thisnameistaken

The jazz players who interest me are all upright players, so Paul Chambers, Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, Scott La Faro, Milt Hinton, Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, etc. All of the bebop stuff features clever bass. Stuff that I can't do anyway.

And there are so many great examples. My era is mostly late '70s post-punk to early '90s indie and acid-jazz, and there were an amazing amount of memorable bass hooks but I wouldn't want to overlook any other periods by spelling it out. One guy I think never gets enough credit is Mark Brydon aka Moloko. Fun For Me is just a brilliant hook, and as far as I'm aware The Time Is Now is still the only hit pop record to be led by an acoustic bass guitar. Most people don't even think of him as a bass player but he's one of my favourites.

As was said above, you can join a band at any time so long as you're in the same ballpark, experience-wise, as the other guys. The bass doesn't often play anything difficult so arguably a band can have a less experienced bass player without it causing issues musically (so long as your timing is good). I was playing with other musicians pretty much as soon as I started playing bass, having never played an instrument before. Within a year or two I did my first 'proper' band and got plenty of positive feedback from the more established guys in my town, a year later my second band got offered a major label record deal (which I personally - as the main songwriter - turned down ), after playing for about five years I moved to another continent and played professionally for a few years although I was still pretty green. Recently I took up double bass, and gigged it within six months, but I have to say three years in I'm nowhere near as confident as I was three years into playing bass guitar, but that's because I now have 20+ years of experience that informs me of how well I'm doing, and so I know my limits better than I used to. My advice - if you want to progress quickly - would be to get together with other musicians as soon as you can, and get some lessons as soon as you can, and study music as much if not more than you study bass guitar. Reason being that you'll rarely be required to play anything difficult on bass guitar but the usual role of the instrument means that the better you understand music, the better your contribution will be. Oh and while it's tempting to listen mostly to players who play really busy lines and technically difficult stuff, you will learn more from listening to lines that have driven great pop songs and try to work out why they're so effective.

Which finger is going numb? Is it the whole finger? What about neighbouring fingers - are they tingly/numb at all, ever?

I wouldn't get a Thumb 6, they're mega heavy. I would keep the 5 if you're so enthused about it though.

Whenever anyone challenges people to a 'Guess the amp' it's software. So maybe it's a DAW plugin or a Line 6 something or other. These sorts of challenges are made easier by the fact that 99% of people who have ever said they can recognise the sound of a particular amp were lying.

That's not a great demonstration video. I can't tell whether his bass sounds a bit dead or if his mic just isn't very good. It reminds me of the sound of the Realist. I hope it sounds better than that on a better bass.

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1364409335' post='2026140'] Totally different basses, you need to decide what you want from a bass before picking between 2 wildly different instruments [/quote] I don't think two bass guitars can be 'wildly different' to be honest. Play them both and buy the one you like the most.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1364298600' post='2024454']This is what they said about lotus Cortinas a few years ago when they hit £15000, now they are £40k at least![/quote] Yeah but cars do get rarer - if they aren't looked after they stop running, parts wear and need replacing and they can be difficult to source for vintage cars. It's not the same for vintage instruments which need relatively little maintenance and rarely need replacement parts.

Are the prices of vintage instruments still inflating or are they just keeping up with inflation now? I can't help thinking the bubble will burst eventually. Sure the instruments are getting older but they're not really getting any rarer.

I remember him being on telly when I was a nipper but I don't remember the bass.

I only know him as Ian Dury's rock and roll hero, but he gets plenty of respect for that.

Yeah I have a friend near Wimborne but I rarely see her now so it wouldn't be practical, otherwise I would offer to help.

I've traded with Javier before he's a good guy.

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1364232185' post='2023573'] I can only speak from experience, but I've never had a good time with covers. There seems to be a prevailing attitude that you don't have to put the work in, that it's easy, it doesn't matter if you don't even attempt to learn the songs etc etc. Very much a "that'll do" attitude, one I can't abide. [/quote] I've found that too. I had a guitarist guy who wanted me to go do some cover sets with him (on double bass) and it turned out a lot of what he was playing was 'good enough' approximations of what he thought the songs sounded like. From the cover bands I've seen I think a lot of them operate on that basis.

I don't think you're asking too much. Surprised you haven't found a buyer yet but I don't think it needs to be any cheaper.

A friend of mine bought two Berlins on Ebay last year, really nice guitars, don't think he paid more than 600 for either of them so they're a bit of a bargain too. Your friend's guitar has maybe a bit of a marmite finish though so might not generate as much interest.

Have you tried notch filtering and phase flipping? Beyond those sorts of tricks I guess it might be a matter of damping the when you're using it amplified.

When they sell on here they are usually much cheaper - around the £600 mark.

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1363988071' post='2020735'] As my teach pointed out a few weeks ago, if you want that really 'thwumpy' DB sound, and you mute with your palm/along the pinky, and play with the thumb only, then the rest would be in the perfect place to rest your three fingers... [/quote] Not really. Try palm muting with your hand close to the neck, it's really difficult because even the slightest pressure dampens the string too much. Now try it closer to the bridge - much easier. I don't think palm muting was a consideration.

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1363944313' post='2019784'] Sorry but it would drive me crazy to hang around with these drug-orientated musicians however good the music might be... Two days in this environment and I would pack my bass and leave ...I'd rather work and play with other people who don't seem to be somewhere else in the galaxy. [/quote] It looks like a super creative environment to me, I would have loved it at that age.

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1363812980' post='2018171'] What about the Precision Lyte is certainly fits all of you criteria weight and size wise [/quote] Good call they are very light. The Hohner 'Jack' bass might work too. Also maybe the original Fender 'Urge' bass - 32" scale and lightweight. I would normally recommend the Hohner B2A but if playing below the 3rd fret is painful you should avoid any bass that doesn't have the strap button in the region of the 12th fret.

Poor John he looks so fragile all the way through that. What a player though.

Shame. I remember the Ex-Factor was a really novel looking bass when I was first starting out and I still haven't seen many more designs that were as interesting looking.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1363686921' post='2015693'] For me, I will obviously know the root note of any chord I'm playing. After that, my brain turns to the note's relationship to the root. [/quote] I'm the same, but I'm trying to pay more attention to what notes I'm playing and what notes are in what chords, just because it's easier to busk changes if you can see where you're going!