Bilbo

[quote name='jakesbass' post='741147' date='Feb 10 2010, 04:14 PM']...I have only ever bought 3 sets of strings in my entire playing life.[/quote] That's all I have ever bought for the Wal. I am on my third set in 24 years I have a fourth that is in my bass case waiting for a change but I hate new strings so never quite get around to it!! Your point is taken, though. You so rarely hear of UB GAS the way you do with the electric fraternity!!

[quote name='endorka' post='741121' date='Feb 10 2010, 03:40 PM']Oh aye, And I forgot to mention that it's great to hear that you're playing the double bass again Bilbo! Jennifer[/quote] Thanks, Jennifer. And I am simultaneously learning about how much these things COST to play First its the bass, then a set-up, then the strings, then the bow, then the pick-up, then a case and that's before we get to changing the damn car so you can get it in with an amp!! Every single aspect of the process seems to involve a compromise due to finances. Good professional basses 'start' at £3K unless you are lucky, strings for £80 + or £150, 'cheap' bows at £120 - £400, £250 for a good pick-up (which may need to be fitted by a luthier at even greater cost), cases start at another £150.... And then all the good teachers live over 100 miles away!! I need a long lost rich aunt to appear to fund all this!!! Still, I do love it

[quote name='TommyK' post='741086' date='Feb 10 2010, 02:54 PM']Aha.. Mr Ament is a keen advocate of the fretless bass, so this might explain it! Is it possible to do it on a fretted? Youtube's favourite Swiss maestro seems to be doing so here: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjsUHujB44&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjsUHujB44...feature=related[/url] Just can't figure out how???[/quote] Can't view the link but, as far as I am aware, no, it can't be done on a fretted (although you could bend it) . But I am willing to be proven wrong.

Sliding harmonics on a fretless is easy. Don't know this tune so can't comment on the specifics.

[quote name='Greydad' post='741024' date='Feb 10 2010, 02:16 PM']Hi PedalB, I actually have two bows at the moment and one of them is a carbon fibre one, so since you're only about 3 or 4 miles away you're welcome to try it out if you like. GD[/quote] This place is bl**** brilliant!

[quote name='riff raff' post='739030' date='Feb 8 2010, 03:51 PM']so is it possible that two different people may hear a tone/bass/sound etc and like it.but actually be hearing something quite different?[/quote] That would explain Duffy.....

I am making progress in my efforts to joined y'all in the doghouse and have noticed how easy it is for one to allow various parts of one's body to tense up as you play. I am a fan of Alexander Technique and am learning how to relax those parts of my hands and arms that I am not using at any given moment to allow them to rest. Interestingly, I also have to watch the tension in my back and legs - this is not borne of effort but simply a consequence of 'trying too hard'. By 'listening' to my body, as duckyincarnate suggests, I am finding I can stave off the worst physical problems. Three months in an no blisters, CTS or tendonitis!! The main issue is fatigue in my left upper arm and a general lack of stamina (Cherokke is off the set list for now ) but the progress is evident and I am happy. Just wish I could give it more time but that's been a problem with music in general for that last 20 years!! Its all good.

[quote name='riff raff' post='739012' date='Feb 8 2010, 03:40 PM']surely people have better things to do with their time..........good grief. [/quote] But this is science!!!

Maybe we should set something up at a Bass Bash - get a load of boutique basses and blind test them somehow. We could get a player to play x number of basses behind a screen; same amp, same settings, same leads etc and see whether listeners can 'hear' a boutique bass? Or get 30 players to play the same 6 basses or so but blindfolded to see if they can 'feel' an objectively 'better quality' instrument? We could we get Bass Player Magazine to sponsor it and get Mike (urb) to write it up?

Great fun, Steve. Great 80s technology vibe, too!!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='736264' date='Feb 5 2010, 03:06 PM']But then you're stuck with the same sound for the rest of your life. You'll be able to hear other cool sexy sounds, but you can't try and get them else your current sound might run away and leave you with a life of regret. Does that ring true for any older, wiser, embittered players? [/quote] I see your point and don't really disagree but I wonder if its like the shape or colour of instruments. IME, wooden basses and classic shapes tend to remain attractive whereas 'modern' things date. Are bass sounds the same? A great sounding synth from 1982 or a Mellotron from 1972 would sound naff roday but a piano still holds its currency. So Bootsy's sound may not travel well whereas Jamerson's will.

I guess what I am saying is that, rather than spend all that time and money trying to find 'that' sound, why not learn to love the one you have and save yourself the heartache

[quote name='silddx' post='736232' date='Feb 5 2010, 02:43 PM']Bilbo makes a lot of sense. How can you disagree with what he's said?[/quote] I want that on a tee-shirt

Its all about the music. Some great musicians have produced sublime art on crap gear and some great gear has been used to create some pretty crap music but one of the things I struggle with is the [i}relevance[/i] of the details some of us, as bass players, are atuned to. As I said elsewhere, I can't tell the difference between basses (ie gear) on recordings - players, yes, but not gear. I don't know a Musicman from a Wal from an Alembic from a Fender from a Status. Most of our audience can't either. All I hear is the note. There is a depth (overtones wise) that comes from higher quality instruments over those made from cheaper materials but, after a point, I don't find it that important and, depending on the circumstances, it may matter less and less. What I DO believe is that the tone your instrument produces effects the way you hear the music being played and, when you are happier, you relax and play better. I have never got that from any digital source but I have not spent any real time with effects or amp modelling so what do I know? What I will say is that I will become convinced about the bass/amp modelling concept when they can make any electric bass sound like Ray Brown's upright. Until then, I would guess its almost always 'nearly but not quite'.

Hadrien Feraud.

Different people have different values and, for some, the cosmetic aspect of bass ownership are less important than they may be for you. Some people gig more than others, some never leave their home. Some play in quiet cafes, others in spit and sawdust venues where chicken wire crosses the front of the stage. Some people play the bass with their teeth or set fire to them. Some people have lots of basses others have one. Some people are clumsier than others. Some people are married to women who throw their guitars up the garden when they have an argument. Some people stick stickers on their guitars, or spray paint them. Some polish them lovingly every day, others never clean their guitars at all. Some people spend thousands on guitars as an investment and lock them in bank vaults until they can accrue even greater value. Viva la difference, I say! Jaco's Bass of Doom looked like s*** but sounded fantastic.