The Beakertwang Family Band! (2 Viewers)

Beakertwang

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My sister and her husband installed a beautiful in-ground pool last year, and this spring, completed the slide, fire pit, and even a small, elevated stage for live music. She asked if I would be willing to be the inaugural act to grace the stage for my nephew's graduation. I'm a competent, but not all that impressive, acoustic guitarist and singer. My wife will be playing bass. While not very experienced on the bass, she was a very talented baritone sax player in high school and college, and has a great ear, and picks up everything pretty quickly. My Lakland 5-string is a bit larger for her, so I ordered an electric ukulele bass. I've kind of wanted one of those for a while anyway. :).

My 24yo son will be playing percussion on our cajon.

We're going to try to put together about an hour of fun tunes, mostly from the 80's and 90's.

Here's our playlist so far (in no particular order):
  • "Take On Me", A-ha
  • "Surrender", Cheap Trick
  • "Hey Ya", Outkast
  • "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", Tears for Fears
  • "Crazy Train", Ozzy
  • Medley: "Bye Bye Bye", N'Sync and "Straight Up", Paula Abdul
  • "Where the Streets Have No Name", U2
  • "How Sweet It Is", James Taylor
  • "500 Miles", The Proclaimers
  • "We're Not Gonna Take It", Twisted Sister
  • "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", Cyndi Lauper
  • "Every Rose Has It's Thorn", Poison
  • "Rich Girl", Hall & Oates
  • "Love Somebody Like You", Keith Urban
  • "Sweet Child o' Mine", Guns'n'Roses
And maybe a few others. I'm going to be busy learning all the lyrics, for sure.

So far, rehearsing has been some really good family time, and a ton of fun!
 
Awesome, Andrew! Great way to spend family time.

YouTube channel?

Our church band played Sweet Child o’ Mine on Father’s Day. It was excellent, but I was laughing the whole time because I couldn’t believe it.
 
Awesome, Andrew! Great way to spend family time.

YouTube channel?

Our church band played Sweet Child o’ Mine on Father’s Day. It was excellent, but I was laughing the whole time because I couldn’t believe it.
Yeah, no YouTube channel, but I'll post some pics, and maybe a video, if we get one that sounds ok, and doesn't make me look like a fat, middle-aged dork. :D

Do you play, Scott, or were you just in attendance for your church's rendition?
I don’t think Twisted Sister and Ukelele belong anywhere in the same thread, haha. Good luck with the jam session and party.

Uke basses are a ton of fun. They are about the size of a kid's guitar, but have super thick strings, and they get a really cool sound. Excellent for living room jam sessions and acoustic gigs. Some jazz guys use the acoustic version for gigs when they don't want to take their huge uprights.

This is the one I bought:
1619497146933.png
 
If she ever decides to go short scale (Instead of tiny bass), I recommend the Nordstrand Audio Acinonyx. Has a fun vintage vibe, tons of tone, and a very comfy neck. I love mine.
 
And I haven't gotten a uke bass yet, but I need to, to play on our church broadcast. So small with such deep tone!
 
Yeah, no YouTube channel, but I'll post some pics, and maybe a video, if we get one that sounds ok, and doesn't make me look like a fat, middle-aged dork. :D

Do you play, Scott, or were you just in attendance for your church's rendition?


Uke basses are a ton of fun. They are about the size of a kid's guitar, but have super thick strings, and they get a really cool sound. Excellent for living room jam sessions and acoustic gigs. Some jazz guys use the acoustic version for gigs when they don't want to take their huge uprights.

This is the one I bought:
View attachment 687072
Just in attendance. I can play a few songs on guitar. And I sing. Married to a music teacher, from a very musical family.
 
If she ever decides to go short scale (Instead of tiny bass), I recommend the Nordstrand Audio Acinonyx. Has a fun vintage vibe, tons of tone, and a very comfy neck. I love mine.
That Nordstrand is fun! I was also looking at the Ibanez AGB260 or the Gretsch Jet Bass. Possibly the Squier Mustang bass, too.
 
That Nordstrand is fun! I was also looking at the Ibanez AGB260 or the Gretsch Jet Bass. Possibly the Squier Mustang bass, too.
I've played bass since childhood, and I play a little bit of uke, but I've never thought to try an uke bass. I may have to put this on my shopping list.

Probably right behind the Steinberger Spirit bass that I've been waffling on for a couple months. It gets mixed reviews, but it's also only $400.
 
Also...looking forward to hearing the beakertwang falsetto in Take On Me. gotta go Youtube on that shit!
 
Also...looking forward to hearing the beakertwang falsetto in Take On Me. gotta go Youtube on that shit!
I dropped it down a few steps so I could reach that high note. :D

Not sure on "Free Fallin'" yet, but it crossed my mind.
 
I dropped it down a few steps so I could reach that high note. :D

Not sure on "Free Fallin'" yet, but it crossed my mind.
My recollection on free falling is once you get about 8 bars into it, you've learned the song. Maybe exaggerating a bit, but not much. That and the bridge.
 
My recollection on free falling is once you get about 8 bars into it, you've learned the song. Maybe exaggerating a bit, but not much. That and the bridge.
It's 3 chords throughout the entire song, so after 2 bars, you should have it down. :D
 
I was looking for a Uke bass a little while ago to accompany my daughter. The vast majority are the rubber stringed variety which are great but have to be plugged in or you hear nothing. Part of the uke attraction is being able to pick up and play without faffing with attachments so I wanted to find an acoustic uke bass. In the end I went for a Cordoba Mini II Bass EB-E.-It's perfect for my needs with steel strings which you can hear without amplification (perfect for jamming on the sofa) but it can be plugged in if needed. You can see it hanging on the wall with my other ukes:

1619625454395.png
 
My bass arrived today, and I've got about an hour on it.

I'm pretty much 100% in agreement with @Beakertwang. Adapting to the short scale was easy, but I'm still getting used to the thick, squishy strings. The sound is surprisingly good for a $150 bass with a bridge pickup only, but I'm going to have to EQ it to get consistent volume top to bottom. Intonation is perfect all the way down, and this is one of my biggest complaints about most other inexpensive basses.

Most importantly, it's perfectly sized for travel, and it is a ton of fun to play. That's why I bought it, and so far I'm really happy.

PXL_20210501_165235050.jpg
 

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