leftybassman392

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1322252687' post='1448745'] It seems every time there is a 'is Basschat getting a bit dull' thread BBC gets mentioned, as if his return would breathe new life into the forum. It, he, wouldn't. He was just one contributor, that's it. There are others who no longer contribute, or can't contribute, whom I would much rather see return way ahead of BBC. I found BBC rather tedious and one dimensional in his contributions. Bored the arse of me his continual shitraking, to the point I didn't actually read his posts as they were so predictable. Basschat is described as a community, it takes more than one person to make a community. [/quote] I'd have to agree with this sentiment. I'm not having a go at BBC in particular as I couldn't honestly say his contributions affected me all that much; but as a general principle a musician's forum like this should be about more than a very small number of people hopping up & down all the time to the point that proper discussion of issues gets undermined. Surely the whole point of the Off Topic section is to debate topics of the day. Sometimes they'll be lively and entertaining, and at other times they'll be mundane and informed - who knows, occasionally they can actually be both lively and informative! Why does it always need to be 'fun', as if the general population of Basschat doesn't have the mental capacity or depth of thought for serious discussion of serious issues? Wanting life to always be fun is what children do. Hopefully adults can see things differently.

FWIW I think you guys did the right thing dropping it - even though you wiped out a whole bunch of pos's I never even knew I had until I found them by chance! I can imagine quite a lot of mischief being perpetrated with this system, and I'm not convinced it actually achieved anything not otherwise available to members.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1322146291' post='1447196'] I personally don't see a problem with reviewing LH instruments - the components are the same, the electronics are the same, the materials are the same, the sound is the same - the thing's just made backwards is all... [/quote] A bit like the people who play them, in fact. p.s. Welcome to the fold. Good to have another lefty in the pack. Pretty soon we'll have enough to mount a takeover!

Pete used to have a book with details of all his instruments in. I assume Paul Herman has inherited it (Unless anybody knows different?) Alternatively, the details should be written on a strip attached to the inside of the electronics cavity cover plate at the back of the instrument. Just unscrew it and turn it over. Or perhaps you've done this already?

I'm not even sure that many of the basses are selling... Having said that, I do try to get involved in the off topic debates; and it does seem to me that people are generally better able to keep a discussion (even a controversial one) going without resorting to mudslinging. Could be that I'm just reading the wrong threads of course!

FWIW I do, and did do, some things right handed - knives and forks is the obvious one I guess, but also when playing cricket I would bowl lefthanded (which, without wishing to sound immodest, I was very good at) but bat righthanded (which, without wishing to sound modest, I was next to useless at - I asked my skipper once why I always batted 11, and he told me it's because cricket teams only had 11 players ). Oh, and I tried my hand at golf a couple of times as well, playing right handed with entirely predictable results! One slightly odd one though: when holding a glass, it's always the left hand, but when holding a cup it's whichever hand is nearest!

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1321902487' post='1444288'] (That's where having a righty bass teacher helps - much easier to sit facing him and look at his fingers while he's playing!) [/quote] As a left handed teacher I spent years teaching mostly right handed students. Many of them never noticed I was left handed until I pointed it out to them. Even after they figured it out, most seemed to enjoy that fact that they had a mirror image to look at. I can't remember ever getting an actual complaint about it.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1321787001' post='1442932'] I seem to recall reading somewhere that one reason Hendrix preferred right-handed guitars was that he believed left-handed were less well made. I can't give a source for this however. [/quote] I started playing when I was 12. That was 1965, and I don't recall there being any lefty guitars at that time. Logically there must have been some of course - just not for oiks like me! With modern production methods it's much less of an issue (although you do still need to be prepared to pay over the odds for a good one, and the choice is still pretty appalling). On a more general level, I would agree about there being more openly lefthanded people out there - today it's much less of an issue than it was when I was at school (although I do recall recent debates with other tutors on the subject, and being astonished at the lengths they would sometimes go to in order to justify a position that has it's origins in the Middle Ages!) I still like to quote the case of the Fender JH Reissue and the Gibson JH Reissue: About 12 or 13 years ago (could have been longer), Fender made a Hendrix reissue that was made for a right handed player, but with a left handed body and neck, and the headstock decals upside down and back-to-front. I'm pretty sure that apart from the detailing (and, of course, being strung upside down) it was a perfectly ordinary Am. Std... Price? Around £1350 at at time when the standard guitar could be had for around £800. Oh and it wasn't available to left handed players. A few years later Gibson came out with a Hendrix reissue Flying V. Simply a mirror image of the one Hendrix used, and with the usual premium due, IIRC, to it not being available as a stock instrument at the time. Again, not available to left handed players! I haven't heard the QC issue story about the man himself, though I suspect he would have been more than a bit miffed at the appearance of these two gems.

[quote name='Jondeeman' timestamp='1321779864' post='1442870'] ...I mean, why go to the trouble? [/quote] If you have to ask then you'll most likely never know.

Handedness, and right-handedness in particular, is so deeply embedded in our culture and language that it's actually quite hard to remain left-handed and prosper - especially as a musician. People on this forum who know me will know my views on this subject. At one time I would have gone all evangelical about it. These days I take the view that we all get by the best way we can, and actually have kind of a sneaking envy for those of us who have been able to make the switch - it certainly does make one's life easier in this line of work. For myself, I never could - like bluejay, doing it the other way always just felt wrong to me. Handedness is actually quite a complex (and, I might add, poorly understood) phenomenon. There has been research done from time to time, but the medical profession generally (and probably correctly) takes the view that there are bigger things to worry about. There is an upside to this, however. Current thinking is that the primary cause of handedness is genetic, and (this is the interesting bit) rather than a left-handed gene, it's actually a right-handed gene. If you have the gene then you're going to be right handed, and if not then basically you're free to choose for yourself as you develop. The reason that's good news for lefties is that it means we're more adaptable without the gene than with it.

TRAITORS! You're all just a bunch of Pinko Commie Lefties! A pox on all of you! You mark my words, when the revolution comes you'll be the first up against the wall (though in no particular order vis-a-vis your actual placement against said wall of course, since doing so would be to show favouritism, and that would be a breach of party discipline.... or at least it will be when the revolution comes). In fact I'll volunteer to strangle you all with your own Labella flats. You see if I don't!

Old Fart question: Before I vote, is there anything hanging on it? I mean, do we get free strings or something for lots of plusses, and perhaps a thumbscrew for lots of minuses? I don't mind really either way, but just so I know whether I could get somebody tortured for real. If it's just for fun then that's fine too - personally I have no plans to worry about my reputation.....just so long as there's no thumbscrews.

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1321267941' post='1437015'] I'm pretty sure it is sudden temperature changes that do the real damage. [/quote] Yep that sounds right. It's to do with expansion & contraction and something called temperature differential IIRC. The bigger the difference in temperature between the instrument and the surrounding environment, the more (and the faster) it will contract. Having it in a properly padded and sealed case helps to insulate it from the effects of the cold (and undue heat as well, for that matter).

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1321223675' post='1436773'] [size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]I'm no expert but, without seeing the pictures that seems like a reasonable price. [/font][/color][/size] [size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]I'd buy the bass and get the re-fret done but I'd leave the "player wear". If it looks good you'll be too scared to take it out on a gig. [/font][/color][/size] [/quote] Yup. Sounds pretty good to me too. Actually took mine down to the Gallery once to get them to 'clean it up'. "What for?" came the immediate reply. As to buying it, it's a bit like being a car nut and getting a Porsche - they have this reputation for greatness, but until you try one you'll never really understand why. If you can afford it, do it. The worst that can happen is that you don't like it, and sell it for what you paid for it.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1320766816' post='1431109'] Well that would make the chopping board at least, once he can do the DragonForce he'll have the cheese too [/quote] Come to think of it, his only redeeming quality was that he was lefthanded.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1320765880' post='1431090'] Ah I didn't realise the kid was a guitar student and that's pretty epic. I'm going to make sure I can still play it when I get home [/quote] Had he been able to play any of it, that would have been epic. As it was he was one step removed from being a complete beginner, and had quite possibly the cheapest, nastiest SG copy I've seen in my entire life. Balsa wood and cheese wire would have been an improvement!

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1320750620' post='1430766'] Hmm... that doesn't sound right... I'll check the tab I've got. I can play it alright, it's just playing quick iirc. [/quote] Should've posted the maths I s'pose. (Oh, and perhaps made the point that said kid was a guitar student...) [b][i]Ahem[/i][/b]: Marked tempo is 200 bpm Rhythmic feel is semiquavers (i.e. 4 per beat) 200 x 4 = 800 notes (not Beats, mind) per minute 800 / 60 = 13.33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 notes per second (approx.) (Q.E.D.) (B.Sc.(Hons)) (PGCE and bar) I rounded it up to 14 for extra effect. In my defence, it was said in jest. As in 'not meant to be taken too seriously'. (Although it did actually happen pretty much as stated.)

I used to teach for a living, so got asked to do this kind of thing quite a lot. Classic bass lines from famous songs always went down well, and for a whole bunch of reasons. A common mistake is to try to impress with technique, when often what they want is to hear a song they know. The opening bars from 'Sweet Child o' Mine' always went down well, mainly because it's such a stand-out line in the song and people usually recognise it straight away. (Works just as well on guitar for exactly the same reason.) And yes, I do know it's a semitone flat of concert pitch. Every once in a while you get some cocky little tyke who wants to know why you can't play 'Through the Fire and the Flame' note for note, 'cos he's teachin' 'isself ta play i'. Last time that happened I did a bit of arithmetic with the kid, just to make sure he was aware that the average note speed throughout the song is around 14 notes a second.