Getting used to long scale

[palembic]

Playing Bonnie who's a 5 string girl Series Omega cut body with a XXXXXWide neck was a problem in the beginning but I was used to the MK.
I have to follow Brother Joey on his finding the way on Standard bodies. Problem: those basses have no upper horn. Other types of basses are balanced by bringing the bass equilibrium more to the neck side. A standard body is balanced by bringing the whole guitar to your fingerboard arm.
First: I AM 1.89m tall ...it helps.
Second: I play with Bonnie pushed to the right. I may SOUND unnatural but for me it isn't any more.  Was never in fact. It naturally happens by putting your right arm further into the body
I show it on a recent picture.
 

 
We play frequently tunes in C and C sharp (for Iris' voice) and I never had a problem. I never got used to the medium-scaled Persuader I had (only for 2 weeks BTW)
 
Paul the bad one

[bigbadbill]

Paul, I never get tired of seeing pictures of Bonnie, she really is a stunner.  
 
With regards to the question, I actually find the opposite. I learnt to play on a Rickenbacker, which has a neck similar to the classic taper, and which also sits away from your body ever so slightly. When I first tried Fenders I couldn't get used to the way that the upper end of the neck sits so far in towards your right arm. I play a lot in the middle/upper registers, and it just felt unnatural to me. I've still never got used to it, which pretty much puts Fenders off limits to me. When I first played the Alembic standard body, I had no real problems with it at all. It DOES sit a way away, but for me it feels quite comfortable. In fact just before I ordered my Triple O I played another Triple O and a Rogue to make sure I could deal with the shape (visually it was what I wanted) and I actually found the Triple O much more suited to me; the Rogue (lovely as it was) felt like it sat in completely the wrong place. That was also one of the problems I had with my Sei basses, which is why I no longer have them. If it doesn't feel natural I guess you just have to try and get used to it; if you can't you may be better off with something like a Rogue, which appears to sit much more in Fender territory (to me at least; the esteemed Rami would probably be best equipped to advise here seeing as he appears to have dozens of both! Lucky man! )

[811952]

The unique placement of the bridge on Alembics makes it considerably easier to play like either John Entwistle OR Jaco, in my opinion.  The lower registers may take some mild gymnastics to reach, but everything else is *right there* like no other bass I've ever played.  Hanging it high is my way of dealing with it, though my brother (who has played my Series I a great deal) tends to hang it just about where he hangs his other basses and doesn't seem to have any problems getting around on it.  He and I are both in the 5'8 range.  I usually smile when I play too, even in F...
John

[David Houck]

By the way; I believe it is illegal in most areas of the southern US, Kansas City and Chicago to play blues in F.

[rogertvr]

Hmmmmmm, this is an interesting topic. Being the owner of a custom, I found that I've had to compromise my head on what is normal regarding playing postition.  The way the Dragon's Wing hangs fits my body, so I can either accept that the nut is where it is, or if that's too far away (marginal sometimes), I remind myself that moving the position of the bass won't fit my body. See this thread - http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/9431.html?1097927662 - you'll see that the straplock position has moved to be very near the bridge on examples after my own.  I've tried holding my own bass in the position that the strap lock is currently in and that does not suit me at all.
 
Each to their own - it's a very personal thing.  And when you're a bit fat like me, getting the straplock pegs in the correct position is errrrr.....worth doing!
 
Cheers,
 
Rog

[rraymond]

Being kind of on the dinky side at 5'7, I struggled mightily with my 13lb Orion 5'er which I had made with a Std Pt body, and bubinga top. It's heavy and unwieldy! I tried all the above: raising it up, lowering it down, tried various straps including that weird harness-like job, but for me, weight training is what did the trick. Within a couple of months I found I could play it for an hour with no problem. Now, I take it out on 4 hour gigs and can end the night not feeling like somebody dropped an anvil on me.  
 
My recently acquired Balance K, Pinot, feels light as a feather and hangs righteously in the zone for me. Man, I'd like to have a Balance K with Series electronics in it, maybe someday.  
 
Blues in F, that's just a backdoor into jazz, right?
 
(Message edited by rraymond on October 17, 2004)

[David Houck]

As long as you call it jazz, then it's ok.

[corny]

Hi there boys 'n girls (hey, where are the girls in this discussion group?),
 
I've been practising all weekend and it's true. It IS a matter of getting used to it. Maybe my body length helps too (I'm 6'4), but the main thing is to have your bass hang around your neck 24 hours a day (a bit awkward in bed though).  
 
Cor.

[palembic]

lang zallum leeve ...lang zallum leeve ... hehehe ...weer een vogel voor de kat.
 
In other words ...Cor got himself another healthy addiction as some of the brothers like to say.
 
Yeah ...that sister thing.
Good question.  
Most of them are more of the workin' kind than of the chatting kind.
Check out the beautiful Midus at  
http://alembic.com/cgi-bin/alembic-club/board-profile.cgi?action=view_profile&profile=midus-users
 
 
Paul the bad one

[David Houck]

To begin with, a quick perusal of clubs, album covers, etc. should indicate that the percentage of women who play bass or guitar is quite low.  That being said ..
Some of the women may be posting in a manner which doesn't indicate anything about their identities other than the fact that they are Alembic owners, and some may not be posting at all, because they want to be treated as fellow musicians and not as objects to be ogled at in a public forum with such phrases as check out the beautiful ...  While some women may take comments like Paul's to be complimentary, and some may even appreciate such comments when made in a public forum, other do not.  In the past I have spent quite a lot of time in internet discussion groups on usenet; and that experience made evident to me why many women avoid groups such as ours.  It is my opinion that women would be more likely to join such groups if they were treated as equals, i.e. in our case, if they were treated as fellow bass players and fellow guitar players.  If you start discussing the relative beauty of women in this group, then you'll drive away many who might have considered sticking around.
 
Sorry Paul; I just woke up and haven't had my first cup of coffee yet.

[corny]

Politically all of this is very correct of course. Still I understand Paul's reference to Midus. Just look and find the differences.



 Hee, nix persoonlijks he Paul:-)

[palembic]

Absolutely right Dave! There is although no offence or whatever negative thought or patronising in my mind.
I am a defender of women bass-players and in fact I think that they are in lots of cases better bass-players than the real man.
 
 
 
Paul the bad one
 
 
OTOH I think you are an enchanting man too you know ...just as a male object spoken!!!
Hehehehehe

[Manfred]

I found one major difference. On the first picture is a fan behind the person, on the second picture there isn't. Time to go home Cor.
 
Manfred

[corny]

BTW, here's a picture of me in a live situation.
 
Yep, time to go home. Sorry all for messing up the thread.
 
Cor.

[David Houck]

Cor; I wouldn't say that you messed up the thread.  You asked where the women were, and I, clumsily enough, attempted an answer.  Your question brought up an issue that I think is worthy of reflection by all of us, the level of respect with which people treat each other in society; and thus I appreciate your asking the question.
 
Paul; Hah!!!  Enchanting is not the word I would have used .