Marvin

[quote name='Marvin' post='694185' date='Dec 27 2009, 12:01 PM']I was surprised to get a Zoom B2.1u pedal from my lovely wife, great fun. Also got a new strap from the kids and, overall, I've got to say not one present I didn't like. Not that I got many.[/quote] Sorry couldn't be arsed to type it out again

Great move. Adds clarity and openness imo. I've seen a few items that I might have been interested in without price and just moved on as I can't be bothered playing guessing games.

RCHP are probably a little bit more accessible to a 'general' audience. Personally I don't get into RCHP and prefer the more challenging Living Colour. I remember my best mate bought Living Colour's new release back in the early 90's and try as much as he could, just couldn't get into the album at all and ended up selling it.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='692468' date='Dec 23 2009, 05:36 PM']I suspect that most if not all tab readers are lacking in the sound department. The sounds in Guitar Pro can be utter pants, but it's a useful "get out of jail card" - no substitute for the ears though, & on no account believe that the tab is accurate. Great tool for writing your own lines though. Pete.[/quote] I tend to use tab as I simply haven't the time to sit working out lines by ear, especially the ones that are not overtly obvious and hidden by layers of other instruments. Songster itself, I've seen it. It's quite limited as to what you can use without subs, and the number of tabs available. Also some of the few I've looked at were woefully inaccurate. But it's ok for some things.

Heartbreaker by Free.

[quote name='PauBass' post='688442' date='Dec 18 2009, 03:25 PM'] The link doesn't work for me.[/quote] That's strange, link works fine for me. mmmmm Thanks, everything helps.

Congrats mate. Listened to your material on myspace and was really impressed. Cheers Rich

[quote name='danny-79' post='687563' date='Dec 17 2009, 06:02 PM']Easyer said than done but .... how do i put this .... i try not to get to stressed/ angry with myself for not being able to get somthing right, cause then all the nasty little cogs in your head start turning an BOOM the mood is blown an you cant hear the sound in your head cause your blind by the $%^&*&^%$£$%^&* going through your head of what should be happing but isnt happing .... take a break !! less is more !! an all that s**t ... dont no if that made any sence, was talking to myself mainly i think... hence typing here an not practicing over there ..... [/quote] makes perfect sense mate. Glad I'm not the only one.

I've never practised enough which is why my playing is so bad. I haven't touched my bass for best part of 2 weeks due to work and now the wife is ill I'm doing all the housework etc. These playalong tracks what and where do you get them?

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='682134' date='Dec 12 2009, 01:17 PM']People look down on the pick because it's a shameful historical symbol of a dark, oppressed period in our history. I refer to the days when the worst guitarist was ignominiously demoted to bass playing. Thank the Lord those days are long gone. [/quote] If only this were true!

My word that's nice. No nice is not the word I'm looking for - bloody lovely. That's more like it.

[quote name='silddx' post='680299' date='Dec 10 2009, 02:40 PM']People who say picks are cheating are speaking with their anusol.[/quote] Thoroughly agree with that. To play cleanly with a pick can prove very difficult as I found out recently. ( I find muting strings my downfall when picking for some reason ). I used to use a pick all the time, when young, but coming back find it almost impossible. This has of course resulted in having to learn how to use my fingers properly which is slowing my progress down somewhat. People tend to look down on the pick because double bass players don't use them and guitards do.

[quote name='Marky L' post='681086' date='Dec 11 2009, 10:47 AM']To far away for me then![/quote] [quote name='geoffbyrne' post='681087' date='Dec 11 2009, 10:47 AM']...............a bit far for me to commute..................... G.[/quote] These surely belong in wayne's basschat cliches thread in OT.

[quote name='wulf' post='678795' date='Dec 9 2009, 09:33 AM']That sounds like a mix of a couple of (valuable) approaches. One is about supporting the leading finger (the one holding down the string to get the note you are playing). Rather than making it take the whole tension of the string, you can use any fingers behind it to share the load. Less tension means less strain means less fatigue, which is vital when playing for an extended period. The other one sounds like minimising movement: less work and more accuracy. The two don't necessarily run together. For example, if your exercise went Bb A Ab G on the E string and then Eb D Db C on the A string, supporting the leading finger would mean you would shift the whole set of fingers up to the A string supporting the fourth finger in playing the Eb. Strict minimal movement would leave 1-3 covering G-A. Both are approaches worth taking in the practise environment though and then considering how to apply them to your live playing. Ultimately, the aim is to be so smart and lazy you can provide appropriate energy for your basslines all night. Wulf[/quote] Thanks. That makes a lot of sense and provides a better focus for what i would be practising rather than just doing it.

I can only count to 9, so anything after that is a complete mystery.

Fantastic. I've just got to think of some questions.

[quote name='silddx' post='677416' date='Dec 8 2009, 01:07 AM']Christ in a f***ing parambulator, I've got one, in white!!!!!!! I picked it up tonight from sixshooter, it is [color="#FF0000"][size=7][b]ACE!!![/b][/size][/color] Steve is a diamond to deal with. I played his 59 Precision, if you've ever wanted a living, breathing amazing Fender, you've found one, it is stunning and he is selling it! He's a lovely bloke and you'll have no issues doing business with him. I played one of his amazing Strats too, it is by far the nicest Strat I have played. Steve knows what he's talking about, his knowledge put me to shame. Cheers Steve [size=7][/size][/quote] Are some pictures on there way so we can all see this new acquisition?

[quote name='silddx' post='678266' date='Dec 8 2009, 06:28 PM']Today Parcel Force managed to put two major cracks in a hardshell case I sent a bass in, luckily no damage to the bass, but they must have thrown it across a room to do that. Arseholes. Got to claim for it now.[/quote] Afraid that happens quite frequently in all distribution and delivery firms. When at Uni, my house mate came back with tales of TV hurling competitions from working for a distribution company for the major electrical retailers over the summer. Basically how far can you throw a TV down an arctic trailer. This was but one game among many apparently.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='678071' date='Dec 8 2009, 03:56 PM']IIRC, most of the pictures i've seen of you were taken in the pub [/quote] You get very good lighting in a pub you know, and background colour. Makes for a very good overall pic.

Was supposed to be getting something together but I didn't have a clue what material the guy wanted to play. He'd give a vague idea like 'well maybe something like this'. So I dutifully went off found a couple of similar songs, got the basics of them just for jamming purposes by which time he'd be suggesting something else. I just got fed up and said I wasn't much up for the idea anymore. Had the feeling what he really wanted to play was beyond me anyway. I know my limitations hence i fu@ked off. Basically I don't like being arsed about, so I am now in between creative projects.

I'll probably use all the suggestions when practicing, I can't see it will do any harm. Many thanks

Welcome. And as others have said some really nice gear there.

[quote name='silddx' post='675904' date='Dec 6 2009, 05:24 PM']It's essentially the Daily Mail for anglers. I cancelled my subs after a while. A lot of the readership are pretty Daily Mail too, lots of anti-Eastern European crap going on. I've given up on the periodical stuff. I only read Chris Yates and Richard Walker these days.[/quote] I agree entirely. Always admired Chris Yates' approach to fishing. I wasn't going to buy BGM this month but flicked through it in Smiths on saturday and well the inevitable. Specifically Andrew Levy. Very good this month.

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='676124' date='Dec 6 2009, 08:51 PM']I think its a good exercise but I wouldn't try and play that way all the time. Its good to build up hand strength and finger independence but its impractical for playing actual lines IMO. As ever, YMMV.[/quote] I was thinking the same myself. It's definitely something I'll use as an exercise and warm up.

I bought the Bass Handbook by Adrian Ashton, and one of the techniques he encourages is Supportive Fretting. i.e one finger per fret. But also not lifting the finger behind the note you are fretting. So if you play G Ab A Bb by the time you get to Bb all four fingers are still on the fretboard. I find I can do this more or less on each string separately however, he goes on to say that to develop the technique further then try it across the strings. Known as the Spider e.g you start on G on the E string and play the 4 notes in sequence up to Bb. Now when you come to start on the A string on the C, leave the fingers on the E string i.e pressing down Ab,A and Bb. Basically you only move the finger that is going to play a new note, across all four strings. The book says it is difficult and not to expect miracles. So I was just wondering how many can actually do this. Trying to leave my little finger in place and move my ring finger down a string I find impossible. Apologies if this makes no sense whatsoever, and to those who may not have needed a rather long winded and quite frankly sh1te explanation.