), so to scratch that extended range itch I put a tentative and expendable toe into the piccolo waters with one of these restrung to piccolo:

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Yep, the basic model from one of the more basic brands (this is the Cort "Action" series - the keyword, according to Cort, is "affordable"). Weird thing is, all the things that make this a crap bass - lightweight spongy body, anemic pickups, no electronics to speak of, tinfoil bridge - seem to combine to make a really sweet piccolo sound. This baby sings! To my ear, it craps all over the upper register sound of, say, a Warwick Thumb 6 or a Yamaha TRB 6.

This budget miracle has somewhat deflated my anticipated upgrade GAS, but in compensation, the world of reverbs, chorusers, harmonizers etc etc now beckons...