DR Neon Bass Strings

Nickel Plated Bass Strings wound on Round Cores



NEON™ is the second in DR's SuperStrings™ series. Super bright in day light, and with stage lighting. DR's NEON™ strings are so bright in appearance "they look like they are on fire." DR's NEON™ strings shine brightly under stage lights, and are 100% black light active so they glow strongly under UV lighting. And DR's NEON™ sound as good as they look. As Joey Clemment from Salena Gomez said, "Yeah they look great, but they sound incredible!"



NEON™ is the first coated string to make NO apologies. While NEON™ lasts as long as a coated string should (three to four times as long as uncoated strings) they sound as good, or better than uncoated strings... no excuses.

Description taken from drstrings.com.

My Take on the Ibanez SDGR SR300 Fretless Bass

Here is the AMS description of the Ibanez SDGR SR300 Fretless Bass:


"Fast and versatile, the SR300 fretless bass guitar lays down grooves in every style imaginable. Featuring a 3 band style sweeper EQ with a lightweight balanced comfortable contoured body, you have pro features at an entry level price. The extended range travel on the narrow neck is as physically comfortable as it is musically exhilarating. Plus the EXF pickups have equal spacing between pickup to string for balanced output levels. To control your tone, you have a volume and balance knob, style sweeper finger step knob and a treble and bass boost/cut knob."




Here is what I think about it after playing it for 4 months:
Ok, so this bass is fretless, so it shouldn't sound like it's fretting out in the higher registers.  Yet, amazingly, it does.  I couldn't get the action as low as I like because of this issue.  It made it very uncomfortable to play.  


What I loved about this bass was the fact that it didn't weigh a ton like my mahogany bodied SR500.  It had active pickups, which was another plus, but didn't quite put out the rich tone that the SR500 does.  So, basically, I could have awesome sound quality, or a lighter bass.  I choose better sound quality.  


The biggest issue I had with this bass was this: it only sounded fretless when I played in the higher registers, which was a problem because of the action set-up.  The lower I set the action, the worse the sound quality.


Ok, so I know what you're thinking.  "What did you expect out of a $300 bass?" But honestly, I did expect more.  It's an Ibanez, and with Ibanez, you usually get good quality even if you don't pay out the rear for it.


So, that being said, I sold the fretless, and I seriously hope that Ibanez does a little better with their lower line fretless basses in the future.




Ibanez SR300 Fretless Specifications:

• Neck: 5 piece Maple/Rosewood neck
• Neck Type: SR4
• Body: Agathis body
• Frets: Fretless
• Fingerboard: Ebonol
• Inlay: Pearl Dot
• Bridge: B100 bridge
• Neck Pickup: EXF-4-F
• Bridge Pickup: EXF-4-R
• EQ: Style Sweeper
• Hardware Color: Cosmic Black
• Case: Optional

Rhonda Smith touring with Jeff Beck

Rhonda Smith has long been known as the female bassist who toured with Prince.  This year, however, she has been touring with Jeff Beck, who seems to fancy female bassists.  Rhonda Smith is also a vocalist, as well as a bassist, and has an album out that showcases her many talents.













Check it out at http://www.rhondasmith.com/

The Bass Book

Check out this complete illustrated history of bass guitars by Tony Bacon and Barry Moorhouse:

Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0

A few months ago I was finally able to buy the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0.  I can honestly say that I was not disappointed with this incredible bass amp.  I bought the 6.0 head with the 12 inch speaker cab, which puts out 375 watts.  The whole package weighs about 31 lbs., which thrills me to death, considering my old LA-15 100 watt combo weighed 50 lbs., and was a beast to carry around (considering it was more than 1/3 of my body weight). 

The 6.0 shuttle seems a bit pricey, but is well worth the cost.  I bought mine from American Musical Supply on an interest free payment plan, so it wasn't such a hit to my budget. 

Here is a video review of the 6.0: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJYX2Fkpuzg

FEATURES
• Ultra Light 3.75 lb Design


• Power: 375W/8 ohms; 600W/4 ohms

• Analog 12AX7 Tube Preamp

• Digital SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supply)

• High Current Class D Amplifier

• Active EQ w/Parametric Mids

• 3-Band Signal Shape Circuit (Footswitchable)

• Signal Mute Switch (Footswitchable)

• Tuner Out

• E xtended Range Input Gain for Active/Passive Sensitivity

• Limiter Circuit

• LED Status Indicators

• Speakon® Speaker Outputs

• Internal Fan Cooling

• Full XLR Direct Out Interface

• Aux. Input

• Headphone Jack

• Effects Loop

• Optional Footswitch available

This Danish Female Bassist Slaps the Bass in Style

Danish Female Bassisthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLpOg-oMMCo

Bass Player Girl How To Play the Slap line In My Other Video

You can't keep a good bassist down

One of my classmates, who claims to be a musician, asked me about a month ago what instrument I play.  I proudly told him that I am a bassist.  He replied with the comment, "Oh, yeah. Bass is easy to play."  I played the moment off as though his comment didn't bother me, but I was raging underneath the surface.

I thought to myself, "just because a person can pick up the bass and sound a few notes on it doesn't make them a bassist."  That's what I wanted to tell this guy.

Contrary to many beliefs, bass guitar isn't as easy to play as it may seem.  Sure, you can play as simple or as complicated as you like, but it is still an instrument that requires time and effort to become a decent player.

I've been playing a little over six years now and I am still awed at the complexity and complications that I run into as a bassist.  The bassist, along with the drummer, is the backbone of the band, and is therefore important.  I don't appreciate when other musicians think that just anyone can pick up a bass and become a bassist. Not everyone is cut out to play bass, and not everyone is cut out to play guitar, drums, or keyboard.  We are all equally valuable and we should never downplay another musician because we think their instrument is easier than ours.

I can easily say that the last few months have been the hardest for me, as far as being a bassist is concerned.    I have suffered one disappointment after another with the musicians I play with every week.  I have even contemplated laying my bass down for a while to cut some of the stress out of my life, but I've found that playing bass has been a good stress for me, and if I give it up, I will be giving up part of myself.

Playing bass (especially being a girl playing bass) is not easy, but I love it and I know I would be miserable if I didn't play bass.  So, to all of the other female bassists out there who might be having a hard time, take heart and don't give up.  We're a minority in the music realm, so we must persevere and live to play another day, even when others downplay the beauty and complexity of our instrument.

Salute to a Young Female Bassist

Australian born Tal Wilkenfeld is a young and upcoming female bassist who can hold her own in the music world.  Wilkenfeld, in her mid-twenties, has been touring with Jeff Beck for a while now, while playing with her own Tal Wilkenfeld Quartet.


Her debut album, Transformation, was released in 2007, and is a small taste of what this lady bassist can do with her Sadowsky bass and smooth, Jaco-like tones.

Check her out at: the http://www.talwilkenfeld.com/  or on youtube.


YouTube links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIFFRHBCPzA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDgkbLw4qkw

Strings: Round Versus Flat

The first bass that I bought came with Elixir round wound strings, which I enjoyed playing on. Elixir strings have a reputation of durability, along with playability, which is what one looks for in a good set of strings. I began to notice, however, that my fingers tended to suffer when I did a lot of sliding on the strings with round wounds. So, one day, after repeatedly reading about several female bassist's preference for flat wound strings, I decided to try a pair out for myself. I chose a set of D'Addario Chromes in the heaviest gauge I could find. Sure, these strings cost about twice as much as round wounds, but that first set I bought literally lasted a year before I had to replace them, and that was with me playing around 3 times a week. Flat wound strings are smooth as silk on my fingers when I slide, and I still get that magnificant low end that I love so much. I don't want any brightness when I'm playing bass. I want all bottom end, so flat wounds are a perfect fit for me. I love the D'Addario Chromes, but I've also tried the Kurt Mangan flat wounds as well, and they have a great sound, too, for around the same price. I usually pay around $35 for my flat wounds, but like I mentioned before, they tend to last twice as long, if not longer, than any round wound string I have found, and are much easier on my fingers.

So, if you're not quite satisfied with the round wounds you're playing on now, give flat wounds a shot, and you'll be able tell the difference right away. You may end up loving them just as much as I do.