bassace

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1435478009' post='2809041'] In her defence and on the subject of correct intonation, I do think it's the most overrated aspect of music. [/quote] And it doesn't matter if the band speeds up. YES IT DOES!

Not a Paloma fan but fair play for an excellent set. Tight band, well drilled and great musicianship. Max VFM. Andrea didn't disappoint.

I've never heard Motörhead before. I can't believe how bad they were. I must be getting old.

Daughter does indeed seem a sweetheart. Hope her studies go well, she becomes an accomplished player and when that's all achieved she gets her black bass and becomes a rockabilly star!

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1435260267' post='2807137'] Just do it. Jazz elitists will always find something to disagree with. [/quote] No they don't.

There are still a few jazz double bass fakers out there because the relative softness of the bass - especially with muddy amplification - means that their notes can stay hidden. On a BG there's not a lot of hiding and it can actually be more difficult to do a jazz gig well. To be honest I'd prefer the dynamics of a double bass in jazz but if you turned up with your BG I wouldn't see too much of a problem, unless you're playing with a bunch of musical bigots. There's a guy in Oxford called Jezz Cook who is primarily a six string guy but when he plays BG he can play most of the upright guys out of the town.

Many of us have been exposed to amazing DB sounds on recordings where an expensive mic or two are used, there's complete isolation between the instruments and the whole exercise is completed by hours of mixing. And we all try to emulate that sound. We practise on our basses in a small room, all extraneous echoes and resonances dampened by furniture and often rugs as well. And we all try to emulate that sound but louder. We all wish we could get the same tone as Danny Thompson or Ray Brown according to our genre. I've never heard RB live but I've been fortunate enough to have met him. I've never met DT but I've been unfortunate enough to have heard him live - the sound was all boom and jumbled lows. So what I'm trying to say is that playing live can be a right lottery. There is a consensus emerging here that it's possible to get a nearly true bass sound with subtle miking and well placed and eq'd pickups. But when the band is loud and you want a plug and play setup, then the mag will do it. Not long ago I did my monthly gig with keys/rhythm/voc/two saxes. I took my Kolstein travel bass fitted with a Schaller mag. At the end the saxes turned round and said 'great bass tonight' and I'd been playing that gig with them for over 12 years.

[quote name='JoeEvans' timestamp='1434275929' post='2798169'] Maybe use both - the piezo for very small gigs, then for louder gigs add the magnetic for volume and feedback-free on-stage sound, with a bit of the more natural acoustic tone of the piezo dialled in to the mix out front? [/quote] Makes sense.

Finger trouble, Owen?

Looks like £245.80 at Thomann.

There's not a great appetite for basses in the £5k and upwards range on this forum. Online Musical Chairs might do it, or Thwaites at Watford could sell it on commission perhaps. There are other dealer possibilities of course.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1433935924' post='2795182'] A lot of outstanding Musicians played in his bands, and he treated them very well. The late great Derek Watkins did a stint with the JL Orchestra. Starts with Flugel then tears it up on Trumpet towards the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOKZ5zSDaAA [/quote] I was privileged to play with him in his early years

Give it a couple more pages and everyone will get a mention. Nothing changes.

Ho ho. He speaks a lot of sense.

Stingray Pete introduced me to a mag pickup at last year's DB bash. It provides a loud feedback-free sound and you can individually balance the vol on each string. The sound is a bit away from orig DB but if you're in a shouty band it's just great.

This topic comes from time to time. Thing is, there is no one definitive answer: every one has his own favorite. but my take on it is that it depends very much on the double bass. I favour an Underwood with an outboard preamp to subdue the infrasonics - in simple speak to 'tame' it. But when I acquired my Bryant I couldn't get a clean amplified sound. A David Gage Lifeline did the trick. What this goes to say is if you have a bright bass fit a dull pickup and vice versa. Of course this discovery comes from trying all sorts which is not always feasible. I'd say a Bass Max.is a good pickup to start with. It's one of the easiest to fit although be minded that it needs a slightly wider wing slot than an Underwood or Shadow for instance. You should be able to mod your bridge quite easily. It's not too expensive and if you later decide to upgrade you could keep it in your wire bag as an emergency spare - as I do. You can fit it on the gig in a couple of minutes. Hope this helps.

Better than back to normal, I'd say, Geoff. Very envious of your trip to ISB; hope you can do us a few words when you get back. If you're able pl try to say hello from me to Gary Upton or anyone else at Upton Bass.

Hi Mike Apart from the obvious advantages of an EUB, such as portability and working on a tight stage, the 'smaller' acoustic sound can be useful to overcome a boomy or otherwise difficult stage where sometimes a full DB can be a bit heavy on the low frequencies. In fact once or twice I've been asked to turn down when I haven't even been switched on! I've got a Kolstein which is a great little EUB with a smaller sound but dead easy to get a good eq. Never did like the Steinberger.

Blimey! When Geoff doesn't play the world really does stop turning. I never thought things like that happen to you youngsters. So sorry to hear, Geoff, and hope it's not long before you get back to full strength again.

I'll take my Upton Prof upright. It's sturdy and someone described it as being built like a battleship. So I'll make a sail out of palm leaves and find my way home, that's if it doesn't, er, Upt(ur)n in the meantime.

That's the one, Sarah. The theory belongs to life skills in general but we only think bass, don't we.

I'm in a similar position. After painful backache and general burnout I put my basses away and said bye bye to all my regular gigs. Quite a depressing place to be, but a couple of days ago I got a call to do a jazz gig in Cheltenham next Sunday. So I've got to get myself bass fit again. I hope my hands will hold up: I've been using them on gardening and daily shovelling horshe for the wife. So it's the condition of the fingers that'll give me most concern. I hope a daily soak in surgical spirit will do the trick. I'm just going upstairs to get a bass out of its cover and have a little play. Nothing to ambitious, just a bit of gentle nurdling to get used. Can I recommend Geoff Chalmers's recent video on practicing technique. Hope all is well with you and your wife, BoB, and that you enjoy your return to the DB as I hope I will. Try some hand stretching and take it easy to begin with.

Mark Kermode plays stand up. Quite well actually.

So sorry, but I've had a gig come in for that day, and as I'm not playing much these days I don't want to pass this one up. So HJ's DB will be, er, stood up. Sorry.