skej21

[quote name='zero9' post='1177423' date='Mar 26 2011, 05:17 PM']My guess is that the damage to the neck of the bass looks quite serious, especially considering it's been 'repaired'. I'm not sure of the quality of the 'repair', however, imo, it shouldn't be left which such apparent scars. That and the price tag will put most people off. Those who're prepared to pay good money for a Ken Smith will want a pristine example. I would.[/quote] + 1 You have to remember that potential buyers are likely to view this bass online via the photos provided, initially. As a buyer, if you see a photo of damage/repair to a bass that looks that bad you expect a price that reflects the damage (or further repairs - even if that's just cosmetic - it may need). If you then see a high asking price, it is going to put a lot of people off and as stated, there won't be many of the niche buyers around for this type of bass to start with.

Two jazzes and a P bass are my regular gigging basses, so they are quite close I would say... However, only ever one at a time (on rotation). Never needed more than one bass at a gig before. Ever. (Yes, I realise that probably means something will go badly wrong at the next gig and I regret saying this )

[quote name='Doddy' post='1173784' date='Mar 23 2011, 08:11 PM']Not quite.... Apparently he got an audition but never went after finding out about Zappas anti drug policy.[/quote] And Zappa's anti-mediocrity, anti-pentatonic and 'you-can't-play-the-same-thing/rip-off-hendrix twice' policies...

Personally, I think the choice you've already made is a good one. I had a Laney RB9 head for YEARS and it was immense. Never let me down once and really provided some clout so I could really recommend Laney gear. At the same time, I had a peavey cab that was just as sturdy, reliable and powerful and would recommend that too. If you've narrowed it down to these two options, you'll have already considered power and speaker size and price... if that's the case, then do the sensible thing and buy the one that is easiest to carry/is the smallest and save your back!

[quote name='Apex' post='1169023' date='Mar 19 2011, 11:49 PM']Just returned from a concert in Bristol. There, only feet in front of me, the one double bass in the orchestra - with 5 strings! I didn't know you could get them, but talking to the bass player afterwards he said they are quite common in Germany, but not the UK. (I'll bet someone on BC has one!!) This one was brand new and made in Frome (in Summerzet) and a very handsome instrument indeed. Fifth string was a low B by the way. We could re-run the whole 4 vs 5 debate again for DBs! [/quote] If you think that's unusual, you should go and see a Baroque orchestra. Whilst at uni I had lectures/lessons learning how to play the Bass Viol (but never got any good). Now THAT is a weird instrument. Essentially a double bass with 6/7 strings and partially fretted.

It happens to us all at some point. I've always found that the best thing to do is to find some new music to enthuse you again. Have a look through some of the "songs" threads or "players" threads and see if you find something you like... or maybe the spotify playlist thread Hopefully, you'll find some new practice songs and maybe a player who you've never seen who really makes you want to practice hard again.

[quote name='risingson' post='1169810' date='Mar 20 2011, 06:58 PM']I don't like using compression live either in a lot of situations, although at bigger gigs with decent soundsystems/sound guys then it certainly has it's uses. In the studio of course it's an entirely different story. I assume iCastle probably means a similar thing?[/quote] Personally, I think the use of compression is often needed more in live sound, as it's purpose is to reduce the maximum and minimum levels of an audio signal, which means you can claim your own space in the overall sound and don't take up room you don't need, meaning the overall sound can be cleaner and plenty of space for all instruments to be heard, rather thana "wall of sound" approach which most bands seem to settle for. Same reason as why you would use compression in the recording studio, just in a slightly different context. I like this description - Compression is often used to make music sound louder without increasing its peak amplitude. By compressing the peak (or loudest) signals, it becomes possible to increase the overall gain (or volume) of a signal without exceeding the dynamic limits of a reproduction device or medium. The net effect, [b]when compression is applied along with a gain boost, is that relatively quiet sounds become louder, while louder sounds remain unchanged[/b]... This is why I use it in a live setting. [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1169831' date='Mar 20 2011, 07:14 PM']IMO a compressor isn't an effect unless you crank it to insane-o-squish.[/quote] As for this, I would actually agree. Audio processing (live or in the studio) is a different thing to effecting the audio. Of course, you can use compression as an effect, but I tend to use it for it's intended purpose and not as an effect. In which case, I don't use any effects. Just a tuner and some audio processing

[quote name='icastle' post='1168970' date='Mar 19 2011, 10:40 PM']I've never quite got the hang of compression - I don't actually want all the notes to come out the same volume all the while, and if I do then I just adjust my playing style.[/quote] Just got to say, I'm hoping this is a trolling exercise/joke... If so, bravo. If no, I don't even know where to begin...

[quote name='Bassmonkey' post='1169452' date='Mar 20 2011, 01:20 PM']....and another. The city is AWASH with us........Andy [/quote] Like bloody VERMIN!

Just compression for me. I don't need anything else.

Welcome from another Leeds basschattererererer.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='1168750' date='Mar 19 2011, 08:16 PM']Where's the pain? One of the most common technique issues is gripping too hard, which causes pain to the flexor pollicis brevis (muscle at the fleshy part of the palm attached to the thumb). If it's that, make sure your bass is at the right height, and practice scales without touching your thumb to the back of the neck. It'll feel weird for a while, but is worth it.[/quote] + 1 You should also get someone else to check your technique. You might not think that there's anything wrong with it, but someone else might notice something you haven't

Thanks for the advice and resources people. I'll let you know how it goes (or doesn't...)

[quote name='mrtcat' post='1167665' date='Mar 18 2011, 09:23 PM']As someone who has both bought and sold here I must say I've only ever dealt with nice folk and that's encouraging. I also now recognise a lot of contributors and would have more confidence dealing with them over names I don't recognise and that tips the balance back in favour of people who contribute to the site in general.[/quote] + 1 Always found this forum really friendly and buying and selling has always been quick, easy and hassle-free. However, to the OP, I suppose this is a forum designed to offer bassists the chance to take advantage of the opportunity to talk about our instrument, get advice and buy/sell instruments. If you're really concerned about people doing this kind of thing as you don't agree with it on principle, it's up to you as the individual to check out any buyer/seller and decide how you proceed with any transaction on a case-to-case basis.

Apologies, I will explain myself properly this time, instead of rambling like an idiot. I want to take the pickups out of one bass body and put them into a second (empty) bass body.

I need pointing in the right direction please! I've spent the last two nights looking through different parts of "repairs and technical issues" looking for information about removing pickups from one bass and putting them into another bass, but can't find it. Also, some advice about what to look out for (or not to do it at all?!) would be nice, having never done this thanks to an enormous reliance on a friend who was very good with electronic stuff (who I've now moved away from!). Thanks in advance!

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1161788' date='Mar 14 2011, 02:15 PM']Can someone please explain how the Grolsch bottle seal holds your strap on?[/quote] You take the seal off the bottle and it's a just a round red '0' shape. You put the strap onto the bass strap button as normal, and then repeat the process with the seal, placing it onto the strap button over the top of the strap on both strap buttons and it holds the strap on. EDIT: They are identical to these [url="http://www.straplock.co.uk/catalog3.html"]straplock[/url] but are red instead, and you get the beer!

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1161770' date='Mar 14 2011, 02:01 PM']Minor and likely pointless mental meandering here, but thinking back over the last few gigs I've been to, both guitar and bass players seemed utterly obsessed with gaffa tape as a means of securing their straps. One managed to break, causing a brief moment of panic for the player concerned. I used to do this when I was a teenager and had just started out. I had some awful bulletbelt strap, which needed some adjusting for the "round the knees" playing fashion which I remember being cool. Is it still cool in some rock-and-roll-chic fashion? Or have people just not heard of straplocks? Seems odd to see so many relatively expensive basses bound up in tape![/quote] + 1 I hate gaffa all over basses! However, I never used straplocks personally, because I found that the little red rubber seal from grolsch swing bottles does the job just as well (and gives me an excuse to have a beer!). They are also cheap (because I'm happy to pay for the beer ) and not messy like gaffa.

[quote name='dood' post='1161483' date='Mar 14 2011, 10:25 AM']Seems to be a lazy excuse for talent, when it is done badly.[/quote] Totally agree. The percussive nature of slap bass just lends itself perfectly to lazy players. I'm not saying every player who uses slap is lazy, before the pack attacks... What I mean is that because of the percentage of slap that is made up of mutes and percussive sounds, it's really easy for lazy/average players to cover up the fact that they have very little knowledge of harmony, melody and notes on the neck. Mainly because you don't have to think about implied harmony or supporting the melody in fills/bass lines, you just replicate a machine gun going off for two minutes and hope that there's at least one other bass player in the room who might appreciate it for a couple of seconds before they get bored or think "my slap playing is better"....

[quote name='Soloshchenko' post='1161047' date='Mar 13 2011, 09:10 PM']For me, Flea's non slap playing far outshines any of his manic slap stuff. I loved a lot of the intelligent rock playing on Californication.[/quote] I couldn't agree more. That is always my main problem with Flea. If he played like that more often he'd be really great but as he doesn't he's too hit or miss for me to enjoy a full album because he inevitably ruins it. The other thing with Flea is that (IMO) he is really overrated by beginners, but really underrated by more advanced players. I think 'Under the Bridge' and 'Scar Tissue' are really great bass lines but the amount of guff slap stuff means they are just tiny glimpses of greatness.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1160368' date='Mar 13 2011, 12:13 PM']*Shakes head. Walks away*[/quote] Hahaha. In the OP's defence Doddy, we are a bass forum and we do know loads of good ones... they just all happen to be tabbed out in standard notation

[quote name='icastle' post='1154485' date='Mar 8 2011, 08:59 PM']You're gonna hit a few snags trying to locate a resource like that. Traditional English folk music was written to match the instruments available to musicians at the time - bass was never a part of that. American folk music, being somewhat 'newer' tends to have at least some resource available, albeit with a feel that doesn't really match English folk. Bands like Fairport and Steeleye Span bought traditional tunes up to date from an instrumentation perspective and had to write suitable bass parts, generally around a rock format. It really depends on the sort of material that the band are playing but 'latter day exponents' that may be relevant would be Pentangle, Seth Lakeman, Jim Moray and perhaps Miranda Sykes/Show of Hands - all have a traditional feel and some interesting UB parts. Perhaps take a look/have a listen to their playing styles and see of they match your projects needs and use that as a basis for developing your own style? Sorry it's such a vague answer but 'folk' can cover an enormous area and has very few hard and fast rules - bass parts in this genre either work or they suck! Great fun though! [/quote] + 1 The other difficulty you'll find is that "folk music" resources usually only have the lyrical content of the songs, as the whole idea of 'folk' is to take a song (i.e. lyrics) and create your own music for it in order to accommodate the instruments you have available. The idea of aural tradition also creates a lot of problems, because the songs etc are often passed down aurally, without any written resources.