Jerry_B

I'm 40 and have no wife or kids, and have problems even getting a band together - so the grass isn't always greener

Isn't it wise perhaps to watch what you do with the gun oil near the frets? One wonders if it may encourage them to pop out a bit if too much gun oil works it way in.

When I first started playing bass and decided I wanted to play using my fingers, I used a tiddlywink - until someone pointed out that I could buy picks. I kid you not! Steve Albini (Big Black, Shellac, etc.) used to use a bit of metal as a pick. Dunno if he still does.

Yep, it's quite fluid pick playing - all in the wrist.

I have GAS for a natural finish one, so I'm hoping that at some point one turns up over here that's in good nick.

Brian Gibson from Lightning Bolt.

[quote name='umph' post='789804' date='Mar 29 2010, 07:34 PM']i love the om sound. Shellac are worth checking out to[/quote] +1

[quote name='Doddy' post='788307' date='Mar 28 2010, 03:39 AM']Or you could learn to read and become a more versatile musician. Why would you not want to improve your musicianship? You don't have to do one or the other-you can do both.[/quote] Yes, I know you can do both and wasn't suggesting otherwise. Perhaps one might 'merely' want to have fun with it all and not worry about doing what others consider to be the 'right way' of doing things. After all, it's not impossible to be a versatile musician and still learn and play by ear. [quote]But why limit what you can do and who you can play with? The more you know and the more you can do, the wider the range of gigs that are available to you.[/quote] But it depends what one is looking for in terms of personal output. Again, I wasn't suggesting one should limit oneself.

I really like the looks of a Jazz, and the Precision too. They just don't cut it for me, sound-wise. This is why I have a Peavey T-40, which sounds marvelous and looks great in a sort of American industrial design kinda way. The fretless Fender Jazz I have is all black and just looks very very slinky indeed. At the end of the day I guess you like what suits your purposes. I won't buy another Jazz but I really like how they look!

But sometimes you can be too precise and boring at the same time At the end of the day it really depends on what you want to play and who you're playing with.

I wasn't saying that they were mutually exclusive. I was just pointing out that the ability to read and that alone can come with it's own set of problems, for some people. The bloke in question didn't have an ear for things at all, but if he saw the music for any particular piece he could play it very well. I guess he was a stickler for structure, but I never tried to figure it out

Anyone actually like the Jazz for it's looks alone? I know I do. That asymetrical body shape, the metal plate blended with the pickguard. Very nice! I just wish that they naturally had a bit more grunt - but that can be remedied with dirtier pickups

Don't do it if you're truly frightened by the prospect. That'll just make things worse rather than be an improvement. If you can get the job done by playing by ear, stick with that. I personally think that if you gel well with the other band members, that's what makes it all work - then you can rely on intuition, feel and instinctive timing. Being able to read can also be a curse. I was once in a band with someone who could only learn by sight reading first, and was terrified of 'going off the beaten track' from whatever the music said. Horses for courses I guess

This was one of the first bass lines I learnt, many moons ago. It's not as tricky as it may look, but I guess that depends on what you were used to playing before. As for as metal/punk/etc bass-lines go, it's actually quite sedate. Lemmy's style it quite relaxed and 'springy', in terms of how he hits the strings (I say this as I seen Motorhead live quite a few times).

Fretless, yes - fretted, not for me.

I've seen at least one on sale over here for more than 500 quid. Average price in the US seems to be as Eddie says above. Getting one from there over here probably wouldn't be very cheap. Shame really, as a few weeks back there was a US one on sale (at Craiglist I think) that was red - and that in itself is rare enough, from what I can gather.

I know exactly how you feel. I was unsure for ages what basses to try, let alone buy, and wasn't sure what to do and it was stopping me playing. Nothing felt all that 'right', apart from my lovely MIJ Fender Jazz fretless. Then I got my hands on a T-40 and that was it. No more GAS. No more fussing and 'what ifs'. That's it now. I have two basses that fit all of my needs 100% and I'm back to playing both and enjoying it all!

I did try to learn tab, way back when, but in the end it was simply easier for me to listen to any given song and play it by ear. I still do this today. I know some people who can't learn by ear at all - they either need tabs or the music itself before it 'sits' in their memory.

Surely a Sunday meet excludes going down the pub in the evening, seeing as there's work the next day...?

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=79998"]Neck dive thread...[/url] (although personally I don't consider that to be neck dive),

I've not seen a walnut one before. That pic looks like a retouched grey one - I nearly bought one awhile back. They're nice, but to make them super nice you'd need to put in some better pups. I think someone else on here says that suffer from neck dive a bit.

The 'Dirty Harry' film soundtrack is well worth buying - some really great bass playing!

Look what I found...

I have a Squier Standard Jazz possibly for sale if you're interested. It has a 38mm neck. PM if you need any info.

I've yet to get some switch cleaner, but will do so. Seeing as this thread is resurrected, I still have a problem with this bass. It's too quiet - or, at least, it doesn't sound like it's firing on all cylinders. Could this be because there's a problem with the pups, or is it still something with the wiring?