bass_dude

Will take a look - thanks

Hi all, I am looking for a cheap-ish French Bow. Not looking to join an orchestra with it or anything, just want to be able to use the bow for practising and improving my intonation. I saw this on Ebay: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DOUBLE-BASS-BOW-New-High-Quality-3-4-FAST-DELIVERY-/270778045194?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Sting_Instruments&hash=item3f0ba1130a"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DOUBLE-BASS-BOW-New-High-Quality-3-4-FAST-DELIVERY-/270778045194?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Sting_Instruments&hash=item3f0ba1130a[/url] I'm sure the "get what you pay for" rule will apply here but just wondering if anyone has tried one of these and has any good/bad reports about it? Thanks, Richard

Yeah - I've got a teacher and I have got some exercises to practice from the Rufus Reid book but as my lessons have been a few weeks apart so far, I thought I might assign myself some new exercises to do in the mean time. Thanks for the tip about the organ drones - haven't tried that yet and could do with a reference point when practising scales. Richard

I recently got The Evolving Bassist and Ray Brown's Bass Method after being recommended them by some fellow basschat members. The Evolving Bassist and Ray Brown's Bass Method both seem to be very good. For anyone who has these books, I'd be interested in hearing how you structure your practice sessions with them? Both concentrate heavily on scales and arpegios in every key. Getting through even a page of them can be quite time consuming. Is it best to work through them page by page or dip in to various exercises throughout the books? Do you mix exercises from these books with playing some songs on bass to keep things interesting? I'm interested to hear how people make most effective use of their bass practice time. Richard

I think it is just setup of bridge rather than choice of strings. So hopefully by letting them know I'll be playing jazz they'll set it up in a suitable way...

Hi all, I've ordered a double bass from Thomann and they have contacted me to ask how I would like it to be setup. I am interested in playing jazz on the double bass but being new to the instrument, I am not sure of what to ask for setup-wise apart from "set it up for jazz please". I understand that everyone has their individual preferences for set ups but are there any recommendations for things to specifically ask for that generally seem to work well for playing jazz or even just something that would be reasonably workable for a beginner on double bass? Thanks, Richard

Thanks for all your replies - will check out those book suggestions. Looks like Rufus Reid's book is a popular choice. Richard

Hi all, I've just taken up double bass and had my first lesson recently. To supplement my bass lessons I would like to get some books which have good exercises / advice on technique. I will be asking my tutor about books as well but am interested to put the question out there on this forum to find out if there are any books in particular which people have found useful in their aim to learn / improve on double bass? Thanks, Richard

Thanks for the replies so far - all looks like good information. Will have a look at the "For Sale" forum.

Hi all, I recently decided to take up double bass having played electric bass for a long time and have been looking around with a view to buying a double bass suited to beginners. Having looked through this forum I gather that it can be a bit of a minefield choosing a double bass especially in the sub £1000 range? I intend to take lessons and eventually gig with whatever bass I buy - most likely playing jazz standards. I am looking for an entry level double bass which will give a decent sound, have decent build quality and not cost a fortune. Is there anyone out there who has any recommendations? I've seen the Antoni Debut 3/4 bass which costs £599 but the shop that is selling it does a rental scheme so I could try it for a few months before deciding to buy it outright. Does anyone know if this bass is any good? Also I've seen the name Thomann come up on this forum a few times - any recommendations on Thomann bases? Any recommendations on this would be much appreciated! Cheers!

Hi all, I recently found this forum whilst doing some searching for information on double basses and so far it looks like a great place for information on everything bass related. I've been playing electric bass for the best part of 20 years - I have a couple of Fender Jazzes - 5 string / 4 string and a Rickenbacker 4003. I gig regularly around Scotland in a function band - my bass of choice for that is usually the 5 string Jazz. Recently I decided I would like to branch out and try double bass (to play jazz) so I am currently looking around for something which is fairly decent for an entry level double bass which doesn't break the bank (does such a thing exist?) - so any advice on that would be greatly appreciated. In the mean time I'll have a look in the double bass forum... Cheers!