bassist_lewis

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1237285394' post='436976'] I own several 5 strings in 34, 35 and 36" scale and to me the 35" ones sound the least convincing. Admittedly the longer and shorter basses were far more expensive, but it confirms for me that the overall quality of the bass is more important than simply the speaking length of the strings. [/quote] I emailed alan at ACGuitars about a short scale 6 and he said that the scale isn't as important as how the instrument is built and what its built from. In my experience I find 35" too big for my hands, i know little guys that use it all the time but its just not for me. i also find that the B is tinnier and clunkier (not always, my ibanez BTB6 had an amazing low

I've been having this internal battle since I started doing covers gigs every week. I did a few over summer last year with a lakland 55-02 and found lots of use for the low B because of singers changing keys or to play somethign in a more comfortable position (500 miles for example, playing right at the nut for 6 or 7 minutes can be a strain). however i sold the lakland (and every other bass i had including an ibanez 6 string) and got a clover 4 string, i think I wanted to simplify or had a "back to basics" urge, all the usual arguments for having just a single 4 but after a couple of months of gigs this year I started thinking about getting another 5 or even a 6. I'm thinking of reading gigs as well, I haven't got any yet but I'd like to be ready when the opportunity arises. Don't really know what to do!

I've been asked to do 3 months playing a hotel in dubai. Its not absolutely final yet but its looking good, just had to send off some rough recordings tonight and should know for sure one way or the other tomorrow (or later today, being that its after midnight) does anyone have any advice or things to remember or things to look out for (regarding the contract, I'm aware that holding hands is too hot and heavy for the emirates, and that you need a non-muslim drinking license)? thanks in advance

sometimes i find it easier to think in tones and semitones: ionian - T T S T T T S dorian - T S T T T S T phrygian - S T T T S T T lydian - T T T S T T S mixolydian - T T S T T S T aeolian - T S T T S T T locrian - S T T S T T T

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTx8EgKUSDY THIS is slap

professionally experienced bass guitar tutor with a Bachelor of Arts in popular music. I can teach a range of different styles, from pop/rock to funk, jazz and blues. Lessons can focus on theory and applying it musically, reading notation, improving time feel or improvisation (jazz or otherwise). I can travel to anywhere within 15 miles of Edinburgh City Centre Cheers!

what about putting it into sibelius? then playing along

I just wish I could us effects more often!

this may or may not be useful but I find it really cool that you can go through the modes from most major (lydian) to most minor (locrian) in one key by moving either up in 5ths or down in 4ths. for example play a G lydian, D ionian, A mixolydian, E dorian, B aeolian, F# phrygian, C# locrian, all of which come from the key of D major. Even cooler than that (if you're as geeky as me) is that from the locrian you only need to flatten the root to make it a lydian, starting the whole sequence again. this gets you used to playing in one key all over the neck. and you can expand it by starting from different modes ...too much at once?... And once you've flattened the root of your locrian to become C lydian, you'll be in G major. TA DA!!! you've modulated down a 5th! (or up a 4th)

in the solo for '(used to be a) cha cha' he does it for a bar and a half. there's also an article in BGM by Janek Gwizdala a few months ago about rhythmic groupings. In my personal experience accenting in groups of 3 is relatively easy, 5s is much weirder, tried it with pentatonics a few times but still needs LOTS of work

I'm talking mainly about covers and general pop music (where the money is). I've been playign covers for the last 18 months and recently have started working on a monster set list with a new band. Determined to make use of my pricey pedal board I looked through it for songs that would need some kind of effect, I think i found 3 or maybe 4 from a list of over 120. I can't get enough of my moogerfooger filter, or mixing it with my Aguilar octamizer and I'm gassing after the new ibanez tubescreamer and the EBS dphaser. but are they really necessary? (aside from satisfying my need to make the bass sound like a synth)

Its like rain dripping on a tin roof. At least he's having fun

Hello DB-ers I've been playing DB for about 9 months and i'm looking for some slightly easier strings to play, any suggestions? (my upright is electric so they have to be metal) L

this is me and the jamiroquai band I was in jamming in ireland last year. thom (guitar) was going nuts with the shreddies [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93HEEDlZxBo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93HEEDlZxBo[/url] L

not quite the right section but its vaguley applicable. currently I have a nice Roland fp4 digital piano, it has some good sounds, weighted keys and its just nice to play and occasionally record with. BUT I haven't played piano seriously in 4 or 5 years, all i've used it for since is recording bits for uni work, the metronome and the odd plinkety-plonk. Seeing as I've graduated, there are smaller and more portable metronomes out there and I don't do gigs on keys i'm thinking about selling it. This would take me a few steps closer to my purchase of a 6 string and free up some space (I'm aiming to move to London and I hear space is mighty expensive down there!). HOWEVER I know how important it is to expand your musical experience with other instruments, so would I be giving up a valuable musical resource? any thoughts basschatters?

If you want the best of both, why not use a decent pedal? I may be completely wrong and I haven't fully tested this theory but I think that using a decent solid state amp for clean sounds then using a pedal for vintage sounds would be the ideal: valve amps are typically heavy as f**k, S.S. amps are usually quite light, as are pedals. something like the EBS valvedrive, EHX hot tubes or even the Ibanez TS9B. anyone tried this?

[quote name='tomlyne' post='112180' date='Jan 2 2008, 12:32 PM']I think PJB has addressed the real issues about the placement of bass sound and how to work it on stage and in a playing situation. I let the soundpeople worry about front of house and I concentrate on a full, beautiful sound for playing with. The PJB Flightcase has the extra power and deep bass to make you feel it, and standing next to a powerful drummer, it will not let you down. It has speakers on the front and the top with acoustic bass tubes designed to send the long bass waves out the front. The manual tells you to put the amp on the floor. If you stick it on a chair next to your ear, like we've all done with the little amps, the Flightcase will not work properly. It needs the floor, and possibly a wall right behind it; or even better, in a corner, because it uses these surfaces to support and project the bass frequencies. But having said that, you can plonk it down anywhere and just start playing and you will love the sound.[/quote] same goes for the suitcase, I had mine about 2 feet away from the wall for about 18 months, it sounded fine but when I moved it back against the wall it totally changed the sound, suddenly the low bass come out perfectly without being boomy or muffled. I agree its great for small gigs (currently using in a venue that seats 40ish and its perfect for that at 3/4 volume) but i also used it on some big corporate gigs (200ish) last christmas and it worked well as a monitor. there's no real need for massive rigs anymore, it just ends going through the PA, there's an article in this or the previous months BGM about big rigs at festivals. I think PJB and TC electronic have the right idea about a small and great sounding rig that plays into your ears.

I tried out the new Ibanez TS9B last weke and it has a great overdriven sound, think the bass on 'Do I Do' or 'Uptight'. Its very responsive too, check out the review in Bass Guitar Magazine. I also tried out the Aguilar bass overdrive (but TBH its more of a distortion), and though i'd never use it, it was very good at what it did: very bright (can be rolled off with the presence knob though) and lots of hi-mids. its a metal/punk/industrial sound. Depends what your after, find someone whose sound you like and find out what they use

[quote name='uncle psychosis' post='1342219' date='Aug 16 2011, 06:21 PM']It might sound a bit morbid but that kind of thing is worth putting in your will---if your loved ones are going to have to "deal with" all your gear after you're gone then a "this is what this stuff is and this is what its worth" document could come in very handy, especially if you have anything odd/rare/valuable.[/quote] my friend's dad has around 30 guitars (among them 5 or 6 high end les pauls) and he's given strict instructions not to sell them when he dies. My friend is a drummer...

I've played in varying sized bands. sometimes it works sometimes its more hassle than its worth. i play in a 4 piece doing originals and i works to have singer/guitarist, guitar, bass and drum. I've also done things in 10+ piece bands, one was a jamiroquai tribute and it didn't work because its nearly impossible to coordinate everyone, there was practically no money so no-one really cared enough to bother and the band leader is a tool of the highest order. The other one was a 60s tribute and that worked really well because we were all getting decent money, though the band leader was a bit disorganised. different strokes for different folks

[quote name='janmaat' post='1340145' date='Aug 14 2011, 10:49 PM']it took guitars quite a while to "settle" at six strings - tell that your guitar guy. Besides, most guitarists hardly use all their strings, and 7 string guitars are wicked and far too rare. more strings are harder to keep quiet and the instrument becomes a bit heavier to carry, that's all I can see really. how about pianos? church organs? it is just so absurd how fixed rock people are on gear. ever noticed if a viola has four or five strings? does anybody notice 4 or 5 strings on a double bass? anybody bothered for the brand of violins? all crap in my opinion: the music matters thats all. as long as you play it to play it, not to wave it round, its all good. And if people say something critical, they are just envious.[/quote] interestingly I played with a fiddle player who used a 6 string violin (F C G D A E, I think), sounded really good through a mesa-boogie amp.

[quote name='d-basser' post='1339626' date='Aug 14 2011, 02:14 PM']I love having a 6 string, as you say offers a lot more versatility, particularly if your singer is prone to switching keys for songs. Get the odd weird comments but most folk think it is pretty cool and some how makes me a better bassist (little do they know). That said I have just finished putting together a precision copy for one of my bands because 6 string really doesn't look right for folk punk. I would go for it though mate, what bass was it you where thinking of getting?[/quote] Its more that I play covers with so many singers (8 I think) so I have to play the same songs in a load of different keys, good for my playing/ears though. I'm looking at the Clover XP15.6 as I've got the 4 string and want the same tone and feel. [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Clover_Bass_Guitars_Xpression_at_Bassdirect.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...Bassdirect.html[/url]

cheers for the support, guys! the drummer/singer in question are good friends of mine which is why I'm considering their opinion at all. I don't tap (I think Kevin Glasgow does enough tapping for everyone!) but I play quite a broad spectrum of stuff, from classical to fusion to pop to funk, and my thinking is a 6 string allows me to do all that without switching instruments. I'll remember to count the drummer's kit pieces next time i play with him! (and don't most guitars have 6 strings...)

I currently play a very very nice 4 string which I wouldn't sell for love nor money (well, perhaps money) but I'm thinking about buying the 6 string version. My thinking is that it allows me to play almost 2 and half octaves in one position, I'll never be at a loss for notes, and that when singers transpose down (eg don't stop believing) I can play it nearer the original pitch. However, there is a lot of hostility to this idea. last night the singer said to me "I'm glad you don't play that 5 string pish, nae ******* point in them things, they should be ******* outlawed" and a while back the drummer told me "don't bother with a 6 string, they're for pretentious *****". now I shouldn't be influenced by other people's opinions but lets face it, we're social animals. Any thoughts?