KingBollock

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1395699140' post='2405346'] Hmm. I don't really get that philosophy. Why not just buy the best instrument you can afford? [/quote] I'm not so sure it's what you can afford, necessarily, but what you can justify. And if it's something, like taking up an instrument, where you're not sure that it will really be your thing, then I believe that what you can justify becomes less. If later on you decide that it is definitely what you want to do and you are playing regularly with a band, then maybe you can justify spending more. And if you decide to become professional where a much more expensive bass will pay for itself, then you can spend as much as you like. The way to justify something is to work out its importance in your life, it becomes a "What are you prepared to go without now that you wouldn't have when you first started?" question, because not everyone has the kind of disposable income where they can spend whatever they like on whatever they like. However, with the quality of basses, even at cheap new prices, now, I believe that it is possible to spend under £300 on a secondhand bass of a quality that might never need upgrading.

20 something years ago I was asked what my perfect bass would be. I described a black BC Rich Warlock with a Widow headstock. I had only ever seen Warlocks in magazines and music videos, and had only seen the Widow headstock on the BC Rich Widow bass. Last year, after never having even seen one in the flesh, let alone played one, I saw exactly what I had described on Ebay and I bought it. It was a complete fluke that it plays as nicely as it does, especially as I had never heard anything good said about Warlocks. The bass I did buy hadn't even started being made back then and had been discontinued before I bought it, having had a run of about 10 years. But then I live in a house that I had never seen before we actually bought it.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1395563622' post='2403621'] @KingBollock. Any chance you could tell us the makes and models of these basses? [/quote] My first Bass was a Westone Raider I (£100) Dream Bass: BC Rich Warlock NT (£265) Main 5 string: Cort T-35 (£225) Westfield something or other (not a P or Jazz copy) (£200) The Cort is probably the only one that people wouldn't automatically turn their noses up at, and those that would might change their mind if they played it.

My first Bass cost £100 secondhand. It was bought for me by my parents for Christmas when I was 12. I have four brothers and £100 was the maximum we were allowed each for Christmas presents, if it hadn't have been possible to buy a Bass for that or less then it would never have happened. If I hadn't have had to sell that Bass it would probably still be the only Bass I'd own right now. Even now, £500 is a hell of a lot of money for me, but then I am very lucky in that I actually own my dream Bass. It would have been a £500+ Bass when brand new, but it only cost me £265 (including postage) and that is the most I have ever spent on a Bass. I have another Bass that cost me £225 that would have been the best part of £400 new. I got really lucky because someone had bought it from the shop and after four months he decided Bass wasn't for him and sold it back to the shop, it still had the cellophane on the control cavity and the backs of the tuners and was in brand new condition. I have another Bass that cost me £200 brand new and it's a cracker, it plays beautifully. I had to upgrade the electronics in it and at some point I will change the pick-ups, too, once I have some spare from another project. If it hadn't happened that my dream Bass came up at a nice price, around my birthday, this Bass would probably still be my main four string.

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1395352095' post='2401588'] This thread made me laugh when I saw it as funnily enough I was saying to KIOgan earlier that I should take up this or the recorder as it would be cheaper than fiddling about with basses lol [/quote] I've got a recorder but I can't play it, it's just no fun. But I have got a few penny whistles that I adore, and they're a lot cheaper than recorders. If you want something similar sounding to a recorder but is easier and more fun to play, you could try an ocarina. I love mine, but a decent sized one can be expensive, mine is less than 3 inches across and cost me £12. It's small enough to leave on a cord around my neck, say if I am camping or something, and I can just grab it and play it. Mind you, you probably need long hair and a tie-die t-shirt to really pull it off...

There's nothing wrong with the cheap metal ones you find in tubs on music shop counters. Especially if they also sell the replacement reeds. You can also experiment with them, by fixing different materials onto the ring of a worn out reed, to get different sounds.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1395283472' post='2400701'] I think the 80's were an interesting time for bassists. Hybrid amps, headless basses, exotic materials, effects pedals, string technologies - probably more advances in that one decade than in the previous 50 years and the years after. Some of the ideas have lasted the course, others have fallen by the wayside. Everything was trendy in the 80's. Except me - I've always been an old fart. [/quote] My music room looks like an 80s junk shop. I think the most 80s looking thing I have is a Cort headless Flying V guitar, in signal yellow (I painted it yellow, it was translucent red originally. Before I painted it yellow it had been green, and purple and silver). I once saw its Bass twin, it was only £140 but I couldn't afford it, I so, so wish I had bought it, though. I've never seen another since. Though topping that for 80s looking I did used to own a Westone Raider I in grey and silver glitter.

Another thought, If you want to play finger style but have the attack off a 50 calibre machine gun firing at a Tank. For Banjo I use metal finger picks, but I don't wear them on top of my fingers, sort of like a fake fingernail, I wear them underneath and bent back over the tips of my fingers. So it is basically giving you steel finger tips. It actually works on Bass, too, and sounds insane.

[quote name='Mark Dyer' timestamp='1395150512' post='2399195'] Check out the three fingered technique of Mr Billy Sheehan, you will never need a pick to play fast again. [/quote] Adrian Lambert, Biomechanical's current Bass player and former member of DragonForce, has an incredibly solid three finger picking style, he makes Billy Sheehan look positively sloppy.

A Damien Hurst Flea Bass.

So, you can't know if you will actually get CTS or RSI no matter what technique you use and it could take decades for it to show? So how do we know Carol Kaye isn't going too suffer for her technique in the future? How do we know it's her technique that has kept such problems at bay? Maybe she is just one if the lucky ones that wouldn't have got it even if using a poor technique? Taking such a hard line stance based on just one person seems a bit rash. Unfortunately my Bass history is severely lacking and right now I wish I knew more about other pick players going back as far as Mrs Kaye.

I got to the third page (of 24, don't know where I got the idea there were only 11) of the TalkBass thread and had to chuckle when the chap banging on about the Carol Kaye method confessed to having been banned from her forum. Not relevant I know, but it made me chuckle.

You could put the screws back in and if they stand out too much you could colour them the same colour as the finish with felt tip pens or a black permanent marker. It would be cheap, free if you already have the pens, and easily reversible if you don't like it. I'm sure there are better ideas, especially if you're prepared to make it permanent.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1394917049' post='2396753'] Take a look at the "Talk Bass" link I posted in post #4. [/quote] Ok, well, I read the first page (I might read the other 10 pages if I find time) and I'm not convinced by his "If you don't play like Carol Kaye you [i]will[/i] get CTS!" attitude. And half of those saying he is correct confess to not using a pick. It sounds like the equivalent of telling boys that if they masturbate they will go blind, just because masturbation is seen as "wrong". Having said this I will mention my technique, such as it is. I have a weak right wrist anyway, from years of weight training a long time ago and an accident that chipped my scaphoid when I was a kid, but I have never, ever experienced pain in my right hand or thumb while playing Bass or any other instrument. My left thumb is another matter but that was due to mishaps that happened before I took up the Bass. I have used a thick, 3mm, pick, as the chap suggests, for over 20 years, and I don't always anchor my hand. I do palm mute and have had problems with proud saddle screws, but that was easily sorted. I don't always play by the bridge, either, more often playing almost over the P pick-up position and often straying towards the neck; I will do this throughout a song if I feel the need to change the sound in that way. I also play quite lightly, letting the Bass and amp do the work. I very rarely use just downstrokes and I am able to get the same amount of attack from an upstroke as a downstroke. The height of my Bass is lower when sitting than most because I have it dangling between my legs, rather than on my lap, and have the neck diagonal in a classical guitar position, I keep it at the same height when standing, too. So, it could be that I have averted injury by unconsciously using a safer technique. I could believe that staying in one place and doing the same motion over and over again might cause problems eventually, but I feel as though this would be more common knowledge among Bass players. But it could be that it isn't talked about for the same reason no one ever talks about the correct way to w***, it's wrong so shouldn't be mentioned...

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1394908202' post='2396608'] .....yet !! It can take many years for the problem to manifest itself. Just like repetitive strain injury does not happen over night. [/quote] I've been a pick player for 25 years, entirely without injury. In fact this is the first time I have ever come across someone even suggesting it. I actually started playing with a pick a year after I started playing Bass because of injury to my fingers due to other activities. If there's such a risk, how on earth do guitarists get on?

Lots and lots of Rammstein. I've had Mutter since it came out and loved it but never really bothered with their other stuff, turns out their other stuff is even better, especially their newer stuff. Anyway, now I'm downloading a couple of German language courses... I seem to do that a lot, get one album by a band, love it but never bother with their other stuff, almost like I think the album is so good I don't need any others, then surprise the sh*t out of myself a few years later.

My parents would buy music but rarely listen to what they bought, except for the odd occation when my mum and me would sit in their bedroom and listen to the country compilation album they had, I was the only one that actually bothered with any off it. Most of it was compilations of country music and stuff from the 60s and 70s. The only regular music was the top 20 on a sunday that my mum and me would listen to while cooking dinner, the Yorkshires were my job. My dad seemed to desperately want to be seen as a music fan, hence buying all the records, he was the same with books, we had shelves full of them and only I used to read them, and got mocked for it. My dad would buy instruments, too, but he never bothered to learn to play them, and we weren't really allowed to touch them. He was the reason I learned to play bass, though, because he decided he wanted to manage a band and forced my brothers and me to learn instruments. At the age of 11 I discovered heavy metal, what my mum called "messy music", and even though they hated it they encouraged me and bought me a stereo. I was a Dio and Motorhead fan but the only metal band my parents had heard of was Iron Maiden. I'd never heard of them, I had never met anyone else who liked heavy metal, but before I knew it I had Iron Maiden albums and videos coming out my ears, fortunately I liked them once I'd heard them. At 12 I was bought a bass and by 13 my dad had given up the idea of managing a band and I starting joining proper bands. It would be nice the believe that my parents bought music and books to encourage us kids, but my dad is just too conceited and ain't that thoughtful.

If you notice and you like it then surely it is enough?

Just listening to the Joe Rogan podcast and if you listen to the first 2 minutes of this one he talks about a website creation site called Squarespace. I haven't been to the site so I know nothing about it at all, but it might be worth a look. http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/kron-gracie

[quote name='andydye' timestamp='1393534268' post='2381689'] how much is a website nowadays? ...and what's involved in getting one as I've no clue but we'll probably need one at some point... [/quote] It is worth checking with your ISP to see if you get some free webspace. I know I do and I use it for a few things, keep meaning to put a website together for my wife's floristry and crafts. Depending on how complicated you want the site to be it doesn't have to be difficult to learn how to do it yourself. The easiest way to get started is to find a free template site. I used to do all mine in pure HTML but can't really get away with that anymore, unfortunately. There are tons of tutorial sites out there. The more patience you have the less it'll cost you.

Mostly no. I think there are some things you can get a subscription for but I never have. You do have to pay for the Guitar Pro program, though, unless you were to get it from a torrent site or something. Obviously you have to pay for it if you get it for a tablet.

Ultimate-guitar.com It's a Guitar Pro tab, which is a cracking bit of kit, I recently got it for my tablet, too, which is dead handy, especially as it sits on my music stand and has a keyboard across the bottom to show you the keys, I'm just starting to learn to mess about with a keyboard with the looks to help with recording sometime in the future.

[size=3][font=courier new,courier,monospace] L7 - Pretend That We're Dead - Bass Tab[/font][/size] [size=3][font=courier new,courier,monospace] E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E G||--------------------------|-------------------------| D||--------------------------|-------------------------| A||--2--2--------------------|--0--0-------------------| E||--------------0--0--------|-----------2----0--2--0--| E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E --------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------| --------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------| --2--2--------------------|--0--0-------------------|--2--2--------------------| --------------0--0--------|-----------2----0--2--0--|--------------0--0--------| E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E -------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------| -------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------| 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-------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------| --0--0-------------------|--2--2--------------------|--0--0-------------------| -----------2----0--2--0--|--------------0--0--------|-----------2----0--2--0--| E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E --------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------| --------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------| --2--2--------------------|--0--0-------------------|--2--2--------------------| --------------0--0--------|-----------2----0--2--0--|--------------0--0--------| E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E -------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------| -------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------| --0--0-------------------|--2--2--------------------|--0--0-------------------| -----------2----0--2--0--|--------------0--0--------|-----------2----0--2--0--| E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E --------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------| --------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------| --2--2--------------------|--0--0-------------------|--2--2--------------------| --------------0--0--------|-----------2----0--2--0--|--------------0--0--------| E E E H E W W -----------------------|-------------------|-------------------| -----------------------|-------------------|-------------------| --0--0-----------------|-------------------|-------------------| -----------2--------L--|--L----------------|--L----------------| W W -------------------|-------------------|-------------------|| -------------------|-------------------|-------------------|| -------------------|-------------------|-------------------|| --L----------------|--L----------------|-------------------||[/font][/size] [size=3][font=courier new,courier,monospace]Is that anything like it? I don't really know the song but I was curious. And I discovered I can export ASCII from Guitar Pro, which is handy.[/font][/size]

I remember being asked to play three songs, I can't even remember what they were, with an unknown bass that had no strap. I didn't know the songs but was given the music, which I couldn't read. I played leaning against a table so I could support the bass on my thighs and had the music on the table behind me. It did not go well but the crowd of pensioners we were playing to loved it and asked us to keep playing and we ended up just playing the same three songs again. Fortunately I was able to hide my face while looking at the music behind me.

[quote name='Taria' timestamp='1392309942' post='2367157'] The ability to build my own effects pedals! Oh ok I can't buy that...so maybe all the bits and bobs to try to learn...along with time and patience...and perhaps some intelligence by the seems of things! [/quote] This is what I have decided to do this summer. I have asked for a few bits for my birthday. A bench power supply (though I am considering building my own), a new multimeter (my old one is dying and I would like one that can test capacitors), some breadboard and stock up on components such as vero board and some Maplins component lucky bags, to get me started. I shall order specific components based on what pedals I decide to build. I am very happy with my current soldering iron, an Antex 18w (many will tell you that 25w is better, if my 18w ever breaks I might well try a 25w, though I have been using my current one since college), so I don't need to replace that at least. In all I will probably be splashing out about £150. But just to get started I think you can do it for less than £50. A soldering iron, a multimeter and some solder is all you need to build a kit. Any knowledge you need is easily come by on the internet for free. I think it has a nice learning curve to it, it is very simple to get started, the most important thing is to practice soldering, that and being able to read instructions is all you need. You will learn more as you experiment and experiment the more you learn. I was lucky enough to do electronics in college twenty odd years ago, but I was doing the sort of stuff needed to build pedals way before that starting when I was in middle school. There is a DIY pedal thread on BassChat that is very interesting and informative.