josie

Depends on the venue and music style (as said above). If it's a new venue or I'm especially nervous I'll take the GMR 5 because I know her so well, she gives me confidence. Or if I know I'll use the B string. If it's a blues jam I'll usually take the Jazz 4 because she looks and sounds more in place. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to gig the GMR 5 Flow In, it would feel like turning up wearing an evening gown and diamonds. Looking forward to getting good enough on the fretless for that to be a gigging option.

There's definite rush to getting something new - the whole process of planning and choosing and then coming home with your new toy ... or succumbing to instant lust ... I've managed to deflect my GAS onto guitar picks - having an account with TimberTones is dangerous, but only on a small scale. Right now I want this: http://timber-tones.co.uk/sun-tones-mixed-tin-of-4-guitar-picks-2634-p.asp If that's enough to stop me looking for a Lakland 5 (which wouldn't match up to my GMR Flow In 5 anyway), it looks like a good deal to me

Machine head problem? My GMR is utterly stable - I give it as much time as I can to adapt to temp / humidity in the venue, then tune up and it stays tuned. On the Jazz, the E machine head was noticeably loose (A D G were stable). I had to (discreetly) check the E string tuning pretty much every song until I figured out how to tighten the head.

Playing with other people - whether it's a gig or a private practice or jam - when it's right, that feeling of being the backbone of a living creature is the best in the world. Ever. Practising alone - I constantly say to myself what I say to the young people I support with mental health problems, "You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable". Meaning that you have to be able to push yourself and grow. If I spend an hour noodling through scales and riffs that I already know, it's kind of fun, but kind of boring, and I end up cross with myself for shirking any real learning. If I spend half an hour working on just one transition in a song I'm trying to learn (or write), it can be grotty and frustrating, but there's a huge satisfaction from knowing that I'm making progress even if it's slow. Another way of interpreting "how does your bass make you feel?" is - every time I even pick up my first and favourite, there is still a visceral surge of gratitude that she feels so much part of me, and that I can actually do this, after 45 years of believing that I couldn't.

Not specific to bass, but if you found Wooten helpful, [b]Zen Guitar[/b] by Philip Toshio Sudo says a lot of the same things in a simpler way - it's a thin little book full of single lines that take a lot of thinking about (as you'd expect): http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35397.Zen_Guitar A slightly different angle, [b]Guitar Zero[/b] by Gary Marcus is about his journey learning to play later in life - he is a cognitive psychologist and uses that as the storyline on which to hang a really good clear account of the latest understanding of brain plasticity, late learning, and the psychology of music. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11797453-guitar-zero The goodreads site is often a good place to find books similar to ones you like - check out their chain of suggestions from either of these and you might find others.

Johnny Roadhouse is the only really interesting place for 2nd hand instruments. Most of the other fun stuff (music bars, vinyl &c) is in the Northern Quarter. Affleck's Palace is more or less a time machine of vintage stalls - including one place which does sell a few guitars and other instruments, fun to look at, but not at bargain prices. Check the listings at Band on the Wall (decades-old Manc venue) and Ruby Lounge (might be more your type of music). It's a good city these days, enjoy!

Welcome! Cort make some nice instruments. Enjoy the journey! Maybe think about taking one or two early grade exams, they can give you a lot of structure and confidence when you're starting out.

Carmine Rojas - my idol bass player - with Ryan McGarvey at Holmfirth Picturedrome tomorrow (Sunday) night.I've seen him once before, at the Ryman in Nashville with Joe Bonamassa - hardly noticed JB.

There's all the difference in the world between wanting to be perfect and wanting to be better. I spend a lot of my working days helping young people who are crippled by perfectionism. There's no "perfect" in music anyway. There's always better. Last Tuesday om I played by far the best basslines ever, and it has given me new confidence that I can get more better. I'm "happy" - like over the moon - with where I am as a newbie bass player. A large part of why I'm over the moon is that I can see the road ahead to getting better.

Nothing. I brought my gorgeous Jazz Aerodyne back from Nashville last month, my gorgeous GMR fretless 4 arrived last week and a top-flight GMR 5 is arriving next week. It will be at least another couple of weeks before I want anything else

I almost always gig my GMR 5 because I'm completely comfortable and confident with her. Especially if it's a new venue and I'm nervous. Gigged my Fender Jazz Aerodyne 4 in Nashville twice last month because she was the only bass I had there, and took her to Aynsley Lister's guitar weekend because I'd flown back with her two days before and couldn't take my hands off her.

For example: I'm the only person in "my band" who is into the blues, and when I started dropping chromatic "blue" notes into my basslines they were startled. "Sunshine of your Love" proved my point - and I don't do it in their cheesy Elton John covers. Knowing when to use a dominant or minor 7th - or even a major or minor 3rd - could be "theory" or could just be knowing what genre or key you're playing. Personally, the "theory" gives me confidence. Respect for those who can do it by ear.

It was really interesting at Aynsley Lister's guitar tuition weekend recently to see the difference between Aynsley - who is one of the best blues-rock guitar players around, and grew up in a family of musicians learning it by ear - and his bass player Steve Amadeo who was stressing the importance of understanding scale and chord patterns - that you might be able to pick up or learn the root notes, but as soon as you want to develop and decorate a bassline you have to know which notes sound right. I've been through the frustration of trying to develop a fill or run hit-or-miss, it's hugely rewarding and confidence-building to know "Ok, I'm in Dm pentatonic, so I go there". This doesn't mean I'm a theory pedant - maybe it means I don't have as good an ear as some of you The comparison with learning languages made above is a very good one - some people learn more easily grammar-first (like me), some seem to be able to drop into an other-language environment and learn what noises to make by listening to the noises. It's a very general thing about learning styles.

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/292421-why-is-music-addicted-to-bass/

Following on from my previous post on this thread - next on the wishlist was Lukas's GMR Flow In 5. I bought it. You wait years for a GMR and then two come along at once

Done, and will forward to musician friends and on Twitter. 7954 (edit to add number)

My first bass was a 5, I still get confused reading tab, but not playing - though I used to when I got my first 4! D at 5 on the A string is the centre of the universe, and not having a centre string just felt unsettled. Just this evening took possession of an utterly gorgeous GMR Bassforce 4 fretless (bought from Lucasz on BC, thank you!) and spent an hour playing scales and arpeggios, no problem with only four strings, getting used to absolute precision on the fretboad is something else.

Welcome from Manchester! PM me if you want to get in touch. Great local grass-roots music.

Stevie Nimmo and Robin Trower at RNCM tomorrow.

I had an embarrassing admission-of-ignorance moment at an om gig a while back when I plugged in my (active) GMR and it buzzed like h*ll. Luckily someone else instantly diagnosed it as a flat battery, and there was another om bass player in the room who offered me his to play. That was definitely between trusted acquaintances. If the only other bass player there had been a guest musician with top class gear I would just have sat down. I've never asked to try out anyone else's bass, I've just been amazed how often when I just ask "I play bass, that's a beautiful instrument, could I just have a closer look please" it's been handed over.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1475706324' post='3148196'] someone learning a song/cover without really having any understanding of what they're actually playing [/quote] I saw a really nice example of moving on from this a couple of weeks ago at Aynsley Lister's guitar tuition weekend. There was a beginner bass player there who had been taught how to play a simple bass pattern in a standard I-IV-V progression - so he played something acceptable in the first jam session - but had no idea what he was doing or how to do anything else. Aynsley's bass player, Steve Amadeo, did a brilliant job of explaining that and developing it, and by the end of the weekend he was moving around the fretboard and throwing in little variations and well on the road to learning more. There is a big step up though from playing a song you've practiced, to getting up at an open jam session and being thrown in with musicians you've never met before who insist on playing a song you don't know and maybe don't even know what key they're playing in and being able to wing it.

Just back from the monthly open mic blues jam at Matt & Phred's in Northern Quarter, Manchester - the first time I've played there. Kept it simple and solid, and got a roar from the punters and lots of good warm comments. The other two bass players there both played much more ripply complex basslines, but I honestly think mine worked better for the two chaotic young shredders on lead guitars with me. I'm pretty pleased

I've wondered about this. It may depend on your playing style. I know (acoustic 6) guitar players who have an amazing quick ripply finger-picked style with limited chord changes, so mostly right hand, and similar bass players. Otoh if you're playing a fairly sparse bassline but allover the fretboard, mostly left. (I'm in the second category due to RSI in right elbow, regrets but just decided that would be what I do.)

I'm amazed at the number of bass players I've seen who, when I've approached them after the gig asking just for a closer admiring look at their bass, have handed it to me to try out. (They do usually ask first whether I play myself.) I've been allowed to noodle briefly on instruments I could never dream of owning. Otoh I know many musicians who will never let anyone else even touch their gear. I'm happy to hand mine over briefly to anyone I trust to respect them (I get a buzz out of having them admired ) , but not just to any random punter. Interested to know how others feel about this.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1475432741' post='3145877'] If I was the sort of person who set my goals high it would be for doing something a lot more important than music. Music isn't going to save the planet, it's not going to cure cancer, it's just trivial noise at the end of the day. [/quote] Ummm... try an internet search on "music and brain".