Paolo85

I was looking at the classfields this morning. There were no basses marked as "sold" before page 5 (where my ad had ended up two days after the last bump). There were two "on hold" page 3. Is August a slow month for bass sales?

This. Just a single movement of closing the hand, but with fingers falling on the string staggered. It does not require a lot more stamina than playing eight notes

Never used one but I always assumed that when you put it on you cannot play open strings

I think there is a difference between haggling for fun or in the hope to get a deal, or just because why not, which I do not like, and very simply making an offer if the price tag is too high for you. The latter is helpful for for the seller, who may have reasons to sell quickly

Normally, if I analyse the bass line (which I do not always do), I rely on external sources to learn the chords - unless they are absolutely obvious. Then just check what the bass line is doing in relation to chord tones. Among the benefits of doing that are the fact that it makes it much easier to remember songs, and that it makes it much easier to wing it if I forget some bits of the bass line. I had to learn Crossroads, Cream version, a few months ago. For me, it would have been a nightmare to learn. Almost impossible to learn note for note without reference to chords. I resolved to just do it the other way around and just follow the chords, incorporating Jack Bruce parts when feasible, and wing it to a very large extent. It would not work in a Cream tribute for sure, but I suppose it would be ok in a generic rock-blues context. After all, even Bruce did not always play the same lines note for note. A few months ago, as I was playing guitar quite a bit, I went through a couple of simple songs learning both rythmic guitar and bass line, looking at how the two instruments together outlined chords, instead of relying in external sources. If I had the time, energy and skills, I would learn every song that way because it is fascinating and I am sure would pay huge dividends over time. I suppose the guitar parts could be figured out on bass but I find it more difficult

I am a huge fan of talkingbass, but I must say I find the lessons extremely dense and, possibly because of it, a bit dry despite some humor. There is a lot to take in from each 10min lesson so ome may feel a bit stuck. For me, it is not a problem. Mark from Talkingbass is the best teacher I have ever encountered, online or in person. But, if I think of myself at 15, maybe it would have not worked. Maybe Bassbuzz would have been better, for what I can see from the youtube videos There are however two caveats to that -I never tried Talkingbass courses for beginners. Maybe they are less intense -I started playing at 14 and I could read very little. Your son may find Bassbuzz too simple

Well, let me say that I aegree with you that the DB's sound is more complex than this. But, as you said in a previous post, not all DBs sound the same. You also mentioned that you like some mwah in your DB, suggesting you maybe have a certain idea of what is the kind of sound you like. In my opinion, from a functional standpoint, the DB traditionally was not there for the listener to enjoy the timbre as it developed through times. If we look at classic recordings, especially as players were using gut strings, the DB sound was there to appear quickly with a boom, and go away very quickly, providing that swinging feeling like an elefant stomping it's way through. Granted, my ears are not very good, but if I look at these two classic examples in the mix Or even at this better-recorded example I don't hear anything particularly extraordinary that leaves me in awe about how the tone changes as the note dies. What is extraordinary to me as an electric bass player (on top of the basically tone per se) is the massive thump and the swinging feel coming from the strong attack and fast decay. After all, there must be reason if Leo Fender, as he first conceived the P bass as a portable DB, installed a mute under the bridge. And it is no coincidence that if you look at Anthony Jackson live with Petrucciani, he is pretty much palm muting all the time in mid tempos.

By the way, one of the best examples IMO in terms of getting a "swinging" sound from an electric bass I found it at the beginning of this video For what I understand, there's not much playing with effects, just chunky tapewounds, fretted bass, neck pickup, plucking on the neck and above all a mute, as @jd56hawk does

Tried that. Combined with a high action it really gets you very close! But it is from my point of view not very practicable