Bass strings for SRV band

[sonicus]

I play a few Brass instruments ; Trumpet Bb&C/ Mellophone Eb &F/ Baritone- Euphonium Bb  etc ... ...   ...   . I have Played Classical, Jazz, Funk etc, etc, ... for 44 years I started when I was 10.I picked up the Electric Bass when I was 15 and I am now 54.  
    In my experience in most cases horn players are given Arrangements that are written  and transposed to accommodate standard tuning,Somtimes you write your own or transpose on the spot. They usually do not make accommodations for us to make it easy on the horns , but they do expect us to read the music unless it's all improvisation  or real loose .
 
(Message edited by sonicus on May 26, 2010)

[afrobeat_fool]

Wolf, I've been meaning to ask you how you got into the mellophone. I know of one other guy who plays one. He was a long time L.A. guy, played in Franks band, and his dad was a big time writer/arranger. I love the sound!
 
For me transposition is not that hard. I see it as placing a geometric pattern in a different location. Easier on the Piano, and Bass. Harder on the trombone, and guitar. I usually use a capo on guitar if I need to transpose. It is mostly a need to pacify a singer. But, sometimes a song just wants to be in a key. I have changed my own arrangements, and friends tunes if they SOUND better in another key. But what do you do when the singer is in the key of Zb?
 
Nick

[sonicus]

Nick ,  
       When I was in school in the 7th grade my Band Teacher used to juggle me and a few other Trumpet Players around  between the  
Baritone Horn and Trumpet to help  fix the poor intonation problems  in the Slide Trombone section .  I was always a good sport and went along with his plans and did not put up a big fuss. One day I ask if him I could try the French  horn looking thing with piston valves  , you mean the Mellophone?   he answered . OK then you have been a good Lad  go and take it out of the case then . He then handed me the Mellophone music.   I have been ask to play it on occasion,  I still like to play it from time to time although I play  Bb & C Trumpet more as far as Brass instruments go . The Stan Kenton Band once had a  swell note worthy Mellophone  section .
 
             I know what you mean by  Zb singers I have gone through that  drill too  _ LOL______
 
  Wolf

[keith_h]

Mario,
I'm not sure that guitar players like SRV tuned down to accommodate horns. I think it was to get more looseness and stretch from the strings.
 
On a general note I used to have to transpose on the fly when my oldest daughter was young. She plays Bb clarinet and Ab soprano clarinet and would come ask me to help her on some of the  harder parts. I would use my guitar and recall her getting frustrated at my slowness at times. :-)

[mario_farufyno]

Adriaan, what I intended to mean was that many horn players arrange their songs in Eb or Bb (check Coltrane, for example, how many tunes he did in Eb? A lot, if remember right...). So if you had to play in a Band that plays most of their songs in Eb, it would be kind of natural tuning down a half-step, although I'd also prefer to transpose myself  (I'm not a guitarrist and didn't like to use open strings on my riffs).  
 
To be honest,  I don't know much about Stevie Ray and was just thinking out loud about the reasons some guitarrists would opt using low tunnings. In fact, there is a lot of Metal guys who play lower than half-step, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have anything related to playing with Horns. LOL.
 
You are right when say it relates more to the strech than to transpositions issues.

[sonicus]

? _ no !    
 But it is OK we still love you !!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
(Message edited by sonicus on May 27, 2010)

[David Houck]

Mario; if from nothing else than a history of music perspective, it may be worth getting to know Stevie Ray.  Here's some Voodoo Child.

[David Houck]

And Texas Flood.  I love this one; the close ups on his face show the intensity.  In my view, Stevie's place in the history of music is exceedingly important.  Here in the US, he was perhaps the driving force in a huge revival of the blues.  His playing reflects a deep passion, a viscerally emotional feeling of the blues.  I can highly recommend sitting down with your favorite beverage, turning the stereo up real loud, and listening to Stevie play guitar all night.

[nnek]

I think I would stay with Texas Flood rather than Stevie doing a straight cover of Hendrix, who by the way did the same tune down trick.  
I think Stevie owes an awful lot to Jimi....
Check out Jimi's Blues CD, the first authorized post humus CD by the Hendrix family.  
Does anyone know if Noel or Billy Cox tuned down along with Jimi?

[cozmik_cowboy]

Yes, Stevie owed a huge debt to Jimi - but I think a close listen reveals as large a debt to Grady Martin, Dick Dale, & Barney Kessel, and an even bigger one to Albert King (and yes, I realize that ties into the Jimi thing, as JH was himself influenced by AK).  All of which added up to a pretty sweet mix, if'n you was to ask me.  My personal favorite is Riviera Paradise.
 
Peter

[adriaan]

Mario - Coltrane songs in Eb - what type of score are you looking at? If you're looking at a piano score, then think one whole step up - the same score for tenor sax would be written in F.
 
Now this is a gross simplification, since Coltrane is also known for the use of modes, where of course the flats and sharps are in different spots compared to the regular major and minor scales.
 
Anyway - we're digressing - let's keep this thread on the subject of tuning down ...

[mikedm]

Giving in to curiosity and desire, I strung my bass BEAD. I was tired of missing out on the low Eb. Plus using the Eb on the A rarely sounded right with out moving the whole bass line up.
Do I miss the G? Yup, but the keyboard is playing up there, so I'm not needed.
 
I have yet to try tuning Eb, Ab, Db, Gb.
 
@ Peter: +1 on Riviera Paradise

[afrobeat_fool]

So... Peter you are absolutely correct with the Jimi, D.Dale, Albert King, references. I learned a lot on the road with Eric. The history of the drop tuning, the feel of the strings on the guitar when set up this way, the use of 4 different guitars to match the tonal qualities. Upside down guitars for string bending.  
 
Does anyone know what Jackie Newhouse did with his bass to keep the strings off the Neck when he tuned down for Stevie?
 
I believe Noel and Billy both played their basses in standard tuning. I have seen a few vid's and they both are playing in the mid range of the neck.
 
Nick

[LMiwa]

Has anyone tried either the DR Drop-Down Tuning strings or the Rotosound Drop Zone and Drop Zone Plus strings?

[Bradley Young]

Just to be contrarian, I tune my bass up a half step: C F Bb Eb Ab Db.
 
I play in church, and most church songs are in G, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab.  So much so, that when someone gets up to sing something you don't know, they hold up fingers for the number of flats you're playing in.
 
I'm back to this tuning after a multi-year hiatus; we'll see if I get used to having usable open strings.
 
Bradley