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It always amazes me how hard it is to find decent drummers. To be honest, if I could find a drummer that could keep time, play some basic patterns well and hit a cymbal occasionally when the song goes from the verse to bridge I'd be happy, even if they never played a fill in their life. My theory is that a lot of drummers spend their time thrashing out big rolls round the kit without actually practicing basic rhythms and limb independence. But maybe my expectations have been driven to unreasonable levels from listening to Sly Dunbar a lot while I was learning bass

I'm going to buy a bow in the next day or two - from reading here and on TalkBass, the bows from Yita music on eBay are supposed to be good value:- http://www.ebay.com/usr/yitamusic?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

I've used both a Bass Max and Rev Solo - the Rev Solo sounds a lot better to my ears, a lot more natural. In both cases they sounded better going straight into the amp (GK MB150) rather than through the pre amp. The only thing about the Rev Solo is that the sound is extremely sensitive to the pickup's position in the slot. It seems like a millimetre difference make the sound go from nice-and-woody to horrible-nasal-stuck-in-box so a bit of experimentation is required as well as pencil to mark out the sweet spot once you find it. Hope this helps

[url="https://handbrake.fr/"]https://handbrake.fr/[/url] is pretty good, and it's free and open-source so you don't have to worry about trial versions etc

I'm no expert but I think that it also depends on which minor scale you're using - In the Jazz Theory Book, Scott Levine goes into the melodic minor diatonic chords as these seem to be what many modern jazz compositions use, but I believe that harmonic minor is also used a lot.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1410964039' post='2555113'] Friction, combined with the noose-like action of the strap and the length adjustment. On mine I added a small loop of cord to slip over the endpin as that seemed a better idea than trying to clip to the tailwire, and I have the length adjusted so the neck part of the strap sits a few inches above the heel. They're not great in place of handles for manoeuvring in and out of cars etc, but excellent for carrying the bass in a vertical position and walking with it. [/quote] Thanks for that - it does look like I need one of these alright because I'm going to put my back out one of these days trying to carry my bass by the remnants of the straps attached to the case. Cheers

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1410945127' post='2554836'] Whichever bag you go for, this type of strap feels much safer and more confidence inspiring than relying on the ones stitched to the bag. When I'm not using my wheel I can carry the bass behind me with the strap over one shoulder and a lot of the weight across my lower back. It's a lot kinder on the wrists than using the handles on the bag. Mine isn't this brand, but a similar one: [url="http://www.contrabass.co.uk/shoulderstraps.htm"]http://www.contrabas...ulderstraps.htm[/url] [/quote] That looks good - I'm not clear about how it attaches to the bass though, it. If I understand correctly, you put the bass in its case, slip the collar end of the strap over the neck, then attach the clip to the tailwire - is that it? If so, how do you prevent the collar end from slipping back up the neck towards the scroll? Or does the friction do the job? Sorry for the (possibly stupid) questions, it's just that the straps on my case are all broken and generally crap so this looks like what I need!

Here's my endpin - Ben, feel free to use it on your site if you like. [attachment=166898:endpin.jpg]

Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino recorded a couple of fantastic albums in New York the 70s that are really worth getting IMHO

I just received my endpin from Ben. It's great, and as Bilbo says, having one that's just right with no risk of slippage is fantastic. It's also good to have an endpin that's finally the correct height. On a final note, Ben was great to deal with, really helpful and responsive. Highly recommended!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1403053442' post='2479338'] Walk through the chords, but change the timing and accentuation, leaving some space and syncopating. Relax, and learn the mantra: 'Less is more, less [i]is [/i]more'. Hope this helps. [/quote] I agree with the "don't take any solos" approach but if you're put on the spot then @Dad3353's advice above is great - my 'solos' at the moment consist of the same basic stuff as the walking line, but with some different timing and gaps. I do occasionally throw in a ii-V lick that I've learned but I'm usually too scared to do this in front of more than 2 people in case I make an arse of it...

[quote name='fatgoogle' timestamp='1403035187' post='2479138'] The Shens are awful if you ask me. Don't project well and the necks come of really quickly if give them a mildly hard knock (by accident). [/quote] Looks like you've had a bad experience alright, but in the interests of balance the Shens are generally regarded as good instruments (I have one). But I think the key point is that, unlike guitars, DBs are much more individual in terms of setup, quality and sound and so you should always try and play one before buying.

I like the idea of recording drums first, or at least using a click track - I suppose it depends on how sparse the music is - if there are longish pauses etc then I'd imagine a click track would help things to come back in properly, but if the groove is solid all the way through then I'm guessing that this wouldn't be an issue. Anyway, thanks for sharing - I'm going to give it a go...

Excuse my ignorance, but I have a couple of questions about how this works - I'm assuming that you receive the other part(s) as an audio file, then record your own part and send it back, then they listen to it, maybe suggest changes etc, and then incorporate it into the final mix. What about a click track to maintain tempo, or is that a no-no? Sorry for the questions, but I'm genuinely interested in how this process works (I'd like to do something similar). Thanks!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1402313078' post='2471903'] Not possible to play acoustic drums quietly. If you are talking about barely hitting them then the gig can't handle a drummer and that should be the focus, not the drummer himself. Of course, if the drummer sounds like he is digging a trench then that is another thing...but there is a certain level you can't be expected to go below, and still be able to play properly. If you are talking about tippy-tappy drummers, then they aren't drummers you want on a decent gig, IMO. If a venue is booking rock type bands, then volume is a given...so the parameters have to be reasonable. [/quote] I'm not saying that drummers should always play quietly, but the best drummers I've heard can play quietly when called upon. It's not that they're good drummers because they play quietly, it's more that good drummers have their technique honed to such a degree that they are capable of playing quietly while keeping the groove together. I suppose it depends a lot on genre as well - obviously some styles are pretty 'full on' without much dynamic range.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1402307311' post='2471820'] I had always assumed that drums are inherently loud but we've played with the same dep a few times (the best drummer I've ever played with in fact) and he could play quietly while still absolutely nailing any song. It was quite a revelation from the 'thrash-it-and-bash-it' style of many drummers. [/quote] + a million. Playing drums quietly has to be the single most underrated skill on any musical instrument.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1400769320' post='2456818'] Yes of course every team needs reliable centre backs, but they don't have to be as good as the forwards. I think we're agreeing without acknowledging it. ;-) [/quote] It's a different, less glamorous form of "good" Getting back to bass playing and bands in general, I think that on average, bass players are at least as good as other members of the band and that the ability to hold a tight groove together is often underrated. Let's face it, as bass players most of our non-musical family and friends don't have a clue what we do. It makes me laugh the number of times other musicians say things like "that was a really tricky rehearsal today" when the bass player didn't turn up for some reason like they're surprised. It's a bit like football, really.....oh..wait....

But that's like a bass player who spends his/her time noodling around up the neck playing solos. You'd still need an actual bass player to hold it together at the back. Going back to football (which is obviously much more important than music) you can't have a whole team of strikers, and often strikers make crap defenders - you'll always need actual defenders. Your more traditional rock band tends to be more like a standard English club team, where everyone knows their place - defenders don't get up the park that much and strikers don't tackle back. Whereas other genres (jazz/prog/fusion) are more like Barcelona - skills and responsibilities are a lot more evenly distributed around the team. Oh, and drummers are like goalies....I'm not sure exactly how, but I'll think of something

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1400750282' post='2456556'] But you don't need to be a talented musician to do that. That's sort of my point - excellent bassists are 'luxury players' to borrow a football phrase. They are bottom of the list of most bands' requirements. [/quote] I have to disagree - to extend the football analogy, good bassists are like good defenders. They're never going to get the same plaudits as the flashy strikers with all their tricks, but you won't win anything with a loose, shaky defence. At the risk of overdoing the analogy, great bass players are also like great defenders in that the job is usually about doing the simple things well, often unnoticed by the majority of people watching. I think the analogy is now at breaking point, so I'll shut up

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1400487635' post='2454194'] Surely good music or bad music all comes down to personal preference? [/quote] Agreed, although I can appreciate well-played music that isn't in a genre that I'd normally listen to. I'm personally not a massive fan of country music, but I still have an opinion on what I consider good stuff and bad stuff. When I say "well-played" I don't mean ability, it's more about effort and creativity. To me, the worst music is just lazy and this can be a combination of musicians not learning their stuff, the music itself being full of cliches, or the band not bothering to connect with the audience.

Thanks Bilbo - I've emailed Ben and I'm currently chatting with him to see what length to go for, Cheers!

Hi all I'm thinking about replacing my endpin as my current one is too short for me, so I've had a look online and there seem to be plenty about. If at all possible I'd like to keep it cheap and avoid going to a luthier unless it's the only way to do it - but before I do any of this I have a couple of questions that people might be able to help me with. Firstly, if I get an endpin that's the same diameter as my current one, can I just replace the pin itself and leave the bit where it fixes to the bass and tailpiece (the pear?) alone? Secondly, if I buy an endpin that says it's 45cm in length, does that mean the total length of the pin, or is that the maximum that it will extend past the mechanism? Cheers for any help on the above! Dave

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1399409053' post='2444027'] Codswallop! My Monster HDMI cable makes the 1s much more aligned & stops them curving with the 0s. [/quote] I find that gold-plated contacts make my 1s much more...I dunno....'on' somehow?

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1399398413' post='2443862'] Yes, there is a growing market nowadays in audiophile USB cables. Scientists say it shouldn't work , hifi magazines say it does. I haven't heard a demonstration yet so can't vote either way. What I do know is that I recently invested a a basic but decent quality analogue interconnect to link my P.C to my hifi and it is a noticeable improvement on the few-quid-off-the-internet no-name cable I was using before. [/quote] I can see how the analog connection thing could make a difference, especially if you're replacing the often crappy leads that come with PC speakers etc. But for USB and other digital cables, it's not just some kind of subjective opinion about sound quality-it's that digital connections fundamentally don't work that way. The data you receive will be exactly the same each time, otherwise computers, the internet etc just wouldn't work. When you buy an album from iTunes, your copy of it is identical to mine even though both sets of data have taken completely different paths to our computers. The only time this isn't true is when something goes wrong, in which case the errors aren't a simple issue with sound quality, but are usually much more serious, like a completely unplayable file. Sorry, IT lecture over. ....my inner geek gets annoyed when people who write for hi-fi mags don't take the time to learn the basics of the technology that they get paid to write about.

[quote name='jonsmith' timestamp='1399331320' post='2443269']... at least in the non-digital world... [/quote] That's the key to the whole thing - it's at least possible for analogue cables to make a difference to the sound. But once you're digital, as long as the cable is up to the minimum spec (which they just about all are) then a more expensive cable can't possibly make any difference to the sound. Unfortunately, a lot of 'experts' in the hi-fi world claim that they can.