Q: I am a high school musician in a relativly serious band with my friends, and we are about to make the transition into college. Unfortunately, our fantastic lead guitarist is going away for college, so rather than find a new lead guitarist, our frontman asked me if I would be willing to play lead guitar, since he’s seen my proficiency on bass. I can play guitar, but I am far more comfortable and talented on bass. So my question is this: to fill the spot, should I seek to improve my guitar playing skills, or is it a reasonable idea to replace lead guitar with lead piccolo bass?
I say it’s worth a shot. But in reality, it all depends on the sound of the band and how far you guys are willing to drift from that. A piccolo bass will definitely sound different, but it could wind up being very cool, interesting, or at least, it might lead the band in an unexpected direction (good or bad… you won’t know until you know). You would likely need to experiment with effects and tone to fulfill the role of “lead” piccolo bassist.
I think it’s a totally reasonable experiment, but unless you guys are willing to change the aural aesthetic of the group, it may not ultimately fly. It requires that you all approach it with an open mind and ditch any preconceptions, because it will alter your band’s sound.
The Little Thing
I’m wondering, would you then acquire a new bassist? The piccolo is only likely to work if someone is still holding down the low end.
This is one I especially want to open up to the readers. Has anybody tried this? What genre? It certainly worked for Stanely Clarke but he’s in a jazz or jazz/funk context (anything goes). If you have experience with this, or other thoughts on the subject, please share in the comments.
A quick search on Youtube yielded a ton of solo piccolo performances, but not many full bands with lead piccolo bass. I did come across a video with a pretty great “lead” sound around the :45 second mark. It’s also full of a good crunchy guitar tone and, as far as I know, it’s all piccolo bass:
Cherry And Walnut Bass Guitar Stand
Have a question for Damian Erskine? Send it to [email protected] . Check out Damian’s instructional books, Right Hand Drive and The Improviser’s Path.Last year we featured a gorgeous singlecut bass from AJR Guitarmods that wowed readers. Now, builder Andy Rogers has finished a new instrument in a different direction: a semi-hollow piccolo bass. The elegant model was built for his band’s bassist, Pete.
“Pete wanted a bass that he could practice with, and sort new riffs out, on the settee without risking the life or limbs of his wife, family or friends with a flailing 34” neck and headstock! So he asked me to build him a piccolo bass, ” Rogers states. “I confess that, at that time, I didn’t know what a piccolo bass was. And nor did Pete, really! I then found out that there were a number of different views what one was: a full-scale bass tuned up an octave; an ultra-short scale bass tuned to bass pitch; a short-scale bass tuned up an octave. The latter of the options was what Pete was after and what I have built for him.”
The bass features short multi-scale with at 26 inches for the E-string and 25 inches for the G-string. It’s built with a mahogany back, black walnut top, a three-piece maple/mahogany neck, and a snakewood fretboard. The pickups are a pair of Seymour Duncan Cool Rails that are wired ’58 style, which Rogers says gives full interaction between tone and volume. The whole bass weighs in at just 5 pounds and 14 ounces.
Simpo's Danelectro Bass Converiosn To Piccolo Bass
“The scalloped back gives two advantages – tangible weight reduction and a much slimmer neck heel to body transition, ” the luthier says. “The same satin finish has been applied on body and neck, and the result is a silky-smooth organic feel. It really is a delight to handle and play. The tone, although tuned to 6-string electric pitch, is warm and clear with excellent balance across the strings.”This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challged and removed. Find sources: Piccolo bass – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2020 ) (Learn how and wh to remove this template message)
A piccolo bass is either an electric bass or acoustic double bass which has be tuned to a higher frequcy, usually one octave higher than convtional bass tuning. This allows bass players to use higher registers during soloing while retaining a familiar scale lgth and string spacing.
In the early 1970s, Ron Carter and Stanley Clarke were indepdtly exploring the possibilities of stringing their instrumts in a higher, or piccolo, tuning. Clarke’s idea for piccolo bass originally came from luthier Carl Thompson. The earliest recording of Carter playing piccolo bass is on the 1973 album Blues Farm.
Ghs Bass Boomers P3045 Bass Guitar Strings Piccolo 18 50 Long Scale Plus
The acoustic piccolo bass is constructed in the same way as a double bass, allowing the player to use the same arco and pizzicato techniques. The scale lgth will usually be similar to that of standard upright bass, with thinner strings to allow a higher-pitched tuning. The acoustic piccolo bass is usually tuned in fourths, E2-A2-D3-G3, although Ron Carter oft uses A1-D2-G2-C3.
The electric piccolo bass is gerally constructed in the same way as an electric bass guitar. In many cases, these are convtional bass guitars which have be converted to piccolo tuning. This typically requires a new nut to accept the thinner strings. The tuning is E2-A2-D3-G3, which is the same as the lower four strings on a guitar. Some short-scale piccolo basses may be strung with convtional guitar strings. However, in geral a piccolo bass will require special string sets to cater for the longer scale lgth, and larger ball ds to cope with the larger drilled holes in a bass bridge.
The tuning varies with the personal tastes of the artist, as does the number of strings. Joey DeMaio from the heavy metal band Manowar plays with four strings on his piccolo bass. Jazz bassist John Patitucci used a six-string piccolo bass, unaccompanied, on his song Sachi's Eyes on his album One More Angel. Michael Manring uses D'Addario EXL 280 piccolo bass strings, in a variety of tunings, on his four-string hyperbass, made by Zon Guitars.
National 85 Electric Bass Guitar (1965)
“The scalloped back gives two advantages – tangible weight reduction and a much slimmer neck heel to body transition, ” the luthier says. “The same satin finish has been applied on body and neck, and the result is a silky-smooth organic feel. It really is a delight to handle and play. The tone, although tuned to 6-string electric pitch, is warm and clear with excellent balance across the strings.”This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challged and removed. Find sources: Piccolo bass – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2020 ) (Learn how and wh to remove this template message)
A piccolo bass is either an electric bass or acoustic double bass which has be tuned to a higher frequcy, usually one octave higher than convtional bass tuning. This allows bass players to use higher registers during soloing while retaining a familiar scale lgth and string spacing.
In the early 1970s, Ron Carter and Stanley Clarke were indepdtly exploring the possibilities of stringing their instrumts in a higher, or piccolo, tuning. Clarke’s idea for piccolo bass originally came from luthier Carl Thompson. The earliest recording of Carter playing piccolo bass is on the 1973 album Blues Farm.
Ghs Bass Boomers P3045 Bass Guitar Strings Piccolo 18 50 Long Scale Plus
The acoustic piccolo bass is constructed in the same way as a double bass, allowing the player to use the same arco and pizzicato techniques. The scale lgth will usually be similar to that of standard upright bass, with thinner strings to allow a higher-pitched tuning. The acoustic piccolo bass is usually tuned in fourths, E2-A2-D3-G3, although Ron Carter oft uses A1-D2-G2-C3.
The electric piccolo bass is gerally constructed in the same way as an electric bass guitar. In many cases, these are convtional bass guitars which have be converted to piccolo tuning. This typically requires a new nut to accept the thinner strings. The tuning is E2-A2-D3-G3, which is the same as the lower four strings on a guitar. Some short-scale piccolo basses may be strung with convtional guitar strings. However, in geral a piccolo bass will require special string sets to cater for the longer scale lgth, and larger ball ds to cope with the larger drilled holes in a bass bridge.
The tuning varies with the personal tastes of the artist, as does the number of strings. Joey DeMaio from the heavy metal band Manowar plays with four strings on his piccolo bass. Jazz bassist John Patitucci used a six-string piccolo bass, unaccompanied, on his song Sachi's Eyes on his album One More Angel. Michael Manring uses D'Addario EXL 280 piccolo bass strings, in a variety of tunings, on his four-string hyperbass, made by Zon Guitars.
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