LeftyP

You could try Supermusic57 Ltd, 32 Drumry Road, Clydebank G81 2LL I bought a set of the strings via Amazon and they came from Supermusic. I managed to snap one of the strings near the winding peg and Supermusic were very helpful in getting me a replacement. From the telephone conversations I had with them I don't think La Bella normally supply individual strings.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1509232251' post='3397506'] Would you have put it up, if it was Johnny Vegas playing this tune in his underpants? [/quote] I wish you hadn't put that image in my mind!

I bought a [b]SubZero 35 watt bass combo [/b]for use at home which is working well. I also bought a [b]Tascam GB-10 Trainer/Recorder[/b] which is great for playing along to backing tracks and learning songs. It may sound boring but I think my best purchase was a set of [b]La Bella Flat wound strings[/b] designed to fit my Hofner violin bass copy. They are so smooth and comfortable to play that I don't get any of the squeaks when sliding up and down the frets.

I have the Chowny SWB-1 on order - it should be here by mid-November. It looks to be a great little bass guitar and if it makes me play as well as Scott Whitley it will be a good purchase - not to mention a miracle!

I am currently a spare room warrior trying to get back into playing after a ten year (or so) break. My wife and I organized a large Christian music band some years ago and I mainly set up the sound system and helped out on backing vocals. When our bass player had to leave for other commitments I stepped in. I had been learning (without much success) the classical guitar so thought the bass would be easier. I've always liked good bass lines so maybe I was destined to play one! The band was about 15 strong with; drums, bass, guitar, trumpet, trombone, sax, clarinet, oboe, violin, keyboard, flute and several vocalists - we made a big sound (enough for me to hide behind). I played just what was needed but found that being in a band made me raise my game. I was never very good but my playing certainly improved over the time I was part of the group. Getting that many people together for rehearsals and gigs was a good trick - if you have problems getting four or five members in one place at the same time try 15! The band came to a natural end and my bass remained in its case until a few months ago when someone in the church I now attend asked if I played anything. When I mentioned the bass his eyes lit up, "We don't have a bass player!" So, at the age of 67, I'm getting back up to speed and there is a possibility that I'll be up in front of the congregation by Christmas. I am enjoying learning again, both from chord charts and sheet music. My wife, an oboe player, says that learning something new at my age will help ward off dementia and I'll be very happy if that is the case!

I suppose it makes a difference if you have something to work towards. Are you just playing for your own amusement at home or do you play in public. I played for a short time in a large Christian music band. I stepped in when the original bass player left the area. I wasn't very good and just did what was necessary for each song. When the band ended I didn't touch the bass for nearly 10 years. I recently moved to a new church and was asked if I played an instrument and I mentioned the bass guitar. Suddenly I find I may be playing in the base on the odd Sunday so I'm back to plucking the strings. I decided to really get to grips with following chord charts, reading music and playing by ear. The challenge has given me renewed interest in the instrument and I'm enjoying playing again - not sure the congregation will share my enthusiasm! I think you only get out what you put in. I don't put my bass in its case so I can pick it up anytime and spend a few minutes getting the fingers working. The bass is a great instrument but may be a bit limited on its own compared to a lead guitar. If you can set a target to work towards I'm sure that will help you get over your current malaise.

Joni Mitchell's "River" is a great song. Whisper it quietly but Barry Manilow does a pretty good version of it too!

OK this is not a band and my choice may shock and surprise you but I've grown to like Britney Spears! One of my daughters was a fan when "Hit Me Baby, One More Time" was a hit and I thought the song was irritating to say the least. Then some time after it had faded from the charts I heard it and really listened to it. I was impressed by the production and overall feel of the song. When I bought a cheap MP3/4 player a Britney Spears video had been loaded as a demo. The song was "Sometimes" and I really liked it. I was in the Pound Shop and found several of her CDs (for £1 each) so bought a couple. I cannot say I like everything she records but I do appreciate many of her recordings. I'm in my mid 60s so maybe I'm not supposed to like Britney Spears but I do. Maybe by the time I'm a hundred I may have grown to understand the whole Adelle thing - no that won't ever happen!

I've been using Hotmail for years without any problems. I do have by security setting on 'high' so that only mail from people who are in my address book get into my 'in' box. This is because of the amount of Spam I get from young foreign ladies offering all kinds of services! Since I asked for the ladies to be blocked I've been getting even more invites from them! Hotmail is fine and it means you don't have to change your email address if you swap service providers. I also have Gmail but don't know how to access it.

I can't compete with any of the above posts but I do have the same birthday as Mark King- although I'm a few years his senior! On a somewhat related matter; my wife and I were at the Montreux Jazz Festival some years ago and we were leaving a free concert when I bumped into a man carrying a guitar. I said sorry and moved aside. It turned out to be B.B. King!

"Yesterday Has Gone" - Cupid's Inspiration, I remember them "performing it on TOTP and the backing track was out of sync. "The Son Of Hickory Hollers Tramp" - O.C. Smith. I have an old LP of his which isn't bad. "Me & Mrs Jones" - Billy Paul. He had other records out but that's the one most people remember. "96 Tears" - ? & The Mysterians. Not even sure if it was a major hit in the UK. "Woolly Bully" - Sam The Sham & The Pharohs. Not sure of the spelling of some of these! "Black Is Black" - Los Bravos. "I Could Feel The Whole World Turn Round" - Shotgun Express. I think this was a "turntable hit" back in the 60s. "Hang On Sloopy" - The McCoys. I do have another 45rpm by them called "Don't Worry Mother Your Son's Heart Is Pure"! There must be hundreds more but I'm enjoying this thread.

I think in these days of (anti) social media it is often better to use another name on internet sites. I really think that Parker would be a good pen name.

"I Will Always Love You" is often used as a first dance song at weddings. The title gets in the way of the song's message!

The advert does say "Made in China".

https://youtu.be/VX4GiaVQcdk I've ordered one of the standard bases in the hope I can do what Scott does - some hope!

I am trying to learn to read the dots and play from chord charts but find TAB to be a help in finding where to start on the fret board. There are many different places to play any of the notes on a guitar neck and Tabs give me a good starting point. Once I'm in the right place - and perhaps used the TAB to work out my fingering, I switch to notation. TAB is handy but I try not to rely on it.

[attachment=251567:P1010031.JPG] Don't have one of me playing bass but here's one taken in July next to the memorial to Joey Dunlop on the Isle of Man.

I'm in the process of re-learning the bass after about a 10 year gap. I wasn't that good a player before I stopped and made the mistake of simply learning what I needed to play for each song we did. As a result I didn't fully understand what I was playing. Now I use lessons from YouTube and instruction books and have gone right back to basics (pardon the pun!). I'm following the dots, playing from chord charts and trying to play by ear from CDs. This combination is helping me understand music structure and where all the notes are on the fret board. Scott Whitley's YouTube explanation of what arpegios are was a light bulb moment for me and really helped me to understand bass lines. I still have a lot of work to do but one thing I would recommend is to play along with a drum machine or metronome. I thought I was progressing OK until I switched on the drum machine and discovered that I was all over the place with my timing! If nothing else the bass guitar needs to be in time. Have fun!

"Groovin'" by The Young Rascals. I loved it when it was released back in 1967 but it's only since I got into playing bass that I've really noticed how the bass line totally makes this song. I must have listened to the record a few thousand times and never appreciated just how subtle but afective the bass vibe is.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1500849077' post='3340643'] Really? I don't believe in that one at all. He wouldn't last 5 mins in any band I listen to. [/quote] Kat is a SHE!

I know it is sometimes an overused expression but for bass playing Less is often More. It is also a good excuse to use if, like me, you are not very good at playing! The August edition of the British publication "[i]Bass Guitar Magazine[/i]" has a very short feature about [b]Kat Ades[/b] of the band [i]Other[/i] [i]Animals[/i]. She says, "The secret of playing bass well is to not be heard when you're there, but be missed when you're not." I must say it is the way I feel about the bass as well. Much as I marvel at the dexterity and speed of some players, I do feel that a subtle bass line (to enhance the overall sound of a piece) is preferred to an all out assault on the lower register. Like many of us who play the instrument, I tend to listen out for bass lines on recordings but most people don't even notice the bass as it blends and gives body to a tune. There is a wonderful interview with [b]Victor Wooton[/b] on YouTube by [b]Scott Devine[/b] of Scott's Bass Lessons. Settle down for 50 minutes of pure magic from a very talented and humble man.

My wife plays oboe in an orchestra and has great difficulty playing without the music in front of her. I think that orchestral players need to be in sync with each other and the conductor so following the dots is essential and it just becomes ingrained in their playing. I think the bass guitar and the types of music it is used in lends itself more to freestyle playing.

If 40-something is "oldish" spare a thought for this 66 year old. I'm just getting back into the bass after about 10 years of not playing. I started in my mid 40s when the bass player left our church band. I just did what was necessary for each song and didn't really study the instrument properly. This time around I'm learning where all the notes are on the fret board, how to follow chord charts and read music. It is slow and I'm taking my time following on-line tutorials. As I've mentioned on other threads, I'm left handed but play right handed. I tried to play classical guitar when I was 40 and my teacher advised that I played right handed. Playing right handed just seems natural now but I do need to get my fingers to work better! I don't have much of a finger spread so sometimes one finger per fret can be difficult. I use a short scale bass which makes playing just that bit less of a task.

As mentioned in my other posts; I'm left handed but play right handed - I've never tried to play left handed. So, out of interest, I had a go today by simply turning my right handed bass upside down and using my right hand on the frets. I was all over the place! I could hardly hold the instrument and had very little success at getting any notes out of it at all. It looks like this lefty is staying right-on when bass playing!

As I have posted on other threads on this site, I am left handed but play right handed. This goes back to when I tried to learn to play the classical guitar (in my mid-forties) and my teacher recommended I play right handed as re-stringing a classical guitar for a lefty was not as straight forward as may seem - the nut would need to be changed and the guitar's internal bracing would be wrong. It also meant that I could have a wider choice when buying an instrument. He did also comment that the few left handers he had taught (playing left handed) had not progressed very far - not sure why. Having never played a guitar before I played right handed and know no different. I am very left handed. My first wife was left handed, our daughter is left handed and her son (my grandson) is left handed. One day we will rule the world! I am just returning to the bass after about 10 years away from it and am taking my time finding my way around the fret board and getting my fingers used to going up and down the neck again. I'll stick with playing right handed as I think changing now would just confuse me - very easy to do!