| Author | Message | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 8525 Registered: 6-2000 |
 Phil is so happy about the muscle memory for this short scale length. Balerion was hatched on May 8. | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4507 Registered: 6-2002 |
So has Phil had two new basses from you Mica, a medium and a short scale 6 string bass? | ||
| mtjam
Advanced Member Username: mtjam Post Number: 310 Registered: 11-2011 |
Another masterpiece! Congratulations, Phil! | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4198 Registered: 5-2009 |
Congratulations Phil ! Surely in your hands " Balerion" will be in top form for a "Mighty Dragon" of a performance ! In the moment spontaneous counterpoint, blazing and roaring !  Perhaps we will experience some impressive sounding bass chords with this scale length at your performances as well . Sonic Regards, Wolf http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Balerion ( I love that show as well ) | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 987 Registered: 12-2003 |
Certainly making up for lost time. | ||
| moongerm
Advanced Member Username: moongerm Post Number: 206 Registered: 8-2013 |
Wow! What is the Guage of the lowest string? | ||
| stephenr
Member Username: stephenr Post Number: 81 Registered: 9-2014 |
Nice... figured Phil would be springing for a second Alembic. | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Senior Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 526 Registered: 6-2012 |
Hey, how cool is that - ! Just in time for the GD "mini tour" this summer. | ||
| stephenr
Member Username: stephenr Post Number: 82 Registered: 9-2014 |
He played this bass at the "Dear Jerry" show in Maryland last week. Some great shots of Phil and the bass in this gallery as well as all the other performers. There are a ton of pictures, suggest using arrow keys to scroll through instead of waiting for the slideshow. If you go backwards you will get to some shots of Balerion more quickly. http://www.erikkabik.com/dear-jerry-concert | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 8527 Registered: 6-2000 |
Yup, Vince, he's got both short and medium scale basses. Brian, DR pulled through and made Phil custom gauges of Sunbeams like we used on Khaleesi: .040 .055 .070 .085 .100 .115 PLUS they made him some Pure Blues and Flatwound Legends in the same gauges.  | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 988 Registered: 12-2003 |
So is a six string bass like this tuned like a guitar… EADGBE (low to high)? | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 316 Registered: 12-2004 |
Sweet!! That really is a beauty. Well done! | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4201 Registered: 5-2009 |
Jonathan , there can be variations but many 6 string bass players tune ; BEADGC (low to high). | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 989 Registered: 12-2003 |
Thanks Wolf. | ||
| rv_bass
Junior Username: rv_bass Post Number: 29 Registered: 8-2014 |
A beautiful work of art, it must sound fantastic! | ||
| jseitang
Advanced Member Username: jseitang Post Number: 346 Registered: 6-2002 |
so sick | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 8549 Registered: 6-2000 |
Balerion sighting from June 12, 2015 at Terrapin Crossroads:  Photo by Jay Blakesburg | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 8568 Registered: 6-2000 |
From the soundcheck at Fare Thee Well / Soldier Field 07-04-15  One of the camera men for this show was the owner of the Heart in Sonoma bass. Patrick did a great job getting nice shots of Phil and his bass through the shows. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4317 Registered: 5-2009 |
Kool ! It was a great show ! I got to see the 7/5/14 show on a swell big screen TV thanks to Bill ,tgo! Thanks Bill ! Thanks Mica for posting this . These shows were part of a hugely emotional process for many , many folks . We all process this stuff differently in our minds . | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11847 Registered: 5-2002 |
That's a nice shot! And yes, Wolf, I agree; an emotional process. | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1624 Registered: 1-2005 |
I got to see and hear Balerion in person Monday night - managed to score tickets to Phil & Friends with Stanley Jordan at Terrapin Crossing - my first time to see a show in the Grate Room. Bass sounded great - could have been a teeny bit louder to me but overall the mix was very good. Guitars could be a little loud, but it's a relatively small room. One thing I noticed - I don't think Phil is using the Eden any more - there was an empty space in the rack. He did have a similar EQ curve though - this time it was showing on a computer screen - you could see that the high end was all rolled off!  The show was great – they played mostly Dead tunes but with a nice selection of other songs – “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Proud Mary,” an instrumental version of “What’s Going On.” During Proud Mary I was kind of surprised – on the second chorus, Phil played way up high instead of in a lower register where a “normal” bassist would play to beef things up – it sounded thin instead – then I remembered that this is Phil! I’m in the Phil Zone! At least 75% of the time he doesn’t play what you expect a “bassist” to play. But when he does, it hits that much harder. Near the end of “Shakedown Street” he started pumping 8th notes – never heard him do that! I found an interview with him from around 1994 where he says, “I just try to do something different all the time.” It was nice, I felt like I got a picture of him as a player the other night. | ||
| elwoodblue
Senior Member Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 1829 Registered: 6-2002 |
What Fun! I gotta go south for the summer this year and hang out as long as I can Thanks Harry | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4913 Registered: 6-2002 |
I'd be curious to see him play but I doubt if the band will get to this side of the pond anytime soon. | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 2204 Registered: 5-2002 |
Rob Eaton gave me a low down on Phil's EQ philosophy, from when he did a few shows with him. Unfortunately, we were setting up to soundcheck for a gig, so I wasn't paying all that much attention. I'll ask him next time I see him and try to remember. | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1629 Registered: 1-2005 |
Yeah, you would probably be more likely to see "The Dead" - that's the other three surviving members of the Grateful Dead, currently with John Mayer on guitar and Oteil Burbridge on bass. Oteil is awesome - he was one of my favorite players in the '90s when I was still playing - but there is something about Phil. "Lesh is More" as the say! Considering that he was diagnosed with cancer last year and took time off, it's wonderful that he is back and looks so good! Here's my favorite picture from that night - low-res iPhone photo through an Instagram filter and it turned into something else! | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1630 Registered: 1-2005 |
Dang Edwin, we posted at the same time! Definitely looking forward to hearing about it! As an update, here's the setlist from the show I saw: Set 1: Shakedown Street, Jack Straw, Feelin' Alright, Proud Mary, Caution Jam, Revolution Set 2: Playing in the Band, What’s Goin’ On, Dear Mr. Fantasy > How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) > The Wheel > Terrapin Station > While My Guitar Gently Weeps > Playing in the Band Encore: Little Wing I got this off of setlist.com and made a few corrections. I was hoping it would be available to purchase - they put out some of the shows on thumbdrives - but looks like maybe not  | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1632 Registered: 1-2005 |
jazzyvee, I messed up - the current non-Phil incarnation is called "Dead & Company" - they were just on TV for the first time last night on Jimmy Fallon (Oteil Burbridge on bass): http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/dead-companyshakedown-street/2988369 |
