chris_b

I had to learn this for a gig last week. Fantastic playing by all concerned, but especially Mr Felder. . . .

I love all live albums. I've got them by Steely Dan, Little Feat, the Band, Edgar Winter, Aretha, Keb Mo, Delbert McClinton, The Stones, Otis Redding, Albert King, Allman Brothers, Clapton, BB King and more.

My only thought is, if you are trying to reduce the weight you carry, why are you stopping half way? My 2p. . . . a good back beats a good price every day. There are plenty of better and lighter cabs out there, but my suggestion is that 2 Barefaced 112's will be as loud as a Dual Showman, have better tone and be 20% of the weight of that TE stack. 2 cabs will give you a lot of flexibility. Put a Trace amp through them and you'll have a better Trace sound than you'd get through Trace cabs.

Everyone knows some music theory. We all know the difference between a root note and the 5, major from minor, A from a G. That's music theory.

There are some pretty stupid posts in this thread. Shame on you. Any musicians who want to gig and make records should do just that. More power to them.

A knowledge of music theory is not a prerequisite for playing bass, or even being a good bass player, but most of the best bassists will know all of this stuff. I've played with several songwriters who didn't know the names of any of the chords or even the notes they were using. That was OK for what they were doing at the time, but it meant they couldn't easily play anyone else's music or songs, or play with other musicians. If we could only talk we couldn't be contributing to Basschat. The fact that we know grammar and can read and write means we can communicate with each other at all levels. Same with playing a musical instrument. The more you know about its language the better you will be at musically communicating your ideas.

I play with a light touch and a low-ish action. I stroke the strings. I find it less tiring, gives me and extended dynamics via a better range of plucking techniques and better timing/accuracy. Dig if you want to, but for me playing hard doesn't improve anything.

I had a 3-Pro for years and it was not gutless.

Lakland always recommended not using rechargeable batteries. So I never did.

I first saw Jim Mullen playing with Vinegar Joe in the early 70's. Not my kind of music, but it's good that he's still gigging.

I believe I covered that on the first line.

Tone is like wine. some appreciate fine wine some are happy with plonk. Resonant basses have more tone than non resonant basses, but that won't matter if all you want is thump, or a low rumble, or get your tone from a pedal board. The irritating thing is when guys who aren't interested in, or can't hear, the finer points want to insist that they don't exist.

If a band's not working, from either side, call it a day and move on. I don't own any handbags and I'm never up early enough to see the dawn, so leaving on good terms is all that is left. I get a lot of gigs from guys I played with in previous bands, so doing without the drama is great for my diary.

For some reason I decided, on the first gig after I de-fretted my Framus bass, to wear sunglasses. I was 17, and should have known better! I couldn't see a thing and was far too cool to take them off. That gig was just a succession of out of tune playing and bum notes. Never wore sunglasses on a gig again.

You can't stay focussed for a whole set? I'd sell your bass gear and become a singer.

Your bothering because the Bass Player Code and your sense of professionalism demands that you get it right. It's my experience that only guitarists, keyboard players and singers wing it because they can't be bothered to learn songs. It's only verses and choruses. Three chords with extra chords chucked in at the turn around in the last verse. I love 3 chord songs.

Make use of this great opportunity to practice playing the bass without staring at the neck.

My OCD won't allow me to mix cabs from different manufacturers, but my successful mixes have been a Berg AE112/AE210, AE112/CN212 and a Mesa Boogie 115EV/210EV. I currently pair up Barefaced SC/SM and BB2/SM cabs.

I'd do both. The more you know the easier it gets and the more effective your playing becomes.

Most bass playing is about patterns. If you know your patterns it makes the lines you play easier to create and more effective.

There are some great 6-7lb basses out there, some very effective straps, some great 5lb amps, some really great 20lb cabs and some excellent folding trolleys. If all else fails checkout Mbrace guitar stands or just grab a bar stool.

My SR5 was an early one, IIRC 1989, which had a one piece maple neck/fretboard with unrounded edges. I don't recall whether there was a radius or not, or the neck being fat. Whatever it was, it didn't bother me. The edges of the fretboard finally peed me off and I replaced it with a Lakland. These are all personal opinions which may be relevant or not. I'd find a good used bass and buy it. Audition it for a few months and sell it on if you deicide you can't get on with it. In the past I've bought basses and decided I didn't mind things that I had thought were deal killers.