Marc S

Hi bassgirl17 Yes, I'd recommend taking a look at some of those free lessons They're excellent Good luck and Happy New Year

I've got an Ibanez Electro-acoustic, and it's way louder than any unplugged Electric I often rehearse along with a cd or MP3 player, and I'd never hear my unplugged bass guitars The Ibanez though, is plenty loud When I'm jamming along with acoustic guitarists in the house it really depends on which guitarists I'm jamming with Some pals play rather heavier, but one pal who does far more finger picking, and plays much quieter - in which case I can hear my Ibanez fine The louder guitarists are exactly the same guys who keep turning their amps up, when we're playing live or rehearsing in the studio! Overall, I'd say it's a tad quiet, but it's a brilliant guitar and it wasn't expensive (just over £200) but it sounds great through an amp, although the E string seems a tad quieter than the others - just a tad though..... It plays & sounds like it cost twice as much, and I use it more than any other bass for rehearsing Wouldn't part with it! Hope this helps... Happy new year anyhow Marc

Hi, there's one on ebay at the moment [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stentor-1-4-size-double-bass-with-case-and-bow/331089890764?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D3598581897415489085%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D121236529826%26"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stentor-1-4-size-double-bass-with-case-and-bow/331089890764?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D3598581897415489085%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D121236529826%26[/url] There was also one on ebay last week Good luck with your search And Have a good Christmas Marc

Hi and welcome to basschat, and the world of bass playing As others have said here, try out as many as you can before buying Just see what feels most comfortable for you Re the hand size / neck dimensions question I'm amazed at just how much difference there is here Thinner necks are not necessarily "better" Again, this will depend on how comfortable it is for you, and what style you want to play but if you are looking for thinner necks, try maybe a Jazz bass or thinner still, some of the Ibanez range Also, consider secondhand I bought an Ibanez Soundgear SR500 for £200 on ebay - RRP was around £479 at the time! That has an incredibly thin / narrow neck Good luck with your search, don't feel rushed just remember to try as many as you can If as a beginner, you feel a little self-conscious of playing in a shop you can always ask to play unplugged for a while.... Don't forget to let us know what you go for, and post some piccies Cheers

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1387724701' post='2314899'] Well we played last nights gig & boy did i get a supprise We did a decent sound check for once,the guitars were massively quieter than usual & i was even asked if they were too loud ! I just ran my rig with gain & master volume at 12 o'clock ,neither guitar got turned up at all,infact i actually asked the rhythm guitar to be turned up a little. The gig was awesome,the punters loved us & we sounded great,i couldn't stop grinning all night it was brilliant. The guys have promised me this is how it will be from now on - Result. [/quote] Great news mate! .... now lets just hope they stick to this way of working An early Christmas present, eh? Cheers Marc

What a useful thread! Thanks for starting this one....

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1387368363' post='2311103'] Thanks guys..... Its a funny band though my brother & the singer are thick as thieves where i actually feel like an outsider sometimes. The will change the running order mid set but neglect to tell me what we are playing next,odd really but a shame as the band can be good. [/quote] I must admit, the more I hear about your band, the worse the whole thing sounds, to me anyway As you've said - they know how you feel and it's last chance for them Enjoy your gig, and you'll know how you feel after that..... It may be that because your brother is in the band they don't realise just how hard it can be to find a good double bass player and one who wants to play the same stuff at that.... Perhaps it'll take you to leave, to realise what they're missing? You never know - they may come back in a month with their tails between their legs, and their amps turned down..... Hope this doesn't affect your relationship with your brother though Anyhow, good luck & again, let us know what you decide Marc

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1387355142' post='2310925'] Other than that, how about if both you and your brother both turn your volume down at a rehearsal, would the other guitarist notice if it's so blatant that all he can hear is himself? [/quote] Not a bad suggestion - if you can convince your brother to go along with it of course Don't forget to let us know what you decide to do We're all interested now! Cheers

[quote name='Noisyjon' timestamp='1387302616' post='2310507'] Another wannabe Wal owner here! I'm hankering after a fretted Mk.1 real bad [/quote] It's getting a bit like an AA meeting here! Not that I've ever been to one, you understand....

I know what you mean Sometimes you just want a bass so badly...... It'll probably niggle at you for a while but maybe you need to play one for a while? Do you know anyone who's got one, and will let you have a play for a bit? It could lead to a realisation that maybe you don't need one as much as you think It could of course make you want one even more But if the only way you could get one was to sell that lovely blue DB of yours..... .... no contest! The DB is far better than any bass guitar!

The guitarist I'm playing with these days isn't particularly loud either when playing or singing It really doesn't take too much background noise level to interfere with the Snark Funny enough, he's got the very same tuner and says exactly the same thing!

Some useful hints and suggestions here folks Personally, I find as a relative newbie to the wonderful world of DB playing, my left arm aches quite a lot, after playing a while This has lessened a bit as I'm playing more DB than bass guitar lately I's probably just playing, and doing some bass exercises will help me here Let us know what works for you timbo

I've got a Snark tuner too, It's really good, and well priced, It works superbly at home but I do find it picks up other sounds, and isn't quite so easy to tune a DB in a pub environment, where guitars and vocals are going on in the background This is with it switched to the vibration setting too... This may be partly due to my pickup system having a mic of course..... EDIT: At my last gig on saturday, I took along another tuner, and connected it to the Tuner output of my Markbass amp This suffered from other noises going on too Again, must be down to having a mic as part of the pickup In future gigs, I'm going to try tuning with the output from the mic turned down to zero

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1387286732' post='2310220'] Bingo - maybe thats the real issue here ! Increasing volume can be down to a singer not really being that confident in their abilities. Its much more comfortable playing louder and distorted in a wall of sound than playing quiet where everyone is more critical because they can hear every note. Are rehearsals equally loud? Could you and your brother join forces and suggest that "to make sure that the set is really polished" , that you do an acoustic unamplified rehearsal? If the singer hears the songs and they sound great unplugged he may well go that way live or at least turn down. If the singing is shockingly bad ...well theres your reason why the volume gets cranked up! [/quote] Another possibility spotted by Ubassman!

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1387281059' post='2310110'] When i have been in this situation before I turned my bass way way way down and left the band stranded having no option but to also turn down to hear the bass. Lower volumes in small venue always works so much better anyway ...you never know they might learn something here! [/quote] Great idea! [quote name='artisan' timestamp='1387286133' post='2310208'] yes indeed he is,his wife comes to most gigs & seems to have appointed herself as musical director. Naturally all she wants to hear is hubby. [/quote] Hmmm. I'm sure this is part of the problem... Some guitarists do seem to want to hear themselves more than anyone else (not all of them though) and if their partner is convincing him he needs to be louder too..... To my mind, quitting the band is perhaps a tad too much You will probably find another band quickly but there remains the possibility that you may not - and you have to weigh that up I was recently looking for a band for a long time - far longer than I thought I'd have to after a band I was in folded.... Maybe you could look around to see how many other bands are around your area playing the sort of stuff you want to do, and let the other band members know you're thinking about looking at these other bands because you're not completely happy with the sound.... Let them know why, and tell them that landlady's thoughts to support your view Either way, let us know what you decide, or how you get on with convincing the other members I'm sure they'll know a double bass player is a rarer breed than a guitarist Cheers and good luck

I bought a Double Bass Pickup system from Etienne and I just thought I'd say my bit here... He was just a great guy to deal with! I got the pickup really quickly - he must have posted it immediately it was all wrapped up and parceled well for safe delivery And he has kept in touch and helpfully answered any questions since Cheers Etienne Best Marc

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1385994355' post='2294383'] Neoprene gloves like anglers use are amazing. You can cut off the fingers. It's almost like they generate heat. [/quote] Useful tip from fatback there.... Hope you don't have to give up I get so much pleasure from playing, I'd really miss it Nothing better on a cold winters eve, than play about on a bass.. Good luck anyhow, and if you do try those gloves let us know how you get on Roll on spring anyway

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1386829159' post='2305020'] Last time I encountered the same thing (if I have understood your description correctly), it was due to the pick up being too close to the E & A strings. Like booboo suggested, lowering it a little sorted the problem. [/quote] This was my first thought, when I read your post too.... I had a hint of this problem, years back, on a Precision... Try lowering the pickups Let us know how you get on Good luck with sorting it