Bass Musician Magazine - SPECIAL August 2013 Latin Issue | Page 68
Getting to the more technical
The ‘lower 4-string bass’
aspects, Octavius is a 33 1/2”
makes a radical change on the
bass that appeared as a result of
string gauging, which goes ‘light’,
my deep love for 4-string basses, as you perhaps have never heard
so I decided to have two of
before. On a low register this
them on just one bass! I always
light gauging will never sound
dedicate that irony to those ERB
‘guitaristic’, as could happen if
haters... and that’s the end of that you place light string gauging
conversation right there (smile).
on the high bass register. When
Taking it more seriously, there’s it comes to the lower notes,
much truth in that statement,
due to the lack of tension, light
because when you analyze a
strings offer many benefits like
couple of specific aspects of my
warmness, deepness, sweetness
bass, you will end up finding that
and highly expressive lows,
there are really two very different
which is exactly what I like right
basses on it, mostly because of
there, something you just don’t
my unique string-gauging.
get with hard and thick-gauging
The first four strings are F .020 on the lower register. So my
– C .025 – G .035 – D .050, so on ‘lower 4-string bass’ holds an A
that ‘higher 4-string bass’ you’ll
.060 – E .080 – B .100 – F# .125.
notice that with the exception of
As you can see, regarding
the thin D, that you have a pretty
scale and string-gauging, I go