Ok.I don't play a bass.But i have seen these kind of basses which have 12 strings -
http://www.12stringbass.com/MainFrames.html
So is there any use of getting those 8 extra strings and hurting fingers like anything...I bet such basses must be very powerful :shock:
The one's I've seen online have triple courses but three 'main' notes, like a regular 4-string. It's like each string (EADG) has a main string and then an octave string and maybe another octave. I've heard they're quite powerful sounding. I think if you had it setup properly it would be easy to play. Instead of pressing down on a single string it might feel like pressing down on a 'strip' of metal rather than a single roundish feeling thing.
Personally, I wouldn't get one, but I'm sure there's people out there that just need it. Maybe for power trios and stuff, like Cheap Trick I think had one that their bassist used. I forget the guy's name but there was an interview where he said it was scary-loud!
And i don't even want to imagine what a set of 12 string for this kind of bass will cost.
In general i always wonder that why bass strings are so expensive...
The D'Addario's are $33.38 at juststrings.com. The four-string sets are $15.14, so yah that's a pretty big difference!
12 string basses are cool. They're slowly becoming more popular... like a 12 string guitar, they have this really big jangly sound. Doug Pinnick of King's X has used them also.
The strings are probably rather expensive... just buy a Variax Line 6 bass, which has a sampled 12 string on it, and save the trouble.
The biggest problem with them is intonation, all the strings have to be right in tune, or else it'll sound bad. You also have to get used to pressing three strings at once, and then you have to do a lot more muting, the more strings, the more sympathetic vibration.
The biggest problem with them is intonation, all the strings have to be right in tune, or else it'll sound bad.
*eeeesh!*
Tuning my 2-strings-per-course hammered dulcimer properly -- especially on the treble bridge, where you've got notes on each side of the bridge -- was a royal pain. Can't imagine triple-strung...
In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.
-- Yun-Men
Yea, I play mandolin also... two strings per four courses. That's a pain to tune.
Although I find lower strings easier to tune... I guess I'm more used to bass.
