musicbassman

Now, if I had a son aged 15-18 I certainly wouldn't let him reply to this. 🥺 You're welcome to follow the link, but it's not good.

Several questions here ! Are you talking about your plucking fingers or your fretting fingers? What sort of strings are on your bass - flatwound? roundwound? Are the strings new? Most bass players would actually choose to have dry-ish hands, as this keeps your fingertips a bit harder - having soft skin either through moisturising or having sweaty hands also means possibly ending up with more blisters and skin damage. Having the ideal slightly thickened smooth skin on your fingertips takes a lot of playing time to develop nicely, and is something that can't be rushed. If you're developing blisters or worse then try and play for shorter periods until this is no longer an issue. Just my opinions, others may have different suggestions. 🙂

Yep, I remember going over there around '81 and they were all raving about the first Casiopea album which they had on full blast. Casiopea's brand of Japfunk sounded so advanced and technically brilliant at the time, but if I hear any of that stuff now it just sounds like lift music. How times change.

Fender four string bass = Absurd riff enters song

I had an empty diary for NYE but a last minute dep has just popped up. It's a decent band I've depped with before,and a gig is always better than b###y Jools Holland. By the way, I've just googled this, and his rather predictable NYE show has now been running since 1993 !.......... 🥺

I hoped this was a parody, but unfortunately I don't think it is. Hardly helps spread the message, does it ? Fail rating : 100% ☹️

Honey............Errr...................the babysitters arrived !............................. 🥺

Usual reaction from anyone who sees it..................

Am I the only one whose never heard of it ? Googled it and no real information available. What did I miss ? Was it good ? 😮 Please tell.

Here's the Jacob Mann Big band with Sam Wilkes on bass and Louis Cole on drums. I'd be happy staying on the line if I was hearing this.

Two old favourites that are excellent for moderate level pick practice - Footloose and Long Train Running

There, fixed it.

This makes about as much sense as keyless ignition in cars - i.e. a solution looking for a non-existent problem.

Well, if a guitarist will do as a substitute for a bass player, then maybe a hand held megaphone will do as a substitute for a PA............ 🙄

@stewblack, don't get yourself down about this. It's the cross all bass players have to bear. We bass players know that the bass is the rhythmic and melodic glue that binds everything else together. It's very subtlety is it's own misfortune, but we all secretly know that the bass line can make or break a song. Sermon over. 🙂 Go forth and enjoy your subtle bass playing pleasures.

This would be on that list. Mind you, I normally just do dep gigs, and if I turned up to do a dep and I saw the band had this on their set list I might need a change of trousers.......... 😬

......and to rather demonstrate this, here's Michael League (Snarky Puppy) playing a 1952 Precision with a band called Forq.

Hello Blue, Glad you're recovering, but go easy, won't you ? I played my first gig in 1970, so am one of the old guard now. The most noticeable change over my many gigging years is how much the standard of playing for weekend warriors has improved. I picked up my first pro gig in 1973, and cringe now to think how inept I was at the time, - yet I was the best available to choose from for what was a well paid regular touring band gig. I still gig now, but just deps for covers/functions bands - I love the buzz of getting a last minute gig and sometimes meeting the band just half an hour before they're on stage, - and being a dep means I can completely avoid all the internal band politics. So, I pick up my bass every day and usually play for an hour or so - there's always something new to learn, even if it's just dissecting a little bass fill I've heard or trying out a few ideas. And there's always someone new to listen to - I've just discovered Doug Johns. I'll never play at that level but enjoy his mastery. Playing live is still a huge part of my life, and I expect you and I will be the same and only stop playing when we have to be carried onto the stage! 😊

Blimey, that really does sound like those early days of rock n roll .........

Hotel Coercion, more like. Sorry, but I watched this with an unhappy mix of admiration and horror.

Wait.........you were asking your guitarist to check the bass volume ??? That's like asking the fattest kid in the class to share their sweets..............

I would guess it just shows that they have zero understanding of the pivotal role of the bass guitar on those Motown tracks. Jamerson's bass was the colourful glue that bound the melody and rhythm together perfectly.

Well, it raised a smile. 😄