musicbassman

Hi Andy S, An old thread revisited - but useful. Ideally, I would think you should learn to play with both pick and fingers, but I would put the emphasis on finger playing to begin with. This is mainly because it is easier to control the note length with fingers than with a pick - most finger players control note length with their right hand (but some with their left, just to confuse you, and some with a combination of both !) But pick playing is also very useful technique to learn, to help reproduce certain bass styles and feels This lesson from Scott Mills may help you re damping and note length:

This.

Jeez, band relationships can be so tricky! There's usually one person in a band who is a bit touchy about any comment about their playing, however tactfully this is done. Two ways forward: 1) If your drummer is replaceable, then maybe find someone else who takes the gig on the understanding that the BL has the final say in how the song is to be played. End of. 2) Or, if you think it's going to be difficult to continue without your current drummer, then much gentle counselling and persuasion might be necessary. But this then puts them in a dominant position - they know that they can throw their toys out of the pram at any time and get away with it. And, long term, this could be even worse.

I stopped playing completely around 2001 after 30 years of continuous gigging. And when I say completely, I mean I literally didn't pick up a bass for the next 16 years. Then 6 months ago on a sudden whim I got my one remaining bass out of the cupboard and started fumbling around on it. To my almost disbelief, it all came back very quickly, and now I'm a reasonably competent bass player again, and loving it all over again. So maybe the trick is to stop completely, and then just let nature take it's course - you might never play again, or you might have a joyous renaissance - time will tell.

It's a shame the guy interviewing doesn't have more knowledge so he could ask some more intelligent questions.

So, I'm in a holiday camp band back in the '80s, and we're auditioning a new girl singer. Bandleader: "OK, what key do you normally sing this in?" Girl singer: "errr - quite fast?"

Sounds like you need more Dobly...................

This is absolutely not a critcism - but I would be really fascinated to know how you've managed to avoid picking up any music theory if you've been playing for nearly 30 years! How do you create your bass lines? - visual 'patterns' on the fretboard? Or can you hear intervals easily and know where to put your fingers to create those intervals? Anyway - if you think it sounds good - then keep on doing what you're doing!

Thanks Creeper, maybe I'll try a set of these, I like a bit of texture........... Did their sound change much from new to worn-in?

Thanks for your comments guys, mikeycrikey, I think it's the very smoothness of the flats that I'm just not used to. It feels rather similar to lightly pressing your finger against the glass in a window - there is a natural friction there and your finger won't move easily. Maybe there needs to be a built up of crud on the strings to break this surface tension! I've been trying to play with a lighter touch and this has helped a bit, but old habits etc............

Well, I know this is an old thread, but having read peoples comments and advice re flats, I bought some Olympic flats 45-65-80-100 to try out, after having used roundwounds since absolutely forever. The tension is OK, but they seem ever so 'sticky' - seems very high friction between fingertip and string compared to my old roundwounds. Is this usual, or are some flats worse for this than others? I have had them on for 3-4 weeks now and not sure they're for me - I thought maybe they would have settled in a bit by now. Should I try another make? Or what about semi rounds? Bass is a PJ. All advice welcome, thanks!

Ah - that explains the old Tower of Power favourite.......... ...........What is Chip? ......sorry............

.....and don't overlook the simple and basic engineering principle in use for a standard tuner - this is the worm gear drive which is self locking by nature - otherwise string tension could never be maintained. There are other engineering solutions but they are only marginally better and cost prohibitive e.g. Rick Toone's wet dreams for engineers as above!

Geez, I can remember having to do gigs like this - where you're playing through gritted teeth and praying for the performance to end, 'cos you know the band will NEVER sound any better than it does at that moment, and that's so depressing............ Sounds like it's time you sat down with your BL or whoever is (or was) a significant driving force in the band and tried to find out where they see the band going from here on. Maybe they've just lost interest in the current format and are more interested in the new project. Is it original material you've been doing in the current band? How has it been going down? Negative audience response puts a dampener on things more quickly than someone's slightly ropey playing, IMO. Whatever you do, plan your strategy carefully! Best of luck.

Interesting........... Generally, I never tell people that I used to play bass professionally back in the day, as they'll usually say something dumb like "Well why weren't you famous then". And as for actually playing/performing to prove that this is really what I can do, I agree with Barking Spiders and Marc S - play something well known but not exactly technically demanding and they'll wet themselves with awe and wonder...................

Oh dear, that was supposed to be a gif. What have I done wrong? Here's the link to original - http://izismile.com/2018/02/09/daily_gifdump_30_gifs.html

- Just a little Sat morning amusement for you......................

Well, respects to Scott (who does get a bit of stick from some people) for admitting he can't quite get this technique right, and asking for other peoples suggestions. I can't offer any suggestions, but it certainly is a bit Victor Wooten-ish.................

My 1982 Squier '57 style Precision (yes, one of the very first, with the large Fender logo) is 43mm, so very slightly less than the expected 1 3/4" ..........and it's very nice to play, thankyou!

This is an ad showing on Join my Band at the moment (Hampshire) I feel sorry for the guy if this really is the case. But I'm glad to see he still shows the usual bass players natural sense of stoicism and humour.

Yup, Sibob beat me to it - they'll certainly be very loud, but they'll put an extra load on the neck so I guess you're very likely to need to adjust the truss rod to compensate. But I disagree with Sibob about 'not much tension difference' - you might find you need a new set of fingers as well.......................

I know this is a metaphorical ad, but fat chance of any opportunities like this coming up around here (South Coast UK) It's apparently a gig desert in this location, so even if a band wanted to play more than 5-6 gigs a year they may struggle to manage this.

Dear Blue, you're obviously a lovely guy, but.......................

Can someone explain the difference (if any) between flatwounds and tapewounds? I've always used roundwounds so this is a bit of a mystery to me.

That looks an interesting buy. Care to give some more details? - about the bass and also the auction site?