Triumph_Rock

Fired up my Ashdown CTM 30 Little Stubby tonight, for the first time, boy can this thing go loud! And the tones out of it!! Amazing. I could even feel the bass when I turned the bass dial up! Grin factor  I've had it nowhere near full volume or full drive ( gain ) !!

Well I've just joined the valve world, with the Ashdown CTM 30 Little Stubby! 

So I decided, I wanted to try an all valve amp, so I got an Ashdown CTM 30 Little Stubby. To match the old school sound and theme I got an Ashdown ABM 115 Compact to match it, the 115 compact doesn't have a tweeter, so should rock the old school sound well!

Thanks for the replies fellas, indeed I was talking about the cab, as mentioned by fleabag. I went through with the purchase yesterday. As its in the same town as me, and in very good condition.

I didn't even realise there was an amp by the same name aswell! 

Its design in UK and made in P.R.C. I think the one local to me, is about 10 years old, and it doesn't have tweeter. I would pair it with an all valve head.

So nobody is still using these? Or remember what it was like when they had one?

Hi guys,

What do we all think of the older Ashdown ABM 115 Compact 500 Watt? Is it reliable? Sound good? What sort of sound does it put out? How much would you pay for one? Anyone put an all valve head through one?

Cheers

David

I could potentially be interested in this, pm sent.

2 hours ago, chris7273 said:

very nice bass, will be good for Duff bass lines 🙂

Yes indeed, it has huge tonal variations. My Vox Amplug2 bass headphone amp arrived today, which I wasn't expecting much from, but that has really impressed me, I like the drum/rhyme machine on it. So now I can practice my bass anywhere in the house without bugging everyone

7 hours ago, Doddy said:

This is all cool, but the question was how to memorise a song.  If the OP would have asked about learning, I know that I would have given a different answer. 

The OP says that he's got a tutor, in which case I would assume that he is learning things like learning the notes, reading, scales, chord tones, etc.  I always recommend to my students that as well as practicing the lesson material, they should take some time to try and learn some songs too.

Yes, I've been taught scales. I was also asked to draw the neck and placement of the notes. I've already memorised the fretboard down to the 5th fret, including sharps and flats. 

My tutor accompanies me on guitar, playing the corresponding chords to what I'm playing, so that I can hear the chords, the relationship between the bass guitar and guitar tonally and keeping time with another instrument.

3 hours ago, lozkerr said:

If you've gone in that time from complete n00b to learning songs and, crucially, being self-critical about it, you've done very, very well. Big-up rispek, and I hope you really enjoy your journey. You'll get a lot of satisfaction out of discovering what you can achieve on the bass.

Thanks, I'm not at the full tempo of Sweet Child of Mine as played GnR. My tutor at the moment is happy to let me choose to play the song as GnR did or to play root notes after the intro, without the fills. Its me picking the tough option. 

Well Corvid 19 second lockdown has put end to my bass lessons in person, hopefully he will do it over Skype.

I am very green to playing bass, I've only been learning seriously since July 23rd. I started learning on Jamplay, but started learning with my bass tutor on the 10th of October. My tutor is very happy with my progress. I'm sure he will teach me what has been mentioned by Dad3353 eventually. Every teacher has different ideas and approach to teaching, thats why I was told its best to find the teacher that suits an individual. One reason I picked mine, is because he walks the walk so to speak.

I asked this question here, to see if there is anything I hadn't of thought of to try, and to see if some of my ideas are good ones or not. And I have got a wonderfully diverse collection of answers.

2 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

I must say that I'm not overly impressed by the tutoring you're receiving, to judge by the dialogue above... Playing tunes and songs is fine, and is, indeed, the End Game, but learning to play a musical instrument (any musical instrument...) should, in my view, imply somewhere learning Music. All those frets, strings, numbers and patterns are crutches. Useful, when one is disabled, but not an ideal means of locomotion. It may be helpful to start thinking of the bass as a means of playing notes, rather than patterns. Learn where the notes are (yes, where's the 'E'..? then the 'F' etc..). Name and play those notes on each string. Learn and listen to Intervals (start with the easy ones: thirds, fifths...), and play them on each string, from each starting note. Learn and play chord notes... All of this, and much more, will make progress much, much faster. Keep playing tunes and songs, but start with very, very simple ones, and name each and every note as you're playing them. The fastest way to learn how to play is to do it all very slowly, moving on only once each step is taken. I would have thought that most good tutors did things this way. Bert Weedon had it right. 

I haven't said anything at all about my bass tutor on this thread. He's a nice guy, and I'm sure if I ask, or if he see's I'm suffering he will teach me what is required, he is extremely knowledgable. But he is very very busy, and out of lessons hard to contact. As he is in an internationally famous metalcore band.

40 minutes ago, Judo Chop said:

Audacity is free and you can import an MP3 into that and adjust the tempo however you like.

 

Thanks, thats just what I needed!

Thanks for the great hints and tips guys, they are really helpful.

The issue I'm having, is not being dependant on the tab, and completely memorising the song to memory, and then playing it through with out making any mistakes.

I think the route for me to go down, is not to learn via tab, which isn't normally 100% correct anyway. So I think the route for me is to learn via ear. Being very green to learning bass, this may be a hard skill to pick up in the beginning, but I imagine will pay for itself in the future.

So I think I might try and find some audio software for my laptop, which can alter the tempo of the song to slow it down, and maybe if possible isolate the bass line. Anybody know any good software for this?

Thanks again for all the replies. It is slowly getting there. 

9 minutes ago, steantval said:

The toughest bit is not the main part of that song, it’s the bass fill/solo right at the song intro, getting all the right notes in the correct order.

Now see I've got the intro down, it's the rest of the song I'm struggling with. I would be the opposite to everybody else 😄 

Thanks for the fantastic ideas, will start to experiment. 

The song my tutor has me learning is Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N Roses. Which I think is mainly played in D, C, G chords. 

Have to say, finished reading the book tonight, was a fantastic read. Had me smiling and laughing, picked up plenty of tips.

Hi Everyone,

Is there a trick or technique for learning a bass line of a song ?

I'm trying hard to learn the bass line for my first hard rock song, but am struggling to memorise it from the tab, listening to the song and reading the lyrics?

Interested to hear all your thoughts?

Deep Purple - Man Alive

Just read the sample on Amazon. Enjoyed it so purchased the book, perfect company with a beer on this wet and windy night !