#90 - 10th July 2024 - LUNCH

So in addition to the alternative version of our own song that I prepared yesterday, I also prepared "LUNCH" by Billie Eilish for a a little recording session that will take place tomorrow evening.

The arrangement will be sparse and partially improvised. I'm pretty certain I'll do the baseline as it is quite iconic for the track and packs a ton of groove.

BUT! We also need to get it into our own style which could mean a reduction of BPM, and making it more spheric than funky. The whammy bar detuned guitar chords from the original version could be replaced by a detuned synth piano with a lot of delay and reverb (hello Mr Polybrute, you look fine tonight!).

I could move the pitch bend a little after having hit the keys to give it a similar, yet different vibe - and the delay would spit out varying degrees of detuned notes. I'm a huge fan of this kind of sound. In its essence, it's quite similar to what a tape echo does.

So after fiddling around, I have a rough idea of where this could lead to. But a lot will also depend on the vibe that Alex will bring with her vocal performance. After all, that's the core of it and the arrangement is there to make her shine.

Have I talked about my Stingray before? I love it. Five strings, super well balanced, great playability after I gave it my own setup - which is super easy as the truss rod is easily accessible at the neck joint. It's the three band EQ that Stingray purists don't like afaik. But I'm clueless, I've never played the OG two-band EQ version and I'm not Tim Commerford (unfortunately?).

The important thing is to push bass and treble (almost) to the max. And on mine, I even reduce mids a little. There you have it - the spank, the heft, the Stingray.

Did I mention how great the neck feels? Roasted maple, not lacquered, just a little oil on it I believe. It's marvellous. Everybody should have one.

Last year, In an act of utter stupidity, I checked used market prices as I thought I wouldn't need a bass guitar anymore. Turns out the EBM/MM Stingrays go for more than 3kEUR new retail street price these days.

I paid 2.2k EUR in 2021.

If this mad price policy continues, this thing will be a better investment than a Rolex! Ha! And what would you want a Rolex for? And one without an EQ? Tim Commerford would disapprove!

Cheerio