thepurpleblob

[quote name='fatback' post='868800' date='Jun 16 2010, 10:19 AM']Any suggestions about which is the best soft for doing chord charts with just the occasional sections notated? Will this one do it?[/quote] Don't think so. You can put chords over the bars but the version I have (0.9.5) has a bug that screws them up when you copy and paste sections. Grrr

[quote name='lowdown' post='868781' date='Jun 16 2010, 09:57 AM']Funny how we all work differently..i find Final 2010 really easy. Number pad and mouse, and i am off.... [/quote] To be fair, I haven't tried 2010. The thing that I always have trouble with it making corrections. Finale seems to always guess what you meant and gets it completely wrong. Probably user error though.

I don't know if anybody else mentioned this but *if* the finish has a clear lacquer and *if* the scratch is through the lacquer then you're knackered. If you rub out the scratch you'll remove a patch of the lacquer and it will look even worse. A light refinish is probably much less trouble (especially if you are keeping the same colour).

[quote name='Shambo' post='865927' date='Jun 13 2010, 01:44 PM']Just throwing this out there, my bass is in no imminent danger. I'm looking at my american jazz circa 2006/7 with a maple board and thinking it would look lovely with a natural finish, (it's shoreline gold ATM). I'm just wondering, if I were to get it stripped and given a finish like the AV '75 reissue body, what would I find underneath the paint? A nice one piece of alder, or several unsightly pieces stuck together? Also, I've got no intention of DIY, would anybody have a rough idea about how much something like that would cost?[/quote] You'd probably struggle to get all the primer off anyway as it will have soaked into the wood to a certain extent. Think what stripped doors look like (a 1980s fad if ever there was) - still bits of paint on and lots of gaps.

Thanks again for this. I'm about 25 episodes behind at the moment but I'm finding this an incredibly useful resource. My reading is getting much better, even (still bad but better!!)

[quote name='lowdown' post='864520' date='Jun 11 2010, 05:48 PM']If anyone is looking for a free score editor - Musescore is worth a shot. Its pretty good, the site also has free set up tutorials. It comes with playback sounds [ just GM sounds - but none the less useful for hearing your results] The site has been up and down a little today, but keep trying its only intermittent. [url="http://musescore.org/en"]http://musescore.org/en[/url] Garry[/quote] I've been using Musescore for a while and really like it. It's native to Linux and seems to work best there. I also use it on OSX which works fine but getting the instrument sounds to work is a bit of a hassle. For simply entering notation I find it easier to use than Finale. It lacks a lot of the fancy features but if all you want to do is to rattle in a page or two of score then it's great - especially for free.

[quote name='cameltoe' post='861541' date='Jun 8 2010, 09:46 PM']Not sure about the strings, they didn't feel too different. On the Fret King the plucking position was the same, but as I use the pickup as a thumb rest then it probably did shift about on the others. I'm not sure I've ever got it spot on- I've followed Fenders guide in the past and got it as close as I can to the .35 they recommend on the feeler gauges even then I'm not convinced that it can be set in stone for a particular bass. Pretty much every budget and midrange bass I try always seems to have too much relief in the neck, if you follow fenders guide anyway. The G&L, Musicman, and Fret King all had a lot straighter necks than some of the cheaper basses I've tried in recent weeks, notably Squier Classic Vibe Precision and Jazzes (including my 50's P) and The Classic 50's MIM Precision. These are usually set up fairly well out of the box aren't they? I would put it down to personal preference if I hadn't; a) set up a few basses to fenders specs and seen how straight they recommend the necks should be and; tried more expensive basses with much straighter necks that are consequently much nicer to play. In all the more expensive basses, the action doesn't seem to get any higher or lower along the length of the neck, which to me suggests not much relief. On the others you can see the action is higher in the middle of the neck. Maybe I'm just making a complete pigs ear of it all! There's probably a very small 'sweet spot' in the truss rod adjustment that so far I've been incapable of hitting.[/quote] Welll.... just looking at my StingRay. Fretting at both the first and last fret there is *just* some fresh air under the strings at the 12th fret. You can tap it down and hear a click but the travel is tiny. Looking at the saddle adjustment - the E string is only just clear of the first fret but must be about 5mm clear by the 21st. Obviously the movement is much bigger in the middle than at the ends, so this is to be expected. Also consider that the strings have to be set up individually as the neck has a curvature. You should see that reflected in the saddle heights. You can get or make a guage but I've never seen the point. You get it as low as you want it until it rattles then you've gone too far. Also note that if you get too low you kill the sustain stone dead.

Are you absolutely sure the truss rod adjustment is correct? I understand your reluctance to move it too much but if it is wrong it is wrong and you'll never achieve a low action.

I would start with a visual inspection - particularly around the jack area. Plugging in the jack completes the earth side of the preamp circuit, so *something* must be completing that earth. As the jack is the only mechanical bit it's the most likely point of failure.

I have played in covers bands for years and years. I go to a reasonable amount of trouble to get the line as close as I can. The only time when I deliberately diverge from the original is when I don't have the skill to play it. I think it's actually a challenge in itself because you are constantly being dragged out of your comfort zone. If I'd just made something up myself I would never have got beyond playing root-fifth-octave for everything.

You kind of said it yourself... it's a pile of bad luck but these are all genuine problems that people do have. At least you haven't been p*ssed around by self-centred idiots which is the usual problem (that'll be the next time). As others have said, put it all down to a good learning experience and look for something else.

[quote name='blackmn90' post='858167' date='Jun 5 2010, 02:03 PM']Does anyone know the laws on being a self employed freelance player? Do you have to set yourself up as a business and register all incomes and out goings with some tax people? Or is it as simple as you can do a session or gig and pick up the cheque and keep it to yourself? Any help on clearing this up for me would be much welcomed, ollie[/quote] As the saying goes, there are only two certainties in life - death and taxes. You have to pay tax. Exactly how you set up to do that has lots of variation. You should find (get recommended) an accountant and have a chat. Being self employed has lots of benefits (e.g., your car, phone etc. can probably be partly offset against tax) but you are unlikely to know the rules. This is where an accountant comes in. With a bit of luck you probably won't have to pay much tax - but you DO have to do the paperwork. A good start is to get used to keeping every receipt for everything.

Depends what you mean by 'narrow'. Thin front to back? String spacing? Narrow nut width? Something else?

[quote name='Sean' post='856802' date='Jun 4 2010, 07:34 AM']If my service interval for instruments was this long, I'd be left with nothing but a pile of rusting, decaying lumps of wood and metal! [/quote] It's funny how people differ... mine get a quick squint over and a clean when I change the strings. Other than that I get the screwdrivers and the big hammer out when something goes wrong. I have been a car mechanic, an auto-electrician and a service engineer in my time so I have a bad attitude - "It's more likely to break by me fiddling with it than if I just leave it alone"

I'm going slightly away from what was actually asked for but... [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harmony-Theory-Comprehensive-Musicians-Essential/dp/0793579910"]Harmony and Theory[/url] This is totally a instrument-agnostic sit-down-and-read theory book. However (although I must confess to some old fashioned theory grounding) I found it very readable and explained a lot of tricky concepts in clear and easy to understand terms. A big +1 for the Bass Bible, but there's not a lot of chat. You'll need something else to actually explain what they things he gets you to practice are. It's a bit daunting too - "learn all these mad scales or else".

Three songs this week for the band... Empire by Kasabian You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC The Real McCoy by The Silencers I'm also trying to hone my transcribing skills - I seem to have latched on to a load of old prog stuff, mostly Genesis and Marillion. No hope for me.

Action too low? Pickups too high? Basically, a good setup might be a sensible place to start. It's not the pots. They're just resistors (not that clever). You might want to check you haven't melted any caps and/or soldered them back in the wrong place but I'd be a bit sceptical about that being the reason. Just for the record, if the pots are working and are not crackling on adjustment then I'd leave them alone. There's a lot of rubbish talked about pots on basses - they really aren't very interesting.

I like the way it matches your furniture and clothing

I played orchestral percussion for years and years but was always a bit second rate. Had a crack at the bass in a fit of frustration and haven't looked back. I'm now a second rate bass player (at best) but I enjoy it a lot more. I had a crack at the guitar a few years ago and just couldn't get the hang of it. My fingers just wouldn't bend into the right shapes. The only real problem is when you ask a guitarist what chord they are playing and they show you the chord shape on the guitar. I'm like, "wait 'till I write those notes down so I can work out what that is"

Anybody familiar with the Marillion song or can be bothered having a listen?? I've been honing my transcribing skills (using free MuseScore software - worth a try) and had a crack at this song. I'm basically stuck on figuring the key for the last part of the song. The rest of it moves (modulates?) between Dm and Em but the last verse and outtro seems weird (to me anyway). My best bet is that it changes to F#m but the chords don't fit... If anybody more experienced than me could have a listen I'd appreciate your thoughts! This is often a sticking point for me transcribing - "what the hell key is that?"

It's a long time since I owned anything they actually make a Haynes manual for. I service my old (Haynes free) Merc myself - I just guess and/or use the Interweb. Both are likely to end in disaster!!

[quote name='Stingray5' post='848784' date='May 26 2010, 06:45 PM']That Sterling has a neck to die for! The Ray pics are a lot smaller but both basses look ace. [/quote] I really have to find a Sterling and a Bongo and give them a try. I'm slightly afraid of the outcome though.

You have to be the best musical all-rounder in the band. Unfortunately, I'm not!!

Speaking as someone who started on a 5 string... Get a four string You won't have a clue why at first but some things are just a touch trickier on a 5 (particularly around muting) and you are just making life harder for yourself than you need to. Also 5s vary a lot more than 4s and you can play all you like in a shop - you probably don't know what you are looking for (yet). So... get a middle of the market, common as muck 4 string and expect to upgrade in a few months once you can play the thing a bit. Although you might still be playing your Sqier Jazz/Precision in ten years time