Frank Blank

Who doesn’t enjoy a well finished cavity?

Order one from Hot Covers, they don’t list the particular cab you are after but just go to the custom covers section, send them the dimensions of the cab and they will make it up for you. I’ve done this twice, excellent service, really good quality and at a good price. Best covers I’ve ever had.

Attendance & Gear List: 01. Silverfoxnik - BC Rich Eagle, Ander van der End JB5, RBV5, Ampeg V4BH head and matching cabs. 02.Hamster - 03. @Frank Blank Rob Allen Mouse, Godin A4, FRFR setup (QSC K12.2 and Fishman preamp). 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.  15. 16. 17. 18. 19.  20.

So glad you are liking the Mouse and so glad I could be involved with your choice to get one.

Welcome. It took me forty years to get round to learning any scales and it’s beginning to pay off, both in note selections when writing and also in improving my dexterity. This forum has been an incredible resource for me, it’s an extremely reasonable community too, which I think stems from most members realising the forum’s worth. We have the odd spat occasionally, who doesn’t? But don’t ever be put off, it’s invariably solved reasonably and we all get on with contributing to and learning from a great site, enjoy!

Superb, cheers!

I haven't heard a lot of PP's work due to my stupidity as a teenager. The first time I heard him was on the Gary Numan album I, Assassin, on the album previous to this (Dance) Numan had used Mick Karn and I somehow thought Pino had been brought in as a replacement to kind of 'mimic' Karn's style, so, like an idiot, I took against him, suffice to say my loss. Given that rookie error I could now do with some recommendations of good Palladino playing...

Absolutely this. I bend notes like crazy on my fretted bass and I certainly don't use vibrato or slide into notes to cover bad intonation on the fretless, if I'm out I want to know I'm out.

Man alive... That's some frothy playing right there!

Proud electronic girlie right here, just standing up to be counted obviously.

I got as far as counting seventeen apostrophes then my eyes went funny 😳

I definitely lack tenacity, I’m only just beginning to play fretted without looking where my fingers are landing! I play a lot of things high up the neck on both fretted and fretless, it’s even more difficult (for me) to look away up there. I suppose what I really meant with my earlier post was not to be disheartened when you can’t do things more experienced players can but also not to be subservient to an ‘orthodoxy’ that might not suit you, or worse, possibly quash your creativity. I wasn’t saying don’t do what person a) or person b) suggests, by all means try anything and everything until you find a method of practice and style you like. I think your comment about adding things ‘to taste’ is exactly right. I play more slides and vibrato than most people recommend when discussing fretless, I was a bit crestfallen at first when people suggested just playing the fretless like a fretted bass when practicing, yet I do do this when running scales or something. I’m a big Mick Karn fan and his playing was (imho) an absolute fluid celebration of fretless sometimes to the point of abstraction, I remember reading an interview with Japan and then talking about how the band would sometimes rehearse without MK and come up with a song then he’d turn up having come up with a bass line on his own simply inspired by the title of the song, the band would then rewrite the whole thing around his bass line because it was so good. Obviously I’m not saying I’m as great a player as MK, I would consider myself a hapless beginner at best, but I am still inspired by the formative culture of my teenage years as a punk when suddenly I realised that I was free to be creative in any way I wanted. This includes very formal learning, if that’s what you want to do, after all these years I’m going to a bass tutor, loving it and my playing is improving because of it, but I am very careful not to let it impinge on my sometimes unorthodox style that Inthink is rooted in my DIY punk ethos. I’m rambling... I appreciate all the advice on this thread and the rest of BC, if I were a belligerent maverick I’d not read it at all, all I’m saying is do what you want how you want and obviously that includes learning formally if you so wish, just don’t be put off by it.

For once I’m speechless...

Play lined or unlined fretless, play looking at every note or some or none, do vibrato and slides to your heart’s content or don’t, do whatever you like, but most importantly don’t ever be put off playing because you find any of the things people have said above difficult. I play lined fretless, I do vibrato and slides (not too much but I like it so why not?), I look at the notes but am beginning to look less but so what? It doesn’t improve the quality of the songs I play. Play whichever bass you want in the manner you fancy and feel comfortable with, one person’s method or technique is not another’s, and there is no definitive ‘right’ way to play or learn, do your own thing. I’m not having a pop at anyone or their advice, I’m just trying to stress that it’s easy to be put off by an apparent ‘orthodoxy’ but then I would say that, I’m an old punk who was told as a child and young teenager that I would never be able to play an instrument, let alone be in a band, for a multitude of reasons, all of which vanished when punk came along and suddenly I was in bands playing instruments. There is no right or wrong way with something creative, or maybe there is, just don’t ever think you are doing anything wrong if you are playing your instrument, by all means seek advice and try it but never worry about doing stuff your own way.

Looking forward to Ep. 2.

Well it’s what I call a boutique bass, brilliant, love it.

Just yes...

Really wanting to try out the SWB-1 fretless.

Phew, I just typed that without checking, good job I was right (fluke).

Yay! A chance to try it out! I am stupidly excited.

Thank you Sir!

I have two XLR inputs on mine, both with two input settings, one is mic or line, one is line or instrument. I usually connect my preamp with a 1/4" jack via the second input set to line, if I connect the preamp to the same input set to line with an XLR I just get an unpleasant hum.

Does anyone connect their preamp to a powered speaker (QSC, RCF etc.) using an XLR? If so which input do you use on the speaker?

Turning up and paying a tenner is the usual method.

PMd