How to destroy a ten watt bass amp: a practical demonstration

Here's something totally new, and (shock, horror!) electric.

It's a bit epic, so be patient please. I think it's worth it!

The first half of the piece, Bottletop Skedaddle, lasts just under three minutes, is equally inspired by the grooves of Tortoise and Motorhead, uses rapid cross fingering (which I'm still perfecting, hence the timing snafus) and false flypicking (corner of fingernail), and the little amp's natural overdrive (I almost killed it filming this).

The second half of the piece, Sanshin Soliloquy, was written with the Okinawan three string banjolike Sanshin (like a Shamisen, but different) in mind, uses an appropriately "eastern" sounding scale, and complex combinations of hammers, pulls and slides. Then it builds and builds AND BUILDS into white hot noise (including some bad, distorted flamenco runs). I also get a bit too into this and start to shake and twitch toward the end. Yow!

All sustain and overdrive are natural. No effects are used.

It's all open fingered too. No picks here.

The bass is around 30 years old, the strings only slightly less so, the player a bit more



NOTE: Higher resolution available at youtube (link just below the vid on the youtube page)

I think I'll go take some paracetamol now.