dmccombe7

Deep fried or Americanised crisps

A Semi-quaver is a half eaten one

Think i might try and work on that a bit. If its short spells i'm comfortable with it or if its varying notes. I just seem to have a problem when playing 16ths or triplets on same note for long periods at a time. Maybe i just loose focus and concentration because i find those songs a bit boring. I've used my thumb and first 2 fingers quite a lot but again shorter spells. Dave

That isolated bass track sounds good. I can hear the bass a lot clearer and he's not playing as many notes as i first thought. Think that double bass drum covers it a fair bit. Thanks everyone. Always helps when you ask other BC'ers. Dave

I regularly use my thumb as a pick but it doesn't have the same feel as the index or mid finger. Dave

Thanks for that. It should help. I did pick up on the double bass drum making it sound fuller but still have to do a little work on it. The isolated bass should be a huge help. Thanks again Dave

I was suffering from a bad back up near my left shoulder thru working in garden and decided on one of the Gruv Straps. Fantastic piece of kit altho you need to make sure you get the right length of strap as they don't have a great range and more suited to players that have their bass higher up than traditional rock players. They do make an extended version tho but when i bought mine they weren't available in UK yet. I lengthened mine by using a good quality leather belt and punched the correct size holes in it. My shoulder is now good and i only use the one strap now and its still the best strap i've ever used. I know other companies have similar things Check out Bass Direct that's where i got mine. Dave

So where are you with this. I don't see an actual price Grassie. How do i place an order with you. I'm still very interested. Dave

If you have Hot For Teacher that would be appreciated. Got some from Ultimate Guitar but the bass fills in verses don't seem right. Watched a few Youtube VIDS too and the guys are def not playing what's on the bass tab. I'll keep at it and will eventually get it or as near as poss. I did notice that one guy was using his middle finger like a pick playing the same notes with skin side then the nail side. He was quite good at it. Dave

From what i've read he's a genuine nice guy too. Looks like Eddie wanted all his family as the band tho. Most of VH songs i can do relatively easy but this one is verging on Steve Harris feel. Very fast 16ths with few wee runs thrown in. Doesn't help when double bass runs over it all as trying tow ork out the runs is more difficult but i'll get there. Dave

Just been asked to learn Hot For Teacher by Van Halen. I always thought their bass player Mike Anthony was a good solid rock bassist with great backing vocals but have a wee listen to the bass on this track. I'm struggling with this to put in the same wee riffs and keep the constant bass line flowing. Lot more difficult than i ever gave credit for. Obviously i'm gonna have to work a bit harder on this one. Anyone else tried it ?

Used my Markbass CMD121P & ext cab with 70's Glam covers band last year and the tone was so good they said it didn't even need to go thru FOH. They were extremely impressed with it. This band had been thru 17 bassists in 11yrs. They had a very demanding schedule 2-3 gigs every weekend. Probably the nicest guys i've met in a band but i just couldn't keep up with their demand and many at short notice and full set changes with 2 weeks notice. Have to admit any time i use my Markbass rig it just works with virtually no tweaking. Not my best tone but it always works well in a full band situation. Dave

To be fair to some guitarists i've played with they preferred specific equipment. Classic rock band they preferred my Jazz bass to any others i tried. They also preferred my Berg AE112 cabs to the studios Ampeg 8x10 cab altho i thought the Berg cabs lacked depth or "heft". They said the Jazz had more edge and clarity but was still a nice rounded deep tone with nice clear mids. On the other hand a Funk / blues based rock band preferred my PJ bass to any others i have and preferred my Orange 115 & 210 rig to Berg HT322 or Markbass rig. The PJ bass had more depth than others. What i took from this was that specific basses and rigs suit specific styles of bands. My playing style was slightly different with these bands where i was more aggressive with the rock band. As a band i couldn't say if the audiences noticed anything different when i did use another bass. The bands definitely could tell and had their preferences and were happy to let me know what sounded better out front. Dave

Know what you mean Karl

Like the band name there Karl

Nice bass rig sitting there too.

Try the short bungee chords. Lot easier to clip on and off than cable ties and with them being stretch they take up any creases in the backdrop. Dave

Like that idea. I've never heard that before. Gonna give it a try as just started with couple new bands and sets are new to me. I generally play along with the song a few times to get a good feel for it, then i start learning small sections at a time. I also write everything out even if i have the Bass tabs. I find writing bass lines out gives me a back up of the written notes and structure in my head. If need be i'll take notes along to rehearsals until the full song sinks in. If a part is really difficult i practice it slowly and work up to the right tempo. There's no easy way you just have to work at it as best you can. If i come across a part that really is too far ahead of me in technique i will adapt the bass line to suit my style yet still retain the main feel of the original bass line. To be fair no one has ever said to me that i've missed something or i'm not playing the bass line correctly. I've had guitarists say i wasn't doing it right and when i show them the bass tab and we listen in depth to the original they then admit they were wrong so you need to be confident in what you decide to play. If you look as though you know what you are doing most people will go along with it and maybe only another competent bassist will pick up on anything missing or not quite right. One other thing i do is put the songs on Ipod or prefer a CD and all in order of set list and when i'm driving i play them as a set list. Eventually the set list becomes one big song with several parts. (I was used to playing a lot of Prog music so long epics was easy for me ) Dave

Don't normally listen to this kind of music but have to admit that was extremely relaxing and thoroughly enjoyed. Such a shame to lose such an obvious talent. RIP Johann

Was never really much of a Queen fan altho appreciated how good they were. Enjoyed occasional singles at the time in 70's. Always thought John Deacon had a great tone. Fitted perefctly with every song no matter what bass he used. Does anyone know what amps he used to use back then. ? Just curious. Dave

Seen that VID before and was very impressed by himand how much control he has with his pick hand.

Think the guy admits he can only use it very occasionally. Its just something he likes doing. He sounds as though he has a lot more talent than this. I can do the very basics of it just for fun in house but don't have any practical use within any bands i play in.