Gman

It's definitely something that gets easier...it also helps if you can sing easily to start with. If you want to practice it's worth starting out with a simple song like 'All the Small Things' - just a straight 8 line with simple melody. Weirdly some tricky basslines are easier to sing over than a straighter part. Orson's 'No Tomorrow' was a tricky one for me...dead simple bassline but the offbeat bits crossed over the melody in weird places - not to mention that the chorus is too high for me to sing easily!!

[quote]Unfortunately it gets more complicated when you start chucking in relative minor keys, key changes and notes that people just decide to play sharp or flat for various reasons/styles.[/quote] LOL....think I'll stick with my magic ears and general blagging to get me through the rest of my bassplaying life!!

So if one is to count the number of sharp or flat chords in a song, that would indicate the key? Like, if there were 2 sharp chords and 2 non sharp chords that would indicate a key of C#? Hmmm, still confused and that link just confused me more! Maybe if I spent more than 2 minutes scanning through it, I'd understand it better? Or am I just the musical equivalent of the village idiot?

[b]Calling all 3 other prog rock bassists out there!![/b] I recently met up with a great bunch of musicians (guitar, keys and drums) who love to play prog rock covers - sadly I can't commit at the moment so I said I'd post an ad here to see if I could russle up any interest. Basically you should be into It Bites, Rush, Genesis, Yes etc etc and be able to play some reasonably tricky songs like 'Screaming on the Beaches', 'Kiss Like Judas', 'Tom Sawyer' etc etc. They rehearse in Basingstoke but travel from London, Southampton so being based in the south would be an advantage. They are happy to rehearse further north (Oxford area) if it means playing with a bassist. They're really nice guys and have a very diverse range of musical tastes, so if you're more into prog metal, it would be worth getting in touch. Please contact me via PM (or reply below) and I'll put you in touch. Cheers, Giles

I usually let the instrument inspire me to play improvised stuff. I reckon that if a bass is meant to be, you'll find yourself playing so naturally you won't even think about 'what' to play...you'll just play. That's of course if you can get over the sh*te setup or get the bass off the knobend sales assistant that is 'tuning it for you'! G

There is a lot of snobbery from bassists regarding pick usage...it's a much more valid technique than slap, tap or whatever the latest bedroom fad is. I play with fingers and pick depending on the song - and no matter what anyone says, there are just some songs that NEED to be played with a pick, either for tone or because you can push the beat slightly. If it's good enough for Sting, it's sure as hell good enough for me!!

Oh yeah... I was once challenged to a 'slap off' by the bassist that was replacing me...he went very quiet at the end of my turn. Ha ha ha.

I've been playing for 20 odd years - I can play most stuff BUT for me, it's always about the song and the groove. Drummers usually enjoy playing alongside me for that reason and I reckon if a band has a great engine, it'll sound good and go far. I can slap and tap but pretty much never do either in the gigs I do. I play with a pick and fingers depending on what's best for the song. I can tap my foot in time whilst playing...not many guitarists can!! G

Weird isn't it? There are quite a few shops where you walk in and are obviously interrupting their little clicky 'rehearsal' session! I remember going to Soundcontrol to try some basses, I had a budget of £1500. I remember thinking 'what a dick' when he said he'd tune a Bongo for me and then preceded to flash through his repertoire of licks. Having been playing for well over 20 years, I think I can tune my own basses thankyouverymuch. I walked out feeling cheated out of a decent buying experience. My wife and I were setting up a little home studio and wanted a PC, interface and various bits and pieces. It was only at Digital Village that we placed an order due to feeling like the other two stores were just selling us what they wanted to sell, regardless of whether it was right for our purpose. DV were the only shop that seemed to think about stuff and offer alternatives with reasons why they'd recommend a certain piece over another. We spend £2500 with them. G

Man, that's an awesome price! I still have the occasional play with mine and it feels like home!

Ah wow....I saw you guys many years ago at Woughton Centre in Milton Keynes. There were only about 40 people there but you still put on one hell of a show. I took some great pics as you guys were whoring about on stage! Glad to hear you're still gigging - rock on dude!! G

Awesome bass mate - I have one in blue! To be honest the stock pups weren't great - I replaced mine with Barts and an EMG BTC tone circuit to give it a bit more welly and control. As you'll know, if you do replace them with non Yam pups, they leave whopping big gaps round them...but it's worth it. Have you just got this...how much did you pay for it (if you don't mind me asking)? G

They should mean PL (public liability). PI generally stands for professional indemnity which is a completely different type of cover. Check out the usual: Musicguard, Liabilityguard, Allianz Cornhill, Hencilla Canworth.

I traded my TE SMX rig in for a nice lightweight Ashdown ABM 500 2x10 combo and it's great for rehearsals and small gigs. I can carry it on my own, it fits in the boot of my Mazda 3 and sounds great. Loud enough? Definitely, I did a gig the other week with our loud drummer, his kick was mic'd and I was on less than half volume! And it didn't fart in the slightest - wicked little thing, it is. Oh and it has a nice valve drive, so so compressor and reasonable Octaver built in. G