Bassdriver

[quote name='vax2002' timestamp='1334778929' post='1621261'] If it has no CE sticker on the Bass UK Customs will ask for absolute proof that the bass is not been imported, so you would need copper bottomed travel documents listing the bass as outbound luggage, they do not "do" excuses" The luggage slip should say : bass Guitar, serial number XXXXXXXXXX type : ringer bass( make and model), Colour : rosewood(colour description) Approximate age [/quote] I took my bass to Australia last year but had no trouble bringing it back to the UK. Customs never even looked at it. I just walked through the green channel, no problem. Maybe it would have been different if they'd decided to stop me though.

I bought an EBS Multicom Compressor pedal from Lozz recently. Great bloke to deal with. Highly recommended even. Cheers Lozz :-)

The old rig EA iAmp 800 CXL110 CXL112 The new rig and the practice rig iAmp 800 Vanderkely MNT1x12 cabs Ashdown EB180 1x12 combo + 1x15 cab

I have an EA CXL110 cab. The L/F driver has gone open circuit and I'm told this means the voice coil needs replaced and a recone will be required. I have a recone kit but don't fancy doing it myself. Does anyone know of a trusted person who'd be able to do this for me? The nearer to Carlisle the better. Cheers

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1332072151' post='1582738'] PLEK machine doesn't watch the player playing, or ask them any questions. [/quote] Good point. What may be a beautifully set up bass for one player may be totally unplayable for another. In my view there's no substitute for a human being with twenty years experience who was in turn trained by someone else with another twenty or so years behind them

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1332014887' post='1582197'] Now that look like a cheap workable solution to the problem ! Does anyone know how the manufacturers do it ? [/quote] Well, a modern method seems to be something called Plek where the guitar is held in a clamp while a computer measures the frets, relief of neck etc and works out the optimun fret height and automatically dresses them. I don't trust it though. My new bass from a well respected maker was apparently set up this way. After a few days of messing around trrying to get the action down while avoiding excess buzzing I took the bass to my friendly neighbourhood Luthier who after half an hour with the allen keys concluded the action was still a little higher than they'd normally set it and the bass would benefit from a fret dress. Technology? Pffffft. Give me Woodbine smoking wearers of long brown overcoats and flat caps any day.

[quote name='Immo' timestamp='1332017917' post='1582261'] I feel like a sh**te right now, but I guess it's for the best. [/quote] It's difficult when you're mates as well, you don't want to 'let them down' so you carry on with the weight of the situation on your shoulders, sapping your energy. You feel crap now 'cos you feel you've 'let uour mates down' but that'll pass and you'll feel a whole lot better without the weight you've been carrying. Just don't punish yourself for doing what's right for you.

[quote name='Immo' timestamp='1332011625' post='1582148'] [b]What should I do? [/b]Simply tell them everything I said here, find another player who would want to play with them and quit? [/quote] Yes. The last thing you should do is carry on in a situation that's making you unhappy. That is the reason why we play. If it's making you unhappy there's no reson to do it. Tell them as soon as possible and don't worry about making things difficult for them to get where they want to. Sometimes in life you have to be selfish. Now is that time.

Greetings from a non Leicestonian :-)

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1331833306' post='1579696'] Longtime 5 string player Jimmy Johnson says that the best way to go about 5 string is by playing it just like a 4 to begin with, and then to throw in the low notes when you feel like the time is right to hit that low B. I think the big mistake would be to think that you should be using it all the time to begin with. [/quote] Good advice that. THe mistake people make is trying to use it too much so it loses all the impact it might otherwise have. Just dropping in the odd low B or C is far more effective and jumps out at you more the less you use them. I saw a guy once who'd just got a 5 for the first time, playing a bluesy song in B and every time the progression got back to B, there it was again, thundering and rumbling away, taknig over the sound and just sounding generally rubbish. Just forget about the extra string for now and get used to the feel of it being there. Get used to playing with your fretting hand higher up the neck using the B string for Es,Gs, As etc that you'd usaully play on the E string. You'll find the sound of those notes up there is very different, warmer, fatter. B string is about more than just low notes.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1331650682' post='1576557'] Yes, enormously. Completely, incontrovertably. Set up a loop or two on your computer and play along. Even better, record yourself and listen back. [/quote] Couldn't agree more. Also, if you can, getting to play with more accomplished musos will be a big help and recording yourself and listening back to your playing, being critical but in a constructive way like 'oh, ok i can hear how I could play that bit better', etc. All of this is so important. Edited typo

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1331639469' post='1576249'] Mate, I think you should stop thinking about these ridiculous 'rules' people keep saying we should follow, and FEEL the music.and start following instructions. [/quote] Have to agree here. It's all about feel. When cavemen or whoever first started banging things together in rythmic fashion they weren't thinking ' I need to play this in a 7/8 shuffle'. They were going with the feel.

[quote name='Mark_Bass' timestamp='1331637098' post='1576165'] The problem i have in the covers band is if the drummer isn't 'feeling' the track, or is overly tired from work then his groove suffers and that does have a larger impact the rest of the band. [/quote] But this is true for all of the band isn't it? I think the thing with playing in time is that the whole band has to be able play in time as a cohesive unit rather than each player keeping their own time. For me it's about feel and being free to play around the beat, pushing slightly ahead or holding slightly back as the feel of the songs requires.

Hi Kev, glad to meet you :-)

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1331488195' post='1573600'] I agree with Nige....I completely disagree with this. The bass does not have to cover evey bass drum beat,although it has it's place ...it can just as easily play off the hi hat or any other part of the kit-in fact it can comfortably play off any instrument in the band. Likewise,it isn't just the drummer who is responsible for dictating the pace.....it is everyone's responsibility. Sometimes it's certain members more than others,but the drums should be able to drop out and things should still be grooving. [/quote] Totally agree with this. The groove of the song dictates the tempo and it's up to the band to sit together in that groove. The groove exsists independent of which instruments are playing. You can drop the drums out and the rest of the band still carry the groove. the rest of the band can drop out and hopefully the drummer can do a tasteful solo that still carries the groove, even without the bass hitting the kicks.

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1331487705' post='1573591'] ? I don't see any excuse for not learning the notes on the fingerboard. [/quote] I don't mean to ssay it'd be a bad idea to do so or a waste of time, just that it's not impossible to play well without. Yes a comprehensive knowledge makes you a more accomplished player but as long as you have good enough ears to hear a b7 clashing with a maj7 you can still play a nice bass line.

I haven't read through the thread, just the OPs original question so I'm sure this point has been made several time by now... My answer is yes. I know I could develop more as a player and there will always be 'better' players than me, but who's to say what better is. I have a mate who is an amazing jazz player and I think wow you're reall good, so much 'better' than me, but then he will always complement me on my feel as a player and how I can hold a groove really well. However bad you think you are there will be someone who thinks you're better. If you're enjoying playing that's all that matters and worrying about whether you're better or worse than player xyz is a sure way to hinder your enjoyment.

[quote name='Bobo_Grimmer' timestamp='1331485686' post='1573533'] Awesome! that's what i've always tried to keep in mind. I am very emotionally attached to music and feel it in my heart. [/quote] :-) Use your ears, play from your heart rather than your brain and you won't go far wrong. For me the truth is you don't 'need to know which notes you're playing to know whether it sounds right or not. If you want to be able to sight read then yes you're going to need to know your way across the fingerboard pretty well. It all depends what you want to achieve from playing. [quote name='Bobo_Grimmer' timestamp='1331485686' post='1573533'] i find myself smiling uncontrollable when we play live these days. ^_^ [/quote] I know what you mean. There some notes I play in my originals band that just seem to fit so well, they're not difficult, just right and sound so beautiful. This is why we play, apart from the egoic desire to look cool with a bass strapped on that is :-) If you're trying to work out original bass lines for your bands songs it'll really help to have half decent recordings you can listen to. Hopefully you'll hear in your head what the bass should be doing, what you want it to do. Go and work it out by ear, record it and if something doesn't sound right you can tweak it from there. You might find a lot of what you're trrying to play is more than the song needs. Then you can concentrate on playing the right notes just so rather than worrying about notes that don't need to be there.

[quote name='Bobo_Grimmer' timestamp='1331471186' post='1573214'] I think maybe i'm going through a faze of self criticism... I have some good gear and that does make me feel a little worried at gig's. i guess i think that maybe other bassists or band people may be expecting me to be much more advanced than i am... [/quote] Try not to compare your playing too much to that of others or judge yourself by their standards or what you imagine their expectations of you are. You don't need to be flash to be good. Better to play two notes exactly how the song needs them rather than 10 that don't really need to be there. Feel for the music is just as important, some would say more so than technical knowledge. Your ears and your heart are part of it just as much as your fingers. If confidence is an issue it'd probably help to have a few lessons, just so you can have someone who knows show you where you're strengths are. That way you'll have something more positive to focus on than where you feel your lacking. Just play as much as you can and allow yourself to make mistakes. That's how you learn. It's good to be critical of your playing but a mistake to use it as an excuse to beat yourself up. 4 strings or 5? Well whichever sounds best for the song you're playing I reckon. It's good to use both equally. I have only played 5s for years now and if I pick up a 4 it just feels weird. If you keep your hand in with both you'll be a more versatile player and when you change between the two you'll have to think a bit more about where the notes are which sounds like it'll help you. :-)

I had a used Satellite Precision copy which I bought for about £50 when I was about 14, yes, sometime ago now. It came fitted with black nylon/tapewound strings. This was before I'd found my calling as a bass player and was still aspiring to be a Garry Moore/JImi Hendrix clone. I traded the Satellite in for a white Hohner Strat. Later I fell into playing bass in my mates band using a borrowed Westone Thunder 1A played through a Carlsbro Stingray combo. I soon realised I was meant to be a bass player after all and traded the strat for a second hand Kramer Duke, a headless Steinberg inspied creation with an Aluminium neck along with a Peavy MKIII head and 2x15 cab. I later traded the Kramer for a Status 2000 when they became all the rage. Thinking about it now would be nice to still have them all but at the time it was needs must and they had be sacrificed in the name of progress.