sarah thomas

Thanks for the cymbal advice. In the meantime, his drum teacher is going to help out, as I believe he has more cymbals than his wife considers feasible ... I expect my husband's wife may feel the same in another couple of years.

Cheers! I got him a Gretsch Catalina shell kit and we are now waiting impatiently for the postman.

And hello from another old girl based in Wales. If you're near Cardiff and like your jazz, Paula Gardiner, head of Jazz at the Royal Welsh, as mentioned by Bilbo, runs free Jazz chat sessions twice a month at the college. The next one is on Tuesday 27 May, meet at 6.45 ish in the college foyer on North Road. There is also a free jazz session in the foyer on Fridays, from 5.30 - 7.00pm. That's run by the students and gets better and better. Be prompt if you want a seat. And while I'm at it, I'd better give a heads-up to Bilbo's mate, Julian Martin, who runs 'Making Music' workshops at The Gate, Keppoch Street, Cardiff on Monday evenings. Beginners 6-8, people who can play and read 8-10. It's a great way to meet and make a noise with like-minded folk. No folk, though. Just jazz and a dash of blues.

Bit of a long shot, but I'm looking for a second hand kit for my husband. 18" kick drum preferred. Anyone got a seldom used kit looking for a good home?

+1 to the Pete Tyler book. He also helped me with a price estimate on a particular bass I was considering. Top bloke!

Thank you for posting these. I was enamoured with John Martyn in his youthful days, lost interest in the middle and had the misfortune to see a truly awful concert at the end of his career. He still had aura and mystique but was completely off his head and the audience started to laugh at him. It was heartbreaking. These videos have reminded me of his incredible power, And Danny Thompson. Wow.

Dark, rainy night, no lights on at the flat where we rehearse. 40 minutes after rehearsal was supposed to have started, I receive this text: 'OK no practice tonight as I am tired. Thursday def. Come early.'

It's beautiful! You're already in love from the sound of it. Maybe it should go in a new section - 'Gear Art'.

[quote name='endorka' timestamp='1301963276' post='1188560'] From what I recall, the Reid book starts off with a bunch of open string bowing exercises primarily with the goal of improving your string crossings. [/quote] I'm working from this book at the moment and just want to say that the fourteen pages of open strings exercises are part of a chapter entitled 'Develolping a Great Sound' and that is the goal. The exercises can be played on an upright, an electric, pizz or arco. Any or all. You would need some facility with a bow - like having a lesson with a teacher first - to get much out of bowing them. They develop your sound - and after playing bunches of semiquavers and quavers against the metronome, I'd say they develop your timing too. It's horses for courses, and the Reid book really suits me. It would be tedious on its own but used as daily exercises combined with learning tunes, it's great.

TheRev mentioned looking into hiring a room at Bristol uni to have a workshop, and there was also talk of chipping in a tenner each to pay tutors for time and travel. I don't think it's gone any further. Can we make this happen? Perhaps those interested could pm me and at least we'd have a list of folks who were up for it. Some indication of what you might be able to contribute would be great too. For instance, my teacher might be up for doing a session, and I'd bring my B & H import Artia bass strung with medium Helicore hybrids. Also a German bow. I'd be happy to help organise this but wouldn't want to do it solo. (My solos are ruled by luck.)

Good for you. My son started playing a soprano sax when he was seven. By the time people were telling him that it was a very difficult instrument to master he was already blasting out some pretty good sounds and found it easy to ignore the naysayers. He played it for four years before the piano and then the guitar stole his attention.

From a jazz class: "Thirds are half of it." It took me over a year to figure that one out.

On its side with the spike out, ready to grab and play. I may yet get a stand though because now I have a keyboard and my other half is thinking seriously about a drum kit. Or the dining table will have to go ...

Could be a bargain here - worth a drive to Leicester? [u]Student Double Bass[/u] By Andreas Zeller All the basses in this range are hand crafted in Rumania exclusively using ebony fittings throughout. Individually setup and voiced by Timothy Batchelar in his Leicester workshop to his own exacting standards. These instruments come in three specifications: Laminated front, swell back and ribs £900 inc VAT (out of stock) Solid European spruce top with laminated swell back and ribs £1,075 inc VAT (out of stock) Solid European spruce and solid maple flat back and ribs £1,400 inc VAT [color=#FF0000]1 only ex rental now in stock @ only £750 !!![/color]

350 euros for the summer school and another 125 euros for a student room. It goes up another 50 euros after 30 May. They say there will be details of workshops posted later this month. Anyone live near Sligo?

I just got Ed Friedland's DVD following Fatback's post and yes, there's a lot more on right and left hand technique, he explains things more clearly (for me - everyone's different) and yes, it's better organised. I'm a pushover for Rufus Reid's relaxed low-down voice though. I could listen to him all day, speaking or playing. But thanks for the heads-up on Ed Friedland. Well worth the purchase price and will see me some far way into the future.

The link that Geoff posted looks remarkably like my case. Loads of handles, reinforced stitching and pockets too. Can't be bad for £140. A couple of the zip pulls have fallen off mine in the last couple of months but the zips still work fine.

Ah well ... looks like hundreds then, for a decent one.

I don't know the make of my gig bag (came with the bass) but what I like is that it has loads of handles and plenty of pockets - at the back for sheet music and leads and at the front for bow or music stand are the ones I use most and a back strap. Rucksack type straps would be an improvement. Wheels are fine for college foyers but get wrecked on pavements. Good solid reinforced stitching is a must. I've heard people like Tom and Will bags which you can get for around £150. Hope it helps.

It's a great idea to rent. As another newcomer to the upright, I'd only stress that you will benefit hugely from taking it slowly, so you don't hurt yourself. Rufus Reid's 'The Evolving Bassist' DVD has useful sections on left and right hand technique. Playing against a metronome is good for your timing (sorry if that's obvious). My teacher has me counting the clicks on beats 2 and 4 to get into a jazz groove. I found my teacher at the local conservatoire - there must be jazz degree students in London who'd give you a lesson or three. And have a look at local education courses and in arts centres for evening classes where beginners can get together and make a racket. Be prepared to be surprised - I was shoving my bass into the car on Monday night when a neighbour hailed me and said 'I'm looking for a double bass player." Despite my protestations of ineptness (I've been playing for 4 months) I found myself in a band on Tuesday. Crikey!

+1 to that.

If you love the sound of the double bass, then I fear only a double bass will do. To save space you can get stands for them and secure the neck to a hook in the wall with a bit of rope to stop it being knocked over. Notice how many on here started on EUB and changed to an upright. Why waste the time?

It's way beyond my limited knowledge, but I suggest trying a luthier's forum like this one: http://www.mimf.com/ for more info. Good luck!