ubassman

A lot depends on your budget !

Saw a trailer for it but missed the programme !

I think it costs £2.99 ! Edit - its free - quite funky little interface but only does pitch shift +3 to -3 . If you can get Audacity to work as well you have the best of all worlds!

You can download the ABRSM App to macs, windows computers, Android, etc.

I see its a pitch shifter you are after - so the ABRSM App might be the one for you ! I use an TASCAM MB-1 which has looping, speed shift, and pitch shift and you can plug a bass directly into to it and play along - not sure if that's what you were after?

[url="http://gb.abrsm.org/en/exam-support/practice-tools-and-applications/speedshifter/"]http://gb.abrsm.org/en/exam-support/practice-tools-and-applications/speedshifter/[/url]

Theres an App from the ABRSM

Nothing wrong with knowing what one likes and what one doesn't like ! That said, I was pleasantly surprised to drift way off patch into a genre that normally I would be equally dismissive of - Heavy Metal. But I seriously really enjoyed some HM music posted on here by a fellow BCer ...completely unanticipated - it was musical , clever, dynamic , structured, ....and downright interesting ! Funny thing dismissing whole genres - music is such a vast and diverse universe of sound and ideas but we probably all do it from time to time.

Just thought in the context of Hector's repair where the new rib needs to blend in with the rest of the bass , I though it might be of interest to post a link to the Oldwood1700 web site where theres a set of videos showing the traditional way of finishing - colour matching is a real skill ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBggyLF_cgA

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1382365687' post='2251225'] I am in no way trying to underestimate the skills of the classical player. I fully realise that each type of music has it's own particular required skills. I just think that when it comes to all round musicianship, the jazzer has the slightly upper hand. [/quote] Maybe Coilte your experience of playing in an orchestra is very different to mine ! Form my experience as a keen jazzer and orchestral player, I can tell you theres is no "place to hide" in an orchestra. The deal is often like this ...you arrive at rehearsal , are given music score of a piece by a composer you may have never heard of (let alone the piece), you sit down and play every note and direction perfectly with precision as written. You have to get your fingerings correct, your bow articulation and changes correct and be one quality player so you don't stand out as the 'muppet' who cant play. You cant get away with Miles Davis concept that you are only half a note away from being in tune ! I love playing Jazz - but its a very different form of musicianship where you are in control of the decisions you make , what you play and how it feels. I couldnt begin to suggest that Jazzers have better musicianship than classical players ...or visa versa.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1382362907' post='2251168'] Basically what I am saying is that while a jazz player might not feel particularly comfortable playing classical music, IMO he would perform it to a much higher standard than would a classical player trying to perform jazz. [/quote] I was at the Geoff Clyne Bass festival a couple of years ago and in our group of about 6 players we each had to do a short 8 bar improvised solo. There was a very proficient classical player with outstanding technique who went ashen faced and asked but "how do you know what notes do you play?" That can be the difficulty as a Classical player you are required to play the right notes in the right order at the right time. Musically the idea of improvisation is not even on the radar on scored parts ( unless asked for by the composer!). Credit to her she 'heard' the notes and did a pretty reasonable impro ...not as polished or interesting as the regular jazzers but plausible. Later in the afternoon when the roles were reversed, she went through some intonation, sight reading and bowing exercises and nobody came remotely close to her speed , accuracy, timing and command of her instrument. Playing in an orchestra requires an entirely different set of skills to playing in say a jazz trio and I dont think one can generalise who would make the transition the easiest.

I would take the tension right off - thats a big hole ! Otherwise the seams may end up like this :-

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382301616' post='2250480'] It also depends on what sort of jazz you're talking about. If there's a clarinet or a banjo involved, count me out. But 'An Evening With Ornette Coleman' completely blew my mind when I first heard it. I've got a lot of time for Coltrane, too. [/quote]

I would definitely loosen off. There are a lot of forces on the top ribs. They act as a stiff rigid plates resisting the leverage of the neck . The bass probably wont 'explode' if you left the neck in tension but you could find the bass will twist / distort with one or two seams starting to open up.

Towards the end of a longish set we were playing a string of slower jazz ballads ...bit of a spit and sawdust pub and getting late when a rather wobbly female punter staggered up and asked, 'do you know any "happy jazz"? , this is 'doing my f****ing head-in jazz'. Maybe thats part of the problem with the perception of jazz - its inherently a kinda blue form of music!

...I guess its something to just do and not think about too much ! The thing is that the new rib wants to be invisible and although spending £1000 is a lot of money, the Martin workshop will I'm sure achieve that and so worth every penny ( is it a Martin bass to start with? - if so then thats the only place I would contemplate going ). Hope you are back playing soon ( silly question ...but have you loosened off the strings? ).

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1382295736' post='2250336'] ML94's mention of it being musician's music hits a chord with a lot of people, but I'm afraid in a negative way. It gives the impression that it's the music of a clique, you have to get it. [/quote] I'm into jazz. I find it really intriguing improvising my "lines" and changing the whole shape and vibe of whats going on ...but then following the new direction of the other players. The vibe is "king" and its ever changing - fascinating stuff to play. ...and thats exactly the problem. It sometimes requires the listener to figure out whats happening and enjoy the discussion between the musicians. If the person listening doesnt hear or see that, the music will probably just pretentious, over complicated crap with too many showy-off notes. On balance I personally I would rather listen to Jazz than the latest multi million pound single from the manufactured 'pop-up' star and winner of X factor. Theres something a lot more sinister about the latter but seems to be thats what the masses want to hear ! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoY0Qa0zU0A"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoY0Qa0zU0A[/url]

Yikes! Horrible to see your bass in this condition Hector. What happened?? You will need a new rib made and unfortunately this is not going to be a cheap job. The top needs to come off and you will need a luthier who has rib bending irons who is able to match the curves and profile of the existing. They will make up a template and will also need to source some similar flamed maple and blend the tone and sheen of the finish to blend in with the existing varnish. All do-able but labour intensive. Are you covered with insurance?

Great idea Ben - would be interesting to try different woods. I currently use a hickory timbale stick like [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/meinl_ts38_timbale_sticks.htm"]this one[/url] - fits perfectly into a 10mm hole but wonder what other woods would sound like too.

Theres only one Clarky. Au dear !

Apart from the sound dying, theres a lot of pressure on the top exerted by the bridge foot and if the sound post falls over theres the risk that top will split , deform or both - all repairable but very expensive in comparison to having the sound post refitted by a Luthier!

Short answer is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_post . The diagram at the bottom explains the effects of moving the sound post. There is the theoretical position of the ideal placement of where the sound post should go . The bridge is first centred with the upper f hole notches, one foot centred over the bassbar and the sound post centred on the other foot but moved towards the tailpiece the same distance as thickness as the post . This is in theory. However in practice the sound post can sound better tweaked in one direction or another. Often on a bass the bridge is only a "near enough" fit using a standard blank and adjustments need to be made if the f holes aren't quite symmetrical, if the top or other parts of the bass have distorted a tad over time, if the fingerboard isnt straight etc If you take your bass to a Luthier they will carefully take measurements to first get a well placed bridge and then secondly look at adjusting the post to get the best sound. It is a skill in its own right - keyhole surgery through the f hole and yes, best done by an experienced luthier if you want a good quality of sound.

[quote name='henry norton' timestamp='1381569575' post='2240699'] That's a Charles Traeger trick? How did I not know it????? [/quote] "Luthiers tricks" aren't so easy to find are they !

[s]£135[/s] ? ....priceless!

Chris - heres that link to the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/219408-french-bow-recommendations/"]French bow thread[/url]