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If he was going to give away free lessons he might as well have just bought a new bass. What happened to just doing the right thing purely because it's the right thing? He didn't have to offer a reward - moaning that it isn't enough is distasteful.

I’m not doing any more today 😄 (famous last words) as it was bad enough getting that screw out! State of the nation tho:

I'm going through those topics to update 'em so that the links work again (but not the YouTube embedding...). I'll finish 'em off over the next couple of days, I expect. (All the more praiseworthy as I'm really not a fan of funk in general ...) Edit: Slight correction: One of those links above takes us to a topic of some sixty-five (count 'em..!) pages. I'm beggared if I'm going through that lot, post after post, page after page, so the links will stay broken, I'm afraid. Sorry, 'n all that, but I wouldn't even do that for a Grateful Dead topic, so funk..? No chance.

I was waiting for the picture to load for ages.

There are lots of mod's that can be added to a bass but, as 5 string players are always posting and 4 string players are constantly failing to understand, a 5 string bass is not just about the lower notes. The main benefits also include the flexibility to play different lines, in different positions and in keys which are sometimes more appropriate to the song. A 5 string bass is not a 4 string bass with an extra string. It is an instrument in its own right with different possibilities and techniques. Adding gadgets to get a lower note and thinking that is a substitute for a 5 string bass is to completely miss the point. It's on a par with the misconception that EQing the neck pickup can make a Jazz sound anything like a P bass and that an electric bass can sound like a double bass if you fiddle around with the EQ enough.

When I first came here I was too embarrassed to be 100% honest. I have been playing for over 30 years and this still evades me. This forum has been a breath of fresh air on an internet that is usually full of complete and utter vileness. I have been a poster and user of internet forums for many many years and I don't remember the last time I actually found some real compassion and help, this forum should be very proud of itself. I think I may well stick around, as I have lots of other musical talents that I know I can use to help others as I have been helped. A bit more about me, if you will indulge me. I've been playing over 30 years, in a very on and off way (I realise of course that this alone doesn't help me learn what I want to know). I have played in 2 pretty successful bands, one for 4 years and the other 6. None of those band members ever suspected that I knew nothing and people from all walks of life and throughout the entire 30 years (often including people I greatly respected) have commented on my bass playing, telling me how much they enjoyed it! (if only they knew huh @6feet7 ) I can play almost anything, especially given time to sit and work something out and that has been my entire bass career. I'll work something out rudimentary at the early stages when writing with the band and then go home and in my own time work something nice out. I'm so fed up of having to do this and this is why I want to move forward and LEARN where I can play given any chord progression at the time of writing. I so want to be naturally playing sexy fills, rather than having to work them out later, note by note. I wanted to quote several of you but my post is already leaning towards tldr territory, so I will just try and ask some more directions based on the advice given. It has been mentioned several times here and I have seen it online many times also (scotts bass lessons, talking bass.net etc) learn what the intervals 'sound' like. I cant understand this concept because in my mind its not helping me 'know' where I can play. I can't see a link between the two things (this is hard to articulate too apologies). I know what a 5th sounds like, I am 99% positive I can pick a major and minor 3rd and a 2nd 4th 6th and 7th are all pretty distinct also. Maybe I don't know these as well as I think I do but one thing is for sure. I cannot understand how this helps me? I don't mean to sound disingenuous to the advice, I KNOW 100% it's good advice as I see it and hear it often but as i say, I cant see how it solves my problems. Get a bass teacher: Unfortunately, I'm out of work atm with a serious back condition (thanks years of humping band gear :P) and simply can't afford this route. I wish I could because the right person would be able to help me I am sure. Thanks for your time here TKenrick. To elaborate, I started based on advice from Scotts Bass Lessons on the C major scale (I actually started with G Major - seemed to maked more sense to me) all over the neck. From different finger positions. Finger 1, 2 3 etc. This IS actually helping because the more major scales I learn, I am beginning to see the geometric patterns without thinking too much about them, this has taken (if im honest about practice time) 30 mins a day for around a month. I started to speak the 'intervals' to myself as I went (and based on the advice given here and around the internet) hear what they sound like. The thing I think this is doing beyond anything else is making me a faster player AND making me stamp out bad habits, such as turning my fingers into spaghetti trying to jump around the neck. I know you can all relate to that. So this practice time and repositioning of my hand to use correct fingers has been great for many reasons. BUT... I am still not learning what I want, applying it over major chords in the songs my band and I are writing still comes up with bum notes!! And this leads me onto one further thing... (how very Columbo of me) I am actually enjoying playing scales. Really, truthfully... Its (as mentioned above) making me a better player and despite hitting bum notes still I AM learning and moving forward. But its these bum notes I want to talk to you all about. They are coming about I am sure from these rules in music that BAFFLE me completely and one of the things that's keeping me from actually understanding the fret board while trying to be creative. The use of borrowed chords, the use of sus chords, the flattened 5th or 7th of a chord... Now let me just explain, I have an understanding of how these are used and why. But when I'm playing with my band members how do I know this is happening when even my band mates are just doing things because they 'sound' right. I know my guitarist knows no theory but he will throw in some beautiful sounding chords that none of us have a clue about. How do 'I' know what it is thats happening? How do I use the knowledge of 'shapes' and all my recently learned knowledge to play over this when I have no idea for example that the chord he is plying has a flattened 6th? I am getting to grips fully with the shapes of the major scale all over the neck, and all different keys. Haven't even STARTED on the minor scale yet, there goes another month. But what then? Do I then spend another month on the harminic monor, then another on the melodic, then another on the blues scale... and on and on. I really appreciate the advice you have all given, and I apologise for the length and waffley-ness (is that a word? lol) of this post but honestly I dont know where to turn for the answer thats right for me. I hear what your all saying 'in general' and thats to forget learning this way and learn songs and interval sounds etc. But I counter this with the fact that I 'have' learned hundreds of songs, played in many bands and tried to learn along the way, yet somehow this still evades me. I'm sorry, I'm speaking in circles now... I won't change it, it's my frustrations laid bare because I know your a decent bunch who will listen. Once again, I thank you for your advice and time. And if you read all of this post I think maybe you deserve a medal of some kind. I have much to digest much to think on... Now I'm going to make myself a full member of this forum and start to help out where I know I can... In the recording section. Art

https://youtu.be/zfoLBRcK9to

Hi All, I'm Sarah and I play bass. Sounds like an introduction to an AA meeting, but without the guilt! You don't want to know how old I am or any of that boring stuff, but if you are curious I'm sure you can Google me and find out. I started playing bass when I was about 13, after my Dad bought a Beatles greatest hits album (the red one, 1962 - 66), and I was blown away by McCartney's bass sound and the way bass made the song 'whole'. After a lot of nagging I persuaded my Dad to get me a bass for Christmas; he got if off his mate who had been in a band years before and since stopped playing. It was a 1965 Hofner Violin bass, which I dearly wish I still had, but I sold it years ago for a ridiculously small sum. Anyway, I joined a band and had a ton of fun. Not long after that, we broke up and other life things happened; marriage, kids, house moves .... all the things that happen during a lifetime. I stopped playing and didn't touch a bass for around 20 years, until my current partner surprised me with a bass and a little amp for Christmas in 2009. That started me off again and I started from the beginning, teaching myself to play the thing properly this time. I soon sold that bass and started trading up; I went from the Agros 'Starcaster' Jazz bass to a Vintage V940, then to a Peavey International, a Washburn Taurus T25 and then made the jump to a Mexican Fender P bass. I wasn't much impressed with the Fender, so I traded that for an Ibanez SR300, which I kept for about 4 years. During this time I started making bass cover videos on Youtube, which earned me a bit of a 'following' both in the UK and around the world, notably in South America for some reason. I still do the videos when I get time and the inclination hits me, and the videos I already have online (about 70) still get comments and views on a daily basis. These are almost entirely 1970's pop hits; there are a couple of 60's and 80's songs in there as well, but I've just chosen to cover songs that appeal to me or mean something to me. Then, about 4 years ago I fancied joining a band, so I advertised myself on Joinmyband.co.uk and got no serious offers, just a few time-wasters so I quickly shelved that idea. Then, 2 years later someone unearthed my advert and contacted me to say that their bassist was leaving their band, and would I like to join? I sent them some links to my Youtube stuff, we met, chatted, jammed and before long I was in! So the first thing I did was upgrade my bass (again) and I bought a beautiful Ibanez SR1200 Premium. Not long after that, things started to get serious and I bought and Ibanez SR 5000 Prestige as well! Realising I was spending far too much on basses, I sold the SR 300, the SR 1200 and my SR 300 DXF ( did I mention I had one of those as well - lovely fretless bass!), and spent the lot on a Rickenbacker 4003s! So those are the basses I have now, the SR5000, the Ricky.... and a Fender American Standard Jazz bass which my partner and I decided to go halves on about a year ago. I'm not buying any more now (unless a Rickenbacker 4001 comes up at the right price!), I'm just keeping what I've got as investments and for the gigs we play now. My band plays pubs around the Leigh / Atherton areas of Greater Manchester; we do covers of 60's 70's and 80's pop hits, a little bit or rock and generally feel-good drinking music! People seem to like us and we have a lot of fun doing what we do and entertaining people. So that's me. probably more than you need to know, but what can I say... I talk too much !

I`ve swapped from Roto steel rounds to Warwick Red Label rounds and yes, I get about 2+ months out of them, rather than the up to a month on the Rotos. They sound very similar as well, and that`s the killer for me.

God yes. It all gets very dark and serious when that starts. A silly story but we used top play a large club in Slough. During the high stakes Bingo on a Sunday night they banned any talking, phones off etc. Our guitarist, being a forgetful chap, didnt turn his off. Off he goes across the room to the bar. Whispers to the bar man for 3 pints, and starts to walk back with them. Now, im not sure why i did this, but i decided as he was crossing the dance floor to call his mobile. It might have been because i knew he had the Dambusters theme tune as his ring tone, and maybe because there was no way to put the drinks down, but it was the funniest moment we ever had at that venue.....expect for him of course 🙂

The Story of Funk, on the iPlayer. Well worth a watch even if you're not a funkster. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04t6nm5/the-story-of-funk-one-nation-under-a-groove?suggid=b04t6nm5

I have an 8 string bass the ESP/LTD B-208FM that I use for my Pearl Jam tribute. I upgraded the pickups and preamp (because I wanted to, not that I needed to), rest is stock. GREAT bass. Best bang for the buck I have had in a long while. I recently tried a Frank Bello LTD (not the ESP Custom Shop), also incredible value. Some look a bit "rocky", but you cannot deny they sound excellent and have really playable necks.

Is this the 'Bird" they speak of in jazz?

I had a listen to the first video. In places it was interesting enough. Pretty much in the vein of the experimental stuff that we saw being done in the 60's. Lol Coxhill was great at getting hitherto unknown sounds out of his sax. At least these guys are out there gigging. Sounds like they had a bigger audience than on some of the gigs I've done. Good on them.

Out with the old: In with the new:

There's basically two 'Generations' of Class D amps out there, a lot running the older power amp module (which, I believe the TH500 is one), which had its detractors, and was the origins of the whole 'heft' thing, but the newer generation module in the Magellan, Mesa 800, Darkglass, etc, is a different animal in terms of presence and 'heft'. Unfortunately, an awful lot of people's negative perceptions of Class D is based on their experience of the first generation amps... That being said, I think the OP will struggle to replace a db751, which is at the end of the day a £2500 amp, with a £5-600 amp...if weight is the issue, I'd agree with the folk above who have suggested keeping the 42lb amp and changing the 98lb cab for something half the weight...and there's plenty of options for that...

I was expecting the ghost of Vivian Stanshall to materialise and announce : " Double Bass " .

I always thought red was not "my colour" for basses but it's definitely growing on me The VM4, however, ticks all the boxes! If I was buying my first Sandberg bass again today I would almost certainly go for a VM4 or VM5 (rather than the TM4 I originally went for) - there is something about a P/J or P/MM pup configuration that just works; for me it's all about having a 'P' in the mix. Whoever ends up with that bass is in for a treat.

They're from Milwaukee, Yeah! Blue

Doesn't really matter, they both suck.

Always the way. Stable neck - easy neck adjuster. Wibbly wobbly all over the shop neck = remove 16 screws and resolder 8 wires just to get to the adjuster

Hello all, I joined this bass forum today in the hope that someone can help me. I've been playing for years but never learned any theory, until now. I'm trying to learn my scales, arpeggios, pentatonics etc... I am putting in HOURS every day and have been doing this now for a around 3 to 4 months. I am focusing on major and minor scales at the moment, and trying to 'see' the patterns all over the neck but I am seemingly learning nothing. I will endeavour to explain, it is hard to express succinctly. I am trying to understand the intervals, I am trying to name the notes as I play them, I am trying to learn the differing patterns all over the neck but 'understanding' is evading me. I understand how chords are made, I understand intervals, I understand keys and even modes to a degree but I am finding it so hard to 'see' the patterns needed when playing with others. I watch the two guitarists in our band for example and they just effortlessly move from chord to chord soloing and never playing a bum note... It seems that this 'seeing' of the intervals required to solo (or creatively bass fill) over changing chords is COMPLETELY evading my knowledge. I try to play along to online resources, like bass backing tracks and USE the knowledge I've gained but even though the patterns are there in my head, I am still hitting notes that obviously dont fit! Then a minor will hit (in real life or a backing track) that I haven't practised enough and poof, I'm lost completely and have to stick to root, fifth, and octave! 'Squares anyone?' What I'm frustrated with here is the hours and hours I'm putting in to learn something that almost all other musicians I know (and have ever met) seem to almost instinctively 'know'. They know where to play bass fills, almost flowingly naturally and guitarists as mentioned have this ability to just 'solo' without even knowing whether chords are minor or major. Our lead guitarist as a real life example here knows NOTHING of music theory but he can solo over anything. He doesn't know what intervals he's playing, he just somehow 'knows' where he can play... How is that knowledge gained? I've never been able to do this and I have to confess have been playing for years. Am I simply just not working hard enough at this? After years of 'playing' should I not just be able to absorb this knowledge easily? My apologies, this doesn't read very well but it's hard to explain my frustrations. What I want to be able to do ultimately, is be told what key a song is in and just 'know' where I can play to create decent bass fills that fit the song. I want to 'see' the intervals and shapes that almost everyone else can already see. Any advice would be very appreciated, thank you Art

So I contacted the website when I saw the post about having info. Seems its good news! Obviously we aren't all as fortunate to have such wide exposure available to us but great to hear he'll get his bass back! If it was your tip off, great work @2x18!

We used to cover ‘Blister in the Sun’, good fun to play.

The Real Book has Autumn Leaves in E minor . Most jazzers call it in G minor because the definitive recording ( Bill Evans ) is in G minor . Therefore I would recommend learning it in G minor for an exam because if you play it in E minor they will know that you have only learned it from the Real Book.

Well, much swearing and plier action later..

I got the MM cracking bit of kit for the money, I personally would say theyre better value for money than the Entwistle Neo pups, wiring was the same colour as the original pup but different so it was a bit of a faff getting both coils wired up correctly to the separate vol controls (im no kiogon) but once sorted its full and loud with a good even volume across all the strings. Me likely! Im still thinking about a new bridge for it as the original is pants, still, it plays ok and sounds ok.

Lucky you. The number of times I've got into "heated debate" about my refusal to do that is almost beyond counting. I'll never, ever give the sound guy a pre eq so that they can cut off anything over 1khz and turn my tone into sludge. Happened a few times many years ago. Never again.

Or tea..? How about tea..? Earl Grey, with a twist of lemon..? That'd work, surely..!

I've liked the Femmes since the late 80s, was introduced to them and Bauhaus amongst others by a guy from South Africa.

Wot, you're still 'ere..? Not got any recording to do..?

First of all: good luck! Second, I've had this itchy feeling about @Dad3353's suggestion of "Misty". I think it's a song that allows you to show the board that you're in control and know what you're "talking" about, but also, for someone who has not yet seen admission to the music conservatory, I think it may be a risk - seeing as that nerves probably are a big part of the day, and that Misty is quite particular in its demands on your timing and consistency. I may be wrong, but my advice would be that if you do indeed choose "Misty", then know it very, very well, and play it with a self-assuredness that knocks the board dead. Third: good luck! 🙂

you could try searching for a vintage guitarrón mexicano

Apart from the bloke with the Mic getting lost at 5:30 and maybe a tad bit more Reverb, it's nothing a bit of added Cowbell wouldn't sort out. 👍

Latest revision includes the Source expression pedal to control the Manta and the Scrutator filter sweeps. I don’t like the fiddly cable tbh, but If I’d taken the hub route, I’d have needed a second expression pedal off the board. Next change will be swapping out the El Capistan for a nice flexible reverb.

Stick to your guns.. most of the other notes are overrated anyway.

Ah, Tommy Robinson. Took a quick Google to work out what you were on about. This story like, so many, is a passing thing, so it's only going to be briefly relevant. The question is whether you genuinely support the right wing politics he espouses, what with having founded the England Defense League, and whatnot. If you do, then you are well within your rights to express your allegience through your music, as many bands have before. If you don't agree with his viewpoint, but are hoping that using a controversial topic for the theme of a band will 'get you there', rather than look like a savvy business move it smacks more of desperation and clutching at straws, not to mention a pretty cynical sellout. Moreover, rather than net you the kind of success the Pistols achieved (and I'd suggest they were presenting something more nihilistic and anarchistic than right-wing anyway) it would likely guarantee you the kind of marginalisation that many other NS, racist, and bigotted bands have been served. While every viewpoint is valid, you already know you are flirting with a very unpopular one. There may be avid support in some circles, but the majority of folks will find it tasteless, and very likely not give it the time of day, just like all the other right-wing bands out there. IMO, of course.

Wow. So much guff in one thread.

Here's a cut-out-and-keep guide to tort wot I made.

But really, it's you. Shame about the friend - did you ask if he was a bass player?

Paul Simon - Graceland. Possibly cliche, but I love that fretless sound.

Max Stowers 'Rump Funk

Just shows that the often dismissed talents of Mr Clayton are in fact greater than many give him credit for.

I've a strip of white reflective tape from Halfords and use a hole punch and stick the punched out dots over the fret marker dots. I use this method on all my basses.