Guitar and Pear-Shaped

[Ken McKay]

Chet atkins playing guitar in front of a cornerless player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-c66SJPuUI

And if you look close you can see Ken Smith in the background next to to girl with the poodle dress.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Ken McKay

Chet atkins playing guitar in front of a cornerless player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-c66SJPuUI

And if you look close you can see Ken Smith in the background next to to girl with the poodle dress.

Wow, who is that guy playing the Cornerless bass and where is that thing now. That bass is way way out of his league..

It looks a bit like my bass but I doubt that it is. I think..

Me next to a girl when I was 2 or 3 years old?

[Eric Swanson]

A couple years ago I was with my daughter, watching one of the first (earliest) "Concerts for Young People" DVDs that the NYPhil put out. I noticed that there was a cornerless bass near the far end of the section. This particular film was from the very late 50s or very early 60s.

I wrote the archivist at the orchestra, hoping to figure out who was playing that bass. While the (kind, patient, remarkably helpful) archivist provided a interesting, comprehensive list of all the section members (and the various orchestras that evolved into the NYPhil), he could not tell me anything about the instruments themselves.

So, the pear-shaped instrument that was in that section went somewhere. Anyone know who plays it now?

Whoever was playing it in the NYPhil was definitely not the same player in the Chet Atkins clip. If it was the same person, he dramatically changed his left hand technique for the other gig .

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Wow, who is that guy playing the Cornerless bass and where is that thing now. That bass is way way out of his league..

It looks a bit like my bass but I doubt that it is. I think..

Me next to a girl when I was 2 or 3 years old?

I've posted a link to the video to a group of the old Nashville recording industry folks, but I haven't had a response yet. One session drummer suggested that the clip might have been from a show called "Midwestern Hayride", which was broadcast from Cincinnati, but so far, I haven't had a good answer as to who the player was.

I know - I'll ask Bob Moore...

[Dave Martin]

That's Ernie Newton playing bass. I haven't yet found out more about his bass.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Dave Martin

if y'all don't know who Bob Moore is, you should do a search; you could make a pretty strong argument that Bob invented country bass. He started his session career in 1949 and played on something around 10,000 sessions, including the ones that gave us all of Patsy Cline's hits, all of Marty Robbins' hits and even the Elvis records that were recorded in Nashville, like "Teddy Bear". He also played on records by Jim Reeves, Johnny Horton, Roy Orbison, Ray Price, Brenda Lee, Paul Simon (that's him on The Boxer) and a zillion others. And by the way, he still plays great. But I digress...

According to Bob,that's Ernie Newton playing bass, Louis Ennis on rhythm guitar and Marvin Hughes on piano. Ernie played with (among others) Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, The Osborne Brothers and Kitty Wells. In other words, he's a more seasoned (and better) bassist than this video makes it appear. I'm trying to find out now if Ernie is still alive, and what happened to the bass.

Ok, but unless he was known for playing a Cornerless bass, this isn't the place to talk about him. Show me a picture of him with an Italian or Spanish Guitar shaped bass and then we are in business..

I don't think the population of Italian or Spanish basses has any familiarity at all with the names mentioned above, sorry.

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Ok, but unless he was known for playing a Cornerless bass, this isn't the place to talk about him. Show me a picture of him with an Italian or Spanish Guitar shaped bass and then we are in business..

I don't think the population of Italian or Spanish basses has any familiarity at all with the names mentioned above, sorry.

Well, Ken, Ernie Newton WAS playing a cornerless bass in the video. Nevertheless, I'll remove the reference. It's your forum, after all.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Dave Martin

Well, Ken, Ernie Newton WAS playing a cornerless bass in the video. Nevertheless, I'll remove the reference. It's your forum, after all.

Ok, thank's for clearing that up.

Those that may have played an old Cornerless bass or two from the 18th or 19th century will have a special affinity for them. They seem to vibrate a bit more freely than basses with corners of any type. They are also very awkward to carry but not to play.