oggiesnr

When I first played bass, too many years ago, basses were played with picks so that's what I did. It scars you for life though, now if I play with my fingers I struggle to use more than one of them Steve

If you think ebay is expensive, try selling at a real world auction. Ignoring the problems with rings and false bids, the standard rake is between 10 and 15% of the hammer price plus whatever the auctioneer can dream up with no upper cap. Steve

Who've you got doing the work? Steve

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1375807795' post='2165986'] Id give my right arm to have a left hand like Rinat's ! [/quote] Forget (if you can) the left hand, I'd trade right hands any day! Steve

Visit a GP and get it checked out. On any thread like this, in any music or sport forum, you will get a whole pile of advice which may or may not be relevant, may be contradictory, may have worked for the people giving it BUT in the end go and see someone medically qualified who can order the requisite scans etc and work out what is really wrong. Once you know that (in my case it's mainly arthritis in the base of both thumbs) you can look at treatment and ways round the problem but you need to know exactly what the problem is first. Good luck Steve

Best resource? A big mirror so you can see what you're actually doing when you're bowing Steve

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1375389823' post='2160763'] Oh dear. I've already dumped one none too cheap bass book because it wanted me to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. [/quote] Nowt wrong with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I can play it on sixteen instruments! Mind you, on a number of them it's the only thing I can play Steve

I've tried to play them but in all honesty I gave up. IMHO they're more of a gimmick than a serious bass (for the reasons given above) and with the uke group I either play my Tacoma acoustic or my upright. I'm currently part way through rebuild a cheap classical guitar into a uke bass and will report back when/if I ever manage to get it finished. Steve

I'm currently working towards Grade 4 (the first one I'm taking) and I'm finding it very useful. Apart from anything else it pushes me outside my comfort zone and that in itself expands it. In my usual playing I don't use the bow but even there I'm finding the discipline of concentrating, listening and adapting useful, though very frustrating at times. It also gives my practice a sharper focus which then crosses over into the rest of the music I play. Steve

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1375168038' post='2157362'] Crikey, just checked out the AER Basscube, they're not cheap are they [/quote] If they're up to the standard of the other AER amps I've seen in action then they're worth every penny. The gear is well made, sounds great and packs a lot of punch. The AER acoustic amps are a sign that you've made it in the busking business . Steve

Great stuff I've a lot of catching up to do! Steve

Stew-mac is your friend, it's worth getting their catalogue even if you never buy from them, and they have a wealth of resources and info [url="http://www.stewmac.com/"]http://www.stewmac.com/[/url]. The bigger issue is do you have any hand skills? Not in woodworking but in any type of making which requires the use of your hands? And no matter how distant. If you're used to using your hands then specific skills are easy to pick up, if you're not then a basic woodworking course might be an idea just to get your hands working and you used to controlling them. Landing a hammer on your fingers (or taking one off with a scroll saw) will have a deleterious effect on your bass playing! Steve

On the plus side at least the vocals are clear in the mix, as for the rest there is no space, it's compressed to hell or recorded with everything on max. Either way it's a mess. steve

Play by their rules and take the money and run. It's business and if that's what the customer wants then that's what they get. I've played RAF bases in the past and they've been great gigs, I've always worked on the principle that I'm not The Stones or The Who so I'm supplying what they want and so long as I get paid what does it matter? Steve

Nice one I know that feeling when you get a bass back, hit a note and go "WOW", nothing like it. Steve

Umm, "traditional" English or Scottish music tends to be "bass light" as well. Arranged/composed/church music from the same era is a bit different but traditional music seems to have been melody led and you don't tend to use bass for that. Steve

Ani Macneice up in Otley will basically make what you want to order. She's recently made a bass for Ashley Hutchings and very nice it is too. Steve

Is it when you're changing strings or bow direction? In which case it may be that you're not putting enough pressure on the string to start it cleanly (my bad fault). I'm working through various Sevcik exercises BUT they'll be no use to you if you don't want to read music. Steve

Looks good Personally I would take it to a luthier and have it checked over and set up. Down the road you may find that this makes it an even better instrument and much more enjoyable to play. have fun Steve

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1374421916' post='2148528'] ...just looked up the Bottesini 4 and 9 studies - really very different pieces ( are you doing one of these Steve? - if so all the best with your exam !! ). ...4 is a lot more straight laced and almost mathematical and Study no 9 is more lyrical in comparison. What I though was interesting was that I figured that if i were doing 4, I would play it perhaps more 'black and white' focussing on the precision of the alternating slurred and staccato bowings and hitting the accents where they are specified ...but if I were playing Study no9 I would tempted to add colour with all the accidental notes that are thrown in and the range covered. So maybe the right answer is to play what the piece calls for! [/quote] I'm working on both of them at the moment, no decision yet made on which I'll actually do. I prefer playing no 9 but I actually play the other one more accurately! Steve

[quote name='philparker' timestamp='1374356151' post='2148086'] Make room! Move some furniture - think of it as a show piece of furniture; sell something; ditch something; buy a smaller settee, but most importantly of all - buy a DB!!! [/quote] + another 1. There's always a way (but don't recommend disposing of the bed). Steve

There's the same problem all the way through the levels. I'm working on a couple of studies for Grade 4 and again there is an absence of dynamics. The approach I'm working on is to make sure that the technical aspects (intonation, bowing etc) are as good as I can make them and then introducing enough dynamics to make the pieces sound musical rather than a procession of notes. The good news is that my tutor is used to this so can keep me on the straight and narrow and knows what the examiner is going to be looking for. Steve

Saw them a couple of years back and I have to confess for sheer enjoyment it was my gig of the year. Steve

Use a leisure battery (visit a caravan supplier) rather than a car battery. LBs are designed to allow deep discharge. Get the biggest one you can afford. Steve

[quote name='DazBoot88' timestamp='1374071979' post='2144981'] Hey guys, I'm gonna be busking with a guitarist and drummer soon and had plans to borrow a friends Markbass head and little speaker. After researching more thoroughly it dawned on me that the watts from the head may be too powerful for the battery i'm getting. If anyone has experience doing this and could recommend a relatively cheap alternative i would be grateful? Cheers [/quote] Get the drummer a pair of light sticks or a cajon at the same time. Busking at volume is a quick way of being moved on before you earn any money. Steve