fatback

I'd agree with philparker. Try to find a teacher who will build on theory as well as technique. Otherwise you'll never feel on top of the job. And welcome to BC

If you want rid of your GAS (I know you don't ), get an upright. I've barely had GAS since, on the grounds that nothing whatsoever in the way of kit, bar the odd set of strings, will make it any easier to play the @#+## thing.

Might have to be renamed Nigelissima Was a fretless player myself and used the thumb pivot with 'one finger per fret'. I found the transfer to upright using Rabbath was really easy, as i didn't have to learn a zillion positions and could immediately play in all keys. I think the main reason it's not more widely adopted is that the few teaching materials based on it do very poor job imo, apart from this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54pMdTCmo8g[/media] Apologies to all for my constant ramping of the great man. I claim not to be too off topic though, as it's very relevant to the whole intonation thing. Incidentally, i now find using Rabbath on fretless bg gives me better intonation than the traditional method too.

[quote name='FLoydElgar' timestamp='1349906861' post='1832241'] A question - how do you practice your intonation? tuner? against open strings? piano? pitch fork? iphone tuner? How do you shape the hand? [/quote] As a newcomer but one of the few (only?) Rabbath disciples on here, this is especially interesting for me. i'm finding that the most important part of left hand practice is thumb placement for the pivot. If the thumb is right, intonation is easy. To that end i have little paper stickers on the edge of the fingerboard at four thumb positions. I practice not looking at them but checking every now and again. Amazing how much the thumb placement can drift without constant calibration. As i say though, once the thumb is right, intonation is rarely a problem. That has to be because the number of arm movements you have to make is so much fewer than with Simandl.

That's the Dublin Midget count up another one. I wonder if you'll find the 'breaking in' continues for a while yet. Anyhow, I'll predict that you'll get happier as time goes on.

[quote name='Ant' timestamp='1349778834' post='1830300'] well, ive just taken delivery of my super fifteen, which is essentially two compacts in one box and it's easily the best cab ive ever used, i feel like ive got an 8x10 behind me but with more of everything good, and i can lift it with one hand! FLIPPIN ECK [/quote] I have absolutely no use for this beast, but you've given me a major GAS attack. Careful, you'll kill small animals.

Well worth doing, this. Great basses. Do keep us posted.

As far as I know from tutorials etc, that's what you're supposed to do. Ed Friedland's jazz video has a 'locomotive' arm technique for fast playing with the fingers vertical, but I think for the fastest parts he plays guitar style too.

Get your budget up a bit if you possibly can. Barefaced Midget. Problem solved and probably a keeper.

Hey, well done! Two years in myself, and the best decision i ever made. You'll get loads of great advice on here, so nothing to worry about. Just wait till you gig it and discover what it's like not to be invisible.

This one? I haven't seen it, so can;t comment. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lee-Rocker-Rockabilly-Slap-Bass/dp/B0009IRKGA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1348929391&sr=8-5 oops, edited for UK version.

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1348834521' post='1818847'] Fatback's sig: I'm going to have to christen my tall skinny black EUB 'Grace' [/quote]

I can't imagine there being room for a stand on most of the stages we play. So I lie it on its side and hover over it like a mother hen. Most people's feet don't seem to communicate with their brains. I don't even get nervous playing the first number, it's such a relief to have the thing upright in my hands. Funnily enough, I've had more near misses at home, where the bass has been saved by its stand, than I've actually had at gigs with no stand. Just me being less vigilant.

Interesting. I always wondered what a tube pre amp would sound like, but I've been to lazy to try it. Anyone use one regularly?

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1348668635' post='1816695'] My bass originally had a cello spike which is a good bit longer (the previous owner must be a good six foot six). I suppose the alternative would be to play sitting down on a high stool. Steve [/quote] No sitting down in my band. No standing still either (except for the guitar, but he's a jazzer and they are disembodied intellect, we know that. )

True, the EUB is handier. I'm going to get one in my fantasy future when I go to practices in an Aston.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1348659950' post='1816526'] With the bass at 'normal' height (with the nut about level with my eyebrows) I don't have any issues with keeping my wrist straight in the lowest positions. Doesn't that work for you? [/quote] That's my normal height for pizz, I'd say, but arco at that height means I have to bend a lot to bow midway between bridge and board. And that changes the angle for the arm pretty considerably in the low positions. Starting to worry that it's because i'm hideously misshapen and nobody has had the heart to tell me. Apologies to the OP for the O/T here.

And a DB is waaay cooler

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1348599453' post='1815855'] I am now worried for your left wrist. Your wrist angle shouldn't have to change if the bass is high up - you simply raise your elbow to keep your wrist straight. Please do this, I don't want to have to worry about your wrists when I've currently got my own shoulder injury to worry about. [/quote] I know height shouldn't make a difference, in theory, but above a certain height the angle will change; you can only keep your elbow so high. I only notice because i'm hugely wrist conscious and for that reason never get problems. Ideally, the distance between the headstock and your head shouldn't change either, but it probably will for many people. I do appreciate the concern though, as in the distant past i had RSI and wouldn't want anyone to go there. Given that people's proportions differ so much, I'm not surprised that a good compromise height for arco ad pizz is hard to find. I'm guessing that the reason you don't see much written about this is that there isn't a height that suits everybody. And I did ask a teacher about this, but being arco-minded, he favoured that height, while I like the comfort of a low bass for normal pizz.

[quote name='Thurbs' timestamp='1348562604' post='1815104'] The midget is quite ridiculously good full stop. Then you add in the size and weight it is a no brainer. You have to dial in some more lows than you normal would, but a tweak of EQ is hardly a heavy price to pay. I have gigged a midget for 2 years now and never needed anything else other than a outdoors (DI in to the PA). [/quote] This. Just don't raise it too far off the floor.

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1348518451' post='1814773'] Um..... we're kind of bypassing the whole bow thing .... I've ordered the Neil Tarlton scales book though on your recommendations, hopefully be through the post in a couple of days. I'll see how things go playing pizz only, if it's not moving on then I'll reconsider the whole bowing thing. [/quote] Probably the right decision. Best learning practice is to work up one skill at a time and then put them together. You can go for the bow in a year or whatever. Biggest problem I have with the bow is that I haven't yet found a good compromise bass height for pizz and arco. I like the bass low for the sake of my left wrist, but that means I have to bend too much to bow, and the left wrist angle changes and screws up my intonation. I can work with that now, but when i first started it would have caused me demoralising problems. One thing at a time works pretty well.

Hey, well done on taking the plunge; you'll never regret it. +1 to all the above suggestions, especially a couple of lessons. As for books, I found Rufus Reid's 'the evolving bassist' a great place to start because he begins concentrating on the right hand with open strings. That right hand takes some working up compared to bg, and it's right to concentrate on that fro a while. A good place to start reading too, if you don't already. After that, Micheal Moore's 'bass Method' is a well constructed intro and manages not to be too boring. At the risk of being controversial, if you want to start gigging your bass quickly, while not impeding your future progress, I would say avoid Simandl like the plague; he'll kill your soul, waste large tracts of your life, and you still won't be able to improvise. Unfortunately lots of bass teachers seem dedicated to him. If you currently use a pivoting thumb technique with the electric, then consider devising some variant of the Rabbath technique. Check out these, well worth watching: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54pMdTCmo8g[/media] Unfortunately, nobody with the slightest idea of how to structure a learning programme or make an instructional video has effectively systematised Rabbath's method. Rabbath's 'Art of the Left Hand' video, while being outrageously priced, is next to useless from a learning point of view (but always a joy to listen to and watch the man himself, of course). An attempt by Vance ('Progressive Repertoire') to represent the Rabbath method doesn't come near to explaining it, and I'll be honest and say i just refuse point blank to play 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'. No, I'm just not going to do it. Not ever. Not even in private. I'm going to get into trouble for this, i just know it, but abandoning Simandl was the best thing I ever did. Starting with him nearly broke my spirit and just would not connect with anything I knew about bass playing. Well, whatever you choose, nothing will prepare you for how happy you'll be after your first gig with the big beast. That's for sure.

Don't forget you can experiment with different valves in the DHA.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1347218776' post='1798219'] I'm getting sooo much GAS for a real double bass... grrr [/quote] You were always going to go there, why wait? Can't you lose the couch or something?