paul_c2

Not on the bass......all told, scales are actually quite boring so I don't do them, instead if I practice at home I will do a quick warm up then actually practice pieces (if there's stuff I need to work on) or sight reading if there isn't. My warm up is a daft little exercise where I basically do 1-3-2-4 on the E, then A, D G strings, then go up a fret and do it backwards (4-2-3-1 on G, D, A, E strings). I start on around 5th or 7th fret then gradually work down to 1st fret. I don't even plug the bass in, and if I do the volume is down (there is no value in hearing it - its to warm my fingers up). Then also I do "Subway" to warm up as something a bit more musical. But that's about it. On the French Horn I'm much more disciplined on scales and stuff like that - a ton of scales, arpeggios, then lip slur stuff, then pieces I'm working on etc.

Are you looking for someone to say "yeah just go ahead and buy it!"? I'm afraid I'm not that person - not because I dislike USA Fenders, but because I don't really "do" GAS - well at least I hope not. Especially with 2nd, or 3rd or whatever basses (I have a bunch of pedals and amps - but for a good purpose). For me, I have one bass which does the job, and is good enough (and produces enough variety of tone) that it covers all the bases (excuse the pun) I need. Yeah sure, if I were a squillionaire I'd buy more stuff with impunity, or I'd just cruise around the shops all day and pick up needless stuff on a whim. I guess you had already decided you had some spare cash and wanted something, just didn't know what....otherwise why would you have even gone to the music shop? To socialise? The only crumb of actual bass-based advice I can give is....before you buy a new USA bass, have you considered a Japanese Fender?

I suspect he is marketing/selling the kits elsewhere, but lists then directs his customers to complete the transaction on eBay, presumably because it offers some kind of advantage? I'd have thought doing a normal listing, with pics and a description, would be better marketing given he's already paid the same amount for the listing fee. Mind you, he won't get many "not as described" claims!

I don't recognise being able to play/do two things at once as a specific talent - why not just get more people in, to play the individual instruments, like what almost all other groups do? I listened to it without watching - it was perfectly acceptable but a little bland for me. IMHO, of course.

Indeed. And it is unfortunate that those who most need to be told, are least likely to accept and identify shortcomings in their own ability or performance. (Accepted, some do know though, and do their best - which is fair enough).

Maybe that's all part of the plan.....feed the band first, wait 10 mins or so and see if there's any adverse effects, before the main guests tuck in?

Just pressed the button to buy one of these.....then found this thread......I'll let you know what I think of it once I have it and have learnt what all the settings etc do. I was looking at a Boss OC-2, but then came across a Digitech Bass Synth Wah and that seemed more versatile in the demos, then came across the Dirty Robot and its demos seem better and more versatile still. I have a few songs in mind which could accommodate a bass synth and it adds a bit of variety etc. Since its a bit of a different thing than an OC-2, I may still seek out and buy one of these - kinda like a bucket list thing, for a bassist, I reckon.

After being not really into effects for a while, I'm becoming more and more drawn to the occasional subtle, tasteful effect applied here and there to spice things up. The Boss GT1B looks interesting, however I wonder: 1) do people actually make use of all its facilities, in other words in the "heat of the moment" at a rehearsal situation, is it possible to tweak things and assign things in 10-20 secs you might grab, or is it more a case of 10 minutes of fiddling with stuff and everyone else sitting around bored? 2) I see the effects take after the Boss pedals, I guess they're digital simulations of those, are they actually any good or useable? 3) is the bass synth (and octave) effects any good? I note that everyone is after an OC-2 and that the OC-3, despite being a digital simulation of the OC2, is considered a bit rubbish and not the same etc......

Record them side by side then blind play them back.....if the one with the thumb sticks out like a sore.....er....thumb, then there's validity in the "cheating" label, otherwise.......

I'd do it T-3-2 but both 1-2-1 and 1-3-2 make sense and are probably technically better.

At the risk of repeating myself, its actually not that hard and all you need to do is learn what note is represented by the blobs on the ledger lines. I say "not that hard", you need to physically do it and there are no shortcuts to learning that skill, but its still the same reading music thing and its achievable, and done by others.

What right hand fingering are you using?

You need to decide if you can reconcile the difference(s) and work harmoniously (sorry for the pun) with the guitarist. If the band had a distinct leader, its very easy - they deal with it/decide upon whichever issue it is, then a line is drawn under the episode and everyone moves on. If there is no one leader then all of you are going to need to sort it out somehow or other but it seems its you vs the guitarist, and that the others are only indirectly involved (and probably don't want to be drawn into it).

Is the band, effectively, "leaderless"?

Its impossible to tell from the original post. I also notice the original poster hasn't come back to clarify anything - so we're still guessing. There could be 3 scenarios here: 1. The guitarist is also the bandleader - if so then he has the final say on things, and its up to you if you can cope with this or need to "express your freedom" possibly elsewhere. 2. The guitarist isn't the bandleader but is right anyway - maybe your "little accents" are totally inappropriate......we don't know!! 3. The guitarist isn't the bandleader but isn't right - in which case its definitely worth fighting your corner - but in a professional and diplomatic manner.

Boss LS-2 seems like the obvious solution. In theory you could do it with just some kind of booster - boost the quieter of the two basses with it before your existing ABY switch - but then that would mean an extra pedal, the Boss LS-2 can do both jobs in one, which might be the factor.

I think the idea is if you can force its path so if its tugged its at an angle to the socket rather than more/less in line, instead of popping out it would put some stress on the lead (but stay plugged in). Obviously it depends on the bass, and what angle the socket comes out at - some angled sockets would mean 'thru-the-strap' would still get pulled out. I guess its a case of the lesser of two evils - if you're performing, you'd want it to carry on even if it stressed the lead, eg from being stood on. And if not, then you'd want it to flop out rather than risk breakage. Personally I use a 90deg angled lead on a Jazz bass (which has the socket straight out the front panel) which offers a bit of protection from being stood on, and the 90deg means its neater and less likely to be knocked etc (and rotates around too). Or a wireless unit which is actually really handy for avoiding the lead or the freedom to wander around further, rather than needing to put the bass down to walk to the other side of the room etc.

Yeah, "they say" if its something you were going to buy anyway, and you get a black Friday deal then you've saved. But if it were something you wouldn't have normally bought, then you're kinda worse off.

Hmmmm, I see a flaw. I took a known example - Boss Bass Chorus CEB3, its £96 - 10% = £86.40 at fxpedal.co.uk; its available elsewhere at £75 (for example https://www.andertons.co.uk/boss-ceb-3-bass-chorus-compact-pedal)

I've also seen some retailers offering Fender stuff at Black Friday special prices, for example: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Fender-Standard-Precision-Bass-MN-Black/9Z1 £499 here, (standard series), £590 elsewhere ('player' series, whatever the difference is, if any? Is the player series the current model and a standard the outgoing model, but its effectively just a rename?) EDIT - Apologies, looks like I got muddled between what a "standard" and what a "player" series is - I thought the start price for a Fender was around £600 but it seems others are doing regular prices on the standard series at ~£500. Andertons ARE going Black Friday Deals on Fenders, but only about 10% off the American Professional.

I'm looking, nothing's tempted me yet but these may appeal to others: https://www.andertons.co.uk/black-friday-bass/warwick-rockbass-streamer-standard-4-in-solid-black-high-polish £349, normally £515 https://www.andertons.co.uk/black-friday-bass/b-stock-%3A-sterling-stingray-classic-in-butterscotch-50134 £449, normally £599 https://www.andertons.co.uk/black-friday-bass/sterling-by-music-man-sub-ray-5-bass-guitar-in-honey-burst-satin £299, normally £399

Don't be afraid to change the octave if needs be, or if it helps a little. The tuba's voice is really "bassy", for example the note F (which we would read as the space just below the 1st line of the staff) is really low and boomy on a tuba, that's if the player can achieve it - its quite a challenge for an Eb tuba player to do it (and would need 4 valves on the Eb tuba too). But for a bass guitar its much more pleasant, and achievable. So sometimes - not always though - you can switch between concert pitch and the octave below with no real issues. I've done it for years and apart from the above I can't think of any real shortcuts, you kinda need to recognise and know the notes, and to transpose, quick. Its world's easiest transposition though. Oh, and practice some music with 4, 5 or more flats - you'll get them a lot!

In years gone by (like, MANY years ago) the sign of a quality piece of furniture was that it was solidly constructed and lasted a hundred years or more. Brilliant - whoever made that furniture toiled for days/weeks to do so, but it wasn't brilliant for business because once it were sold, the opportunity to sell another was less and less. Nowadays we have Ikea stuff, and furniture is very much a "commodity" which is replaced regularly etc. The same is true for lots of other stuff. If you walk into an office, people are using the latest version of MS Office and 99% of the time, they're using features which were present in MS Word 2.0; but Microsoft have turned what was a capital investment (software) into a replaceable throwaway thing with an expiry date, or a lifecycle - heck you can now even subscribe to Office!!! The point is, that a "healthy" turnover of secondhand musical instrument gear, or even new stuff, shouldn't and doesn't necessarily relate to the numbers of instruments actually played, nor the quantity (or quality) of music being produced. So a big downturn in the market isn't necessarily a bad thing except to those who seem to only achieve their musical satisfaction by selling or buying stuff.

Yes of course - its much harder to determine the price, if price information on sales is not known eg because its very rare/unusual. But the principle is the same.

Its the price something actually sells for. For example, searching "completed listings" on eBay would give a rough idea.