In yesterday’s post, “Where the Rubber Hits the Road“, I discussed the question of identifying critical points of an interface. With stringed instruments, that critical point is the strings. Their feel can vary but they also play a crucial role in the sound produced: how they are manipulated by the musician but also their physical characteristics and how they are anchored to the rest of the system, which exists to amplify their minute vibrations into audible sound. In many cases, the single most important upgrade you can perform on an instrument is to change the strings!
All of this serves to lead to a reminder of Saturday’s Deep to Deep event at Hasbury Christian Fellowship near Halesowen. I hope some people can remember what strings they are using and when they last changed them as I think this will be, among other things, a good opportunity to try out a whole range of other basses and strings are one area we might pay attention to.