ubassman

?? 3.05 onwards is good to watch of the great man in action! such a delicate touch but such tone and volume ...could watch Rinat play all day ! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt-bNf6h0tI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt-bNf6h0tI[/url]

The challenge with us all is that pretty much anything that you play on an 8 bar loop has to be musically relevant and complimenting whats happening in real time with the other musicians. You don't want to be competing for attention and this is were musicality comes out - space and gaps can be very effective in the right place and context. Sometimes just a pedal note builds tension and then you get the sense of release say when another soloist comes in and your off into something different . Its ok to repeat things and if something sounds good and relevant try it an octave higher with a drop . For me I just trust my ears and listen to the moment - you can't really have a formula for that !

...maybe you need to put to 'MOFO VIP' on your CV !

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/sammlerinstrument-kontrabass-banjo-rare-double-bass-cello-banjo-19-20th-century-/380672913635?pt=Streich_und_Zupfinstrumente&hash=item58a1dfb0e3

Ok so the bass is now on its way back in Derbyshire ! Looking for the next bass player to carry the batten in the Relay. Its really easy as a concept, you just pick up the bass, do a gig and have a whip round for Cancer Research and then pass the bass on to the next person. Its that easy! Great that Quo's bass player Rhino Edwards got involved a week or so ago at Falkirk Stadium , he is apparently having words with Pino to get involved !! I am doing my bit on Saturday at [url="http://www.haddonhall.co.uk/special-events/haddon-hall-proms-in-the-garden/"]Proms in the Garden[/url] event at Haddon Hall ( what a contrast to Falkirk ) and the bass is in Derbyshire ready for the next leg of the relay from 14th July onwards . Have got to say that I have really enjoyed meeting fellow bassists and sharing the experience - feels really great to be involved and be raising funds for such a great cause ! If everyone on Bass Chat chipped in just £1 ...that would make a lot of money ! Simple challenge :- click to a different thread now or click on the Just Giving link below and donate £1. Theres a Map of Honour which tracks where the bass has been and its journey plus Facebook , and Twitter feeds ( see the links below). If nothing else help spread the good word !

...sailing close to the wind as ever Milty!!

I mention this only because when choosing a bow I figure that a lot depends on how well it has been set up to start with but one would expect anything from the Contrabass Shoppe will be bang on! I always hold the bow at frog and tip and bend it to test its reflex - some are unbelievably stiff and unresponsive ...maybe ok for some heavy concerto playing but not a solo bow with finesse. Others seem really nicely balanced , good and flexible but don't have the sound and I think that in those instances it may be that the set up isn't that great. I press the hair lightly to see what the pressure is like across the hairs, eye up whether there is any twist down the string length and the top of the bow, look for cracks in the widest part of the mortice of the tip wedge, feel the quality of the hair in the fingers ( if its rough its never going to produce a great sound ), and if possible play it one's own bass. Theres a lot to getting a bow right but I reckon it probably comes down to the feel and balance ...after that its a case of getting a re-hair done to perfection ..one luthier I know reckons it takes about 100 rehairs to start to understand the detail ! .

Interestingly, getting the hairs right for a bow is a real art and worth paying for an experts touch. If a bow is stiff then more hair is needed than one with more flex . If it has too much hair then it can skid rather than roll the string, if the horse hair isn't that great quality the attack is affected as well as the sound , there theres the evenness of tension , the straightness of the hairs and their coarseness, and some players like more hair on the leading edge ( rather than playing with a felt bow ) ...theres a lot of fine detail in getting the perfect bow set up and that requires handling a lot of bows and experience over time ...so well worth spending the money ! Floyd , was the recamber to sort out a twist in the bow?

[quote name='MandShef' timestamp='1373306149' post='2135945'] When I put it on my bow it went on like a layer of sticky toffee (apart from bits that came off in shards!). Made the bass sound really harsh and felt horrible. [/quote] Mand - thats exactly the issue I had ...but my bow just wouldn't play out - it was leaving absolutely no rosin at all on the strings and it was like the hairs had a fused plastic coating on them. The only thing I could to was to clean with Citra Solv ( completely organic natural degreaser ) . Have developed a really simple technique involving a baking tray and a hair dryer. Took about 10 minutes start to finish and my bow was back like new!

The weather on the dial for this weekends outdoor concert is set to 'stupid hot'. Even though its an evening event I am now very wary of the effects of the sun - someone should invent a bow chiller or a clip on Infra Red shield !

...that looks like an old boiled sweet that you find in the pocket of a coat you haven't worn in years !

Yes - I tried that technique but on this occasion there was limited success. I think that what happened was that the rosin deep down in the bow got affected by the heat and fused with stuff on the top hairs. Thats the conclusion I came to as no amount of wiping , combing and playing removed the rosin - nothing was coming off on the strings at all !

Have you seen this - plenty to pick from http://basschat.co.uk/topic/211806-clear-out-exchange-or-sale/ ...at the moment anyways !

Anyone else ever had problems mixing different types and brands of rosin together ?

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1373283611' post='2135580'] Chosing a pickup is a dark art, exceeded only in darkness and artyness by the art of chosing strings. [/quote] Dave , that should go in the best of quotes thread

...coming fast to the conclusion that I should have a bow for hot days - the Gaston Brohan rosin works pretty much all year for me but its soft in the heat - I just tried my spare bow with good old Nymans and then a hard amber cello rosin it seems to like this hot weather ( just a little scratchy but sorted that out adjusting the tension ).

Sam....we will just have to swop basses around Sept / Oct time !

....and the Erhlund - Daff is the man for this . This link might be of help ( pinched this from one of Clarky's replies see the thread on the Erhlund ) http://www.kontrabass-atelier.de/pickups_e.html

Most people use a 3/4s . The 1/2 size is more suitable for small build/ shorter/ younger player . You may have discovered that it is quite easy to play if you come from an electric bass background as it is closer to the scale length - I wouldn't recommend it though if you are a normal height and build adult!. The 3/4 will take a bit of getting used to with a string length typically of around ± 105/106cm . If you are very tall and have big hands then a 4/4 will be fine too with a string length of around ±110cm ( the 'frets' are wider apart if you get my drift ). If you are amplifying anyway theres no great value in going with a monster of a 4/4 for that bit of extra volume. As for a pick up well that will be a hotly debated subject - but if you are up for spending around £300 the a-dyn by Schertler is pretty darn excellent!

I ended up Citrasolving ...and Im glad I did - completely back to normal. Memo to self ... "keep bow out of the sun at all times" !

...a very short quick micro dab of tipex works a treat ( its surprising how small a speck the eye can pick up ) ...also good to invest in 2b soft pencil to mark key note positions on the fingerboard with a faint shiny line that only you can see ( any harder a pencil and you might scratch / scribe the fingerboard !).

Well, after its holiday in sunny Falkirk ( don't say ' ...isn't that THE place where the sun don't shine!' ... otherwise Donny will be after ye !) , Jim's bass is this week back on its way back to Derbyshire.

[quote name='muttley' timestamp='1373269513' post='2135368'] Update: The NS Design basses are nice but a.) considerably more expensive and b.) have dots on the fingerboard which I don't like. [/quote] The dots are under the strings so that only you can see them sideways on - the audience doesn't see them! Although a lot more expensive the NS designs are fully supported on a stand and have an excellent almost DB sound. When you are starting out the dots can be invaluable as a way of figuring out where you are on the fingerboard as navigation on the instrument is a study in its own right once you get out of the first couple of low positions . Anyways the Stagg is a great and popular instrument too and good luck with it - like Sylvia says, you will fall in love !

The orchestra was rehearsing in a village hall yesterday - felt like playing in a pizza oven ! ...as I started tuning and warming up, the attack was a mixture of either super 'put the brakes on grippy' or 'slick and slippery' over the string ...yikes !! Gave it all a good wipe and managed to get through the first few pages of music - but felt a bit like starting a marathon race with a stone in your shoe! Conclusion I came to is that there are perhaps 3 factors at work here:- 1/. I have been experimenting with Bernadel rosin recently and there is perhaps a mix of rosin on the bow - i.e. some of my favourite darker grippy Gaston Brohan mixing in with the more powdery Bernadel . 2/. I had a long drive of nearly an hour in the car to get to rehearsal and I put the bow on the back seat of the car - didn't take my bow case - the heat of the sun and direct rays perhaps fused the rosin on the bow ( schoolboy error I know!) 3/. In the heat the bass is most definitely under more tension and the strings will be tighter. I figured that I needed a little less hair tension on the bow and it seemed to work better slackening off a bit. The hairs seem to be playing out slowly but surely - don't want to blizt my bow with a dose of Citrasolve as I have a big Proms in the Park concert on Saturday . Hopefully it will continue to play out !!

Don't know if anyone else is experiencing anything different to usual with their instruments in the current hot spell? My main DB sounds brittle and the rosin on my bow is acting in a very different way - its all producing quite an unattractive sound in comparison to what playing is usually like . The attack and pull on the string is different too ...dont particularly want to gum up with a different harder or more powdery rosin as I think I may be stuffed when the weather changes back to normality. Any ideas?