BassBus

And a few more.

For those who didn't manage to get there, here is a selection of some of the basses on the Status stand. The star of the show was the 30th Annaversary Series II. Only 12 will be made and rumored to cost £4000+ Some of the others.

[quote name='TomKent' post='1156119' date='Mar 10 2011, 01:15 AM']25 views and no comments? C'mon people! [/quote] I wouldn't take it personally. I posted a link to some of my music years ago and I'm still waiting for a reply. I wasn't crazy about the slapping bit, but then I not crazy about slapping full stop. Too much of it around. As Stuart Clayton said working the tapping piece into a longer tune would work fine. That sounded good. Fact is you stuck your head above the parapet which is something a lot of players wouldn't have the courage to do. Well done.

[quote name='cocco' post='1140074' date='Feb 24 2011, 03:38 PM']...and no longer see why basses with heads continue to be built. Get with the times earth![/quote] At last sanity prevails.

One thing I did when I started double bass was put pencil marks on the third, fifth and seventh positions. By the time they had disappeared muscle memory had taken over and haven't used them since. One Jaco Pastorius used to practice on a fretted bass. To play a note without any buzzing on fretted your fingers have to be in the correct place just behind the fret. Your hands will develop muscle memory and just fall into place. Trust yourself and just go for it. No speed bumps = much more freedom of expression.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1154980' date='Mar 9 2011, 09:50 AM']1 note in the bar can easily be enough and 2 in the bar is all that most folk music needs. If you get busy in the wrong context you'll ruin everything. Overplay and you'll not be surprised when you get fired![/quote] This is quite important if you are playing in traditional folk. There are usually so many notes being played by the melody instruments. If we play too many notes on the bass the whole thing becomes muddy and has no definition.

I would stick with simple stuff like first and fifth to begin with until you get the feel for the music and then follow your ear. I think it's important to keep it simple in folk. I play some American old time from time to time. When I first played it the main man told me to keep it to first and fifth, no fancy conecting notes or anything. If you haven't come across it [url="http://www2.redhawk.org:8080/irish/RRTuneBk/listings.html#mystuff"]Richard Robinson's Tunebook[/url] is a great resourse. No bass parts but you can make up your own.

Double the chance of [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=103314"]pulling[/url].

That's pretty good playing after only three weeks. Great sound. Good work.

[quote name='leroybasslines' post='1144838' date='Feb 28 2011, 07:31 PM']Acoustic instruments with such major variations in construction, tone and dimensions as the double bass have to be taken one at a time! No two are alike. When I bought my bass, I tried to play as many different instruments as possible and some were truly duds for me despite much salesmanship on the phone and in the shop![/quote] Wise words. I tried about five different instruments at different prices. Sound was the deciding factor and the Stentor just fitted into my budget. You'll get a good bass for £1500.

If you're thinking of going that far why not give the Violin Shop in Glasgow a call. They usually have 10-15 basses in stock at all sorts of different prices. All professionally set up as well. I bought my Stentor Arcadia for £1500 there and a number of people have commented on how good it sounds. [url="http://www.theviolinshop-glasgow.co.uk/bass_room.html"]http://www.theviolinshop-glasgow.co.uk/bass_room.html[/url]

[quote name='bigjohn' post='1144501' date='Feb 28 2011, 02:27 PM']Doesn't Paypal offer cover?[/quote] I may be wrong but I'm not sure that PayPal gives the same cover outside Ebay. I seem to remember hearing that somewhere a while ago.

Lots to guide a beginner here but there are so many variables. The question always comes up "how do you get [so'n'so's] sound"? If this is to be of any use to beginners these variables have to be set out clearly. Player (fingers/pick) Bass (active/passive) Bass (strings) Leads/Radio system Effects Amplifier Venue (size) Venue (height of ceiling) Venue (furnishings) Venue (number of audience) I'd say never stick with one set EQ. I change mine all the time depending how the room sounds. Every room is different. Even the same room can sound different with larger or smaller audiences. Carpets soak up sound so mids might need to be boosted. No carpet might call for cutting mids. Experiment, experiment, experiment.

[quote name='algmusic' post='1103849' date='Jan 26 2011, 03:28 PM']The feel is the most important thing. I played with a drummer was excellent at reggae, it's a feel thing, the bass much the same[/quote] I never realised how much swing has to go into reggae. That Ed Friedland clip was like listening to a jazz bass line being played without any swing. Something you have to learn from listening.

I've been throught them all. I hate the sound of flats on a wooden neck, but then I like a zingy tone on a fretted bass. However, I have used flats on my graphite necked Status fretless and they sound good on that. I also use halfwounds on that. Always rounds on fretted basses. As has been commented, simple supply and demand on the price.

That'll teach me to read your post properly. The Universal sounds a bit too BGish to my ear but maybe that's what your after. Don't know if you've looked at the Bassline website. There is a link to a video of the bass at the bottom of the page [url="http://www.bassline-bass.de/en_bassline_basses-universal.html"]here[/url]

Blimey! Where did you see a CR5M at £1100? Is that new or used. Used I could understand. As far as I know the CRs and NXTs are made in the same place, the Czech Republic. They have a very good reputation for building instruments, as I'm sure you'll know. As you have said there is a powerful pre on the CRs, 18v. It also has pan between pizz and arco as well as bridge and mag pickups against a single switch between pizz and arco on the NXT. The stand is also significantly better. So if you said there are maybe extras in the pre amp and stand to the tune of maybe £600 or £700. I fell out with the sound of the stock strings and put on some Belcantos which made such a difference. It will never be a DB but then it doesn't try to be. I don't use the mag pup much but it can be handy to add a bit of body sometimes.

I'll stick my head above the parapet ready to be shouted down loadly. The above advice in time should be used, of course. But you can have all the technique and theory under your belt but if you don't have the feel for the music you might end up making the band sound boaring. I work as a counsellor and it has been long accepted that even with all the technique and skill in the world, if you cannot develop a counselling relationship with your clients you are a lot less likely to be of use to the client. On the other hand if you have a strong ability at developing that relationship but are not up to scratch with skills, you will more than likely be of great use to the client. For me the same applies to swing. First off listen, listen, listen. I don't think you can be taught to feel the swing in music. You have to pick it up by ear. I'm not saying don't learn the theory, far from it. However, I find sometimes that too much theory and technique can make things a bit clinical and encourage the snobs in this world. Develop a feel for the music and just go for it. I have my armour on.

I use mine for both DB and electric. If it's with EB I put it through a Markbass 15" cab. Played EB through it alone with the jazz band no problems. With the country band I dep with it needs the 15" too. Someone once described it to me as "a sensible bass amp". Don't play with it lifted off the floor though as you loose all the power. It's designed to use a solid surface to spread the sound. Great little amp.

[quote name='bartelby' post='1132023' date='Feb 18 2011, 11:28 AM']I love my NXT, it's become the go to instrument if I want to just play bass and relax. Need to replace the standard strings though. No idea what to as the choice is a little bewildering...[/quote] [url="http://www.hervejeanne.de/saitenmatrix.php"]THIS[/url] might help you make a choice. Bear in mind DB strings often sound different from one bass to another and these are on acoustic DBs. I have used Belcantos and Flexocors on my NS and both make it sound so much better. Didn't like the sound of Spirocores on the NS but one guy with an NXT on youtube uses them and they sound fine. Sorry Emiliano, for the missunderstanding. The figure of £2000 came from one of your past customers with a Stico in UK. That was the price he gave me once he had factored in getting it back to UK.

[quote name='philw' post='1131331' date='Feb 17 2011, 05:54 PM']It's a Veillette Paris I have at the moment (the blue one in my avatar), but as the UK rep, my "demo" model tends to rotate. Probably going to move the blue bass on in the next six months or so and get a Concorde. Walbassist (Gareth) of these parts has an Archtop fretless five. Phil[/quote] Yeh, I've seen his youtube clips. Pretty splendid sound. So is his BSX.

Thanks for the comments Andy and Phil. It's good to get a comparison between these instruments from those who own them. Good to have the Veillette mentioned as well. Is that the Archtop you have Phil?

That's a beauty, Andy. Quite a pair, a Deep Five and an Electro How does the Electro compare to the Deep Five, sound, feel?

Be interesting to hear how you get on with the guts on your WAV. Let us know how you get on with them. Probably the best bet to start with something cheap. If it doesn't work you haven't lost much.