DanOwens

[quote name='razze06' timestamp='1476196645' post='3152188'] I've found the Band pickup from Headway to be really good and simple to use. It is especially good for me since my bass doesn't have good bridge wing slots (the pointy ones instead of flat, slot ones) [/quote] I also have the pointy bridge but I bought a J-Tone single paddle and I managed to get it in and have a good pressure. I couldn't get it on the G side so I sanded a bit, with it being a point I took off too much so it has to be on the E side now. I gigged with it yesterday and it sounded pretty good. Not incredible but definitely passable, and definitely worth the £30 I paid for it!!

The problem is that there isn't a single 'synth bass sound'. The 'octave > fuzz > filter' setup definitely gets you a sound that can be found on a synth, but it isn't FM synth and doesn't have any PWM-type component, etc. I used pitch to midi, parallel paths, midi-sync'd gates... at one point I had 5 simultaneous signal paths to create a HUGE live synth sound. I eventually just bought an M13 for some cool sounds and played a Microkorg. So much easier to set up, less to go wrong.

I've struggled with bow grip ever since I started DB 20 years ago. I mainly play pizz but when I have the bow my hands quickly feel fatigued and I start to slip into really awful grip with the frog in my palm. I have considered switching to German for a long time to try and get a hand position that's closer to my 'natural' grip.

I used Helicore hybrids on mine and have done for nearly 10 years. As an all-round string they do a great job.

Bigyin the move to playing upright properly can take some time but you can learn quite a few simple bass lines in half position to get you started. You won't be able to walk like a jazz player but you could play Lovecats, Moondance and other jazz/pop crossover and blues numbers quite quickly.

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1472677227' post='3123285'] I think that playing transcribed horn solos at up to speed on bass is very difficult. However, that doesn't mean you can't get valuable information from transcription. You can shed and apply transcribed language indefinitely, and it will do wonders for your playing and musicianship. Long post so bear with me, hope it's of some help. ... If this post isn't answering your question or isn't that helpful then do feel free to tell me to naff off [/quote] Thanks for the post, Hector. I was saying to a guitarist friend of mine the other day who isn't as up on theory as me that if I hear something I try an understand it as intervals as the first step so the Crazeology fragment and its implications is actually very suited to my playing style. I have played with many pure improvisation groups in the past but it has all been modal and the chromaticisms of the changes in jazz require either a very in-depth analysis or a sense of relaxation, acceptance and confidence. I've done the analysis so I'm trying to exploit the other techniques and its crazy how difficult I find it. Thanks for your input. When my daughter wakes from a nap I'll get practising. I've also arranged a meeting with my old teacher Steve Berry to hopefully address some of my shortcomings.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1472566882' post='3122171'] Dan, at its simplest a bass solo can be either an embellishment of the walking line you've been playing under the band or something built up from the tune's melody line, always keeping the chord sequence in your head. I'll look out for you at the Double Bass Bash and if you like I could show you how it works in practice. It'll get you started. [/quote] Thanks, man. I'm using iReal and going over and over solos but I've started to feel things are getting really similar and I know it is because I'm just going to the same intervals in the same positions. I was hoping that by looking at other player's lines, it might challenge my repetitiveness.

I'm trying to improve my jazz playing and transcribing the great horn players is a bit beyond me but transcribing a bass solo is much more achievable. I was going to post asking about recordings but I was thinking 'what about the greats of Basschat?' So my idea is that you guys would perform a solo over All of Me, Autumn Leaves, some standard that I'm already confident with, record it, send it to me and I'll use your amazing playing as a challenge to improve my own skills. In fact some mediocre playing will be just as valuable to me. Anyone up for helping?

I'd like to attend. I can bring my mid-60s fully carved 3/4 Reghin.

I use Ableton live for mixing rehearsal recordings. It doesn't output mp3s, though. I just convert the wavs into m4a.

I want to bow but the Rockabillies just won't work. I hadn't considered the Ultra Blacks (I assumed they'd be too high tension for some reason) but now I'm considering bowing....

Ah! Thanks!

Jazzcat13 was talking about purchasing Braided or Honey strings. I love my Rockabillies but I fancy something a bit higher tension so I checked out the Innovation website and they don't list Braided or Honeys. Do Innovation not do these strings anymore?

Where did you buy them from?

Two Double Basses?!? I have lots of spares and tools in my spares kit but never spare instruments.

I have a set of Innovation Rockabilly on my bass. At least I think they are, they came on the bass! They're very low tension so they're easy to play and they sound great for pizz and slap. I still want to try some other strings but at the mo I'm happy with the strings.

I used the bypass out on a TU2, ran two separate pedalboards and ran one to a MarkBass>TechSoundSystems and the other to a Matamp combo with the bass control all the way down. Running octave up blended on the 'guitar' channel and octave down blended on the 'bass' channel I was covering 5 octaves of sound. It was HUGE... and now I play upright and no effects!! Was I bi-amping or dual channel parallel? I guess both (although no crossovers were harmed in the making of that noise!)

Thanks, Jaywalker. That's actually the style I play but I think I'm after something with more than one trick!

I have a nice Czech upright... fully carved but in such a horrible state. I'm on the lookout for either a replacement or something more refined. In wanting to buy second-hand I suppose I'm considering all options, but I can't afford to spend money on a gamble really. Ta!