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NO SERIAL NUMBER 3

from DISCHORDIANISM 3135 by Andrew Liles

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Guitar: Harley Benton Acoustic Bass Series - 5 String Fretless
Model: HB B35FL BK
Serial Number: No Serial Number

I love the acoustic bass sound Steve Harris used on the more recent Iron Maiden albums, so I started looking for an acoustic bass. I found this Harley Benton, which is probably about as far as you can get from Iron Maiden's sensibilities.

When I discovered the guitar I thought, hmmm, fretless? 5 strings? It’s an unusual proposition, so why not? I really dislike the sound of the fretless bass, an instrument eternally associated with the 80's and sophisticated pop, it's really quite a horrible sound and questions why on earth I would buy one. Well, the reason is to smash conformity and create something unique and to give myself a challenge and a new approach.

It's an impossibly difficult and enormous guitar. There are no fret markers and it's tricky to play anything resembling a chord or tune it with any accuracy. In a way it was like picking up the guitar for the first time again. So I returned to my childhood approach to the guitar, I tuned it intuitively, in a way that was half decent regardless of convention. It was a refreshing return to ripping up the rule book. There are no rules or formalities to creating music...unless you're boring.

It is both the worst and best guitar I have. The worst because, for my capabilities, it's almost impossible to play conventionally, and the best, because it's made me think about what to do with it and attempt to find unique ways to be creative with it.

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from DISCHORDIANISM 3135, released March 11, 2024

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Andrew Liles UK

Andrew Liles is a prolific solo artist, producer, remixer and sometime member of Nurse With Wound and Current 93.

Guide to downloads:

Green Border: Liles Solo Releases.

Green Image: Monster Releases.

Green Circles: Monochromatic Releases.

Grey with Liles Black Metal Logo: Moral Nihilist Releases.

Green Dots: Live Recordings

White Border: Collaborations and Remixes. ... more

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