HONKY-TONKBASS

BillyBratcher’s

for beginners

Directed by Donna Thomas & Paul Garstki

for Ambient Cat ©2003 Thomas & Garstki, Ltd.

ant tones. DOD, Boss, and other companies make small, portable EQ’s. Make sure to geta bass EQ, not a guitar EQ. Look for one in a local music store, or trywww.musiciansfriend.com.

Amplifier

A small amp/speaker combo is great for most applications. The SWR combo is perfectfor upright bass. I like the SWR Workingman’s with the 15 or 12 inch speaker.

Before I had the SWR, I was quite happy with the famous Ampeg SVT head, teamedwith the Ampeg 4X10 speaker cabinet. For those who hear about all the great things theSVT is famous for – warm tube sound, power, and the bragging rights of just having onebehind you – go for it! But, be prepared for the heavy weight and the expense of changingthose tubes every couple of years. It’s a great sound for the upright, but not as practical asthe SWR.

I’ve also been happy with the Gallien-Kreuger 400 and 800 series amps, again with theAmpeg 4X10 cabinet.

More Of Me

If you’d like to hear more of my bass playing, try these recordings. All of them can befound at HepcatRecords.Com.

The Starline Rhythm Boys – Better Luck Is A Barroom AwayBuck And The Black Cats – Tip Up WithThis Is Ecco Fonic – The Ecco Fonic Records Story (tracks 25, 26)Wayne Hancock – That’s What Daddy Wants (tracks 1, 13)

WHERE DO YOU PUT YOUR FINGERS?By Paul Garstki

On a guitar or electric bass, those little metal strips called frets determine the exactpitch of any string you hold down. Your upright bass doesn’t have any frets: your fingersfill the role of a fret, by pressing down the string to some point on the fingerboard.Technically, this is called a stop, but on this page, I’ll use the word fret even when talkingabout the upright, because it sounds more familiar and you’ll know what I’m talkingabout.

Eventually, you will use your ear to fine-tune the exact placement of your fingers onthe bass, but when you’re just starting out, it will help to put markings (that will look likeguitar frets) on the bass, so that you can figure out where the notes are located. Somebeginning bassists use chalk to make the marks. This is okay, but chalk might be hard toremove from the fine grain of the ebony fingerboard. We prefer to use a flat, smoothtape, like artist’s tape (used for holding down drawings) or electrical tape. Make sure thetape has an adhesive which will not get left behind when you finally remove the tape!

Remember that, since your fingers fill the role of the fret, you will be putting yourfingers down on the fret mark, not between them, as you would on a guitar.

You’ll probably want to mark frets 1 through 7, as well as the 12th (octave) fret. At thebeginning, you can put a thin strip of tape all the way across the fingerboard. Later,when you get more practiced, you may want to remove the crosswise strips and just put

BILLY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

The instrument

My bass is an old Kay plywood Swingmaster S-5, built in 1939. I was lucky enough tofind it in the local classified ads! I hope you are as fortunate. These old plywood basseswork well for country and rockabilly music. My particular model is much thinner thanusual. Roger Stowers, who runs a great Kay bass web site at userpages.chorus.net/rstowers,told me that Bob Wills was one of the first traveling entertainers to ask Kay to make aSwingmaster that would be easier to fit in an automobile. Kay thinned down the Swingmasterfor Wills, and according to old Kay literature these thin body basses were made in verysmall quantities, and only for “important” people! Sometimes I crave a nice carved-topspruce bass, but I must admit I feel pretty “important” with my ol’ Kay in my hands.

Be prepared to spend anywhere from $800 to $2500 for a decent bass. After you getyour instrument, you may still need a bridge and soundpost adjustment, even on a newbass – but these are not particularly expensive operations. Plywood basses are easier on thewallet than carved top basses (which can run into the $10s of thousands). Plywood makesfor a better travel companion, too: it’s easier to accept a few dings when it gets bangedaround a little.

I do recommend, however, that you make sure to get an ebony fingerboard, instead ofrosewood. It won’t wear out as quickly. Make sure you are getting a ¾ size bass (most ofthe ones you find will be of this size).

Strings

La Bella gut strings are the only domestically made gut strings. They are great, but maysometimes be unavailable, due to high demand. Gut strings are easier on your hand, but donot sustain notes as long as steel strings; as a result, the 3rd and 4th string in a gut set arenormally made of gut wrapped in silver-plated copper wire to improve the sustain. The 1st

and 2nd strings are plain gut.

My second choice for strings are Gotz, from Europe. These are slightly less expensivethan La Bella strings.

Lemur Music in San Juan Capistrano, California, calls itself “The World’s Most Com-plete Source For The Double Bassist.” When you see their catalog, I’m sure you’ll agree.They are very knowledgeable and also friendly. www.lemur-music.com 1-800-246-BASS

Bass Pickup

The transducer pickup made by Underwood is wonderful and very affordable. CheckLemur for the current price. Do not purchase a magnetic pickup for country style orrockabilly music. A non-magnetic transducer will give you a warmer tone, and the mag-netic pickup won’t sound the plain gut strings!

The Barberra transducer system is the Cadillac of bass pickups. Unfortunately, I don’town a Cadillac wallet, so I don’t own the Barberra. But I have heard them on other players’basses, and I was very impressed. Check with Lemur if you have the budget for one.

Equalizer

Before plugging into your amp, you will need to purchase an equalizer, or “EQ.” Up-right basses can be challenging to amplify, and the EQ will help you to cancel out unpleas-

some marks on the side of the fingerboard, where you can see them when you needthem. Billy shows you in the video where his bass was marked in this way by themanufacturer.

Since every bass has a slightly different bridge position, I can’t give you exactmeasurements that will work for everyone. But I can tell you how to find the main frets.To do this, you will want to make sure the bridge is placed properly (by a professional),and that the strings are tuned perfectly, using an electronic tuner. Then, do the follow-ing:

First, measure the distance from the inside of the nut (the side facing the bridge) tothe crown of the bridge (where it touches the string). On my bass, this distance happensto be exactly 40 inches.

Next, divide this nut-to-bridge distance by 2. On my bass, that comes to 20 inches.Measure that distance from the inside of the nut, and mark the fingerboard. This is the12th (octave) fret. To check, hold down a string at this fret, and pluck it. It should soundexactly an octave above the same string unfretted (i.e., the 12th fret of the E stringsounds an E one octave above the open string).

Then, divide that octave distance by 2. On my bass, that comes to 10 inches.Measure that distance from the inside of the nut, and mark the fingerboard. This is the5th fret. To check, fret the E string at this mark and pluck it. It should sound the samenote as the next (A) string sounds when open.

Marking the 1st to 4th frets, and the 6th and 7th frets is a little harder. You have a fewoptions here:

Option 1: If the bridge to nut distance is very close to my 40 inches, you can use the distances shown onthe diagram.

Option 2: If the distance is different, you can use your tuner to find each note. You’ll only have to do iton one string (the fret will be in the same place across all four strings. Tip: The tuner will probably be moreresponsive to the higher string. So, use the G string instead of the E string.

Option 3: If you have access to an electric bass, make sure it is tuned the same as your upright bass, andthen use it to find the notes on your upright.

For any option, notice that the distances between the frets are not equal. They getcloser together the higher (toward the bridge) you go on the neck, just like on a guitar.

Once you have the frets marked, you’re ready to play!

REMEMBER:

1. Your ear is the ultimate instrument. As you become more expert, you will bemaking small adjustments with your fingers, to improve the intonation (tuning) of eachnote. But don’t worry about it! It will come.

2. Don’t “fret” the fret placement. Tape is easy to move around. If at first you don’tsucceed, try again.

3. Remember that you put your fingers ON the frets, NOT between them (as youwould on a guitar).

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ESSENTIAL LISTENING

Many classic country records did not credit the bass player by name. Some of the best players includedJoe Zinkins, Lightning Chance, Roy Husky Jr., Cliffie Stone, Cedric Rainwater, Allen Williams, and myfavorite, Bob Moore.

CLASSIC COUNTRY / HONKY-TONK

Patsy Cline – 12 Greatest HitConnie Smith – The Essential Connie SmithCarl Smith – The Essential Carl Smith (1950-1956) (Columbia Legacy)Ernest Tubb – Country Music Hall Of Fame (MCA)Hank Williams – 40 Greatest Hits (Polydor)Jimmy Bryant & Speedy West – Stratosphere BoogieFaron Young – Live Fast, Love Hard Original Capitol Recordings (1952-1962) (Capitol)Lefty Frizzell – The Best Of Lefty Frizzell (Rhino)Buck Owens Sings Harlen Howard – Sundazed (Capitol)Ray Price – The Essential Ray Price (1951-1962) (Columbia)Tennessee Ernie Ford – 16 Tons Of Boogie (Rhino)The Farmer Boys – Flash, Crash, And Thunder (Bear Family)Curtis Gordon – Play The Music Louder (Bear Family)Johnny Cash – The Sun Years (Rhino)

‘50’S ROCKABILLY WITH SLAP BASS

Billy Haley And The Comets – From The Original Master Tapes (MCA)Johnny Burnette Trio – Rockabilly Boogie (Bear Family)Elvis Presley – The Complete Sun Sessions (RCA)Carl Perkins – Original Sun Greatest Hits (Rhino)Charlie Feathers – His Complete King Records

MODERN HONKY TONK WITH SLAP BASS

The Starline Rhythm Boys – Better Luck Is A Barroom Away (Tin Town)High Noon – Stranger Things (Watermelon)Hot Club Of Cowtown – Devilish Mary / Swingin’ Stampede (Hightone)Wayne Hancock – Thunderstorms And Neon Signs / That’s What Daddy Wants / Wild,

Free, And Reckless (Ark 21)Mandy Barnett – I’ve Got A Right To Cry (Sire) [no slap bass, but a real gem of a

modern country record done the old way. Owen Bradley’s last production.]

BILLY’S THANKS TO

Paul Garstki & Donna Thomas, Arlen Roth, Danny Coane & Sean Mencher, Al “Pickin’ Fisherman”Lemery, Rose, Wayne Hancock, Bob Moore, and especially my wife, Shealeen, and my little boy, Calvin.

DEDICATED TO CARL, JAY, AND CLAYTON