"Into the Mystic" acoustic

[BrettBob]

It's been a while since I put any music together - I was kind of busy late last year. I joined a band, quit a band, and then my acoustic finally became unplayable after years of heavy strings and high action. So I eventually bought a new acoustic guitar (a used Blueridge) and converted my old acoustic into a short-scale acoustic bass. I could never mic my bass amp to my satisfaction, and always wanted the bass to sound as warm and woody as the rest of my acoustic instruments. So to test drive the bass, I decided to re-record one of my favorite bass lines, "Into the Mystic". I had arranged and recorded it a few years ago when I was really into creating a wall of sound, and the acoustic symphony didn't jive with Van Morrison's ethereal classic. So I gave it another shot.

Anyways...as usual, all instruments are me, for better or worse:

Blueridge acoustic guitar | Recording King Dobro | Daddy Mojo Cigar Box Guitar | Piano | Acoustic Bass | Percussion

https://soundcloud.com/brettbob/into-the-mystic

[Jean Pierre]

Excellent

very interested in your work of transforming a guitar  6string to Bass

http://brettbob.blogspot.fr/

did you have problems with pulling the bass strings (gauge)? with the action of the strings?  and especially in relation to the accuracy: the 12th fret gives it really the octave of the empty string ?

thank for this song brother in Dobro

[ODH]

Woody is a word which seems to cover the song.  Can't beat the sound of good acoustic instruments well played.

 

[BrettBob]

very interested in your work of transforming a guitar  6string to Bass

did you have problems with pulling the bass strings (gauge)? with the action of the strings?  and especially in relation to the accuracy: the 12th fret gives it really the octave of the empty string ?

Thanks! I'm still finessing the bass. I'm using specific short-scale strings (length of up to 32 inches, Gauges: Wound .045, .065, .080, .100) to increase the tension so the strings don't flop around like normal gauge strings would. I still have to adjust the trapeze tailpiece because the tension on the higher strings pulls everything unevenly across from the nut to the tail. Intonation is still sharp at the frets because of that (pretty close to an octave at the 12th fret since it's the same length from the nut to the bridge), so I tune the strings down a half or quarter step since I don't use a lot of open strings when I play. A work in progress...

UPDATE: I further tightened the bass tailpiece and it's in perfect tune all the way up the fingerboard.

[kenny mac]

Sounds excellent, I think your vocal on this sounds great.
Great performance, well recognised.
Nice one mate.

[Mach]

I listened to this twice yesterday but couldn't reply at thtat time.
This one of my favorite Van the Man tunes ever. Your interpretation is really nice BrettBob.
It has a great intimate feel and you have that Rhythm strum down. I like the dobro added
to it. Very nice.

Mach

[BrettBob]

Thanks, all! Mach, I noticed you have a version of the song here as well and I spun it a couple of times. Totally different approach but super cool, love hearing different spins of the same song.