# My Extended Range Bass



## God Hand Apostle (Dec 6, 2005)

Learning to play bass is my newest project. I could have made it easier on myself....


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## Shawn (Dec 6, 2005)

Wow. That thing is crazy. I dont think I've seen a string as thick as that top string. Cool looking bass. I like it.


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## Naren (Dec 6, 2005)

Wow, that looks awesome. But, I think if I were going to start playing bass (I've been playing bass for 4 years now, though), I wouldn't start out with a fretless 7-string. Very cool bass, though. I am bursting with jealousy.


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## David (Dec 6, 2005)

Naren said:


> Wow, that looks awesome. But, I think if I were going to start playing bass (I've been playing bass for 4 years now, though), I wouldn't start out with a fretless 7-string. Very cool bass, though. I am bursting with jealousy.



yeah, I mean, a 7 would be fine to start with because it's just more stuff to know, but a fretless would be too hard. I'd definately suggest getting that thing fretted up by a luthier. There are a bunch of cool tap-playing bass songs you can do on a 7. Check out Jean Baudin, he's god.


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## Chris (Dec 6, 2005)

Fuck yes. Now that's a sevenstring!


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## Papa Shank (Dec 6, 2005)

Y'know I've been interested in 6+ string basses for a while now, infact I'm trying to pluck the strings of my 9 as practise for when I get a bass [probably have to wait until I get rid of the 9 though ]

I'm digging your fretless 7  









using his Joust 11 to play part of mario theme

I really dig what Jean and others like him are doing with extended basses, I think they're far more interesting than extended range guitarists on the whole.


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## Naren (Dec 6, 2005)

Jean Baudin is a god, indeed


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## Ken (Dec 6, 2005)

God Hand Apostle said:


> Learning to play bass is my newest project. I could have made it easier on myself....



I can remember my buddy Mark Terzenbach getting a Conklin 7 string bass in 92 or 93. We all thought he was nuts.

Oh, and I think you're nuts too for choosing that as your "learning to play" bass, but hey, to each their own. I played bass for a few years, but decided to give it up. Couldn't serve 2 masters very well.


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## Ken (Dec 6, 2005)

Papa Shank said:


>



You know, this picture just seems wrong to me. What's that dude trying to accomplish while Jean is preoccupied with the bass. The expression on his face tells me it isn't good...


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## God Hand Apostle (Dec 6, 2005)

I wonder what bass Jean has in the 2nd pic there. I know all of his others but not that one. It looks like a Bee Bass body, but the headstock doesnt match their scheme. I cant believe he is playing that thing while standing. Mine is heavy as sh*t!!! He will have back problems for sure playing that thing and trying to put on a live show.

As for other comments:
1.) Thanks Chris!
2.) The thing about it isnt the low B being so thick, it's the thinness of the high F. 
3.) Like I said, "I could have made it easier on myself". Really, the hard part is the right hand. It took me about 2 days to get the left hand. Although it took me 2 hours to figure out that the fretboard markers are in the position of the major scale.  Mostly, that was because I had never played a fretless before either so I had to figure out how that works. For example, say you want to play an E on that fatty low B string. You've got to fret it right where the 2nd dot is on the board. Its like playing right on the frets if they were there.

Starting from day 1, I have been plracticing 3 and 4 finger right hand technique. Im pretty good with 3 because on guitar, I hybrid pick (or chicken pick) a lot so I am used to that feeling. But when I try to do 4, and speed up the tempo, I stop being even and start becoming uncontrolled short bursts. Just because I need to practice more...muscle memory is fun.

The other day played Hammer Smashed Face to the best of my new ability and my right fore arm felt like it was going to burst off the bones.  

It just takes practice like guitar, math, foreign language...anything.


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## God Hand Apostle (Dec 7, 2005)

hahaha Dang! Look at how small my little bass is compared to those 11's!!!! I scroll down...I scroll up...and


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## Papa Shank (Dec 7, 2005)

God Hand Apostle said:


> I wonder what bass Jean has in the 2nd pic there. I know all of his others but not that one. It looks like a Bee Bass body, but the headstock doesnt match their scheme. I cant believe he is playing that thing while standing. Mine is heavy as sh*t!!! He will have back problems for sure playing that thing and trying to put on a live show.


It was made in secret by a number of fans/luthiers and given for free to Jean. It's name is the "Hideous Claw".


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## D-EJ915 (Dec 7, 2005)

WOW, that's quite a bass and for free too? dang.

As for the one on the top of the page...

That's freaking rediculous, lol! You put all starting bassists to shame...say you were taking lessons (which you wouldn't) and there's some 10 year old kid with his short-scale 4-string fender ya know, then you walk in with your freaking fretless 7-string monstrosity and everybody's just like WTF?! Good luck man


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## NewArmyGuitar (Dec 7, 2005)

> I could have made it easier on myself....



That's probably the understatement of the year, but congratulations and best of luck to you. That is one sweet looking bass.


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## Roland777 (Dec 7, 2005)

Mandatory question: what's it tuned to?


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## Ken (Dec 7, 2005)

the 7, or the 11? If you're talking about the 7, I believe it's B E A D G C F. Those bass players stay in perfect 4ths, if I remember correctly.


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## God Hand Apostle (Dec 7, 2005)

Ken's right on my 7. Top to bottom in P4ths.


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## b3n (Dec 10, 2005)

It's awesome. That's it.


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## Naren (Dec 10, 2005)

Ken Burtch said:


> the 7, or the 11? If you're talking about the 7, I believe it's B E A D G C F. Those bass players stay in perfect 4ths, if I remember correctly.



Exactamundo. Bass players ALWAYS stay in perfect 4ths (except for the ones who tune in synchronization with the guitarists who play in drop tunings, etc. and for the few renegade bass players). The standard tuning for a 6-string bass would be BEADGC (same as a 7-string guitar, except all fourths, instead of the third to the B).


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## Roland777 (Dec 10, 2005)

Shit, man! A high F?! Isn't that string really tight in comparison with the others?


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## Papa Shank (Dec 10, 2005)

Roland777 said:


> Shit, man! A high F?! Isn't that string really tight in comparison with the others?


Thankfully there are a wide choice of string gauges to allow a steady tension throughout all of the strings.


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## God Hand Apostle (Dec 10, 2005)

Some people on the Exteneded Range Bass forum tune in some wacky ways. I will stick to 4ths though. Just so I dont have to do a total mentality switch note wise, but I am still not used to playing with the drummer...that is a mentality I dont have completely down yet. I automatically want to play with the guitars!

The tension isnt the worst...almost unnoticable really. Its a 35" scale. The only thing that makes it a hard string to play is that the string is really small, and on a fretless you have to push really hard to make enough contact pressure to fret it (this may be a scale issue...but it feels like its just because of how small the string is because I have to be very specific about how I fret using a part of my fingertips to get it to sound good on those small strings.

The other thing is that I like having my picking hand pretty close to the bridge. However, around the C, and F, I have to move my picking hand closer to the fretboard because with the strings getting smaller, its harder to pluck them with the pickup underneath closing the gap.

Yeah, my friend really didnt want me to get this bass because we play guitars...he didnt even like any 7 string guitars I had for that matter. 

But anyway, when he played this bass, he said, "Forget anything negative I ever said about this thing!"


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## Jason (Dec 10, 2005)

Naren said:


> Exactamundo. Bass players ALWAYS stay in perfect 4ths (except for the ones who tune in synchronization with the guitarists who play in drop tunings, etc. and for the few renegade bass players). The standard tuning for a 6-string bass would be BEADGC (same as a 7-string guitar, except all fourths, instead of the third to the B).



i tune my 6 string bass b e a d g b. Make it like my guitar


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## that guy (Dec 22, 2005)

yeah im wiz the guy above me ony its a 5-string in drop-A (A E A D G)


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## Nik (Dec 22, 2005)

Gorgous bass  

And I don't think the fact that it's a fretless will make things much harder since you do have fret markers.


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## milnersXcoupe (Dec 23, 2005)

uber_shredo_manifesto said:


> yeah, I mean, a 7 would be fine to start with because it's just more stuff to know, but a fretless would be too hard. I'd definately suggest getting that thing fretted up by a luthier. There are a bunch of cool tap-playing bass songs you can do on a 7. Check out Jean Baudin, he's god.








I would have the Top two strings fretted & leave the rest unfretted.

Opens the door to 'articulating' a note while holding a fretted position for
a partial chord voicing stretch...........

Check some Nylon Tape Wound items to mix & match with -
you should be able to dial the neck & string tension to lower the required string-fretboard contact pressure - .




> <http://tinyurl.com/c2er6>
> 
> About half way down there is a luthier in Belgium,
> Ben of BMS Guitars, who
> ...


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## Drew (Dec 28, 2005)

Dude, that rocks. 

My bass is cool and all, but if I ever become a proficcient bassist I'm SO selling the thing and buying one of these absurdly wide-range 6 or 7 string basses - they just look awesome, and I love the sound of the combination of near-guitar-like melody lines coupled with absurdly low notes.


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