bassace

When I'm out with the seven piece I get maybe one chorus per gig. I'm happy with that; my job is to drive the band along. But when I play with a trio I get quite a few solos because the other two players need me to take some of the solo load off them. Also there's more interplay in a trio format. You'll hear this reflected in CDs. The guy who broke the mould was James Blanton who died tragically young in his twenties. He broke away from simple four to the bar in his playing and Duke Ellington, recognising his talent, made sure he was forward in the mix. Just one bass player did a lot for a whole orchestra - probably the foremost of its time - and we as bass players should celebrate that.

I've done quite a lot of this. I always use a thin metal file. The advantage is that it's a rigid piece of steel that gives you a good chance of getting a nice parallel slot. Put the bass on its back and cover the top with a towel.

[quote name='marvin spangles' post='1179218' date='Mar 28 2011, 10:31 AM']And nice guy to deal with too.[/quote] +1 Incidentally I scrolled down their list of DB accessories and came across a ToneRite. In essence, it keeps a 'dormant' bass awake by putting a continuous vibration through it. I've never come across this before and the guys on the TB site aren't convinced either. Does anyone have any theories/experience?

[quote name='BassBus' post='1176874' date='Mar 26 2011, 08:07 AM']Oh no!!! All this is too risky. Take it to a luthier. He/she can take the face off and clean the inside out for you. Then you don't risk damaging the instrument yourself. [/quote] I don't think so.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1175981' date='Mar 25 2011, 02:44 PM']How about one of [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/pick-up-tool-10318"]these[/url]?[/quote] That's what I meant in my post Mr B. Thanks for the pic.

I like the sticky on the end of a stick method. Anything bigger you could try the three pointed grab thingy that motor mechanics use to fish nuts washers etc out of inaccessible places. Or you could carefully turn the bass, table down and give it a shake. I've done it once or twice but never felt completely comfortable.

Most of the above; not an allen key as I wouldn't need one (being a double bass player). But one very useful piece of kit is a 100mm length of welding rod with a hook formed at one end. This makes changing strings much easier.

A lot of the time, rigging for a mic can be a right pain and I go for a plug in and play option with a pickup. But just occasionally when all goes well a DPA can give you a wow moment and you get the most amazing sound. So I wait for a gig in a largish room with a sizeable stage and look forward to taking the mic along. I always have some backline coming off an Underwood to give some bottom and bite on the stage. If there's no front of house available I'll use my QSC powered speaker on a pole. So my advice is, for the best sound consider a mic - but don't expect to use it all the time. Incidentally I have, ahem, a few basses and I'm finding that even with the same pickup and amp each one works best with its own preferred speaker(s), be it 1x10, 2x10, 1x12 or even 10+12. Factor in the room acoustics and you'll find that it's difficult to make any one definitive recomendation.

[quote name='endorka' post='1171624' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:00 AM']This sometimes happens to me as well. If the music suits the DB better, I try to persuade whoever is organising the gig that myself and the double bass don't take up more room than the bass guitar. This is especially true if the gig is unamplified, in which case I take just a little bit more room than someone sitting on a chair. They tend not to believe me until they see this! Jennifer[/quote] I seem to suffer the opposite experience: a few times I've been booked to do a house patyy, or somewhere where space is very limited and/or the DB could suffer potential damage. I've chosen the go with an EUB only to be told by the fixer that the client specifically has asked for a double bass. So some time ago I sold a very nice Steinberger.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1171840' date='Mar 22 2011, 10:32 AM']Used to live in Farnham and played in Dorian Kelly's band, with Pete Billington, Dave Horniblow and Simon Allen, all of whom played with Pendullum at the time. Also played a lot with trumpeter Paul Tungay (ex Ronnie Scott, Tom Jones and Bill McGriffe) who is also now with them and actually got to do a couple of rehearsal with them a few times (but no gigs. Pat prefers double bass and I only played electric at the time) There also used to be a jazz jam at the South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell. Jamie Cullem used to go there. It may no longer run..[/quote] One of my first freelance gigs was with Pat Kelly in the early sixties. His dad ran a removal business and I was picked up in a great pantechnicon (extra points for using this word on the forum?). We parked it in Reading's Broad Street - impossible today - and after the gig it had a flat batery so we had to push start the damn great thing down the street. Pat played in a band I was in that did a jazz competition and the judge was Benny Green. He said that we were trying to run before we could walk - probably correct but isn't that how most youngsters start? Many years later Pat fixed me a gig with his son and some of the pendulum heroes - probably the least enjoyable gig I've ever done, but hey ho.

That's very sad. He was one of the very first. RIP

Geoff and M-M, thanks for the timely caution. They seem almost impossibly easy to play but probably lack the attack that I'd need. I'll stick a set of Spiros on tomorrow and see how the bass sounds before I get my cheque book out. Sorry to hijack the thread, guys, but you know how one thing can lead to another and that's the great thing about forums.

Thanks Bilbo. Steve's site is a nice concise double bass book in itself. I found the items on strings to be very interesting: I've always been a Spirocore man but have just bought a new bass that is fitted with Bel Canto strings. They're generally reckonned to be orchestral strings but on first playing I rather like them for jazz. Anyone with experience of using them?

I was playing at a jazz festival over the weekend and got chatting to the bass player with the band who followed us. I remarked that his bass looked like a golden strad. 'I haven't got that sort of money' he replied. Just thought you'd like to know Enjoy your bass!

I can't see how you can play properly without a basic knowledge of music theory. I suppose someone will chime in and ask me to define 'properly' - well let's say that I wouldn't be able to get any enjoyment out of my playing if I didn't understand what I was doing.

I can quite understand your reactions with the benefit of progress in the speaker department. I'd just like to mention that I used to cart an 18" Goodmans about when I doubled on [i]double bass[/i] and bass guitar. I made the cabinet to Goodmans designs and it was at least twice the size of the cab in the video. Funny thing was I carried it into gigs no prob - but I was a lot younger then of course. At the time I thought it made a great sound but with the benefit of hindsight it was probably crap. Those were the days.

Boys, boys! How many erroneous apostrophes is that? But I get the drift; on its side. Right?

Ever since I started out 50 years ago I've been paid for playing. In my first year I knocked up a bad debt of £2.50 for the band (that was quite good then) simply because I didn't have the balls to ask for it. To answer the question, I would play for nothing under the following circumstances:- if a fellow muso asked me to - I wouldn't ask why for a village fundraising gig - I do Hook Norton Library and the church each year nothing else, especially for a promotor's 'charity gig'

Certainly when you are happy with your amplified sound it gets a lot easier. If you can relax it gets easier too. My Kindle has just turned up 'An Alexander Technique Approach to Double Bass Technique' (not exactly a catchy title) by Ethan Kind. I haven't read it yet but it may be helpful.

[quote name='Big_Stu' post='1115387' date='Feb 4 2011, 02:51 PM']I've been "strongly recommended" by my future father-in-law to catch a gig by "Spats Langham & his Hot Combination". Which is, as many married guys will know, akin to a royal command. This could well be along with him & my g/f's Mother. I've checked out a couple of tracks on his site which are OK/great & his style is apparently in the style of New York 1920/30s jazz. Anyone able to tell me any more? Educate me if you can?[/quote] Sorry nobody's replied to your post, Stu. Spats is one of the best pickers around (gtr/bjo) he'll sing songs you've probably never heard of, as you say, coming from the 20s/30s. There'll be some Fats Waller in there somewhere. Not sure who he'll have with him but watch out for Norman Field on reeds. He is a true eccentric - I worked with him just before Christmas. He plays a simple system clarinet, which means it hasn't got the number of keys and levers that others have. But you wouldn't notice. You'll enjoy the gig very much, I'm sure, and stay in father-in-law's good books.