topo morto

[quote name='Merton' post='391532' date='Jan 26 2009, 11:12 AM']Martin's got 2 threads! Two!![/quote] ...which puts one in a difficult position - Ah well, I'll take the path less travelled by. Just completed a swap deal... 'A1 comms' as they say on Ebay, and we managed to make the switch with a minimum of hassle and a maximum of speed. Thanks a lot, Would be happy do it again sometime! (not with the same bits of gear though... that would just be silly. ) Cheers! Ivan

Tech21 acoustic DI - has sweepable mid - S/H buy now as has been replaced by para driver.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='1091134' date='Jan 16 2011, 10:06 AM']Strap your bass on, and sit down with it sitting on your right leg. The headstock should be at shoulder level. Stand up... the bass should not move. The headstock should still be at shoulder level.[/quote] Hmm.... that's pretty much what happens [i]now[/i], with the new (odd) strap arrangement! If I did that with the old strap arrangement, the bass would swing to the left on standing up.... moving the lower frets out of comfortable reach for intense work! Thanks to you and all for the ideas, I'll keep experimenting.

[quote name='witterth' post='1090312' date='Jan 15 2011, 12:17 PM']whats causing the Pain? Tommy Cooper:Patient to Doctor: "Doctor, it hurts when I do this" (moves arm up and about) Doctor: "well don't do that"[/quote] Actually I don't really know exactly what it is that's hurting... playing that new order pattern was fine with conventional strappage for about a minute but its the repetitions that kill, hence my search for a nicer position.

I had tried shortening the strap but no matter how short I went, the lowest frets were just too far away for me to play them without crooking my wrist (or growing much longer arms!) and experiencing the pain. The issue came to a head trying to play the New Order [i]Blue Monday[/i] bassline, which is (tuned BEAD) [font="Courier New"]-3-3-------- -----3-3-5-5 1-1--------- ----1-1-3-3-[/font] So the wrist is under almost constant pressure and I just couldn't make it through the song standing up. (I am a pretty new bass player, been playing less than a year, so I may lack a bit of stamina). Anyway, I did move the strap button... and I like it! not a surprise as i'd already kludged the arrangement before doing the move... There is a slight tendancy for the bass to lean forward, but it can't flip because my leg and right hand wrist are in the way. I don't feel like I have to support it. And actually... [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1090413' date='Jan 15 2011, 01:51 PM']If it's the forwards tilt that makes it more comfortable rather than the neck angle or strap length then the tried and trusted way is to install a beer belly, they can be adjusted by drinking more or less pints a week until the perfect playing position is found then keep to the same exercise to beer ratio indefinitely [/quote] ...the forwards tilt does help, now that I'm starting to dare to play without looking at where I'm putting my fingers. I've been experimenting with the beer belly but am not keen on the man-boobs that seem to come as part of the package. [quote name='Fat Rich' post='1090540' date='Jan 15 2011, 03:46 PM']Won't the strap stop you getting access to the top few frets of the neck? Not a huge problem for many bass players though! I'd say shorten your strap or look at your thumb position on the neck and see if pointing it more towards the headstock helps.[/quote] Yes, the drawback is access to the top frets. I think you are right about pointing the thumb more towards the headstock being a good thing - actually before I tried this arrangement i tried putting an extender on the strap button to make the bass hang a bit further to the right, but I found that my thumb kept coming up round the side of the neck. [quote name='dood' post='1090471' date='Jan 15 2011, 02:40 PM']On a similar note though and a complete revelation for me is that I've moved the strap button on the bum end of the bass down to the lower part of the body. I've found that by anchoring the bass in opposite 'corners' (i.e. upper horn and the other nearer the jack socket) my bass definitely stays locked in position and far more stable against my body when I play. Also far more 'upright' because my little beer belly alien can't push it out the way! Kinda hard to describe without pictures, but hopefully you understand what I mean! I recommend it, especially if you set your strap height such that your bass is in the same place whether sitting down or stood up.[/quote] I might try that too - I might even go completely zombie and put a button on the left hand side of the bottom of the bass, away from the jack.... Well at least it sounds like I'm being original!

I am about to nip out to the hardware shop to grab a drill bit and a woodscrew and move my stap button to the lower horn of my P-bass clone (a 'vintage', FWIW) I tried out the arrangement using one of the scratchplate screws near the end of the horm as a makeshift strap button and it seems to allow me to play with a much less crooked wrist = less pain Was wonering if anyone else did this/has tried this at some point?

Got a 3xfx fatman off Theo - quite a quirky pedal but very well described in his ad so I knew what i was getting myself into! Sent quickly and packed properly, and an excellent guy to deal with. Thanks a lot!

Just got a Boss loopstation from Martin - not only was it a great deal, but also sent with sufficient willpower to get it here the next day (even through the snow and ice) and packed in such a way as to keep the pedal and box safe (a much more professional job than any of the proper shops i've ordered from actually!) Thanks a lot! Ivan

Just got a Catalinbread pedal from AJ. Kept me informed really well and I think it even came with a few extras that may not have been with the original pedal! Very positive, thanks and all the best to you.

I've been playing less than a year and wouldn't like to make life any more complicated by going to more than 4 strings yet. Still, I pretty quickly decided to go BEAD... 4-string BEAD seems like a good 'basic' config.

[quote name='Raggy' post='1037828' date='Nov 26 2010, 02:37 PM']We do this and its a wrist killer. The Specials - Little Bitch [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YthLQSqXjLo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YthLQSqXjLo[/url][/quote] Das is goot too.

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions. The Muse is tailor made and I might have a go at Girls on film. As for jamiroquai, I find [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBbcjr-UxLU"]This youtube video[/url] Strangely watchable. Am I wrong??

[quote name='Doddy' post='1037251' date='Nov 26 2010, 01:05 AM']It's index and middle fingers alternating. I don't know what PIMA is? But an easy way of writing it is just octaves in semiquavers.[/quote] [url="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090527160201AAYmDef"]http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...27160201AAYmDef[/url] You bassmasters probably use something different. There's no way I can do it with just index and middle fingers - mine weren't made for that kinda speed! I think I might be able to work up to it playing AM-IM.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1037207' date='Nov 26 2010, 12:34 AM']The intro of "River People" by Weather Report has an awesome octave line. Very tricky to get the feel right too, that will be a real test of your skills![/quote] Very nice. How do you even pick that? ring-middle-index-middle? (and is there an easy way of writing that? like PIMA... but for the bass...?)

I want to make a little demo of some of my Fuzz pedals with some octave-bouncing basslines.... I can think of St. Ettienne: like a motorway Blur : girls and boys Alex party : wrap me up those pervy guys: my sharona New Order: blue monday What else? There must be meeelions.... Thanks!

I like it... adds to the rollercoaster feel! As long as you're in time, the notes are a secondary consideration anyway. Coupla times I've started jamming before I realised that my tuner had got knocked and my low B was tuned to low G# or something.... all good fun.