bassace

Done

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='374161' date='Jan 8 2009, 03:52 PM']Look up Paula Gardiner on the net. She has some great cds out there (a recent trio recording with Lee Goodall and Mark O'Connor is really special) and she can't be more than six stone soaking wet. Also Melissa Slocum with Ralph Peterson's Fo'tet; she's another great bass player. And, of course, Esperanza Spalding, who is the new kid on the block (not heard her yet, myself). Good luck.[/quote] And also Erica Lyons(GB). You can see her on UTube doing a masterclass with Ray Brown. A guy who plays piano with me did a gig with her recently and was very impressed. Welcome to the wonderful world of the double bass, Bass Queen. All we now need is a Bass King and Bass Jack and we've got a good hand!

[quote name='chrisba' post='371684' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:10 AM']I like Moondance, sorry. Now that you have pointed it out, the bassline is messy, but I hadn't noticed it before.[/quote] And the piano solo sounds as though the old dear down at the WI is playing it.

You're dead right! I had the temerity to suggest that this was one of the worst played bass lines on a record when I posted on Talkbass. This didn't go down too well at all, so one up to basschat! The bass line is indeed shoddy on the timing front. Unlike Bilbo, I don't really have a 'won't play' list. I quite like Canteloupe Island, probably because I don't play it very often - ten years ago at the last count.

They slapped because that's the only way they got heard before basses were amped. Jimmy Blanton changed all that when he joined Duke Ellington and you could actually hear the notes clearly. The Duke made sure that he was forward in the mix when the band recorded. He broke the mould and started the style that all those after him followed. He died at a sadly young age of 23 but in that short life became one of the bass greats. By the way, the slapper on the clip isn't left handed. The images seem to be transposed left to right; look at the marimbas.

The Talkbass Double Bass forums are certainly goldmines, the discussion is (most times) adult and when it isn't the invective gets quite amusing. They seem to insult each other in a much more grown up fashion. I find the DB guys very friendly and helpful. The only stuff I don't use is the For Sale and Wanted forums, due to the transatlantic preponderence (naturally).

Well, quite a lot of movement much of it thanks to Basschat. OUT 1961 Gibson EBO. Surplus to requirements and no doubt it has a better home with a collector. Stagg EUB. I'm sure Linus is having a ball with this, but perhaps I should have kept it for the odd jobs. IN Whole lot of AI and Wizzy stuff from Overwater. Most of it arrived on my birthday and was a revelation. It is now my gear of choice - mostly. EA iAmp 500. Very nice and still getting to grips with the eq and tone shaping section. More use to come. Wizzy CXL cab. Never used it - too bloody heavy. Steinberger EUB I don't use it as much as I thought I would: I just prefer the natural sound of the double bass. And when I want to take it to a house party gig (to save URB getting knocked about by pissed guests) the host/ess says 'Oh but we want a proper double bass'. ATM350 clip on mic. Working on this - lots of potential. Oh, and out Ford Focus Estate: goodby to a great warhorse, out much cherished Merc CLK AMG coupe, in my possession for nine years from new and in a new Merc C220D AMG estate. Happy New Year to all basschatters.

I've got an ATM350 but haven't yet gigged it - you could say it's in development. My first impressions are that it's quite good. There are no doubt better/more expensive ones but this clip-on is so convenient. You can clip it in an f-hole (might damage the finish) or suspend it from the bridge somehow (I've made a lightweight bracket). If you like, and give me a a bit of time to sort it out, I could attach a photo. It seems to work best pointing up under the fingerboard, on the centreline. PA out front is a must to avoid feedback and here is the problem. If you're doing a big noisy gig you won't need the subtleties of the mic. If you're doing, eg, a jazz trio where the mic will be great there may not be PA. So to get over this I'm putting together my own mini PA with a single 10" Wizzy and separate Clarus amp and separate backline monitoring. Bit of hassle but probably worth it. Hope this helps and good luck.

[quote name='SJA' post='356184' date='Dec 16 2008, 05:11 PM']Vox Phantom? looks seriously neck-heavy.[/quote] I meant the thing that looks like a sideboard.

Footes moved to Golden Square after Denman Street. I bought a nasty cheap laminated bass there when I resumed playing. It got me started again, though. [quote name='Stingray5' post='356121' date='Dec 16 2008, 04:23 PM']I envy you, bassace, for having met Ray Brown. Nice one![/quote] Yes, but how many times have we let the moment go by only to regret it later?

We used to get the train from Reading up to London to window shop. I can't remember too much, but can recall quite a few shops up Shaftsbury Avenue including one that sold Trixon drums. Saw Adam Faith in there; he was very tall. There, I told you my memory wasn't too good. At the Picadilly end of CCR was Denman Street that had Foote's where you could go down to their basement and see rows and rows of double basses. I bought my first one there, carved not laminated for £35. It wasn't too good but that's all I could afford. I chatted to a nice black guy and when he left the shop the assistant said 'that's Ray Brown'.

We supported Peter Jay and the Jay Walkers and the Tornadoes at the Cheltenham Arts Ball back in (??!!). Clem Cattini was a nice guy. What is that Vox thing in the photo?

GK do an adaptor that fits on a mic stand to bring the combo up to four feet from the stage. I used one successfully with my DB for many years until things had to get louder. Right now I'm working on fitting a 10" Wizzy and amp on top of a PA stand for smaller gigs where I want to hear myself without a lot of vol. I see that the PA stand is good for 32kg. Any good for sticking a 12" combo on?

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='354174' date='Dec 14 2008, 12:44 PM']For me? Definitely. I'll stick to my middle class pretentious ways, its what I know best. [/quote] Sorry, I can be a total prat sometimes. No hard feelings, I hope.

I remember buying a three point DB bridge; a lot of people were using them at the time. Thanks Happy Jack for the nostalgia-fest.

Probably not a lot of help, but I did a gig with a guitarist who was using a Roland Cube100 (!!?) and at the end of the evening I put my URB through it. It sounded very good for a small room. I have put out a wanted ad a while ago but no takers - anyone? PS, as I was sneaking in a new amp a few weeks ago I was met by Mrs Bassace, arms folded as Les Dawson/Nora Batty. I suppose you've got one for every day of the week, she challenged. But that's where you're wrong I confidently replied, I've only got six. SIX!!!, she replied. Doh, I fell right into the trap.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='347665' date='Dec 7 2008, 02:21 AM']Tonight we did a posh private wedding at a large Edward Luyten designed property in Haywards Heath.[/quote] Actually it's Edwin Lutyens, dear. A bit too posh, perhaps.

I think Linus should have it as a logical progression from his Stagg. Doesn't he live near Guildford?

Also bear in mind that the further away from the speaker - ie in the audience - the more you hear the lows and the less the highs. So in addition to getting a good tight bottom (I can't believe I said that) you still need a rig that gives a strong sound right up to the thumb position if poss. When I set up on stage I look first for something like a Fender Jazz sound - yes really! - and then I tweak the preamp to bring the sound back to URB. I don't start with a lot of boom. When I started out I used a Leak HiFi amp for many years with a custom preamp my brother built for me. I used to make my own speaker enclosures and used an 18" Goodmans. I thought it was great but looking back it must have been terrible! There was one rock band in town that had a bass enclosure so big that they put a door in the back and hung the band suits in it. Thank goodness for the 10" Wizzy.

CXL is very good but bloody heavy. I bought one through basschat but have never used it on a gig due to its weight. I'll make the effort one day and curse myself for not having used it sooner. I ran it in the garage and found it's a very nice bright speaker for upright.

I generally go the Clarus/Wizzy route as most of you guys. Sometimes a 10" Wizzy for trios and a 10"/12" together for the seven-piece. Having tried most of the popular pickups I now always use an Underwood on all my basses. My latest project is to use an ATM350 mic to front of house. Sounds really great and a true DB sound. Trouble is there is not always FoH or an adequate PA. So I'm taking my own mini PA with me. This comprises a second Clarus and a Wizzy 10 on the floor at the front of the stage. The backline simply acts as a monitor. Extra gear is one small amp and one small speaker and some extra cable - no trouble really.

[quote name='OldGit' post='340094' date='Nov 28 2008, 09:59 PM']What Ronnie Ross who played the fabo Baritone solo at the end of "Walk On The Wild Side?"[/quote] I didn't know that, although I would have played with him a few years before WOTWS. Thanks, OG

It's most unlikely you'll be invited. So, do you play regularly in a band that plays the same sort of stuff and are you super-competent? Is the venue an 'intimate' and informal one? Have you sat in with bands before, sometimes at no notice? Do you know the guys in the trio - do they know you? Do you know their repertoire? If the answer is 'yes' to all these (or most) then if you're brave you may consider contacting the main man a week in advance and asking. We have a seven piece Chicago jazz band and would not generally permit a sit in, unless of course it's one of the 'greats' in which case we often ask them if they'd do us the honour of sitting in with us! Often if we're at a jazz festival the organisers might arrange in advance for a young musician to do a few tunes with us. There's a great young trumpet player who we found this way called Jamie Brownfield . Look out for him. I remember when I was in my teens and I went into a local club and there was a pickup band with Dill Jones on piano and Ronnie Ross on sax - probably means nothing to anyone except Bilbo - and was invited to sit in for two numbers. I didn't come back down to earth for several days and there wasn't anyone in the school, village, town, universe who I didn't tell about it. So to sit in can be inspiring - if you don't f**k up!

A heartwarming Christmas story. Well done you guys.

[quote name='steve-norris' post='330123' date='Nov 16 2008, 03:17 PM']It really doesn't get any better than this. [/quote] Oh Yessssssssss! I first saw one used by the (upright) bass player with the Eric Delaney Band when we supported them in 1962 (may even have been '61) at Oxford Town Hall. I was blown away by it then. Also by a shy teenage girl singer on her first pro job with the Delaney band. Her name was Elaine Mansfield which she later changed to Elkie Brooks.