Gareth Hughes

And a lovely guy too. I was playing with Foy Vance in Ronnie Scott's a few years back. Dave was in the band going on before us. At soundcheck I went up to him, asking about his Rob Allen bass he was playing. Gave me a load of time and insight, even offered it to me to play. Top bloke - and demon bass player.

Kolstein Heritage strings have a lovely low tension to them, designed to emulate a gut feel. Me likee a lot.

A beautiful idea and sentiment. I'll be there in spirit. And if there wasn't a great big bloody sea between me and the gig I'd be there in person.

Digging the playing a lot. And loving the look of the guitar guy with the white Strat. He might be playing the best rhythm in the world, but he totally looks like he just got his guitar at Xmas.

Yep - contact any of the Genz Benz guys - even directly thru their website. My 3.0 was sending a big low spike to the speaker ever time I turned it on/off, but only when MUTE was engaged. Asked Jeff Genzler about it - he arranged to have the UK distributor sort it out, at no expense to me - not even shipping. Great company.

PM'd

I'm gigging in Bangor on Wednesday night if that's any use.

My Eminence actually arrived with a crack in it - on the bass side F hole, on the outer edge from the middle of the F hole to the edge of the body, about an inch and a half long. Cracked right the way thru the top. Took it to my luthier and determined there would be no problems structurally to the bass so I just left it well alone. Eight or so years later and it's exactly as it was then. Anyway Clarky - the point of my rambling is that you shouldn't have much to worry about - especially as these are laminate instruments. Aesthetically you might want to repair it tho, if its bugging you to look at.

[quote name='oldslapper' post='1089141' date='Jan 14 2011, 11:43 AM']There's a bit of me that gets exasperated with the misguided belief that you have to be perfect before venturing out.[/quote] Well - I'm not cheap, BUT....... how much you got? In 12 years I haven't had a single MD or bandleader ask what my training/education was. I've had plenty ask about what experience I've had, who I've played with, etc - and that's normal to gauge a player's ability. If you know that someone has played with Frank Zappa, for instance, you automatically know that that player has some serious game WITHOUT hearing them play. An important thing is to be honest about your ability. I've turned down several gigs because I knew they were beyond my ability. It's fine to take a gig that's a bit above your ability and will push you - but it's just stupid to take a gig that will leave you looking like an incompetent fool. I almost lost a very credible and lucrative gig because the person who recommended me had said I was an orchestral player. When the MD mentioned this to me at my audition, I explained I had played some orchestral things in the like of Broadway shows but that's a far cry from being an orchestral player. So we looked through the material and thankfully I was fine with it. And you're spot on with "the misguided belief that you have to be perfect before venturing out." I know someone working with one of the biggest bands in the world who told a little white lie about a certain aspect of a job and then learnt damn quickly on the job. And I know from talking with some other professionals, way higher up the food chain than me, that I'm not the only one waiting to get found out!!!

Fair play with the lessons. I just took my first upright lesson a few days ago (getting almost stranded in the snow on the way there too!!). I've been playing upright professionally for about 12 years - basically got one and got gigs just because I had one so very much learnt on the job - so after all that time I have a LOT of bad habits to correct. After one lesson I'm already feeling, and more importantly - HEARING - the changes in my playing, especially with my bowing. Yes, I am a wee chuffed ferret. How I wish I could go back to my younger self and give me a slap for not taking lessons then.

[quote name='Damo200' post='1085213' date='Jan 11 2011, 10:00 AM']No offence, but I won't recommend these for a player who has only been playing for a year and a half. Try the Simandl 30 etudes first.[/quote] That's another great book - especially if you get the Music Minus One version that has the piano accompaniment.

Hey Sam - Check out John Goldsby's 'The Jazz Bass Book' - [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-Bass-Book-Technique-Tradition/dp/0879307161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294737666&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-Bass-Book-Tec...7666&sr=8-1[/url] Part history, part lessons - it's a great resource. Plus, it has play-along tracks which are vital in developing your intonation.

Fair play and thanks for this. Now - let the frustration commence!!!

Yes Yes Yes. (Yes) Ps - Yes

Or check this out: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=117584&st=0&#entry1081339"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...p;#entry1081339[/url]

[quote name='endorka' post='1081227' date='Jan 7 2011, 03:53 PM']and you find yourself constantly amused with comments about the "big guitar" and so on :-) Jennifer[/quote] Same here - my favourite is 'How'd you get that big fiddle under your chin?'. To which my sarcy reply is 'The same way I'd get it up your a$$ - with a lot of effort'. Or the other classic - 'I bet you wish you played the flute'. My reply - 'Right now I do, so I wouldn't have to listen to that same comment for the thousandth time'. Yes - Bah HumBug is alive and well after Xmas.

My first car was an early 90's VW Polo - it was tiny. I could get my upright, an electric, a Hartke 2x10 cab and 2U head, and also take a passenger in the front seat. You can get a lot more in a car than you think sometimes. Right now I drive a Ford Focus C-Max, which is a dream for taking gear - or at least was until a baby seat went in!!

Hey - Just sold a Schaller Magnetic Pickup to Hedofire. All good - and very patient while I missed the post office before New Years shut-down!! Top bloke and would happily do business again.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1078396' date='Jan 5 2011, 11:23 AM']I was reading somewhere yesterday that they reckon the VAT increase will be used as an excuse to put things up by around 8% .[/quote] Fully expect that. I was living in Dublin when the currency changed from Irish Punt to the Euro. Everything was rounded up way past what it should have been, with the excuse that there would be too much confusion and hassle if prices ended in 58c, 23c, etc instead of 99c.

Not to take away from Bob's instruments - but I would recommend you look into some of the basses available from Thomann. After playing a friends that was set-up professionally and played brilliantly, I replaced my €5000 bass from Ken Smith with one of these: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_22_02.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_22_02.htm[/url] The Ken Smith was fully carved, while the Thomann is a hybrid (carved top, laminated sides/back) and to be honest there isn't a lot in the difference. My main reason for downgrading was to get an instrument that would amplify better than the Smith would. The carved body was a crazy feedback machine. So I knew I would be sacrificing some acoustic qualities in getting a hybrid. I can honestly say that after playing the Smith for over a year, and getting to know it pretty well, that I would rather have the Thomann. The Thomann bass is made by the Hora company in Romania. Also, I was able to specify what set-up I wanted, so the bass arrived with the bridge set-up to my playing style. It also arrived with the soundpost still in place, so I was able to string it up as soon as I unpacked it and was playing in minutes. This saved the time and expense of going to my repair guy to get it setup. I've been playing this bass for almost a year now and have no problems with it at all. With the free shipping from Thomann and the trial period where you can return it if you don't like it, this might be a better option for you. Maybe check with them about the procedure to return it if you don't like it.

I've had great results with a Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0/10T combo. There's something about that little box, and the low freq cut-off that makes it so much more useable than bigger cabs and more powerful heads.