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what do blues players perfer?

#21
TI flats all the way, the DR's on fretted sound wonderful but the B ages way too differently from the rest of the set. Flats are for guys who think strings age like wine.

In blues if I'm dealing with a harp, slide guitar and cymbals, rounds and any kind of horn seem to create upper order harmonics that sound like hell.
 
#25
I love my TIJF strung G&L SB1 for blues.... nice woody mids that has an upright vibe..... of course, you can't duplicate upright with a slab, but the vibe is there.

I've been using my '08 MIA P strung with chromes a lot the last year.... not so much an upright vibe, but the mids are nice and it has a "singing" quality that works nicely with blues.... a bit of foam and you can achieve a bit of thump.... pull the foam out and you're back to that "singing" quality.

Dead D'Addario XL nickel rounds are almost a blues classic. I'd be willing to bet at least half of the blues bassists I know are playing on dead XL's.
 
#29
60's Bluesman said:
now ppl have discouraged me from doing this, it comes natural to me for some reason. ive tried to model my playing style after (my hero) paul mccartney he uses his thumb and a pick in every song ive seen him do, usualy the thumb tho. 95% of bassist ive talked to on here and from my part of the world say that using your thumb is very inaffective and slow. you may not be able to do a jaco bassline with it but the thumb ive found can be used in alot of songs that are of a slower speed.
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This really ticks me off! This one of the very few situations that I have absolutely NO patience for. If you can deliver the goods playing the way you do then by God do so and if anyone tells you that you need/should to do it some other way you tell them to.....mind their own damn business! :mad:
 
#31
John Wentzien said:
Am I the only guy that uses SS rounds?
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I think it's a question of the OP wanting to sound "authentic". You have to play through a lot of heroes before you find your own voice. You've found your voice and have the confidence of your band mates, so you go with what works for you.

I'd agree with the D'Addario Chromes suggestion. Nice strings. I'd use a P-Bass because it's very common in the blues and it's my preferred tone anyway. A Jazz if that's what you've already got.

I like old tube amps, but they can be expensive and a pain in the butt, so I'd recommend a good solid state amp that is capable of sounding fairly neutral. To put yourself into the tube amp realm, consider a VT pedal which is reputed to cop the classic Ampeg B-15 and SVT tones fairly well.

KO
 
#32
Basshappi said:
This really ticks me off! This one of the very few situations that I have absolutely NO patience for. If you can deliver the goods playing the way you do then by God do so and if anyone tells you that you need/should to do it some other way you tell them to.....mind their own damn business! :mad:
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thank you basshappi, i wish more pepole got the idea that just because you dont do something makes it wrong. i went to my favorite music shop this morning and one of the dudes who works their, come to find out, is a long time blues bassist and guess what? he plays with the paul mccartney/monk montgomery style of using your thumb to strum with lol it made my day:smug:
 
#36
DR Fatbeams on one and Dunlop rounds on the other. Just ordered more Fat Beams today for both. Blues all night long. no problem. I had flats on but the band already has a bass drum and doesn't need four more.:D
Al
 
#38
i used to use rounds and flats in an old band that was primarily blues based. i had the better tone outta my p bass with roundwounds suprisingly, but id wonder now adays what my tone would be like than if i had the ampeg svt 3 pro i have now instead of that carvin i used to use, i guess i don't like carvins tone.

i wouldn't be opposed to using stainless rounds for blues, whatever works for you. i use rounds on my american deluxe jazz and ti jazz flats on my precision. i got a set of dunlops that ill be swapping for the fender rounds once they die on my amdj hopefully soon.
 

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