A couple of weeks ago, one of the friends of my band, who also plays bass, was contemplating buying a string bass. He asked if I could bring one of mine to our practice location in San Jose, so that he could try it out.
I own a couple of string basses that had been gathering dust in my music room at home, largely unused, as I rely on my bass guitar for practices and gigs.
I brought my Palatino laminate bass to the practice room. It is a cheap bass, though constructed well and nicely set up for easy playing. I also have a fully carved bass that I hope to play in future gigs. It is much more expensive and has better tone, and I surely wouldn't want to leave that in the practice location.
My friend tried the Palatino bass and I haven't heard from him since. I think he decided an upright string bass is not for him. However, I decided to leave the bass in the practice room and use it for some songs. The band was fascinated with its appearance and was keen to try it out.
My first attempt was to play the bass part to "Stray Cat Strut" and the wife of one of the band members videotaped it. The band loved it.
Last night we practiced again and I played the string bass on several songs. Again, the band loved it and felt that the string bass has a much better sound than the bass guitar. We will use the bass at a party on June 11th, not for all songs but on several of them.
I am now practicing string bass daily at home, using my carved bass (a Calin Wultur Panormo), and I'm excited: I have always planned to play string bass with a band...someday.
Someday has finally arrived!
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