thisnameistaken

Factor in the price of some strings too because it will likely come fitted with steels which will be too high-tension for slapping. According to the specs online, the D-Bass 210 has a dedicated piezo input with an impedance of 4.7Mohms. Does yours? If so, plug into that, you should be fine. If not - if you just have the active and passive inputs - you could try the passive (1Mohms) but don't be too surprised if your pickup sounds thin and horrible. If it does you'll need a preamp.

I basically 'correct' the attitude of the bridge while I'm tensioning the string, so if it's not up to pitch yet but the bridge is leaning I'll tap it back into place and continue winding. But to answer your question I suppose you shouldn't wait until the strings are up to pitch because by correcting the bridge you will create more tension and sharpen them a little. Edit: I should add that I haven't really needed to do this on my current bass since I started changing one string at a time (one off, one on, one off, etc.). It's more of a problem when you're starting from a position of having no strings on the bass or changing the bridge or something.

I leave it on so people think I can bow. I don't really, but all I do is wipe the strings with a paper towel, it doesn't get all the gunk out from the windings but it gets it off the surface of the string at least.

[quote name='Walker' timestamp='1327665320' post='1514958']One thing - you mention thumping the bridge with a heavy book - I can move mine quite easily by hand. Is something wrong with my set up?[/quote] I'm surprised you can move it "easily" to be honest, but maybe I'm too soft. It's not really that you want to move the whole bridge though: When tensioning up strings the top edge of the bridge will sometimes tend to tilt towards the nut because the strings drag it that way. So you'd be trying to move the top of the bridge in relation to the feet, rather than moving the whole thing. Hope that makes sense. If it does happen to you then you'll see what I mean, and for me a tap or three with the spine of a book near the strings was a good solution to get it back perpendicular to the body.

For rockabilly I would suggest a good plywood bass - you'll get more amplified volume out of it without having to worry about feedback. If you're also interested in playing other kinds of music on db, and maybe learning to bow and stuff too, it might be wise to get a second bass for that because the string compromise for playing slap won't really work out for playing jazz and stuff (IMVHO). So yeah, to start with, I reckon a good ply would do you right.

I never cut anything off the end of the string, partly because there's always room on the pegs and partly because bass strings are often made of odd materials and I'm concerned about what they'll do if I chop the end off. Be interested to hear what everybody else does. Not much room for fingers in the peg box I often use the tip of a screwdriver to direct the ends. The mechanics of it though: Only replace one string at a time - don't take them all off first or you'll have to fight the bridge when re-stringing it (the bridge will pull towards the pegs and you'll have to chop it back upright (I use the spine of a heavy book to give it a thump) keep an eye on the bridge while tensioning the string because if it is pulling it could go over unless you straighten it back up). Also use a pencil to lubricate the bridge and nut slots with graphite before you put a string on, this should help stop the bridge pulling so much and stop the string snagging on the nut.

Fender I suppose. I don't like the look of any of the Foderas. Also I've heard Vic Wooten play one and he gets a sh*t sound - what chance have I got? I don't really trust Fender to make me a nice bass though.

[quote name='phil625sxc' timestamp='1327589215' post='1513836'] On first reading the OP seemed to be a reverse musical snobbery kind of question, the kind that are mostly posted by players whose own techniques are not that hot...but I may have it wrong.[/quote] Yeah! And I bet he only thinks slap sounds terrible because he can't do it! +1! Nigel-can't-do-it, Nigel-can't-do-it! [quote name='phil625sxc' timestamp='1327589215' post='1513836']Are you implying that music that is easy to play is superior or preferable to that which is technically demanding ?[/quote] No. He's suggesting that difficulty of performance is no indication of how good a piece of music is. And I'd add that on bass guitar in particular - more often than not - technically difficult music sounds bloody awful.

Basses around that price point are all fairly similar in quality. They can be improved with a good setup but of course that's another expense. On cheap basses it's usually an inevitable (and worthwhile) expense because the low price point of the bass means it was never set up properly in the first place. As for taking off the finish to make it louder, well that might have an effect but given that the acoustic volume of a bass is a function of its construction and materials (including strings, bridge setup and so on) it might be worth considering what proportion of the bass is varnish and how structural is that varnish coat? Fitting the bridge properly and perhaps adjusting the sound post position would have a much greater effect and require a lot less labour. To be honest I wouldn't worry too much about acoustic volume because you will almost certainly need to amplify any bass that you're using in an amplified band, and it would be a better idea to find a bass that is playable, sounds good, and is in good condition and then simply amplify it when necessary rather than spending a long time looking for an especially loud bass.

I haven't tried FL Studio for years but you should be able to switch off input monitoring - this is the easiest solution to latency problems. As for the noise you're recording, that could be coming from anywhere. If you're using a soundcard built into your computer (esp. a cheap all-purpose soundcard rather than a dedicated audio board) then the computer could be the source, or it could be a bad cable, or the lighting in your house, anything.

It would be fine for slap playing. Lowering the string height is a job best done by a luthier unless you're very handy yourself - it involves re-shaping the bridge and the feet need to make good, even contact with the body. As for strings, steels are usually too high tension for slap playing although the psychobilly guys often buy solo tuning sets (designed to be tuned a tone higher) and then tune them down to regular orchestral tuning, reducing the tension that way but keeping the bright attack of steel strings. Alternatively you might want to look at Innovation's Silver Slaps which sound more like gut strings and are very low tension, and fairly cheap too - about £80 a set. They would be a good choice for a more traditional '50s rock and roll sound. Stage volume: You would need a piezo pickup. K&K do a rockabilly pickup which would be worth looking at, with a separate transducer to mount under the fingerboard to pick up the slap 'click'. Depending on what sort of amp you've got you might also need a double bass preamp to bring the super-high impedance of the piezo down to suit the input of your amp. These preamps often also have features to help reduce feedback, so they're good to have anyway if you're having to keep up with drums and electric guitar. Expect to spend £200+ for a pickup and preamp.

Some multis aren't so bad. The Line 6 M series interface is really easy to use and intuitive, lots of useful sounds in there too.

About time common sense prevailed. Hopefully this will bring live music back into smaller pubs.

[quote name='Gwilym' timestamp='1327409615' post='1510654']- Is it to achieve a sound that's stylistically in keeping with the musical genre being played, whether a cover or original?[/quote] Can be, certainly. [quote name='Gwilym' timestamp='1327409615' post='1510654']- Is it to satisfy a personal creative itch and doing something "totally new/original"?[/quote] I would never claim to be doing anything totally new or original For me it's as simple as this: There is more than one good bass sound. That's why I have a bass guitar strung with rounds and another strung with flats and a double bass. Similarly I think the Boss OC-2 is a really good bass sound, as is a plain square wave or a saw wave, or a fuzz, or a fuzz through a band-pass filter, I also like the 'broken robot' sound of a bass through a sample rate reducer so I use that a lot, extreme pitch bends are nice for special effects as is delay as is tremolo. The more you experiment the more useful sounds you come across. It's nice to be able to change the sound of the bass in music where the bass part is quite repetitive - like in pop music. It's just another way to add hooks to a song.

I always thought slap players had to earn their flames, I didn't realise basses came with them already on.

Most recently it was David Gest who inexplicably turned up in a little pub in York a few weeks back, bought all the headline band's merch too. Had Todd Rundgren in one night, bit more sensible.

I lived in Liverpool for a year (L8 - Princes Road) and it's a city with a character all of its own. I still go back quite often (most recently before Christmas for a Bellowhead gig in Birkenhead) and it's good to see that redevelopment is finally starting to happen, although it's a shame that this will probably price a lot of scousers out of housing in their home town. I always seem to spend a lot of money whenever I go to Liverpool though. Lots of neat vintage shops, lots of quality boozers with interesting history, a great independent cinema and two excellent theatres creating a lot of rep productions, not to mention the art spaces, plus of course the friendly and funny locals, it's a great town I love spending time over there.

I've never spent more than £700 on a bass. I can understand people who spend thousands on acoustic instruments where tonal nuances are obvious and important, but not on an electric bass guitar that - let's face it - no audience is going to be able to hear properly anyway.

You could fit in a lot more English sights by not visiting Wales.

[quote name='lxxwj' timestamp='1327244000' post='1508222']Looked into the M5, only problem with that one is that it only gets octave harmonies, unlike the various pitch-bendable ones on the digitech pedals.[/quote] Not sure I know what you mean by that. The 'whammy' effect on the M5 you can set the heel and toe positions to any interval from -2 to +2 octaves. There's also a 'smart harmony' effect and again you can set the heel and toe to different keys and/or scales and/or harmony notes.