Gareth Hughes

Slight derail as I've never played a 'normal' Mexican Precision, but I've just gotten a Dee Dee Precision a few weeks ago but my tuppence would be - in comparison to a Fender American Standard Jazz - why do American made Fenders cost twice the price as a Mexican one? Maybe I got a Friday special, but at £1250 or so that my US Jazz cost, it is one shoddy instrument for the price. Comparatively the Dee Dee (and I presume Mexican Fender's in general) stands up very well against a US made Fender.

I would highly recommend heading over to www.discoverdoublebass.com It's headed by Geoff Chalmers of this parish and I've found it a wonderful thing for inspiration and focus. There are many free tutorial videos, of about 10 minutes in length, that present one idea at a time for you to work on. Really can't go wrong it. And also - Geoff is readily available here or via that website if you need further advice.

The Vamoosh Book 1 is really good for a beginner - might be aimed a little too young - but it works well for P4 / P5 beginners. All the information is nicely laid out and the backing tracks are great. A bit more in depth and age appropriate are the Essential Elements series. There's three of them - by the end of book 1 you'd be prepared for a Grade 1 Double Bass exam.

Melvin's tone, not to mention his outstanding playing, on the Lee Ritenour 'Overtime' DVD is just wonderful - clarity, power and nuance. I could watch that just for the sound alone. And his Xotic/EWS demo videos are worth checking out.

I tried something similar - trying to get two separate channels into a Di before the amp and then back out into two separate channels again. It was a mess of cables and a pain in the butt. Best I can suggest is that you use your amp as you have been - two separate channels - then plug your tuner into the effects loop send or a dedicated tuner out if your amp has one. This would work but depends on your amp having a mute switch the kill the signal to the DI and speaker.

The sarky part of me thinks - great, now I get feedback no matter where I stand.

Also - a temporary solution is to use something like those rubber table mats that stop heat marks, but they're thin enough that you'll go through one soon.

That's easy - get a new wife. Or - a safer alternative is something like this: http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product/1366-SUPER_ENDPIN_BALL_ATTACHMENT_FOR_UPRIGHT_BASS_TIP_COVER.html

Chuck Rainey said he used this technique when his hands would tire after playing all day long. That's about all the vindication one needs. Charles Mingus also used it for fast tremolo playing.

Rarely have I had the luxury of actually getting the gear I requested. It's more often than not whatever the hire company for the whole production has at hand. Unless it's Japan - then you're in gear heaven.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1451902474' post='2944335'] What a beautiful setup... Not a bit jealous! [/quote] As an appropriate song would say, 'I second that emotion".

The book that served me well and I still use to this day to teach with is The Complete Electric Bass Player by Chuck Rainey. Well worth the price. It takes you through all the keys with repetitive patterns that are incredibly useful. Can't recommend it enough. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Electric-Bass-Player-Book/dp/0825624258

Word of mouth is very important....BUT..... no one is going to recommend someone that can't do the gig, which takes you back to playing by ear and reading competently both being crucial factors.

'Jesus Christ Superstar' has some choice moments, though on the whole not as dense as 'West Side Story'. 'Copacobana' is a good workout on electric bass. Any chance of a pdf of 'Sunset Boulevard'?

How'd it work out Bilbo? I did mine over the summer and was well chuffed with how it turned out. Felt like a whole new instrument.

It's worth paying a bit of money for a decent bow. What qualifies as decent varies. Edgar Meyer is quoted as saying he plays the same old crappy stick that he started with because it starts the note well. Waiting for a rehair, I bought a £70 bow from Amazon. It was horrible. Really weak sound in comparison to the bow I bought from Ken Smith Basses, and it lost hair every time I used it. If you've played bass guitar before, one difference (to me) between a cheap bow and a decent bow is a little like the difference between playing with a hard pick and a soft one. The soft one just seems to have no body or attack to the sound it produces.

The layout - especially the power indicator/start up lights - is very Streamliner. Which makes sense as Andy/Agedhorse on Talkbass has been as Mesa for a while after leaving Genz. All good things. I'm still loving my Streamliner's - more than one should for an amp.

I don't know either yet. The carpeted cover makes it a bugger to put everything back in place so I've held off on that bit. Shall give it a go later. Thanks for the reply.

Hi Folks - [size=4]The tweeter in my Epifani UL2-112 cab needs replaced. [/size][color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I contacted Epifani - they say there isn't a compatible one on the market and that I'd have to buy one from them. Surely there must be something similar I can get on this side of the Atlantic?(Cue Shirley jokes). [/font][/color][color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Their site says it's a 100w bullet tweeter. I'm guessing they come in many shapes and sizes. I'm not technically inclined, so any idea on what I should replace it with? [/font][/color]

IMO it's a personal preference, like how tight do you like your shoelaces. As a rough guideline though, I'd have the hair tight enough that the tip of your little finger could just about go through the gap between the hair and the stick at the middle of the bow. Like others have said - you'll know if it's too loose because you won't be able to apply much weight from your arm before the stick clatters off the string.

And there was me thinking you wanted something other than the usual arse up photos