bassace

The three were on the One Show two days earlier doing a trailer. Tony Banks said, rather pointedly I thought, 'I'm the archivist!' I was reminded of Winston Churchill's oft quoted remark - "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." Still a good keyboard player, though. Banks, not Churchill.

Keith, Mr Bassman, brought no less than five basses down from Harrogate: one 3/4, one 1/2, two EUBs and a small 3/4 with an E growler to die for. And it had hatpegs. Of all the wonderful basses at the bash that's the one I'd like to have. Thanks to all the great people for coming and making the day such a success.

No, EA don't do a 15. The preferred max speaker for DBs is a 12", with a lot of love for 10s, singly and in pairs. It's the 'quick' speakers that suit a DB best, it seems. My Crazy 8 got a lot of interest at yesterday's DB bash and I also have a 4x5" that gives good results. There are very good 15" speakers out there, of course. The Ampeg B15 has been used by DB players very successfully and there are other guys on the forum who will be able to give you better first hand advice than my waffling here.

Great pics. What a fine bunch of guys - and gal!

Thanks Sylvia. Can anyone do pics, my skills haven't progressed since the Box Brownie if you can remember what that is. 'Course you can't.

Hope you can. You'll find a lot of helpful people to get you started.

No I haven't yet, Pete. I almost forgot so thanks for the reminder. But I've ordered lunch. Priorities priorities. Right now I'm struggling to get the Upton into its cover and down the stairs. See you all tomorrow.

Len, It's Sunday. Pl let us know if you can/can't do that day. Otherwise no problem.

Yes, the Double Bass is a demanding but ultimately rewarding mistress. At first the stamina required is daunting but it gets easier. Remind you of anything?

I can come only from a jazz perspective. Duke Ellington once said if the bass wasn't ahead of the beat the band didn't swing. Now, swing is an oft abused term. Often applied to bands like Glenn Miller who in my opinion certainly didn't swing due to everything being right on the beat. I understood swing from an early stage in my career mainly from a subconscious influence from LPs (then) I used to listen to. My most significant influence I now know only in hindsight was Sam Jones who played mainly with the Adderly Brothers but also with Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. If you haven't heard him you should find his stuff on Spot. You'll be struck by the urgency he puts into a tune and that's really what a bass player should do, a bit in front of the beat but never causing the group to speed up. A previous reference was made to Ray Brown; doing exactly the same thing. Of course the slower tunes will need a more studied, introspective approach so this topic refers mainly to mid-up tempo tunes. I remember reading a passage by the jazz writer Gene Lees describing how if the bass is in front that's fine but if the other members of the rhythm section are similarly in front then the tune will speed up. It's a complex interplay between the three (or four) to give the right feel to a tune. I've just lent the book so unfortunately I can't quote from it verbatim but it was interesting to see that a non-musician had the matter nailed. If you'll indulge me, let me mention a two week gig I did on Gran Canaria (someone has to). I didn't take my DB but played the 'resident' EUB. At first something was badly wrong with the rhythm; we just didn't gel. Then I realised that compared to a DB the note comes quicker on an EUB - and probably quicker still from the shorter scaled BG. My playing ahead of the beat was very ahead on the EUB and I had to modify my playing to get the right feel.

1. Bassace - Upton and Bryant basses, Clarus amp and Crazy 8 speaker. 2. Owen - 5 string DB, NS5 EUB, Clarus/Acme rig, Fdeck/Berg rig and some bass uke things. 3. Zero9 - Gedo 'Blonde' 4/4 hybrid DB with Thomastik Solo strings, KK Rockabilly and AI Coda R combo 4. StingrayPete1977 - Gedo 3/4 half carved 'antique' with Thomastik Spirocore weichs ebony board/tail, Yitamusic carbon fibre french bow. 5. Geoffbassist - German trade bass with Evah regulars 6. Sarah Thomas - German flatback, Superlight EUB, Nemesis 50w amp 7. Oggiesnr - worked upon Antoni plywood bass (see what a bit of money can do ) 8. Len Derby - coming along to gorp and say hello. 9. Thurbs - Gear4Music Archer 3/4 with Innovation Honeys and K&K BigTwin, BassMax & GoldenBullet Mic pickups into a Ashdown LB30 & matching LB112 10. Mr Bassman - Hungarian swell lback, German hat peg, Stentor Student, Yamaha SLB100, Clifton EUB, A.I. Ten 2 & maybe some Phil Jones 11. keeponehandloose - Kay bass(es), Promethean combo 12. invicta59 - Zeller bass, GK rig, fearful 12/6, fearless F112

He does get excited, doesn't he.

Well, it's a week away - in fact by now it will have finished. So could yous go to the Events page and copy/edit/paste to add or erase your name so that we get an up-to-date list of those who are coming. Walk-ins will still be welcome but it would help to have the best idea of the attendance numbers. I'll get in touch with the hotel early next week to make final arrangements: I hope they'll be able to provide tea/coffee and there is a bar next to our room which sells harder stuff and, I think, eats. It'll be £10 each to cover our costs. Looking forward to meeting everybody and sampling the wonderful DB wares.

No planks please, it's a DB bash. EUBs are OK.

Some pubs round here put on jazz (mainly jazz-lite) to keep the place filled between Sunday lunchtime and the evening. It's Ok in the winter but in the summer the gig tends to get in the way of enjoying the garden and as often as not a GP or other sporting event. Your post is timely, Blue, because a few days ago a guy who plays a clarinet through an octave pedal - imagine! - phoned me up for this coming Sunday. He'll have Alexander Hawkins on piano. For those who don't know Alex's work - probably everyone except Bilbo - he's the hottest avant garde jazzer around and is going to be a massive star. So a jazz monster will be playing with me, playing probably Rhythm Changes, A Train and other turgid stuff, in a country town wine bar - all for 30 quid! www.alexanderhawkinsmusic.com

You can find him on roncarter.net and you will find some exquisite sound clips. I like his 'statement' :- I think that the bassist is the quarterback in any group, and he must find a sound that he is willing to be responsible for. PS He's 6'-4"

Keith You'll be very welcome and it would be good to see my old Phil Jones again!

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1410721307' post='2552348'] In my experience, a band is valued by what they charge, so a band that plays for nothing is considered to be worth nothing. [/quote] Dead right. Although I've relaxed a bit in old age. I think I can sniff out a genuine charity gig - the local library, church, special needs etc - but I don't do 'fundraisers'.

My enjoyment from playing an instrument has come from a whole lifetime of gigs and the companionship of fellow musicians. So I suppose learning to play in one's twilight years may not be wholly satisfactory. But, whatever floats your boat. And I'm sorry, but Stonehenge leaves me completely cold. I've driven past it a few times but never visited and don't want to. But if it evokes happy memories of family outings in times gone by, well that's beyond price. The Guardian guy seems a bit of an arse.

Yup, just love gigs and get a bit cheesed off if my calendar doesn't have a week with at least one gig in it. Sometimes the looking forward outshines the gig itself but not very often. Happy to do a 'genuine' charity gig for nowt these days but otherwise I expect to be paid. It's not how much I receive but how much the venue pays. By that I mean I expect the venue to pay a fair rate and not take the piss, otherwise I don't do the gig. Don't like to do more than two hours these days and don't like to fanny around with sound checks. Oh, and I don't practice: it bores me. I work freelance for about a dozen bands in a year and I have two regulars. I love it. 74 next year but I look like a rock god. Last bit is probably not quite right because I play jazz.

I'll bring my walnut end pin to the Double Bass Bash for anyone to try.

I had a NS EUB and found it dead and uninvolving. In my opinion the best bass for your bucks is a sorted Stagg - which I also had. But you can't beat a 'proper' double bass.

Time was if you didn't use a pick you used your thumb. As I recall it was the Mersey groups that I first noticed using fingers and then it all started to make sense. Thing was, when the BG first came over here no one had much of a clue of the best way to play it.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1410628246' post='2551445'] Go on, I'll bite. What do you do with it? [/quote] When you change a string, or a full set, it can get a bit fiddly up in the peg box. So a piece of bent wire will help you get hold of the string ends and feed them through the tuner holes. Some basses have peg boxes without backs which makes the job a lot easier but I suppose the trade-off is a loss of strength.

A piece of wire approx 150mm with the last 10mm turned up at a right angle to help you change strings. Costs nothing and saves a lot of frustration. Eventually a string winder but you can do without.