mcgraham

Yes - I would play absolutely any gig because (a) it's not my day job ( I derive great pleasure from simply making music. That said, if I cannot hear myself due to an absence of monitoring (e.g. no bass amp and only FOH sound meaning NO monitoring) or there is some member of the band that means the songs literally fall apart, then I say no, or (if possible) leave.

I tried CGDA (i.e. tuned in fifths) for a while. The added range is cool, and wider intervals are made easier. The con is that smaller intervals are made much more difficult. I eventually abandoned it and went back to fourths partly because of comfort and the time I'd invested in fourths, but also I felt it didn't lend itself well to the scale of the bass and function that the bass tends to serve in music.

It would be a real shame if they were totally discontinued - stellar amps/cabs.

Had a quick search and didn't spot this having been mentioned... Rumours on TB are that the ceramic IP series has been discontinued to make way (at some point in the future) for a neo version of the IP series. That would definitely be exciting and I'd be thrilled to see/play those, though it seems a shame to discontinue the existing series in the interim. Anyway, I probably wouldn't try to sell my current ceramic IP stack to fund a neo one just for the weight saving.

Good thread. I practice through full range in-ear monitors with the bass frequencies dialled down a touch and the mids and treble dialled up a touch. This makes every manky noise and every mistake I make come through incredibly clearly, and forces me to tweak my technique to be as noise-free as possible - unless a 'noise' is intentional. That's also why I practice like a mofo, as bass is a noisy instrument.

Arpeggios, and intonation in the third octave. Great fun!

I relax too much. I look like I've suffered some kind of facial paralysis and occasionally drool on my bass whilst practicing. If I was anymore relaxed I'd pass out.

Thanks for the clarification I agree.

To the OP, I feel it depends. G (on E string) to D (on A string) has a very different feel to G (on E string) to D (on B string) just because of the different in pitches. I find moving up a fifth rather has a greater level of intensity and 'upward' movement than down a fourth, which to me implies a more relaxed feel and less movement. Re: endorka - [quote]So, if you are playing only with a guitarist in standard tuning, you should [b]never[/b] play anything below your E string,[/quote] Never? Really? I can see your reasoning and agree with most of it, but surely you don't mean 'never'... I don't generally use notes below my low E because I don't hear music that way. But there are some songs I that I can hear lower notes will fit better than notes just an octave below (even with just one guitar in standard tuning accompanying).

No effects. One of the things I love about bass is the way it fits with almost any style of music just as it is - no effects, no patches, no different amps, it just works. You can get so many different sounds and textures out of it - love it.

With regard to voice, I think that even if you have a very strong musical voice in your head (e.g. what you hear or wish to play in response to hearing a piece of music, and how you would interpret that music), it undoubtedly requires a technique that matches the complexity of your voice, as well as psychological comfort and confidence on a given instrument to be able to execute those ideas fluidly, without hindrance, and without any concern as to whether you can play something or not. To reach these sorts of levels of skill and to achieve it over multiple genres on one instrument takes a lot of time, but to achieve it on 2+ instruments regardless of their similarities (bass, guitar; electric bass, upright bass) is a mammoth task.

Nice post Faithless - have to agree to some extent, I've been struggling with this of late. I've reached a stage in my musical development where splitting my time between guitar and bass is meaning I am feeling somewhat dissatisfied with my progress on both, and I need to refocus my energies on one instrument (the bass - no question) to continue the development of my musical 'voice'. There's certainly no reason not to pick up other instruments, (that's why I picked up guitar), but to reap maximum rewards I'm finding I can't split my time between different instruments.

You are more than welcome to come give it a whirl! I used it tonight for a jazz gig and it was immense. Gave such a tremendous amount of feedback that you'd otherwise have to crank a several kilowatt bass rig to achieve. Got a carol service tomorrow evening so will give it a different type of test tomorrow. Mark

Buttkicker? [url="http://www.thebuttkicker.com/"]http://www.thebuttkicker.com/[/url] They make attachments for office chairs to allow for silent bass gaming, but would also allow for silent bass listening. I actually got the Buttkicker Concert from Walman about this time last year if you're interested (or if anyone else is interested, as it is now superfluous).

Ohhhhh yes

The Pleasure Board and Pump arrived today. Plugged it in after work. In short? This thing is amazing. To the point I just had to share on the forum. It feels exactly like standing on a stage with masses of bass pulsing through the floor. You can get so much groundshaking action it's ridiculous. You can basically finetune the amount of bass you normally like to [i]feel[/i] from an amp/rig together with in-ears to create your own 'onstage' environment - it really is something else. I cannot wait to use it on a gig (Saturday and Sunday). Anyone interested feel free to get in touch. Mark

I'd agree that you need to have common sense to progress, but common sense would mean looking at your technique and changing things or consciously adjusting your technique to improve it. I'd say that qualifies as 'dedicating time' and effort towards a technique - you've certainly directed your mind towards improving that technique. Mark

[quote]In the end, if you're meant to be using a certain right hand plucking technique it will probably develop itself[/quote] I don't agree with this - just 'trusting' you'll find the right technique for you and that you'll do it correctly is nonsense. Nothing else in the world operates in this way, why would bass technique be any different? You might be [i]satisfied [/i]with your technique without working on it, but doesn't mean it's right or correct.