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Double Bass What Blonde Bass is...

B

Barron

Oct 23, 2008
133
1
Atlanta
#1
...Avery Sharpe playing in this video?




A fabulous no-prize to the correct answer.


Plus a discussion topic: this blonde sounds fantastic, don't you agree? Why do we not see more of these types of doublebasses used in acoustic jazz?
 
#2
Barron said:
...Avery Sharpe playing in this video?

YouTube - McCoy Tyner Trio - Monk's Dream


A fabulous no-prize to the correct answer.


Plus a discussion topic: this blonde sounds fantastic, don't you agree? Why do we not see more of these types of doublebasses used in acoustic jazz?
Click to expand...

Kind of looked like those could be Kluson tuners, which would make it a...

In any case, what sure sounds good is his playing! Hard to hear the character of the bass through that amplification but what I hear doesn't sound very good to me at all.
 
#3
drurb said:
Kind of looked like those could be Kluson tuners, which would make it a...

In any case, what sure sounds good is his playing! Hard to hear the character of the bass through that amplification but what I hear doesn't sound very good to me at all.
Click to expand...


Sound quality overall is terrible, I agree...but what I can hear of the mid and upper register sounds rich. Maybe it's the fingers. Age old debate. I'm more intrigued by the blondes myself. Not many use them. What's up with that?
 
#4
Barron said:
Sound quality overall is terrible, I agree...but what I can hear of the mid and upper register sounds rich. Maybe it's the fingers. Age old debate. I'm more intrigued by the blondes myself. Not many use them. What's up with that?
Click to expand...

Judging from the brief look at the side view available toward the end of his solo, it looks to be a German shop bass. The rib crack says 'solid wood', the thick neck says 'not a Kay' and the darker ribs and back say 'refinished top'. The wider bottom suggests Markneukirchen maybe. Really good playing either way! ;)

Edit: This interview says he plays a 1936 Roth - http://www.bassplayer.com/article/avery-sharpe-cooking/jul-09/97433 and here's some pix of a '39 EH Roth - nice basses: Invalid Link Removed
 
#5
I saw them live a few years earlier (around '85) at Caravan of Dreams in Ft. Worth and Avery was playing a much darker bass. I don't know what it was and it could have been a loaner but it was definitely darker in color.
 
#6
To my ears, I just hear "underwood". Not to be taken as an indictment of the playing in any way.

I'd say the color of a bass is about 12th in my line of priorities. It does look nice, but I'd never choose a bass for it's color.
 
#8
Heating up old plates: I was searching for this 'Avery Sharpe' and found only this thread here, well, so: in comes another YT that seems to be recorded around the same time of the century ('86) in a better quality & very intense playing by all of them ...

Yes, it is fast and has some interesting bass playing in it, the solo is starting at 12.30 (boy, a solo after 12 minutes in this tempo, I would instead have send somebody to go and find me the pot with the skin lotion ...)



So: what do you think of it?
 
#10
ctrlzjones said:
Heating up old plates: I was searching for this 'Avery Sharpe' and found only this thread here, well, so: in comes another YT that seems to be recorded around the same time of the century ('86) in a better quality & very intense playing by all of them ...

Yes, it is fast and has some interesting bass playing in it, the solo is starting at 12.30 (boy, a solo after 12 minutes in this tempo, I would instead have send somebody to go and find me the pot with the skin lotion ...)



So: what do you think of it?
Click to expand...


That's a sweet SVT stack Avery's playing through :)
 

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