dmccombe7

It jumped hand when muting was mentioned. Now i get it. Dave

WOW simply WOW I decided to read the full thread because of some unusual replies i was seeing before mine above. Now let me get this straight........the OP asked where you place your thumb on your plucking hand so why did we have 6 or 7 pages of fretting hand thumb position ? I still haven't sourced the change-over point from plucking hand to fretting hand thumb position. I took lessons for a few years at the start. I've already mentioned my plucking hand thumb positions but with regards my fretting hand I generally did have my thumb on centre of the neck but i picked up sloppiness over the years when not gigging and started to suffer left hand cramp and i decided to revert back to what i thought was proper technique and it helped resolve the issue. I do however see my fretting hand thumb hanging over the edge of the neck on occasion probably thru laziness and if my hand gets achy again i revert to back of neck position again. I started off playing rock music then Prog and jazz-rock. I learned Teentown and Portrait of Tracy back in 80's altho it took me a while to get it right. No expert at playing those kind of songs and i really do need to put the work in mainly for the stamina of playing them. I learned a few Jeff Berlin songs too just for my own satisfaction at the time. Not sure i could play them now tho LOL Last year i started playing witha punk covers band and realised just how good some of those 70's punk bands were. My fav being Stiff Little Fingers who have a wonderful bass player. Punk proved to be more interesting than difficult than i originally gave punk credit for. Yes i am old enough to be into Glam rock, Prog and Rock and living thru the punk era that i never had the time of day for. Funny how views change over time. I'd agree with @peteb on this that its best to take lessons and get the basic theory and technique correct and learn and adapt from there to suit what you are doing. I'd also say that some of JPJ's bass lines are pretty impressive and better than a lot of what i've heard from Jaco but then again they are different styles of music. That's just my tuppence worth. Dave

In our punk covers band our most political song with true meaning is Dave

When i was looking for a 5 stringer i drove 250 miles down to Bass Direct to try whatever Mark thought would suit my needs. Having tried the one bass i originally thought would work i was disappointed with the Spector bass and MArk offered me a few others. At no time was i pressured in any way altho i did end up with a Dingwall NG2 in black with maple neck that did the project i wanted it for and then i moved it on. I've also visited Guitar Guitar in Glasgow and had no issues trying out various basses and again didn't feel under any pressure. In fact it can be rewarding getting some feedback and advice from assistants in shops who are usually bass players themselves. That's how i first came across a Sandberg. Guitar Guitar let me try one when i was looking at Fenders. I was most surprised how good it was. I made it clear from the start i was only just looking with a view to buying in a few months. I have bought most of my recent basses on line tho some new and some 2nd hand. I always advise to try before you buy. Its thhe best policy IMO. Dave

Yep that would do me too. Dave

Depends on the song. Sometimes the thumb floats across the strings other times i'll rest on the strings above whatever strings i'm playing on and sometimes i rest on a pick up more so with a Jazz style bass. With a P bass i've seen me rest the thumb against the body if i want to play near the bridge or neck. No fixed rule to be honest, whatever's comfiest at the time. Dave

I love driving Daryl altho not in cities. I live in countryside but your cities are bigger than our Country Have a wonderful Christmas Daryl and a prosperous New Year. Dave

Had a van hire from a local garage couple years ago using a VW LWB Crafter van that was very nice indeed. I was getting 40-50mpg from it until i picked up drummer and large PA and we hit the motorway and a yellow warning light came on and the engine went into limp mode. Driving along the M74 motorway thru Glasgow at night and dropping down to 30mph on a motorway is a scary experience. I started pulling onto hard shoulder with hazzards on every time i hit a hill. Also had to keep the revs up a bit when stopped intraffic or lights in case it stalled and wouldn't start. Garage didn't even offer a partial refund for the worry and length of time it took me to get to and from the gig. Dave

Wee update on the DR Black Beauties. Played a 3hr gig on 17th Dec to a full house with Glam covers band and the strings sounded amazing throughout the gig. No tuning issues with them but they had been broken in during home practice. Feel of these strings is really nice with lot less tension than any other coated strings i've tried. My overall thoughts so far is they sound quite like the D'addario EXL190's i normally use but have a smoother feel not like flats but smooth. Only downside was that if you slide your fingers too much at the end of a belter song it burns you I've now ordered another set for my Sandberg MarloweDK. Looks like these will be my new srings. I'm still WOW'd by them. Dave

Well done for exceptional effort there sir. Dave

Its finding a good one Daryl, i've heard stories of some new ones that had neck issues. Try before you buy is always best tho. Dave

You still have HandBox GAS.

Fingers crossed for you.

You had me until the last bit which made it unbelievable. Dave

I thought you had given up on the HB R-400 Jay. Dave

Sorry to hear @spike hope you all recover quickly and it doesn't spoil your Christmas. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us at the McCombe household. Dave

Sorry to hear @Lozz196 hope its not serious and you get back out soon. Dave

I use your list of basses as a GAS target list Dave

That's a new one on me. I wasn't aware you could get these. I have found some SE's relate a Hot input to the desk to what they're used to getting. I'm no expert in sound desks but would have thought most desks had Pad attenuation to drop the input gain ?. Maybe that's more a question for those that know. Is that not what the desk Gain control does. Dave

Oddly enough i had to drop the Gain on Sat night because the SE said the DI was too hot. Not a big deal but does limit the overdrive tone. If i get any more issues i'll maybe ask Leszek for advice on it too. If he can tell me what he did for you i can probably build my own. Dave

He does but then again what bass does he not have Dave

How are you finding the amp Michael ? I'm loving it, i've used it for approx 6 gigs now with both bands and it more or less sits flat with just little tweaks depending on venue. Gain set at crunch mark no buttons selected and master typically around 11 o'clock-ish. I'm now looking for another Gramma pad as i've had a few recent gigs where stage boom was a nuisance and without the Graphic EQ of the Mesa its difficult to dial the boom out. Annoying thing is i sold a brand new one 1-2 yrs ago because i wasn't using it. Sods law. Have a great Xmas and all the best to you and your family for 2023. Dave

That's a better idea than mine. I slip mine over the handle end and turn onto its feet and zip the bottom end opposite the handle. This would have been easier. Hot Covers is not far from where i live and i pass it on a regular basis. I took the amp in and they measured it for me plus i got the name added to the cover. Helps when i'm looking thru a lot of band covers after a gig LOL Dave

I think you've told me this before now that i'm reading it. I had the very first Shergold 8 string bass on a twin neck 4 & 8 necks. They hadn't made one before and could only come up with adapting the 6 string bass. Was nice to play but heavy. I was only 9 - 9.5st in them days. Dave