chris_b

If you want to improve your playing and soloing, learn your scales, modes and techniques. Take lessons and put in the hours. That's what all the good guys did. Improve your technique then you won't need to stretch!! Check them out, none of the good players stretch.

If somebody asked me for a video of a bass I was selling I'd have to say no. My phone doesn't take videos. On a general level, if a buyer requires the level of information the OP seems to be demanding then the buyer needs to decide if this kind of sale is right for him. Seems like he needs to see the bass and play it before he hands over his cash. I understand that once bitten twice shy is a valid view point and bad experiences make people wary, but if the OP is so particular or worried then he needs to see that bass. As a seller, I have dealt with a very picky buyer and in the end I decided it wasn't worth the hassle because after I had sent him the bass he was probably going to find a fault and try to back out of the deal. To the OP, there will be another bass along later. Wait until you can try the bass.

. . . . plus getting from Surrey to Milwaukee.. . . and back again! I was meaning for me!!!

I'd give them a call, but the travel expenses would be a bit high.

Sadly, it's a fact. My music is being slowly replaced. Musically it's all change every few generations. Not much Trad, Bebop, Dance band or Ragtime played these days. Rock will eventually go the same way.

He sounds like a good place to start. I don't know what your musical tastes are , but if I was going to learn drums I'd start with anything on the Stax and Atlantic labels. It's straightforward, great groove and deceptively simple, to start with.

What amp is your teacher using? Excellent on the lessons, by the way.

You don't need a volume on the DI. The desk has all the processing power required to do the job.

Sounding good. Nice playing.

I went from a TC RH750 to an Aguilar TH500. I loved it so much I bought a 2nd as a backup. A couple of years later, one of the TH500's was replaced by an AG700 which is now my main gigging amp. ATM I'm very happy with Aguilar, but for the future I'm watching out for Berg Forte HP and Mesa Subway WD-800 reviews.

I hope BC guys play bass better than they put an advert together. Far too many sellers, it seems, need to be coaxed about location, weight, age and to add pictures, that something equally as useful as number of strings and meaningful tags, will certainly be way beyond their comprehension. Anyway, in the world of online bass retail, most sales outlets differentiate between many useful features and one of them is number of strings. Talkbass, Reverb, Bass Gallery, Bass Direct to name a few, so it's a valid request for the feature to be added to Basschat. IMO it would be a useful if the BC software could coach us through a list of specific tags before an ad could go live. I'm not holding my breath!!

Find a good local drummer and get some lessons. Bypass all the bad habits you'll get from teaching yourself. Most people start trying to play the music they like to listen to, but when you get the basics down you can specialise.

How about just buying Dunlops?

IMO if you are learning you are far too early in the process to be getting bored with your sound! You've been on the internet too much if you're getting GAS at this point! Until you start gigging I'd stay with what you are currently using. Spend your money on some lessons instead and really take your playing to another level. When you get to the point of joining a band, then a 300-500watt amp and a good 112 or 210 will do the job. You can add to this system if you want to take things even further.

This has been the Schaller strap lock problem for the last 20 years. I have used Dunlop and Allparts (rebadged Dunlops) for 30 years. I'm still using the original locks on my current bass. Longevity might be due to the fact that I never take the strap off the bass, but Schaller has no excuse for this poor design issue still affecting users.

You couldn't replace a drummer?!?! Good luck with the plans. My school band had 30 and 35 year reunion gigs, that went pretty well. The problems I had which ended my involvement with the band were still there, but these days I'm better at dealing with that kind of person. Anyway, there won't be any more gigs since several of the guys have died. We just meet ups occasionally for a few beers and a meal.

Really? What's with the aggressive posts? I only use foam at home on my P bass. I prefer the full on dynamics of an unmuted sound on gigs, but as EF says, if you have to use foam then this mute solves the problem of getting foam on and off the bass in the shortest time. It's only foam after all and there were always going to be ways to make your own for pennies rather than pounds.

If your bass is overloading the preamp section. . . turn it down.

Great playing by two of the best players. Also a fine example of Fagin and Becker overdoing it. I'm glad this didn't make it on to the album.

I bought a Fender about 5 years ago, I haven't played one since the mid 90's, and I was surprised how good it sounded. There are a lot of fantastic sounding basses out there but this one sounded just like I remember a Fender sounds! That sound raised a smile. I'd definitely chose a Fender pickup. Don't know which one, but check out some of the reviews and opinions here and on Talkbass. https://shop.fender.com/en-GB/parts/electric-bass-parts/pickups/

OK, but in the market for vintage basses, it is the same as a modern replacement because it has ceased to be "original". A rewound pickup is not as original as an original pickup, no matter how many "original" parts it uses. As I say, the best option is to put the pickup to one side, for those who care about such things, and buy a pickup that does the best job.

Madonna's a chancer. If we ignore her she might go away. This isn't a competition about "good music", whatever that is. It isn't my taste so I don't watch it. Any music is good if it is popular enough and with the audience figures this show gets it passes the good test on every level. We've been laughing at and demeaning the Eurovision contest for 30 years. With the UK press coverage and the BBC's use of Wogan and Norton to insult our European neighbours, it's hardly surprising they take their revenge and we don't do well. Our collective arrogance is a big problem across the board, but if we actually start treating this competition, and the other participants, with some respect we might be in a position to win in when the bad memories we've created have faded, say in another 30 years.

For the sake of authenticity I'd find some original 70's pickups and put them in. If we're talking about keeping the integrity of a 70's bass a rewind is the same as replacing the pickups with modern ones. Get the best pickups you can find and if you sell the bass include the original pickups, in original condition.

Get a set list with the keys of all songs. Get mp3 or YouTube versions of all the songs. Get a list of any changes they've made to the arrangements of the covers. Play all the songs at home. Write the structure down, ie intro/verse/chorus/riffs etc. Make charts for all the songs. Play the songs until you know them. Turn up at the rehearsal knowing your parts. Rehearsals are not for learning stuff, do that at home. Make the rehearsal a time for getting the playing together right. Put the work in and it becomes easier. Tonight I'm playing a gig with 2 sets of songs. Some I knew and some I didn't. Many of the keys are not the original keys. The guys sent me an mp3 of 2 of their gigs and I also listened to all the originals versions as well. I've played the sets every day for a week. I now know the songs better than the band does!!

The action on my Spanish guitar was so high that I couldn't push all 6 strings down at once and make a chord. When a friend got a Futurama guitar I started playing bass lines on the bottom 4 strings to accompany him. That was it, I knew I was a bass player at that point. My first bass was a Framus Star bass (small body , 1 pickup) a 60 watt Nashville valve amp and a Crook 412 cab. All bought from Maurice Plaguet's in Acton. https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/267778-it-was-50-years-ago-today/