zero9

Started on bass. Had two friends at the time I started, one who already played guitar and the other who was already playing drums.

I've had a chance to use my recently acquired Basswork Superior Deluxe 'dirty gut' strings and like them. They're easier to slap in general, and give a 'darker' tone over the RS4000's I was using. They are somewhat quieter though, probably because of the lower tension. They work very well with my current K&K Rockabilly pickup set-up. For the price, I'd say these are highly recommended (especially for slap playing). They also settled in very quickly.

I wouldn't be too bothered about age. You could be dismissing the 'right' person for the position. I've seen (and been in) bands with a massive age range and found this, if anything, more beneficial to the whole experience. I agree if you're trying to form a 'boy band' (or 'girl band'), where image (and age) are important

Why not get a simple powered monitor, which would usually be at the right angle. Alternative is a Hartke Kickback. I would say a powered monitor is more versatile.

If my experience of trying to buy car insurance from Tesco's was anything to go by, I wouldn't bother (liars and crooks springs to mind). It wouldn't surprise me if this is just another Tesco subsidiary with dodgy customer service standards.

You could meet prospective new band members for a chat and a beer (other drinks available) first. I found this works well, just to chat through stuff without playing, to make sure you're on the same wavelength. This will help weed out the weirdo's. You can meet at a neutral venue, rather than your own place, which gives you some level of anonymity should someone take umbrage to not being 'the one' for the job. Just my 2p

I like to keep things simple, thus I categorise stuff as 'good' and 'crap'.

I used to be in the same 'boat'. I'm left handed, playing a right handed bass and also have 'longer than average' fingers. I started playing scales up and down the neck, generally using the 1 finger per fret system, sometimes 4 fingers to five frets and just focussed on getting a good, clean and even sound. I also used the Nathan East lesson to get all 4 fingers of the left hand working going up and down the strings on frets 1 to 4 (should be on youtube somewhere). Once you start building more speed, you'll find things become more 'effortless'. I have had (rare admittedly) occassions where people have commented on my playing afterwards, saying I made it look 'effortless' and totally comfortable. It just takes loads of practice . No shortcuts I'm afraid.

Nice tunes, enjoyed listening to those. You mention you don't use a pickup on the fingerboard to give a click, which would make quite a difference and give a much more pronounced 'click'. I would've preferred the bass a bit higher in the mix (as I like bass). Like the singing too I've just received some Bassworks Superior Deluxe's from the US (quick delivery and very good value). Haven't had a chance to try them yet tho'.

Your guitarist seems like a decent enough chap (although I haven't met him). He even wrote down the key for each song, rather than let you get on with learning them to be told afterwards that they need to be transposed . Enjoy the process and you may get quite a lot of of it.

Don't know about the 'dynamics' bit, I think that's down to the modern production suitable for the 'iP0d' generation and crappy 'l4pt0p' speakers. I can vouch for small text becoming harder to read as I get older, thus making LP covers easier to read. I think 'back in the vinyl days' album artwork was much more exciting and artistic compared to CD's / downloads.

Had the pleasure of meeting up with Dave at Wetherby services to relieve him of a mixing desk. Faultless transaction and great communicator. Thanks Dave. Wil

Hallo en welkom. Veel plezier op BC

Why not get a 4-channel mini mixer?

Being able to read is most useful

I wouldn't put another transducer under the fingerboard, not unless you're wanting a 'click' sound like in Rockabilly. I'm with keeponehandloose, sounds like you're current transducer's not doing / upto the job and there are better ones out there.

Another thing to do might be to go check out some rockabilly bands and get chatting to the bass players. They're usually very approachable and knowledgeable. Some might even know someone who's moving a bass on, and you could pick something up that's ready to slap! Good luck

If you do want to spend that kind of money on amps and cabs for home use, I would consider something 'modular'. Get a combo (for instance a Phil Jones Suitcase), to which you could add an extension cab later (say a Phil Jones Piranha 4B - you probably gather I like PJB gear ), which would then make it suitable for gigging later. People will always give you 'their' opinion in terms of what 'they' would do (I've just done it). At the end of the day it's your cash and you takes your choice .

I tend to run my amps flat and adjust the controls on the bass (my bass is active), that's usually good enough for me to get the sound I want. It's horses for courses as it depends what type of sound you're aiming for. For instance, if you want a 'scooped' sound, cut the mids and boost the low and high frequencies. Your G&L 2500 should be capable of producing quite a range of sounds before you need to adjust the amp, which might be worth experimenting with first. Do you have a particular sound in mind or are you struggling to get the sound you want?

I haven't found a 'regular' acoustic bass guitar yet which will keep up acoustically with other instruments. A double bass is a much better proposition, especially if you slap or use a bow, that'll make it cut through. There are some clips on youtube featuring Djordje Stijepovic, where he plays unamplified with an ensemble. Having said that, he uses steel strings on his DB and slaps the *rs* out of it .

I always liked 'Adrenalin' from David Bendeth's album of the same name. Couldn't find anything on yootoob, other than this geezer playing it (more of a MK impression mind): [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROp50u_SojQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROp50u_SojQ[/url]

I'm with silddx on this. Everything's there, just needs a bit more oomph .

It's a real fake. You could always try and get your money back first, after all, you know where he lives (it might help to take some 'muscle' with you to try and convince him ). If he doesn't want to play ball, you can always take him to the small claims court as already suggested. Good luck in getting this matter resolved.

How do you feel about graphite? I'm thinking St4tus Gr..... . Ticks the boxes on cutting tone, growl, low action etc.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1350136651' post='1835017'] OK, well a quick bit of googling brings up this: [url="http://www.contrabass.co.uk/about_the_double_bass.htm"]http://www.contrabas...double_bass.htm[/url] (By Peter Tyler, of Tyler Basses [url="http://www.tylerbasses.co.uk/"]http://www.tylerbasses.co.uk/[/url] ) I'm tempted to buy this myself, to find out how to lower the bridge on my upright since the action is much too high. And also this: [url="http://www.violins.ca/books/bass_making_book.html"]http://www.violins.c...aking_book.html[/url] I was only half-joking, I've met many violin-makers who won't touch double-bass because the size of the tools and physical effort required is too much. [/quote] My local luthier is a violin maker, who will touch double bass. As he likes talking about the subject, I've picked up some very useful hints from him when it comes to setting up the DB.