NBD - Young Master Discreet's Harley

[discreet]

[b]NBD - Young Master Discreet's Harley[/b]

Harley-Benton, that is. Young master discreet (12) expressed a desire to learn the bass guitar after he saw the effect that being a bass player had on young women, so I bought him a Harley-Benton bundle - a P-Bass and a little HB amp with an 8" driver and a strap and cables, etc. from Thomann.

Here he is, the moon-faced git. And such an expression of joy that can only be had from your very first bass. I wish this had been my first bass, as it's actually very playable indeed and is incredible value. The intonation and action were good and bizarrely it was almost in tune right out of the box. The amp's not half bad either for home practice and fortunately has a headphone socket...



Thing is, he's a lefty... yes, I know. But it makes teaching him easier as we can use the 'mirror image' technique, which is actually quite handy for the swift transference of fingerboard knowledge.

He still has a bit of work to do on his left hand, obviously (normally right hand - see how it is??)

Still, he's happy for five minutes and no doubt will be suffering from GAS pretty soon...
...he already has his eye on my rig but there's NO WAY, buddy!!

Edited September 25, 2014 by discreet

[Marvin]

Can your house (I mean in terms of space and the patience of the current Mrs Discreet) handle double* bass GAS?

I almost bought one of those HB P basses, stupid money.

Great stuff.

*unintended pun, that I can't work out how to reword

Edited September 24, 2014 by Marvin

[bertbass]

Excellent!

[r16ktx]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1411578692' post='2560882']
[b]NBD - Young Master Discreet's Harley[/b]

He still has a bit of work to do on his left hand, obviously (normally right hand - see how it is??)
[/quote]
Maybe fretting hand and, I suppose not 'picking' hand... Worrying hand?

[KiOgon]

Good score Mark - he's a lucky 'little' chip off the old noddle & looks as happy as Larry

I was suitably impressed with a Harley five the other week, must admit the VFM is very high

[skankdelvar]

Entirely splendid, Mr D. I hope the young shaver's gratitude extends to taking on your household chores for the foreseeable etc.

[HowieBass]

You can't even threaten him with "go to your room" now you've given him that

[Subbeh]

Awesome, a freshly minted bass player and another lefty to boot!

[Beer of the Bass]

Is he going to join basschat? The banter between the two of you might be quite entertaining!

[Dad3353]

[sharedmedia=core:attachments:167486]
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:167485]

[Skol303]

Brilliant!! What a dude

Very pleased for you both mate. I'm hoping Skol Jnr follows suit once he's old enough (currently the bass would be competing and certainly losing against Thomas The Tank Engine).

[BetaFunk]

That's really great.

Great pic as well.

[PlungerModerno]

Awesome stuff. I had a righthanded, red PJ version of that bass for my first bass. Still have it and it rocks. Hate the tuners - they are the older, weaker, enclosed style, not the open back like those above.

Hope it all goes well!

[gary mac]

Good man Mark.

Hope young Discreet sticks with it.

[Roland Rock]

That's great! I hadn't thought of the 'mirroring' advantage of teaching a leftie. Three year old mini-RR is showing signs of being a southpaw, and I was just about to break out the cattle prod for some corrective therapy - maybe I'll hold back

[karlfer]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1411581826' post='2560930']
Is he going to join basschat? The banter between the two of you might be quite entertaining!
[/quote]

ESPECIALLY in the years to come

Well done that man!

[Silvia Bluejay]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1411578692' post='2560882']
[b]NBD - Young Master Discreet's Harley[/b]

Harley-Benton, that is. Young master discreet (12) expressed a desire to learn the bass guitar after he saw the effect that being a bass player had on young women, so I bought him a Harley-Benton bundle - a P-Bass and a little HB amp with an 8" driver and a strap and cables, etc. from Thomann.

Here he is, the moon-faced git. And such an expression of joy that can only be had from your very first bass. I wish this had been my first bass, as it's actually very playable indeed and is incredible value. The intonation and action were good and bizarrely it was almost in tune right out of the box. The amp's not half bad either for home practice and fortunately has a headphone socket...



Thing is, he's a lefty... yes, I know. But it makes teaching him easier as we can use the 'mirror image' technique, which is actually quite handy for the swift transference of fingerboard knowledge.

He still has a bit of work to do on his left hand, obviously (normally right hand - see how it is??)

Still, he's happy for five minutes and no doubt will be suffering from GAS pretty soon...
...he already has his eye on my rig but there's NO WAY, buddy!!
[/quote]

Welcome to Bass from a fellow lefty! Bring him to a bassbash

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1411623889' post='2561197']
That's great! I hadn't thought of the 'mirroring' advantage of teaching a leftie. Three year old mini-RR is showing signs of being a southpaw, and I was just about to break out the cattle prod for some corrective therapy - maybe I'll hold back
[/quote]

[richardd]

He looks as happy as you will be in a few weeks Mark. Well done young man.

[madshadows]

That's terrific, he looks really pleased, well done Dad

John

[IzzyT2807]

Awesome, I wish him luck

[chrismuzz]

Great stuff! It's so cool how affordable a quality setup is these days.

[TPJ]

This might sound strange, but you should try teaching him right-handed. I'm a lefty but learned right-handed. Having your most dexterous hand on the frets might offer more ease of playing. It did with me anyhow.

[Silvia Bluejay]

[quote name='TPJ' timestamp='1411635345' post='2561309']
This might sound strange, but you should try teaching him right-handed. I'm a lefty but learned right-handed. Having your most dexterous hand on the frets might offer more ease of playing. It did with me anyhow.
[/quote]

Totally disagree. Exactly the opposite for me. Let him decide what he feels more comfortable with, and take it from there. He can also do a Micheal Angelo Batio and learn to play both ways...

Edited September 25, 2014 by bluejay

[omikin]

Well done! You must be hugely proud. I would love my wee man to pick up the bass. He's only just turned 4 though so is more into destruction than anything else.

[discreet]

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1411636825' post='2561337']
Let him decide what he feels more comfortable with, and take it from there. He can also do a Micheal Angelo Batio and learn to play both ways...
[/quote]

Yes well... he's only just into puberty, so I don't want to rush him into a decision at this stage.
But if he turns out to be half rice/half chips, obviously I'll still love him and support him in whatever he wants to do...