neilp

Jerome is also an absolutely brilliant luthier, and is currently building me a bass, which I confess to being ridiculously excited about! I'd recommend him over just about anyone

Step away from the computer! Telephone Thwaites, or Malcolm Healey, or Caswells, and talk to a person. Better still, go to Thwaites and give them a budget and see what they have

I was one of those kids once upon a time! Did Mahler 2 and the Rite of Spring with NYO, among other things... When you're playing in a section - even Bernstein - the discipline of being exactly together means there is almost no room for the looseness that other styles of music with only one bass might encourage. Even Bernstein has to be meticulously rehearsed so that the whole section feels exactly the same groove and applies the same amount of swing. Thats probably why its very rare to see an orchestral player abandon the arched hand above the fingerboard and go for the side of the finger down near the bridge! too much variation in tone to allow the 8 players to meld as a section. Bartok and Shostakovich had some interesting ideas about pizz, but that might be a discussion for another day....

In my youth, when I was seriously pursuing a musical career, my thumb lived consistently exactly behind my second finger. In my early 20s I had a car accident and broke the scaphoid in my left hand. Since then the base of my left thumb has been slightly deformed and slightly less mobile, so my thumb has migrated to a comfortable position closer to my first finger. There has to be some flexibility in technique to allow for individual anatomy - my long 2nd and 3rd fingers make thumb position interesting too - but try not to deviate too far from the "ideal", what initially feels good may end up doing you damage!

Classical pizz technique is entirely different from jazz, and varies dramatically with the era of the music, not to mention the colour required in the music. A good classical teacher will absolutely spend time on pizzicato technique, but unfortunately good teachers are less common than mediocre ones....

He's obviously enjoying his playing, so that's great. If you're looking for a player to model your left hand on, please look elsewhere. His intonation is shaky, precisely because of the limitations of his left hand. He's clearly found ways to "play around" the technical issues, but it's so much easier to do a good job in a band if your tuning is secure. Absolutely the number one issue for bassists, me included!

From your videos, I can se you've made some really good progress, well done! Now might be the time to make some tweaks with the help of a good teacher, to solve some of the visible issues which will hold you back or cause problems later. Please don't react defensively, we all need help with left hand technique and from your comments I'd suggest you look again at Simandl and listen with a more critical ear. In the lower positions the intonation issues can easily go unnoticed! I wish you joy in your journey, and the best advice I can give is at least consider the advice that's given. 30 years gives a different perspective than 7 months!

When I gave up serious competitive sailing about 10 years ago, I turned my beautiful, highly competitive but elderly (relatively) Flying Dutchman dinghy into a new bow from Andrew McGill. Its a thing of beauty, and when I demonstrate to students the difference between an OK bow and the real deal, it always leaves them open mouthed. Do make sure you have anything you're considering on trial with something to compare it with, it took me 3 weeks for the McGill bow to grab me, but when it did.... It will never be for sale!!

Don't expect picking up a good technique on double bass to be easy. I've been playing since I was 15, studied at the Royal College of Music, played in the National Youth Orchestra, and I still find the bass far harder than any other instrument that I play. You can get by and have fun, by all means, but that's not the same as really playing. Don't be put off, but expect to put in the work (for more than 7 months) or accept a minimal standard of competence

McCartney. I love the Beatles, but when I listen to McCartneys bass lines, with a few honourable exceptions, I hear simplistic approach, ill considered note lengths, a lack of groove and precision. I think he was a better guitarist than bass player. The fact that he comes across as Mr Fake, and he's an arrogant prick in real life (I said good morning to him at a sailing club once, and he told me to f*** off and stop hassling him), probably doesn't help

Was that Ken Smith by any chance?? Ken knows everything, to the point of telling me that my beautiful and gorgeous sounding 19th century German blockless bass was utterly valueless and needed complete restoration, blocks fitted, new neck, overstand adjustment, conversion to shorter mensure and D neck, and even then it would be barely worth matchwood. This is a bass thats been appraised at £12-15K For what it's worth, my bass has a string length just under 110cm, and an Eb neck. I bought it because of the way it felt and sounded, without even thinking about string length. The only slight issue for me is the higher string tension, which is mostly solved by using Kaplan Lights. Play what you enjoy and don't worry about what self-appointed Gurus say!

My Extension - which you can see in my avatar - was built by Pete Barnaby and fitted by Martyn Bailey. I love it, but not everyone gets on with mechanical extensions, so I'd suggest "try before you buy"! Mine has a hole through the scroll for the string, which is almost un-noticable but might not be the way to go if you have an 18th century Italian bass! Martyn did a fantastic job of fitting it, and the extension itself is a beautiful piece of engineering. Jerome Davies looks after my bass when it needs work, and I'd highly recommend him for any work, including a fingered extension.

The Stones are now nothing more than a very average Rolling Stones tribute act. Coverdale can't even manage that, Madge is some kind of banned circus act and Bryan Ferry is just painful. On the other hand, Springsteen and the E Street Band were incredible on the latest tour. Not like 1985 - or even 2013 - but still full of life and uplifting energy. And Robert Plant may look like he died 10 years ago, but the voice is still smooth as velvet. I don't care what Jagger or McCartney or Coverdale want to do, I won't be subsidising their Zimmer Frame Tour, but the ones who can still do it and still have something to offer? Oh yes....

If anyone is interested I might be able to bring my DB - mid 19th century German