• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Steve Swallow's basses?

#84
The other night I came home from a gig in time to catch Steve, on French TV, with John S. from a live show at the Bluenote and though I've always liked Steve's earlier sounds, the Gibson's 'donk' and the Parkers 'sharp though somewhat shallow smoothness' on TV his new bass had neither. More a 'hollow glunk', I'm afraid. Though, as we all know the bass sound is the first to suck once it reaches the 'little screen' I kind'a got tired of trying to tune into it and had to turn it off. Sad was I cause I'm a big Steve S. fan. There are few bassists that can make chromatic lines breath like Steve S.
 
#85
yeah, he's a great player no doubt.

The Cd I ordered a few pages back arrived some time ago, I really dig it. Only 3 steve bass solos alas.
Speaking of his solo, I transcribed his blues solo on Trio! Live and listening to the video I can hear "His sound" more clearly, the lines he uses and how he forms them.

Great distinctive voice.
 
#86
Boy, oh boy! Great to read this thread! Swallow's just a class act...player's player. I moved to Boston in the mid '70's and being involved with Berklee guys, naturally saw Steve in various groups. Yup, Burton, Goodrick, Metheny, Kuhn, etc. I remember one night at the Zircon...Metheny,Swallow and Bobby Moses...they were kickin'! I'm REAL glad to see Froc Fillipetti mentioned early on. I went to see him when I decided to try building my first bass in '80, expecting him to divulge all the secrets and black magic science of lutherie. His take was to just do it, your mistakes will teach you! I was mad at him at first for what I initially took to be puttin' me off....turned out to be the best advice to give! I've sure made mistakes, but it's a valued learning experience! He did tell me one thing I believe is true, "A light guitar is the right guitar!". Thanks Froc! And thanks to Mr. Swallow for the music1
 
  • Like
Reactions: Seth Miller
#91
DaveBeny said:
From my personal jazz video stash, here's Steve S and Carla Bley playing 'Houses and People' as a duo in 1989:

Click to expand...


Yeah!
I saw them about this time. Might have been the same tour.
It was a small club venue and a perfect setting. Even though I knew a heck of a lot less about bass then than know, I came away knowing I'd had one of the musical experiences of a life time.
 
#94
Steve is currently playing a Citron AE5 Swallow. It is the fifth bass I've built for him. Each bass has been an improvement on the previous model. We started with my AE5, a 2 1/2" thick almost completely hollow Mahogany body with a Spruce top, and a laminated Mahogany/Maple/Mahogany neck with an Ebony fingerboard. It had both one Magnetic pickup and piezo with discreet eq for both, and a unique wooden bridge with intonation adjustable bone saddles and 36" scale.
The second bass eliminated the magnetic pickups as we refined the piezo circuit and bridge, and moved to six piezos with three buffer circuits. Steve wanted separate volume control over the C, A-G strings, and E-string. I added graphite to the neck because the neck was so narrow, which stabalized it since he moved around so much with his constant travel. I used Pau Ferro for the fingerboard to make the sound a bit warmer. I built Steve a new neck later for that bass that was one-piece Mahogany with a Rosewood fingerboard, that was also a bit deeper than the previous neck. It gave him a warmer sound.
On bass #3, the newer neck from #2 was used and a new body was built with an X braced top, and the controls in the upper horn under a Rosewood pickguard.
Bass #4 We made the body 3" thick. This was a beauty, the tone so rich and warm. It just had a single volume control, and had the eq buried in the control cavity.
Bass #5- the current bass- we made the internal hollow cavity a bit larger by making the control compartment in the upper horn smaller, added an integral sound post which evened out the notes on the C-string, used larger bone saddles which improved the tone, and switched to a Rosewood subsaddle. I also added separate battery holders that slip out of the back for the 18 volt system.

It has been a fabulous work in progress. Working with Steve has been pure joy. He stimulates me to come up with new ideas, and try new things. He often comes up with great new ideas, and we try them out.

Harvey S. Citron www.citron-guitars.com
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bob_Ross, jafp, MrWalker and 1 other person
#96
DaveBeny said:
I've spent today listening to an audience recording of Mick's duet concert with Pat Metheny at last year's Montreal Jazz Fest. Absolutely SICK! Mostly a set of standards, with (keeping this post slightly on topic) Swallow's 'Falling Grace' in there too.

I keep Mick's book 'The Advancing Guitarist' close to hand at all times now. I've been concentrating on guitar recently, but Mick's book has a lot of ideas that are equally applicable to the bass.
Click to expand...

I studied with Ross Adams, a student of Mick's and Charlie Banacos, and learned more from him in the first 8 weeks than I did in 8 semesters at Berklee. He taught me a lot of material that was in the Advancing Guitarist long before the book came out. I was appalled that I hadn't been presented with this material so clearly in the time I was at Berklee (early 80s). I get any guitarist/bassist I know to get Mick's book.

Edwin
 
  • Like
Reactions: Seth Miller
#97
I saw Steve last year in Seattle with John Abercrombie. I think he is the most melodic and lyrical electric bass player I've seen live. There are others who are flashier and showier, but Steve seemed to me to be very restrained.
His playing was for me the high point of the show. He is incredibly steady and yes, he gets that amazing unique full sound with a copper pick!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back