bassist_lewis

I used to play this one a lot and I always thought of it in A minor because of the shape it made on the fretboard (?!), which was made of all natural notes. I didn't realise it had an Emaj7 in it but my understanding is this is taking from Neo-soul, the sound of which revolves around playing parallel major and minor 7s. I don't think there is a definitive key for the song, whether you write on the page that its in E major, E minor, A minor or whatever, the resulting sound will be the same. If I was transcribing it I would choose whichever key resulted in the fewest accidentals, simply for ease of reading. As for SHA... the only upside of lockdown is not having to play that song. When I'm playing it, I don't care what key its in, I just want it to be over 😂 But seriously. When I'm playing and I'm improv'ing fills etc over SHA, I just go with the harmony of that particular chord. Blues-y dominant 7 things seem to work for all three.

Can you clarify if you are wanting to read bass clef or just learn playing walking basslines? If you want to read bass clef, there is a bass clef fake/real book for about £25 that has the melodies for hundreds of standards written in bass clef. It sounds to me like you just want to play walking basslines, which you won't find written in a real book, you'll just get the chords. If you want to learn to play walking lines then there are hundreds of books on the subject that use tab and notation. Building Walking Basslines by Ed Friedland is a good starter book, and will give you the understanding of theory and fretboard knowledge to play over jazz changes.

... and plectrums sound cool af. I once spent nearly an hour in a friends' music shop trying out picks 😂

Sorry! I've been too busy to even play it much this week. I should get some time over the weekend.

I'm not hugely fussed about having a tweeter but I am wondering if it will pair with the original One10. Been considering a One10 stack for years!

Mine has arrived! it's a beast!

I ordered mine in August but have assured they will be arriving in the next couple of weeks. I've had the original big footprint one since it came out and I've not found an octave a like better. Very excited to get a smaller version with the Tim tuning and independent volumes.

I thought there'd be more enthusiasm too but there you go! It's a little more conservative than some of their designs with the fancy burls and grains but an excellent instrument all round. I used to like those coffee table basses but I prefer the more classic styling now. I admit there's still nothing quite like the sound of a long scale precision.

I took delivery of one of the new Mini Mako basses from Alpher on Thursday. Got it out the case and, being totally honest, I wasn't 100% sure about the tone. However, I adjusted the setup and spent some time playing around with it through my Ampeg PF-50T and now I love it. Totally different to what I was expecting but it's a really solid punchy tone and compliments the basses I already have. Obviously the build quality is excellent. The neck feels great and the edges have been expertly rolled with no sharp bits. It balances perfectly on a strap and the cutaway makes it easy to play right up to the end of the neck. I think the most innovative thing they've done is replaced the usual strap pins with bolts that screw into a thread set into the body. Along with some rubber washers (provided) these are perfect straplocks. The tough part will be not ordering another one! Branded Hiscox case is en route also.

Have you tried nickel strings? they tend to be a bit darker than steels.

I was just wondering how people are connecting up their volume pedals. So far I know there are active and passive ones, the down side being that passive ones have a bit of tone suck so would need a buffer (or two??). As far as signal chain, I want to be able to do volume swells without affecting my overdrive/distortions, so it would be after those but before my delay/reverb. thanks

Amazingly I have a function each in November and December, though we'll see if they go ahead! All the venues are closed here (Edinburgh/Scotland) so I don't reckon there'll be any serious indoor gigs until next summer, and I think even that is optimistic!

not quite as cool as the rest but Toxic by Britney Spears Towing the Line by Ben Howard Bodies in Flight by Biffy Clyro (sorry) Unlucky by Bob Reynolds Wash by Bon Iver Enough Space by Foo Fighters Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer

I pre-ordered the 3 Leaf Audio Octabvre MKIII in August. There have been some delays along the supply chain but should be arriving in the next couple of weeks!

I've done similar, but rather than just poke the side, I put a short piece of thread on the needle and go all the way through, leaving the thread poking out both sides. This allows the fluid to drain and for it to heal. I also usually put a plaster over it to hold the thread in place but leave it open to the air as much as you can. It's an old hiker's trick.

I just pre-ordered one 😍 can't wait! It seems like all the best bits of the previous 3/4 versions: dry cut switch, the Tim tuning, small footprint... and now independent volumes for dry and wet signals.

What is that fretless??? 😍

Quite a few years ago I heard somewhere that Dave Swift of Jules Holland fame used flat wound E-G but a round wound low B. Apparently the round B has more clarity than a flat, and sounds almost the same in the mix.

I'll take that!