queenofthedepths

1. Only buy another bass if the money's come from selling something else 2. Join a band and play some gigs 3. Learn to sight-read bass clef 4. Improve in every possible way!

[quote name='ergon' post='101907' date='Dec 9 2007, 09:04 PM']3 months, i found the first year was very important to get as much practice in as possable with or without anyone to jam with, a good way to improve is to force yourself to practice once a day for about an hour, it's hard work but pays off also playing alotng to CDs is a close to jamming way of practicing.[/quote] The value of one hour, in terms of improving your playing: Gig > Band rehearsal > Jam > Writing/practising songs by yourself > Fiddling around on bass by yourself Learning to function with other musicians is a skill in itself (I'd say it's the most important of all), but it also focuses your playing, even when they're not around!

I actually agreed to join my first band shortly before I even got my first bass... we had our first jam about a week after I'd been playing! Of course I was terrible at the time but it certainly pushed me a lot - we played our first gig after 5 months The great thing about bass is that nobody expects you to do anything complicated, but if you do, they think you're amazing so yeah, 'tis quite easy to advance your playing in a band situation - so join as many as possible!

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='101466' date='Dec 8 2007, 06:36 PM']Rod Stewart CBE (born January 10, 1945), is a singer and songwriter born and raised in London, England.[/quote] ...with Scottish parentage

PMed!

[quote name='ergon' post='101142' date='Dec 7 2007, 09:51 PM']they all either say out of stock or this product is discontinued, i spoke to my mum bout the dealers, too far and too short notice [/quote] [url="http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/brands/EBow/Accessories/sc1218/b1324.aspx"]http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/brands/EBow/A...1218/b1324.aspx[/url] This one doesn't say it's out of stock, does it? It doesn't say they have them in stock either, but surely worth a try? And that looks a very good price!

I was tempted to get one a while ago, but I tried one out and the strings didn't appear to be very sensitive to it - is there some sort of technique I missed? I had thought it was just not appropriate for thick bass strings...

I'm currently limiting myself to 10... same problem but on a larger scale (or is that a smaller scale? Probably smaller)

[quote name='lwtait' post='100479' date='Dec 6 2007, 07:54 PM']i hate it when people talk about GASing for amps. I mean, i understand when you need a new amp for whatever reason, but GASing for one? they all seem pretty much the same to me. obviously i realise some are better than others, make clearer sounds, deeper sounds, brighter sounds or whatever, but quite frankly i have never felt GAS for an amp.[/quote] Well, you're pretty lucky, really - I'm kinda like this but I'd say that most GAS is the result of perfectionism

Well, playing by ear isn't an issue for me - I got the idea that people thought bass clef was the way to go... since I've never done a session and I'm presuming you have, what sort of music do you get given? Bass clef? Chord chart? Or just "listen to this song and play a bass line"??

I can feel a cheesy chat-up line coming on...

I have 9 basses (plus a lamp coming soon!), a combo and a mini amp - I have actually promised my fiancée that I'm not gonna go over 10 basses until I have a proper job and my next big purchase should be an extension cab, but I've decided for the sake of the environment that I won't get a car until I finish uni, so what's the point having a rig that I can't move anywhere?! The combo's louder than enough to make the neighbours hate me, should I wish to, and I've played a couple of gigs with it

I see a lot of people here are completely against using tablature - why?! What is it about staff notation which makes it appropriate for basses? I've always thought of it as being best for keyboards but not ideal for any stringed instrument at all... obviously I'm missing something here, so please could someone spell it out for me and also perhaps suggest some good exercises for learning bass clef? I've already started learning it coz I know it's useful, but I can't see why you'd actually want to avoid using tabs altogether... Anyway, if I could go back I'd start playing bass a lot sooner! I'd concentrate on my left ring and pinky finger strength

Besides, if she's doing it on your behalf, what's her income got to do with it? Go for it

It's all very well if you discover a bargain and want to keep it to yourself - don't post it on here... but if you decide not to bid, why not give someone else the chance to do so? And if more than one person goes for it, the one who's prepared to pay the most will get it - what's unfair about that?! It's how ebay works and posting links is great advertising, so it does the sellers (usually bassists, right?) a favour! And nobody can complain if they pay what they're prepared to bid

I liked Crazykiwi's idea though - or we could all submit our own Christmas song that we ourselves have recorded - mine would have to be Silent Night www.myspace.com/fortyfiveridiculousclenchedfeet

I think it's fair enough if there are no bids and hardly anyone's likely to want it, but encouraging multiple people to bid on it certainly detracts from the idea of it being a bargain... that said, if someone is only prepared to pay a bargain price and someone else is prepared to pay more, why shouldn't they be informed..?

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='98902' date='Dec 4 2007, 03:23 PM']i like the idea of a cd - possibly without a tracklist as there is an element of surprise. if they're uploaded then i suppose you could pick and choose from them which defeats the point of the thing. it's only meant as a bit of fun - burn a cd of stuff you like, send it to somebody who you don't know and surprise them.[/quote] Upload them all as a zip file! I don't think you should give up on it - no need for everyone to agree/take part

Sounds like a great idea, but wouldn't it be a lot easier for everyone to upload a CD's worth of music onto megaupload.com or something? That way we can all download everyone else's music and not have to use up a blank CD or post it?

[quote name='Johnzy' post='98839' date='Dec 4 2007, 02:11 PM']how many of the players out there who dont use a metronome have played a gig where there is no kit drummer, and your are the time keeper? Relying on others is a lazy work ethic, why not be badass yourself? I guess theres not much chance of you guys playing a latin gig then? I do belive we all have an internal clock, our hearts! fast beats get us excited, slow beats calm us. its your heart doing this reaction, and learning to pace this is a skill. the question i want to throw down is do you count time when playing with others. tap your foot? say 1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a etc to yourself? I used to, but i dont and its vastly improved my timing. Ron Carter has the same approach, "the timing is in the hands". i feel another can of worms opening![/quote] +1

Yeah, that's what I thought at first, but why are they using a phone number and why are they e-mailing me from their work? I'm itching with curiosity...

[quote name='E_MaN' post='98528' date='Dec 3 2007, 11:35 PM']is it good?[/quote] Compared to the first one, no... but it's alright - more than a little bit cheesy, completely OTT in most ways imaginable and quite impossible to take seriously - however, the music is pretty decent!

[quote name='E_MaN' post='98507' date='Dec 3 2007, 11:16 PM']I can't remember that part of the film!!!! Is it on a sequel or something?!?[/quote] Yesss - it's the Blues Brothers 2000 - so's the one just above it

[quote name='SJA' post='98421' date='Dec 3 2007, 08:54 PM']what's the cheapest "buy it now" price you've seen yet? £49.99 for P and J copies here- [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/harrierguitars"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/harrierguitars[/url] can't be much worse than the korean Squier I started on.....[/quote] Well, according to their listing: [quote name='harrier guitars']Our guitars are not always the cheapest available (we don't like cheap, our aim is to offer our customers optimum value)[/quote] ?!?! I'm actually tempted to get one just to find out what it's like as a beginner's bass (and if it's anywhere near decent, as a back-up, since I only have one 4-string...)

[quote name='Funkmaster' post='98041' date='Dec 3 2007, 12:03 PM']I have to admit to being a bit partial to the Prelude to the Back cello suites myself. I just wish I could play it better! For me - well I'm a groove guy and I think Bach grooves with the best of em![/quote] I tried learning that when I'd just started playing and although the results were far from perfect, people have told me it sounds cool and it certainly did me no end of good in improving my technique... okaeey, so I'd never play it in a band context or release it as a single, but it's cool enough to play for anyone who's interested to hear it - there's a place for everything, really!