Bilbo

Lower the action, thinner the tone. Higher the action, better the tone. Also, lighter the strings, thinner the tone but the easier it is to play, heavier the strings better the tone but harder to play. Its a complex little formula which you will be fiddling with for the next decade or so!! I would recommend you try a few basses at a shop that does repairs and see what feels ok for you.

I was around when Warwicks first appeared and I tried a load at the time but I found their necks to be too thick for my tastes and stuck with my Wal. Thinking about it, I haven't played another bass than my Wal or Status 6 for at least 8 years (and I only play the Status if the Wal is not around)! I think the last few basses I tried were a couple of Sei Flamboyant 6 strings at the Gallery. Didn't like the string spacing. Maybe I should get out there and try some new basses...

I don't have a Mac but I understand that the main argument for a Mac relates to the stability of software and its interfacing with other programmes and with hardware. All Mac related software is designed with the Mac in mind but PC software is more of an industry standard in an industry whose standards aren't! So its more of a lottery and introducing new software onto a PC is risky in terms of both whether it will work properly and also how it will interface with other pieces of kit (e.g certain plugs ins in Cubase as opposed to Sonar etc). I am not that IT literate but I think that's the gist of it.

I agree - the industry has changed beyond recognition. I think the market is so disparate but believe that another one of the factors we rarely note is the increasing absence of touring live bands. I used to go out every weekend to see live bands in small venues across S. Wales and the B Bristol area. I used to see Iron Maiden, Yes and loads of other name bands t Colston Hall, bands like IQ, Solstice and Pendragon at the Granary in Bristol, Gillan, Magnum or Rory Gallagher at the Cardiff Top Rank (leave me alone, I was a kid!), The Enid at Cardiff students Union etc. I used to regularly see credible US, European & Canadian bands (Rush, April Wine, Frank Marino) who travelled to the UK and TOURED! 2000 seater venues, clubs, small and large festivals etc - and I got all this on piss poor money. Nowadays, these venues don't deliver this kind of ready diet (or anything like it). All of the bands we hear about play stadiums and massive London venues and most bands don't tour to the extent that they used to. Rock n Roll has become the voice of corporate America, of 4 major labels and an infrastructure that demands million sellers or death. The cost of seeing most of these bands is out of my grasp and I earn more now than I ever have! I think the call for a new Punk is about kids making the noise in garages and making it happen at that level and not just seeing the whole thing as a corporate investment requiring a precentage return. I actually know a ludicrous number of musicians that never perform live - I think its a crying shame!

I think its a mouth swab, Tom...

Hey Fran! - My wife and I visited Santander once a few years ago - had a fantastic week there. Its a great town. I remember beautiful food, long walks late into the evening and great, great weather.

I once jammed with Richie Haywood of Little Feat. Had never heard of them at the time... (actually, as I write this, I remember the other people in the no-name band who Richie was jamming with - it was an 18 year old Grant Nicholas of Feeder and then guitarist/keyboard player Brian Sperber, now a big time NewY York Producer (Blues Traveller, Ric Ocasek, Whitney Houston). I am a now a Senior Probation Officer - where did I go wrong?????

I have a regular gig at Benson Blake's, a bar/bistro in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk (I think its 4 years now). The gig has Keith Virley on drums and myself on fretless bass and the guest pianists/guitarists for the next few gigs are as follows: Feb 28th - Chris Ingham (huge reputation as one of the best). March 20th - Chris Simmons - great quirky piano and the voice of the 1970s Ski yoghurt advert!! March 27th - Phil Brook guitarist - fanbloodytastic! I want to bear his children. Music starts at 9 p.m. and goes through to 11.30 p.m. Good food if you get there earlier. Another nice gig in the town is the Sunday night at the Fox on Eastgate Street - I am there with pianist Matt Hodges on 23rd March. The room at the Fox sounds a bit better than at Bensons but don't tell anyone I told you!!

Haven't read whole post so sorry if these are repeats: Alphonso Johnson on the Phil Collins 'Face Value' version of 'Behind The Lines' Same player/same LP - 'This Must Be Love' Billy Sheehan - 'Ladies Night in Buffalo' on Dave Lee Roths' 'Eat 'Em And Smile' Anthony Jackson - Michel Camilo's 'Why Not' Darryl Jones - John Scofield's 'Techno'

No probs. Just a chip on my shoulder. Our local scene here is Suffolk is 96% covers bands. I just wish the percentages were a little less weighted against something fresh.

I agree 'first come first served ' is the main rule but, as some bands are rehearsed and some are pick-up bands, sometimes this is compromised for practical reasons. The most just argument is 'first come first served' as this inconveniences less people but, if a prestigious gig some in etc, people are generally approachable but only if you have generally been reliable, commited etc. It is important to let people know whats what from the outset so there are no surprises. I guess its a case of 'do the right thing'.

Just got to listen - great, love it but can't help wondering why people don't do their own thing? As good as it is, its only second hand glory... Would do the gig in a minute, tho'

There is a jazz Hanon by Leo Alfassy (see amazon - less than £8). Not seen it up close but thought you might like to know...

Peter Erskine.... Bill Stewart.... Joey Baron....

Should have done it with the Fez on.....

Learn the piece thoroughly, relax and don't let any mistakes go through. They will p*** you off for decades!!

If I recall correctly, there is a blooper in Jimmy Page's guitar solo on 'Stairway To Heaven'. Two decades since I listened to it so not 100% sure. Can anyone conform (I don't have a copy)?

There is a great Christmas album by Wynton Marsalis called 'Crescent City Christmas Card' with great jazz arrangements of classic Christmas tunes. Great versions of 'Let It Snow, Let It Snow , Let It Snow' (with a great Jon Hendricks vocal) and everything from 'Silent Night' to 'Little Drummer Boy' and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' - have a listen to clips on Amazon - its the best (only?) Christmas CD I have ever liked.

And what about the John Abercrombie Trio with Marc Johnson? That live trio album is sublime. And 'So Near. So Far' by Joe Henderson - John Scofield, Dave Holland and Al Foster. 'kin 'A' Jazz is life.....

Rotosound Solo Bass have worked for me for nearly 20 years on the same bass. Still no need for any repairs to my ebony fingerboard.

Play scales across the neck and then play the same scale up the neck as well (i.e. on one string). That way you teach your self a shape (perfectly useful) but don't lose sight of the SOUND of the scale (which is what matters).

Two octave scales in all keys/modes and then chord tones for two octave (eg C major ascending = CEGBDFAC) - its tedious and repetitive but there's no other way....

It is not 'difficult; - you just did it with a computer keyboard. You formulate an idea and put it into a language the is univerally accepted (in this case, English) and, using a set of rules (sentence construction, spelling etc), communicated that idea to the rest of us. THat's improvisation. Music is no different. If you take your II-V-I in C loop, you can play a straight C major scale over the whole thing. Put your loop on and play a root note on each chord change (like a basic bass line - one note per bar). Then try a third (F - B - E), now a fifth (A - D - G) and a seventh (C - F - . Listen to what each note sounds like in this context. Now do the chord scales one note per beat (DFAC - GBDA - CEGB). Now try it on the off beats. Now try changing the rhythms, or the order of the notes, play some of them twice, three times whatever. You are now improvising. By the time you get inot blues notes and chromatic scales, you will be on a roll. Improvising rhythmically with just one note is also a good way to gain insight. If you try all of the above it will suck. But, if you keep doing this, you will gradually find things that you think sound good and you will use and things you don't like that you won't. That is called building a vocabulary and is why John Coltrane is not Sonny Rollins. Scale fragments are brilliant for getting ideas going so take some lick you like off records (stick to ones you know the chords for at the moment) and transpose them inot C and work them against you loop. Its a voyage of exploration and one hell of a journey. Remember - there are no such things as wrong notes, just poor choices. Make sure your choices are informed and you will make music. At this stage, LOUD, CONFIDENT AND WRONG is GRRRREAT!

You need to work on a vocabulary of scales: Major, minor, melodic minor, diminished, augmented and chromatic scales. You'll also need to look at all of the modes for each scale (your brother will help but come back to me via PM if he can't/won't). And, of course, there are the pentatonic scales (which are variations on the above) and the blues scale. You should look at transcribing other people's solos (NOT bass solos because they are relatively clumpy compared to horns/guitars - watch for the responses to THAT comment!) or, if you can't transcribe, just learn them by rote at the speed at which they are played by the original soloist. Start with 'easier' solos; more melodic etc rather than Joe Lovano stuff which is all but impossible to execute on the bass. Trombone solos, Baristone Sax solos etc are a good place to start (Gerry Mulligan's 'Song For Strayhorn' was my first transcription). Gradually, over a period of months and years, your ears will develop and you will 'hear' things more readily. There is no quick fix here. Anyone who tells you any different is lying. Of course, you can practice simply playing along with the radio and try to catch licks and lines. The more you do it, the more you will improve. But I do advocate the more academic approach outlined above as it is a tried and tested route to learning.

Don't be afraid of making mistakes. There are no such things a wrong notes, just poor choices. Sit with that bass and don't play [i]anything[/i] until you think of something new to play or, at the early stages, just to look for. Even if it takes an hour. It will come. Steve Swallow says "I believe it's written somewhere: "Steve Swallow has to sit uneasily at the piano for ten hours before receiving his next idea," so I sit there as patiently as possible. Eventually, an idea always comes..." I always say that students should get used to that knot of frustration you feel in the pit of your stomach when you practice something you can't quite get. If that feeling isn't there, you probably aren't doing anything useful with your personal practice time.