The non Rock'n'Roll bassist...

[Bassfinger]

On 30/05/2022 at 19:30, zbd1960 said:

 

 

For bass, I'm in the local Rock School franchise playing with the adult learners group. 

My daughter went to our local one for a while when they set up an evening proect at her school.  Their bass tutor was decent but quite new to the instrument but a lovely guy. It ended up with the slightly weird scenario where I would turn up to collect my lass and would spend 10 minutes every time training the trainer, but by christ was he a quick learner. Young feller though, they just soak it up,

 

As for non rock bass playing, I've been doing a lot more mando of late and this has led me down the rabbit hole of swotting up on country and folk bass playing.  It pains me to admit it but I'm enjoying the country bass playing.

Edited July 27 by Bassfinger

[Wyrdlow]

4 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

It pains me to admit it but I'm enjoying the country bass playing.

Me too! Great isn't it? 🤠 After forty years playing mostly rock I'm now in a folk/pop/country trio with an acoustic guitarist and a fiddler and - much to my surprise - I absolutely love it. Even gone so far as a P Bass with flats! 😁

[Staggering on]

12 hours ago, Wyrdlow said:

Me too! Great isn't it? 🤠 After forty years playing mostly rock I'm now in a folk/pop/country trio with an acoustic guitarist and a fiddler and - much to my surprise - I absolutely love it. Even gone so far as a P Bass with flats! 😁

 

Since I was 16 I have played guitar and then bass(EB and DB) I have been playing DB and EUB in a variety of bands for the last 35 years playing mostly jazz and blues. A year and a half ago after a jazz gig a guy in the audience asked if I ever played bluegrass and I said I had played a few folk and  country songs over the years. That was good enough for him and now I am playing in a bluegrass band that played a couple of festivals last summer and this year we are playing at four festivals. I also still play jazz and a bit of orchestral stuff and some theatre shows but the bluegrass is so much fun that I'm really getting into it, not all bluegrass songs are just three chords and some have some tricky timing and of course I also have to learn vocals as well. 

I am playing with very experienced musicians and it has been a steep learning curve but a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to more gigs, who would have thought that at 78 I would be entering a whole new world of music?

I have to admit that listening to bluegrass is sometimes tough to do, I listen to the best and learn the songs but don't listen to very much of it for pleasure but love playing and singing it.

I really like a quote from Todd Phillips who is one of the most famous bluegrass and country DB players...'bluegrass is a lot better music than it sounds'. 😊

 

[Wyrdlow]

8 hours ago, Staggering on said:

I really like a quote from Todd Phillips who is one of the most famous bluegrass and country DB players...'bluegrass is a lot better music than it sounds'.

😆 That's brilliant! I shall be using that.👍

[zbd1960]

On 26/07/2024 at 22:11, bass_dinger said:

Oh you tease!

 

While we are waiting for you to reveal your GAS, can you share a little about why you won't be getting another cello?

... fairly complex set of reasons. 

 

My current cello is a German instrument made in Markneukirchen (one of the historic German centres of instrument making) and dates to about 1900. It's what's known as a 'workshop' instrument, so supervised by the master luthier but probably not made by him. The family business still exists - 5th generation of luthiers. The instrument's had a hard life but after I spent some money on a decent set-up (e.g. having a new bridge made) it plays reasonably well.

 

I initially spent about £300 on set-up and £300 on new strings and it was a vastly improved instrument. It's since had another bridge (£500). To buy a replacement instrument of a similar standard would cost around £8k.

 

Options: commission a new instrument from a luthier. Various issues. A new instrument takes several years to settle and develop its sound. You've no guarantee what it will sound like. Likely cost around £15k to £25k (you can spend a lot more with a 'name' luthier). Lead time probably around 3 years.

 

Buy a decent C19th English/German/French instrument. Cost at least £15k and probably nearer to £30k, especially for a decent English instrument, and potentially a lot more.

 

Buy an C18th English/German instrument. If you're lucky, you might get one for £25k but more likely £50k+ and forget buying anything Italian from that era.

 

I'm not definitely ruling out a cello 'upgrade' at some point, but at the moment I'm struggling to fully justify the costs. Bear in mind I'd need a bow upgrade as well. My current bow is a reasonable basic German one costing £450 but cello upgrade would warrant a bow costing £3k - £5k. A decent carbon fibre cello case is also another £2k.      

[zbd1960]

On 27/07/2024 at 08:43, Bassfinger said:

My daughter went to our local one for a while when they set up an evening proect at her school.  Their bass tutor was decent but quite new to the instrument but a lovely guy. It ended up with the slightly weird scenario where I would turn up to collect my lass and would spend 10 minutes every time training the trainer, but by christ was he a quick learner. Young feller though, they just soak it up,

 

As for non rock bass playing, I've been doing a lot more mando of late and this has led me down the rabbit hole of swotting up on country and folk bass playing.  It pains me to admit it but I'm enjoying the country bass playing.

I haven't found a replacement since I moved up to Penrith. 

 

I know what you mean about bass teachers. I had a few lessons with a guy who was 'qualified' as a guitar/bass teacher. Unluckily for him I have the OU A214 music theory course, I have grade 6 music theory (would like to do G8), and my involvement with playing early music means my music theory was on a different level to his... To be fair, after about three sessions he said: you know more about music than I do. He was happy to teach kids to get them started... but not really beyond that.

[zbd1960]

One of my interests is organ music - you know, played on those big things you see in churches and cathedrals, and in some concert halls and big town halls.

 

Until the development of the steam locomotive int he C19th, they were both the largest and the most complex mechanical machines made.

 

They are effectively a mechanical (i.e. analogue!) synthesiser, since you combine different types of sounds using different pipe types of different pitches together to create a sound.

 

There was an organ 'marathon' for charity in Cartmel priory yesterday and I went along for a few hours to have a listen.

 

 

[Len_derby]

I’m going to guess that many organs, specially those in churches, are increasingly unplayed and therefore not maintained properly. That’s a great shame, although Anna Lapwood is doing her best to increase enthusiasm. I worked in The Netherlands for a while and was able to hear some recitals on the famous Muller organ in the Haarlem Grote Kerk. Immense!

[zbd1960]

15 hours ago, Len_derby said:

I’m going to guess that many organs, specially those in churches, are increasingly unplayed and therefore not maintained properly. That’s a great shame, although Anna Lapwood is doing her best to increase enthusiasm. I worked in The Netherlands for a while and was able to hear some recitals on the famous Muller organ in the Haarlem Grote Kerk. Immense!

Yes, that's a very famous instrument. 

 

Pipe organs are immensely complex machines with a lot of moving parts. Typically, they need to be completely dismantled, serviced, and cleaned about every 25 years and about every 50 years it will need significant maintenance. Cathedral organs are usually tuned monthly or before a major recital/concert. 

 

The organ at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool has just had a major overhaul - it's coming up to 60 years old and the overhaul cost around £1m. There's another cathedral (can't remember which one) where the organ needs some major restoration work and that's going to cost around £2m. They're fund-raising furiously to create the funds for it.

 

One of the problems is that with major overhauls being half a century apart, technology changes and 'how' instruments were built in 1850, 1900, 1950... were all very different. The main constant is the pipework as that hasn't changed much and relies on skilled woodworking and metal working skills.   

[zbd1960]

I planned my photo trip to Liverpool earlier in the week around the monthly organ recital at St. George's Hall in Liverpool. This stunning neo-classical building has a huge Willis organ in it. The 'big' trumpet stop called 'Tuba Mirabilis' has been out of action for several years pending refurbishment. It seems a benefactor funded the work and my visit coincided with its first performance. That one stop is LOUD.

 

The famous Minton tiled floor was covered though - it's only uncovered for a few weeks a year and for special occasions. 

 

[zbd1960]

Ok, what music am I up to at the moment? Quite a lot really. 

 

The cello gets a weekly outing to orchestra rehearsals and this term's concert includes works by Prokofiev and Holst. I've joined the local choral society singing baritone and they're working on parts 1,2,3, and 6 of the Bach Christmas Oratorio. I've joined a brand new community choir that meets in a nearby village. It's doing rock/pop/musical theatre stuff... not my cup of tea, but we'll see how it goes...

 

The baritone sax is getting a monthly outing to a local jazz improv group. This is well outside of my comfort zone....

 

I haven't found anywhere yet to get the bass out 🙁.

 

I've started having organ lessons and I have a weekly rehearsal slot in a local church which has a three manual instrument. I'm having an instrument built for use at home which will use Hauptwerk - software that runs what is known as VPO - virtual pipe organ - I will be buying some Neumann monitors to provide the sound... My instrument is unlikely to be ready until next spring.