dclaassen

It is a strange business. I personally don't care that much about how a bass looks. It can, however, amaze me with how it plays or sounds. I don't know about anyone else, but I really don't notice how my bass looks when I am playing it. If I think it is pretty, more the better, but it is the sound that impresses me most.

Okay....send it on over...:)

My Pedulla MPV-5. Neck to die for, sustain for days, consistent tone and feel across all 5 strings. The best thing, however is how it responds to different playing techniques. I find that I don’t need to tweak controls to get the sound I want. I tried some other 5’s lately, I including some pretty expensive ones, and they don’t even come close.

Reminds me of this….used to have one…nice bass!

Great 2nd gig with the new band. The Rose and Crown in Elmsett….good crowd, played well, free drinks!

A nice stained or clear finish over a beautiful slab of maple, preferably flamed or bird’s eye.

Okay..thanks! I love using my fretless in a jazz setting. Am currently playing in an old guy rock band, but really want to use it there as well.....looking for an excuse, I guess

Just curious...what style of music do you most frequently play?

I've always used the same bass for practicing and gigging. Now that I have both a fretted and fretless bass, I will play on both, but almost always use the fretted one on rock gigs. If I ever get a chance to use the fretless though, I will, cause I love the feel and the sound of it!

1. Drunks (in or out of the band) 2. People who show up for rehearsal unprepared (like, at all) 3. Folks taking themselves too seriously 4. Playing the bass part on the keyboard (maybe this is #2) 5. Out of tune guitar 6. Ridiculous written bass parts That is a good start...I am sure there are more...

For me, Stanley C. School Days

I was in Germany with a group of students from my school and another for an Honor Jazz Festival. I was tasked with coaching the rhythm section in the big band and also playing both fretted and fretless bass for the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. We worked with a clinician from New York, who assigned me a couple of challenging parts. It was a great week with some really talented teenagers and a super final concert. I hope to post some sound files soon.

I think there often a double standard. I just finished a jazz real book session ( not my favorite thing to do) and felt real pressure to nail every chord change and keep it stylistically accurate, and follow Byzantine explanations all while keeping great time. Soloist, however, have tons of freedom to play anything that pops into their heads. Just a expectation we live with.

First gig in a long time and with the new band in Fordham. Small venue, but good crowd and a perfect place for a first gig. Things went well with a few expected lapses of memory. Really happy to be part of this group…great guys and good musicians.

I guess that is wise....I've just never had a problem. I have had more issues with vehicle failures/power failures (at the venue), bad leads, drunken guitarists I'm guess that, if I had to, I could probably change a string in about 3 minutes. The only thing I don't trust is the 9v in my main bass, and the 9v in my backup.....hmmm, maybe I need 3????

Sorry…must be an Americanism. When studying music at uni, you were either a jazz player or a legit (classical) player

And how many times has a bass failed during a gig? I just don’t see it as mandatory.

I think it all depends on the type of gig, amount of time you have spent with the group, and what resources are available. I have recently joined a covers band. We have a rehearsal tonight, and a gig on Saturday. My goal is to 1. get the chord progressions and style right..then 2. do the appropriate riffs in the right places...then 3. start to incorporate unique things the band does with certain songs, and also to be able to anticipate and react to mood changes in each song. I think this is a process, and takes a while to really get comfortable with in a new group. For jazz or legit music, I can sightread and always have a lead sheet or the printed part in front of me. If it is really difficult, or just written weird (a lot of contemporary big band stuff), then I learn that in chunks so I am not really reading every note, just the phrases. FWIW, I really don't like improv jam sessions with Real books...I find them boring and just full of ego and fluff. Just not my bag..I do it to be polite.

Agree with all of the above, except I would certainly get a lined fretless as a starter. You can experiment with pressure and attack/release to get the sound you want. You can also play with the strength and position of your plucking hand to get more or less attack. I would certainly go with an active bass. I use my passive fretless exclusively to sound like a fretless, or even to mimic as much as possible an upright bass.

I only had one bass for years...never had a failure, issue, broken string. Now, I have 2, and I think that will be it. If one goes into the shop, I can probably borrow one. If my fretted bass goes down during a gig, I'll use the fretless until the interval or the end of the gig, then fix whatever the issue is and go on.... same in reverse for jazz gigs...

MIne is a lined fingerboard...which helps a lot! The best way for me to get a feel for the different scale is (sorry) scales and arpeggios until I feel that my intonation is there....

It's not that bad...I was playing an unlined fretless at 17 (waaayyyyyy back), and this one is lined, and a joy to play. It's actually strange going back to my fretted bass for a bit....

I am working up some fairly difficult (for me) jazz stuff, and am using my wonderful new Spector fretless. I went back to my fretted bass and had a moment where I could not sort out where I was. Turns out the Spector has a 35" scale...did I mention it is fretless? I love the feel and the bass sounds amazing, but I wonder if those guys did that just to snicker at us poor bass players. How do cope with switching around with basses of different scales?

Or masking tape...works great for this!