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Bass Max isn't bad but on my bass it sounded a bit too "nasal" (which is common for all piezo pickups). The J-Tone pickups are good as well, and cheap. The search for the best pickup is neverending, I think it's more a case of finding something that's usable in a gig situation and that isn't too fussy in terms of setup and EQ. Anyway, happy hunting!

I have a Realist copper which is the best of the various piezo pickups I've tried. Not perfect, but with careful EQ it can sound pretty natural at high volumes and doesn't require an adjustable bridge.

Sorry, delayed reply here. I mostly agree but it's really nice to be able to walk and to keep going sometimes up into TP (NOTE: I can't do this very well, but it's fun and sounds good when other people do it)

As someone whose dot-reading is mainly walking bass lines this "rule" makes most sense to me as it makes the direction a bit more explicit.

Totally agree with @Clarky about EQ - the mid-highs are where the nasal stuff lives. You might need more treble than you'd otherwise want though just to help with hearing yourself for the purposes of intonation.

Get there early, get yourself setup (5 mins - we're bassists, right?) and then you'll have time to help carry drums, figure out PA, chat to bar staff and most importantly, you won't get stressed out while the guitarist is in your way while fiddling around with pedals etc.

I have a J-Tone pickup and while a little bit unsubtle in terms of sound, it's feedback-proof, pretty inexpensive and very usable, especially on a louder gig (I have a Realist for the quieter gigs where I want a more natural sound). I plug it straight into my amp and with some EQ fiddling I'm ready to go.

Saw this recently in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. I'm thinking of going for a moustache....

Yep, fantastic song but the day itself is makey-uppy (https://www.badscience.net/2009/01/part-432-in-which-i-get-a-bit-overinterested-and-look-up-waaay-too-many-references/)

Absolutely. I have a DB and there are plenty of times that I wish it were smaller. Reason I asked was just because the OP mentioned DB and someone on here gave me good advice when I was looking to start that if you want to play DB and can make it work, then get a DB since there's nothing quite the same as pulling sounds out of a big piece of wood... None of which detracts from the fact that I'd love an EUB as well if money/space allowed.

Apart from the suggestions above, Leroy Vinnegar was a great player. The "Gerry Mulligan meets Ben Webster" album is a good place to start.

On DB, Ron Carter's playing in the Miles quintet is my favourite, particularly Footprints on Miles Smiles. I also really like Jimmy Garrison with Coltrane, particularly Crescent and A Love Supreme. For electric, Robbie Shakespeare (loads of recordings, but his playing really cuts through on the Black Uhuru and Grace Jones stuff), Paul Jackson (Headhunters, Thrust etc) and Jaco's first album are all stuff I keep coming back to

Haha, he is, I was focussed on the bass so I didn't notice that, but now you've said it...they also speed up a lot.

I haven't used my ukulele bass at a gig yet, but I reckon I might give it a go in places that are tight. I haven't struggled with the strings like some people and I went for fretless which is more DB-like plus allows you to correct tuning issues a bit. My one (a Laka) has a good preamp and it sounds good amplified. This guy shows how it can be done: So I'm not sure if that's much help, but I do think it's usable at a gig.

There are plenty of people out there that do play by feel, but they just get on with it and don't use it as an excuse for being all over the place. The "you, with your musical 'rules' are restricted whereas I, free, let the creativity pour out of me" BS always comes from people who at the end of the day just aren't very good musicians.

I tried the DB trick of using a heavy pencil to leave graphite in the slots in the nut which makes them slide more easily. Helps a fair bit.

I don't want to be a "fingerboard marker" fundamentalist, but in general the quicker you can wean yourself off them the better you'll play so I definitely wouldn't do anything permanent to the bass. This isn't for weird purist reasons - it's just that learning to shift and finger properly on upright is much more important than on BG and relying on dots too heavily will set you back and stop you using your ears properly. I still use a pencil marker on 5th and 12th "frets" on gigs just as a sanity check on a loud stage (and I'm not that good anyway...) so like I said, I'm not a purist on this.

@Niksonbass - I know there's nothing more annoying than a person on the internet who, when you ask about X, suggests that you buy Y instead. But I'm going to do it anyway and ask why you're looking for an EUB as opposed to a DB? This is definitely not a criticism of EUBs, which can sound great and are a bit more convenient than a DB, but just thought I'd ask since you mentioned DB in your original post.

You're being pretty charitable to describe this as "not thinking the same way" 😀

The usual adage is that everyone in the band is responsible for time, and if you watch good bands in any genre then this is obvious. But sometimes guitarists, singers, horn players etc can get away with having timing that's a bit suspect, whereas bass players and drummers definitely can't. If you're in a band and you're the only person who seems bothered by a bad drummer then, apart from the drummer, it also might be a sign that the rest of the band aren't necessarily that good either.

A big +1 on both the importance and the dullness of Simandl. There are other fingering systems but I'd start with this as it'll get you playing in tune more quickly than if you just try and adapt your BG technique.

I think what's important is to learn the structure of the songs, make sure you know about any stops/breaks etc and then play bass lines that are in-keeping with the previous player's. IMHO I don't think that learning them exactly is necessary (or even desirable) unless the bass lines are an identifiable motif/melody.

They look really nice, and I can see the attraction of the smaller size relative to full-scale EUBs. Any DB-players out there - do you find that the shorter scale and lower tension means that if you "dig in" too hard then the Upswing can't really handle it? I'm not saying that you *have* to dig in to get a DB experience, but there are times on DB when doing so is the right thing to do....

I think this is one of those cases where the sound is more about his technique than the bass itself per se. So I'd say any bass, probably with flats, with a middly EQ will sound pretty close if you can get that style under your fingers. [Edit]: Just remembered that I saw this video the other day which should be helpful

+1 for The Jazz Bass Book by John Goldsby - not strictly a "method" book, but it does contain loads of great information and transcriptions from bass players throughout the history of jazz so you'll learn a lot from it. The Jazz Bass Line Book by Mike Downes is also a great resource. Lots of examples in different styles plus side-by-side comparisons between different players over the same tunes.