stewblack

[quote name='sgt-pluck' post='316425' date='Oct 28 2008, 11:13 AM']In my not very experienced experience, I've always got more/better tone with a slightly higher action. Every bass I get, I always set it up as low as I can get it ( which usually equates to medium-low ), and then up it marginally. For me that's about the sweet spot for tone/playability. Pluck[/quote] It's a trade off from what I've noticed. More lively tone for harder playability.

Since my better half got central heating installed (much against my wishes - I'm a jumper and woolly hat man through and through) all of my basses have to a greater or lesser degree suffered. I picked one up to play last night and the action was a little higher than I like but it's a nice bass so I soldiered on. I noticed that the sound was different. Substantially different and highly variable too. I've always been aware that one can change ones sound by playing closer and further from the bridge, stroking softly or plucking hard etc, but these are all right hand techniques (for a right hander). What I'm discovering is that with a high action there is potential to alter the sound of the instrument with the left too. It seemed somehow more dynamic. Not sure I like it but it is 'twangier' What do people think? Is it worth persevering? Or should I get the action set 'properly' again? What are, if any, the advantages of a high action? Cheers.

Bruce Thomas Jamerson Norman Watt-Roy

I've spoken to the guy at Silverstone (my 8X10 comes with two different handle arrangements - potential disaster!) and he was really on the ball, great comms now awaiting the cover.

[quote name='TJ72' post='305968' date='Oct 14 2008, 08:03 AM']love the weight of the body and feel of the neck. Really easy to play. Think Im on a winner for once [/quote] I bought a Peavey from their e-bay shop and play it out of choice over other supposedly better makes. There is a great range of tones and the comment you made about loving the feel of the thing is for the me the single most important aspect of any instrument. Nothing makes up for an instrument that doesn't feel comfortable. Not the price tag, label, strings, amazing sound or output - none of it matters if you don't feel right holding it.

Just ordered one - never had cover gas before, thanks Jase.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='303512' date='Oct 10 2008, 07:08 AM']I'm chuffed that c**tish passes the languae filter.[/quote] So did languae ! Seriously though, it's sadly familiar. We used to organise and run a small festival out in the sticks (not Glastonbury but 5000 punters so not too shabby) and we would carry gear from the vehicles, help set up, had guys side stage ready with spare strings and leads, carry all kit on and off stage - we loved doing it and everyone appreciated it. Then one year this guy who was nothing special announced that the band name had just changed (as he's about to go on) to the Andy West Band (yep - his name) and he then proceeded to wander on stage and stand there waiting for someone to pass him his guitar. Then waited for it to be plugged in. He's in a field in Midsomer Norton for f***s sake!! Our chosen hobby/profession attracts people of a fragile ego.

[quote name='bassatnight' post='302508' date='Oct 8 2008, 08:21 PM']Hi, I have always had a soft spot for the early eighties range of Aria Basses particularly the flagship SB1000. I was lucky enough to purchase an SB1000 after e-mailing every guitar shop I could find on line and eventually paid £495 for a 1980 version which plays like a dream the neck is in almost mint condition and barely has a surface scratch on it! I am just starting out as a player having been an armchair Bass fan since seeing the likes of Pino Palladino and Mick Karn play in the early eighties. Anyone out there own an SB1000 or other models of the Aria - what do you think of their qualities? Cheers, Steve.[/quote] You will find a lot of support here mate! I bought my Aria pro2 back in '83 and although battered and now with a new pick up it is still the one I'd save from the fire. Beautiful instruments.

[quote name='KevB' post='302146' date='Oct 8 2008, 01:36 PM']I sometimes do Sunday afternoon jam sessions and the guys in the house band there stagger me with an almost encyclopedic mental back catalog of songs. They may be far from note perfect but perfectly recognisable. I'd probably struggle to play half the songs I was doing regularly with my last band which only split up about a year ago. I'm OK with songs I'm performing or practicing regularly at the time but ask me to play something from a set a couple of years back and I'm hopeless, yet some people seem to have instant recall. Having said that I've read interviews with famous players who have hinted that if they introduce a song into the set they havent done in afew years they usually have to go back to the albums and learn it again![/quote] Kev - you are not alone. I played a wedding two weeks ago, learned a few songs for it, tried to play one yesterday and it had gone completely, not a note. Stuff I'm gigging regularly will stay right up until I stop gigging it, then it seems to slip quietly away. I've met up with old friends who can, at the drop of a hat, play original songs we wrote together 15 years ago - it astonishes me too!

Whilst wasting an idle hour idling on the world wide web I found an old ex band member has started a myspace page with some recordings of songs upon which my bass can be clearly heard! Funny how our styles change as we get older but I must confess my older (current) self could learn a lot from the younger incarnation. Listen if you will to the track Thugs - I don't know if I'd be bothered to put the work in these days. I'm such a lazy sod. [url="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=389763524"]Here is the site in question.[/url]

[quote name='molan' post='301367' date='Oct 7 2008, 02:25 PM']Only problem with this tactic is that stuff gets so ingrained that i wake up in the middle of the night with whatever my latest song is stuck going round & round and can't get rid of it![/quote] Me too! I've been walking around work with Jamerson's bassline to the Gladys Knight version of Grapevine going around and around (I did play it this morning and when I went home for lunch) but I actually think this is a vital part of the learning process as the melody of the bass part is getting imprinted withgout the need for hearing cues from the rest of the band.

[quote name='Rich' post='301362' date='Oct 7 2008, 02:17 PM']Exactly what I do! Had brainfade once too often for comfort [/quote] It works - puts me in the right part of the fret board and within a beat or two I'm away. Tip: Capital letter = low note, lower case = higher - I don't play anything that starts in the third octave up so that sorts it!

[quote name='Thunderthumbs' post='300967' date='Oct 7 2008, 12:50 AM']In the "Standing in the shadows" book, it says that apart from the opening few bars, no other bar is repeated throughout the song. Incredible.[/quote] It's one of the challenges I find in learning songs from that fine book; the lack of repetition. It's as if he was jamming around a theme and each time is subtly different from the last. Either that or he was so good he deliberately found as many variations as he could. Either way I have Basschat (and Bassworld before it) to thank for introducing me to the great man.

I assume everyone and his drummer is familiar with [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrO3iVWZE8"]this[/url]? I wasn't until now so here you go.

I would like to add to the chorus of praise being heaped on Jim! Top bloke, bought a splendid Eden 8 X 10 combo from him, he drove to meet me half way and was a fine person, the amp is superb and was in really good condition. Would recommend anyone to do business with him. Stew

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='299599' date='Oct 4 2008, 08:55 PM']I still write the key of each song on the set list though !![/quote] Funnily enough I write the first note next to each song. It's titles that I forget so I live in dread of starting the wrong song. I figure that if I'm at least on the right note I'll recognise the song once it gets going! As far as the first post goes - put the script down! The best way to find out what's gone in and what hasn't is to try it.

I assumed this to be a joke! Unbelievable. I used to own a lot of HH kit as I guess a lot of people of a certain age did, but mainly because it was that or nothing. there was Carlsboro stuff too if I recall. But most else was out of our price range. [quote name='steve-soar' post='297866' date='Oct 2 2008, 06:55 PM']Errrrr.... [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Guild-HH-Electronic-IC-100L-Combo-Amp-Rare-British-MINT_W0QQitemZ280270147000QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280270147000&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.com/Guild-HH-Electronic-IC...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url] Granted, their guitar amps are ok but the bass gear, with the exception of the Bass Machine, was poor. Strange times we're living in.[/quote]

Into The Mystic - Van Morrison. Chosen by bride and groom as first dance at wedding last Saturday. Simple to learn but just so gorgeous. Who played it BTW? Anyone know?

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='290896' date='Sep 24 2008, 02:55 PM']Hey! We all know Duck Dunn is a genius, right? But, for me, bass doesnt get any better than what he does on this tune. Especially this bit: '...sittin on the dock of the bay...' *lets the note hang* '...watchin' the tide roll away..' *lets the note hang* It's a minor detail, I know, but those little gaps are inspired. And most bass players I've seen covering the song play right through them. Shame.[/quote] Thanks for this - you are absolutely right to point out this detail. The whole dynamic of the song changes thanks to this. I'm learning this right now thanks to this post. Cheers.

Well, so far I've been listening to Roundabout from Fragile. Musically I have to say they seem to go to an awful lot of effort - fair play to them but I'm not sure it isn't more than they needed to for me. But the thing is all about the bass and yes I do heartily approve of where the man goes with his basslines. Not sure I play in the same way as I never tried to play on a song as remotely that complicated.

[quote name='OldGit' post='290934' date='Sep 24 2008, 03:33 PM']Chris Squire, hopefully Yup That's a good thing in my book .... melodic, upfront, inventive, cutting through ...[/quote] Cheers OG - look forward to having a little listen when I get home.

I've just received an unexpected package through the post. A very old friend with whom I started my musical 'career', the drummer who first told me to 'Listen to the bass drum and try to play the odd note in time with it' (how valuable was that lesson to a young bassist just learning his trade?) sent me a cd. It contained some tracks by Yes and a note explaining that he always felt my bass playing, in terms of melodic decisions, to be similar to that of Chris Squire. However as I'd never listened to anything by Yes it could only be coincidence. Anyhoo for whatever reason he sent me some tracks to listen to. What do you guys reckon - a good thing to be compared to Mr Squire? edited to get his name right! Thanks OG - doh!