velvetkevorkian

"Birth is GAS. Life Is GAS. Death is GAS. Only by achieving enlightenment can we transcend GAS and reach Nirvana." With apologies to all the Buddhists out there

I wouldn't worry about the size aspect- I know lot of fairly petite women (my teacher, amongst others, is about 5'3" with hands to match) who are excellent players. The most important thing is not to just think of it as a big fretless, is a very different instrument that does need different left hand technique. That said if you can play fretless you already have the the most important skill down- intonation. If you keep an eye on eBay you can maybe pick something up reasonably cheaply, and it would likely keep its value quite well if you decided you want to resell. There's another thread about this just now.

[quote name='kjb' post='41012' date='Aug 3 2007, 06:41 PM']It says made by Andreas Zeller for Stntor music. What's the difference between flat and curved back instruments. Also what sort of price would you expect to pay for this. Cheers.[/quote] As far as I know this is mainy an aesthetic thing. I've seen high end and low end examples of each. edit- Looks like what would be sold as a Zeller rather thsan a Stentor. If its fully carved, £1000 new and about £700-800 second hand wouldn't be out the question. Laminate, not so sure but probably £800 new and £500 second hand.

All the Zellers I've seen have had curved backs.

I have a borrowed copy of the book, it definitely sems like one to go through with a teacher- there's not a very sensible progression IMO, in that it jumps straight from open strings to thumb position transitions.

Its not scruffy, its well loved

Just fiendishly expensive, no? I'd go with Peavey for my one brand, although I'm not sure if they do strings.

I'm a big fan of budget Peaveys- I've had one as my only bass for about 6 and a half years now and its served me well despite being abused in numerous unpleasant venues.

That V8 is quite possibly the single most manly looking amp I've ever seen.

I believe any of the NS basses can be used with either the tripod or a spike.

Er... what he said. Sound advice all round.

There's also a lot of chatter about the Micro300 having various (noise related, IIRC) issues, so you might want to wait until they get those resolved before picking one up, especially if you're paying UK prices. That's a pretty badass instrument BTW.

Practice does indeed make perfect. I think I'm going to go through all my DB method books on BG- that should help my reading and my shredding

In my orchestral experience the brass section is usually pissed by 11am, but thats a different story. It does sound remarkably realistic. Salutations!

I can read pretty to very fluently on upright bass and I can get by reading on the bass guitar, although I'm going to work on that. I started out playing classical double bass in school, so it came along with that. I can read treble clef painfully, and tenor slightly better. The way I see it, there's no disadvantage to being able to read, and it makes analysing and understanding music much easier, as well as giving you the ability to jump straight into gigs; for instance I depped (badly) in a musical for one night, but I got by sightreading it and following the cello player. Tab is next to useless in ASCII format, and only worthwhile for fingering difficult things when accompanied by notation. The fact that it doesn't show rhythm hamstrings it IMO.

I really like that. The pizz strings and the big swells with gongs sound excellent in particular. Did you play that all in, or was any of it programmed/notated/whatever?

Which, upon further reading, is what it actually says in your post. Oops

Indeed. You can lose yourself in that quilt.

Is that a solid flamed maple body, rather than just a top?

Between the ramp and the bridge? Or on the top "horn"? Looks bloody brilliant in any case!

Not sure about availability in Greece, but for £1000 you're most likely looking at brands like Zeller and Stentor if you're buying new. These are generally pretty solid (I've heard good things about the Stentors, although I haven't been able to try one). Your best bet, if possible, is to play as many as you can. Are there any shops near you that sell them? The main thing to look out for when buying is cracks in the body and the positioning of the bridge. edit- re: 3/4 vs 4/4, the vast majority of players use a 3/4, although the lines are pretty blurry so you get large 3/4s which are the same size as a smallish 4/4. If you can try before you buy, go with whatever's comfortable but if you're buying blind I'd get a 3/4, especially if you're a DB beginner.

For a ton or thereabouts on eBay, the VF1 is a great piece of kit IMO, especially when you consider they were £400 new. You can also use a standard one or two button footswitch if you don't want to go the MIDI route.

One day I will get a 7 string. I just want to see my guitarist's face when I turn up with more strings than him. And I want to cop Malmsteen licks on bass.

Will keep an eye on Cash Converters...