Tough program

[Nick Hart]

Hey Ken,

I give you a lot of credit for switching basses before a concert. I had to do it once this year. It can actually be kind of fun if you know your part very well and the string lengths and feel of the basses are similar.

My bass was in the shop getting a new setup by Nick Lloyd and I had to borrow one of my studio mates "Prescott-ish" bass. It is cut down a lot with the original top, scroll, tuners, and neck, but the back was new when it was cut down. The bass needs a lot of work but it was definitely interesting just walking on stage and playing the bass.

Oh and I definitely wouldn't have done it if I was playing that Stravinsky solo. It's a hard part on a bass somebody has been playing for 20 years.

[JustinKujawski]

Oh man, I never could have pulled that off. I hate playing basses that I'm not used to, in other words, basses that aren't mine. Maybe it's a mental thing but I spend so much time just trying to play notes in tune on another instruments that everything else goes to hell in a handbasket.

A lot of jazz musicians, who play on unfimilar basses on a regular basis say that its an aquired skill. One guy mentioned that in a lesson with Larry Grenadier he (Larry) played the A in thumb position out of tune once, found the note and proceeded to play everything else for the rest of the 90+ minute lesson perfectly in tune on my friend's bass.

For now, I'm just gonna try to play in tune on one instrument!