Unknown_User

I haven't watched the video but being in a covers band I find bass cover videos massively helpful for learning songs. Play on I say.

The drummer in my band knows the singer and the word from him was that the assailant ended up in tears apologising.

Oh aye, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Of the gigs I've been to recently I've seen some very good bass players playing with that bat holding technique and I'm not saying it can't be done. I was just responding to the particular original question about finding it difficult to stretch and that is definitely something that helped me. I use both techniques for different songs myself. I use the bat holding technique for Sweet Home Alabama as I found that for some reason the thumb at the back technique was hurting and making my hand go numb. On the other hand Venus by Shocking Blue would probably be murder to play like that but with the thumb at the back technique it's quite fun to play. Probably because there's some breaks in it as I find the gripping with that technique painful if I don't get a chance to relax my arm during a song. I'm looking at you, Rescue Me by Fontella Bass.

This. I've only dabbled with it but it's not easy at all. I've tried to get my covers band to add it to the roster (so I would have to learn it) a couple of times now but they aren't having it!

Do you hold the neck like it was a bat, with your thumb hanging over the E string or with your thumb on the back of the neck? I always held it like a bat as that was the easiest and most comfortable but I saw a You Tube video of Scott's Bass Lessons (check out his channel as it's really helped me as self taught be slightly less ignorant of the fundamentals of technique and theory). He said to hold it with the thumb on the back of the neck as when you're holding it like a bat with your arm perpendicular to the back of the neck then it's closing your hand up. If you have your thumb on the back of the neck your palm is like 45 degrees down from the fretboard and it opens your hand up. I suppose it's like making a fist and trying to stretch your fingers apart, then opening your hand and trying. Made using all my fingers much easier for me.

Haha! Maybe, because "Santa Baby" got the best reception and the most people up dancing!

Thought I might as well update this here. We did one rehearsal (without the singer) and it went quite well. Got a decent sound. Vibraslap on the go and everything. Currently half time at the gig and it's going ok so far. We've still got a totally unrehearsed "Santa Baby" to come though so it's all to play for! Surprised how good the congas sound for the songs we're doing, which we're playing quite laid back. Although I can't hear them too well from behind the PA.

Wow what a story. I think fair play to him. I can't imagine having the wherewithal to set all that up. He's obviously done well for himself. I wonder where his money came from to do all of that if he was just flipping burgers for a living, but he's probably made it back with all the youtube views and publicity he's had. Plus if he is now getting people wanting to get him to play their venue after having heard of what he's done, then he's been very successful with it. As for people getting treated shabbily then maybe that's one way to look at it, but at least his band got a partially subsidised holiday to Europe out of it (apparently one of them had never been out of California before) and some touring experience and exposure for their musical careers. Venues may have lost a little bit of money (apart from the one that frog marched him to a cash machine!) but doing business comes with risk and hopefully it was an easy paid shift for their bar staff, who are probably getting shafted for rubbish money on zero hours contracts anyway. Win-win I say.

I started from absolute scratch, no experience of electronics or anything, mainly from following designs on this site: http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/. I had a good read through http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/p/components.html to know what all the components were and http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/04/vero-build-guide.html, http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/02/offboard-wiring.html and http://www.madbeanpedals.com/tutorials/downloads/MBP_FootswitchWiring.pdf for how to get them onto the strip board and into a box. This is a good guide for how to transfer a schematic onto a strip board too: http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/09/vero-layout-guide.html Finally, I found this interesting on how to make your own designs: http://sessionville.com/articles/how-to-make-your-own-distortion-pedal. Although I haven't tried that yet. That's my plan for the new year!

Bingo!* This is probably my trump card right here. The normal drummer is always moaning to the guitarist about keeping his amp down. That's why it won't work as I can't imagine they'll have thought about all the extra mics and stuff. Good work sir! *not bongo

We're more of a non-hierarchical, anarcho-syndicalist commune. 😃 I guess the guitarist (the one with the bongoing brother) would be band leader as he gets almost all the gigs and books practice, but we're all in our thirties and forties, so should be able to get along without throwing toys out of any pram. Certainly I'd say that about the guitarist and myself. At least that's the theory. Maybe this gig will put that to the acid test!

Interesting take, thanks. I know he's a singer and guitarist in a band. I've seen them and they're very good. I think he may work as some sort of music teacher too. No idea how he is with drums and I seriously doubt we'll be rehearsing. I don't really want to call for one in case I then get into a position afterwards where the guitarist's still keen and I'm not because it'll be harder and much shorter notice to back out. I hadn't thought of the space aspect to be honest. It's not the tightest space we've ever played and there's a decent amount of width to it, so if he was pushing sideways rather than forwards it should be ok. Still pretty sure I will be trying to swerve the idea though. Perhaps it'd work better if the guitarist reworked the songs for acoustic? Not sure how that'd work for lots of them though.

Haha! If we do it I might insist we call ourselves that for the night!

It is a paid gig at a regular place, although the place recently changed management and cut the rate, so I'm not so bothered about that! I just don't want to stand up there for two sets as part of the unrehearsed rock'n'bongo comedy roadshow. I'm getting massive Spinal Tap/Stonehenge vibes about the whole thing. Also it's at an undisclosed location. Unless I can get loads of you to turn up and shout "TURN THE BASS UP!" throughout. Or maybe if you all bring a tambourine and join in it won't be so bad!

The covers band I'm in has a gig in a pub the Saturday before Christmas and our drummer cried off a few weeks back. Our guitarist said at the time he was either going to sort a dep or maybe his brother (an accomplished musician) could do it as he would be back home for Christmas. I was totally content with either option and was happy that he seemed keen on giving his brother the nod, but we were chatting about it last night and I asked if his brother has his own kit. Apparently he's in fact thinking of providing "mixed percussion" with "giant congas and bongos". Now I contend that congas and bongos won't lend themselves to a diverse mixture or Rock'n'Roll and soul classics in front of a load of drunks the weekend before Christmas. "Now ladies and gentlemen, in a tribute to the recently deceased singer of the Buzzcocks, we're going to reinterpret for you their classic hit, Ever Fallen in Love...." "And now for a bit of Aretha Franklin. "R-E-S-P-E-C-T!" (bop-a-dop-a-dip) "Don't know what it means to me!" (bom-bom-bom)." The guitarist is all for it. I think he's gone crackers. How am I going to work the bass to standard pub cover songs around bongos? Reassure me I'm actually the voice of reason here before I take the rare step of putting my foot down! Or am I potentially stymieing a musical extravaganza? I don't think we'll have time to rehearse it first, by the way. Any answers of "Sounds great! You should film it and post it on here!" will be disregarded! 😀

I always thought the bass player in the Foo Fighters was pretty good. Some other suggestions with interesting bass lines that might fit and go down well in pubs: Holiday - Vampire Weekend Going for Gold - Shed Seven Love Cats - The Cure Rebel Rebel - Bowie Fire - Hendrix Rocks - Primal Scream And if you fancy a few in drop D... Place Your Hands - Reef On a Plain - Nirvana Even Flow - Pearl Jam

I'm kind of in both camps I suppose. For example there's no way I'd have considered listening to a lot of stuff I now do since getting more into playing bass properly. Or at least as close as I can get to properly! I can't imagine choosing to listen to The Jackson 5 or Fontella Bass before I learned the basslines to I Want You Back or Rescue Me. Now I love listening to them. Particularly the bass on I Want You Back is joyous and just makes life feel brighter when I listen to it. Since joining a covers band there's loads of stuff in this category that I now listen to and enjoy which I would have either just pulled a face at or listened to and been nonplussed by ten or even five years ago. On the other hand stuff I now realise a lot of the songs I liked best when when I was young have amazingly effective bass lines that I had obviously enjoyed but not properly appreciated at the time. This happened for me when the bass player from Marilyn Manson, of whom I'm a big fan, joined A Perfect Circle with the singer from Tool, who I find massively boring. The result: massively boring to my ears. I guess it depends on the band, the bass player and how the two fit together.

Not at all. That's pretty much how I feel about this: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Epiphone-Thunderbird-Vintage-Pro-Bass-Alpine-White/1X0O I just wish I had £500 I couldn't find a better use for! *buys scratch card*

Maybe check the height of the pickup isn't too low? It may be that just getting it 0.5mm closer to the strings will help. It depends how quiet it is I guess.

Thanks very much for explaining that. I think I've managed to get my head around it!

I followed a hybrid of these two approaches, using Andyjr1515's method to apply Danish oil as SpondonBassed recommended. It has worked a treat! Thank you gents!

+1 Disappointed here.

Had two this weekend, which is a rarity. Played a pub ten minutes walk from my house on Friday, so took the new preamp pedal I made in order to go through the PA and not have to use my amp. It worked a treat, meaning I was able to walk instead of drive and have a few jars during/afterwards. So I enjoyed that one, although my fingers were killing me the next day from having carried my heavy bass case all the way home. Swings and roundabouts I guess! Last night's was good, but I spent five minutes in a mad panic when we were setting up. I wasn't getting any signal when I put my guitar through my tuner. I borrowed some leads from the guitarist to make sure it wasn't that. Nothing. Damn it! Why was it not working? It switched on ok... Then I noticed I'd put the guitar jack in the output socket and wired the amp up to the input. "Is everything ok?" "Yeah, don't know what was up but it's working now. Must have been a dodgy connection or something..."

Sadly it took me a few minutes to work out what you were referring to there. I won't get started recalling lines from Big Night Out though or I definitely won't get any work done!

Me? No sorry I was responding to "Date my body" with "A/S/L?" (age, sex, location). I need to do something to keep myself amused in the office! Good luck with your thing. I'll stop messing about and get back to work. *looks busy*