josie

Yeah. Not *that* punchy. My son has a top-end MIA Fender P (I even went halves with him on it) and I hate it. The notes just die too quickly. Mind you I'm only just learning that letting an open string ring through two bars while developing the line on the other strings is something most basses won't do 🙂

That's part of why I'm thinking half-round rather than round on my main fretted. Otoh fretless flat shimmer/slide is good in some projects, but right now I need to get quicker and puncher. I'll never go so far as wanting to play a P 🙂 but I need to get a little bit closer to it.

Pick on everything - long-standing rsi in right elbow, can't play finger-picked. Resin or wood blunt-tipped pick on rounds, sharp-tipped stone on flats.

I was more tempted playing in my ex-band (indie-pop), where a slide bass fitted well. Current band (blues) has an excellent lead slide guitar player, so I reckon I'll stay round-stringed and punchy, at least on my main squeeze GMR 5, for a while.

Have you tried half-rounds? I'm interested / tempted...

That is gorgeous. Congratulations 🙂 I have D'Addario chrome flats on my electric fretless - I'm after a sort of light silver shimmer/slide sound, and they give me that. If you want more of a deeper DB / jazz sound, then tape-wounds. I have the same chrome flats on my acoustic fretless, but I'm thinking of changing them for tape-wounds to have more types of sound to play with.

Definitely real. Similar in many ways to the MIA Jazz Plus, which was made 1989-1994 - I have a 1992 J+V so yours looked familiar immediately. Mine is as heavy as lead though and yours is described as light, sounds good! Check the marketplace here for amps 🙂

The extra 5 lower notes aren't often much used, but it's having more options under your hand around the 3rd to 7th fret - you can do much more across the neck, rather than moving up and down the neck on a 4. Useful if playing fast in dim light! and/or playing a riff across three strings (such as a simple R-V-VII-VIII or R-VIII-VII-V "box" blues line.) It does also let you go an octave lower sometimes. We've just added Chain of Fools to our setlist, in Am to suit the singer. The bass riff is a simple pentatonic run up to the root, so starting on C#, and starting on B2 rather than A4 makes a big difference to the overall "punch" of the sound.

That's a seriously interesting bass. Jazz Special MIJ. E626175 makes it 1984-1987. "It has a Precision Bass body shape with a Jazz Bass profile neck and a P/J pickup configuration." http://www.rexbass.com/2011/01/fender-jazz-bass-special.html Congratulations - you've stumbled on a real treasure. Enjoy!

Welcome! Sounds like a good accident - tell us more?

I hear what you're saying. What I care most about is becoming a better bass player. If I don't practice I'm letting myself down... and my band.. and my teacher. But there are many times when the motivation of playing better for them or for him tips me over into practicing when I wouldn't just for myself. I work in disability support with university students, and I've long ago lost count of the times when one of them has come to see me and said "I only motivated myself to get this assignment done because I knew I had to come to see you and tell you about it." I think of it as like the difference between having a gym membership and a personal trainer. (Not that I have either!) You could, in theory, go and work out every day, but nobody else will know if you don't. Or you could have someone to talk to every week, who will know, and who will help you when you falter. Imho - ymmv 🙂

Too B***dy true. Any product targeted at any kind of disability is sold at exploitative prices. Dawn simulator alarm clocks were originally sold just for Seasonal Affective Disorder - I paid almost £200 for one, 15 years ago, knowing I was being ripped off, because it was essential to getting through the winter. Then someone realised that anyone who ever needs to get up in the dark (like, anyone who lives in the north of England) would be glad of one, and they go for as little as £30 now. <\rant> She's gorgeous. Thank you for the pics! x

This. My teacher does push me and teach me new good things during lessons, but even more important is that I know that I have to remember what he's taught me, and make progress between lessons, or I'll be letting him down and wasting his time. There have been many dull days when the only reason I've picked up my bass was that I needed to be able to look him in the eye at my next lesson.

Welcome!

Lovely! Good pics too, thank you 🙂

This may sound odd, but I wonder if it might be easier moving straight from a 4 to a 6, than getting used to both 4 and 5 and then going to 6, as I just have? It made me realise that I've been switching easily between 4 and 5 by mentally anchoring everything on the highest, G string and working down from there, and now I've lost that fixed point of reference and have to keep thinking about which string I'm on. Which made me wonder whether if I'd gone from 4 to 6 it would just be the familiar four strings in the middle with an extra on each end to get used to, and less disorienting? Does that make sense? Thoughts from anyone else who has made the same move?

Welcome! (to the wonderful world of 5 strings 🙂 )

Welcome! I know not everyone agrees, but I found a bit of theory makes it a lot easier to understand and learn what I'm trying to play. A Real Live Teacher can make a big difference too - although it sounds as if you're off to a very good start as it is 🙂 Hope it continues to go well for you, let us know!

That's beautiful! I very recently indulged myself with a Warwick Thumb 6 (bought on BC), and (being lazy!) I utterly love the easy options it gives me. Every note I want is there between frets 3 and 7 barely moving my hand. We do several songs in C with an R-8-7-5 or R-5-7-8 bassline, fast, sometimes in dim light at a gig, and across the neck is just so much easier than up and down. Only problem is, it's too heavy to gig. (Unless I spend some serious time in the gym 😞 ) So I still have to work on the up-and-down stuff. I might re-string one of my 5s EADGC - I do use the low B, but not as much as I'd use the high C.

Not much help recommending GMR, because they're scarcer than hen's teeth, but if you ever see one of these, grab it! I bought this on BC for £350 - pleaded with the seller to take more, but he wouldn't. Stunning playability, tone, and build quality. Still feel bad about paying so little to someone who clearly needed the money, for such a superb bass.

You're riding on the late bus / Trying to find your way back home / Darkness falling round you / Can't see ahead to where you're going You may be riding with whores and gamblers / You may be riding with the lonely and insane / Some of you may be laughing, some are crying / You're all trying to get home just the same

Welcome! I'd definitely support getting at least a few lessons. When I started (guitar at first) I thought I'd be able to pick it up from books and YouTube, but went nowhere, and would have given up if I hadn't found a good teacher. We're still working together four years later, and he's still supporting and pushing me. I wouldn't be playing in a band now without him.

Welcome! Best wishes, hope it goes well for you. Please let us know 🙂

I actually wrote a song called "The Late Bus" as soon as we chose the name - a gospel-style take-off of "This train" - "The late bus ain't no train to glory / Them iPods ain't playing no gospel song / And when the wheels come off the late bus / Tell me how are you going to get home?" Turned out to be prophetic 😞

We played the open jam at the Thirsty Scholar in Mcr Monday night. Our keys player had played there a few times before, and got us a slot as a band. Tiny stage, no monitors on stage, so I was cramped in a back corner with my headstock a few inches from the keys player's head, and could only hear him and the drums. Had no idea what the singer, lead guitar, and harp were doing, so just nailed a steady bassline and hoped for the best. Couldn't understand why the singer was so upset after, until I was told (at practice Weds) that there had been a couple of mix-ups about when she should be singing and when it was supposed to be an instrumental solo. Ironic, as we'd spent time at our last practice working on how to keep eye contact and what signals to give. But the place was rocking and we've been asked back, so I guess we got away with it 🙂