Gareth Hughes

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

Yep, I use an Apt-Flex pickup (like a David Gage Realist) for the main body of my sound, and a Schatten wing-slot pickup for the 'detail'. Both go into their own channel on an Acoustic Image Focus head, with the Schatten's channel having the high-pass filter set quite high. The Focus head has a very handy switch to turn off channel 2 so I can take the Schatten out when I need to use a bow. Both channels are marged out of the amp's DI.

One thing to bear in mind - and this is after having gone through similar frustrations - is that we play stupidly loud in bars and clubs in this part of the world. This only dawned on me after seeing The Crusaders in The Blue Note in New York. I couldn't get over how quiet they were - I could hear the kit coming from the stage!! This then led to the realisation - "Ah, that's how an Acoustic Image combo can drive a 30 piece big band, they're not all deafening each other!!!" So, back on topic - volume is not our friend hear. One cheap alternative (which I haven't gigged yet but have gotten nice results in the studio with) is the Thomann Ovid Systems mic. No reports on durability or feedback, etc, but it does it's job well. Here's a link: http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_ovid_system_cc_100.htm?ref=prod_rel_270440_1

I've had my '75 reissue for about 4 years now, think it's about 15 years old. No problems at all. And where the screw meets the neck, it makes contact with a little metal circle rather than digging into the wood.

You're in good hands there on both accounts. Richard knows his stuff and does a great set-up. Rod has been there and done that and knows his stuff too. Definitely sounds like new string time indeed. Have fun!!!!!

The mod that Bigwan did to my Mini Q-Tron's msde them so much more usable. But like he said - they are SO darned unreliable. For me, they are everything I want in a filter EXCEPT for the ability to blow up speakers when they feel like it. And whilst they are ridiculously big - there's something that's just right about that for this pedal

Chuck Rainey's "Complete Electric Bass Method: Book One" served me very well.

And for thinking/playing outside the box on the verses - play in the major key a tone lower than the first minor chord. In other words - the first chord is A Minor, so you play around G Major. Everything will still be from the same key, you'll just have some nice (and hopefully) pleasant surprises.

I have two - a 600 and a 900. Yes, I'm rubbing it in. I honestly have never felt such....affection....to an amp. It's not natural. But feels so good.

It sure is. Check this out: http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/barge-concepts-vfb-2-variable-feedback-amp-blend-bypass-looper/11725

Absolutely. You should get in touch with a guy called Dave Kane on Facebook. Awesome upright player and yoga teacher, based in Leeds. Give him a shout, I'm sure he'll be happy to get into the finer details of it with you.