Luthiery Laboratories

Doing Things Wrong

May 30, 2021

The Knack

May 30, 2021

Most people regard The Knack as a novelty act - My Sharona and little more. The truth is, they were a really great band that deserved a lot more respect than they got. Watch this show at Carnegie Hall in 1979 - they are note-perfect and tight. It starts with one of my favorites - Rave Up - a real barn-burner. Load the video in YouTube for the rest of the show.

Here are some later tracks:

They were making a comeback when drummer Bruce Gary passed away in 2006. Singer Doug Fieger died in 2011, effectively bringing the band to an end.

Some people still appreciate them!

Music, 05/30/21

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String Tension

I crunched some numbers based on the excellent data that D'Addario provides, and it turns out that a 25.5" scale bass is quite workable with off-the-shelf string sets. The trick is to get a 5-string BEADG long-scale set and discard the G. Tune the remaining strings to EADG. This is equivalent to capo-ing the long scale at the 5th fret, or lopping 5 frets off the neck, so of course, it will work! In hindsight, it's all pretty obvious. I worked out the following scales and string sets:

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