Fat Rich

[quote name='cheddatom' post='950337' date='Sep 9 2010, 10:12 AM']you think fat fingers sound good? You should try playing with your cock![/quote] And have to explain the callouses to the missus?

Despite weighing slightly over a metric tonne my fingers don't seem to get fat, all that happens is my bass gets further away and I need longer arms. I sometimes get a fatter tone by playing less with my fingertips where the callouses are but with my picking hand flatter to the bass using the fleshier part of my fingers.... if I want a really fat sound I use both fingers simultaneously as it helps to deaden the harmonic overtones of the string a little. And of course pluck closer to the neck than the bridge.

[quote name='Cairobill' post='950295' date='Sep 9 2010, 09:41 AM']Fodera make beautifully crafted basses for fusion players but these prices simply reflect that when an extremely well heeled amateur bassist decides to buy 'the best' he will go for a Fodera as it's the bass equivalent of a Chateau Lafite or a Rolex. It's naff really. When I think of fodera basses nowadays, instead of thinking of this... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjs9XrQqXlk&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjs9XrQqXlk...feature=related[/url] I think of this! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8nrphbipFk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8nrphbipFk[/url][/quote] While this guy's playing maybe justifies Fodera charging $250 a visit for having to listen to it, you could also say how come they didn't even bother to turn the radio off while he was testing out the bass?

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='947819' date='Sep 6 2010, 11:57 PM']Hello? Anyone? Oh well. I've been trying this: [url="http://www.cyberfretbass.com/techniques/hammer-ons-pull-offs/page3.php"]http://www.cyberfretbass.com/techniques/ha...-offs/page3.php[/url] And I've also been playing major scales, one pluck per string, hammer ons on the way up, pull offs on the way down. I find the pull offs difficult for the scale. I hope this means that it's doing me good.[/quote] Yup, that'll probably do it! I don't think there's any secret to it, just practice and building strength in your hands. You could also practice trills which are just rapid hammers / pulls and focus on getting good constant volume, although you probably won't use them often in your playing. Then maybe work on dynamics and see how more subtle pull offs and hammer ons affect the feel of your lines and make them more lyrical.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='947270' date='Sep 6 2010, 02:59 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Custom-70s-Jazz-Bass-Status-Graphite-Neck-Fender-Tuners-/320586293172?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4aa46e9fb4"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Custom-70s-Jazz-Bass...=item4aa46e9fb4[/url][/quote] Can't be many of those around! It'll be interesting to see what it goes for.

Victor Wooten had one on his original Fodera.... the one that looked a bit worn out. I don't remember him using it though, and he doesn't have one on his signature bass.

Pretty sure the fat one is an E, but after that you're on your own.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='944147' date='Sep 3 2010, 06:38 AM']Conclusion... nobody actually knows I can feel an email to Fender coming on. I did the sensible thing and compared it very carefully with a fretted Precision. I'm inclined towards right down the middle but it's quite hard to tell. Some careful measurement would probably be the next thing...[/quote] I measured 12th fret on my '90s Jap Jazz and compared it to the fretless and it's closer to the dot nearest to the bridge but not exactly on it as I originally thought. Knowing Fender, you'll probably find they're all different and you'll have to use your ears. My other non Fender fretlesses are exactly in between the dots.

Pretty sure it's the dot closest to the bridge, unless I've been playing mine out of tune for 20+ years (which is possible!)

It would have to be a fantastic bass and previously owned by a bass legend and have lots of mojo too..... James Jamerson's old P bass - the Funk Machine. [url="http://www.philbrodieband.com/muso_james_jamerson-funk-machine.htm"]http://www.philbrodieband.com/muso_james_j...unk-machine.htm[/url] Hope they find it one day and give it back to the Jamerson family.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='943017' date='Sep 2 2010, 09:12 AM']I have an SVT and a Fender Jazz with a Badass, so I obviously have superior tone to everyone here, sometimes I don't know why I bother with you lot.[/quote] Even the tone of your post is superior! Must get an SVT

The low B hangs off the edge of the neck a little after the 12th fret but it would sound pretty useless up there anyway. String spacing at the nut feels really nice, like a 4 string Jazz. 18mm string spacing at the bridge is a little tight but very playable. The bass has Jazz EMGs and sounds and plays pretty fantastic - it just looks a bit rough! I gigged it pretty much exclusively for about 10 years. It's been a 5 since I've had it (about 20 years) and the neck is still straight and the action is actually the lowest of any Fender I've ever played, no buzzes, no problems. There's still plenty of adjustment left on the truss rod and I use 130 - 45 guage strings. But I'd still recommend you get a proper 5 stringer rather than convert, there are some great basses out there for not much money.

I spent ages tweaking the standard sounds in my Roland kit, but realised later what sounds good through headphones doesn't work through a PA.... and as everyone has said it needs to be a good PA with plenty of oooomf or the rest of the band will struggle to lock in. In some ways it's good that this drummer is more interested in playing his kit than fiddling with the settings, but if he's not getting into bands because his sound isn't right then maybe you should have a word!

[quote name='Mike' post='942756' date='Sep 1 2010, 10:27 PM']Good luck. Please at least make a thread in the OffTopic about your weight loss, help us fatties out![/quote] +1.5

[quote name='farmer61' post='940723' date='Aug 31 2010, 10:17 AM'][b]Snot [/b]then [b]cute[/b] then [b]challenging[/b] then [b]tantrums[/b] then [b]school woes [/b]then [b]nightmare freinds[/b] then [b]boy/girl friends[/b] then [b]clock watching at 11pm[/b] then[b] pissed up kids throwing up[/b] then [b]near fisticuffs [/b]then [b]friendship[/b] then [b]what the feck do I do now [/b]then [b]midlife crisis[/b] then [b]bass[/b]!!!!![/quote] Yup, we've all been in bands like that.... Bringing up kids is probably quite tiring too.

Yeah, my '62 finish went the same way. Rubbish. Modern basses are so much better.

I stopped playing for 12 years when I went self employed and lost all my free time. With the recession things have calmed down and I'm really glad I kept my basses, still love 'em and I'm playing again more than ever. I'd say hang on to any basses that you're really attached to, but consider selling your amps and effects as things are moving on with lightweight cabs and tiny bass heads, most of them seem to be getting cheaper too. I kept my rig and it really got in the way, when I fired it up the amp had packed up. When I got that fixed I used the rig for half an hour and my Bassfex caught fire! I should have sold it when I stopped and bought a newer one when I started playing again.

It's nice having some basses around, although they seem to be taking over the place at the moment. But I could [i]probably[/i] be happy with one fretted 5 and one fretless 5 and sell the rest.... but I'm not going to risk it.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='938186' date='Aug 27 2010, 03:42 PM']What's that then? A wooden fingerboard instead of the pheno?[/quote] It's some kind of rosewood, looks very dark without much grain. Sounds lovely!

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='938050' date='Aug 27 2010, 01:08 PM']........................... I don't think I have ever played a graphite fretless. Maybe that is one to think about... For some reason that I can't quantify, I think I would still prefer a wooden fingerboard...[/quote] It definitely takes away the clickyness and adds a warmer tone without losing the consistency and punch of the graphite, I think it's the way to go too.

Depends how wisely you buy - or luckily in my case! I bought Japanese Fenders in the early 90s because they were better than any of the US one's at the time even though they didn't have the kudos, they seem to have gone up to 2 or 3 times what I paid for them. I also bought a couple of Status Series 1s at about the same time and they're worth around 60% what I paid. I'm fully aware that my new Status S2 classics wouldn't have the resale value of what I paid for them because I've gone for options that I like (headed, 2 piece bodies) when the majority of Status players seem to want a headless bass with the 80s vibe mainly thanks to Mark King. However with Chris Wotsisname from Muse now playing headed Status basses maybe they'll hold their value a bit better, probably not. But for me it's irrelevant as I'm planning to keep 'em. If you get your order for boutique basses right and want to keep them for ever then it's not a problem, however getting the spec wrong and not being happy with the result is usually an expensive mistake.

How about a walk-in Bassdrobe? A bit like this one but for basses..... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9oy9Kl3ROw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9oy9Kl3ROw[/url]

[quote name='ikay' post='935082' date='Aug 24 2010, 06:09 PM']There's a thread on TalkBass about this exact issue here - [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=655666"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=655666[/url] Some conflicting views but the gist of it is that the coated strings can cause hum if they don't make good metal to metal contact at the bridge. The counter view to this (which I agree with) is that a properly earthed bass shouldn't rely on the strings to complete an earth loop (with the player's hands). The bass should be earthed via the input jack to the shield/earth of the instrument cable. Providing the bridge and pots etc are all properly 'earthed' to the input jack there should be no hum regardless whether the strings are coated or in good contact with the bridge or not. If poor string contact with the bridge (eg coated strings) results in hum then the bass isn't properly earthed and this just highlights an underlying earthing problem.[/quote] Thanks for the link, the bridges are definitely earthed and as far as I can tell the preamps are properly earthed too... one of them's a brand new bass. Maybe it's dodgy wiring in my house, I guess I need to get out more and see if the problem persists. Or maybe it's static from my cheap shirts! It's a crackling sound as my fingers move over the strings when playing rather than the hum problem that DaveB is having. Aah well, I'll just have to go back to uncoated strings.

Victor Wooten says use the chromatic scale, but it can sound a bit "out there" for some types of music. But you could also try chromatic approaches to strong chord tones - if the root note of the chord is D for example, play B, C, C# to get to D. Or downwards approaches sometimes F, E, D# to D to mix it up a bit. It adds tension and release to your lines and sometimes you can play some almost completely chromatic lines over chord changes if you approach the 5th of a chord instead of the root. Or the 3rd or 7th although it can start to sound a bit unfocussed if you overdo it!

[quote name='M-Bass-M' post='933938' date='Aug 23 2010, 05:33 PM']....... and one fugly pickup![/quote] It'd be good for people who fit ramps to their basses though! There were a few at the London International Music show a couple of years ago. I didn't play any but they looked very well built and finished.