bass_dinger

So, before I posted my question, I thought that musicians in bands were technically skillful players. I now see that the musicians in demand are those with the chops - but also with a good attitude. For myself, even if I can't play so well, I can learn to have a better attitude, for sure!

So, to explain, I don't have much. I can play quarter and eighth notes, and can sometimes syncopate, so long as the pattern is not too complicated. I can improvise a bassline over a chord sequence, in any key. I can read sight read slow music in simple keys. I can sight read tab. I can play simple stuff by ear. However, 16th note syncopation, Bernard Edwards, slapping, popping, thumping, Joe Dart - it all defeats me. So, what skills does a professional bassist (touring band, session musician, covers band player) have that I can aspire to. I think that I am wondering what the difference is, between a band hobbyist, and a professional musician.

Shouldn't that be in a baby seat, or have a seat belt at the very least! Nice.

But how did it happen so quickly!? Shops are shut, and you only had an hour between committing to abstaining, and announcing that you were out... That must have been some special bass - or a saved eBay search that came good.

This one feels, and sounds, and looks, right. And it seems to match what @lozkerr said. https://youtu.be/6OmEmT9_fwE

Count me in. I am confident that poverty and lack of space will assist me to meet my target of no new bass kit (but making good use of the kit that I already have).

Yes, that is what I thought. Very elastic, a bit sloppy. Sometimes late, often rushed, with the band on the track keeping time so that the bassist does not have to. I think that I was confused by the YouTube comments, that seemed to agree that it was good. I like her left hand technique for the root-3rd-5th over the A and B chords - so, I shall take that from the video.

Blondies "Dreaming " played by a ukulele group. It lost all of the snap, bite, and fury of the original and sounded like the Swing Your Pants version of the song. It was rather refreshing and cute, in a postmodern jukebox way.

This bass cover of Red light spells danger feels rushed to me - as if the bassist is playing ahead of the beat, and faster than the underlying song. However, each bar seems to start in the right place (which implies that the timing is in fact right). So, why does it sound rushed, but count correctly?

Bands are not permanent. Be polite to the people who remain in the band that you have left - one day, one of them will remember your ability and your manners, and ask you to join another band. You will learn something from every playing situation. You won't learn everything from one single playing situation. Get a setup on your new guitar or bass Don't get a second a setup on your guitar or bass - learn to do it yourself. Change your guitar strings before they break. Play gently and let the amp do the work when it comes to volume. Get a case. Get the best cables that you can afford. Put all your kit in an equipment case. stickers on a case (or instrument) may make it look as if one is a widely travelled and broadly experienced musician- but playing well is what actually demonstrates one's experience. Learn to read the dots. It's a lot quicker to play something from reading it. Learn to read chord charts- it's a lot quicker that reading the dots, if the dots are not available. Learn to play by ear - it's a lot quicker etc... Learn to play by watching the guitarists hand position. Understand that there is more than one way to learn and play music. Learn from more experienced musicians. Once one becomes a more experienced musician, be polite and approachable to those musicians who are less experienced. One does not have to join a band to help them out - some bands are beyond help. Unless your dad is Paul Reed Smith, George Lowden, or Paul McCartney, your first instrument has more sentimental value than musical value. Take a photo of it, pop it in a scrapbook, and get rid of the instrument, to make space for something better.

My hands are occupied with the bass that I bought in May to temporarily replace my other bass, while it was in for repair... I had a successful 2021, and will try again in 2023.

I am very curious to learn about this! I am thinking Stag Beetle larvae - am I right? And to stay on topic, I once watched two identical lego kits, from the same seller. One started at £45 and attracted one bid of £45. The other started at a penny, and the by the time it reached 10p, already had three bidders hungry for that bargain. It reached about £47. Auction frenzy trumped common sense. Let's not forget that many bass chatters are expert consumers - we know what a set of Rotosound Swing 66 strings cost, and whether they are preferable to a set of Warwick Red Labels. We know that a MiJ P bass is preferable to a MiM. We even know what the acronyms mean! We know that a Harley Benton guitar is cheaper from Thomann than ebay. Years of research (and reading basschat.co.uk) has got us to that point. However, many ebay customers are not willing to spend time researching - instead, they spend money getting the item quickly.

We each choose our own best way. But one might find it very helpful to ask advice from the experts on this forum. With that advice and experience, one can more quickly identify what works best for the person

After 20 years of playing only a 5 string, I am only in the past year starting to do that. I think that was because the sound of the B string on my acoustic bass was dull and thuddy, and not in keeping with the other strings. So, I tended to avoid it, and so did not develop your good habits. Well done for working out the benefits so quickly.

All songs require notes. Those notes can be found on the B string, above the 5th fret, just as much as on the other four strings. Frets 1 to 4 on the B string give new notes, but the rest of the frets on the B string give a different tone, and new ways of reaching the 5th below the root note. https://youtu.be/ZMF3nYfNo2w - here, the bassist in the Maytals using a 34" scale 5 string bass at the 5th fret, to give a short-scale sound.

Perfect! "So I spoke to the designer/company owner /design team, and suggested that they do XYZ, and they did".

Did some of the Ashdown team come from Trace Elliott? If so, that would explain why they were able to do it (but not why they wanted too!).

Following on from the thread "Things I'd like manufacturers to do...", I just now remembered a success story. I visited Hobgoblin's London store, in search of an acoustic bass. I specifically wanted a 5 string, in their Ashbury range, but they did not make them. So, I emailed the Head office asking if they had any plans to do so. No, they had not thought of it, but they were due to visit the Musikmesse Frankfurt that coming Easter, and would ask if their suppliers could make that model. By October of that year, I got an email from head office. They had made a run of five prototype 5 string basses, and one was at their London store, and would I like to pop along to try it out. I went along, liked it, and bought it. So, companies do listen, and respond.

I was in a different venue this morning. I had rather got used to my standard set up of a large room, hard walls, individual foldback mixes, and a separate room mix. So it was a real struggle to find myself in a smaller room, 45 feet high, deep, and wide. Wooden flooring made for a lot of resonance, and the drum kit in the corner was overpoweringly loud. At one point in the rehearsal, I was having to lip read the lead singer to follow the song, and this morning I was watching the pianist and guitarist's left hands more than usual. However, for all those struggles, the congregation were much more responsive than my usual "gig", and I was reminded why I play in church. This morning felt like a pub gig- hard work, raw, but happy punters. My usual gig is more akin to a rehearsal with an audienced that joins in. I probably learnt more about playing at this morning's gig, than I have over the past year.

An understandable point, politely made. Let's call it "off-brand messaging".

Not since God spoke to the serpent in the garden of Eden.... As for interesting Christmas services, our worship leader wanted the band to play along to a pre-recorded track last Christmas*. These "stem tracks" could be adjusted, to give more or less bass, or vocals, or keys, in each musician's monitor mix, and another mix could be sent to the PA. The song included 4 or 5 key changes, choirs, orchestra, band, and, for all I know, the Dagenham Girl Pipers and a team of Morris Men banging their sticks together. Over the six weeks it took to refine the many mixes, and learn it, I grew to loathe it - so much so that I can't even bring myself to remember what it was called, much less to look it up. By the end of the rehearsal, none of the core band musicians were left in the band , apart from the worship leader's own family members. There was a choir, however. When the pastor learnt that I had dropped out for that song, he asked if I could nevertheless remain on stage and mime playing the bass. "You mean lie?" He had the grace to laugh... People seemed to enjoy it. However, they enjoyed Away In A Manger just as much, which took 6 minutes (not 6 weeks) to get right. * Last Christmas was when we did it. It was not the track that we played along to....

And give the post with the most Likes a cash prize - so far, it is between me (legacy page) and @TheGreek(power button). And, uncannily, we are the two people who Liked @Buddster post! Ker-ching !

Manucturers - create and maintain a Legacy page on your website, with the history of your equipment, by model, and schematics for repairers to refer to.

I am curious. Can any basschater tell the difference between brands of strings, when they are listening to a track, or a live band? For me, I like the sound and feel of Dunlop steels, but found a £5 set that sounded similar enough when I am playing in a band setup. Certainly, nobody in the audience has ever complained or noticed the difference. As for this... ... I visited the Bass Gallery, and tried lots of basses. When I found one with strings that I liked, I asked what type they were, and bought a set. They were the Dunlop steels. I also had a basschat recommendation for an eBay seller who had some £5 sets that I tried, and they were fine.

String manufacturers. Pick a string winding colour, or ball end design, that is unique to the string and brand. That will allow string spotters to identify what type of string is on their bass, by simply referring to the inevitable Bass Chat Field Guide to bass strings. Or not....