Paultrader

Hi All, I play electric bass in a rock and roll band, but I also play double bass. I'm having classical lessons (got to Grade 5) and I'm doing OK. I get together with a bunch of friends locally to play jazz standards. We're all amateurs, but we put on a decent, if quirky show two or three times a year - 'jazz' uke, double bass, drums, some violin and three lady singers who do great harmonies - one is my other half. It's good fun. Here's my dilemma: I'm good at playing along and accompanying songs, I could do it interminably, but inevitably I end up with some solos through the night. I always seem to mess them up - I just freeze. I've worked them out beforehand, practised at home, but I can't seem to free my mind up when I'm exposed with making tunes rather than being an accompanist. In my 45 years as an electric bass player, I've never really soloed - perhaps I'm one of life's accompanists, and pretty happy in that role but given my experience I feel I should be able to do better. What's the secret of playing a simple but effective solo - any advice welcome?

Just bought a Custom Shop P pick-up off Steve. A good reliable trader - many thanks Steve.

It'll be no problem at all, the two years off will make no difference after a few practises. And 61 is nothing - time to get started on the things you really want to do! As for forgetting how to play, I forgot how to play 'Ready Teddy' on Saturday night and we'd only practised it the night before...

I sing BVs and also joint lead on some songs - I'm in a rock and roll band. When I joined two years ago I'd never sung and played bass before, and it was really tricky at first, then it just clicked, and now, as long as I practise well, I can usually do it. I get a real buzz from it. I often play a quite simple bass line while I'm singing. I also find that quite often it's easier to sing if I play with a plectrum - I've no idea why. When the rhythms cross it's more difficult. I still struggle a bit with the backing vocals to 'Brown Eyed Girl'.

[quote name='grandad' timestamp='1440158131' post='2848710'] Earlier this year I bought a Stagepas 600i & am impressed. If you can stretch your budget I don't think you'll regret it. The 600i beats the 400i by a couple of channels, a few watts, speaker size and both have an effective feedback killer. Effects are pretty good and it's simple to use, and an easy carry. The speaker cables that come with it are a naff and you'll need speaker stands and covers. A usefull accessory is the mic stand clamp. [/quote] I'll second that. I recently bought one of these for the jazz 'standards' band I play in. It's dead easy to use and easy to store - great sound and plenty of volume for a smallish venue. One or two shops sell it with free speaker stands.

I'm lucky because I'm retired, and have been able to build my double bass practice into my routine, although routines were made to be disrupted! I probably manage about five hours a week of practice. If I don't feel like practising but decide to have a short session, I concentrate on scales. To me, scales are absolutely vital. I spend about half of each practice session playing scales and arpeggios. This is where you develop your finger memory and your ear for correct intonation. Go up and down the scale slowly and listen carefully; if the tuning is out start again so that you don't embed bad intonation habits. Arpeggios help with learning left hand jumps up and down the fingerboard, and for us DB players that is a big issue. I find that there are invisible 'markers' on the fingerboard, places where I need to jump to immediately and without thinking. One of these is the fifth (D on the top E string, for instance). I practice going straight to it from cold. Another one is the octave. Jump straight to the octave G on the top string, playing a harmonic, then check it by playing it fingered. If it's wrong, try again, and again and again. I apologise if I'm being a bit obvious, but actually it wasn't obvious to me when I started after years of playing electric bass with frets and a shorter scale. The Double Bass Solo books are a joy - I'm playing Greensleeves, the Gypsy Rondo and Sheep May Safely Graze from Book 1 at the moment. When I started and looked at the music , those tunes seemed an impossible dream - Often they're a bit scratchy, but I'm getting a real buzz from it.

Thanks for a great memory. My first bass was a Framus Star Bass as well. I bought it in 1970 for £10, so 45 years ago. I had to make a new control plate for it - out of wood! This was me in 1971 at Crawley Bandstand; loon pants, Russell and Bromley zip up boots, Impact 60W amp and home made speaker cab with an 18" Goodmans speaker. What wonderful days they were - we must have sounded awful. I sold it in about 1972, for £10, and bought a Watkins Sapphire bass which had an extremely heavy headstock but looked great. [attachment=198532:framus bass.jpg]

I'll always remember as a young student in the summer of 1976 who considered myself extremely cool, going down from Newcastle to visit my parents in Sussex. My dad had got tickets for us to see Cilla at The Congress Theatre in Eastbourne. What, Cilla, not Zeppelin or Zappa! Anyway, we went along and she knocked me out; fantastic voice, brilliant stage presence, and those wonderful songs from the 60s that I remembered so well. I felt more than a little chastened by my attitude. This was before she became a TV star. I hope they re-broadcast the Sheridan Smith series, I thought it was excellent.

Yes, it's a big commitment to play the double bass. I took it up as a classical instrument three years ago (at 57) and I just got my Grade 5 this year. It's physically demanding and technically complex. And it requires the car even to take it half a mile up the road (I don't trust those wheels you can stick in the end). However, I've never been more in demand to pluck away in all genres. I play in a local jazz 'standards' band, I pluck away behind a bunch of mates who play bluegrass, and even the rock and roll band I play in want me to play it - but I'm not switching from the electric bass for that. I haven't joined an orchestra yet, but I love playing classical, especially Bach. And the sound - well, there's nothing like it. Just drawing the bow across the E string is extraordinary, and that wonderful 'mwah' sound you get when you pluck higher up the fingerboard. I think one of the problems is that there are just so many bad instruments around. It's an uncompromising instrument, and if it's not well set up it's frankly painful to play. Mine is pretty good for the price, but I'd love to be able to afford a really good bass and bow.

I've taken this journey too. After over forty year of electric bass playing, I took up classical double bass two and a half years ago, and it has been a fantastic journey, but hard work! I got Grade 5 in March this year, and did Grade 5 Theory in June - still waiting for the result. I was sixty two weeks ago. I've learnt a tremendous amount about music which has been really energising, especially from the Theory work. Playing double bass is a challenge, particularly the concentration on developing proper technique, which is a slow process - I still have trouble getting the 'bite' with the bow and avoiding overtones. I'm interested in the discussion on bows here. So - I say, definitely go for it, and go down the classical route, it makes everything better. I still play electric bass in a rock and roll band, but my style is changing; i spend a lot less time trying to be brilliant, and more time enjoying the musicality of what I'm doing - I know I play fewer notes now - but better ones!

I Saw Her Standing there by the Beatles. I play and sing it in unison with the singer, and it took me [u]ages[/u] to crack - but once I had... magic!

I always used to use Rotosound and had exactly the same problem. I tried Fender strings and they are much better so I stick with them now - in my experience they stay bright for at least three times as long.

I sold my first Fender P bass back in 1980, and wish I hadn't because looking back I think it was an early sixties one! I've got three now, a Fender '76 sunburst which I've owned since 1980, and is my gigging bass of choice. I've also got an early '80s fretless Fender P in black which has a brute of a pick-up - it's a fantastic bass which I'm learning to love. My third is a Squier CV 50s bass which I bought off Gary mac as a gig back-up. I absolutely adore this guitar and leave it out to practice on. The build quality is amazing and with a Seymour Duncan pick-up it sounds great. I've got a USA 61RI Jazz bass as well, which isn't getting played much at the moment. I really do love Precision basses - I like the feel, the tone, and the simplicity of the controls. I've never been one to mess around with the knobs; I set the tone and volume at the beginning of the gig and leave it at that

We're playing at the Ex-Servicemen's Club in Bicester. We're finishing at 1.00 am, and I would usually get home at 2.30 am, but because the clocks go forward I won't get in till 3.30 am - hey ho! The last time we played there a lifting bollard decided to rise back up under the singer's car - lifted it right off the ground. He wasn't very pleased, so I'm hoping he'll be in a better mood this time. It's a good venue for playing in because they do a lot of dancing, but not easy to load and unload there. I joined this band (Bluestreak - www.bluestreaklive.co.uk) in January 2013, and since then we've worked hard to build up the set - we can play for nearly two and a half hours now, so it should be a good night. Once I'm there and all set up, I'm happiest on the stage, I get a bit fed up with sitting around.

I'm really sad about this. So many heroes from my youth are passing on. There's a direct link between Andy Fraser and the fact that I've enjoyed being an amateur bass player for forty five years. I'll get my DVD of Free at the Isle of Wight in 1970 out later today, and watch once again that extraordinary performance (with Paul leaning back against his Marshal stack playing those sublime Les Paul solos). Andy Fraser was an individual talent who demonstrated that the bass guitar was a relevant, expressive and creative part of a band - and super cool; Andy knew when to play and when not to; how many bass players could resist joining in with 'that' riff from the start? I've got my Grade 5 double bass exam later today, in my sixtieth year, and the roots of this passion go right back to the turn of the seventies, Jack, Andy and the like. Thanks guys, I tip my hat to you.

I noticed that Buddy Holly's bass player, Joe B Mauldin, passed away almost unnoticed by the press on 7th February aged 74. He may not have changed the world musically, but he was right in there amongst the music changers! I play in a rock and roll band, and it's quite interesting attempting to interpret those ultra simple Crickets' bass lines into something punchy and worth playing. Often I just cut it right down to simple root notes and enjoy belting out all the backing vocals - it works! I saw The Crickets a few years a go when they toured with Nanci Griffith; they were great and she clearly loved them. Anyway, I just wanted to acknowledge the passing of a rock and roll legend.

OK - I'm sure I know the answer to this, but thought I'd check absolutely. I've got a Telecaster which has a 1978 serial number on the headstock, but the date on the heel - which I presume is when it was assembled, is 1980. I bought it in 1981. Is it a 1978 or a 1980? If it has to be called a 1980 guitar, can I assume that the neck was still made in 1978? What a minefield!

In 1981 I sold a two-tone sunburst Fender P - I still dream about that bass even though it was nearly 35 years ago! I have no idea what year it was but I think it was a 60s one. Oddly, the word 'Precision' on the decal seemed to be missing, and I've never worked out why. It makes it distinctive though, so I wonder if anyone out there owns it?

Can anyone recommend a place where we can by jackets for our band? We play fifties/early sixties rock 'n' roll, and I'm trying to persuade the others that at the moment we look a bit like waiters! We're not in the first flush of youth so we really ought to look smart and avoid the 'mutton dressed as lamb' thing. What I'm looking for is not what I'd wear in real life; sharp, possibly shiny suits in good colours, but durable and cool. The drummer wouldn't want to wear a jacket but I might be able to tempt him with a waistcoat to match the rest. My internet trawls so far have produced surprisingly few options. Would really appreciate any suggestions. Paul

We're playing at a pub in Bicester, two one-hour sets of 50s/early 60s covers. It should be fun but we practised last night and the singer has a cold and almost no voice - he's got two days...! I love Christmas, but on NYE I'd just as soon be out working. I'll kiss my wife before leaving and say 'See you next year!' I've been with this band nearly a year now and it has really built up. We did about eight gigs last year, and we already have nine booked for next year. Most are still pub gigs unfortunately, but we're getting a following. I don't want more than two gigs a month so it's looking good for 2015. On this point. Does anyone have any advice on where to get hold of stage jackets. You know the score; not too expensive, light, durable and a bit sharp and glitzy?

I get my 3/4 DB in a Citroen C3 Picasso - with the headstock poking through between the driver and the passenger. I can keep one rear seat up for a passenger, but there's also space for other gear.

No compression for me - I can't bear hearing my notes clipped.

Thanks Guys, I look and Andy Baxter sometimes - that's a good piece of advice. And yes, the truth is that I'd love an original. Perhaps my ideas are taking shape.

So it's an affair of the heart not the purse!

Hello Everyone, Has anybody had anything built by Fender Custom Shop, as opposed to buying a CS made guitar? I have a big birthday next year and I'm toying a little with the idea of getting a bass made for me. I'm in the early stages of this thought at the moment, so I wondered if anyone has any comments on it. I know with reasonable certainty what I want, which is an unlined fretless Precision as they might have been when first produced in 1970 (with a few subtle variations). I suppose another option would be to try to get a genuine one, but they rarely seem to become available. I've always been a Fender player so it could be a dream come true, or a huge disappointment - I can't know which until it's happened I suppose. After import duty, VAT and all that stuff, does anyone know roughly how much a guitar like that would set me back? It would be a big financial commitment for me, so I need to be sure about it. Also, what do you reckon of the argument (for my significant other), that it represents an investment over time?! Cheers Paul