bassace

Isn't the bass the easiest instrument in the band to play? So my first gig on bass was before I ever owned one; I borrowed a DB from a mate and went along to the gig. The rest is geography.

Thanks for that, Paul. Good to meet you at South Mimms for handover and chat. Easy transaction with you.

Thanks for the plug Mike. Yes folks, I am now doing a run of the clip that I devised to fit on my basses to give a good fix to the jack socket from the pickup. £6.50 posted. Sorry no photo available right now but if you are not fully satisfied I'll refund the money and you can keep the clip - limited period only, while the clip gets better known. Clarky has one as well.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1364853843' post='2031906'] ............... it's oevre. [/quote] Didn't Ray Orbison record that?

Why is it that the typical procurement manager looks rather, er, well fed?

There are three types off feedback - the high pitched scream, the low foghorn and the feeling that your playing isn't as tight as it should be, ie a general echo in the background. Which one is yours? I used an MB 150 several years ago, still do from time to time, and used to get a loud scream. My solution was to back the treble control off to 9 oclock. Also an outboard preamp with phase switch will help a lot.

Oh, that is so sad. His dad lead the house band at the Majestic Ballroom, Reading, on trumpet and Derek followed in his footsteps as a great player. He was on lead trumpet in a big band I played in during the late sixties. We had an important gig one evening and Derek couldn't do it. So he sent Tony Fisher as a dep.

I played with him twice. Not only a very good musician but he had a very good recall of past gigs and people he had known, some of them fifty years ago. He struck me as someone who had a genuine interest in other people. A nice guy.

I suppose KB players are no different from any other musicians. There are good ones and not so good ones. Re timekeeping, there are so many musicians that rely on the bass and drums to keep time/swing etc whereas I always feel that every man should be his own rhythm section with an inate sense of swing/groove/whatever.

All in good time! With my first DB I didn't know much, but after playing another one I was able to compare and contrast and so my knowledge started to grow and I got a sense of bass perspective.

Rachel The Bryant and Martin, not surprisingly, are two different animals. The Martin doesn't have a lot of sustain and would probably benefit from a new setup. It does, though, have amazing clarity and strength right up the G string. You don't find that on every bass, even some expensive ones. Acoustically it's so-so but when amped with an Underwood it really comes alive. So much so that I've had several compliments on my sound. The finish is disappointingly unimpressive - shame on you George. I use this bass in a loud Dixieland all-star band where I get 50% of my work. My other work is playing in smaller groups, generally playing modern/mainstream jazz. I use the Bryant for this where its subtleties come to the fore. It has a beautiful sustain but was initially difficult to amp. I think the Underwood could have been ill-fitting and I struggled with the sound for quite a while. I've sorted it now and since fitting an Ehrlund to bring out the attack I'm very happy with it. It's a nice little bass and I love it. If the house were to burn down that's the bass I'd save! Hope this helps a bit. Remember, the Martin is their entry level model and I have no doubt that they have some really good ones in the higher price bracket.

Well done Pete. That's the power of the upright. I've never been short of work in (whisper it softly) 50 years. Enjoy!

[quote name='gcordez' timestamp='1361217369' post='1983049'] Got two so far, a Martin Penning Villaume model and an 1880's French bass. Number three is being built as we speak. Another Penning, but a large panormo shape. Gulp. Expensive habit this innit? [/quote] Yes, quality not quantity.

My number of basses is now exceeding Mrs B's number of horses by one, so I'm on very dangerous ground. My fifth is the Kolstein Travel so that entitles her to get nothing larger than a pony, perhaps. Hmm.

To be pedantic, you don't usually get bassists playing together unless it's in a classical context when it's a section. Otherwise just bassists together I suppose it's a winge (BG) and a support (DB). Runs for the door. Ps, just a thought, Barristers have a Chambers, so why not DB players?

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1359488703' post='1955604'] Eddie is great, but I find his intonation in the upper register a little sketchy at times. Now Scott LaFaro..... [/quote] Interesting that during the fifties/sixties we grew up at school as modernists and wouldn't have anything to do with that old fashioned stuff that King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton turned out. That was stuff from 45 years back. And now we revere Bill Evans, rightly so, from..............45 years back, and Miles and........ So, what's trad and what's trad? As well as the timeless music you also have to factor in improved recording techniques and, whisper it softly, the drastic levelling off in jazz's development and popularity. The sixties/seventies were certainly the golden age for jazz - IMO of course.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1359626834' post='1957679'] I'm a wee bit older, & my guilty pleasure would be Elkie Brooks. Saw her live in Barnstaple a few years ago & she was exceptional. (I might get to pluck her later........ ) G. [/quote] I played support when she gigged at Oxford Town Hall as 17yr old Elaine Mansfield. Never forgotten.

The Count Basie Band from 1960.

It's a miracle that I'm any good at bass - which I am, actually - because I have the attention span of a gnat. But with a lot more effort and concentration I would love to have been a keyboard player. Probably jazz piano but power chords in a prog group would also be great. Probably a cross between Oscar Peterson and Tony Banks. Is it too late, Lord?