SpondonBassed

Essential finishing supplies. I thought I'd treat myself to a new soldering iron too. It has LEDs that focus just beyond the tip of the iron. I am trying lead free solder for the first time. The man in Maplin recommended an inexpensive one and another one at double the price. The difference being the one percent silver content in the pricier one. He said that it wouldn't compromise a good joint using the cheap one but I went for the silver. With low levels of signal and the potential for induced interference I reckon the addition of silver gives it the conductive edge over the cheap one if only by a small amount.

That's very nice. I mean [i]where's my wallet[/i] kinda nice.

And we're off! I thought I'd start with dressing the frets as the neck looks flat when sighted along its length. I don't think it's too bad for high spots. Tomorrow I shall stock up on grit sheets (Abranet and glass), 0000 wire wool and Tru oil so I can get the neck and body finish under way. I also need metal polish to finish off the frets.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1501085372' post='3342394'] Nothing worse than a woman scorned... Now everybody down to the florist and get your wife a bunch of flowers so that she doesn't think about doing this to your collections... [/quote] Argh no! She'll get suspicious and hold your collection to ransom 'till she squeezes the truth out of you. Unexpected flowers = guilty conscience!

I'd agree but until I have a big enough repertoire I couldn't do it like that. I am certainly aiming to get there though. This thread is a great start.

3/4 of a million knicker's worth of revenge? Sweet.

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1501079046' post='3342317'] Our local 'coke' pub now has carpet firmly glued to any useable surface, including the cistern lids. Still, where there's a will there's a way... [/quote] Hahahahaha! It must be like a throw back to the seventies! Anyone remember floor to ceiling carpeting? Carpeted bath panels? Cork tiling? Er, would the last one to leave please switch off the lights?

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1501022201' post='3341932'] ...My expenses were so low I decided to primarily live off of gig money.And I have assets... [/quote] I think I said this before. You and I are among the lucky ones. I'd have to assume that the majority reading this aren't so lucky.

[quote name='oldbass' timestamp='1501010372' post='3341795'] ...Think Ive gone of piste a bit but u get the drift. [/quote] Not at all. As a matter of fact you were concise, on-topic and your shared experience is interesting to read.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1501016597' post='3341877'] Based on you saying this: I think you'd have to agree I'm right. [/quote] Again, if you think so I'm happy to let you interpret it that way. I did not call you odd however. Let's be clear about [i]that[/i], shall we?

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1501001455' post='3341703'] Yes, but it also contradicts your statement that it would be odd for a Basschat member not to enjoy them. I am a Basschat member, and I do not particularly enjoy bass solos, so I have assume that by your definition I am odd. I reckon I can live with it, though! [/quote] If that's what you think I said.

Cheers. I was puzzled to see the headstock both ways on the website. I can't say I have a preference.

Here it is; Seems to be all there. I think it's got a good grain for an inexpensive kit. If I had to point out a defect it would be the roughness on the centreline of the fretboard between 11 and 14 as if there was not enough meat in that area. It isn't worth doing much about and will probably be less noticeable after a little light dressing. I'm very happy with the delivery and condition of the kit. I will not do any modification to the scale nor remove frets on this first build. Maybe on the next one if this works out at all. It should be a lot of fun.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1500950960' post='3341261'] Tortorials, I don't think there's been much in-depth discussion on what the real value is in them, pros and cons and good vs bad tutorials. Let me mention 2 things up front. First I'm a baby boomer growing up with not much more than the needle on a record player to learn songs. So, I'm biased. Second I'm using the term tutorials loseley. Many of this clips are not necessarily instructional. Anyway let's throw a few examples out there. Ad your comments, why you feel the clip is good, bad or whatever. Blue [/quote] I may not be alone in this. I can't get on with authority figures. Teachers are the root cause. In my primary school my IQ was assessed and I was put into the "A" stream for special treatment. The problem was that I was a child and I was effectively segregated from my peers. Already I was isolated by virtue of being an only child living in a rural area. The only interaction I got with children of my own age was at school. When they started "hothousing" me, I was instantly labelled as the school swot and that meant I was treated with scorn by and large. My family was on the move a lot in the sixties and seventies. It meant that I had a few changes of school. Each time this thing about me being somehow special kept biting me in the backside and ruined what should have been normal development of my social skills and the like. I did enjoy my childhood but with retrospect I got a dodgy introduction to life by not being allowed to make my own mistakes in the playground with my own age group. In short, teachers handled my education very poorly. Not their fault I suppose given the era and given that I was something of a moving target for the education system. It was damaging none the less. As an adult you just can't learn social skills that ought to have been part of development before the age of ten. I don't suffer too much as a result. In fact it is advantageous to have an uncommon point of view in many of life's situations. It's just that old thing of hindsight making you wonder "what if it had gone differently". There is nothing to be gained by thinking that way though. In short I have only ever been able to think of social gatherings from the point of view of one who is on the outside looking in. [b]On topic now;[/b] YT clips, including tutorial "tasters" can be a way around it for me. It depends on the YT subscriber's delivery. You can find a good clip, learn from it and then find that to pursue aspects of that tutorial requires yet another subscription to something that is far more than is needed. This tends to be when someone wants to attract subscribers to his or her course that is not in the public domain. That's fine. Given what I've said I won't be doing that. The vast number of people who are sharing freely means that a lot of good information is out there with no strings attached. There is an advantage to clip hopping in that I get more view points and opinions. Sometimes opinions contradict each other without either of the clip owners actually being wrong. To listen to opposing ideas like that has always helped me to a greater understanding of the subject material as a consequence. I spend time grazing, in a manner of speaking, until I've got lots of ideas then I spend time chewing the cud. I see posts in BC that demonstrate this learning behaviour in others too. I'd have to subscribe to a course of tutorials if I was setting myself a deadline so don't think I am an advocate for home schooling or anything like that. This is a anxiety busting occupation for me and deadlines are not allowed.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1500926452' post='3341155'] I'm not a fan of bass solos at all, especially that last more than 4 bars. [/quote] That's reinforcing my assertion that bass is not a solo instrument.

Gettin spalty widdit. I love it already. Locked in for the duration, carry on.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1500900845' post='3340925'] Isn't there a contradiction here, somewhere..? ... [/quote] I know but the delivery drivers don't know the difference.

You're welcome.

Yes. The 50s and 60s band that I sometimes mention had problems that were mounting up. Of the core group only two were around and performing in the nineteen fifties. The guitarist was stone deaf and the singer was on a round of chemo therapy that, thankfully, worked for him. Don't get me wrong. I was pleased as punch that they wanted me to practice with them let alone perform. I just couldn't guarantee my commitment to weekly practice due to my own problems at the time. It would've been unfair on them to keep my foot in the door, so to speak, so I politely declined both times that they offered me bassist. I hope they've got up and running again as they were planning to.

Well done! Here's wishing you continued success.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1500827731' post='3340424'] I don't tip very often, if I'm in a full waiter/waitress service restaurant ( not very often I usually go to pay when you order at the bar type of places) I leave a tip if I've enjoyed the meal, but that's the only time, But I know it's a different culture in the states, apparently in some places the waiting staff get paid nothing if it's a busy restaurant, I suppose if the food prices reflect that and everyone is aware of that it's ok [/quote] We also tip our take away delivery drivers. We discovered it is worth it too.

It's a shame when a pub gets known as a place that turns a blind eye to drugs or druggie behaviour. That's got to be difficult to turn around for the replacement landlord or landlady after the sh!t inevitably hits the fan and the management is sacked. I hope this is the exception to the rule for you though. Although I think it would be hard not to come across nights like that occasionally in any given circuit. That your singer was "courted" by those lummoxes... is that sort of thing still regarded as being an occupational hazard? Even if it is I'd understand why, as a band, you'd opt out of further bookings. Solidarity alone would dictate that.

[quote name='PawelG' timestamp='1500799122' post='3340186'] What are yobs? [/quote] [b]yob[/b][list] [*]n. [i]Chiefly British Slang[/i] A rowdy, aggressive, or violent young man. [/list]

I saw the title of this topic and thought this must be about less being the new black or the grass being greener than two in the bush. Fluff.

[quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1500839725' post='3340555'] Agreed re the drummer and have one lined up for a couple of weeks time. Re the bass teacher, I am not sure what you mean - my previous tutor was a guitarist and that was part of the problem for me. Do you mean with a player of something else from the rhythm section? [/quote] I wasted over a month on this; I had a guitarist try to tutor me. It wasn't asked for. I was going to do a bass accompaniment to his Open Mic night set and went 'round to his to record him playing with the intention of practising to the recording at home and turning up to play at the following week's Open Mic. I have successfully used this method before. He took the idea over and decided to impart his musical knowledge in weekly sessions for two hours at a time. I am not one to turn down good knowledge especially as he had a good understanding of score, arrangement and composition. I only do tab for personal reasons but I occasionally refer to score for detail if I am doing a book study, for example. This though, was not a notion that he was finding easy to accept and the whole thing fell over because of it. I'd suggest that a guitarist may not [i]see[/i] things from the low end very well. You could be better off with a tutor for whom bass is their "first" instrument.