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The other lads must be disappointed? They probably... can't stand losing you?

Brilliant! This thread is like having ring side seats at a boxing match!! My twopennies worth; it's not how you get there or how quick you are at learning, but the end result that counts... how good does it sound, and not just the bass player. The audience doesn't care whether or not you learnt it quickly so long as it's good. I also wouldn't be condescending to any other musician just because they aren't as good as I think I am.

I'll explain what my problem is. I don't like what you're saying and I don't like the way you're saying it. It's coming across to me at least as condescending, dictatorial and superior and it's getting right up my nose. That's what my problem is. I don't expect you to do anything with this information.

Just once?

Hi Guys and dolls, I'm an old subscriber to Bass Chat but this is the 1st time I've ever written anything and I really hope I don't bore the pants off you. I don't actually know where to put this message so here it is here... I'm almost an OAP and have been a muso since the age of 8 years, starting on brass valved instruments and at 14, I began to play the bass trombone which I adore! You can make seriously loud noises on it without any lugging of amplification At 15 years, I began to play the bass and during my entire playing career have spent an utter fortune on various assortment of basses and gear. Nowadays, my collection is pretty sexy and totally over the top:- 1) Roscoe Century Custom 5 with top of the range Bartolinis (Barts' are my all-time favourite electronics). This Roscoe is laminated across its thickness with 5 woods, a mahogany body, maple, wenge, maple, and a really thick burl amboyna top which is carved by Keith B Roscoe himself. This is worth a fortune! 2) 2 more Roscoes, a 4 and a 5, both of which, filled with Barts... 3) A Tune Hatsun TWB53 5 string Canadian bass made for the 2019 NAMM show. 4) A Yamaha TR1004RB 4 string. 5) An Mike Tobias design Kingston fretless with Barts' 6) A fake Rickenbacker with Seymour Duncans fitted. (I've had 4 previous real Rickys but I didn't like their playability. I thought a cheapo one wouldn't be such an expense. 7) A SIRE V7 just like the look of Marcus's Fender Jazzes prior to his Fender Custom. 😎 On the way from Thomann is a SIRE P7 PJ bass with the same preamp as the V7 Jazz. It's the only one I could find with an ebony fingerboard. (I'm a tad worried about any potential HMRC payment I'll have to pay!) Amp wise, I have a Bergantino B|AMP with Berg cabs, a CN112 and a CN210, all of which I think are the ultimate amplification on the planet. Also, l have an EBS Magni 250 watt 1x15" combo which satisfies my rehearsal and smaller gig usage...EBS gear is so loud! Last but not least, my bass trombone is a Yamaha YBL 830 G Xeno Custom, 2 rotary valve system. Oh, and I've got a load of various pedals on a pedaltrain board. I love all my various instruments and I haven't mentioned all my 6 string guitars because that would make this even more boring and I'm extremely rubbish! Apologies for wasting your time if you've bothered to read it. Take care, and keep safe, and well. Kind regards. Den Finch.

😬 I remember going to a proper studio for the first time, to do a demo. I spotted the sound engineer, and said: My good man, I would like to sound like a cross between JJ Burnel and the chap out of the Chilli Peppers. He replied: Well you better play like that then! Which was fair.

NBD. 😎

In fairness, even I managed to nail the verse on first listen. Took a bit longer for the chorus, but the verse? Easy

What I want to know is, with this revelation that it should only take one listen to learn a song, is the "what song are you learning" thread now defunct? It will be the "what song are you lear.......ah, it was on in the background, forget that, what's next?" thread

Unfortunately for me i never listen to the radio at all. Even in the car i listen to songs on a USB stick. Bass playing is and always has been just a hobby for me so i dont class myself in same league as others like @TimR that obviously have far more experience than i do. I've been playing for over 40 yrs and i rate myself as reasonably competent and can play most things with a little practice except Slap bass cause i'm not a huge fan of it. Some songs i can pick up very quickly and other more complex ones like @Reggaebass Hit Me take a good bit longer. I'm ok with that. If others can pick up songs really quickly i'm jealous of that but they have probably put more effort and work into their playing over the years than i have and i dont want to crticise someone for that. Dave

My dream bass is a lefty, has to be. If it's a righty it barely counts as an instrument and is little more than an expensive ornament.

Completely on point and a great response. The OP asked a perfectly valid question - a covers band with a mix of songs, some of which they like, others they don't. Is there value in learning the songs they don't like? People join bands for all sorts of reasons: Money, experience, they like playing with other musicians, it's an opportunity to learn etc. etc. You pick the reasons that apply and make a decision on that basis. Learning any new song of any sort will add to your experience and will further you musically - even if just a very small amount. The discussion in this thread should have been about this. However, it's mostly consisted of a discussion about the fact that the "most" or "vast majority" of songs can be learned (whatever that means) with one listen through. The implication is that it doesn't matter too much because you should be able to pick up this "most" or "vast majority" of songs with little effort. Nobody on this forum knows the intricate history of any other members playing. We don't know how each of us think musically, where we are stronger or weaker. I've played with musicians of all sorts of different abilities, and some can nail a song on their chosen instrument after one play through, and others can't. I've played with musicians who can pick up songs quickly but are just not good at playing in a band setting. Others who have to work hard to learn songs but are rock solid and reliable in a band. The end result is indeed everything - it is different for each of us. There is no one easy answer. Why are people upset on here? This is a forum for Bass Players to discuss Bass Playing. Simple as that. And by discussion, it involves actually being able to get your head around the fact that each member will be in a different place both technically, in terms of talent, in their experience, and in their approach. If every thread on ability, practise, or anything had experienced players simply saying "gït gud" then the discussion would be worthless. To the OP - weigh up the pros and cons and yes, practising songs you don't like will make you a better musician one way or another. How much time that takes and how many run throughs you have to do to get there is irrelevant at best, and condescending at worst.

Three thing I have learned in life so far: No 1. The more I think I know about something, the more I realise I actually know very little. No 2. There is no universal truth. A theory stands until it is disproven. Ethics, Morality, Culture and values are subjective and forever changing. No 3. History makes a fool of us all.

Personally I think that if you're ordering a custom instrument, the best thing to do is find a builder who makes what you want and let them do their thing without being too picky. When I ordered my F Bass I knew that they made the instrument that I wanted, so all I had to do was spec my wood combination, string spacing, and finish. I could no doubt have gone in to more detail, but I just wanted them to do what they do. If I wanted something different, I would have gone to a different luthier.

And a very loaded one, which unless you're severely autistic, is something you knew perfectly well when you posted it. The fact that you attracted such a big pile-on last night should tell you something.

I don't need your approval nor to meet any criteria you set in order to play in a covers band. "I'd question any musician..." - what are you, the music police? Just look after where your own fingers are on the fingerboard.

If you haven't seen it, go see "Amazing Grace" film.

I've decided to stop doing the Sting / Police tribute Nearly 15 years and one or two monsterous gigs, many great ones but the monsterous ones like Matala Beach festival in Crete, were truly incredible Expect one or two basses coming up for sale (not the Bravewood replic though lol)

Also, one reason to join a band where you don't like the songs they play; the love you get from the audience when they're really into what you are playing.

It was only a matter of time till Tarantino was mentioned. I’m a massive fan. I’ve seen him interviewed and he essentially storyboards his movies with music really early in the process - I think even before the script. speaking of Tarantino, he features in this brilliant scene - he didn’t direct this one though.

If you use the points system in Players Path with D'Addario they are running a 'any strings for 999 points' deal to the end of the month, that worked out a whopping 88% off a set of black nylon strings, hopefully they actually have some and they are not affected by the steel shortage. I have been impressed with the loyalty scheme before, as you get almost enough points on registering a set of bass strings to get a free set of guitar strings delivered to your door.

WOW!!! TRB 5IIf arrived this morning. Beautiful and amazing to play. Came set up with the lowest action on any bass I've ever played and fitted with flat wounds. No wear on the fretboard whatsoever. Though I only had 10mins playing it I was very impressed with the tonal quality...such gorgeous tones. I've experimented with fretless several times but this is inspirational. What do you think??

I played a CS Pino Precision once. It was an exceptionally nice bass to play. Custom made basses aren't for me. I wouldn't know what options to order and by the time the bass turned up I would have probably changed my mind.

I think that this thread was derailed when it was suggested that it isn’t such a big thing if you don’t like the songs that you are being asked to play, because you don’t have to invest too much time in learning many pop songs. This has led to many people’s insecurities being exposed because they don’t have the skillset to actually learn stuff that quickly. I think that Tim has a rather singular way of viewing the world due to his rather unique personal experience of life, but in this case I actually agree with much of what he has said. Others are reading far too much into his comments and taking it personally. To get back on thread, I remember reading an article in some bass magazine many years where was an article by a guy you may have heard of, but isn’t well known enough for me to remember his name. He was saying that there are three criteria that he considers when he is deciding whether to do a project or not: the music, the money and the people involved. If two out of the three works for him then he will pursue the project. I think that is still pretty good advice…

Not to mention trolling and purposely trying to wind people up. But nothing new there.

OK. But I'm only doing it once.

Stand By Me is a 1 verse listen, so is Werewolves of London and A Girl Like You. There is a long list of busk-able hit songs. Agree or disagree. . . . ffs why is this thread getting so aggressive and pedantic. Some songs you can busk some you can't. Depends on the song and the bass player. . . . move on!!!

God Sting bores me. I couldn't even make it down the list of song titles. 😂

If the "go-er" bit relates to her ability to listen to any piece of music on any instrument and instantly play a fully arranged piano rendition of said music, then yeah - she was a steam train. It was actually bloody annoying. "I wrote this cool riff for our next song" *plinks out vague tune on [random instrument] slowly, and a bit haphazardly* "Oh, you mean this?" *Plays fully accompanied version of said tune with every embellishment known to humankind* "Yeah. That." *watches manhood wither in front of own eyes*

We have been having fun tonight commenting on the fact that "we should all be able to play most songs on one hearing" and although on first glance this appears to give credence to that opinion in fact twice during the video he cites occasions where that may not be so true. " the Beatles had 27 number 1's but only used the "common chord progression on one of them ... The guy that's wrote all the hit songs lately( never heard of him and can't be bothered to watch it again) wrote 22 number 1's and only one of them used the famous chords.... That's 47 very popular songs that don't follow a standard pattern! He also tells us to look out for the chord progression in the choruses of many songs ...what about the verses? I believe it's possible to play a semblance of a lot of pop songs on one hearing, but that's a long way from having "learned to play them," and I think it's disingenuous to dismiss people on here as not right for a covers band if they can't play it after one hearing. (Although I quoted your post Skank, my latter statement here is in fact aimed at Tim who espoused the opinion referred to).

I have a Lakland Jerry Scheff which is a wonderful active Jazz dressed up in outrageous Shoreline Gold with lipstick pickups. He only really used a Precision with Elvis and the Doors, this was a ‘kid in a sweetshop’ thing for him. Might not be to everyone’s taste Best looking bass I have ever owned!

I'm cursed with this thing where I'm watching the telly and a bit of music catches my ear and I think 'Ooh, that's nice' and I start trying to work out the chords and the melody. Then I lose track of what's happening in the show and I have to wind it back a minute or two which annoys the missus something rotten.

Welcome Den.... Expect your extensive list of gear to increase - I only had three basses when I joined - I have "one or two" more now.

Ah-hah! So it IS all in the fingers!! 👌

No interest here. I haven't found a signature bass that was any better than the generic model it was based on, and they're usually more expensive!!

I think he was being humorous as the chorus is easy but there's no bass in the verses. I did hear a band cover it once and the bass player was playing bass on the verses. It sounded shyte!

The only signatutre bass I have had was a Tony Franklin fretless Precision. I still haven't got much clue about Tony Franklin but it was a very nice bass. I do come across many guitarists with a Les Paul signature guitar, even though they don't know who he was or how to pronounce his name.

I wonder if there's mush room for negotiation.

I’ve never really gone for signature instruments although I did dally with the idea of a Marcus Miller Fender Jazz at one time - to the extent of trying them out UNTIL ……. this wonderful beauty appeared. It’s currently my number 1 player Yes - it’s a Tim Commerford signature Stingray Special - passive, long scale. (Offensive wallpaper courtesy Messrs Greene King 😂). Absolutely great bass and sufficiently different from a standard spec Stingray Special to justify the name (and price IMHO).

Yeah thanks Andy. I'm going to be concentrating on my 80s band (in which I sing and play guitar)

Making an Archtop Guitar by Robert Benedetto is also very helpful and still available too... That's with this book, that I bought immediately when it went out, and other readings (no Internet library back in the day in late 80's, early 90's), talkings with (classical) luthiers and learning from them, plus thousands of setups, hundreds of assemblies and a few buildings (around 25 instruments to date and only 2 I'm proud of) that I acquired my skills. So it's a patience game and I still learn today. I'm not a feral luthier like @Lo-E, I'm more an impossible to tame one. 😇

You shouldn't need to retighten the router at all but the collets sometimes aren't all that smooth and mine has a kind of false biting point where you get resistance but it isn't quite tight. It's worth double checking is all. They are one of the more lethal bits of kit, The rotation speed and gyroscope effect gives them a mind of their own and nothing else I have rotates anything like that fast. There's also no safety guard once you've locked in the depth of cut. I much prefer mounting the router and moving the workpiece if i possibly can, I don't enjoy freehand routing.

It can be done. Bill Bruford tells this story in his autobiography (paraphrased here on another site…) It's 1983, and Bruford and his King Crimson bandmate, bassist and Chapman Stick player Tony Levin had been hired by DiMeola to play on his latest album and had travelled to a residential studio in Nebraska for the session. They'd been told that DiMeola liked to start his sessions fairly late, so they arrived at the studio at midday as agreed in advance. No Al. They set up the drums and got ready to record. Still no Al. Bruford, who says that the grossest insult one musician can give another is to keep them waiting, is not amused. Nor is Levin. Four hours later than agreed, just as Levin is wondering aloud how it might affect his otherwise sterling reputation as a session player (seriously, look him up) if he were to just leave, DiMeola arrives and proceeds to small-talk with Bruford, Levin and the studio engineer while changing his guitar strings. Eventually, he starts to run through the songs he wants to record. Bruford sits at his kit, Levin sits silently in a corner, his bass still in its case. Bruford and DiMeola run through the songs, repeat a few tricky sections, discuss exactly what is needed. Eventually, they arrive at a fast run that Al wants the bass to play in unison with his guitar, so he urges Levin to, maybe actually get his bass out so he can play it once or twice before they record. Levin declines. When it's time to record a take, Levin gets his Stick out and plugs in, not playing a note. They play, Levin plays his part flawlessly, tricky run and all, then overdubs a perfect double-track. The process begins again for a second song. Again, Levin plays and double-tracks his part perfectly. It's getting late, and the agreed time for the session is over so Levin packs up his gear and heads for the door. Just then, the engineer somehow manages to erase a two-bar section of Levin's part. Suitably embarrassed, he begs Levin for five more minutes to re-record the missing part. Levin agrees, and again puts the part on tape flawlessly, packs up and makes for the door again. Oh crap, says the engineer, we're two notes short of what I erased. Tony, can you just... But he's out the door. Now Al DiMeola is going to have to pay his engineer to review the tape of the session (and it *is* tape- this is 1983 and Pro-Tools is distant sci-fi fantasy) to find duplicates of those two notes, copy those sections of tape and splice them in to the gap. Which is probably going to take like, four hours. Yeah.

Horses for courses,YMMV, one man's roof is another man's floor, etc. Me, I'll practice just enough to do a sub-standard job that nobody notices. Anyone who comes up afterwards and says that I didn't play the bass line like it is on the record I tell them 'Well, f__k off home and listen to it there, then'.

That’s me out then. That was my lockdown project and I’m still struggling with it