musicbassman

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?

I think Hyperactive is more about the exact muting and note length than the exact sound. And as for Two Tribes, here's Trevor Horn doing a pretty fair job.................

Oh, that is so delicious! Never heard that track before. Yum yum.

This. So, for a covers band, always try and join an already well established band with solid gig and personnel history If a recent 'audition' for a start up covers band I went to is anything to go by, I'm going to be looking for decent gig for a good while yet.................. So, I turn up on time at the audition, having learnt (or refreshed my memory) of numbers the band say they want to run through for my audition. - Drummer listens to song for first time ever, and starts trying to work out drum parts. - Keyboard player announces he might already be leaving the band because of work pressures (!) - Lengthy argument between drummer and guitarist about someone else's wife, and what she did or didn't do. - Huge sulks from keyboard player when I merely suggest that one of the chords he's playing might not be correct? And these are guys in their 50's, who apparently have been gigging for years in various bands...................a complete waste of time, they're never going to be gigging.

That's a labour of love - well done! Are you planning on labelling them all, or is it a chance for bass players to see how many of these they can name?

In my first band (1968) I was playing 'rhythm guitar' on a Watkins Rapier 33 and the bass player bought a brand new Domino bass. I think it was £75, and was an absolute bottom of the range beginners bass.. A take home wage for a manual worker would have been about £15 per week then, so equal to five weeks wages. Obviously by current standards this instrument was almost unplayable, and now you can buy a perfectly playable instrument for less than one weeks take home pay. Yes, there might be some slightly dodgy labour practices (viewed from our Western sensibilities), but I would guess it's more down to modern machinery and economies of scale than anything else. Too cheap? Well that's the laws of supply and demand. But if beginners can start on good playable instruments then surely that's no bad thing.

Take great care here. I would think it really is worth using headphones, otherwise it could become an ever escalating war of words/volumes with your neighbour, until you reach the point where your 'right' to make a noise becomes more important to you than the actual practising. Also, if you are an owner occupier you are legally obliged to declare any disputes with neighbours when you come to sell up and move on - and a poor history here can create major problems for you, regardless of whether the disputes were your 'fault' or not....................