I noticed from old recordings of mine…my piccolo bass sounded very much like a piano. When I plucked chords.
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Piccolo Bass Club!!
- Thread starter BassClef 2010
- Start date
Hi all, just wanted to chime in and mention that I recently got an Ibanez MiKro fiver (NBD here) that I've strung up like a 5-string cello (C2-G2-D3-A3-E4). I think that qualifies as some sort of piccolo tuning, even though it's in all fifths vs. regular fourths. I used Stringjoy guitar strings, gauges and tension numbers here for anyone interested.
It sounds very much like a guitar and functions as one, but given that the original instrument was marketed as a bass, maybe it can still claim the title of "piccolo bass."
It sounds very much like a guitar and functions as one, but given that the original instrument was marketed as a bass, maybe it can still claim the title of "piccolo bass."
I restrung my Squier Jazz Bass (my first ever bass) as a piccolo bass last year and I fell in love! This bass was seldom being used before the change and now I'm using it as a substitute for a regular guitar. I even sold my tenor guitar recently because my Squier Jazz piccolo sounds and feels better to me.
Now add some distortion to the piccolo bass and the sound is absolutely magical!
Now add some distortion to the piccolo bass and the sound is absolutely magical!
I love using this with my restrung Mikro. I was playing around with the Hammond organ effect and started playing the opening to 'Space Truckin' and it sounds awesome! Really cool effects.
My favorite distortion pedal is the Aguilar Agro. I got one for X-Mas last year and I love it! It makes my piccolo bass sound like a guitar, which is essential for the heavier music I'm writing and recording lately.
I've never played on Aguilar pedals, but wanting to. Love their pickups
My Agro is actually my first ever pedal after playing bass for almost 14 years! I wanted it because of sound samples I heard on YouTube and because of Aguilar's great reputation as a pickup and pedal manufacturer.
Cool! I've been thinking about getting a Portamento 4 string because I want a fretless bass in my life.
My piccolo is my Squier Jazz Bass, which has a 34" scale and piccolo strings. It's as big as my other basses.
Yes! A piccolo bass club! Where have I been all this time?
Anyway, cool to see that this club exists. I've been trying to find a right combination for my own piccolo, which I finally have.
Here's my 33" scale Skjold Zia 5 tuned A-D-G-C-F, so imagine a 7-string bass, with only the higher five strings.
Anyway, cool to see that this club exists. I've been trying to find a right combination for my own piccolo, which I finally have.
Here's my 33" scale Skjold Zia 5 tuned A-D-G-C-F, so imagine a 7-string bass, with only the higher five strings.
Great sound.
Low traffic thread. But I've always been a big believer in quality not quantity.
If any one has made up their 'ideal' custom set for doing piccoloooing on a 34 incher could they pop a post up.
In an odd turn of events, I have my sixer tuned in fifths again (CGDAEB) while my fiver MiKro is still tuned to cello pitch CGDAE. The top 4 strings of the sixer (DAEB) are well within piccolo bass territory, so this gives me a chance to compare two different ways to achieve piccolo tunings: short scale with low tension vs. long scale with high tension. To me the MiKro is more "tinny" while the sixer is more "fruity," and so far I'm liking "fruity" a lot more than "tinny."
The D'Addario piccolo strings are the only ones I found on the internet when I converted my Jazz Bass to a piccolo, so that's what I bought. I found out about the GHS set later on. There just aren't that many piccolo string options out there.
@Brian Bromberg uses LaBella Piccolo Bass strings and plays them on three different 32” scale basses.
Brian Bromberg tunes his piccolo basses ADGC and the last time I looked I could not find the piccolo sets on the LaBella site. I have two basses tuned that way one of my Carvins and a med scale cheapo ABG.
I also looked on LaBella's site and I couldn't find any piccolo strings. Their regular White and Black tapewounds are great for E Standard tuning.
Me 3…would sure like try them! Their website navigation seems very antiquated. I enjoy LaBella strings though…just can’t find all offerings easily.
Things that make you go HHHHHMmmmm????
maybe demand dropped below a certain threshold? Hopefully @Brian Bromberg can shed some light on this?
maybe demand dropped below a certain threshold? Hopefully @Brian Bromberg can shed some light on this?
