bassace

I'd been happier if they'd asked him what strings/pickup he uses and what his string heights are. Also whether he prefers Gamba or Violin corners.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1198889' date='Apr 13 2011, 11:11 PM']Hi Roger, I've not got a realist but could lend you a K&K Golden Trinity bassmax + mic if you haven't already got one. I'm impressed with the bassmax, darker than Underwood, I can plug direct into amp with no pre and get a happy sound. As for the mic, nice for home recording or into pa Apart from that I've got a couple Rev solo, (which I got one from you iirc,) and sounds amazing atached to my Ampeg Baby Bass, a Planet single paddle which came with the Kolstien, (probably too bright for you) but you can try if you like, and a full circle atached to my Kolstien which I couldn't detatch. Best Keith[/quote] Hi Keith Your post has reminded me just how many pickups have gone through my hands. Perhaps I should have kept them on the basis that we are never really happy with our rigs and things constantly change. I wonder whether you could trust me for a while with the bass max - which I have never tried - and possibly a planet as long as it isn't fatter than 5mm because I don't want to enlarge my wing slots unneccessarily. I'll PM you with my details. R

My new bass is a bit 'bright' for my preferred Underwood. Sounds great with a mic but I need to find a pickup that will give me plug-in-and-play convenience when required. I don't want to go through the PU merrygoround again so was wondering if any kind BCer would lend me a Realist for a week. I'll pay all postage of course.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1194922' date='Apr 10 2011, 07:03 PM']When I dep (or when I get a dep in) its almost always 'turn up and read the gig' (chord charts or dots). An originals band is going to struggle because your replacement will not know the tunes so, without charts, you would need rehearsals and that is unlikely to happen fwithout payment for rehearsal time. As for costs, you could get someone to do it for nothing or it may cost you £50 minimum (gig only, another £50 for the rehearsal?). If you have dots, you haven't got a problem. Without them, you are likely to struggle.[/quote] Exactly.

I started playing jazz when it was the 'default' music - rock'n'roll had only just been coined in UK- so there wasn't an aaaaaah moment, except when I started to come off the simple trad stuff and it was Milestones, also almost as a pop song there was Miles's 'There's a Boat that's Leaving for New York' from Porgy and Bess. We used to go round singing it, solos and all. Strangely I played Milestones in a pub on Sunday, haven't played that for decades.

I've had two double bases come in from USA, one accompanied and one freight. I've also taken one out to the Canaries and back for a gig. No problems.

Good stuff Hector. You in Oxford? Be good to meet and chat some time.

Reminds me of the couple who hadn't spoken to each other for years, they went to the marriage guidance consellor and explained their predicament. So he went to his cupboard, got out a double bass and played a solo.

[quote name='27 frets' post='1188039' date='Apr 4 2011, 05:54 PM']Interesting looking bass, but a few things I've spotted on the pics Angle of neck to body seems quite steep Odd looking endpin wire arrangement Bridge is leaning/even curving somewhat - (a sign that it needs replacing?) It may just be the camera angles, or are these things normal on a bass of this type?[/quote] Could it be that the bass is being sold by a general antique shop rather than a specialist shop? It probably needs some TLC/setting up. The tail wire looks like the old stuff they used to put on before the multistrand cable was used. I had some that looked like bent welding rod and it let go on me in the middle of a gig. Bridge is definitely askew; you can see its feet kicked up at the tailpiece end. Could be that its been restrung to sell, without much care being taken. That said, it looks a very interesting bass and in these hard times could go at a bargain price for what it is.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1186599' date='Apr 3 2011, 11:24 AM']I think that's a cool thing though. Jennifer prefers soloing over ballads and I prefer soloing over mid-up tempo tunes. It's just a different way of approaching things.[/quote] It also depends very much on the bass player's tecnique. A ballad is a very satisfying thing to solo on, especially if you have a bass with a nice sustain. Mid tempo stuff is also quite do-able, in fact that's often my preference. The problem is with the up-tempo stuff. I find no satisfation in playing or listening to an extension of what you've been playing under the choruses - ie an up-tempo walk. Better to play 'horn phrasing' but you need [i]very[/i] good technique to pull that off.

When I'm out with the seven piece I get maybe one chorus per gig. I'm happy with that; my job is to drive the band along. But when I play with a trio I get quite a few solos because the other two players need me to take some of the solo load off them. Also there's more interplay in a trio format. You'll hear this reflected in CDs. The guy who broke the mould was James Blanton who died tragically young in his twenties. He broke away from simple four to the bar in his playing and Duke Ellington, recognising his talent, made sure he was forward in the mix. Just one bass player did a lot for a whole orchestra - probably the foremost of its time - and we as bass players should celebrate that.

I've done quite a lot of this. I always use a thin metal file. The advantage is that it's a rigid piece of steel that gives you a good chance of getting a nice parallel slot. Put the bass on its back and cover the top with a towel.

[quote name='marvin spangles' post='1179218' date='Mar 28 2011, 10:31 AM']And nice guy to deal with too.[/quote] +1 Incidentally I scrolled down their list of DB accessories and came across a ToneRite. In essence, it keeps a 'dormant' bass awake by putting a continuous vibration through it. I've never come across this before and the guys on the TB site aren't convinced either. Does anyone have any theories/experience?

[quote name='BassBus' post='1176874' date='Mar 26 2011, 08:07 AM']Oh no!!! All this is too risky. Take it to a luthier. He/she can take the face off and clean the inside out for you. Then you don't risk damaging the instrument yourself. [/quote] I don't think so.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1175981' date='Mar 25 2011, 02:44 PM']How about one of [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/pick-up-tool-10318"]these[/url]?[/quote] That's what I meant in my post Mr B. Thanks for the pic.

I like the sticky on the end of a stick method. Anything bigger you could try the three pointed grab thingy that motor mechanics use to fish nuts washers etc out of inaccessible places. Or you could carefully turn the bass, table down and give it a shake. I've done it once or twice but never felt completely comfortable.

Most of the above; not an allen key as I wouldn't need one (being a double bass player). But one very useful piece of kit is a 100mm length of welding rod with a hook formed at one end. This makes changing strings much easier.

A lot of the time, rigging for a mic can be a right pain and I go for a plug in and play option with a pickup. But just occasionally when all goes well a DPA can give you a wow moment and you get the most amazing sound. So I wait for a gig in a largish room with a sizeable stage and look forward to taking the mic along. I always have some backline coming off an Underwood to give some bottom and bite on the stage. If there's no front of house available I'll use my QSC powered speaker on a pole. So my advice is, for the best sound consider a mic - but don't expect to use it all the time. Incidentally I have, ahem, a few basses and I'm finding that even with the same pickup and amp each one works best with its own preferred speaker(s), be it 1x10, 2x10, 1x12 or even 10+12. Factor in the room acoustics and you'll find that it's difficult to make any one definitive recomendation.

[quote name='endorka' post='1171624' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:00 AM']This sometimes happens to me as well. If the music suits the DB better, I try to persuade whoever is organising the gig that myself and the double bass don't take up more room than the bass guitar. This is especially true if the gig is unamplified, in which case I take just a little bit more room than someone sitting on a chair. They tend not to believe me until they see this! Jennifer[/quote] I seem to suffer the opposite experience: a few times I've been booked to do a house patyy, or somewhere where space is very limited and/or the DB could suffer potential damage. I've chosen the go with an EUB only to be told by the fixer that the client specifically has asked for a double bass. So some time ago I sold a very nice Steinberger.