bassace

The only problem I can see from the photo is that there don't seem to be any lifting handles on the front. Two make it very easy to load a bass into an estate or hatchback.

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1348402572' post='1813143'] How 'experienced' was Yahudi Mehenuin (or however it's spelt!) at 19? Could still blow the socks off you with his Beethoven's Violin Concerto! [/quote] But couldn't play jazz for toffee. Whose idea was it to pair him up with Grappelli? Talking about jazz tho', there is a lot of tolerance/support of younger musicians, especially those starting out.

No, he's not nasty at all. I've just bought a Kolstein Travel Bass from him. He let me take it home for a week, even gig it. So I just had to buy it; it would be churlish not to. Eight pages? Blimey, he deserves more. One of the nice guys.

I don't regard myself as a hero but I know exactly what the OP means and 'unsung hero' is a well-understood figure of speech. I've been proud to be a bass player for over fifty years now, still average two gigs a week and couldn't think of anything better. I am strictly backline but I have the satisfaction of being the engine room that gives the band its drive and unique sound. I usually get two solos a gig and that's all I need. Louis Armstrong once said that if you're forming a new band always get the right bass player first before any of the other musicians. All bass players should treasure that sentiment.

I play at the Falcon, Bude about three times a year. Long way down but a great place when you get there. Good dancers.

Well done, Tim. You've thought out of the box on this one - not the obvious route for most - but, as you say, you've got good results. I'm sure there are plenty of innovative solutions out there but most of us stick to the 'mainstream'. By the way, I'm quite happy with a bridge wing piezo but it needs a bit of tone shaping to get a polite sound out of it. And I didn't like the Headway either.

And you're always super self-critical when you follow another band, specially if you think they're good. Plus, playing outdoors isn't that easy. Crack on and see what you have learned from the experience.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1347561302' post='1802513'] Can I suggest The Amber Trust? [url="http://www.ambertrust.org/"]http://www.ambertrust.org/[/url] "The AMBER Trust was created to help blind and partially sighted children, who have a talent or a love for music. Music really is of special importance to these children.... For others, many of whom have severe learning difficulties, music therapy may offer a lifeline, helping them to reach out in a dark and confusing world." [/quote] Good idea. For my ten pence worth I'd prefer any donations to go to music-related charities, cos that's what we do.

Oh dear.

Thwaites and Malcolm Healey both good. Peter Tyler at Maidenhead has a few as well. Footes used to be the go-to shop in the fifties/sixties when they were in Denman Street (I met Ray Brown in there) but since they moved to Golden Square they have a poor stock on run of the mill imports.

I don't get too precious about bags. As I use the car 100% I just need minimal protection from scratching/abrasions and am not too concerned about lots of padding. Like Sarah, I've suffered a few zip pull failures which is a bit of a PITA. Not too sure who made my bags, apart from the Upton one which is thickly padded and very heavy, but they're all OK. A zip failure would be unacceptable.

Ha, as soon as the clip came on I said to the wife 'the slabbers will be wetting themselves tonight'. Was I right?

Actually this thread is worthless, full stop. I was glad when a dedicated double bass forum was set up within BC. It started off so well but has now degenerated to juvenile crap such as this. Is it possible that we can go back to some sensible DB conversation where we can all learn from each other, experts and newbies alike and improve our DB skills? Is it a coincidence that several experienced posters who offered valuable advice don't seem to be around much these days?

Anyone owning a DB, or contemplating buying a DB should have a copy of this book. And there are plenty of DB people on BC, just how many of them are bloggers is a moot point.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1344447917' post='1764748'] Les Hurdle and Clem Cattini who knew!!! (well obviously they did i know ....) [/quote] Les was at school with me and my claim to fame is that I once played washboard with him on guitar. He was on the early Donna Summer stuff, Bright Eyes, the funky bass line under the Grange Hill sigtune, Six Wives of Henry 8, and lots more. I also remember seeing him live on TV with Neil Sedaka once. Quite a guy.

It would have been thousands since 1958 ( yes, I know) but a more interesting statistic is 70 bands, 48 drummers, 75 saxes, 68 trumpets, 18 guitars and 60 keyboards. And I can remember most of their names. - Oh, and one fiddle. I'm off to get a nice cup of tea and a hobnob now.

As long as you've had practice at unzipping the bag you should be OK to start.

Is this question posed in the context of running the mic to backline? If this is the case then feedback will generally follow whatever the quality of the mic and its amplification chain. But if you run the mic to front of house and not have monitors too close it will work very well. Only trouble is the audience will enjoy the great double bass sound but you won't! You will have to run a pickup to backline to hear yourself.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1343305265' post='1748592'] Miles Davis regularly turned his back to the audience when he performed. Did not seem to bother anyone, as they were there to listen as much as see. [/quote] Well, I was around at the time and beg to differ. Lots of hostile press re Miles's stage presentation (lack of). And that was in the days when jazz was big and regularly reported in the mainstream press.

Oh dear, we're back on the pickup stuff again. The poor old Underwood seldom gets a mention but I swear by it, on all my basses. I know I've posted this before but there's still a lot of repetition in the pickups debate. The Rev speaks a lot of common sense. When you get to a gig you have to compromise on the 'my bass only louder' thing. What may sound a bit clanky at home could have the ability to cut through the rest of the band and project a very passable DB sound to the audience. An amplified DB is just that.

Welcome to the DB section and you'll not find any snobbery here because no matter how long we have had our basses there's still plenty to learn. Just a small piece of advice for you, I usually find that my string height is about right when I can slip my little finger between the G and the bottom of the fingerboard, slightly tight is about right. If you want to do a quick lower then slacken off the strings a bit (do this with the bass horizontal so the soundpost stays in place) and carefully slide the bridge about 12mm towards the tailpiece. Then tighten back up. Make sure the bridge stays upright during this process; you may have to give it a whack with the spine of a paperback book in the latter stages when the strings are getting tight. If you ever take the strings off for any reason do it two at a time to keep the soundpost in place and coat the groove in the bridge with graphite from a soft pencil. Now, there may be howls of protest re the above advice because strictly speaking the bridge should always be centered about the notches in the f-holes. But I maintain that this method gives you a good temporary idea as to how the strings will sound/play with lower action before you consider an adjustable bridge or getting the bridge modified. Good luck and enjoy your bass.

And have a good cake ready. Edit, oh bugger, that's Thwaites isn't it.