grandad

Looks like a good read. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/culture/books-roots-radicals-and-rockers-how-skiffle-changed-the-world-by-billy-bragg-f3vvwm9cn

I have one of these and it's the instrument I use most nowadays. http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2011/08/26/squier-releases-vintage-modified-mustang-bass/

http://www.musicradar.com/news/11-reasons-why-being-a-bass-player-is-awesome?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=17923&utm_term=1239779&utm_content=321247

My thoughts have moved on to considering a piston in a box compressing and rarifying the air of a larger box in which it and your ears reside. The resulting sonic experience of course will not necessarily audibly illustrate the theory. On reading over the above it sounds rather text-bookish but never-the-less true.

Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris and Tony Meeham, the original Shadows playing APACHE on 'Oh Boy' 1960. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgbcyfJgfQ

As I practice and move around, seeking to position myself where the tone hits my preferred spot, I often ruminate about the dispersion of this or other amp/cabs I use/have used. Having read up on the subject I often find a conflict between the theory and my experience. The easiest cab I have to position myself with is my Ampeg B115E. It sounds good almost anywhere from a couple of feet away in any setting, whereas the TCE 2 x 8" is devil to position myself with. The conflict in my mind is between the larger speaker = narrower beam, smaller speaker = wider beam, which in my experience behave the opposite. Theory states that the larger the source compared to the wavelength the more narrow or directional the beam. What am I missing here?

In my search for a lighter combo I bought and sold the following: Roland Bass Cube 100W Roland Bass Cube 30W EBS Session 60W PJB Briefcase 100W PJB Flightcase 150W PJB Bass Cub 100W Fender Rumble 100W All were very good amps however the watts relate poorly to the loudness, eg. the Briefcase has a lovely eq but barely the loudness of the Bass Cube 30W. Also the dispersion characteristics were very different between the models/speaker sizes. I eventually settled on a TCE BG250-208. I changed the speakers to give the full 250W from the combo and disconnected the ext spr skt. It is now about as loud as the Bass Cube 100. Before the mod' it was a good combo and when I tried it with an Ampeg 115 ext speaker it was very loud. But I didn't require that set-up, just a small combo. Other than the loudness and sound/tone/eq my choice was down to convenience i.e. weight, footprint, built in compression and built in tuner. I'm happy with the all-in-one package. The only GAS I suffer amp-wise is the thought that a Peavey Minimax + Barefaced One 10 might just be that little bit better tone and loudness-wise. I'm just hesitating about spending another £600 when I don't really need to.

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfeEtVaaXeI"]https://www.youtube....h?v=bfeEtVaaXeI[/url] Have you watched this video? And these: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh_iJfMDHMs"]https://www.youtube....h?v=qh_iJfMDHMs[/url] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CsBp9nGFQA

I've got one of the old type. The only thing that tends to go wrong with them are dirty switches. At that price you can't go much wrong. You do need to be clear in your mind the connections you are testing, that is to say, what connection should be there and what connections shouldn't. I fancy one myself at that price.

Upon reflection I've edited my post. Guitard is obviously offensive to many, rhyming as it does with retard. As for the comedy thing, much of the material I hear nowadays seems purile. +1 for having a thick skin. I personally couldn't give a dam, (comes with old age), what anyone thinks or says about me, sticks and stones etc. But some are more sensitive. In life one has to learn judgement in social situations. Quite often what you say and how you say it depends on the company.

Retard is a verb meaning to slow down. As a noun it was used as slang term. I often heard it in the 80's in the USA to call someone stupid or annoying. The fashion nowadays is to not call a spade a spade but to adopt softer, kinder labels to many things in a quest to appear polite and avoid offending. A broad sense of humour by it's nature challenges the status quo as much as any art, if not more so. Pushing/testing the boundaries in society sometimes gives a positive result and sometimes a negative. Often only time will tell if we got it right. The 'Equality and Diversity' courses promoted in many occupations can be rather incredulous. The language a person uses often speaks more about them than the object. To end my waffling, I've accompanied a few musically challenged guitarists over the years. I have also had the pleasure of accompanying one or two fine guitarists.

Bought a Samson S-patch, as new condition. Smooth transaction, recommended.

Used to do all the PA, set-up, take down, 3am before home, knackered the next day. The whole scene became repetitious and a chore. Stopped playing in the band at 65 yrs but got called back along with my brother, (rhythm guitarist), for a couple of gigs which were very well paid functions at the Chateau Impney and then Bescott stadium. So finished on a bit of a high. It's good to take a breather and pause for thought. If you're in the fortunate position of not bothering about the money it is good to have the choice of when, where, and with whom you play as I now have, and I didn't see what was round the corner. I now play for pleasure. Good advice not to get rid of all your gear. Just keep/get the gear you like. I'd also add to stay connected in some way to fellow musicians of your choice.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1415725769' post='2603102'] Compression is very misunderstood I wrote this a while ago to help people set up a compressor for bass:- [url="http://web.archive.org/web/20130215154741/http://blog.basschat.co.uk/setting-up-a-compressor/"]http://web.archive.o...p-a-compressor/[/url] I use compression live, low ratio very low threshold to just increase the fatness a touch, and to sculpt the transients if I'm slapping. FOH would be great, except I don't trust most live sound people with a bass tone. Mixing I use all sorts of tools to improve everything, but compression and eq are the cornerstone of good mixing. [/quote] Thank you for the link. A very clear and helpful explanation. I always use a little compression, (my amp is a TCE BG250-208 with Spectracomp), I find it thickens up the sound set around 9 o'clock.

I have tried the Phil Jones PB300 with just a Zoom pedal and to me it was a good match. Great build quality and an even clear sound across the frequencies.[attachment=244416:ebaypics 104.JPG]

Unfortunately my pleas wrt band name have by and large been ignored and I've ended up playing in bands with CRAP names. The one exception is the jazz quartet I mostly play with these days, 'The Fox Hollies Set'. This name was derived from Fox Hollies Farm the family home of our female saxophonist. I think it's important to get the right name that you all feel good about, something that connects.

http://www.hotroxuk.com/kinsman-kgs-guitarist-stool-and-stand.html?utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=organic&gclid=Cj0KEQjwioHIBRCes6nP56Ti1IsBEiQAxxb5G16UC557XKXSM9PJmEHETRPvmHlN14IlgSdPBnfzPuoaAsgu8P8HAQ I bought something similar to this and would use it if expected to stand for a lengthy night on stage with a rock band. I mostly play with a jazz quartet now though so I sit alongside the rhythm guitarist, much more comfortable and not so tiring.

Are you a tribute and striving to sound like someone else or are you playing your cover? Both valid!

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1492805124' post='3283434'] I must be getting old, I don't recognise a single song in that list! [/quote] Snap!

Same here, step 1 & 2. I hate an untidy winding. Below is important I think. [quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1492243515' post='3278870'] I've never put the string back through the post either. I always make sure that each wind of the string goes below the previous one to hold the string down in the nut. [/quote]

If Jazz/music is an Art and if you have your definition of what it is, someone will come along to redefine or de-define because that is the nature of Art and that is the artist's inclination. As to whether it is perceived as good or bad art well that is within the person and may change with then and now or mood or place or any amount of influences. Some of the clips above remind me of Zappa. Often he would begin with frantic sort of free-form mad assaults on the eardrums which would often then seamlessly transform into a smooth cheesy tune of sweetly melancholy, but never soporific for long. Always with humour. After ten to fifteen years of playing in a covers/function band, for the past year or so I'm bass in a quartet with rhythm guitar, trumpet and sax. My world of music is now a universe with no edge in sight. And at 68 yrs I don't have the time left to learn or experience or get good at everything there is out there to do. If only I hadn't waited till aged 50 to pick up a bass! So to all young BCers I would say don't erect fences around what you will and will not listen to or play. Have a go at 'The Girl From Ipanema'. What a strange chord sequence, but it works. I love those Latin rhymns. We play 'Spanish Eyes'. A very simple G, D, F tune but it's the slow numbers that are so hard to keep a steady beat to. I really have to concentrate. Playing in a Jazz band has changed my mindset about my [i]job[/i] in a band. For the most part, the rhythm guitarist and I are just that, the [i]rhythm section. [/i]That sounds silly in print but what I mean is you have a specific job to do behind the voices of the band. I'm getting the feeling that my words are beginning to not make sense. An example - we play 'Sunny', a repetitive rhythm. The 2 of us just keep going, watching and listening to each other to check we're in time. The sax and trumpet are all over the place. I can't even recognise the tune any more, they're in free-form mode and I'm hoping that when they do return to the melody we're all in the same place which thankfully and by some miracle we always are. I think I'm just chuntering away now so I'll stop waffling. Just to say don't shut your ears to anything, painful though that may be sometimes.

I love playing a bit of elevator music to a non-listening audience whilst they're chewing away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHNrq-dC8Ko