New Bongo videos

[Alvabass]

Hi everybody.

I've just uploaded some new material to YouTube. Hope you'll find these videos interesting and helpful if you want to give those tunes a try. Please read the descriptions and thank you in advance for watching!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbT-KTsyI7c"]YouTube - Stu Hamm's "Flow My Tears (The Policeman Said)"[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbXta3xUhTc"]YouTube - Stu Hamm's "Terminal Beach"[/ame]

 

[timmy5strings]

Awesome stuff Very nice, It may be a while before I can try that

 

[Aragorn35016]

Thats awesome! I never could do that, for some reason I just don t have the coordination to play separate rhythms/melodies at the same time. Do you use a hair band to deaden the overtones at the nut? I never can find one that will fit over the tuning keys!

 

[Alvabass]

Thats awesome, do you use a hair band to deaden the overtones at the nut? I never can find one that will fit over the tuning keys!

I have a scrunchie in my Bongo, but I didn't use it for these pieces. "Flow My Tears" requires the open E string to ring freely. If it weren't for the very end of the tune, I'd use it for "Terminal Beach".

 

[www.lamusic.ca]

Impressive. Good job!

 

[oli@bass]

I love the dynamics you do with tapping... wouldn't be able to do that! (I'm already happy when I get a tapped note to actually ring, regardless of volume ).

And nice big hands you have there. I have a hard time to do the first E9 chord stretching my left hand... now I understand why Stu Hamm plays medium scale basses.

Thanks for making this available!

 

[phat5]

Alva Bass, I happened to be surfing you tube for bongo players last week, and I came across your "work in progress" and "linus & lucy"......stellar bass work there! I'd love to see a slowed down version of "work in progess"...your rapid fire thumb is intriguing to me. When time permits, I'll be viewing your video clips several times for the purpose of learning. You got my attention.

Peace, Steve

 

[phatduckk]

every time i see your videos i get inspired to play and practice some new stuff.

the videos are a great help to me! thanks a million

 

[Alvabass]

every time i see your videos i get inspired to play and practice some new stuff.

That's my intention, Phat. I'm really happy to help.

Alva Bass, I happened to be surfing you tube for bongo players last week, and I came across your "work in progress" and "linus & lucy"......stellar bass work there! I'd love to see a slowed down version of "work in progess"...your rapid fire thumb is intriguing to me. When time permits, I'll be viewing your video clips several times for the purpose of learning. You got my attention.

Peace, Steve

Thank you so much, Steve! About the "rapid fire thumb"... well, it isn't that fast, really. The machine gun triplets, which are an integral part of Mark King's style, are the result of combining thumb slap, popping and left hand slap (which can be done in two ways, as you'll see in this video). The three-measure lick at 1:11 in the "Work in progress" video goes like this:

Hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need further assistance.

Alvaro.

 

[phat5]

Thanks Alvaro...that really helps!


Phat

 

[lebowsky]

awesome stuff, the intro to Flow My Tears is actually the first tapping song my teacher taught me to play I still don't master it though

what strings do you use on your Bongo? you got a really cool sound.

 

[Alvabass]

what strings do you use on your Bongo? you got a really cool sound.

That's a really old (more than a year) set of LaBella Hard Rockin' Steels, man.

 

[Max]

Great playing man, really inspiring. I think its great that you played it slowed down at the end so that we can learn it. A lot of people don't do that. Great to watch, definitely inspired me, haha. I'll probably spend a while trying to learn that now, haha.

 

[Slapfest]

Congratulations on those peices.... very nice.
And I agree that its especially considerate of you to show the "nuts and bolts" parts in slow motion....very cool.
I couldnt fault your execution..
But ( and I speak as a fellow that has never pursued tapping )
I found the rattle of your A and E strings took the clean edge away from the sound you deserved from that execution.
I realise that action must be very low for tapping, but if you're slapping with the same bass....that must rattle a lot... audibly
Perhaps you use different basses for different things ( and everyone, of course has their own preferences)... but I find that once the action below a certain point, you start to audibly choke the power of your fundamental....
and that goes double for slapping, below a certain point...there is no "bounce" as well ....
its just all clack and rattle.
We can get away with a touch of rattle.... but once your clearly hearing it through your amp...... to me, your trading off your tone and power.
But, as I say, I dont tap at all.... but you, on the other hand, seem pretty handy at it!
Cheers

 

[Joey SQUID]

Awesome.....especially Linus & Lucy & What Is Hip, Monster player bro

 

[strummer]

Alva, as usual very inspiring
I love the comment you got on one of the songs form a guy who thought your recordings needed reverb and something else, i guess he missed the point
Keep doing these, I enjoy them a lot and i now officially dick around with some tapping, though it is horripy hard to just get clean notes

 

[Road Pop]

Thank you for sharing! Very, very impressive! I'm gonna check out the rest of your vids.

 

[Rano Bass]

As always very well done Alvaro.

Buen bajista sin duda