JoshJ

I've had my bass probably under 6 months and I'm hesitating to have it set up too. It's an Antoni (second hand) which only cost £300 with stand, bag, bow etc and I reckon I could sell it on for not much less than that.. so if set-up is going to cost around £200, I think I'd rather just sell the bass on and buy an older one like [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=125183"]this[/url] (which i'm more than annoyed that I missed ) However, as yours is a Stentor I'd be more tempted to spend a bit of money on it. I hear they are good basses so you should be able to get to a good standard with it, and a good set-up would probably increase the resale value (to someone who knows about basses, anyway) if you eventually decide to upgrade. As for playability, I've only ever played my bass so can't comment on a good setup. When I got my bass the action was so high it was almost unplayable, but the bridge didn't look particularly good anyway so I just got my dad to have a go at carving it. He knows nothing about basses, but wood is wood, right? A quick go on the bandsaw and belt-sander, then cleaned up with sandpaper and put the notches back in with a file/saw thingy... and hey presto, lower action It's developed a bit more fingerboard buzz but I'm not too bothered about that since I only really play slap-a-billy anyway.

Skip to 3:00. Really helpful

That's the rosin I got with my cheapo bass. Haven't tried any others to compare but it seems to work fine for me, you might just be tickling about with it too much. I could be wrong, but I think the idea is to rub a short section of the bow back and forth fairly hard and fast () and let the heat from the friction melt the rosin onto the bowstrings (think Ray Mears rubbing sticks to make fire). Then you do this all the way down the strings. If you're doing it right (or my way, at least) you will soon see scratches on the rosin cake where some has rubbed off, and the strings will have a bit of a sheen where they're coated. I guess the sandpaper trick is to get the cake warmed up, so you'd have to switch immediately from sandpaper to bow. I don't think it will be to do with scuffing up the surface, because I just rub straight on the shiny side and it seems to work fine. Josh [i]Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if this ruins your nice bow... mine is rubbish so I could afford to experiment!![/i] Also, be very careful with the sharp corners of the frog near the cutaway of your bass. I've always been careful but my brother and my girlfriend have both taken small chunks out of the veneer when having a go Luckily the bass itself pretty rubbish aswell!

I'm trying to learn this to play on DB with my brother on guitar, up to about 0:40 but there are so many notes and since I know nothing about theory, it's literally a case of figuring out each note one after the other and memorising it all. And my memory is awful.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1122754' date='Feb 10 2011, 03:36 PM']time to get one of these.... [url="http://www.powerballs.com/"]http://www.powerballs.com/[/url][/quote] +1 for powerballs. I've never had any lessons or anything so my technique is awful, and I only really play slap.. but after a week of (almost constant) powerballing I could play much faster and didn't get tired anywhere near as quickly.

I don't know if Sheffield is too far for you to try it, but this one looks nice: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Double-Bass-3-4-/220702652657"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Double-Bass-3-4-/220702652657[/url]

Haha, that's pretty impressive if it worked ok. I didn't dare touch the bridge after what happened to the shelf i tried to put up at my mates... Anyway i got my dad to carve the bridge a while ago with his bandsaw, he did a really good job of the top just by copying the profile, but didn't touch the feet, which are an awful fit. The only problem is i think we went a bit too low for my new E string, because i literally just guessed how i wanted the action (after taking the strings off). I'm confident that we could get an adjustable one fitted ok, and if the height isn't too much of an issue i can't see what could really go wrong. Not £120 worth of wrong anyway.

Does anyone know if these are any good? £25-£30 sounds a bit too good to be true and anything from China makes me a bit nervous nowadays... There are 3 cheap ones, [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/170549657707"]the cheapest[/url], the one that's [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/270592620551"]a bit more expensive[/url] but from a top rated seller, and [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/270647465159"]the maple one[/url]. I'd guess maple is best but the edges look pretty rough on the photos, so I'm leaning towards the middle one.

[quote name='skej21' post='1004884' date='Oct 29 2010, 10:43 AM']These guys will help; But be warned... you may feel a LITTLE bit robbed (video)[/quote] Well, I've had a productive morning... I've just learned about 50 songs

I'm far from an expert, but just to get the ball rolling... I've got a set of Slap Happy weedwackers but I've kept the steel E string on for now because I've heard the lower weedwackers are really dead sounding, which is true for the A when you play it normally (it sounds good slapping, though). The advice I got from someone on here was to keep the weedwacker D and G strings as they're pretty good, but change the E and A. Obviously just buying 2 strings is going to be cheaper than a full set, and it means you shouldn't have to lower the action (assuming it's set high for weedwackers). If you go for something like Innovation strings, though, they're higher tension than the weedwackers so they won't be a good match. The way to get round that, so I'm told, is to "bump" the lower strings, which means using an A string for your E and so on. That way the tension is lower and should match the 'wackers a lot better. Another thing to think about as well as the tension is the gauge of the strings; the steel E I've got on now is much thinner than the weedwacker A which is a bit odd, and I think if you mix Silverslaps with weedwackers you might have a similar problem. My plan is to get Innovation Psychoslap A and D strings for my E and A. That way the gauges go .095, .105, .115, .126, and hopefully the tension will be a good match aswell. Hope this helps! And good luck with learning. edit: I've FINALLY just ordered the 2 psychoslaps, £37 from www.stringmail.co.uk. I'll let you know what they're like when I get them. And here's my thread where I got the advice I gave you: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=104914"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=104914[/url]

How did/is it go(ing), wayne?

I've been thinking about doing this, got to be good if it saves us £100 or so on a "proper" pickup, and I've even seen people suggesting they can sometimes be used without a preamp which would save us another big lump. One of the best sets of instructions I've seen is [url="http://fittell.id.au/piezo/"]this one[/url]. He suggests putting it under the bridge foot, but if you do that, you need to use the layer of cork so the piezo can still move, and then I can imagine you having a lot of fun getting it to sit nicely. From what I've read so far, the "something" you've forgotten could be: Piezo needs to stretch so don't fasten it too tightly (I guess), but obviously it needs to make good contact with your wood . Keep the wires (and the cable to the preamp, I think) short and secure them as well as possible because movement in the wires will be picked up in the signal. DON'T solder anything directly onto the piezo terminals because you can melt the piezo film. And most important of all: Take lots of photos and write everything down so I can copy off you and learn from any mistakes you make Good luck!!

I'm no expert but they do look a bit suspect, especially the eBay one. I think you would be better off just plugging into the line-in of a decent soundcard. I've done that before and it sounded fine. The expensive one says it has "Sophisticated software amp, guitar effects deck and 16-track recording system" and "Built in chromatic tuner", which suggests it does a bit more than just plugging in your guitar, but you might be paying for software that you could get for free.

Ah that sounds nasty! But at least it was your fingers and not your neck or anything! Good luck with the gig and healing and such. I'm sure you know, but since noone has mentioned it, ice and elevation is supposed to help with the swelling. These things always seem to happen at the worst possible times - my girlfriend managed to break her little toe AND put her passport through the washing machine the day before we went to amsterdam a few months ago. Somehow, we got the passport dried in time and they let her on the flight, but her toe looked really painful to walk on. A few strong "coffees" definitely helped with that, though!

[quote name='devinebass' post='967839' date='Sep 25 2010, 05:53 PM']Josh... Sorry you don't read, I would write it out in tab but i like to try and spur people on to start reading so for that reason i'm not going too. Maybe in the future... But, you should try to get to grips with some reading, i promise it doesn't take long to get the basics down which is all you need to be able to get through my tutorials. It'd probably take a couple of months at the most to get a good understanding of it down. Just get a bass reading method book and you'll be away![/quote] I've just come back to this and looked up how to read Bass Clef for the first time. It's taken me an hour or so but I can now play the first example all the way through, from memory, and I learned it by reading music So now I see why you didn't want to give me the tab!

[quote name='Bilbo' post='985816' date='Oct 12 2010, 03:21 PM']Its really not that simple, Josh.[/quote] Hmm, I suspected as much... I don't know really what I was hoping for; once happy and sad are gone I guess the emotions would get a bit abstract.. "Pentatonic = perplexed, Diminished 7th = optimistic, dominant 7th = surprised..." Thanks for the reply, anyway. I suppose I will just have to learn the hard way!

I started learning guitar when I was about 10, had lessons for a couple of years and got to what I would consider a good standard (for a 12/13 year old). I could figure out (a simplified version of) most songs fairly quickly, but I never bothered with any theory whatsoever so I was always useless at improvisation, and ended up getting bored with playing and trailed off over the last 7 years. A few weeks ago I bought myself a double bass, 'cos I want to learn to slap and play psychobilly/rockabilly. I've already learned a lot more theory than I ever knew before, and I've been looking at [url="http://www.studybass.com/tools/chord-scale-note-printer/"]this gizmo[/url], hoping it will help "open up the fretboard". I've only used the chords on it for now, first I put in Dmin7 to see what scott devine was doing in his "how to practice arpeggios" tutorial, and now I'm getting to know my way around that I want to try some other chords. It seems kind of pointless learning lots of different chords/arpeggios without knowing how to use them, so my annoying newbie question is: "What are different types of chords for?" Pretty much all I really know so far is: major chords = happy minor chords = sad "Root-5th" sounds bluegrassy If someone could extend this to include pentatonic, triads, dominant/diminished 7th/9th, etc. etc., that would be a massive help. I'm not after a really in depth explanation, just simple guidelines to get me started, for example: "If you want something to sound ____, use ____ and avoid ____." "_____ is mostly used in rockabilly/jazz/blues/pop"

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='985555' date='Oct 12 2010, 11:46 AM']Thanks for all the advice everybody I will give that book a go. Currently I'm training with random charts and Spotify just to open up the fingerboard a bit and build confidence.[/quote] As you know I'm hopeless at playing bass and even worse at theory, but [url="http://www.studybass.com/tools/chord-scale-note-printer/"]this[/url] seems really useful to me. I haven't tried any scales yet but the chords bit is really good, I put in Dmin7 so I could figure out what scott devine was doing in his "How to practice arpeggios" tutorial.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='975749' date='Oct 3 2010, 09:53 AM']I give you Punk on the DB[/quote] Yuck... I downloaded a Living End album a while ago thinking it was psychobilly and was sorely disappointed. I'm not trying to put the double bass in a box (case?), obviously you can do whatever you want with them but this is how they're meant to be played IMO:

The first thing i figured out was johnny cash - walk the line. Open, 1st and 3rd "frets". No offence but playing punk on a double bass just seems wrong, they're made to be slapped! edit: and bowed. I'm no good at it but it's ace!

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='975267' date='Oct 2 2010, 06:23 PM']I'm getting a little buzz from the bridge when I play the A string, what do I do?[/quote] I'm a DB n00b so this is half stuff I've read and half guess-work. Does it buzz on every "fret" or just in certain places? Mine buzzes in certain places so I've been told it's most likely an uneven fingerboard, which I think costs around £70 to sort. I've just put on some weedwackers and they don't buzz, so I guess nylon wrapped strings are an option. If it buzzes everywhere I would guess it's either the bridge rattling against the body due to being badly fitted, or possibly the string grooves in the bridge or nut are too wide. I thought about trying to pad out the grooves on mine with tissue or something because I'm sure I've seen my brother do it on his guitar, but that might be an awful idea, I really don't know. Hopefully someone else can offer some more useful advice...

[quote name='PaulKing' post='975066' date='Oct 2 2010, 03:22 PM']You'll want to start thinking about substitutes for the E at least: Velvet Garbo, Innovation Silver- or PsychoSlap, Pirastro Oliv (flat-wrapped gut), Presto... there are several options. Steel is not a good match in most people's opinions..[/quote] Thanks for the advice, I might try the steel A for now then, if the wacker really is no good. Ideally, I want to try a set of Innovation Silvers or Psychoslaps. It's just a matter of waiting until I have £75 spare! I hadn't actually thought of only replacing the E string though, which obviously would be a lot cheaper. I've just had a look, and if I only got a "bumped" Psychoslap A string, it would be thinner than the weedwacker A, so I'm thinking I'd want to get Psychoslap A and D strings for my E and A. Then the gauges would go .126, .115, .105, .095. Does that sound sensible?

I've just got a set of Slaphappy weedwackers (thanks again, bob pickard!) and replaced the steel strings that came on my cheapo bass. I've left the steel E string on for now, though, as I've heard the 'wacker E can sound really dead. The A isn't very impressive when I play it normally but for slapping it sounds perfect. I am planning on trying out the E string soon anyway because it's a bit weird having an A string much thicker than my E, but for now it's pretty useful to keep the steel one as I have something to tune the stretchy plastic strings to every time they go flat. What I'm wondering though, is since the steel E is at a higher tension than the other 3 strings, could this bend my neck out of shape if I leave it too long? edit: Something I find quite interesting since I'm into physics, is when I play the 3rd fret on the weedwacker G, the steel E string vibrates like crazy. It's obviously hitting the resonance frequency of the E string. If you don't know what I mean (and most people probably do because I'm nowhere near as clever as I think I am) look up Barton's pendulum. In the right song this might create quite a nice effect, but for me it's just annoying having to dampen the E with my thumb. Like I said I'm going to swap the E soon anyway so it won't be a problem for long.

[quote name='Truckstop' post='971687' date='Sep 29 2010, 01:29 PM']Modernised 'Deeper Underground'[/quote] For anyone that missed it (like me) I just found it online, [url="http://pinboardblog.com/2010/09/video-jamiroquai-performs-deeper-underground-on-later-with-jools-holland/"]http://pinboardblog.com/2010/09/video-jami...-jools-holland/[/url] edit: I should have said something about it, really... it's a good remix but I think if I was in the band I'd want to stay away from that song as it's the one everyone has heard, and they could end up being known as a bit of a one-trick pony like Roger Moore.

[quote name='bob_pickard' post='970275' date='Sep 28 2010, 06:11 AM']Is LR's DVD any good or just a "wow! look at me!!" one?[/quote] This is all I could find of Lee Rocker's DVD online, [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqidzhaTgRY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqidzhaTgRY[/url]. That little clip was fairly useful, though. I don't know why it never occurred to me that to "tri-ple it" you just slap the strings twice between notes! DUH! I'm thinking of buying the DVD too (about £15 on amazon) so if anyone knows what the rest of it is like please let us know.