Leaderboard

Played at our monthly residency with the acoustic duo in Beverley again today, The Sun Inn. Horrible weather when we arrived at 4.30pm, and not very busy. However,by the time we started at 5.30pm it was getting comfortably full, and we started our first of three sets with a good handful of requests. These included ‘Piano man’, ‘Substitute’, ‘Love the one you’re with’ and unusually ‘anything by Boz Scaggs’ so we did ‘We’re all alone’ which I’ve never played before but is a great song. Had a few friends in, including one of The Beautiful South - fortunately no requests for any of their stuff from the audience as could have been rather embarrassing. Finished the last set off with Albert Lee’s ‘Country Boy’ at breakneck speed - don’t know how my guitarist mate can play it like that. Packed down and still heavy rain outside so got wet loading the van, but overall a very pleasant gig ( after our last one there being rather mad just before Christmas.) Nothing now till next weekend in Scarborough, when the bad weather will hopefully have subsided.

Assembled this bass during the quarantine era: Aluminati aluminum bass neck, patterned graphite fretboard, Sperzel locking tuners, stainless frets, 34" scale. Custom jazz bass style body, two passive EMG Jazz Bass pickups. I found the wooden knobs and the control panel cover via a luthier's liquidation site. Aluminati is based in North Carolina, USA, and makes aluminum necks and full instruments.

This is what I call my EB0.5 😀 This may divide opinion but with 2 volumes and a global tone, this modification opens up a whole new world for the EB0 player whilst retaining the original sound by simlpy killing the volume to the 'new' bridge pickup. I also much prefer plugging-in on the body's edge too, which means that any old jack lead will do, rather than trying to find one with a right-angle end in the dark!

That’s not a phrase you read on here every day!

To the OP. I'm going to be brutally realistic here and it's probably not something you want to read but here goes anyway. There appears to be a mistaken notion particularly with software, but also with a lot of high-tech hardware, that simply the act of owning it somehow gives you the immediate ability to start producing professional standard results when, as others have already said, these things take time and patience before you even start producing something passable. I bet you weren't ready to join a band within 10 minutes of picking up a bass guitar for the first time, you probably weren't ready within 10 weeks even, so why should recording be any different? Add to this the fact that some people simply don't have the ability to ever do anything more than passable not matter how good their hardware and software is. I learnt the long, hard and expensive way, that my recording ability is pretty much limited to being able to get a decent level signal from my bass into my computer. Everything else on my band's recordings is done by people with the appropriate skills and far more talent when it comes to producing a finished and professional sounding product. There is also no shame in recognising your limitations and accepting them. It seems to me that from the original and subsequent posts that the OP mostly wants to vent rather than actually sort out any problems. That's not necessarily a band thing. Venting does have its uses. However if they want some useful help we'll require the following: 1. What OS are you running? 2. There are lots of different Focustite Scarlett interfaces. Which one do you have? I have a Scarlett interface and although it's been a number of years since I had to set it up, IIRC all the associated software including a cut-down version of a DAW, is available for download once you have created a user account with Focusrite and registered the interface. To the OP: have you done this yet?

Only just getting around to posting the XMas gigs........bit of a washout to be honest. First time in 10 years that I haven't had the Flu jab and, yup, came down with a dose on XMas eve eve. Scuppered the XMas eve gig (and XMas dinner that I'd pre-paid....) and the betweeny Saturday. Was just about compos mentis for NYE and managed to get through it. To be honest, the gigs I did make weren't the best, not as well populated as usual, not sure if this is a trend but I've noticed the last couple of silly seasons have been hit or miss for gigs. Still we take the rough with the smooth. On the positive side our IPO registration for the new band name came through so an ex-band member who had caused 'difficulties' after leaving the band can no longer cause grief on that front. A bit of a break now as I go in for more surgery but will hopefully be back at it beginning of Feb.

You're too kind... But you're also quite correct!!!... By blending the the two pickup volume controls it transforms the EB0 away from being a 'one trick pony' into quite a versatile bass. Amongst all the stuff that one holds onto over the years, I knew that I had an old Teisco single coil guitar pickup from the 1970's. I used the innards of this pickup and an un-drilled 'Dog Ear P90' pickup cover, together with the original Teisco 100K volume pot that I'd kept and hey-presto... It works... And probably more by luck than judgement, it sounds great! I forgot to photograph my pickup before the installation but here's the exact same thing I found a photo of on the net... I lost my cover years ago, hence the P90 one I bought for about £3... Plus the Telecaster type jack socket & plate... The whole modification cost me less than £15 😃

In that case, used Squier 40th Anniversary bass, satin-smooth neck is a joy to play, or the Classic Vibe with the beautiful walnut finish.

You need to focus on this part:

First gig of the year last night, it was a late one where we stopped playing at 12.40, new venue to us and thought it might be quiet just after Christmas, it turns out it was very busy and a lot of folk up dancing in our third set. Started loading out about 1am and realised it was snowing heavily, the cars totally covered in snow, the journey home up the A1 was horrendous, hardly any traffic so the snow had covered the dual carriageway so bad it was difficult to navigate what lane you were in, plus the snow coming down at the windscreen always makes your eyes feel funny.

These may not be songs you'd usually listen to but as a bassist, I highly recommend having a listen to them. Maxwell Murders by Rancid Played by Matt Freeman and a great demonstration of what can be done in punk if you're a genius. State Of Non Return - Om Played by Al Cisneros. The bass is the lead instrument in this song. Interesting, Eastern influences, unusual sounds. A bit of a post rock masterpiece.

Footloose - Kenny Loggins - Nathan East. It’s got lots of interesting little bits, dissonance, chromatic runs, string bends and is always a crowd pleaser.

Oooops, I seem to have just bought a Markbass Yellow Little bass! Only my second foray into short scale since 1972-ish! The plan is to leave the rounds on it and use them for the reunion gigs at the end of March, then put flats on as per my other basses. Really if these are even half-decent, then the price including bag and strap is something of a bargain! Anyone else have/had one?

I use a Serek Midwestern 5 string which is only 3.5kg. I'm a resent short scale convert and wouldn't go back unless forced.

I think one of the problems that anyone coming as new into "home recording" has now is that in the form of their computer and DAW software they have something that would completely surpass the multi-track machine, mixing desk and outboard gear of any pre-digital studio, and getting to grips with all of that is a close to vertical learning curve.

Thankfully SCSI and RS232 disappeared before all the chickens and goats in the world had been sacrificed. People today just don't know they're born.

I'm really grateful for everyone's help here. I only intend to do this for my own amusement, demos , silly ideas , possible backing tracks.

Yeah that depends on the definition of 'ready to use', doesn't it? I plugged my Scarlett Solo in with a cable (30 seconds?, mostly cable tidying), typed "sudo apt-get install Ardour" (3 seconds?) and then that was it. I was 'ready' in less than a minute. I just had no idea how the DAW worked, and that took me .... well, about 7 years and counting ...

Pino only needed four cupboards....

Reaper is good. Logic is good. Ableton Live was the one which defeated me - utterly incomprehensible to me!

Smite the cowering kushites with a rod of iron ?

I read this when I first started doing home recordings and it certainly helped. Might be a few bits and bobs that are out of date but well worth a look.

A couple of years ago I bought a thing called Focusrite Scarlet. It's a box with a couple of cables, a mic , stand and headphones. According to the blurb "Easy Start gets you set up in minutes. All the software you need is in the box. There’s no faster way to make studio quality recordings than Scarlett." Utter sh1te , I spent hours registering things, downloading things, no software came with it. In frustration I downloaded a couple of different recording software packages, couldn't get my head around it, achieved nothing, put it away and gave up. Two years later I've dug it all out again and watched the tutorial video provided by audacity ....utter gibberish. So two more of my life that I won't get back and I've achieved slightly less than nothing. Theyshould have waited until all of the old people had died before introducing new things.

Well, I fell off the gear abstinence thread wagon pretty spectacularly after just one day. First an Origin BassRig 64 and then a ridiculously inflated Octabvre MKII. I regret nothing, other than foolishly selling the latter years ago for about 45% of what I’ve just paid to get another. (I may need to sell a couple of things to recoup some costs; if anyone is after a Source Audio Artifakt, my spare one may be appearing soon.)

I Am The Resurrection by The Stone Roses. It's definitely iconic for those, like me, who came of age during that time (especially the bass break which has been sampled a lot). Seeing the Roses was what inspired me to buy a bass in the first place so this one is kind of my ground zero. It's a perfect song (to me).

...careful this is Basschat, the answer will be new pedal and new rig! I've only really rated the Bass Cubes for practice purposes so would absolutely be looking for a class D amp of some sort. The Trace Elliot ELF stuff is excellent and very transportable both in combo and head/cab formats.

My favourite bass line is from "Bare Necessities" - one of the first big band bass lines I learned on double bass. It's kind of iconic in its way.

Quality work. I’d love to hear that.

I wanted to use it as an alternative to backing tracks in our performances. It apparently has a feature to do live beat matching so we could give it a harpsichord MIDI file and it could play out to trigger signal from our drummer. Too steep a learning curve for me though, easier to persuade the drummer to play to a click track 😉

I like it a lot. I use it either as an always on pedal with the distortion set just to break things up a little, or set it higher and kick it in when needed, instead of using a separate distortion pedal. It's great!

Bass sax player here! Some suggestions: Ain't nobody Forget You I feel good Pick up the pieces Seven Nation Army Sir Duke I wish Tequila Don't start now Billie Jean

Seven piece swing/jazz band gig yesterday afternoon for a 90th birthday party for a very lively 90 year old lady. Probably 50 in attendance, they drifted in and out and most were of a certain age (three were 90 or older) and a few danced and they all seemed to enjoy our music, mostly big band charts from the lady's birth in 1935 into the '60's. The band has existed for about 8 years and for the first time we used two subs (deps in your part of the world), one to replace the trombonist who was ill and the other to fill in for the drummer who had family commitments. Both are outstanding musicians and excellent readers who sight read the 40 or so songs we played with no problems, and some of the charts are quite challenging. It was a fun gig, basically a wallpaper music gig but we had applause after every song and went home happy with our performance. Unfortunately they had cleared away the buffet of sandwiches and finger food before we finished but at least coffee was available for the ride home. Usual Shen SB100 into our Bose PA with a Schatten Design mini preamp that only has a volume control but is really handy on a gig like this, wireless (NUX C-5RC) into the preamp and EQ on the Bose and great sound. A bit crowded on an 8x12 riser, I was on the riser behind the big music stand on the right, no room for the Hercules bass stand so it stayed on the floor between sets.

Here's my pair of short scale (30") basses - one with Kent Armstrong humbucker, the other one with a Tonerider precision pickup......

First rehearsal with the Grand Slampegg tonight. It’s sounding great at volume.

PS the other thing you could try is a mixing desk with build SD card recording so no daw/pc required. I’m tempted by the Tascam model 16 or Zoom L20. That way it’s quite old school. Plug in the desk, press record then mix down.

I taught myself the rudiments of bass playing by twangalongaBootsy on an acoustic guitar! So easy, but not easy, starters would be "Aah the name is Bootsy Baby", "Psychotic Bumpschool" and Stretchin' Out", plus Parliament classics such as "P funk (wants to get funked up)" (which may be Cordell Mosson on bass) and "Flashlight" (though that's more Bernie on the keys).

I would keep the original scratch plate in original condition and buy a custom plate however you want it from gig ink or another reputable outlet. Gig ink is the only one I've used and I've been very pleased with the results, others on here will recommend some different places I'm sure. The reason I would do that is to be able to revert the bass to its original condition quickly and easily if in future you wish to sell it or take it on antiques roadshow.

I use the same stuff aswell

Last night was my second dep with a really good local band that has a guitarist in common with my main band - both power/operatic metal originals, ours a bit heavier with two guitars - theirs a bit lighter with guitar and keyboard. The first dep was an acoustic-ish birthday party set as they were missing drummer and bassist, so got me in to play a 50/50 mix of covers and their lighter originals. This one was another private party, but a full electric gig with only their bassist absent. It all looked like it might not happen as the planned venue had an unforeseeable problem so had to pull out at the last minute, but another nearby venue stepped in to host and it all went ahead just a short walk down the road. Then one of the bands pulled out of the gig as they were travelling in and didn't fancy the idea of getting stuck on the way back due to the weather - again, perfectly reasonable. So we ended up all taking longer sets, which is fine if you know the full back catalogue of the band due to being... well.. in the band, but I'd only learned one spare original so we ended up adding a cover that they recorded and released their version of during lockdown, and which I'd done acoustically at the previous gig so had no problem rocking back up. 45 minutes passed very quickly and I don't actually think I messed anything up. There were a couple of bits where somebody else came in early, and a missed cue for a guitar solo that resulted in another loop through the chords before commencing, both of which I spotted and adjusted accordingly. I wouldn't normally congratulate myself for such basic musicianship but they're original songs that move at a fair pace, so I was quite pleased not to get tripped up. I did forget to put in my earplugs for the first song, which was interesting as it showed me just how much top end detail the Doc's ProPlugs take away, and how I might like to have some of it back to a safe level. I shall have to try some different ones and see if there's something a bit better for me out there. The other bands on the bill were great and I was able to have a few drinks and enjoy them as we were opening the night and I was getting a lift. Got home just in time to see the snow start settling, so I reckon the band that decided it was a bad idea to travel 100 miles each way made the right call. Signal chain for the evening... Ibanez SR1105B -> [G30 wireless -> TU3 tuner -> Thumpinator -> MXR M87 compressor -> SansAmp BDDI v2] -> GK MB500 -> Blackstar house cab - might have been a Unity Elite 115C Tuner operated using a pair of Skechers Industrial Workshire boots - to say they're safety boots they make even moderately damp surfaces feel like well greased glass, but they're black and comfy.

I never liked playing open strings, so for me switching to a 5 string bass made playing easier. Later I worked out that the B string meant I could move my hand less. I prefer to have the same geography under my fingers so I don't switch basses. I haven't played 4 string since the 90's. Several myths that are just silly: 5 string basses weigh more (my lightest 5 weighs 3kg/6lbs 6oz), there are 4 and 5 string songs (of course there aren't), muting the 5th string is an issue (we all learnt how to mute 4 strings when we started, how is 1 more a problem?), a 5 string is only about 5 lower notes (not true) and Jaco only needed 4 (there are photos of him playing a 5 string bass). It's all about choice. A 5er is about added flexibility, playing in different positions and increasing your note choices.