thisnameistaken

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1326446155' post='1497217']ok you buggers,i might have to nip into gear4music just to have a look / go on one[/quote] Don't bother. The basses they have on the floor are practically unplayable. Last time I went in their entry-level bass had a bridge which was bent at the wings to a 45-degree angle - couldn't even get it up to pitch without risking snapping the thing in half.

Hmm. This did nothing for me. It just sounded like a musician killing time - maybe waiting for the microwave to ping or something. Trade shows have got to be the worst gigs in the world.

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1327142740' post='1506848'] My tip would be to start playing with other people. [/quote] +1. You will learn a lot faster when you start playing with other musicians. You'll learn more about the role of the bass, what sort of sounds work in a band, how important it is to have good timing and be consistent, etc. Lots of stuff you probably haven't though much about yet. Plus you'll have lots of opportunity to learn new songs and maybe contribute your own ideas to them.

Feel is way more important than the effects.

The thing that really bothers my wrists is this: Hold your hands out infront of you, flat, palms facing upwards. Now try to touch your fingertips together flexing only your wrists. That. You can imagine my fretting hand is in that position quite a bit when playing my Thumb. Actually I did get a little grief from my plucking hand when playing DB at first, because I was plucking using precisely that action of my wrist to drag my finger across the string. Geoff Chalmers made me change it, thankfully, and I've had no problems since.

[quote name='funkypenguin' timestamp='1327085583' post='1506331'] Out of interest, do you have this problem when you're playing seated?? [/quote] Yes. With the Thumb it's just as bad seated because the body is so small the neck ends up just as far away as it does on the strap. [quote name='funkypenguin' timestamp='1327085583' post='1506331']I get tendonitis in my right wrist occasionally and I find warm water massage before and after playing and a thorough warm up really help[/quote] Thanks man I'll give that a try. My wrist is feeling much better today, felt a bit swollen this morning but not bad right now, I've also got some DB practise in and it didn't affect it so I can still play something at least! It's funny all this talk in the DB forum about how you should get lessons because you can hurt yourself playing it, but it's positively therapeutic compared to bass guitar for me.

I've never liked P necks though. Same reason I don't like Stingrays. I might give it another go but I've always preferred something slim - I prefer a neck that is deep but not wide, if you see what I mean. My Thumb has the best neck I've ever come across. Maybe I'll try a P again properly next time I'm in town.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1326984826' post='1504722'] can't you move the strap button around and attach the strap to the headstock like with an acoustic guitar? That might move the nut closer to you [/quote] Have you ever done that with a solidbody? One false move and the whole thing slips - headstock into your shoulder and bass body into your knee. My Thumb is a heavy bass too.

Yeah I guess. Problem with the Thumb though is in the lowest position my hand is going to be at an angle to my wrist regardless of how I hold the neck (if I want to use more than one finger anyway!) and it's that particular position of the wrist that bothers my tendons the most. That's why I was thinking that the best solution may be to move the nut closer to me, so my wrist can be straight when playing down there. Unfortunately this would mean buying another bass.

That does make sense but it seems like it might just cause different problems? I don't know. Wouldn't imagine this would be practical on a bass with a volute on the heel joint but fortunately my old Thumb with its SLIM AND COMFORTABLE NECK () doesn't have a volute.

The doctor has advised me to try to manage it because it had been improving. The treatment options are steroid injections or surgery, but my doc doesn't think my condition is bad enough to recommend either.

I don't think a strap adjustment will fix it on the Thumb, just because the neck is thrust out to the left further than most basses due to the short top horn, the lower positions are always going to be further away. With my little girly wrists it's never going to work I don't think. Really gutted because I always wanted a Thumb and I love the sound and feel and everything about it. I am aware that simple over-use can cause tendonitis, but I write software for a living so I have to use a computer for most of the day. I'm pretty good about keeping my wrists straight and typing correctly though. And occam's razor suggests that it's mostly the bass guitar which is doing me the mischief. Discreet: Thanks for that link I'll read it over at lunch.

Back story: I've had tendon problems in both wrists for the last couple of years but since I finished my last bass guitar gig in July last year and have only played double bass since then my wrists have gradually recovered and I haven't had any pain/scratchiness from either wrist for a couple of months. Last night I had a jam with some new musicians I'm trying to shoe-horn into a band, and I played my Thumb bass for about three hours. Woke up this morning and my left wrist is not feeling too great. So I'm thinking I may have to shift my beloved Thumb bass and look for something more comfortable to play. I would rather not go with a short-scale bass if I can avoid it, but apart from that obviously my primary concern is a bass I can actually play on a daily basis. I'm a little bit worried that I was often playing a Jazz during the period I started with wrist problems but perhaps with a strap adjustment I can get a Fender working OK. Any suggestions? I'm also tempted to look at fives, but that's probably a silly idea.

That anniversary Streamer is lush, I don't care whether the specs are wrong.

I think the current standard Squier Jazzes are nice basses - I gigged one myself for the last couple of years. Stick with it for a while and see how you feel in a few months.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1326795427' post='1501939']Manipulation is something that I believe should be solely reserved for enemies and anyone attempting it should be aware that there's a 50/50 chance that it's going to backfire.[/quote] That is how my relationship with my dog usually goes.

If you're friends then I'm sure you can put your point across without upsetting him - just tell him you both want to improve the bits of your performance that aren't currently up to scratch and so you want to practise more, not less. Make the point that you don't think his new schedule is going to work and ask him if he can commit however much more time you need. If he can't then he's talked himself out of the gig, but he might be willing to try a bit harder. TBH bands are often like this, with one player who needs to put more work in and only one person willing to talk to them about improving. And quite often it ends up with the one person who wants the change leaving the band because the others don't want to upset anyone. Then the band is left with nobody with any drive to improve, and that is a sh*t band.

[quote name='Wud' timestamp='1326411889' post='1497069'] Nah mate, just get the Xero Deluxe and downsize on some of the soon to be redundant filters that you have on your board currently. I'm just planting seeds. Ignore me.[/quote] I have an Octavius Squeezer that I use for most filter duties, it does everything except treadle control and it does it well and has patch memory, so I don't need all the gizmos on the Deluxe. Before I got the Squeezer I was using a Meatwad and while it did everything (and did it well) the lack of memory meant it was a bit of a pain live. The O.S. made it obsolete.