I just looked through an entire long thread called why did Steve swallow switch from upright to electric bass? , Hoping somewhere someone would mention what kind of upright bass and strings he had when he played upright. no luck. Anybody know?
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Double Bass Steve Swallow what kind of upright bass and strings?
- Thread starter JoeLurker
- Start date
I crossed paths with Mr. Swallow in the late 60s or early 70s on the state fair circuit. He was playing for Jack Jones, I believe. We were all playing BGs for sound and convenience in those situations but I don't know if he had made the transition to BG totally yet. From what I recall from so long ago, he was playing a Fender-type bass, as we all were, and was not using a pick.
Just going off memory here but from the Gary Burton/Stan Getz live concert that was recolourized I remember thinking golden spirals from the look and sound.
Link starts at a bass solo where you can really hear it.
Thanks for your posts! In interviews he has said that he was one of the last hold outs for gut strings when everyone else was switching I just wish he had said what gut strings! Also, it kind of looks like he was playing a shop bass of some kind like maybe a Juzek? My inquiring mind wants to know! I’m just kind of surprised that it’s not common knowledge given that every electric bass he ever played seems to have been documented.
From the double bass recordings I've heard I believe he was playing guts. Recently on one of his several Citron bass guitars he's been trying some custom synthetic gut type strings from master string maker Gerold Genssler.
Do you have a source for this? I absolutely love the sound of Citron basses and I'm really curious what a Genssler string would sound like on them.
Steve is one of my favorite bassists and musicians of all time! Everything he plays is gold! Sophisticated voice leading placed within one of the greatest grooves of all time! What could be much better thank that???
This is the interview where Steve talks about the Genssler strings. The entire thing is pure gold but here's where he gets into his basses and strings...and amps and picks. Incidentally talking about strings he does confirm that he played guts on the double bass although not what kind.
About his Citron basses @18:15
About strings @22:44
About Genssler strings specifically @23:15
I too would really love to hear what the strings Gerold made for him sound like on those wonderful Citrons.
The solo sounds exactly like something he would play on electric. I guess that's not really surprising...