magee

I grew up playing the violin, which is tuned in fifths just like the cello. You could just learn one chord shape, or box, and repeat it all the way up the neck, but that's not how classical players are trained. They are trained to only move their left hand into certain defined positions (1st position right down by the scroll, third position five semitones higher, fourth position two semitones higher than that etc). So you play a D scale in first position with one set of fingering and an E scale in first position with different fingering, rather than just moving the D fingering up by two semitones. On bass we're much freer with moving our left hand around so we mostly take a shape and move it to whatever fret suits us. So what you describe (a 'box' that can be moved anywhere) is possible on a cello, it's just not how classical cello is taught.

Done. Basschat is such a great bunch of people. All the best Stephen and FunkShui.

I have been to quite a lot of jam nights over the years. I think some can be cliquey, and some can appear so but actually the host is juggling competing priorities the punters don't know about, and they jump to the wrong conclusion. Certainly a long-running jam will grow to reflect the taste of the hosts as they will give longer time and more prominent slots to people they rate - that's natural and OK by me, as long as less able people at least get a chance to play at some point. I love going to jams if my band's having a quiet month as it gets me out the house and playing in front of people with no hassle/gear/organising. I also love how it develops my playing and overall musical awareness. Playing with a group of randoms of at-times extremely mixed ability is a great test of how your decision-making as a bass player can hold a fraying song together. Helping the drummer find the 'one' in a bar; sticking to roots to help a guitarist understand the key or progression; controlling the dynamics to encourage a guitarist to stop hair-dryering the front row with a blistering solo for a sixth minute - it's a fun, low-pressure way to develop skills that have helped me become a better group player. You really understand how quietly influential the bass can be in shaping the tone and colour of a song. It stretches your listening and reacting muscles in a way that another run-through with your well-rehearsed band doesn't always do. And occasionally there is some unexpected musical magic and you step down off the stage with the sense that you really made some affecting, spontaneous real music. That feels great. It's also the best way to meet/hear players who you might want to use in the future in a band, or who might want to use you, or to test out players you've found via ads without going through an excruciating formal audition.

I never really understood the left handed instrument thing. If you learn violin, cello or piano you do it one way round regardless of hand preference. And having your fingering hand be the dominant one is an advantage, I'd have thought. Fair enough classical guitar needs a lot of dexterity with both hands but for pick-guitar, most styles of fingered bass and certainly for any bowed stringed instrument the hard stuff is in the left hand. Isn't it an advantage to lefties? Why would you swap round? That's bothered me for years, thanks for the opportunity to get it off my chest.

Hi Desbass, another Glasgow player here, welcome.

Sold my Barefaced Supertwin cab to Alberto and it all went very smoothly, he was a pleasure to deal with.

I'm totally with chris_b here - I always look to be in one guitar bands because I love the space and flexibility - as long as the singer/guitarist and I are listening properly and can follow each other we can go wherever we want. I have had guitarists complain about this emptiness loads in these bands and I think it's a non-issue. Listeners don't want a wall of sound all the time, they don't need the chords fully spelled out in order to hear what's going on. If there's a solo they'll be listening to that, or if there's a quiet empty bit they'll appreciate the dynamic change. If it sounds awful then it's not going to be just about there being no chords underneath the solo. I think chris_b is absolutely right that it's a comfort/confidence thing for the guitarist, who just needs encouragement to see things more from the listener's point of view. Though song choice is also important - trying to recreate a Phil Spector wall of sound production with a three piece is always going to have its limitations.

When I was a callow youth it was open E - nobody else in the band can get this low, I rule! At some point I gravitated to low G. But lately I've been loving the resonance and harmonics of G, fifth fret on the D string. That little bit more refined, less boomy, a classier kind of G.

I've done the Symphonic Dances version in an orchestra on violin and think it was my favourite in years and years of orchestral playing. This guy is incredible, it's fascinating to watch.

bassace - that's interesting, I'll compare and contrast the Mingus one with the big band one from Friday. You're right, they can't exactly have a 10-piece band and call it a Prom, but I'm not convinced Stax is the best choice for a Prom. Smacks a bit of forcing something into a slot it doesn't belong in. The Jaywalker - I was very surprised too to hear that it was the product of five days of rehearsal. It really didn't sound like it. I appreciate it's possible for bigger groups to be energetic, invigorating, exciting: it just doesn't happen very often, so why did they try? It's like when pop or indie types get a big orchestra involved. I understand it's fun for the star and they feel all special, but it rarely improves the music.

I thought Beverley Knight was great, and the old guys only had to be there, it was just great to see them get a turn. The rappers were hilarious. I think Nadia Rose is brilliant but totally out of place there and probably didn't want to be there. It smacked of a TV producer deciding the evening needed a contemporary flavour and I thought everyone ginned and bore it just fine [audience included]. The music was pretty lifeless but that's what happens when you take a small tight soul band and get a big band to play it to stricter arrangements. It's not the band's fault, it's just not a great idea. They'd hired Cropper and Booker T - why not let them put together a small band to do it right? I'm surprised to see so much praise for the Mingus one the previous week. I couldn't watch more than a few minutes at a time because I felt that it had the same problem - the energy and inventiveness of a small band dissipated by a big flappy orchestra reading note for note. I'm a huge Mingus fan and I know some of his stuff was for much bigger groups, but all the rhythmic intensity he had with smaller groups disappeared when arranged for the big band. What about it did people like? M

I had a LB30 and loved it - it's my joint favourite sound that I've had, tied with a little all-valve 18 watt Fender Bassman combo I've still got. I only got rid of it because it wasn't loud enough to gig with so I didn't really have a use for it, but the sound itself was lovely: warm, rich, dynamic, responsive. With Fender basses and flats it was a great old-fashioned sound.