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 Hi from the uk, newbie time.. 
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Post Hi from the uk, newbie time..
Hi all, im a 49 year old bassist from the uk, always hankered after a stick ever since hearing tony levin years ago on a crimson and a pg album, so...29 years later Ive plucked up courage and today a 2nd hand SB 8 arrived from brooklyn, that I found on craigslist, its pretty much unplayed, as I imagine many are !, as ive just done 2 hrs with it and now have a headache, please tell me it gets better, I didnt expect miracles instantly, but I am managing to get melody and bass outta it...me ?, so, hello all and I hope you let me pick your collective brains over the forseeable future.


Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:24 am
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
Hi Nig

What part of the UK are you from?
Yes it gets better. however you have to be patient it isn't immediate.

What do you see yourself doing with the sb8? are you primarily looking yo play bass parts or are you thinking about 2 seperate independent parts? What style of music are you currently playing?

anyway, welcome and focus on whats important to you.

Brett Bottomley
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Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:33 am
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
Hi Brett,Im in essex near london and play in a power rock trio at the moment but want to do more involved slower and sonically soothing music ! Im left handed but was taught right handed classical guitar and piano as a kid, played right handed bass for 30 years, but in my head im a lefty, ive been on the stick for 2 hours now and have found my right had wants to cross over and do things that my poor old brains stopped it from doing for years and my left or bass fretting hand is free to slip of where it wants, I guess there are no real rules with stick playing but I dont want to start bad habits from the off, basically I would like to use it as a bass plus melody instrument, I hope this makes sense, thanks for the fast reply. :)
p.s Im only plugging in one of the two mono jacks into my amp but it all seems ok.


Wed Jun 25, 2008 6:58 am
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
Welcome to the Stick and to the forum. What tuning are you using? I'm not a bass player but I just recently saw this tuning and it sounds interesting.

http://www.stick.com/instruments/tunings/8/interior_dbr/

And here's a nice article about it on the SB8.

http://www.stick.com/articles/howard_dbr/wedel/

-Eric

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Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:31 am
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
Hi, Its a 34" scale stick and its in 4th's B E A D G C F Bb. The action seems high but ive got to do some research as I think its not been played in an age and I have to restring it and kinda learn as I go. thanks for the linkys.


Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:06 am
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
Hi nig, :arrow: Don Schiff does a nice little jam on the SB8 here: http://www.stick.com/onlinevideos/don_sb8.html. He is playing it more like a bass
or in his case a NS Stick. Notice the right hand :o Perhaps not the best for the wrist. It seems to work for Don but you can tilt the instrument more vertical and get a
"Stick" like playing experience. Also notice Don looking toward the heavens. I know it's hard
in the beginning (and "two hrs" is beginning) not to look but the head ache might be from
looking down too much so try using a mirror. Also the forum is very helpful if you get stuck.
Everyones been here :| there.
^j^
. ~

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Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:22 am
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
I like that kinda thing and guess thats where I will be heading, I take your point about Dons right wrist, but thats a great groove.thanks for taking the interest, its very much appreciated. :D


Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:29 pm
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
nig wrote:
Hi, Its a 34" scale stick and its in 4th's B E A D G C F Bb. The action seems high but ive got to do some research as I think its not been played in an age and I have to restring it and kinda learn as I go. thanks for the linkys.


Hi nig,

The first thing you'll want to do is get familiar with the truss adjustment so that the board is straight. for tapping, the setup is everything,, and the truss on your instrument is intended to be adjusted as needed to keep the action as low as possible.

You might find this article helpful: http://www.stick.com/articles/setup/

After the fretboard is straight the action should be uniformly low, though a lot of people make the mistake of raising the action to make it more like a bass or guitar, thinking that that will give them more dynamics (when in fact the opposite is true).

If the strings are really old, then you'll want to replace them. SE's strings are the best. They are custom made by major manufacturers specifically to Emmett's specs, and he play-tests the batches to make sure they have clear, consistent articulation and true pitch response. Most bass strings you can buy off the shelf make terrible tapping strings.

I hope that's helpful.

If you have any questions about your instrument setup, I've helped a few people remotely through digital photos, so feel free to PM me or continue the thread for all to benefit from the discussion.

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Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:17 pm
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
Hi Greg, well thats a strange thing, last night I looked down the stick and saw it had neck relief like a guitar, a gentle bow rising to the nut, read the bumpf with the stick, adjusted the truss rod so the neck is dead flat, this was an intuative thought, as it felt like a bass guitar, now I notice the strings, especially the bass ones rise from the nut to the bridge saddles alot so as you leave the 12th fret the clearance starts to grow, im going to drop the saddles and see how low I can get the action, Ive ordered new strings from stick.com and soon should have the stick with the right 'feel' for tapping. once again thanks, I feel like a fish outta water, but have got a few tunes out of the beastie. :o


Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:55 am
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Post Re: Hi from the uk, newbie time..
nig wrote:
Hi Greg, well thats a strange thing, last night I looked down the stick and saw it had neck relief like a guitar, a gentle bow rising to the nut, read the bumpf with the stick, adjusted the truss rod so the neck is dead flat, this was an intuative thought, as it felt like a bass guitar, now I notice the strings, especially the bass ones rise from the nut to the bridge saddles alot so as you leave the 12th fret the clearance starts to grow, im going to drop the saddles and see how low I can get the action, Ive ordered new strings from stick.com and soon should have the stick with the right 'feel' for tapping. once again thanks, I feel like a fish outta water, but have got a few tunes out of the beastie. :o

Hi nig,

Be careful in making these adjustments. I usually recommend that people make them by half turns until they reach a point where the strings start to buzz, and then take them up one half turn.

It's best to test these things out in "playing position" as gravity can influence the amount of buzzing you will get (something mentioned in the "couch posture" - not to be confused with cow pasture - thread)

Also, because bass strings can have stepped windings near the bridge, replacement strings may or may not be the same there. Make sure you compensate accordingly when you change them out.

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Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:27 am
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