Tenor Tales

"A Voice at Last"

As a child, my introduction to music was via my father's old banjo-mandolin. As I grew and my fingers could manage the larger neck, I started to play his tenor banjo as well. All this fell by the wayside at the age of 16 when I began my career as a lead vocalist with local bands, but still not forgetting how to play. In fact some years ago I purchased a tenor guitar for $50 that I located by placing an advertisement in the local paper. Unfortunately, it was almost beyond help and very difficult to play - most frustrating, but it proved I had not forgotten the chord formations, and the tuning still came naturally when playing melodies.

A few years later, a 5-string banjo came my way, but it was still not the sound that I could "hear". After attempting to string it as a tenor, I was more determined than ever to find a tenor guitar. My husband, inspired by the guitarist Foley who played a 4 string piccolo bass with Miles Davis, suggested that we try re-stringing the Vantage bass we had, with piccolo bass strings in ternor tuning. This was promising but not the total solution. He started to consider the alternative of
building our own instrument, but suggested that we visit some of the better known guitar and bass shops to discuss our ideas first, to see if there was an instrument that would suit, or be easily modified.

It was at the Bass Centre in Melbourne that we struck paydirt.

We discussed our ideas with the owner, finding that he was very interested and not at all dismissive of the idea of a tenor bass guitar. After sevearl minutes of looking at possible basses that might be suitable, he said that he may have something that would interest us even though as he put it, "It might be a bit left of centre."

He went across to the window and took down what appeared to be an electric tenor guitar! It was however, a 26" scale Samick bass.

Even though strung as a bass, I could tell after a few minutes playing the instrument that it felt right, and the deal was done. We arranged to send down a set of the lightest gauge La Bella piccolo bass strings we had already fitted to the Vantage bass, for him to set the instument up as a tenor guitar. We collected the Samick a couple of weeks later, and I was in heaven. Getting the guitar home that first night, I played for 3 hours non-stop. We have since purchased as second-hand Roland Jazz Chorus 120, and the sounds I have heard for all my life, now fill our house.

Diana S.