Cairobill

Meyer is great. Check this out... Few people can make a bass sound this good. His intonation is staggeringly accurate and his playing is simply astonishing. Most arco in thumb position, even when played by really good players, often sounds slightly kooky and out of tune to me. This, however, is right on the money and extremely beautiful... Edgar Meyer plays Bach [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV-65UMPMMA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV-65UMPMMA[/url]

Did you get that off Chrisdabass a while back? Absolutely beautiful. I just got hold of a Bravewood fretless and am very impressed by how good it is. Nick [quote name='acidbass' post='655417' date='Nov 15 2009, 08:51 PM']He does indeed - check out [url="http://www.bravewoodguitars.co.uk/BlondeJtype60.html"]my lovely 1960 Jazz Replica[/url]. It's actually finished to a superb standard, and it has aged very nicely, similar to a Fender nitrocellulose guitar would.[/quote]

I don't have an axe to grind against any particular brand of bass or equipment as in my time I've toured with an SVT and two four bangers for years that I played with a pick at the end of a long strap but I also enjoy twiddling with six string basses, double basses and the like in the right context... It's all about what you're playing and to say a four string passive wins out over a six string active bass obviously depends on who you're playing with. For instance, I would have been laughed offstage playing a Six String bass with my old indie band and my Stingray sounded like a total, utter, heap of sh*t in a jazz trio... I do have an antipathy for Warwicks but I would class it as mild on the hate scale. They were just so celebrated but I really didn't like them at all, which brings me onto two things I really, really hate. Not brands etc but 'features' would be more accurate.... 1) neck dive 2) heavy basses Either feature present in a bass stops you from enjoying the pure simple joy of playing the bass guitar standing up. I don't want to sit in a chair and play the bass, I want to stand up, move, and not be restricted by the bass. In addition, if a bass is expensive, can't the luthiers ensure a consistently acceptable weight? Who the f**k wants to buy a Fodera for x thousand pounds if the bastard is going to compress your vertebrae and give you palpitations? Oh, I almost forgot - scale length. Does it really give you a bigger B string? Ever notice the boutique basses that come up for sale on Talkbass etc time and time again that don't mention the 35 or 36 inch scale length? 34 is enough ...as Zon and Smith ERBs demonstrate...it's less and less fun the longer the scale length... Oh and crappy plasticky fenders... That's my hates... Nick

I agree - when you have to play db for a couple of hours, pain will turn into exploding fingers...when it comes together it's a pleasure. But you definitely have to practise regularly, that's the bargain with the big chunk of wood...

I've got the book too. It's great. The DVD has the same high quality feel, really well out together. But the stand out thing about it is his demonstration of 'the claw' and how (as Jakesbass said) you should be able to get a reasonable tone out of your left hand without using the thumb to oppose your fingers pressing the board. It's all about using arm and body weight to produce sound. Likewise with the right hand - big tone is achieved by transferring the weight of your arm through your finger to push a lot of energy into the bass.... I really recommend the DVD. Likewise, Andrew Anderson's pedagogy for Double Bass technique is a FANTASTIC resource for double bass chops - and it's free! It's several parts and there's loads of info there... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ4ctFAe7r0&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ4ctFAe7r0...feature=related[/url] Good luck! Nick

Absolutely right - I started playing db in my mid thirties and it's really helped me progress as a musician and bassist esp. with jazz... The big mistake with DB is to transfer using the gripping method of fretting from electric to db. It really hurts after a few minutes and any effort to persist will result in tendinitis. People sometimes expect it to hurt and persist with bad habits and it can seriously bugger your hands/forearms. DB left hand is all about using arm weight and correct hand/finger shape so that you can use arm weight to depress the strings without screwing your tendons. A really good DVD with a sound analysis of left and right hand technique is Rufus Reid's 'Evolving Bassist'. He covers left and right hand technique, chord theory, walking and runs through a few great standards. It's a fantastically well spent 20 quid. And, of course, get a good teacher and use a bow too, if only just for practicing, it nails your left hand technique and intonation. Rufus Reid DVD for 16 quid! Buy it now, it's all in there... [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolving-Bassist-Rufus-Reid/dp/0757915655/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258382107&sr=8-3"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolving-Bassist-R...2107&sr=8-3[/url] [quote name='jakesbass' post='655825' date='Nov 16 2009, 11:29 AM']Hey Bilbo, I would be bound to chime in. Having heard your electric playing on a few of the things you've posted it's clear that you have great harmonic facility and technical execution. You can transfer those skills onto DB very easily. Primarily if you are worried about injuries as has been said make sure you are warmed up before practise, a quick spell on electric first can be useful with that. Secondly work very carefully on the physical approach to the instrument in the left hand, and do very little until you are doing it right. Straight wrists, gently curled fingers, not to much 'gripping' more using the natural weight in your arm to get pressure on the stops and into your finger tips. Use the pads of your fingertips rather than curling too much and in fact with the right approach you can stop notes without having your thumb on the back of the neck at all (NB that is to see that applied pressure is correct and NOT a recommended way of playing per se) Keep your elbow up and your wrist as flat as planet earth (it is flat isn't it?) Later today I will post some pics of a good attitude for fingers wrist and arm... Most of all you have PM and posting here for a constant stream of help and advice so, really, I mean it, contact anytime. Enjoy, you will prosper spiritually on it as it is the natural home of your second love (assuming your significant other is 1st) Jake[/quote]

With Bravewood the relic is one part of the equation and obviously very much a taste thing. Sonically and construction-wise the basses themselves are jaw droppingly good...I mean really, really good... Nick

Lined boards exclusively.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='646643' date='Nov 5 2009, 08:16 PM']Having met the man in question a couple of times (and he is a really nice guy, too), whether or not you like what he does, he did do one thing. He made a whole generation of bass players work hard to try and emulate him. None of this current day instant gratification nonsense, just pure hard practise to achieve something and become better bass players. Whether you're a simplistic root note rock music plodder or a jazz/funk twiddler, players like Mark King are and should be considered as a welcome inspiration to us all.[/quote] Well said...he's a great stylist and certainly inspired me (along with Jaco, Lee...etc etc I'm an eighties kid) to woodshed. I like the post earlier about MK giving Charlie Haden an award - they are effectively at either end of the spectrum. Haden is texture, space and weight while King sticks out in the mix, filling the stave with chugging beats. But I have a taste for both. As I get older I veer towards the Haden end of things but I still appreciate King's playing... EDIT - Now does anyone know about the viking portrait?...I am intrigued...

Just listening to Pursuit of Accidents the track...fantastic, really distilled, great vibe... I might do a playlist of what I think is the good stuff...and what tracks I think are well dodgy. I can't think of any band whose stuff has so polarised my opinion of their music. Some of it I really like, some of it is really, really bad...

I remember watching Top of the Pops as a kid when Level 42 did Sun Goes Down. My first impression was "I didn't know Steve McQueen played bass?". My second impression was that it was a great bass line. King is only knocked because he is so high profile and he's stylistically SO identifiable. No one can deny that he is a fantastic bass player - and he's a lot more than the super fast slap stuff if you ask me. His bass playing generally is very strong indeed. Level 42's music, on the other hand, had terrible quality control - but the good stuff is great fun. If I was to recommend one album I would go with either Pursuit of Accidents or World Machine...then again True Colours has some great tracks... Nick P.S. Does anyone know the truth to that story that he had a portrait painted of himself as a Viking hanging over his fireplace?

The only bass I need is a maple boarded jazz... ...maybe with pearl blocks? Ahhhh decisions...