uk_lefty

So the guitarist got back to me. The answer is..... E = C# A = Ab D = Db G = Gb And luckily my Ray with a drop D tuner is already set up like that.

Good points. I had assumed all strings tuned down relative to E going down to C# but will double check. The ideal sound I would want would be the typical bright ballsy Stingray tone I get already with nice fresh stainless steel strings, so I expect I would want similar tension to what I have presently tuned all strings down half a step. I want to play "normally" for me which is fast fingers and sometimes pick, not "thrashing" the bass as that's not me. Lots in this thread to think about, thank you all for the input!

Wasn't aware of them, will have a look, thank you!

Thanks, already got a D tuner on my Ray, but the other strings need to be down tuned too!

They're all upside down... And I've already got enough basses (I am told!)

Help please! I'm going to audition with a band who play in drop C#. I've currently got a few 4 strings set up in either standard or 1 step down and a 5 string in standard. I have fairly light strings on all my basses so I'm guessing to go drop C# on a 4 I'd need to get a thicker gauge... Any guidance appreciated! Ideally I want a really bright zingy tone, I want to use my Stingray in its full Tim Commerford for the sound I think would suit band. I also can't get my head around what this means for playing my 5er because I'm tired... I'd like to have my 5er as an option because its fretless and some of their songs could do with some melodic fretless.

I suppose my main bass is my US Stingray that I bought with a lovely tax rebate a few years back. I was very, very tempted by a US Jazz that was 4 or 5 hundred cheaper hut felt that the Ray would suit my live playing better, while I thought the nuanced tone of the jazz was better for playing at home and if I were to do recording. I always thought about that jazz though... Fast forward and the other week I tried out one of the new US Jazz basses. I didn't like it. GAS and regret dealt with.

Similar experiences here I'm afraid. I think all the decent bands got their stinky poo together in lockdown, rehearsed and recorded remotely, refreshed their set lists and now have more gigs than they can shake a stick at. Those who wallowed and waited have gone stale and been left behind... Like my band who had 1 terrible rehearsal and now expect to do gigs without rehearsing 😣 I've been looking for an established band in my area that needs a bassist and I'm finding it harder then ever before. There's a lot of 1 or 2 people from an old band who want a bassist but they also want a drummer and guitarist and a singer and a.... So it's not really an established band! Stick at it, some bassists will have a diva strop before the Christmas and New Year gigs and leave you an opening. If you keep trying to form something, join something, then at least you're learning new stuff and learning how to play with different people.

Definitely! It all starts with everyone being nice and everyone following the script. Then a few rehearsals in, say you've started an 80s band for example, you get asked can we play this song... Its from 2006 so, No. Then the guitarist seems to only learn bits of songs, you think it's him only learning his suggestions but it turns out he doesn't know them either. Then he wants to play synths but you find he can't really play. After a while you realise you, a drummer and a singer have just spent a few months learning songs just so you can attend a show and tell of someone's arsenal of very expensive gear that you're not sure they can actually play. Short answer, even if someone seems good at audition, make the audition period last 3 or 4 rehearsals but don't tell them that outright.

I don't think you do. Singer may have one, otherwise hire one. Most practice places worth playing at should have one in place and would probably hire you one, or there would be local hire companies. The music shop in town when I was a kid used to hire out a decent PA for twenty quid if you could collect it. Also, what is a PA? The guitarist in my attempt to set up a band insists his Line 6 powered speaker is a PA. I insist it is not.

Anybody else watching this on Disney+..... Suppose just those of us with small kids! Watched part 1 last night, excellent. Sir Paul and Rick Rubin talking about how certain songs came about and isolating the bass and talking about how it works with the track. Sadly not a full bass documentary, so they comment on the tone on While my Guitar Gently Weeps but don't say how he got it. I'm off to buy a Hofner. And maybe a Rick if I can get one for a realistic price (£500 or less...)

LA studio comp is my favourite, seems to add punch and is quite good at keeping the sound well defined.

Interested!

Great collection @glefty! I've got sale proceeds burning a hole in my pocket, just need to know if my band will still be going or not by the time I'm ready to spend!

Agreed, to the extent that I have no insight into what they're made of or how, which is why "better" is in "quotation marks". It's a tough act to be really truly environmentally and ethically improving, often one improvement is made at the expense of other things. When I worked for a retailer we were phasing out single use coffee cups, then someone claimed that washing a China cup used seven times more energy, or seven times more carbon, or something, than making a disposable cup...

I've got that strap. It's so good I got two more. Mansons have been great at getting me whichever I fancied off the RightOn website, whether they stock it or not. As for the vegan aspect.... I'm not vegan, I wear leather shoes etc. But it's just a very good strap. And if it's in some way, environmentally or ethically "better" than I'm OK with that.

True. My first band had a guitarist/ singer who was an unbelievable guitarist but shoddy singer. Ego told him he could do anything. We got by on the fact we had an incredible guitarist.

I have been round the houses with a number of options but for gigs you always need confidence in your sound whether you have room for a pedal board or not. The quandary is that a pre amp pedal that sounds great with one of your basses might sound awful with another, E. G. An EHX Batallion sounded great with my passive P bass but awful with my active jazz. If you have a Helix already and it's creating unwanted noise then you really need to get under the hood of what it is doing so you can tweak it to get rid of what you don't like and build up some good basic tones for your go to basses. The PC based editor is really easy to use and there are good presets available for free on the Line 6 forum and elsewhere so you could try some of those and experiment with pulling out bits you don't like or don't want. You can easily build up settings from scratch too: I had one called "Nowt" because it had nowt in it for when I just want to bypass, I've got others where there is a compressor and pre amp I can switch on and off by footswitches, nothing else going on, nothing fancy. Since you have it I'd recommend persevering with the Helix and starting off with basics.

Just recently pulled the plug on a band I started with random off tinternet 9 months ago. It was so, so hard to get agreement on things, or if it was agreed get things done. If you already have a drummer and you're both on the same hymn sheet then you're adding the final piece of the jigsaw, not starting out so that should help a lot with setting your stall out early and not having too many competing opinions. However, being blues based I fear you're at the mercy of the widdly six string soloist and would have to fit to their repertoire of "awesome solos" they already know and this could pull you away from your original starting point. The lesson I learned when starting an 80s band... Just say No! When someone says "but this song goes down well..." referring to something from 2007 don't sheepishly say "errr yeh" with no intent of doing it, say "it doesn't fit what we said we would do, nice idea but No". And beware there are lots and LOTS of "all the gear, no idea" people out there. So audition and don't commit until a few sessions in. Wait til they get comfortable and then make your decision when at session three they're bringing weird kit and it's all "but if I can pre programme this sequencer and set off pyrotechnics here, and there's a spotlight on me while I juggle flaming guitars, and you guys can errrrrrr, go for a pint?"

While everyone else lusts over the jazz may I just say that the fretless P is a slice of 70s inspired magic.

Yeah but at £200 or £250 for the pickup its a big outlay to stick in a Bitsa. I do like the look of them, bass centre put an ad on the back of bass magazine recently, P style bass with 2x Sims in it. Looked an absolute beast, but won't be cheap.

Stingray sounds best to me but I am biased because I have a Stingray for that "stingy" gritty but in the high notes that is unmistakably Stingray. None are bad basses, all fit the style to me, but the Ray has its own very distinct personality. I did like the Celinder too though.

Small gigs you could do with one cab. When you need everything a laptop bag will carry the head and a cab in each hand is easy. Have done it many, many times!

Have considered buying 2x12s at that price!