julietgreen

I told the bassist in the soul band where I play sax, that I wouldn't be available until the new infections were below 100. Zero chance of catching it may never happen.

What will you use as your measure?

You really point up the attitude difference and the way things have been approached in Germany and the UK/US. People are talking about getting back to gigging here. You're saying that it's a game-changer until there's a vaccine. I tend to think more along those lines.

We have a gig booked for August which hasn't been cancelled yet. I suspect I won't be going. I shall set myself a criterion based on the maximum number of newly infected nationwide before go back into public arenas. What about you?

Yep. I mentioned these two in another thread but didn't get any responses. We tried Jamkazam for a while but have settled on Jamulus. Yesterday we had a full rehearsal with drums, bass, kb and sax. It was doable. The drummer has to adapt slightly and it's not going to be tight for fast funk. It works for medium to slow numbers. We were playing jazz but rock would probably work very well because the drummer can lay down a firm beat. There were times with the session before where I couldn't tell what the drummer was playing, if he got too fussy. Jamulus does most of the hard work of balancing latency with buffer size for you. In theory you could use your pc mic and earphone mini jack straight into the machine, but it works better with an interface and definitely with an ethernet. It's a free, simple program that does not use up a lot of space. There is a jamulus community on fb and they put together full jams with people from all over. Server rooms are available and people can come and listen to your jam or play along. You can also mute anybody you don't want to hear!

This is what I need to hear. It must be doable - I just don't know how. I think perhaps I need to do more searching for female db players on youtube.

Yes, I have been looking at DDB and also Zoltan's site. This is primary why I'm on here asking, because the technique which seems to be required is what I'm struggling with - namely using the split fingers, all on the fingerboard at the same time.

No. This is the one I've got. I either learn to play it or I stick with eb, alone.

See, now that's really good advice. I don't want to do further damage to my thumb. (an old speaker cab injury!)

I did read the jamming while on lockdown thread, so I hope it's ok if I post a new related but more specific one here. I've got jamkazam working pretty well with my 10 year old Lexicon Omega, in spite of seeing posts that suggested it wouldn't work. Ethernet and a mini pic (Minisforum - love it!). The pianist in our band has suggested we try Jamulus. Has anyone used it? Why would it be better than Jamkazam?

Hi guys. I'm an electric bass player and I've acquired a double bass. I've done a good deal of online searching and yes, I have tried to find a teacher, but obviously that's a bit tricky currently. As someone who already plays bass, the normal 'beginner' advice slightly misses the mark (there's a serious market niche for a good book just for eb players who want to play db). What I need is some advice specific to the db technique. I know about the Simandl style left hand fingering technique (that great book is available online for free!), but I have average hands for a female (quite small) and so the full stretch with fingers all on the fingerboard is nigh impossible. I'm not going to risk injury by stretching exercises. Additionally, when I put all fingers down I don't get as much pressure on the fourth as I do when I allow myself to lift the other fingers and so I get string buzz. Basically, do you have experience of playing or teaching under these circumstances? What advice would you give? What other advice would you give for the transition? I play rock, pop and jazz on the electric. I know I can't just transfer what I know on the eb to the db. Is there a way or should I give up if I can't make the stretch? How do female db usually manage? J

I sort of wish our bands (or venues) would do the same. We're definitely non-essential.

Have several gigs lined up over the next month, including this Saturday but no word on cancelling. Beginning to think they SHOULD be cancelled.

Very good point and one I'll make the next time a band suggests we go out for a pittance.

Very nice. Not me, I hasten to add. The player demonstrates various vintage horns. Lovely sounds.

I completely agree. I was doing the dep for my own pleasure and experience but otherwise it's a rule.

We've often been given free drinks, or at least the first drink free for the band. That's certainly been the case when we're not getting paid. It costs the venue so little but it pays off enormously in goodwill.

There are venues that know how to treat musos - provide free drinks, a place near power sockets, friendly reception, being expected etc. and then there are others. On Sunday I depped for a jazz band, doing their second gig in their new line-up. They had booked a slot at a local venue that were offering times for bands to play for free. Already it sounds wrong, right? But these guys were happy to do that to get one under the belt, as it were. Treat it like a live rehearsal. Put the stuff out before an audience before booking some paying gigs. We were booked to play 3 - 5pm with the resident muso coming in at 5 - 7. When we arrived, we were immediately told that all the music had been cancelled for that afternoon. ALL of it. OK, so the band leader said, 'Well nobody informed the band.' So they played anyway. About half an hour into the set, the waitress informs us that there's a 4pm guillotine on the music. We play 2 numbers from the second set and finish. There is an audience. 'Is that all?' they ask. At which point we notice a whole load of other people hanging around - some musos we know. 2 other bands were booked to play at the same time. No free drinks either.

I grew up on Tin Pan Alley, so the standards are ingrained in my soul. I 'know' every likely number that is called, but my bass/music skills (lack of talent) are such that I can't just jam along without the chords. The 'feel' is not something I struggle with though, having listened to that stuff all my life and also having played sax in various jazz outfits. Since I'm not playing jazz sax in a band at the moment, I do noodle to the Hal Leonard jazz series stuff. I've got a small stack of those books and I love the bands that are on the recordings. They play in the most supportive way, obviously. The great advantage is that the books cover all the instruments, including bass, and the recordings are with or without top line or keyboard and bass. This way, I can listen to the basslines which are laid down really elegantly but in a no-nonsense way by the professional guys on the recordings. You don't have to buy the books - there's plenty similar on YouTube. One of the things I do is look for saxophone versions of standards like these on jazzbacks and then I add my own bass.

My jazzcapades continue too. I would imagine I'm just a few stages ahead of you on the journey, since I decided I'd make myself learn how to play walking bass and get some jazz gigs. When I started, I felt like this was a specialist area that was on the other side of a chasm. I realise now that it's doable and that I've pretty much made that leap across. I'm depping on Sunday with another jazz band and we had a rehearsal today. They were old band mates of mine when I played sax in a latin jazz outfit. They were all very happy with my walking bass and other stuff today. Hooray. Stick with it. Dave Marks and Scott Devine have sensible approaches straight off.

That's interesting info. I don't normally consider using a preamp pedal. Someone gave me one once and all it did was make things louder. I wasn't sure what to do with that one. I considered fuzzing things up now and then for the rock band but never bothered in the end.

Got my cab delivered on Wed, just in time for a rehearsal that afternoon. I pushed it through its paces a bit in my living room. It coped well at the bottom end for what it is, though I thought I detected a slight 'zing' of vibration with the lowest notes. This was with my cheapo Retrovibe, so it's most likely the guitar not the cab. The little Columbus fretless sounded better. I haven't tried the De Armond (in my profile picture) yet. I found the EQ on the Trace was good with some of the lower middle taken down and a bit of a boost to the bass and the treble. (Fairly standard, really). It was very, very nice at the rehearsal - really round and clear at low volume. I'm particularly impressed with the full sound at the top end of the bass but I coudn't detect any difference with tweaking the tweeter dial on the cab. I may need to discover how this works properly. The cab is lighter than the amp and I carried both round to the car myself. The Trace sits on the top when the cab is landscape orientation, but the feet of the amp are just in the wrong place to sit on it securely when it's upright. I might move them so that it slots in neatly.

Do you tend to use it 'portrait' or 'landscape' standing on the ground? What did you find you needed to tweak in the EQ?

I will let you know!

I'm looking forward to it. It's not aesthetically unpleasing to look at either, though that shouldn't matter!