What a coincidence!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 11:44 am

This should probably be in "The Others" thread, but I though this so strange and about two bass players that I wanted to put it here, so please indulge me.
Last night I went to an oldies concert here in Lima Perú with three bands from the 60's and along with a Surf-Venture type band,(great!)there were two 60's rock bands playing anything from rock to ballads, they were all famous here back then, each had a lot of hits and were good. (actually there were 5 but the first band backed up a few of the others)
But the thing of interest was that the first two bands both had left handed bass players who used upside down right handed basses strung for a righty, the strings were upside down. Now I have occasionally heard of people who play like this (Otis Rush comes to mind) but two bass players in one night in a small country like this? and even more strange, they both played Red Fenders, one was a P bass and the other was a P-jazz combo, without a pickguard, with a little different shape.
I was remarking to my wife how rare that was, and strange to have the G string on top instead of the bottom while the first band was playing, and then the second band came out, and I couldn't believe my own eyes.
I wonder what the odds of that happening are?
Maybe one of the bass players gave the other one lessons.
And we are on the other side of the equator.

mortivan · Post by **mortivan** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 11:59 am

That is odd!

On a similar subject (!) I'm north of the equator and my toilet flushes counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise). How 'bout yours?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 3:30 pm

I saw a guy who played that way in the 80's ... it was damn confusing to figure out what note he was playing ... but then again I get that when I play one of my 5 string basses ... people look at me and wonder what note I am playing ...

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 9:00 am

Back in the early 1970s, the bass player in a band I was in ("Second Saturday") played bass that way (he had a Ventura violin-shaped Hofner copy). I think he still plays acoustic 6-string guitar (if memory serves me correctly; I last saw him in 1996, I think), and he plays that the same way, "upside-down-and-backwards" as I used to call it. I always considered that it took more than average talent to be able to play a guitar that way!

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 9:17 am

Bob: This is highly unusual. Scott McCarl of the Raspberries played his Rickenbacker bass strung this way as well. Lefties certainly provide us with much interesting discussion. Sorry to move the posts, but until now, this thread had little direct relevance to Rickenbackers.

rob · Post by **rob** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 9:17 am

I've seen people do this before. Jimmy Haslip of The Yellowjackets comes to mind.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 12:01 pm

That's ok Peter, I just thought it so strange to see TWO upside down backwards bass players in a row, that I thought I'd give it a little more exposure, haha.
I'll let you know tomorrow John if it does flush clockwise or counterclockwise, I've never thought of it at the appropriate time, but I did think it would make a good joke.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:45 pm

I can play both ways....I learned right-handed upside down when I wanted to play the old Fender Jazz my high school owned in the Jazz Ensemble(too many years ago), so I just flipped it over and did it. I'm not as good this way as I am playing regular left-handed, but I can sort-of 'get by...' LOL

Keith Horne(bassist for Trisha Yearwood) is a MONSTER lefty bass player whose basses have lefty bodies and necks, but are strung upside-down. He is one of the best I've ever heard. Amazing.