108 Days of Practice: Days 21 - 32

14 - 25 Aug

One of the most difficult aspects about committing to a daily practice routine is the unavoidable fact that life happens.  

And these last few weeks life has happened in spades.  My attention to family matters always comes first, and sometimes that means time away from my instrument; which is what happened during the last few weeks.  So, I'll be picking it back up here today and press on.  There were days that I did get some practice in, but they were few and far between.  

Not all that happened was bad.  Even though I elected to cancel a custom build though Kiesel Guitars (a story for another day) I did find a great deal on another used bass-- a five-string no less!  After a few hours on this new bass, having the additional string isn't quite the distraction I thought it would be.  There is still a learning curve, but more on that soon.

In addition to my "Duck" Dunn studies, I've been listening to a lot of old Queen, so a few of those tunes will be moved up the practice queue.  Lastly, my practice space will soon be moving to a room with a window as we make updates to our house-- for that I'm excited!  Getting back to my practice routine is something I very much look forward to...

...stay tuned, and in tune! 

108-Days of Practice: First 20 Days

25 July - 13 Aug

Boss metronome/tuner, and my logbook

Overall:
With a little more than two weeks in the books, the project started well, but keeping the schedule was challenging.  Some days I got a good two-hours or so, but there were days when I struggled to hit that 30-min minimum that I established at the beginning.

Practice:
Much of my practice has focused on using the metronome.  Awkward at first, now I am really enjoying it. BPM is usually set at either 120, or 80 for practicing on my own without a track running in the background.  

To avoid the dreaded "noodling," I am practicing the major scale, while speaking aloud the note position on one run, then its name on the second.  Again, this is practiced with a metronome.  Within the scale, I try fining catchy melodies while focusing on incorporating those bottom two strings (D & G).  

My alternate, "summer-time" practice space

Something else I am intentionally focusing on is my right-hand picking; nice smooth consistent striking of the strings, rather than accidental pulling up on the string and having it clank the note.  

Application: 
Last Sunday I was able to apply some of what I have practiced-- namely using the D & G strings.  For instance, one song featured a   C - F - A - G progression, and I explored playing the A and G on those bottom two strings at the 7th fret.  Again, not having a drummer with the band I had to focus on the basics, then when the song had additional space, I would throw in the higher octaves for a little spice. 

During rehearsals I also applied my major scale exercise to include a few passing notes that fit the specific chord.  When used sparingly,I was able to fill the empty spaces where the drums would normally be. 

Proof is in the pudding

Gear-notes: 
I am really enjoying the new Kiesel Vanquish.  Playing finger-style over the pickups is a real joy because the pickup radius matches that of the fingerboard; that radius really makes a difference.  While working on my right-hand technique, I've discovered a tuneful sweet spot-- just behind the neck humbucker.  Notes played here seem to have a round, warm tone that reacts to  subtleties in my playing.

Upcoming:
Practice routine will remain the same as there is a lot more to learn there.  Song analysis and deconstruction of our songs, and I really want to dig into a "Duck" Dunn tune.  

There are a few video ideas I've had in mind, so I may get to those.  You may have noticed I mentioned playing a Vanquish bass; yessiree-- there is a NBD post brewing as we speak, so...

...stay tuned, and in tune!

NBD! Ode to Donald "Duck" Dunn

New (used) Bass Day!

Last Friday I took delivery of a gently used G&L SB-1 bass.  It was posted to the musicians online marketplace, Reverb, by Downtown Music located in New Orleans French Quarter.

Downtown Music's store front (via GoogleMaps)

For several weeks I had been looking for a used, American made Fender Precision style bass fitted with a maple fingerboard that was within my very limited budget.  Of course the limited budget was the big hurdle.  

Why was I searching for that particular style of bass?  As a tribute to one of my all-time favorite bassists. Donald "Duck" Dunn became my favorite bass player after seeing him in the 1980 movie, "The Blues Brothers." When I discovered that he and Blues Brothers guitarist Steve Cropper were members of Booker T & the MG's I began digging deeper into old Stax and Motown records.  

Donald "Duck" Dunn: King of the Electric Bass

Duck Dunn was one of the main reasons I moved to playing the bass.  As part of my 108 Days of Practice I decided to undertake an in-depth study of Dunn's playing style by learning and analyzing some of his more popular songs.  Using a bass similar to that which I associate most with Dunn would psychologically take my study to the next level; sound logic and reasoning I recon...

When I found this SB-1 it was priced out of my budget, but there was a "Make an Offer" button below the listed price-- so I did.  After a very pleasant email conversation with one of Downtown Music's employees, the bass was on its way to me!  Once it arrived, our security officer insisted on inspecting the shipment before anyone was allowed to open the box.  Once satisfied, he returned to squirrel patrol and I was free to liberate the bass from its shipment container.

Opening the case revealed a beautiful bass that was in need of a little TLC.  The frets were somewhat oxidized, and the bass overall required a good scrubbing.  After cleaning, polishing and installing a new set of D'Addario XL strings, the bass was ready to catch the Katy.  

How does it sound?  Like a P-bass with... more!  More of everything.  With the volume full-up it sounds powerful, meaty, and clear.  A little tweaking of the volume and tone knobs gets easily into the zone of classic Fender Precision tone.  

Compared to a typical Fender P, the SB-1 has a slimmer body, and a more comfortable forearm relief.  Since I normally anchor my thumb on the pickup corner the SB-1 is the place I want to be as it is rounded and slightly textured, where the Fender is sharp and uncomfortable after a short while.  There is a real mojo to this bass that few others have, which must be attributed to its time in the French Quarter... it sounds so sweet that it is tough to stop playing.

On of my favorite aspects of this bass, is the quartersawn neck; not only is it a little stiffer than a flat sawn neck, the grain stands out in a really nice way!  G&L offers several different neck sizes and each feel great in the hand; this one is called a #12 which is slightly wider than a typical Fender Jazz bass, yet slightly narrower than a Fender Precision, and is rounder (meatier) in the back.  Frets are medium-jumbo, the body is alder and the neck is fitted with six countersunk bolts.  For being such a straight forward, no-frills bass, this baby offers a lot of flexibility in sound and plays effortlessly.  

For anyone looking for a wonderful, American made bass built to last a lifetime, be sure to add G&L to the top of your list.  Even without a lot of money, one can follow my example and buy a used model for about the same, or less than an Indonesian import.  

Now with the appropriate instrument at my side and a Blues Brothers album cued-up, it's time to hit the practice room and get to business...

Stay tuned, and in-tune...!