Truckstop

There is literally no benefit to do that. Might be able to get away with a .115 set, but it'd still be pretty uncomfortable to play and would sound pretty dreadful. The lack of tension would really affect how you play and how you like to sound. Sorry mate, you'll have to bite the bullet and get a set of proper gauge strings! Truckstop

I just find the blue vomit-worthy. If it were a less offensive colour I might be inclined to have a closer look! Truckstop

Right, ordered Stuart Claytons book and a couple of Friedlands books. Should be interesting to see how it all goes and to see how much theory I've just plain forgotten! Truckstop

Mick, that'd be awesome, thank you! PM me and can swing round and grab them at some point. We should have some tea and a catch up anyway. Everyone else, thanks for your suggestions, I've ordered a couple! I want to make sure my nephew learns a bit of reading too; I'm trying to get back into the swing of learning to read formally too, so this will be a learning curve for me also. Like you, Pete, I wish I had bothered to learn to read properly when I was younger too! I know basic stuff like what quavers and semi quavers are etc and I know what the notes are; but beyond that, it's a mystery! Cheers! Alex

Hello all, I'm gonna be sitting with my nephew teaching some bass and would like to hear of some recommendations for books for us to work through. No idea what works as I'm completely self-taught so any help and suggestions wildly and enthusiastically recieved! Cheers Alex Nb: nephew is a complete beginner with no musical education at all. He's 11.

As far as I'm aware you only need to play the right notes at the right time to be a useful musician. I'd hardly say that Roger Waters failed to do that! Just because he's not a natural bassplayer doesn't make him poor or bad at it, it just means that he lacks a certain showmanship on it. But imagine if Entwistle ended up playing for Pink Floyd! How different they would have been! Truckstop Ps, I also like U2 and I think that Adam Clayton is a great pop bassist. The rhythm in 'Still Haven't Found...' makes that song and, live, his playing really adds so much meat to the songs. Also, I never heard him make a mistake, and I've seen U2 six times!

Cool! Will record and enjoy tomorrow! Truckstop

I have a Protection Racket Tom Bag. Fits absolutely everything: all my power supplies, leads, DI boxes, Pod, spare tuner, tools, strings, batteries, a tenner, hookers, crack and a spare pair of socks. Best thing is, is it can get a little squashed and still provide all the protection I need! Truckstop

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1356374031' post='1909715'] Nope, but a previous owner may have. What I find surprising is that for all natural ageing that has occurred on my bass (remember it's almost 50 years old) there is none of the forearm wear that relicers immediately apply their sanders to emulate. [/quote] Quite. Most of the wear I see is on the back (buckle rash, general rubbing), along the top bout if the bass has been worn higher than usual or around the pickups where people anchor their thumbs. Other wear I see a lot is rusty frets and pole pieces due to acidic sweat or the player not cleaning the bass after use. Truckstop

Love all the pinstripes and the blocks with the scratchplate. Looks amazing! Truckstop

Loving all the photos and proof of ownership for this beyond rare '66 Jazz(!). Saying that, the one poorly lit photo does make it look very pretty indeed. Truckstop

This is my '82 Blazer. Not keen on newer Ibanez because I don't like 2+2/2+3 headstocks. If they did the Prestige with a 5 in-line headstock I'd be after one like a shot! Truckstop

Chord chart posters, John Myung, Ryan Martinie and other posters/ads taken from bass mags etc on the wall. They help me because if I'm a bit stuck for something to play, I think to myself "what would John/Ryan do?" and then it inspires me a little. I also have a desk which is handy for repairs, string changing, general sodding about. A couple storage boxes for effects and spare parts is also essential. A stool also! Truckstop Ps you jammy sod for getting a whole room!!!

Get the lights as high as possible and pointing downwards on you. Having coloured lights pointing up at you will only serve to make you look like a bunch of ghosts in heavy shadow and is tiresome to watch. If you havent got stands or otherwise can't elevate the lights, White light looks fine from any angle and works great with hazers/smoke machines. White light makes everything look shiny, and provided it's not too bright makes it easier for the crowd to see what's going on. I'm a massive fan of White light/warm white light. Always looks classy and if you can rig 4 par cans to fade in and out out of sync with each other is a really good way to light up a band without it looking cheap. Truckstop

I dep frequently for a band that uses TC gear (rather use their stuff than mine!) and the bassist has this head and I'm not keen on it. Far too bassy for me. Really thumpy rather than creamy which is what I'm used to. To be fair though, that could be because of the matching TC cabs. Might be a little easier to tame with the RH cabs or any other brand. It's f***ing loud though and the tuner, tubetone and compressor work pretty well and are very useful.

Yeah I tried the Black Rotos, LabBella Deep Talkin's and d'Addario whatever's and was just really unsatisfied with the tone. With the tone boosted a little it all sounded really hollow and limp and with the tone cut totally, it was just a really dull thump rather than a lovely creamy tone that I can get from my bitsa. I'm just gonna stick with my Labella Steps on the Blazer from now on; killer sound! Flats seem to take to the bitsa P really well so I've kept them there! Truckstop

Plus one. Also, you'll need a little touch of drive to enhance the clank. Truckstop

In my experience flats respond in different ways to different basses. For example, flats of any expense sound terrible on my Blazer, but awesome on my bitsa P. Sometimes I just love thudding away to some old Etta James stuff, no treble, plenty of bass and a light touch. Lovely feeling! Truckstop

That's the bastard! Probably a bit more expensive than your usual laptop bag, but it's got loads of padding, a thick strap and it's extremely hardwearing. Truckstop

I used a TC Electronic head bag. Fit the PF500, bunch of leads, ME-20b and other assorted gig crap just fine. Very well build, tough material, heavy duty zips and insanely strong Velcro. Truckstop