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