# Step right up, ladies and gents! See the world's tiniest man play bass!



## Hollowway (Aug 12, 2011)

Or is it a normal sized man and a ridiculously large Conklin 10 string bass?


----------



## Explorer (Aug 12, 2011)

Hey, Hollowway, is this your way of announcing a NBD thread?

And, if so... however did you think your wife wouldn't notice that behemoth?


----------



## Hollowway (Aug 12, 2011)

Explorer said:


> Hey, Hollowway, is this your way of announcing a NBD thread?
> 
> And, if so... however did you think your wife wouldn't notice that behemoth?



 I see I've been pretty vocal about my wife's frowning on my ever growing collection! But no, fortunately that was just the result of some Conklin googling. But don't give me any ideas!


----------



## knuckle_head (Aug 12, 2011)

I know that tiny man . . . and I've seen and played that Conklin. Righteous bass.


----------



## BigPhi84 (Aug 12, 2011)

I absolutely LOVE his facial expression!!!


----------



## nojyeloot (Aug 12, 2011)

Do some sw33ps


----------



## Powermetalbass (Aug 12, 2011)

That thing must weight a ton! Thats some mad bass face going on there. either he's really concentrating on the bass playing or strained from holding the bass.


----------



## Skyblue (Aug 12, 2011)

Explorer said:


> Hey, Hollowway, is this your way of announcing a NBD thread?
> 
> And, if so... however did you think your wife wouldn't notice that behemoth?


That's rather easy- place it on a few stands horizontally and you have a lovely coffee table. Strings might be a bit of an issue, but I've seen weirder modern furniture. 

As for the bass... I hope he's using it well, otherwise that's quite a lot of wasted wood


----------



## knuckle_head (Aug 12, 2011)

If you've not heard Stew McKinsey you should - this is not his only ERB, though these days he is more likely to sport a 5. His day gig is with Nordstrand.


----------



## highlordmugfug (Aug 12, 2011)

Lawdy.


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 12, 2011)

10 Strings... What do you do with that? It looks like someone burnt an ironing board or something then decided to make a guitar out of it. 


Seriously though, that thing is just ridiculous. It looks unbearable even for touch playing.


----------



## Soopahmahn (Aug 12, 2011)




----------



## knuckle_head (Aug 12, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> 10 Strings... What do you do with that? It looks like someone burnt an ironing board or something then decided to make a guitar out of it.
> 
> 
> Seriously though, that thing is just ridiculous. It looks unbearable even for touch playing.



The bass sounds amazing, and it sings in Stew's hands.


----------



## Hollowway (Aug 12, 2011)

knuckle_head said:


> The bass sounds amazing, and it sings in Stew's hands.


 

Any idea what the tuning is on it? I'd love to know what he's got going on there. And what scale length is that?


----------



## thedarkoceans (Aug 12, 2011)

Hollowway said:


> Any idea what the tuning is on it? I'd love to know what he's got going on there. And what scale length is that?



conklin does only 34"


----------



## knuckle_head (Aug 12, 2011)

Hollowway said:


> Any idea what the tuning is on it? I'd love to know what he's got going on there. And what scale length is that?



34" as stated, and if memory serves it's in straight 4ths with F# on bottom.


----------



## Cheesebuiscut (Aug 13, 2011)

Bass Players United Lesson, Part 2 - YouTube


----------



## ixlramp (Aug 13, 2011)

Another photo in the spirit of this thread ...






Hollowway, i suspect that Stew's 10 string is tuned C# F# B E A D G C F Bb, fourths from C#0 17 Hz.
As far as one can know someone over the internet, i get a really good vibe from Stew


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 14, 2011)

17 Hz eh? This downtuning stuff has gone right retarded.


----------



## xfilth (Aug 14, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> 17 Hz eh? This downtuning stuff has gone right retarded.



Hey, who's gonna dis your playing if they can't hear the notes?


----------



## knuckle_head (Aug 14, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> 17 Hz eh? This downtuning stuff has gone right retarded.



I've taken a Quake to G# properly - 12.98 Hz . . . headed toward 10 Hz within the next year or so.


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 14, 2011)

Congratulations knuckle head, you have achieved sonic level no one can here in the least and most speakers can't bother to reproduce. I am sure it is quite useful otherwise though.


----------



## ixlramp (Aug 14, 2011)

knuckle_head ... do you remember member 'Thonk' on the subcontrabassist forum? He's just posted a question to you there: 10 and 11 stringers

Since he disappeared from that forum a few years back i've been wondering how things have developed concerning his .335 string and 40" scale bass.


----------



## Durero (Aug 14, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Congratulations knuckle head, you have achieved sonic level no one can here in the least and most speakers can't bother to reproduce. I am sure it is quite useful otherwise though.





You obviously don't know Skip's work at all, be it bass construction, string development, amplification or recording.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Aug 14, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> 10 Strings... What do you do with that? It looks like someone burnt an ironing board or something then decided to make a guitar out of it.
> 
> 
> Seriously though, that thing is just ridiculous. It looks unbearable even for touch playing.



I can't help but "face palm" when I see folks who post regularly on a forum devoted to guitars with a couple "extra" strings fail to grasp the concept of adding a couple more.


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 14, 2011)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I can't help but "face palm" when I see folks who post regularly on a forum devoted to guitars with a couple "extra" strings fail to grasp the concept of adding a couple more.



My issue is more that the neck looks too big to be terribly functional, I have nothing against having a bunch of strings kicking around. I mean his finger doesn't even reach the bottom string in a neutral position at the nut. If he can use it effectively all the power to him, as others attest he can. I just find stretching beyond physically possibilities (or at least comfort) to do so odd.


----------



## Durero (Aug 14, 2011)

^ I think you're misreading things based on that picture.

He's perfectly comfortable as you can see in the video Cheesebusicut already posted.


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 14, 2011)

^^

Gotcha, an illusion by playing it back leg. He looks like he is trying to keep up with Vai for face though.

That thing must weigh at least 17 lbs. I think my 12 lb bass is heavy after a few hours


----------



## Durero (Aug 14, 2011)

Haha yeah the facial expressions don't exactly look relaxed.


As for what to do with all that range, this video shows it in a musical context.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Aug 14, 2011)

Fuck, is "Manthing" awesome or what?


----------



## Durero (Aug 14, 2011)

Yeah I love his playing. Killer phrasing & vibrato in that video.


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 14, 2011)

Awesome, liked his chord voice choices a lot, don't get me wrong I love range, but I guess I am too far separated from one with that much of an extension to visualize it easily. As I spend most of my time nowadays as my own personal studio rat, I can miss the advantage of having that all on a single instrument (I mean I could just grab a different one afterall). 

I have been tinkering with the idea of a 7 to supercede my 5, as I do mostly touch style nowadays and less fingers to trip over. The thing is bringing it out to band practice gets harder the more strings you slap on. A 6 you could probably sneak into 90% of situations without people stamping you too hard, not to mention in a band setting not sure it would be as imperative as my at home work. My style tends to be eclectic enough to scare band folks off enough as is 


'Manthing' is also always stellar.


----------



## knuckle_head (Aug 15, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Congratulations knuckle head, you have achieved sonic level no one can here in the least and most speakers can't bother to reproduce. I am sure it is quite useful otherwise though.



Funny - it was perfectly useable and hear-able on the NAMM floor this past winter.


----------



## TheDuatAwaits (Aug 15, 2011)

He must be auditioning for Viraemia.


----------



## Malkav (Aug 15, 2011)

Is it just me or does Michael Manring look alot like Barbara Streisand?


----------



## Konfyouzd (Aug 15, 2011)

*EDIT*

Holloway already said it in the first post. 

That thing looks cool.


----------



## flo (Aug 15, 2011)

This instrument is all about practicality, guys. Tonal range of a grand piano, but waaaay more transportable.


----------



## ixlramp (Aug 15, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> I have been tinkering with the idea of a 7 to supercede my 5, as I do mostly touch style nowadays and less fingers to trip over. The thing is bringing it out to band practice gets harder the more strings you slap on. A 6 you could probably sneak into 90% of situations without people stamping you too hard


A 6 string tuned in fifths would give you the range of an 8 string, 5 octaves, a stealthy way to get that range into band practice  A 5 string tuned in fifths has almost the range of a 7.


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 15, 2011)

A bit more than range at stake here though, it is how many notes can be ringing and left to ring while playing a melody part. An interesting idea though, it would also make me relearn the whole fretboard/my style to some extent


----------



## Saber_777 (Aug 15, 2011)

Hey when youre done with inaudible notes, I'd love to make a body out of the neck.

Kidding


----------



## Quitty (Aug 16, 2011)

BigPhi84 said:


> I absolutely LOVE his facial expression!!!



It has nothing to do with playing - the huge thing is just resting, ever-so-lightly, on his privates 

It's strange - i've heard very little of Conklin on these forums, and from what i've seen (the old site's galleries were stuffed full with unbelievable instruments and stories) and the list of endorsees (Santiago Dobles, anyone?), i'd expect to hear much more of them.


----------



## idunno (Aug 17, 2011)

That guy still looks small...


My speakers crapped out on the lowest three notes. Love to hear it in person though!


----------



## ixlramp (Aug 18, 2011)

idunno said:


> My speakers crapped out on the lowest three notes.



I think that's actually his sub speaker(s) overloading the mic on the camera on the lowest notes, it gives a good impression of how powerful his rig is  I think the distortion is on the recording, not due to your speakers.


----------



## SenorDingDong (Aug 18, 2011)

This isn't a troll comment, so please take no offense:

With such a large neck, would it be more of a hazard for injuries seeing as he is playing it like a standard bass? Or is there a specific form to play such large necked instruments safely without tapping?


----------



## knuckle_head (Aug 18, 2011)

Body low with a high neck angle (neck close to the cheek) or wearing the bass high on your chest and play horizontally (vs playing up and down the neck).


----------



## ixlramp (Aug 24, 2011)

deleted post


----------



## vampiregenocide (Aug 24, 2011)

I've played my mates custom Roter 7 string bass and I found that surprisingly comfortable. I'd love a 7 string myself to tune in unison (Octave down still of course) with a guitar. Beyond 7 strings though...I don't know. To be honest I've seen very few people make use of the range of ERGs with more than a couple of extra strings.


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 26, 2011)

Unison tuning is for guitarists pretending to play bass


----------



## vampiregenocide (Aug 26, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Unison tuning is for guitarists pretending to play bass



Hey I started out as a bass player fuck the system.


----------



## skeels (Aug 26, 2011)

Didn't Michael Manring have a tune where he played two or three basses at once? It was on his album 'Thonk' if I'm not mistaken.


----------



## SirMyghin (Aug 26, 2011)

vampiregenocide said:


> Hey I started out as a bass player fuck the system.



You mean you betrayed the secret brotherhood?


----------

