bassace

That geezer who played on Moondance. For a four in the bar tune no rhythm, no pulse. It really offends. Yes really.

Anyone made a call yet?

Hmm. Videos can be so cruel. Brave, thought provoking thread though, Bilbo.

I've been doing a bit of trawling and found this ad [url="http://www.musicalinstrumentsales.co.uk/photoad.php?adId=11409"]http://www.musicalinstrumentsales.co.uk/ph....php?adId=11409[/url] Might be worth a look for someone in the Cardiff area. That's assuming it's still available. At £300 worth a go. Let us know how you get on.

[quote name='WalMan' post='920260' date='Aug 10 2010, 06:33 AM']Calculate mileage costs @ 40p/mile for the first 10k business miles, 25p/mile thereafter but does anyone do more than 10k a year!![/quote] It's very easy to knock up more that 10k if you claim mileage for the day job.

Some skiffle tune on double bass (borrowed), Reading Town Hall for the Conservatives 1956 - oh dear!

WELL DONE!

Yes, the Headway geezer can be a bit crotchety but mine's OK. I've posted this before but I'll do it again:- I swear by the Fishman Pro eq (not the Platinum Pro eq). It's cheaper, simpler and gives you an impedance matched sound, phase reverser and five way eq. It's my 'go to' preamp. I've got an fdeck unit coming. It's the one all the US guys rave about. I'll let you know how I get on.

Thwaites? Watford? Too far? Also, you'll get one for less than £5k from Contrabass Shoppe, or have I misunderstood your post? I'm told that the Archer is very good and affordable.

A lot of jazz stuff came across to the UK in the late 50s/60's tied into the beatnik movement. Some has stayed in our language and some has disappeared. Dad was used a lot, more than the US Daddio. Jobsworth appeared in Humph's first autobiograpy Gig was a lot more specific. It referred to a musician picking up a freelance job. It was not a performance by a band, as it is now. Ridiculous was a term of approval - as in 'that was a ridiculous solo'. Dig. There was a joke going round about the beatnik who saw a duck quacking and said 'I don't know the tune but dig those crazy shoes - man.' Riff Way out - as in 'my name's exit because I'm way out' (sorry about that) Hip. Try and find a great song by Dave Frishburg, sung amongst others by Blossom Dearie called 'I'm Hip'. Sums it all up. Chops was specific to blowers, as in 'great chops' derived from cheek muscles (embochure) and has only recently spread across all players I'm sure there were a lot of others but my memory's a bit fragile these days.

[quote name='thinman' post='878792' date='Jun 27 2010, 01:22 PM']I was worried about phantom power with my amp too. OBBM, who posts on here, suggested the following that works well and is about as cheap as you can get: On a XLR pins 2 and 3 are both at +48v, i.e. common, relative to pin 1 ground. If you simply disconnect pin 1 there's no circuit for the phantom voltage any more (and it also cures any earth loop issues). The signal out is carried by pins 2 and 3. I made a short tail lead with pin 1 disconnected and it does the trick nicely.[/quote] Thanks thinman, that's excellent advice. I've been on to OBBM and he has explained the science and is making me up a 1m tail, suitably modified.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='878068' date='Jun 26 2010, 11:58 AM']Yeah best thing to do is make sure your amp is loud, then, so you'll pick softer. Can't guarantee it won't hurt at first though. BTW (as was recommended to me only a short while ago) you really shouldn't be picking an upright the same way you pick bass guitar. You should be using the side of your fingers really, with your hand more parallel with the strings than perpendicular. Hold your hand like you're auditioning for a zombie movie, then butt it up to the side of the fingerboard and you should have it just right![/quote] Try and find a Ray Brown YouTube and you will see his right hand technique. That's a great example to follow. Good advice to up the volume on your amp although, other things being OK, I generally like to pluck hard. When I first started there were no amps for DB and I had to work quite hard. I used to wrap Prestoband round my first and second RH fingers. I don't do it now and wouldn't normally recommend it any more, but if you have problems you could use it as a short term 'band aid'.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I asked the question because the band I play with is doing a lot of jazz festivals at the moment and set up time is very short - line check if we're lucky but no sound check - we are following the last band on. We don't use our PA but whatever is at the gig, usually supplied by 'professionals'. So I'm usually in a 'plug and play' situation. One way and another there is a chance that phantom power might be sent back from the desk to my amp DI, and I'm sure this may have happened before, but I want to control the risk if I can. Thanks for the well-meaning advice but of the three amps I regularly use - EA, AI, GK - none of their manuals mentions much about the DI socket, less so about phantom power. I emailed Acoustic Image and they sent back advice to the effect that the DI on the Clarus is designed to accept phantom power but they've been having a few failures recently so better not to(?!) So I'll either get an outboard DI on or put a mic onto the double bass.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='870669' date='Jun 18 2010, 12:16 PM']Well done Geoff How did you get on with the Paul Bryant bass?[/quote] Yes Geoff, how about the Paul Bryant?

It's generally understood that they are particularly useful in US where there are quite noticeable climate variations. If you are lucky enough to get your string height right first time over here you'll never need one. This will come from experience and IMO plus or minus 2 mm should not make too much of a difference. If you are a relative first timer and you have the opportunity of an adjuster go for it and play about. Remember there are other ways of altering string height by small increments. You may find that an unencumbered bridge will give a purer sound.

If I take a XLR cable out of my amp DI and it goes to a PA desk that is sending phantom power out will there be a risk of damage. Any advice gratefully received.

There is only one. OBBM

[quote name='Bilbo' post='861892' date='Jun 9 2010, 10:55 AM']Don't be fooled. Its crap. Captain Smith and Pochahontas? What the hell is THAT all about [/quote] Oh c'mon Bilbo, it's not complete crap. The changes are a tad subtle and it's not that easy to play right first or second time. There are plenty of first time 'jazzers' that are not so demanding - 'My Baby Don't Care' for one. I bet the bass line in Fever turned a lot of young guys on to the double bass in the sixties in the same way that some very good jazz guitarists of today were hooked on Barney Kessel's riffs in 'Cry me a River'.

There is a great video of a Thomas Martin bass being made, with Tom playing an arco sound track. Worth a look/listen on this link. [url="http://www.thomasmartin.co.uk/double_bass_video_gallery.asp"]http://www.thomasmartin.co.uk/double_bass_video_gallery.asp[/url]

I broke a DB tail wire on a gig some time ago. That was really impressive!

I don't know if this is in any way helpful but I have shortened the steel endpins in my basses to the length that I actually need. This has reduced the weight significantly, although what happens if a real tall guy gets hold of my stuff one day........................ There is a really lovely guy who is a bass player and dead jealous of my Upton, which is quite big. Problem is he is a bit, er, vertically challenged so the endpin thing won't be a problem when he gets my bass. I've told him he can have it in my will!

In the sixties I regularly played bass with pianist Dave Price. When Bill Evans was in UK he wrote to Dave and sent him the chords for Waltz for Debby, handwritten on a piece of Foolscap (twas the seventies!). Bill Evans played with Mingus. Does all that count?

What a lovely bass. They should all be that size! Good luck with the sale, you must be replacing it with something very tasty.