bassace

Major, yes I'm sure you can 'gig' a bass. I use the verb quite regularly. Interested to hear you views on the respective strings. I swore when I started on bass many moons ago that I was not going to get caught up on the strings issue and just go ahead and enjoy playing the thing. I've still managed to keep going on the trusty Spiro Mittels. I've just come back from the Bude Jazz Festival and it's amazing how many bass players are quite conservative in their choice of Spiros and Underwood pickups - like me - although the old GK150MBS is less ubiquitous than before. I have two interesting 'neighbours'. In the next village they make Headway amps and pickups. The guys in the States seem to be raving about the new Headway preamp as a great improvement on the Fishman Pro Plat, so I'm going to see if I can get one to try. More interestingly 18 miles away lives Thomas Martin, ace bass player and luthier. I visited him a few weeks ago and he is a charming man. He gave me a tour of his workshop and showed me all the wood he has is store for twenty years of basses. So I just had to have one and have been playing it for three weeks now. It is slightly smaller than my others and lighter. But what a sound! I am now 'gigging' it a lot and enjoying it very much. In addition to the Thomas Martin label inside, there is another one that reads ' comissioned by Roger Davis, July 2009' - isn't that nice! I hope to get some pics up on the forum very soon. Enjoy your trip to Italy.

It's £150 if you earn less than £16,000 gross from music; £275 if you earn more. The only other concession is £75 if you're a full time student.

A double bass mic/amp combination that's completely feedback proof. Dream on!

Surely the ideal is eyes and ears. What the relative percentages are depends:- eyes/ears 40/60 perhaps but it won't be the same for all. Due to my short attention span I've always had a bit of difficulty with the dots but have persvered. It helps if you're in a reading band, such as a rehearsal big band, where the reading will come on leaps and bounds. Looking back over my career I suppose my ear compensates for the shortcomings in my reading, also there are not many arrangers IMO who can write good walking lines so my preference is for chords and dots only when importrant phrases are needed. My ears and eyes have taken me through, at the last count, more than sixty bands as a permanent member or freelance. In so doing I have discovered lots of great tunes that I could not do justice to if I couldn't read a bit. Writing this, I'm reminded of a big band I played with in the sixties. We were blowing through a Buddy Rich chart for the first time. The time sig was 'Orgasmo Furioso'. When I enquired I was told it meant 'Go Like F**k'.

Mid fifties and a school mate came rushing out of his house as I walked by and pulled me in to hear........................My Blue Heaven by Fats Domino. Fantastic, such energy and drive, and that sax solo. Always been a Fats fan.

[quote name='padmavyuha' post='580146' date='Aug 25 2009, 01:06 PM']Thanks for the replies - I'll probably go with Allianz, who are quoting me around ₤49 for worldwide cover (including unattended in vehicle - you never know). Joining the MU would be a bit overkill in terms of cost right now - since I'm a complete beginner, I don't think I'll need public liability until I start gigging and my bass falls on someone .[/quote] Fair enough. When we started playing long ago we got a gig playing support to a mega band (in those days). We were still at school and chuffed to bits and looking forward very much. Three days to go and the MU put the block on us....................rather, put the block on the headlining band playing with us. We went and drew out all our savings to join the Union and still do the gig. So I haven't been a great fan of the MU since but have to join mainly because of the PL and most of the musos I work with are members.

Join the Musicians Union (£150 per annum) and you get up to £2,000 cover for your gear. Public liability cover as well.

We always play it in F, that's if we do it at all.

Started at a new school and saw this double bass lying on its side on an empty stage. I thought, that's cool, must play that. (I don't think bass guitar was around in those days!)

I've just sold a sansamp to Budget Bassist. It took a while because he was on holiday in France. But all through, the coms were good and he did exactly what he said he was going to do. Deal with Sam with confidence.

[quote name='Paul S' post='569746' date='Aug 15 2009, 09:34 AM']Just a thought - is there anyone coming along who has a double bass and could a quick demo on slap bass?[/quote] I'll probably be coming with a DB but my slap is crap. I'm a bit Ray Brown rather than Milt Hinton.

Could I also suggest that you look down the posts to 'French Connection' and get a look at Mike Arnopol. Good example of thumb position playing. One way or another every player has been mentioned on these posts; why are Ray Brown and Danny Thompson alike - although their music is very different? The answer has to be that they both extract such a big sound from the bass, all down to a good right hand technique.

[quote name='Rich' post='568911' date='Aug 14 2009, 12:27 PM']We had one bloke a few weeks back who had never worked with horns before. We have six of them... [/quote] Ooh, nice!

Great stuff BB. So you've put your toe in the water. Two hours first off is quite impressive. Your fingers are probably a bit sore but that situation will improve the more you play. The biggest hurdle to get over when starting out is the physical one so you seem well on to sorting that. Keep going and enjoy your double bass. It's a great instrument.

Oh, and a double bass, if you've never seen one before, is a bit different from a bass guitar apart from the obvious one of size. So you can turn all those expensive sub-woofers right off and send the sound through the stand speakers. Forget the bass (this isn't a disco) and try to get some middle/top clarity. I've got some good backline so the guys in the band won't want me coming through the stage monitors. And you can di from my amp, I'll give you the appropriate input level and yes, it is very good gear and no, it won't damage your equipment. Oh, and finally, when you get a balance that we're all happy with, just walk away, go to the bar, anything, but don't fiddle about. You'll know whether we're happy because at the end we'll give you and your mate a namecheck and ask for the audience's appreciation.

Ah Weddings, doncha just luv em! First thing, very few weddings ever run to time and the people who book you have virtually no experience of putting on a gig. And there are usually kids whose parents like nothing more than dumping them on the dance floor and letting the band entertain them while they, the parents chat to their grown up friends. Very ocasionally things go to plan, no kids, gorgeous women and good tippers. So, assuming the former is the case, just remember that the day belongs to the bride and groom, be very friendly towards the catering and bar people so you'll be fed and watered well, expect the worst but hope for the best, quote a good fee, smile and put on a good show - you might get return (hopefully non-wedding) bookings.

Well, started off with a bit of de-GASsing. The Steinberger CRM stick went, not because it's not a good instrument but nobody wants me to gig with it - so it went to a good home. Bought a Sansamp Paradriver and promptly resold it and also sold a nice SWR 12" monitor. Have just bought a gorgeous Thomas Martin double bass from the man himself. He's just done one for John Patitucci. It's just amazing and I'm so chuffed; I'll post a photo and some more description in the Double Bass section. So future GAS for the rest of the year is a no-no and I've told Mrs Bassace that if I get any more ideas she can shoot me. Surprisingly, she seems quite enthusiastic about this.

I'd like to try to get there to see some of the stuff, particularly Alex's speakers. If for any reason Jakesbass can't make it I'll definitely bring a double bass for anyone to have a try on.

I've got a CEB-3 in the Effects For Sale section right now!

I've got Spiro mediums on my basses. The E was a bit quiet on my Upton and they recommended substituting an Evah Pirazzi medium. That did the trick. Trouble with going up to a Spiro heavy is that you get a bloody thick string. But you need to find out what's on the bass first. Some shop bought basses have very low spec strings as standard and a complete upgrade may be in order.

I heard a covers band some time ago. They had a very young bass player who could play well and was note perfect. Trouble is, he had no drive, no feel. I bitterly regret never having spoken to him and said something along the lines - you're a very good bass player, you read well, you play the stuff well. But just take a moment to think what you are there for - to propell the whole band forward. So, relax a bit, enjoy your stuff and go for it.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='561402' date='Aug 5 2009, 07:42 PM']I'm not sure if there is a language difference between english as used in Lithuania and english as used in britain. finishing a question with " , mate? " tends to come across as a aggressive challenge rather than a friendly thing you would actually say to a mate. just a thought on colloquialisms.[/quote] Yes, I find it a bit confrontational from someone I don't know. OK from a friend, perhaps.