EssentialTension

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1412710868' post='2571277'] Before anyone mentions it, yes i know it's for Children In Need but it's still really awful and an assault on my ears. [/quote] I agree it was awful but i thought it was an advert for BBC Music; how is it for Children in Need?

I didn't mean anything specific, more just a general point. Does lower tension help? Flats with a pick (or nails) is going to sound different to rounds. New rounds are going to sound 'louder' in the 'brighter' sense. So, I'm not suggesting anything particular, just saying there might be something in it for you to be thinking about strings.

Have you thought that maybe a different kind of string might help you?

[quote name='Heket' timestamp='1412012072' post='2564860'] ... On brief research it seems that fingerstyle with nails is just not "done" ... [/quote] According to whom? I really don't like it myself and keep my nails very short but I know other bassists playing with long nails and I've read an interview with Duck Dunn saying he liked his nails catch the strings. Nails or no nails, it's up to you. Also, move nearer the neck, roll off the treble, it might not sound like fleshy fingertips but lots of different sounds are available still.

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=1][Quote] I was having a discussion today with someone in my studio about why I play bass with the strings upside down even though I am right handed. I told them that it was because my first bass was a left handed Wilson Rapier that I bought in a second hand shop in Birkenhead in 1975. It was the only one I could afford ( I was 16 at the time). It cost me £32. ... Andy McCluskey[/size][/font] ... [url="http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/mp3downloads.htm"]http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/mp3downloads.htm[/url][/quote]

I read somewhere that Hendrix could play all four ways if needed ... righty, lefty, righty upside down, lefty upside down.

... and Dick Dale

... that's Albert King ...

Happy ending!

[quote name='Weststarx' timestamp='1411384313' post='2558899'] Hi All, I recently decided that I should learn some theory and start learning what I'm 'supposed to know'. I started learning the major scale and didnt really see the point in what I was doing.... I play in a covers band so when will I actually ever need or use a scale? Especially as a bass player where I'm not soloing or doing anything other than root notes with 90% of the songs we play. Or am I missing the point? [/quote] How did you know they were root notes? You already knew some theory, didn't you? And you were applying it. If you can't 'see the point' of the major scale then you are not listening to it. The same goes for any other scale. Do you also not 'see the point' of chord arpeggios and chord changes? Listen to them, name them, recognize them, apply them, listen to them again.

OK, I found it.

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1411331973' post='2558544'] I think 'Happy Jack' has already passed comment on that Hofner in a separate thread [/quote] Oh, where is that?

[quote name='The Admiral' timestamp='1410630039' post='2551474'] ... Who knew Chas from Cash and Dave used to play with Ritchie Blackmore?? ... [/quote] He played with a lot of people .... he was one of the Joe Meek houseband The Outlaws (played by Ralf Little in the film story of Meek) http://youtu.be/-x3pkE0couQ also Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, easily visible playing bass at 0.10 in this video: http://youtu.be/CSL73EupKHQ

[quote name='AdrianRose1988' timestamp='1411072923' post='2556327'] I look forward to what 'happy jack' has to say [/quote] Perhaps you need Hofner in the thread title to lure him in.

http://youtu.be/mqaotuJ9ZiQ

I agree it was a very limited demo.

The video is one of the many ways of using a Bass VI. At the moment I've got my Squier VI tuned D#-G#-C#-F#-B-E and I'm trying to play bajo sexto lines on it. Otherwise I tune it E-A-D-G-B-E and double an upright bass line playing with a pick and a little tremolo. You can successfully play 'normal' bass lines on it too - especially if you don't object to the very narrow string spacing. Or retune it A-D-G-C-E-A, call it a baritone guitar, and ... well, play guitar. Very versatile.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1411250641' post='2557946'] ... but i assume it is better to try to play the proper way ... [/quote] It is not the case that there is 'one proper way to play'.

I'd advise against OFPF below the fifth fret, especially if it hurts. Just use Simandl,

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1411072771' post='2556324'] As an aside, I changed one bass up a gauge with the same strings and there were no problems whatsoever, but the bass with the problems I changed but to the same gauge. Why would the first bass accommodate a gauge higher quite happily and the second bass wouldn't accept the same gauge? One a Squier VMPJ and Two, the problem bass, a Jim Deacon P copy (don't mock me, it was a freebie!) [/quote] This is a guess but ... perhaps the Squier VM, which is a very good bass for the money, is simply more stable such that a small change in gauge of same make/model of string, so small change in tension, leaves you with a bass that is still functional even if it might still benefit from a setup. Meanwhile, the Deacon, which I know nothing about except that they are cheap even compared to the Squier, being less stable in its neck wood and truss rod, is going to suffer greatly from a change of make/model and gauge of string and will definitely need a full setup to be playable.

[quote name='AdrianRose1988' timestamp='1411069157' post='2556258'] Cool, is there any way of finding out the year? [/quote] They were made from about 1963 into the 70s, I had one 40 years ago ... but Happy Jack will be along soon with all the Hofner details.

There was a thread on Gustafson's death already but I can't find it either.

By the way, it's a very common error to think that tension is straightforwardly dependent on string gauge alone. It is mass per unit length of string that matters and therefore the tension is affected by the materials used and the nature of the construction of the string. Gauge is merely [i]one[/i] aspect of string construction.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1411066664' post='2556207'] Different manufacturer and nickel as opposed to stainless steel. What do I do? [/quote] You need to do a setup. It sounds like you have lower tension strings so you'll need to slightly loosen (anti-clockwise) the truss rod and adjust the bridge height accordingly plus check the intonation. If you aren't familiar with this there are lots of guides on YouTube e.g. http://youtu.be/cIzV9462xeE http://youtu.be/D4MdWzN_100