Ohhhhhhh 12-string bass....

[woodyng]

Some one... might have been Miguel, said something like just the G & or D string tuned to say 9th or 7ths. I tried it. You could do the regular playing on the E & A (maybe D) and then some neat stuff on the tuned string or strings. Actually pretty cool!

Miguel was undoubtedly reproducing what Chris Squire does with his Ranney 8-string,which is to keep the E and A strings tuned to octaves,and the the D and G octave strings are tuned down to fifths. Chris describes it as "sort-of Gothic-sounding".....
It is indeed a very interesting and cool variation. I have a pedal that does octaves or fifths,and when i've run my 8 -string through the fifths setting,it can get some cool sounds.
that would be pretty rad to try that with a 12-string,keeping one of the octaves as standard and the 2nd as a fifth....

[weemac]

I've done that Woody, and it does sound like you would expect..

Eden.

[johnallg]

Has anyone seen the rare Rick 12 String bass??

[weemac]

I believe that is the only factory one ever made...

Eden.

[doctorwho]

Has anyone seen the rare Rick 12 String bass??

RIC-12stringbass.jpg

[squirebass]

Has anyone seen the rare Rick 12 String bass??

RIC-12stringbass.jpg

I caught one of these out of Lake Ray Hubbard here in Texas, with a Ric-O-Sound lunker lure, 'bout a 20 lb test line. Fought like the dickens, good eating, although a little stringy!

[paologregorio]

I forgot about this bass; I wish Kenny'd brought it to the NAMM jam a few weeks back!

[kennyhowes]

I forgot about this bass; I wish Kenny'd brought it to the NAMM jam a few weeks back!

One of these days, I'll bring it out.

[johnallg]

We need a LIKE button....

[ajish4]

We need a LIKE button....

LOL, my thoughts exactly!

[rickenbrother]

We need a LIKE button....

LOL, my thoughts exactly!

There have been times when a, Punch in the Face button would have served well.

[iamthebassman]

Got my first Hamer 12 in 1991, the second in 1992. They were all I played in my original band during the 90s. Still own the second one.

[12stringbassist]

I have two Hamer 12's. One is in the magazine photo earlier in the thread. That one is short scale. I have the action very low and it is a dream to play.
My other 12 is a Chaparral and that is long scale. It is is far harder to play as holding the strings down is a strain on the wrist. Both are prone to neck dive due to the weight of all of those tuners! A good strap (Levys checker) helps put an end to that. I much prrfer the short scale. Both have a big sound, but the Chap 'chimes' more - possibly because of the long scale.

There is a page about my 12ers with the full magazine article text on the gear pages at www.ianedmundson.co.uk

[rickaddict]

I just stumbled across this thread today. Sorry to join the party so late.

Great 12 string, Kenny! (And great job, Paul W!) I like that you went with Ruby.

And that video rocked too! But wait...How can Kenny be at the microphone singing lead without a guitar, and also in the back strumming a guitar?

Kenny...Do you have a twin?

[mc2NY]

NICE Ric spin on the 12-string bass!! All the original Hamer 12-string basses were short-scale for the first decade or so.

I've played and owned many 12-string basses since the 80s, as well as many 8-string basses.

I also own one of the first ones made, the Hamer Quadbass. Hamer made fewer than 10 back in 1978-80. Mine is, I think, one of two left with the original electronics intact and the breakout box, that allowed you to run each of the four bass string groups (EADG) to separate channels on the mixing board and pan/amp them.

The 12-string concept was something Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick dreamed up and Hamer made a reality. You can hear it
on the classic CT "Live at Budokan" LP. More recently, "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam is a good example of what the bass sounds like.

The idea may seem "excessive" to many bass players. It is mainly designed as a live solution to fill up sonic space in a three-piece "bass-drums-single guitar" format.

Personally, after decades of experience, I prefer an 8-string to a 12-string. I find that you have more control and a tighter low end with an 8-string bass. By splitting the signal with a crossover and adding a chorus to the high end, you get the same effect as the extra second octave string on a 12ver, plus your low root string stays more defined.

But a 12-string bass IS a crowd pleaser

Photo attached with my 1978 Hamer Quadbass in the foreground. Note the 12 knob integrated mini mixer routed into the body, allowing you to pan and control vol/tone for each string group.

On the extreme right is one of the two Hamer Monaco 12-string Basses made, which is a long-scale.

I DO own a nice Ric 8-string from the 80s