Om, the band fronted by Sleep bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros, is about to start mixing their first new album since Advaitic Songs in 2012. In a chat with Bass Player about his five-string Rickenbacker basses, Cisneros reveals the news while also extolling the virtues of having a low B string. And you should absolutely take the guy's advice on basses, too – he's Al Cisneros. Dude rules.
"I love their five-strings, and since about 2010, I've been using them more and more. You can only tune down a four-string so far, and I don't believe that those drop-tuning devices really do anything. I think they're just a way to sell more strings. Also, if you want to keep the tonality of the instrument, as well as the action that you're used to playing on the fifth string, you need a proper five-string bass."
"I only use a five for a few songs here and there: On the new Om album, which we're about to start mixing, it's on a couple of longer pieces. I have one from the Nineties that they made on the first run, and the 4003S5 that they introduced with the wider fretboard. I think I prefer the more recent model."
In the meantime, Cisneros recently released his dub 7" Suicide Of Judas/Akeldama alongside the announcement of a career-spanning 7" box set named Sinai Dub Box (2012-2022). Check it all out here.
