richh

Thanks, appreciate the feedback, looking forward to hearing how other people do this!

I've seen various videos and the rule of thumb (sorry about that) is that the position of the thumb should always be right behind the 2nd finger. But... watching live players, it looks to me that some players have their thumb closer to the nut, nearer the 1st finger. Anybody have any experience or thoughts please? I understand the logic of this, but I'm curious if everybody actually does this. It feels more comfortable to me to have the thumb further back. Thanks for your info on this!

Thanks, that is an interesting video, very impressive player! I'm curious as to how good the Boss tuners are - he seems to be saying that he can check his double bass intonation while playing to check he is spot on? If so, that is really impressive! I don't think he meant he was just checking his open strings are in tune. If the Boss tuners are that accurate, and presumably able to track the notes quickly, they might be handy for people learning fretless, EUB or double bass to check and correct intonation? Or, did I completely misunderstand how he is using this with his DB?

If you do get a high value one, which ones are likely to hold value for re-sale, if needed?

Thanks very much to everybody - this is incredibly helpful!

Thanks for all the replies. JPJ mentions struggling with the Stagg EUB to avoid it rotating - and my EUB is the Stagg - as advertised on here by Ordep and then in February intially. So that may be a major part of the problem for me, is keeping it locked in position. Which I can imagine would be a lot easier with a proper double bass. I do have the stand for this. I'm not really sure if that is meant to be used when you're playing it? I'd assumed this is just when you are not playing? I love the idea of the EUB and the smaller format, but can see the difficulty in wedging it in a position where it can't move. Anyway, thanks for all the ideas and information!

I just got my first EUB and love it. But having mostly played electric guitar up to now, I can see that this is going to be quite a physical challenge? Browsing various posts here, I can see recommendations to take it easy and build up time on the instrument gradually. So, I'd be interested in advice on how to do this and sensibly build up to being able to practice on an EUB for increasing times, without risking RSI or other injury? I'm guessing that good technique is really important? So how best to get help with this? Typically I've had lessons before on Zoom, but would it be best to be actually in the same room with a good teacher to get this sort of guidance? It feels like I'm gripping the neck far too tight, where the thumb behind the neck should really be just a guide I think? I can see that to achieve good technique will take time, so how would you balance the caution of doing it gradually with the wish to dive full in? Thanks!

Thanks for that, appreciate it!

I used to play with a pick / plectrum, but due to an injury, I had to convert to playing without a pick. I'm trying to work on a 4 bar phrase that is all straight 8th notes, and building up speed with a metronome. My main focus was my left hand fretting the fingerboard, thinking the right picking hand could take care of itself. I've eventually realised though, that my right hand may not be consistent. Basically, in analysing this slowly, I've realised that while I thought I was alternating index / middle fingers, this is not actually the case. So what I'd like to ask, is whether I should be aiming for strictly alternate right hand fingers, or if it makes sense to sometimes deviate from this? I feel like if I make a decision on this and spend a lot of time practicing one way, that I'll be embedding this into my technique. I imagine there is not a right or wrong way to do this, but I'd really appreciate your thoughts and advice! Anyway, I hope that makes sense? Thanks for reading and any suggestions!

Adam was great to deal with, sending the part out quickly with tracking info, and I'd have no hesitation buying from him again, thank you!

I just bought a speaker cab from Chris, and he was incredibly helpful, taking a lot of trouble to pack it up double boxed with loads of soft packaging, and sent on a good courier service with tracking, so it arrived at my work address on a specific day. The cab is in great condition, and I'd be totally happy buying from Chris in the future. I was a bit concerned as I've not bought via Basschat before, but I couldn't be happier!

There is some footage somewhere of Nile Rogers busking in London, and if I recall correctly, hardly anybody paid him any attention. Same is true of some other famous names, but as they were doing instrumental / improv stuff, maybe this is understandable? Musicians may be interested, but the general public are probably more interested in a vocal performance. I regularly see musicians I would consider world class level at small local pub and club gigs. But this is within a jazz context, where if you get a few punters and a stray dog in, that is seen as the norm!

Thanks for the replies and suggestions! I haven't got a specific plan to this, but would like to learn, if only for my own benefit. But I thought that it would be interesting to know how this kind of skill might actually be used in a gig type situation - or not. So I'll give it some thought and think how much time I can afford to spend on this. It may be that be able to read charts is more useful as a practical skill than 'reading the dots'. If I have loads of time I'd certainly like to practice both, but as for most of us, time is the scarce commodity.

I'm looking to improve my sight reading skills, but would be interested to hear how useful this is likely to be in a practical situation? Obviously it would be a good skill to have, but how often have you been asked to read a part? And if you have, I'm guessing that the ability to read a chart is more useful, than 'reading the dots'? Thanks - before I invest a lot of time and effort into this, I'd be curious to think how useful it is really going to be.