interpol52

Bon Iver - Perth. It's the intro guitar line that does it. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo6lKQYVUBU"]https://www.youtube....h?v=bo6lKQYVUBU[/url]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1436869895' post='2821470'] Ha! I know the names of the open strings and the notes at the fifth, seventh and twelfth frets and work everything else out from that (if I need to). I don't tune the bass by ear, either. I find theory gets in the way of feel and groove and everything I do is based entirely on learning pattern shapes. I'm not saying this is necessarily a good way to do it, but it's the way I've done it for nearly forty years and it works for me. I find music theory and practise of scales and so on is a massive downer, so I simply don't do them. To me if something becomes a chore, it's stone dead. YMMV, obviously. [/quote] My playing is still 90% shapes and my tried and tested patterns. The trouble is, I am a nerd and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do the theory side of things too. The extra bit of theory has given me a few new shapes and also new ways to connect them all up. Every so often I wish I hadn't bothered though because if I am thinking about the theory too much I lose the groove and spontaneity.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1436797146' post='2820823'] If you've made the effort to find tuition via books and vids and you've done it off you're own bat, then I'd say you're self-taught. You interpret the information as you will and you decide if and when you do it, and when and for how long you practise, or not. [/quote] Yeah that is how I see it too. It has been interesting reading all of the comments on here. When I first started playing I think the most important things I did were to learn the name of every note on the fretboard and also to tune the bass by ear. Everything else just followed on from that. I would say that the Internet, Scott Devine in particular, kickstarted the second phase of my bass playing. About 5 years ago I barely played the bass, I had been in loads of bands and got tired of it, I think I went for about 2 years without even picking a bass up. Then one video lesson reignited my whole interest in playing bass and expanding my musical knowledge. It is now a borderline obsession, I like it but I don't like the GAS that has accompanied it!

I was explaining to a colleague at work how I started playing and how I have developed my bass playing skills over the last 27 years, he asked me if I am self-taught or if I got lessons at any point. It made me wonder what self-taught actually means. I do consider myself as being self-taught, mainly because I have never sat down with a bass teacher. Then again, the Internet has provided me with hours and hours of video lessons that have improved my playing without a doubt. In recent times I have also purchased books containing transcriptions and theory, these have developed my knowledge music theory. So am I self-taught or not? Just wondered what others think of this.

[quote name='JJW' timestamp='1436743838' post='2820439'] Also could you give me an idea of how much it's worth [/quote] I had the exact same model/colour/neck/year as the bass you have here. I sold it on this forum in March, you could get an idea of the value by searching through the basses for sale section. I once asked if anyone knew the value of an item I owned and the post was removed without any kind of notification from the moderators. Another way is just to look on a few different sites and get a feel for the different prices people are asking for. I ended up selling mine at a low price because I needed the money in a hurry!

I think there are two things that I wish I could switch off, firstly I wish I could just listen to songs as a whole instead of just noticing the bass. Also, as soon as I can play a song it seems to lose its magic, I stopped learning songs for a long time so this wouldn't happen as much.

They have what appears to be one of these (or a close version) [url="http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-Factory-Custom-Natural-Wood-active-9V-Pickups-Fodera-Butterfly-6-Strings-Electric-Bass-Guitar/32374996810.html"]http://www.aliexpres...2374996810.html[/url] in Electro Music Doncaster up for £649. Its got the Fodera butterfly but obviously isn't the real thing. They have it labelled up as '?? single cut bass'. If anyone is wondering about the quality of these copies then it might be worth nipping in to check it out, I had no time so couldn't have a play and see what the quality was like.

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1432543053' post='2782363'] I can't stand the way the singer inhales loudly when he sings, like he's having breathing trouble! [/quote] It sounds like he has got hiccups!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1432284238' post='2779946'] Then it's down to how you address the bass, just as with any bass, there's no mystery... it's still in the fingers. [/quote] This all the way. I love a Jazz bass, for me the range of tones is not just from the controls. A jazz seems to be the bass that I have noticed the biggest variations in tones by how I play rather than just how I have set the tone or pickup mix on the bass itself. Where the strings are plucked (is that the right word? I have never had to think of a word to describe it before!) makes a massive difference, even a half or 1 inch shift in position I have found changes the sound in a big way. I seem to 'get on' with a Jazz bass, it never lets me down. I love listening to other people play a Stingray, but in my hands they sound dreadful! Maybe people have similar experiences with a Jazz. Love this video... [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGyrGTuMhzo"]https://www.youtube....h?v=jGyrGTuMhzo[/url] and this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vUNUo3TbyI

After 22 years I have finally nailed Dead Goon by Mr Bungle. Need to sort it on a fretless now. I imagine that will take me about another 22 years.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1431805724' post='2775232'] So here is a novel idea - why don't you just leave it there instead of trolling the same old venom every single time a Barefaced cab is mentioned? It would make life so much less tedious for everyone. I mean, we all get it now - you don't like them. So, in summary. You don't like them? Fine. A lot of people do. That's fine. [/quote] Well said.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1431787219' post='2775007'] I have a Polish colleague, I'll ask him how to pronounce the name on the headstock... [/quote] I read it as Marushchick. I teach at a school where there are loads of Polish kids and have started to develop some basic skills in the language! Its a phonetic language so letter combinations always sound the same. I could be wrong though, it happens a lot. Anyway, I have gone off track. I am in a Jazz bass phase at the moment but I can tell that another P bass is just round the corner. That Pino signature one for sale on here is amazing!

[quote name='Stuart Clayton' timestamp='1426524822' post='2718837'] Without wanting to self-promote too much, I wrote a series of books on reading music which have been very popular. You can check them out here: https://www.basslinepublishing.com/bass-essentials.html Stuart [/quote] These are great. I have the Beginner and Intermediate ones and I try to do a few exercises from each every day. I am getting better all the time. I am a LONG way off the Advanced book, years maybe!

I never tire of playing 'It's My Life' by Talk Talk. Also, I had to play '9 to 5' by Dolly Parton when standing in for a band once and really loved playing that, I never even liked the song up to that point! 'Something' by The Beatles too. I think its nice to play 'Out of Reach' by Gabrielle on a P bass with flats. Strange thing is that I don't really like listening to any of these songs for pleasure very much, I just stumbled upon each one through doing covers in bands.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1429736885' post='2754523'] I had my head turned to orange when I fell asleep in a tanning machine... #coat [/quote] Nice one! That made me laugh out loud!

I tend to play a mix of things. The first is usually a couple of songs I have played for years, that way I feel I can compare to how they sounded on other basses. These are generally some Husker Du songs and a couple of Interpol tunes. I also play a bass arrangement of the Portishead song Roads to sound out the dusty end and the sustain. Then I will just improvise for a while and try to check for dead spots or anything else that might be of concern. I like listening to ther people play in music shops too. Especially if they are trying out gear that I would never have thought to give a go. I had my head turned to Orange gear that way.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429733631' post='2754483'] I said I kind of laugh ( wry smile ) if playing a standard riff in the shop context, and half of that is that we've all done it thinking it would impress, when it probably doesn't, especially if that riff is one you recognise when you were a kid learning to play these standards ...-and the other half is that the vast majority of musicians I know have an ego...as that is what gets them up on stage in the first place. Some may hide it better than others and some may not wish it to be a factor as they know where they are in their playing, but it is there in most, IME. Someone playing in a shop is nothing to do with my thoughts about what this place is for. [/quote] Nice backtracking, but I'm not buying that reasoning one bit. If your thoughts about what this place is for are nothing to do with what people play in shops, then don't comment on a thread discussing precisely that. Stick to what you do think it is for. Apologies for derailing the thread everyone.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429732002' post='2754458'] Not really, I don't come on here to promote myself or anything I do. To me, it's a resource/knowledge share that is given freely by members, I'm not selling anything [/quote] So how is saying that you laugh at people playing bass in shops sharing knowledge or resources?

[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1429725712' post='2754350'] Yeah me too. I'll often prance around them with a cape and a crown on, really let them know how far beneath me they are. Bleedin' plebs eh? [/quote] Brilliant!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429728900' post='2754416'] Yep, all in line with top 3 bass riffs to try out if they are watching. I'd think we've all blazed away in a shop for hours trying to impress when we were young.....and it just doesn't. It is the same as that sound check riff...so if you are trying to impress, then make sure you can do so... [/quote] Do you have any links you could provide to audio or video of you playing? Just so we know what we should be aiming for. Cheers.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429601038' post='2752936'] I kind of laugh when I hear someone playing a standard bassline, tbh.. [/quote] Not this, ever.

I have never been too good with compliments, I generally just smile and say thank you and hope that it doesn't sound smarmy!

[quote name='Cairobill' timestamp='1429703292' post='2754073'] I would also recommend playing the chord changes on your bass along to the tune, then picking up the baseline after you've got the harmony in your head... [/quote] I like this one, I have been guilty in the past of just learning the notes to songs without understanding the chord changes that are happening.