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Old 06-28-2007, 01:19 AM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Join Date: 01-18-2007
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Cool telegraph pole?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker View Post
I know you wouldn't cut a scroll Ken, I didn't say that. And I'm not rubbishing anyone's craftmanship, least of all Arnold's and Jeff's.

But you have started a thread "Show your Extensions" and I've presumed that is so that feedback is received?

So to MY taste, those chromatic extensions DO turn an elegant scroll into a telegraph pole, so from ME at least, the feedback isn't gushing
Ok, I get it now. I thought you were assuming that the Scrolls were cut for my Chromatic Extensions as well.

I don't know what your Bass playing experience but let me try and explain in short when I use the Chromatic style. When playing in an Orchestra and a single note or two comes up below E, it is much easier to pre-set the the Stop to the lowest note needed and finger anything in between.

In the Philly Orchestra most all the players have the Chromatic while some of the older Extensions on the Basses are Mechanical/Chromatic. Only one Bass that I have seen has only the E-Latch and that is the Asst. Princ (3rd Chair). The Princ. has a Chromatic and the Assoc Princ. a Mechanical. All of the new Extensions the guys get there are the Chromatic.

I have used all 3 types and the Chromatic is the best of the 3 I feel. Only on fast passages would the keys/mech. be slightly better but equally noisier. The first time I saw the Philly Orch was a christmas Show with my family. There were only 4 Basses that night all with mechanical Exts. and almost every time they used, set or locked the keys, I could hear it from almost 100 feet away if not more.

The best way to play the low notes fast is with a 5-string Bass. The Chromatic can still be fingered just as easy as the E-latch fingered Ext.

So, no matter how it may look, it IS the most popular Ext. that I have seen and my personal favorite. Imagine octave jumps like in the Brandenburg or the Trout and you can quickly set your lowest string to E, Eb, D, Db or C to play any quick octave jump or run you need. Kinda cool I think! Next best thing to having a 5-string and one less string to jump across from not having the 5th B-string as well.
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