Paolo85

There are libraries of songs that can be used for these purposes. I have not looked into it in ages but I think they can be priced fairly well, and they can be good - as background tracks.

Interesting thought. I often wonder, given that not everybody gets their instrument setup after purchase, how much of an instrument's reputation is based on stuff like that.

I am in a somewhat similar situation without a classical instrument. Lately I have decided to give walking bass a proper try (I am useless at it and all previous attempts failed), and I play a lot of fretless (also useless at it). No amount of money spent in gear would make the **** coming out of my amp when I play acceptable so no point in upgrading. Still, I think that, if at some point I'll say "I am done buying gear for good", that would be because I have switched to DB, and found strings with a good feel. DBs would be too expensive and bulky and not modular enough for me to go down the rabbit hole. Basses are more tempting because with the cost of a Thomann student DB (which I imagine would also require professional setup) one can buy something like two/three good basses, or maybe one bass and two pream-DI pedals and so on...

Well, nothing would prevent me from putting in the same stuff from the 50s that I listen to on Spotify. Knowing me there's a chance I would not listen to 1985 stuff untill 10 years later when it's easier to tell what was meant to leave a mark. But who knows... there was proper good stuff back then. So maybe I would be different. If I bumped into it, Virgin Steele's Noble Savage from 1985 would get a lot of listening. And so would Megadeth and Slayer's debut albums.

The problem is defining "dull". If I remember correctly, this guy's bass has had TIs on since 2012 or something like that. They most certainly sound less bright and growly than they did when new. Is it a problem, or an improvement? Some people put hand cream or vaseline on their new flatwounds to make them age quickly so they lose brightness and get more thumpy (I have done it myself). The whole point of flats for many (most?) is to have that thumpy sound, and flatwounds do not really get to their best sound before a certain amount of time. I suppose there may be a point where they have aged too much, but the threshold for that is down to personal taste

Luckily my GAS levels are fairly low. I am not 100% sure but I seem to remember prices started going down already a few months after launch. Not Thomann sells them pretty much at the price of an Affinity PJ. I suspect they were not as big a success as Fender initially expected. Maybe this is down to all that gold - it's a personal taste but I just find them ugly. Still, if I could buy a bass now I would buy one of these Ps

As much as needed. To me, they matter in terms of sound and playability as much as the bass, and they are a cheaper way to get there. Luckily, I for the most part I have no interest in fresh and bright sets, else money would be more of an issue and maybe I would have other ideas. I seem to have settled on D'Addario tapes for the fretless (I'd prefer the thicker labella tapes but I'd have to work through some finger pain issues), and old D'Addario NYXL for the P bass. Then DR Hi-Beams for the Cort "musicman-inspired" bass. While long lasting, the DR maybe could be replaced now. But I use the other two basses way more so I am in no rush.

...there you go http://www.audereengineering.com/FAQ_PUMag_Gnd.htm#:~:text=If you are getting noise,a new wire to ground. Different pickups alone may not solve the problem

For that, to my understanding clear nail polish at the top of the pole pieces would do. With zero impact on the sound. I think it means that the pole pieces are not grounded, somebody else can correct me and/or explain better

To me, it sounds rather good! Can't go wrong with a P!

Well, I guess it all depends on personal skills, regardless of practice time. And also confidence and interests. I guess stakes at a jam night in a pub are not high but I am not sure why would I spend my limited free time putting myself in a situation I do not want to be in - such as the one you have described. That being said, I get the point many have made that some jam nights may not be as intimidating as I expected. Maybe in the right situation I could manage to put some roots and fifths in a simple chord progression or do something more if i know/learn a few songs. A friendly BC member suggested a couple of jams here in Bromley that I will check out as soon as I get myself to do it

I am of very little help as I never tried a Vintera but I have a Pickup from a Fender Classic 50s, which is described as very similar or sometimes almost identical to the vintera. It has a lot of very "dirty" 50s' growl. Somewhat bright although it also has a punchy bottom end. Truth to be told, it's bit too much. Too much personality, if it makes sense. I love it in a way but prefer a more "neutral" precision sound in practice

...let me say though that the odd pictures and the grumpy description would make me feel uncomfortable about that bass.

Cort's offering has changed a lot over the years, so not impossible, I believe. I have never seen that. If the seller was to provide a picture of the serial, you'd get the year of production from there which may make the search easier

This. I am not sure I have seen that video specifically but I have seen many Mark Smith videos including on the circle of fourths. He uses the circle of fourths to teach the neck. But that's not random and not just because it moves through all 12 notes. Chord progressions moving up in fourth are extremely common, if not the most common, in jazz - and I understand in pop as well they are big deal. Mark's course on walking bass has 90% of the exercised based on II-V-I and I-IV-II-V progressions. As many have argued, with the bass, unlike with other instruments, there are geometric patterns and one can find the a fourth without even thinking of notes. Interestingly however, that's not Mark's idea. In his walking bass course (and in all courses) he encourages to also think in terms of notes directly (especially when reaching for a root note, a bit less when moving through chord tones). So I guess it makes sense from his point of view that, if someone has to learn the neck, it's best to do it by using that progression. I'd add as an aside that, as a person struggling with walking bass, and not being very visual, I have found his approach the easiest so far. It's true that, say, a II-V-I is a simple geometry on the neck. But then when you are moving around the chord tones you have to have in mind multiple shapes at once (where, say, the fifths are, and where the root of the next note is relative to your current root, both up and down. Plus maybe adding an extra steps to where the thirds of the next chord are if one wanted to do an inversion. And if you land on a wrong note none of the geometries applies directly anymore). Just knowing where the note is is easier for me. Linking back to the main issue, if I did known the circle of fourths the way I know ABCD.. (I don't) then maybe I would find myself less often wondering "what was the next chord?"

Not bad. Much better than I was expecting and that includes Axl's voice. If somebody had told me that was an obscure track from the Use Your Illusion sessions I would have believed them.

I have no good advice to give on music but, for what I have seen in other "attractive" and overcrowded sectors me and my wife worked in, there are two main approaches to the problem: Case A, the young adult is "all in". She does not want to do anything but playing. She think she'd be unhappy doing something else. Music is her joy and she'd be happy playing anything (weddings etc..). She is aware that few years down the line working odd hours would make it more difficult to spend time with her children should she have some but she accepts it. If that's the case, I would not necessarily start with the assumption that it will be a low-pay career. It should be very clear that this could be the case but at the same time, during the "formative" period, I believe the assumption should be that one works strategically with with the objective of being one of the few that make a good living. This is not just because it may make it easier to be one of the few lucky ones, but also because that makes it more likely that one lands somewhere "at least ok" if things do not go according to plans. That could make a good case for a university as degrees, and the experiences and connections that go with them. Case B, the young adult is very talented, but know that she could make a living in completely different sectors and be happy. She's unsure whether working as hard as a hedge fund guy and at odd hours to play pop hits at weddings would work for her. In that case, yes it could make sense to try for a few years, without uni, and see how it goes. That's what my guitar player did when we turned 18. He was a monster for his age. Played Malmsteen solos at age 15 and had an amazing feel. He tried the music business and did not like the travelling and the pop music as much as he thought he would. I guess for this case B, music-related degrees where one gets transferable skills could also be a compromise. But maybe not.. one could reasonably be of they mind that either they play, actually play, not teach, produce etc.. or they may as well study medicine or whatever.

So, I bought these LaBella tapes on ebay a while ago. There is a sticker inside the package (not outside) that says "MB-2". I had a look now and I suspect that may mean they were made for Rob Allen MB2 basses (which come with LaBellas stock), but that's just a guess. I wonder if they would be any different from other LaBellas given ehat the MB-2 is 34" Thanks

I am sure you thought about it already but some Seymour Duncan Apollo may get you in the ballpark maybe. I was tempted when I had a J.

Thanks, that's all good advice. I checked and luckily it seems some muting comes automatic as I go to fret a lower string. Changing note position when needed is a good idea although hope to get this as a "general skill" anyway

So, I have a problem, and I'd like to know how basschatters get around this. I use raking for the most part and I intend to continue doing it. However, when I have to skip a string after I am alternating, I stick to alternating. By that I mean that, say I am playing a couple of open Ds (so alternating as I am not goind down strings) and then I want an open E, I would alternate to play the E. I find this efficient and not confusing. The problem is that, if I am already raking and then need to skip a string, my brain wants to continue raking. So say, with open strings, I am playing G, D, E, my brain wants to use the same finger for all strings. I am finding difficult to automate the fact that I should be alternating from D to E. So how do you "rakers" (?) go around it? Should I just hope it will come natural over time? Should I learn how to skip a string using the same finger?

Looks like one to me

Hi all, So, what are the differences between these LaBella black tapes 50-105 and the D'Addario tapes of the same gauge? https://www.thomann.de/gb/la_bella_750n_black_nylon_l.htm I have tried the D'Addario a few times. I like them but the G is maybe a bit tinny. As for LaBellas, I have tried the 60-115 and I like the sound really a lot, but while they are not high tension, they are a bit too stiff for me. P.S. as we are talking about the LaBellas, do you know why very very few sellers sell this gauge? Thanks

Zombie thread, I know, but maybe you want to try D'Addario NYXL and let them age. I am not saying they sound like flats, but as far as rounds go, they are very dark and they age gracefully, getting somewhat thumpy over time. With the tone rolled off they give me enough of that vibe. After trying I think eight different sets of flats on P basses and never being 100% satisfied for one reason or a other, I accidentally landed on the NYXL and for now it appears I am sticking with them (admittedly, the fact that they are "normal" tension but very low stifness is part of the reason I like them).

Gsr 200 and Cort Action walnut are two rare cases of cheap low weight Ibanez-shaped basses where one can just drop in a tonerider without having to figure out what to do with soapbars and preamp. I may have to buy one of those one day