[Dixielandjazz] Re: New Orleans 60+ years ago

[Patrick Cooke]

Right, Charlie...

   The original Fender basses came with flat (steel ribbon)wound strings. 
Then the rockers all started using round wound strings that have a terrible 
twang especially on the top string.
     They're not easy to find any more, but I use the flat wound strings. 
Completely different sound from the rockers.
     BTW, I play just loud enough to hear myself, and the front line 
frequently asks me to crank it up more.
     They occasionally give me a solo so they can talk about their 
crabgrass.         Pat Cooke


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Charlie Hooks" <charliehooks2 at earthlink.net>
To: "Patrick Cooke" <amazingbass at cox.net>
Cc: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2005 2:03 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Re: New Orleans 60+ years ago



On Friday, June 10, 2005, at 09:07 AM, Patrick Cooke wrote:

> I now play the electric bass which was designed for picking.
> Now most purists go into cardiac arrest when they just see an electric 
> bass,
> before they even hear a note.  They saw one once before and they didn't 
> like
> it, and they assume they all sound the same.  Actually the kind of strings
> one uses has more of an effect on the sound than whether it has an 
> acoustic
> chamber or not.  My bass does not sound anything like the ones the rock
> players use, but no matter....the 'elite' purists enjoy thinking they know
> something the rest of the world doesn't.  They don't know jack.  Their
> 'preferences' are really prejudices.  Their attitudes are beginning to
> tarnish my love for the music.

Pat, I gotta agree wholeheartedly!  Here in Chicago there lived for
many years a black bass player named Jimmy Johnson who played the
original model Fender he bought new back in the dark ages WITH THE
ORIGINAL STRINGS, or so he claimed.  Said he had tried to replace
them many times, never could get the proper sound--and his sound was
the absolute greatest! Jim Beebe and I both loved him, and his
singing/stage presence was a model  for all of us.  Jimmy was with
the Traniers for many years, had played with Miles in East St. Louis
(their home town), hell, he had worked with everybody who was
anybody!,  was offered a job with Louis Armstrong back just before
the band took off, said "aw, no, this band ain't goin noplace"--and
Arvell Shaw came on instead. I love Arvell.  but Jimmy could play
rings around him: WITH THE OLD FENDER BASS AND ANCIENT STRINGS.

I normally hate guitar-bass players: but it all depends on the player!

Charlie Hooks
in Chicago
>
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"The speed of time = one second per second." ---Stephen Wright