skankdelvar

If possible, refrain from introducing oneself and one's colleagues with the band nicknames or noms de gig. Even if your real names are Teddy, Lombardo and Egbert, the rawk-alternatives are always worse. At an audition I attended some years ago, the frontman and leader levered himself from his recumbent position on the sofa, adjusted his bandana headwear, eyed me up and, in a faux-cockney voice, drawled: "I'm Splib." I just said: "No." And left.

Hi Mecklenburg and welcome That's a fair old spread of music. Also, beware - much of this forum is powered by GAS

Welcome indeed

I've found nickels give a slightly 'warmer' sound than SS. Try SS first. Tho' nickel, I used to quite enjoy GHS Bass Boomers, before I switched to Elixirs, which I suspect wouldn't have enough zing for you. Very much a subjective issue, so you may have to work your way through a few different mfrs / types, etc, before you get the sound you want. All good clean fun.

Seller's a BC-er - see his ebay links thread here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=59204"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=59204[/url]

Hi Tony and welcome Now that's a nice, classic collection you've got there. And a proper avatar. No matter if you're not getting out atm - as long as you're a happy bunny, that's just fine.

Nice job there. Should look [i]striking[/i] with the new hardware. Reminds me I've got to finish my tele / esquire neck - I'm playing it safe by leaving 3 years between coats

Hi Holden - welcome Always nice to have another soul man aboard - hope you enjoy the forum.

Hi John - that's a quality rig you've got there. Hope you enjoy the forum

Once you get down to it, any bass is just a bit of wood with some hardware and some pickups screwed onto it. The only way to form a valid opinion is to go out and try some different models. Even then, Fender's occasionally erratic, range-wide QC can introduce unexpected variables. Fender and certain others have found themselves in the unusual commercial position of segmenting a more or less identical product by price and geographical origin. Buying a domestically produced product seems to be marginally more important in the US and certain other forums might get into big, patriotically-tinged rows about this issue. Thus, Fender has a commercial and cultural dilemma. Fender US Marketing has to assert that US produced basses are 'better', without dissing the basses at lower price points. Presumably Squier's marketing people have the equally sensitive task of bigging up their product without drawing potential US-product customers 'downward'. This fairly unique marketing contradiction is what drives many threads, here and elsewhere. Which Jazz is best? As with so much in life, YMMV.

[quote name='treadmill' post='583232' date='Aug 28 2009, 09:26 AM']Thanks for the replies chaps. I did notice my elbow getting a bit achey after an hour or so last night. Think my finger strength in my left hand needs working on.[/quote] Don't worry - you don't necessarily need fingertips of steel and the grip of a car crusher for this bass malarkey. Over time, your hand will 'learn' how to fret the strings with minimal effort. Pain sometimes comes from gripping too hard - happens to me when I gig - I get emotionally excited and my hand starts to hurt about 10 mins in. So I just relax, mentally and physically, and the problem goes away. Get your tutor to check the action / relief / nut height on your bass's neck to ensure the strings aren't set too high. That helps.

For pity's sake...

That's not a bad price for a name, provenanced 70's P. Comes across as a good bloke as well. Tempted.

All excellent points, Bilbo. Organisers need to vary and extend the repertoire while leaving some room for beginners to paddle round at the shallow end. But I suppose it must be a logistical nightmare. I've only ever been to a couple of blues jams and the songs tend to be the oldest of old chestnuts - mostly mid-tempo Jimmy Reed rtms in A and E. Thus it sounded all a bit Claptout and - er - British. The other thing that bothered me was a gaggle of guitar-hero Dads seating their pre-teen kids 3 feet in front of a [i]very[/i] loud PA. These suffering mites spent the next two hours with their hands over their ears. Don't these gobbins realise that their kids' hearing is easily damaged?

Hi and welcome Congratulations - you're just about to start having some enormous fun. As regards how long and how often you should practice - well, over time, that's entirely up to you. I've heard of some pro's practising 8-10 hrs a day! I'm [i]not[/i] a pro; I do an hour or two, maybe every other day. Everybody's different and there's no set rule. Whatever works for you. I'd discuss this with your tutor, but suggest you consider that you'll be using certain muscles in a new way, and it's easy to damage them if you practice too long and too hard in the first month or two. Any hint of pain - give it a rest for a while and see how things go. Make sure you've got a decent, well-supporting chair and sit upright. If you're practising standing up, make sure your bass isn't hung too low - it can force you into crabbing your wrist round the neck and could give you carpal tunnel syndrome over time. And mind your back. You'll soon notice that you've got 8 lbs of wood and metal round your neck! Get tips on posture; strap adjustment for optimium bass height and neck angle; hand positioning etc from your tutor. If they can't advise you on stuff like this (and they really should be able to), post on here and someone will be along to help. Enjoy the forum!

I just can't wait. I'm GAS-ing for this book, but I'm cheap too. And it's for the common good. Our debates will make Schopenhauer look like a shopping trolley.

[quote]"They are usually denied critical acclaim" [i]- Georgina Gregory [/i][/quote] No surprises there, then. [quote]I was on my publishers website earlier and saw this![/quote] Bilbo - how about using your author status to score a freebie 'review' copy and lend it round the members, kinda like the Rick Wakeman book. It might help to elevate the tone of any future debate about "hierarchies of virtuosity and mimesis".

[quote name='SS73' post='582296' date='Aug 27 2009, 11:31 AM']Felix Pappalardi, what a ''Dude''[/quote] Only man who could make an EB1 look cool. Lived the life and died the Rock'n'Roll way - shot by his wife.

H Cristiano and welcome Variety is, indeed, the spice of life. Metal > Motown, eh? A man of many parts is always welcome here. And of course we can [i]all [/i]be friends on BC - but no tongues on the first date, OK?

Hi Webby and welcome That's a classy line-up of axes you've got there. Maple-glo - my favourite shade of Rick. From that evidence and your expressed intention to drool, it would seem you're already in the grip of Gear Acquistion Syndrome. Hope you enjoy the site - check out the Gear Porn section, but have some Kleenex ready. Cheers Skank

But such a strange name for a company. Like buying a car from 'Breakdown Motors'.

[quote name='hatori' post='582225' date='Aug 27 2009, 10:22 AM']Have you tried the SG bass? I had a go on one in Hartnolls (Plymouth) the build quality was excellent and it had a distinctive sound of its own but I miss my old EB3L, it just somehow had much bigger cojones. I always used mine on that setting too. One of them and a vintage Marshall head (ahem I have two for sale) is the classic set up. Why dont they reissue the EB3L slotted peg head with the original pickup selector configuration?[/quote] I'd love to try an SG re-issue, but I'm skint and my quarterly GAS allocation's blown. It seems that the re-issue makes a nod towards a more 'contemporary' sound - addressing some of the tonality complaints - 45 years later! Sod's law - these days, everybody wants the EB retro 'mud tone'. And rightly so. Slotted head. Drool.

If you google Plastikote then look under the shopping results, there'll be a big ol' list. B&Q usually have a range on the shelf if you want to nip out and have a look. Haven't used it myself, but heard good reports. [url="http://www.plasti-kote.co.uk"]http://www.plasti-kote.co.uk[/url]

Glenn Cornick - EB0 Felix Pappalardi - EB1 and EB3

Hi smashie - welcome Always nice to see a 'returning' bass player. The B100 - is that the one that's about the size of a washing machine? If so, I used to have one. Enjoy the forum Skank