Billy Batts Without Big Time

It had been a while since we've played here, 6 weeks I think.  This time out, Brian couldn't make it.  Keith Hicks sat in, bringing his bonafide straight-ahead tone and 'tude.  We ended up doing a bit more jazz, some blues, a little of everything.  A highlight was,as always with Keith since he knows it, Metheny's Bright Size Life.  Walt is always on.  His technique and note choices are spot on.  How he does it with his schedule and family...  Same for Mark, to be honest.  His sense of groove and the adventurous nature of his esoteric rhythms make for some very entertaining rhythm sparring sessions.  We really do get away with playing anything we want to in this setting.

I had just replaced my strings with black nylon tapewound strings.  I opted for GHS, as I liked the gauges offered in this set.  From what I read online, the strings underneath the nylon wrap are Half Round, that is, round wound strings that are ground to a smooth flat finish.  They provide a bit more mass versus a pure round wound within the same usable diameter, thus keeping the overall diameter with the wrap down.  They do have a red silk wrap on either end, and the tuning peg end is rather fat.  I had to peel off some of the silk to fit the ends into the tuning peg slots.  They sound brighter than I thought they would.  It is a different sound compared to the flats I had on my fretless for so long.  I like it, but the jury is still out.  I do like the look of the black strings on the dark brown neck.  Apparently, the sound of the strings does not change much over time.  They may last a good long while.

Here's a nice comparison that I recommend if you are interested in this sort of geek trivia:

Black Nylon Tapewound Comparison