james_guitar

Pretty much aything by Duran Duran. Despite this sweeping statement, I think 'Rio' as a song has it all going on. Next time it's on the radio or you're bored on YouTube, check it out; Rio has so many genius bass riffs in it, it's actually frightening. +1 on ABBA bass lines, although it is also great songwriting. Voulez Vouz has an almost prog-tastic main riff and Yngwie Malmsteen didn't a fantastic cover of Gimme Gimme Gimme A Man After Midnight (changed to Gimme Gimme Gimme Your Love After Midnight). +1 on Just A Girl by No Doubt. Tragic Kingdom is another track from the same album that has a great bass line and arguably no real direction to the song (but still kind of cool in a progressive rock/ska kind of way). Madness have had some great bass moments - House Of Fun and Baggy Trousers being two diamonds in the rough. Groove Is In The Heart by Dee Lite is also quite a strong contender for this title.

I haven't entered for any of the RGT exams, but I teach guitar and bass full time and have entered a lot of students for gradings on the Rock school syllabus (which is stylistically varied, despite the name). I agree with JD1 that you should focus on nailing the fundamentals. Check out the playing standard of the other pieces for this grade (either RGT or Rock School Bass syllabus) and don't pick anything more technical than this unless you can literally play it in your sleep. Much like with GCSE and A-Level performance exams, an examiner would far rather hear you nailing a piece that hits the minimum technical requirements than missing a couple of notes here and there on Donna Lee (or playing U Can't Hold No Groove without being able to comfortably groove). As for the ear tests side of things - if you (or even a friend) can play something chord-friendly like guitar or piano (or you can do this an octave higher on a bass if you really want), then keep playing and listening to different types of chords until you can differentiate between major and minor, or maj7 and dominant 7th etc. Next off, do the same thing with arpeggios and scales. Despite being tedious, this stuff is invaluable when playing with other musicians. Finally, whatever piece you decide to play make sure you can play every note 100% cleanly at performance tempo to a metronome. Start at a slower tempo and build your way up if need be. Remember, if you can't play it perfectly at a slower tempo then it's not going to sounds any better at the faster speeds.

[quote name='molan' post='508831' date='Jun 9 2009, 09:53 AM']I really like the old live album from about 10 years ago with the, wonderfully named, Hubert Eaves IV on bass [/quote] That album really got me listening to her - it's probably in my top 10 albums for groove... the bass tone and feel are sickeningly good throughout. I read somewhere that she stopped working with that bassist because she didn't like his ora/vibe??! I went to see her live in Brixton Academy around this time last year and although she was great, I don't think I've ever witnessed such an awful bass sound in my life; it was 100 percent pure sub and no tone. It completely killed all of her older material for me. If she's still using that bassist now I don't think I'll bother seeing her again...

If it were me, I'd consider a different approach. Like many others on this forum, I own a lot of gear and have experimented with a number of floor units etc with headphone outputs... I really don't think anything comes close to the Line 6 UX-2 recording interface for sound quality, versatility and value for money. You'll obviously need some kind of computer or laptop to run it through, but for just over £100 (plus optional upgrades for additional modelling expansion packs), you get some fantastic software bundled with it, including 'POD Farm' which feautures emulations of pretty much every classic bass and guitar amp going, in a very user-friendly format (a very visual drag and drop affair that can be either as in depth or as simple as you could ever possibly need complete with a very cool KORG Rack-style tuner). Being an audio interface, it's mainly aimed at the recording/studio market and whilst it excels in this department, I find myself using it 99percent of the time for the 'POD Farm' amp/effects software for practice using either headphones or pc/monitor speakers. You can even run an output in to a guitar anp or PA speakers if you wish. Being a pedal junkie like myself, you'll especially appreciate the emulations of all the classic effects pedals included; I play guitar in a Police tribute band and own pretty much all the pedals Andy Summers ever used in the original band and yet often find myself getting sounds closer to the original tracks using the Line 6 POD Farm emulations than the real things :S Finally, you may want to think about how good the headphones you currently use are - a good set of headphones (IMO) will be the difference between a decent headphone amp/floorboard/interface sounding good or not. Something like the Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones may seem expensive at around £80 (if you shop around), but do your bass tone far more justice as well as hugely enhance your more recreational music listening experience... Hope that helps, James

[quote name='chris_b' post='506753' date='Jun 6 2009, 01:03 AM']AER are made in Germany and their guitar combo's seem to be used mainly by acoustic and jazz players. I've never seen any of their bass gear being used though.[/quote] I'm sure I've read some posts on either here or Talkbass where they were being highly recommended by Double Bassists. Their acoustic guitar amps are the holy grail of acoustic sound IMO and I heard some of their PA speakers and was equally impressed, although I didn't think they were much different to similar spec H.K. audio speakers that were considerably cheaper...

[quote name='owen' post='499718' date='May 28 2009, 11:33 AM']a canvas covered styrofoam case at 10kilos and £650. Or buy a bass from Gear4music for £400 and get the styrofoam case for free.[/quote] I like the sound of the styrofoam casing... Do any of you use one of these cases and do they seem durable? Also, do the ones that come with the Gear4Music bass differ much in quality to a normal, more expensive styrofoam case? Given how much I believe the materials for Carbonfibre cases cost, they seem to have an inexcusably high mark-up... given that if people can afford to, they will happily stretch towards a lighter, more expensive hard case. I've just spent £1,200 for the Stentor Arcadia and it's in amazing condition, comes with a stand, bow, Fishman pickup and Fishman preamp and a soft case (which wasn't originally advertised as part of the sale). It seems like a pretty good deal to me, although I don't have a frame of referance being new to the double bass. I'll definately check out the brands mentioned already... thanks for the tips! Now, given that the soft case is likely to be in a van full of other equipment on the way to gigs, does anyone here any one here have a specific hardcase that they can recommend for under £1000.

I'm about to purchase a Stentor Arcadia 3/4 double bass which comes with bow and Fishman pickup installed but no case. I will be using it for weekly gigs at various venues, so am going to need some fo of case to keep the instrument in one piece. I've been reading a post in the Gear section of the for about recommended padded gig bags and flight cases, but there were no double bass cases mentioned. I've been browsing online and have found everything from cheap anorak looking cases to £3000+ fibre bomb-proof cases. So I was wondering... What cases do you use or recommend and why? I'm looking for something under £400, but would love to know what makes the more expensive cases that much better.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='496690' date='May 24 2009, 05:10 PM']Basswesty is also in a Police tribute band: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=42073&hl=basswesty"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=basswesty[/url] Are you doing the vocals and bass simultaneously? Just learning Roxanne and it ain't easy! Alex[/quote] Awesome - which Police tribute does he play for?