Music in context; The Art of Video Game Music

“Music: The combination of sounds with a view to beauty of form and expression of emotion.”

This is the first line in The Devil is in the Beats, from Hanna by the Chemical Brothers.  A more accurate summary could not be found.
This, although the cynics and naysayers will continue tirelessly to disagree, is also present in the most synthetic and electronic forms of music.

In the case of videogames, this expression of emotion is fundamental to its very being. For some, it can be the making or breaking point of what makes a good game. Understandably enough, a virtual reality often requires quality of audio as well as visual in order for the person to fully experience what is happening.
For example, it takes all of one note in the hook of the Battle Theme for a completely new player experiencing Pokémon to distinguish between “youngster Joey would like to battle” and “Wild Deoxys appeared”. It can build a tension when your character is walking through a spooky dark tunnel and can relinquish all sense of care in the world when you mount your bike on cycling road. With this in mind, it is as equally fundamental to the audiovisual experience as movie soundtracks are, despite the different media.
It’s hard to imagine Jaws without the music that was composed specifically to go along with it; I mean, otherwise it’s just a bunch of dragged out underwater leg shots and people dying for no reason at all.
A motif or theme that can continually be reprised in order to relate one occurrence to the other and being able to see what you cannot yet see further develops the mood and texture of the story the writer is telling.
For a vast proportion of the avid gamers, a simple electronic motif is as important as those of Adele or Shirley Bassey crooning a Bond theme, and for very good reasons.

L; Shirley Basset, R; Adele

Being both the artistically and commercially flaring multinational market it is today, a lot of games companies have made it their business to produce nothing but the best. The Music side of things is absolutely no exception.

Nine inch nails frontman, multi instrumentalist and possible asgardian, Trent Reznor, the man famed for writing Johnny Cash’s Hurt (the song belongs to Cash, I don’t even care) provided composition duties on the theme of first person shooter Quake in 1996, as well as composing and performing the theme from Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Trent Reznor Live with Nine Inch Nails

Winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work in 2010 drama The Social Network and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for 2011 thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Reznor is nothing short of proficient at what he does.

Rewinding the clocks a bit, to about 1983, early digital age technology allowed game developers only a very limited, minimalistic and synthetic musical arrangement which is now formally recognised as ‘Chip-tune’ in reference to the sound chips used in vintage computers.
Despite limitations however, truly revolutionary composers used this to their benefit and composed such works that have become iconic in their own right.

Gerudo Valley, a Theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time composed by the legendary Koji Kondo has become such a piece given its popularity and nature.
Described as the greatest legend in the video game audio industry, It is quite interesting to note that as an avid fan of 20th century Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, Kondo’s work heavily reflects his influence once transferred to a different arrangement. This can be seen quite clearly in the 25th Anniversary special edition of  The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii along with which Nintendo released a music album conveniently titled The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD.
The album features live symphony performances of the work of Kondo, which displays its intricacy vividly in a new light.

 

                          compare the orignal..... 

.... to the orchestral version        

I’ve now come to the point wherein I can’t physically continue this essay without at least honourably mentioning the actual scene and niche chip-tune is making for itself in modern music.
Tangent Ahoy, I know. I do what I want.

Swift becoming a classic in its own right, elements of its vintage tone and influences can be heard in a lot of modern EDM tracks. Artists such as Daft Punk, Gorillaz, The Dead Weather, The Chemical Brothers, La Roux and Skrillex have used synth tones that are instantly associated with and unquestionably derived from  chip tune of early 80s arcade games and vintage Nintendo classics. Even Muse frontman Matt Bellamy’s use of the Kaoss Pad, incorporated into the body of his Manson guitar and derived from the Korg Kaossilator, flurries the Muse sound with violent synthesised hisses and squeals and adds a whole new level to their live sound.  The action packed assault, rhythm-driven songs from the Megaman series serve as an obvious influence for Tron; Legacy by Daft Punk and more specifically, the single Derezzed from the album The type of synth used is directly linked to vintage arcade consoles. 

Megaman 2011 German nightclub version

Since Tron; Legacy is the follow up of the 80s classic Tron and involves characters getting stuck in a virtual reality; inside a vintage arcade console, the effect used to simulate this sound is more than fitting.
It is actually quite common for artists these days to sample motifs of classic tunes purely because of the unique simplistic tone that chip-tune has and because it carries a subtle importance to those who listen to it and infuriates a lot of us who are constantly questioned over the lack of intricacy or supposed unmusical or inartistic value of it.

Classic 8-bit Megaman

To those who have grown up in the 80s or after, owning a vintage game console such as the Nes, Sega Megadrive or Gameboy, it connects them to that part of their life; a Christmas, a birthday, a summer, and offered an escape or pastime which they utilized and it quite simply became part of who they are.
You can program a computer to do a lot of things, but programming it to imagine is not yet within our capacity and maybe for good reason (see: Robot Apocalypse).

COG Custom Bad Mario Pedal inspired by the game

It’s kind of been long since on my to-do list to sample Sonic Adventure’s opening phrase; “Aw yeah, This is happening”, as part of a track I think it’d go well with some chaotic atonal driving bass synth and a Korg Kaossilator.
More on that front as it happens.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Having mentioned Hanna briefly earlier, you can read my more in depth analysis of the music from the movie composed by The Chemical Brothers here.

Intrigued by this post and looking for a Chip-tune sound? Check out the New Korg Kaossilator KO-2 by following this link. 

The older models KO-1 can be commonly found in pawn shops since they’re a bit old at this point, and its unlikely someone would sell one second hand for over €80.
They’re a pretty fun piece of kit, and virtually all you need to make your average rock band sound like Mario on Steroids.

and this.. this is beautiful. The Radioactive Grandma Spirals 8-bit 

Electric Warrior by T.Rex; A late Cretaceous Album you Should Know

Electric Warrior

There are very few artists who can do what Marc Bolan did in 1971.
Simple as.

Upon re-inventing both himself and the band, shortening their name from Tyrannosaurus Rex to just T.Rex and renewing their sound and musical nature, Bolan managed to do what many strive to do and reach that pinnacle or point of grace wherein they are on the cusp of both the artistic and commercial apex.

It had long since been a desire to change and Electric Warrior was a confession of this.
Moving away from the acoustic flower poet vibe of Tyrannosaurus Rex and his partnership with Steve Peregrine Took (yep, he named himself after the hobbit), Bolan abandoned the dying psychedelic underground scene and opted for a distinctly glam sound.

T.Rex had upgraded slightly from their previous album, Marc's own Bass playing was replaced by bassist Steve Currie, whilst Mickey Finn and Bill legend stayed on as the signature twin percussion arrangement.

It was an unusual sound which kept a link to the old and at the same time, created a new identifiable sound for a new generation of teens to cling on to.

Why Electric Warrior doesn't get the respect it deserves

Change is a funny thing. It's always a gamble and no matter what you do, you cannot please everyone. This couldn't be more true in the case of Electric Warrior .

The adoption of new musical directions left quite a noticeable divide which left a lot of underground scene followers of Tyrannosaurus Rex alienated by their new commercial popularity and a lot of teenagers manic over the instantaneously immortal and iconic sounds Bolan was creating in studio.

With the radio audiences of the early 70s further moving towards a more prog-orientated scene, and condescending DJs listing them as nothing more than teen-fantasy, bubblegum pop a lot of the musical mastery in Electric Warrior has been missed out on or forgotten over time.

Listening to it is like looking into the mind of the then 24 year old ambitious and socially anxious Marc Bolan and like a lot of his best work, reflects an almost accidental lyrical depth.
Though full of rock classics, as was the purpose of the album, several of the songs still display not-too-subtle nods of the lyrical poetics of the previous albums, with Cosmic Dancer, Monolith and Girl all tinkering with such deeper-than-surface ideas as re-incarnation, fate and the divine.

Cosmic Dancer is the best example of this album's unintentional depth. It is Marc's explanation for the supposed change of sound in which his message is simple; He's always been Glam, just now he's only realising it.
Different contexts have been used of the song over the years which add to the deeper poetics. one of which being it's use as an almost overture to Billy Elliot.

Cosmic Dancer used in the opening credits of Billy Elliot.

In the opening credits of the movie, the first thing we see is the LP cover, designed by the now legendary art group Hipgnosis** and based on a photo taken by Kieron Murphy at a T.Rex concert at the Albert Hall, Nottingham. The soundtrack to Billy Elliot heavily features work by T.Rex which is an unusual take on the message carried by the songs in question.
If anything, it shows how tranferably relevant Bolan's writing is when used in the context of gender stereotype, breaking rules or traditions and self discovery.

That, to me, is what really makes an artist like Bolan stand out. The relevance of his work will continue to mesmerize me undoubtedly for years to come. It is only once it has stood the test of time that those who knocked him as bubblegum pop actually realise the genius of his supposedly laughable simplicity.

Although in his tragically short 29 year long lifetime Marc never succeeded to live up to his own internal artistic ambition, this driving force produced something bigger that perhaps even he had overlooked.

Get it on live in 1972.

Marc is the only person who can wear themselves on a T-Shirt without looking like an arse biscuit.

**Hipgnosis deserve more of a passing mention, but since it would be an irrelevant tangent to the main body of this essay, you can check out just how important they are via this unofficial website.

They're pretty much the Max Martin of Album covers.

Renaissance Period of Modern Music

Pawn Shop Finesse, Aged Guitars & The Epiphone EB-1

One of my absolute favourite things ever, possibly my favourite aside from frozen yogurt, are those brilliantly vintage guitars you find in a pawn shop or charity shop. They’re a rare sight, because good deals are nabbed quick by the lucky, but they are always such a nice inconspicuous sight.

Should you be one of the lucky ones, the best thing to do is ask the owner if you can play it or plug it in to something first. They’re likely not going to be music store assistants, so they may not be familiar with the norms of your standard music shop. Should they show reluctance, be patient and show you are keen on buying it even if you are still undecided.
It is always best to try things out in the shop first before you buy it, as it will give you a good insight to what it’s worth, and if it’s worth what the store is asking. Check for any damage in the electronics; Do the pickups buzz? Does the tone or volume potentiometer crackle when you move it? And check for any issues with the frets.
Even if they do have slight issues, hope is far from lost. Most decent guitar shops either do repairs or know a luthier who does. The simple job of re-doing old electronics should cost no more than €50. Re-fretting would not be too far off that, and if it was a case where both needed to be done, most places would happily do a deal.

But trust me, any necessary internal restoration costs are totally worth it.

Aged '58 Gibson EB-3

The trend of pawn shop guitars is beginning to become a trend in a lot of new bands. Some are beginning to realise the true aesthetic that a guitar has at later stages in their life, once they have effectively fermented in their own right.

Bassist Robert Levon Been of California Alternative rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle club Is famed for using a line of Epiphone Rivoli Basses, the first of which came from a pawn shop.

"I got my first one because it was all I could afford. I couldn’t afford to go to Guitar Center! I found this pawn shop in San Francisco, and it was the only bass on the wall apart from modern plastic things. It was $800, and had loads of scars all over it. I complained to the guy that it was scratched and a bit messed up. He didn’t know basses at all, and I was “complaining” about the things I really loved about it! I knocked him down to 400 bucks." (R Levon Been, 2013)

Robert Levon Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

The use of such a bass definitely adds to the overall sound of Black Rebel Motorcycle club and the heavily overdriven hollow body bass is instantly recognisable due to how unique it is.  This is important in standing out.
Some find it pretentious to admit to a desire to stand out, but personally I’ve never been interested in doing everything by the book anyway.

There is definitely character to a naturally road worn guitar. If anyone ever asked me what’s the coolest guitar I’ve ever seen, one I want to own more than anything or If i could choose from any guitar in the world, and only ever own one guitar ever again....
Well, those questions are easy.
Willie Nelson’s guitar.

Willie Nelson's 1969 Martin N-20

Since 1969, Willie has used one guitar and one guitar only and this certainly shows on its worn and aged body. It is instantly recognisable; a 1969 Martin N-20 worn and scratched and with a second gaping hole between the saddle and acoustic sound hole and multiple signatures.
This, as an instrument, is everything I feel an instrument should be. It is an extension of the storyteller himself. It tells his story and carries all the wrinkles and scars of road life and music life as the man himself does.

Both also, sound brilliant after all their combined years despite the natural aging.

From Willie Nelson's Band of Brothers album

Apart from the road worn side of things, one thing other vintage guitar hunters seem to overlook which I find particularly appealing are the stock room rejects and the Art deco of the 1950s, which was a unique aesthetic that simply never really kicked off.

Fender Bass VI, a 1961 design that was shelved in 1975

A fine example of this is the not so well known Epiphone EB-1 which have been popping up now and again, catching my eye of late. Appearance wise, they quite closely resemble the idea of the Höfner 500/1 except are completely solid, a more garish shape and finished in a dark mahogany colour with oddly painted on f holes.

It’s unusual rectilinear and edged shape, use of symmetry and non-curvilinear violin body heavily reflects post first world war French art. It’s obvious the designer in question was going for something raw, and I must commend him for that.

Gibson EB-1 produced circa 1953

The EB-1 started life as a Gibson product in 1953 and was manufactured mainly as a competitor to the Fender Precision bass which was proving incredibly popular among bass players. Gibson chose to give bass players the option of playing it traditionally in upright position or in the off centred bass guitar position, and included a retractable end pin to accompany the EB-1, as well as a fretless version of the bass. This unfortunately proved unsuccessful for Gibson and the EB-1 was discontinued in 1958.
The EB-1 was then replaced by the EB-3, its somewhat cheekier devil-horned younger brother, which copied the body shape of the double cutaway Les Paul (Now called SG) and proved popular among those who preferred short scale basses.
Gibson attempted to reissue the EB-1 twice; in 1968 and 1999, the former having a slightly different design, removing the nonexistent f hole, and the latter having a bolt on neck.

The EB-1 in it's hard case with the retractable end pin

Despite its unpopularity among players however, the EB-1 is prized among collectors for its historical value. It is not uncommon for original EB-1s to fetch prices of over $4000 (almost €3150). This doesn’t surprise me in the slightest really. Vintage rejects are popping up all over the place these days, with the Fender bass V and bass VI, Orfeus violin bass, Univox Lectra, guitars made by Kay, Tiesco, and Höfner.

JB Hutto Montgomery Airline & Kay Hollowbody
used by Jack White of The White Stripes

It’s a direction a lot of musicians are starting to turn to for fresh ideas, myself included.

In reality what we’re facing is the renaissance period of modern music.

How to build a microphone in times of financial crisis and economic upheaval

I could spend hours praising the many possibilities of a Piezo transducer. I also have in the past used them for many purposes.
for those who don't know what a transducer is, a brief background;

A transducer is a device or object that converts one form of energy to another. they are in your headphones and in a pickup, part of an electro-acoustic instrument. Of course, there are many types of transducers that work with different types of energy.
The transducers we're going to use are Piezo discs, which convert vibrations into electronic signals.

Piezo Disc with wires attached

Piezo discs can be found in almost any hardware store, and are normally pretty cheap. Maplin stocks them in Dublin beside the jervis street shopping centre. I'd imagine most hardware stores should, otherwise they pretty much fail at life.
The best ones to look for are the ones that have the wires already attached to them, they save you having to solder them yourself. Plus, in my experience Piezo discs are pretty delicate.

So, on to the building of the microphone.......

How to build a microphone in times of financial crisis and economic upheaval

The materials needed for this are pretty basic, in all it should cost a lot less than the €6 guitar which you can read about by clicking here. In all, what you need is:

• Piezo disc (like above)
  You can glue it to a bottle cap for extra support if you want
• 1/4" input jack
• an empty Coke Can
• wire mesh
• Polystyrene/foam/sponge/insulation.

the can you use doesn't make much of a difference really, but it will give your microphone a different tone depending on the size, shape and material. Personally, there is something iconic and strikingly recognizable about a coke can. 

And, for added bonus, people would be like "Hey, look at that guy singing into a coke can".

The steps in making the Coke can microphone are as follows;

1. Make sure the coke can is clean and not sticky in any way shape or form.
2. Using a cordless drill, drill an 8mm hole in the base of the can.
3. Using a sharp stanley knife, cut around the top of the coke can and remove the top.
4. Solder the piezo disc cables to the input jack. The signal wire going to the outside notch and the ground wire going to the ground notch. If this requires an extra length of wire, any audio cable will suffice.
5. Screw the input jack to the 8mm hole in the bottom of the can. The jack is threaded in order for a nut and washer to be screwed on.
6. Stuff the bottom of the can with whichever foam or insulation you gathered. I just used part of an old mattress. The idea is you want to fill out a bit of unwanted space without muting it entirely. like when drummers put pillows in their bass drum.
7. Place the piezo transducer inside the can and duct tape it in place so that it doesnt move around.
8. Cut some wire mesh that will lightly fit over the open top of the can. this is your pop shield.
9. Shape the wire mesh and duct tape it in place.
10. Plug the mic into a heavily distorted amp and scream your ass off.

Congratulations, you've now made your own garage microphone. If you've also made the 1 string slide guitar, you are legally qualified to be called a one man band.
Go forth and be rad.

Coke can microphone in all it's iconic glory

I suppose some of you reading this might be intrigued to hear what the microphone sounds like so I've provided a couple of sound samples of my own below.

Sittin' on top of the World (First verse) 

Salute your solution (last verse)

How to build a guitar in times of financial crisis and economic upheaval

Ok, the new budget is about to come in which is going to result in things going in reverse for a while, but you only have 2 more months to defeat procrastination and learn how to guitar.
If you do not already own a guitar, you could not have come to a better place.

How to build a guitar in times of financial crisis and economic upheaval

Ok. you're going to need materials firstly and a lot of patience to do this right. some parts involve a lot of trial and error, but bear with me and I will explain my way through all of them.
What you will need:

• A slab of wood, approx 16 inches long, 4 inches wide and about 2 inches deep. but anything close to that size will do.
  I only ever just used part of a disused pallet, just selected a good dry part and sanded it well down as to eliminate any loose splinters.
• 3 nails.
  If asked how long do you want them? insist you would prefer to keep them.
• An empty glass bottle.
  something roughly the size of a Cavan cola bottle you used to be able to get in pubs and such. a beer bottle would suffice just provided it's the correct size.
• A single coil pickup.
  The pickup you use shouldn't have to be perfect. The more imperfections the better really. (see example on the right)
  A Dr.Parts single coil pickup is best since they're cheap and pretty easy to come by.
• A 1/4" jack input.
• A small sweet tin.
  The kind your gran keeps her spare pins or cardigan buttons in.
• An old guitar/bass string.
• A plectrum
• A glass slide

Right so, once you've got all that, it's time to start putting the raw materials together.

1. Make sure the main body of wood is sufficiently sanded and smoothed down so it can be handled and played with ease.
2. Mark out rough layouts for the individual points on the wood with a pencil. Two nail points must support the string either end of the body, just not too close to the edge and another one must hold the glass bottle in place. also, decide which end is the head and which is the toe.
3. Taking the string, place the looped end on the first nail, place it over the pencil mark on the head end and hammer it in. Not too far that the nail is the whole way in, but instead just put it in far enough so that it doesn't move.
4. Hammer the Bottle support nail in place, so that it is level with the first nail.
5. Put the bottle in place and wrap the string around the final nail. Just hold it in place for now, decide how much string length you need to that the bottle keeps it in a state of tension.
6. Take the bottle away and hammer the final nail in place so that it is half the height of the first two.
7. Wrap the string around it and using the hammer, bend the nail around so it keeps the string in place and it cannot slip out.
8. you now have the main unit of your guitar. Now what you want to do is turn it into an electric guitar and allow the grunge to happen.
9. Screw the pickup in place, towards the middle part of the length of string, swiveled towards the bottle.
   (I had to place a small piece of scrap wood beneath mine to raise it a bit as the signal was a bit weak)
10. Drill a small 8mm hole in one end of the sweet tin and a smaller sized hole on the other.
11. Feed the pickup cable through the smaller hole and place the input jack in the 8mm hole. The jack is threaded in order for a nut and washer to be screwed on.
12. Solder the pickup cables to the input jack. The signal wire going to the outside notch and the ground wire going to the ground notch.
13. For handiness, you can duct tape the sweet tin to the wooden body.
14. Grab that slide and plectrum, plug in to a heavily distorted amp.
15. Rock.
16. Roll.

Congratulations. you are now the proud owner of a garage manufactured guitar. Feel free to sticker bomb, graffiti or modify and personalize it in any way you like. The more original it is, the better.

Which end do I smoke from?

in all, this should cost no more than €6

Your very own Gibson Les Paul

Höfner 500/1 bass; Redefining an Icon and a legend

Background; About Höfner

Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments originally set up in 1887. The company is split into two basic divisions; one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and the other which focuses solely on other string instruments.

Much of Höfner's popularity is attributed to The Beatles’ popularity in the 1960’s, Most notably, Paul McCartney's use of the Höfner 500/1 bass throughout his career. This violin-shaped model is commonly referred to as the ‘Beatle bass’ because of this.

The Hofner 500/1

Höfner 500/1 bass; the unpopular subjective opinion

I’ve played a 500/1 now for just under 4 years. The same length of time, It has been both my primary and only bass.
As an unusual and legendary instrument, other musicians tend to comment on it. Mostly positive, although I have gotten a few gurners grimacing at the brand name, (as they tend to do with any that is neither Gibson nor Fender).
Usually given the circumstance, I don’t get the chance to lecture those on my choice of instrument like a proud professor and father.
So I’ll take the opportunity now, so I can refer them to my blog later.

It’s something I hear a lot, “you must really like the Beatles”. While this is true, it’s not as true as other musicians conclude. I like the Beatles, I respect Paul, I regularly dissect their back catalogue to view it piece by piece and study just how intricate it all is.
But I’ve never once tried to sound like them.
Its 2014, I like to think the world has moved on a little from 1963.

Unknown to many, The 500/1 was not used by Paul in studio. The trademark Beatles bass tone, from Paul’s studio work is in fact a Rickenbacker 4001. In studio, It was difficult to get the desired warm muffled bass tone which was signature to RnB records at the time.

Bob Babbit of Motown's Funk Brothers.
Babbit's bass has a thin strip of foam under the bridge.

To combat this issue, Bass players used to put a bit of fabric or foam underneath the bridge to mute the strings ever so slightly.
McCartney, as a guitar player primarily, used this to cut sustain and play multiple notes at a quicker pace without having to mute the note he just played before progressing.

McCartney has only ever used a Höfner bass live and did so for many reasons, to list a few; The Höfner brand was cheap and affordable, and like a lot of German manufactured products, proved well crafted and reliable, The short scale neck was almost guitar sized and meant more freedom as primarily a guitar player and The Image was striking and memorable, which was a much sought after trend among the Mod scene in the 60s. Another fine example of this is John Entwistle’s use of the Horseshoe shaped Danelectro Longhorn bass.

John Entwistle in the early days of The Who, playing the Longhorn Bass

It is rare to find someone using a Höfner 500/1 in studio, but for the sake of mentioning a few other Höfner 500/1 players; Dale Davis plays a 500/1 in Amy Winehouse's band, most notably the live BBC material and Alain Johannes uses a 500/1 in Them Crooked Vultures live material whilst John Paul Jones plays keys.

The first thing people notice about the Höfner 500/1 when they pick it up and start fumbling through the first few bars of ‘Here comes the sun’  or ‘Come together’ is how un-Beatles it sounds. They then follow up this confusion by putting it down to simply just being a “shit bass”.
What they misunderstand is simply…. These aren’t the droids you are looking for.

As a musician, said bass tone has intrigued me for many years so to be slightly fairer on the Beatles tribute band enthusiasts and for those who are simply looking for a similar sound, I’ll offer a few pointers:

If it’s sound you want, don’t focus on the appearance. This should be musician 101 but a lot of the time it is skimmed over and panic-buying happens. Some Tanglewood and Epiphone copies of the Höfner 500/1, although they may be more affordable and somewhat look the part; will prove to be not what you’re looking for. When looking for a sound, what you should be doing is trying out every combination of Bass and amp in the shop until you hit on the sound. The mistake a lot of folks make is matching the appearance.
Basically, Don’t.

A good alternative for beginners is a cheap bass, Squier Affinity Precision/Jazz Bass, Epiphone EB-0 or EB-3, or if you want to go Hollow body; The Epiphone EB-2.
Any of these will prove more than versatile and enough to tackle a Beatles number by just copying Paul and putting that bit of foam under the bridge.
My personal preference would be the EB-2 or EB-3, but whichever feels best to you is the real thing.

If you can afford to Rickenbacker, then always Rickenbacker.

Epiphone EB-2

On the immediate flipside…….

The Secret nature of The Höfner 500/1

So, if it’s not a Beatles Bass, what is it? Having dissected the misinterpretation of the Höfner 500/1 already, it’s time to redefine what it is good for.
If not McCartney or the Beatles, What did inspire me to spend just under €300 for an Indonesian bass made by a German company despite only taking up the instrument a few months previously?

Batman and Bill Black.

If you’ve read this far, I recon you were expecting some big explanation, but it defies explanation. My Bass was a panic buy, it was a birthday present, I needed a Bass that I could own. At the time I was borrowing a Stagg Jazz Bass copy and would soon after have to return it.

I’m a self confessed fan of old video footage. Even if the sound happens to be terrible, I can always find a reason to stare endlessly at black and white footage of old musicians, actors, dancers, you name it I’ll have watched it.

Bill Black is no exception to this. In fact, he’s one of my favourites for how influential he is yet not everyone can tell me who he is.

Bill was Elvis Presley’s Bass player and the man laying the foundation for a sound that changed the world. Bill was always important to me and I found it quite mesmerising how his bass was always instantly recognisable on a poorly lit stage or in a blurred photograph due to its beautiful white binding.
The Bass in question was a Kay Maestro M-1, bought by Black in 1954 for $120.00

Bill Black in studio with Elvis

It gave the instrument a cartoon-esque outline, and the Höfner 500/1 shares this defining feature.

Choosing to get it in black was of course another subtle homage. It looked sleek, like the sort of instrument batman would play and still looks immaculate after 4 years despite it undergoing very poor maintenance and travelling anywhere I went, (It accompanied me to college where it served both as my main instrument and a tie rack,) and probably will do for a very long time.
Black never goes out of fashion.

Batman Begins; Bruce Wayne knows what's good for him

Sure, I just broke every rule in my own book, but it was also coincidentally the best thing I’ve ever done as a musician.
Its incredibly unique bright tone allows it to be tracked flawlessly through the cheapest pitch shifter pedal.
Its Hollow body allows for the wildest distortions and fuzz tones as can be seen in the No one loves me and Neither Do I video above.
Its short scale, thin neck allows me to make 2 or 3 note chords and was incredibly important for the development my playing style.

You can hear an example of this by clicking here for a demo cover of Nirvana's Breed

I’d like to say I knew all this at the time, that I did my homework and picked the Bass that was going to define me as an artist. But I didn’t.

I suppose I could put it “The wand chooses the wizard”.

(Edit: Coincidentally, The Bill Black bass mentioned earlier is now owned by Paul McCartney.)

Experimentation in practice; Dario Rossi Street Drummer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqQ0OYaXLhM

For a good drummer...... everything's a drum.