Jerry_B

Play how you like, learn to play in a way that suits your needs, and have fun. Surely that's all that matters at the end of the day (before this thread gets locked...)...?

The best rule of thumb then is to use what suits you right now and gets the job done Adding more to your skill set - if you feel the need for it - can come later over time.

[quote name='skej21' post='1004468' date='Oct 28 2010, 10:18 PM']If you learn by ear, you have to start from scratch again with structures and dynamics yadda yadda yadda. A much bigger waste of time doing it that way if you ask me (not to mention the fact that if you can't read, you've instantly cut out a sizeable chunk of possible gigs!)[/quote] Hmm - that depends on how good your ear is. If you can pick up a song after hearing once or twice, there's no need to spend hours on it. If the other people in the band know the song too, it won't be any sort of epic struggle.

[quote name='silddx' post='1004245' date='Oct 28 2010, 07:31 PM']God, I've been playing for 30 years and other than the first five frets on the E and A strings, I have to work out what the notes are called. But I can improvise over stuff reasonably well and after a good while your fingers kind of develop eyes, as Steve Vai once said. You know what the notes are going to sound like before you hit them. I can usually sing a melody in my head and more or less play it straight away. I made a nice spice rack last year with my carpentry skills [/quote] +1 - yep, very good point! With practice your brain and fingers synch and you almost instinctively know which fret to play on when you hear what someone else is playing. I've been playing bass for 22 years - all I know is the name of the strings. I never know what I'm playing in terms of what fret fret = any given note. I've always played by ear, but I understand that not everyone gets that as a concept when they first start playing. That said, I also know musicians who can't play anything without reading it as music or tabs first - they find it pretty much impossible to play by ear, which does seem weird to me but horses for courses...

[quote name='nick' post='1003014' date='Oct 27 2010, 09:06 PM']+1. Me too, don't think I'd ever go back to any MIA, unless I found a really good one. Regarding Mex Fender; would rather have a good MIJ or VM Squier TBH.[/quote] ++1. My 1989 MIJ fretless is pretty much perfect, and has survived alot of abuse from the previous owner. I'd love an unlined MIJ fretless Precision, but I've never seen one.

I owned a Standard Jazz for 6 months or so of this year and thought it was pretty good. Some of the work on the fretboard near the nut seemed a bit rough and there were a few somewhat sharp fret edges, but aside from that it all seemed pretty well put together.

That said, I do like the clunkiness of it's design...

[quote name='Chris2112' post='994967' date='Oct 20 2010, 03:43 PM']Like here we have a video of a lovely Status S2 classic and it just sounds like a load of crap because the strings are buzzing and clacking off the frets. If the action were raised a tiny bit it would sound so much better![/quote] Hmm - all that isn't coming through the amp though, is it? I think it sounds okay.

A bass always feels a bit odd to me if the action's too low - no doubt due to the fact that for years all my basses have had a somewhat high action. I play with a plectrum so anything too low sounds bloody awful. The action of my fretless is high (which is what some people noted at the London Bass Bash back in June), but too low an action of a fretless gives you less control IMHO. And anyway, I have strong fingers

Talent can blossom, in time. It only gets nipped in the bud by a lack of commitment. So if the latter is the problem, that's the real deal breaker. Finding your feet in terms of developing a talent may not happen quickly or in an obvious way. That's my experience from being a teacher (not music) anyway.

What did you get the Kimabara from for that price?

Ugly, but not in a good way

Like I said, I just reckon it takes a bit of getting used to. Awhile back I split the end of my thumb, so couldn't rest it on the pickup. So I didn't have any option for quite a while but to try to play without resting on it. It's a bit of an odd feeling, but I found that the heel of my thumb got used to taking the weight instead. I actually now think it makes my playing a bit more flexible, but that's just me.

Here's some porn of my Westone Spectrum DX. This is the first real bass I owned, which was given to me in 1988 by a mate of mine who'd gone over to the guitar side. He bought it from a second-hand shop, and the previous owner had sprayed it combat green. Under that it was the original red, although to date I've never seen a photo of a red one. The red was also removed and we stained the maple body and gave it a thin varnish wash. It's still a good bass - just suffers a little from neck dive but has a nice chunky sound.

It could be ash. It depends on how much it weighs. AFAIK, ash is lighter than maple....

It may be simpler all round just to learn to play without feeling the need to use a thumb rest? It's doable!

For starters...

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I think it involves taking a blue pill (Viagra) or a red pill (Nurofen Express)...

My old Westone Spectrum DX, which was my first real bass and which I've had since 1988, is still one I'd never give up. It's cheap as chips, has a little bit of neck dive and worn frets but it just has a monster sound that I never get tired of. The only other bass which has been spot on for me in terms of sound is my T-40, which in itself isn't some hugely expensive bit of kit. I've tried various other more expensive basses over the years but none of them have been able to cut it as far as I'm concerned.

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