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The Badass III on my jazz is great. I like it a lot. My favourite bridge is the 2 Tek bridge which i have on a Hamer bass. One that i'd really like though is one that can offer 3 way adjustment - up down for action, forwards and back for intonation and also i'd like one to alter the string spacing left or right. In addition i'd like it to do that without having to drill new holes in the body of a P Bass.

The cases have arrived. The Warwick Rockcase is massive and is pretty well built. I'll need to put something in there to stop the bass moving around though. What were they thinking when they made this? Its almost big enough for two basses? The soft case is one made by a company called TKL. Quick lookup on the net sees they retail at about £70! Lucky i got it for £6 as i must say it doesn't look like it could withstand much punishment. The case won't stand up safely if leant against a wall or anything and i couldn't put other stuff on top of it in the car - its too thin. I can see it might be useful if i were on a bicycle - apart from that i can't see it replacing a hard case any time soon.

How will it work via Skype? How can the teacher hear/see what you are doing?

I'd like someone to convince me that it is worth it. Their website isn't going to get me to join as it seems mostly irrelevant. I earn ok from music but its not my main income. Currently to insure gear away from home and left in car - public liability and personal injury is less than the subs to join. I don't need a lawyer as my brother is psychotic and built like a brick shithouse.

[quote name='Count Bassie' post='1348414' date='Aug 22 2011, 08:56 PM']I know... that this thread has been dead awhile, but I got a little live footage of my modded Hamer Cruisebass getting played at a recent gig and I thought I'd post it. 'Tis here, at a Portuguese feast with my Portuguese trad/events band, Novera... yes it's me playing, in all my dour splendor. I don't know how to get the vid to appear here, so here's a linky: [url="http://youtu.be/tX6duR0ZLGw"]http://youtu.be/tX6duR0ZLGw[/url] Another, a better view of the bass I think. Please, ignore the player. [url="http://youtu.be/AVJyXvXG6TE"]http://youtu.be/AVJyXvXG6TE[/url][/quote] Count! How the devil are you. I am at work and unable to play them at the moment but will later.

I'm normally ok once i am into the song but my faux pas is this. Singer has quick chat with drummer and guitarist and decides to do a number not on the set list for whatever reason. She looks at me and mouths the title of the song. I fail to lipread correctly. Next thing i hear is the drummer counting 2, 3, 4! I have ablsolutely no idea what the song is going to be. In these instances i just don't play until i recognise the tune.

I have a 212 and a 210. I only stacked them once like that as i was paranoid it would come tumbling down. In retrospect it was very sturdy and would probably be ok but the thought of it all crashing down "live" is too much of an uneccessary headache.

Reached the same conclusions myself. Before Basschat i had 1 bass for 20 odd years. Since I joined Basschat i have bought 8 basses. 5 remain soon to be 4 at which i intend to stop! My eureka moment came at a jam night where there was a guy with a Wal and a guy with a Squier which both sounded fantastic. I then bought a Squier for £75 and gigged it and realised that noone noticed. Still sounded like me

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1348142' date='Aug 22 2011, 04:53 PM']Well, I went out and bought 'The greatest Funk album ever' and I am playing it whilst typing this. I think the bass lines are simple but effective. The timing is the issue. I shall continue in my quest to play funk. If anyone fancies the challenge of teaching me............ [/quote] I am just thinking of all the great tunes and bands you may have never heard if you are new to funk. Actually makes me quite jealous. Enjoy.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1347742' date='Aug 22 2011, 08:23 AM']If it can be learned, it can be taught.[/quote] It depends what you mean by learn. If you mean regurgitating stuff that is in a book or from a teacher then you are right. However, creating your own lines with the right feel and mood is a different bag of snakes which is what i think the OP was about. I work with a gifted keyboard player and he is technically very good. On occassion he playes too many notes and the space necessary to generate the groove is lost - the song stops being funky. When we talked about it he insisted on the notes being "correct theoretically" which they are - but they just ain't funky. Thats the quintessential part that comes from listening. No amount of teaching is going to address that.

Aw thanks Chris. The scratchplate came with the Affinity Squier that i bought from Evil Undead on BC. She can tell you but its just a stick on thing over the original white scratchplate. Looks nice though

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1347496' date='Aug 21 2011, 08:46 PM']Not all funk is slapping! (and not a slap is funk.....) There are times when a bit of slap and pop is called for but listening to 70's funk bands, they are not all slap fests! They have solid rhythm and play to the groove. Unless I am totally of track and should give up all hope of a funk slot [/quote] Its a product of immersing yourself in different aspects of the genre and understanding where funks origins lie. There is also the whole sub genre thing - jazz funk, latin funk, soul funk even acid jazz to a degree. I guess i am saying that it wont happen overnight but the more you listen the more things will start to rub off.

Heres my little collection. Sunburst Highway 1 with added Audere PreAmp is my # 1 gigging bass. The fretless needs mastering and is in need of a black pickguard. The Hamer is a wonderful jazz bass that some kind soul sold to me and is probably my only keeper.

Ok heres the Bitsa. All US bits apart from the Affinity body. Plays and sounds very pleasing and i am chuffed as its my first attempt at a build, soldering and setting up etc.

My 2p is that you can probably teach to a certain level but you cannot teach feel and groove which is a product of listening and understanding.

45-105's for fretted basses and something else for fretless rounds. I just setup a Precision with 40-100 and they feel different but not in a bad way - just different.

[quote name='newbass1000' post='1347178' date='Aug 21 2011, 02:43 PM']Some interesting stuff here, thanks guys, Probably gonna have to think less about all this theory shizz, writing is my biggest problem, but listening to so much rage/audioslave tends to mean I can only write like that. I'll try listening to some funk/motown see where that gets me, I don't know if this helps, but the bass i'm playing on I feel really uncomfortable with, I'm buying a fender jazz next week, along with a better amp, see if that gives me some creative sprirt.[/quote] Getting an instrument that you like is pretty important but its more than that. Listening is a very useful tool to develop. Like, listen to a song and try to imagine what the chords and basslines are playing. Listen to the rhythm, the changes and importantly the spaces. Listen to as much stuff as you can. Theory is important and you can develop this as you progress. I don't think i would still be playing if all i did was scales and arpeggios all the time. Take it slowly and build up. If you are lucky you have started a life long passion and the beauty is you will never stop learning. Thats the best bit. Relax and don't be too hard on yourself. ps. i bet the Jazz Bass does help

2 Years! And you have been doing all those scales, arpeggios etc. You should give yourself a pat on the back as it took me at least 10 before i even thought about doing the theory stuff. My loss but i wouldn't change anything. The key to being a good bassist IMHO is feel, groove, connectivity etc. Yes, theory is important but you apply the theory to get the groove and feel. Playing fast is rarely important in most band situations. Speed will come. Technique and knowledge will improve. It all takes time but as a famous chinamen once said - its all about the journey and not the destination.

[quote name='johnnyacoustic1' post='1346792' date='Aug 20 2011, 10:52 PM']So what are we talking about here is their a gap in the market for a hard case thats more solid in construction and therefor thinner than your standard hard case and fits your base like a glove but with the addition of a shoulder slind to allow you to sling it over your shoulder ! I musrt admit having recently swapped from lead to bass that my acoustic solid case is a pain on account of only being able to carry it via the handle and my P base is sticking out the top of my old gig bag but is so much easier to move around slim but solid with a sling sorted[/quote] I've seen these things on the net that are a kind of halfway house. They are foam cases - with a shoulder strap. It looks like a hard case in shape but is made of lightweight but durable foam and has a nylon type bad that goes around it for carrying. Looks a bit of a faff to me. I have just won a couple of cases off of ebay. One being a "soft" case - the other a Warwick Rock Case. The soft case is a well known make and retails at about £80 so i am hoping that it is as good as some have suggested. I think an issue for me is that i cannot leave a soft case lying around the house with 2 young kids and a dog. My basses are permanently stored in their cases.

Fan here too. Only saw them once, i think it was the Black Rose tour, but they were excellent.

Only downside i can see is that i would need to drill some new holes.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1345711' date='Aug 19 2011, 06:19 PM']Yep. Check out the Schaller 3D for a good example. It depends on how you look at it but you should set the string spacing as per your pups (so you get even coverage with no volume drop over your strings) then adjust your technique to match the spacing... rather than the other way around.[/quote] Indeed. The adjustment is only going to be a fraction. I'll check out the Schaller 3D.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1345687' date='Aug 19 2011, 05:54 PM']Really? String space at the bridge is exactly the same be it P or be it J. From your pic the spacing seems pretty standard, although you could do with shifting the E/A pup in a bit. Schaller do the best fender replacement bridges [b]IMHO[/b]. For pure functionality I'm a 2000 fan but it doesn't look traditional which can put some off if you are putting it on a fender type bass.[/quote] Thanks for the tip on the Pup. Will have a go tonight. Ok, i should explain. My main bass is a Jazz with a Badass 3 on. This comes with grooved saddles and i have adjusted the strings onto the saddles into a position i think is comfy - apparently narrower than the standard setting whatever that is. I have heard that there are some bridges that offer a 3 way adjustment?

Hiya, i have just finished modding a Squier Affinity into a Precision Bitsa. I'd like to put a better bridge on the bass, one that will allow adjustment of the string spacing. I play mainly Jazz basses and whilst the neck on the Precision isn't an issue the extra distance between the strings is. What bridge can you recommend that will fit on an Affinity P Bass (without extra drilling if possible)? Thanks

3 hours! Blimey. Thats about 2 hours too long. There is no way that the client, the bride and groom, should be re-arranging their wedding around the band.