thunderbird13

yeah I wouydl endorse the earplugs as well ,I have the cheap christmas tree ones and although they do look a bit stupid they do a good job and make everything easier to hear. There are better ones which are moulded to your ear but I forget what they are called

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1365167067' post='2036218'] I'm very lucky at the moment. My main band rehearses in headphones using a jamhub. It's an amazing sound, everyone has a personalised mix and its as loud as you want it, with excellent clarity. Also free. [/quote] I could never get used to jamhub- I cant jump around or pull stage shapes properly , surely that is what rehearsals are for

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1365146696' post='2035838'] When you hold down the F# is the buzzing coming above where you are stopping the string i.e. on the nut side or below where you are stopping the string i.e. the bridge side of the string? [/quote] As far as my ears can make out its the on the bridge side so I'm assuming that its the fingerboard thats uneven.One thing that I noticed is that if I look at the bass whilst its lying on ita back and look down the fingerboard towards the nut the fingerboard profile is curved up to the A string then it seems to straighten out on the E string . Not sure I've described it very well will see if I can get a photo when I'm back home The other thing is its a cheap bass I picked up on ebay so I'm not suprised that its not perfect

Thanks for the replies , TBH I played around with everything last night and its still buzzing. I'm beginning to think its the fingerboard which might be causing it. Might need someone to have a look - dont suppose anyone knows a double bass fixer in SE London area ?

Started to play around with my DB over the weekend and I noticed that its making an annoying buzzing sound when I play the F and F# on the E string., it almost sounds like fret buzz but obviously thats not the case !I thought it might be me not just putting enough pressure on the stop but even when I push as hard as I can it still makes a buzz and its only on the E string everything else is OK I have nylon strings fitted ( I think they're weedwacker but they came with the bass so I cant be certain). I tried playing around with the adjustable bridge but it didnt seem to make much of a difference. Anyine got any ideas bad technique, doddgy fretboard, bad strings ? Since I'm trying to learn rockabilly slap its not that big a deal but it would be nice to know I could fix it

Hi Clarky Thanks for this , I'd be interested but tbh I'm reluctant to book a ticket so far in advance as I'm not sure if we're having a family holiday this year or not. I'll have to wait and see , dont suppose you have amy idea how many people the half moon holds ? Just need to work out how long I've got until it sells out

[quote name='MandShef' timestamp='1364223203' post='2023385'] I got one of these for half your budget: [url="http://www.djmmusic.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=DBB"]http://www.djmmusic....desc.asp?ic=DBB[/url] Nicely padded, lots of handles for easy carrying/loading. Pocket for rosin etc, long pocket for your bow, back zipped section for sheet music. [/quote] Thanks for that , although the website says at they dont have stock at the moment and there was no reply from their number last night

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1364230791' post='2023546'] Covers, I have decided, can be a soul destroying exercise. I thought I'd give it a go this week. Turn up for an 'audition', only got asked to learn two songs, not difficult. AND GUESS WHAT?!!? That's right, I was the only one who'd learnt them. Don't why I waste my freakin' time!!! [/quote] I've actually turned up to an audition for an originals band and have had to show them how to play one of their own songs ! True The said they didnt know it cos they dont play it live

Its about time that I looked at getting a gig bag for my 3/4 size DB. Does anyone have recommendations for anything about the 100 quid mark ? I dont need anything fancy just some padding and back straps Cheers

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1363780004' post='2017396'] Of course they are precious! If you wrote a bunch of good songs, would you not be protective of your artistic vision? [/quote] I would hope that they would be mature enough to approach any additional input with an open mind , if not then the band is more of a group of session players rather than fellow musicians which doesnt really interest me And certainly most of the original music I've played could - well lets just say that some peoples "artistic vision " could be improved !

when I started off trying to get back into bands about 5 years ago I felt that a lot of original bands were too precious about their material. I had one " artist" stop playing halfway through an audition becaue I had the audacity to play a note beyond the 12th fret. Perversely covers bands give me more freedoom to play -

I have a real problem in playing in that I can close my eyes now and name every note on the fretboard and yet put me in a band situation and I struggle to name the open strings ( honestly ) .Its not about nerves its more that once I get ino playing that part of my brain slows down and I rely upon shapes and what sounds good

Death to False Metal !!!!!!!!!!!!

wear a suit hat and practice making stage shapes and if that doesnt work then go for full KISS makeup

One of the guitarists I spoke to said that rehearsing with a band was being in the same room as 3 of 4 other guys who all think that they are better players than everyone else and they are doing the rest if the band a favour by playing for them TBH this has been my expereince with a lot of bands

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1358957169' post='1947623'] Due to various things going on I haven't touched my basses in about 2 months. Plugged one in today...and I can't play. Not a thing. No rhythm, no nothing. And what's more, I don't want to play. I've no interest in bass or bands. It's all completely gone. [/quote] Funny thing is that I'm in pretty much the same boat , although I'm still playing in a covers band but I havent practiced at home since November simply because I've lost interest. The weird thing it that depite not having played for the best part of 2 months I had my first rehersal of the year last night and everyone was complmentary on my playing - not sure what that says about their expectations of my playing or my practice regime I'm at a strange point now where I like playing bass in a band BUT I dont like listening to music Go figure

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1358958279' post='1947656'] The next time you answer an ad on gumtree your first question must be 'Are you the guitarist?' If the answer is 'yes', put the phone down. [/quote] Hold on that means I wont get to speak to anyone !

I’m not ranting and TBH I find it more amusing than anything else but I’ve been looking around for another band since my little covers band has a bit of down time. I thought I’d see what Gumtree had to offer .Here are my findings : Aug – folk band, rang guitarist had a brief chat sent him my email so that he could send me over some of his songs , no reply , email sent chasing up , still nothing Aug - folk band, rang guitarist had a brief chat sent him my email so that he could send me over some of his songs, received email learnt a few songs , emailed him to arrange auditon received reply saying that he would organise one for next week and he would let me know, no reply rang him he said that he didn’t think I was suitable ! Sept – rockabilly band rang guitarist had a brief chat sent him my email so that he could send me over some of his songs, nothing , sent chasing email , got a reply saying that the original bass player had come back Oct – Covers band , rang guitarist he talked for 20 mins without me getting a word in , didn’t bother following up Nov – country and western band , rang guitarist had a brief chat sent him my email so that he could send me over some of his songs, got his songs learnt a few and then phoned him back for a meet, he sent me an email with some more songs and said he would get back to me for an audition , didn’t hear anything else from him , sent chasing email , nothing Dec – Rockabilly / surfing band rang guitarist had a brief chat sent him my email so that he could send me over some of his songs, got his songs learnt a few and he texted me saying that he would sort an audtion out next week. No reply, chasing email still no reply Jan –“ Originals” band sent email asking if they still wanted a bass player and what sort of material they played on the day they advertised – no reply I know some of you might say that I should chase these people up more but TBH if I cant trust prospective new band mates to arrange an audition then I really don’t see the point in dealing with them further . It just amazes me that there are so many timewasters out there

I bought a DB from Ebay for a few hundred quid a few months ago and have left it in the back office which doubles as a storage room. It came with a hard case but it’s far too big for the room so I just left it propped up against the shelf and it seems perfectly happy there Last night AFTER dinner my wife said that she wanted a word with me , I knew by her voice that something was wrong so I instinctively rushed to the back room and sure enough with there was my bass with a small hole, about 3 mms, just on the left shoulder. I’m not sure if the hole goes all the way through to the other side but since its quite small it’s more cosmetic than anything else so I’ll just put a sticker over it Now my wife is very apologetic BUT she claims that since I out the stuff on the shelf in the first place its more my fault than hers and yes she did knock the box which hit my DB but that’s only because it was so badly stacked in the first place that it was bound to happen ! Can’t really argue with that – its been perfectly safe for 2 months where it was, she starts moving things around ,a box falls from the top shelf onto my bass when I’m not there and its my fault !! Looks like I'll have to apologise to myself

I'm being moved out of my little music room at home so I have to get rid of the furniture ! This chair is comfortable and in full working order and most of all free , collection only from Chislehurst BR7

I was hoping that I could make it down tongth but .unfortunately for music lovers, my lot have a gig in a few weeks time and an emergency rehearsal has been called Have a good one

If he doesn't have a camera can he at least draw a picture of it

[quote name='FLoydElgar' timestamp='1351869390' post='1856418'] Play seated! IKEA STOOL works very well... [/quote] Funny you should say that I saw the very stool I thnk your talking about in Ikea last Friday - God my life is exciting,

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1351796702' post='1855596'] Also, if you jump about, you can't rely on muscle memory. Seems to me it's different for relatively static players. Jazz and orchestral bassists can rely on a standard posture. I would say for bassist who sing there's an argument for markers as well. [/quote] So would this be an argument for not practicing arco , in fact can you play db with a bow standing without placing your body in a strange shape ?

[quote name='MandShef' timestamp='1351782699' post='1855336'] Play them slowly with a bow so you can really hear each note. [/quote] I wasnt really thinking of using a bow but I do know that there is an argument that it gives a purer note - a silly question maybe but would a violin bow work OK on a DB . I have an old violin lying around somewhere