ambient

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1504736392' post='3367034'] My cat does the same thing, bass time means lap time. [/quote] Lovely .

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1504733648' post='3367016'] Remind her from what the strings used to be made [/quote] Evil

[quote name='josie' timestamp='1504729206' post='3366984'] Monty (now sadly lost to cancer) - a very large, strong, heavy (not overweight) cat - never tried to climb into my lap, but he would leap on my guitar teacher and persistently head-butt him under the left arm while he was trying to play. Monty's true love, though, was my used-to-be duo partner, a lovely lady and fine singer with an "ample bosom" and fondness for low-cut tops. At any possible chance he would jump up and knead his front paws in her cleavage. Our best moment was when we were working on "Romeo and Juliet" and she improvised spoof "Monty" lyrics which I so wish I could remember - all I can remember is that we were both laughing so hard we literally cried. Good times. We never liked each other that much, to be honest, but I miss him. [/quote] Cats are brilliant, so full of character.

[quote name='Dandelion' timestamp='1504730935' post='3367002'] Buy a carpeted bass cab, a veritable cat magnet. [/quote] I know, I used to have one. She'd hang off it with her claws well and truly embedded.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1504729793' post='3366990'] Kick it out into the garden. [/quote] She's a house cat, she doesn't go out, only to sit in the sun occasionally.

She's a very determined Siamese. I do spend a very long time each day playing, I suppose I ought to spare her more time . She jumps up on to my desk, then steps on to my knee, from there she's able to get under the neck of the bass, then between to and me. She then starts howling at me until I relent and lie the bass down on my lap. Then she goes to sleep . [attachment=253029:20637977_746880238853573_7475737249451581024_n.jpg][attachment=253030:20914628_752131321661798_9147661950633448162_n.jpg]

The TC Dittos are great, and very simple to use. The only thing with using one in a band situation is to make sure that everyone can hear it, just to avoid timing issues.

I'm guessing that if the sponge is too rigid then it's maybe having the effect of shifting the bridge forward? Maybe make sure that whatever you use is just muting the strings.

I thought these guys were rather good. [url="https://ameaningfulsilence.bandcamp.com/album/emergence"]https://ameaningfulsilence.bandcamp.com/album/emergence[/url]

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1504706014' post='3366759'] Why would knowing the note names make the slightest difference? I know the fretboard well enough to find a note if someone asks for it, but if I'm playing a phrase the intervals are important, not the notes. If someone asks me to play an E# Major scale I can do it. In order to tell you the names of the scale tones I'd have to work backwards from where I put my fingers. My brain works better on patterns than on names. BTW I picked E# deliberately before you pedants start mocking me. Seems like you might have locked yourself in to a way of thinking purely because you read standard notation. [/quote] I know the note and it's relationship to the other notes and within the piece I'm playing. I'm not thinking patterns. I play a lot of chordal stuff, whether played as a straight chord or more horizontally, a good knowledge is prerequisite I think. 98% of what I do doesn't require sight-reading, I'm improvising solo, which again I think does require a thorough knowledge. I'm certainly not locked into a way of thinking, my knowledge frees my thinking.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1504703171' post='3366723'] I can drive, but I hate it and I'm not a very good driver. Consequently I don't drive and the roads are a much safer place without me behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. [/quote] That about sums up my driving too .

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1504703130' post='3366721'] Of course. You aren't in charge however. I've made my choice. [/quote] I've not said otherwise. I've said all along that people can play and learn whatever way they want,. You can play blindfold using your toes for all I care 😊.

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1504702597' post='3366714'] I have a low B and it isn't hard to work out how many octaves and alternatives there are. What do you do? [/quote] I just know what all the notes are. It's never occurred to me that you can play an instrument without knowing what note you're playing.

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1504701622' post='3366695'] I know my open strings. I have little use for note names other than that, if that's what you mean. [/quote] So someone says to you to play 8th notes on a B, what do you do?

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1504650161' post='3366403'] Do those of you who use public transport ever feel uneasy about carrying your gear around, from a safety / security perspective? [/quote] No, never. I think most thieves are opportunist, they see a car with a boot full of gear and try their luck. If they're caught they've broken into a car. Stealing from a person is a whole more serious thing. Plus in my case my bass weighs 6.5kg, plus another 2 or 3kg for the gig bag and MacBook that travels in the pocket. My other gear is on a trolley.

Don't really see what you can do. You won the auction, but it's still his property. You can't exactly go round and remove it, eBay can't force him to sell it either. He should have put a reserve price on it, but I think you have to pay to do that.

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1504695894' post='3366603'] Again, no. It is a form of communication into which you have to be educated. Hardly universal unless you consider the universe to be populated solely by standard notation readers. Not everyone is literate or educated. We are never going to agree on it being universally acceptable. [/quote] I used the term universal to mean it can be understood by violinists, cellists, pianists, guitarists, flautists.....the list goes on and on, and they could be anywhere in the world. Yes, they would have to be musically literate, I wasn't saying otherwise. Most drummers I know, at least the ones I was at uni with would understand it. Everyone be they vocalists, drummers, bassists studied piano as a second instrument, and had to write arrangements for other instruments. My guitarist friend understood it perfectly. I wrote a piece ages ago for oboe and 6 string bass, I wouldn't know how to start writing TAB for oboe .

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1504686670' post='3366503'] Both systems are dependent on good source material. Are you saying that there are [i]no[/i] poorly written scores? Whatever system you use, if you don't hear what you expect for a piece you are working up, you look at alternatives, modify, improvise, beg advice etc. whatever system you've been reading. [/quote] Personally, like I've said before, I couldn't care less what someone uses. If someone wants to use TAB then cool, if someone wants to use an app where a hand rises by magic from the device, extends a forefinger and points at each note on the fretboard in turn, then again that's cool. In 20 years of playing I've only ever come across one badly written notated chart. That was actually on a gig aboard a cruise ship, sight-reading a song I'd never played before. I knew enough though to ignore what was written. Someone had used a marker pen to write the 'natural' sign next to a the Bs on the chart, it was in F. The thing with standard notation and TAB, you don't need to be 'working up' the line from notation, you can just play it. That's what notation is for. It enables me sitting in my room in Birmingham, to send a chart to anyone else, anywhere in the world, and regardless of what instrument they play, they can look at it, and understand it. I'm recording stuff at the moment with a guitarist. I recorded a piece last night on my bass. it took me 10 minutes afterwards to write out what I'd played using Sibelius, and i sent it to him. The piece was played on my 7 string bass, played up past the 12th fret. Using TAB for that wouldn't make any sense to him. What I did was written in treble clef, he'll look at it and understand straight off what the underlying harmony is, and be able to record his part. Notation is a universal way of communication, TAB isn't, it's instrument specific, but as a means to learning something it's fine, if that's the course that your personal playing has followed.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1504615144' post='3366055'] Did they say what was causing it? [/quote] No, the guy just replaced the control panel. Excellent service. This was the very first one that had gone wrong.

[quote name='NickD' timestamp='1504528118' post='3365439'] Nice little setup there, did it a couple of weeks ago. Soundguy is pretty cool too, sound on stage and out front was great. London is a bit of a special case I guess. particularly the central London Venues. There's pretty much nowhere more than an hour away on the Tube/Overground, and most have everything you need. I just need to take a gigbag and a smile! [/quote] Excellent . It's an event called Mental notes, 9th October 2017. Quite looking forward to it..........shameless gig plug .

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1504558866' post='3365725'] Again it depends what your doing, I presume you won't be taking a full pa system, lights and all your kit on the train will you? [/quote] They're solo gigs, the London ones, Water rats everything is there, but most if not all venues have pa, which really is all I need. But I'll be taking my bass in it's gig bag, two PJB double 4 combos, large pedalboard, MacBook, interface, case containing cables, Ebow etc, and CDs. Which go in a padded bag on my trolley.

I hate cars and driving. I live in Birmingham, which is about 100 miles from London, but I do gig there fairly often. I've done a lot of gigs recently in Bristol, which is about 90 miles away from Birmingham. I can get to both places stress free, and quicker by train than by driving. It does depend whereabouts you are though, and where your gigs are. If you're travelling city to city, then why not travel by train? Next month I'm playing in Birmingham on the 8th, London on the 9th, London again on the 12th, and Bristol on the 14th. I'll be travelling to all of them by train. I think we depend too much on cars, so much so that they've completely taken over our towns and cities, filling them with pollution.

[quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1504454071' post='3364961'] About 12 years ago the duo i was in would often come across a band, I seem to remember were called Team B, who always went to their gigs around London by public transport. They loaded the drum kit and amps into a shopping trolley and this would then go on busses, trains and the tube. Superb! I guess this is the thing about living in London playing original music - The venues have their in house PAs so you only travel with your own gear. I'm sure it's different for covers bands and the venues they play in. The other evening on an overland train (that's a train that doesn't have divisions between the carriages so you can see the whole length internally) there was a string quartet, what looked like a 4 piece rock band with drums on a trolley and a double bassist & saxophonist all on their way to their respective gigs. [/quote] Some seem to have drum kits and full backline too. I'm playing at Water rats in London in October, they have everything there, not that I need every thing, but it's there if any artists need it. I often see posts on Facebook from London based friends asking what the kit, or the bass amp is like at such-a-such venue. so I'm guessing this is maybe the case at a lot of venues? Certainly all of the ones I've played at have had like you say, a PA available.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1504453603' post='3364954'] I know guys who seem to be able to use public transport for gigs, but in general they're reliant on other band's shellpacks or enclosures. [/quote] What's a shellpack?

This is what I use on my trolley, to contain all my bits and pieces, volume pedal, PJB combo, equipment cases containing my audio interface, ebow and cables etc. I use a rucksack waterproof cover over it all, keeps it nice and dry. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KHGWR2U/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1