Alun

Hee hee, my suggestion for a very short reply would be.... "Hi, thanks for the email. I'm guessing from your comments that you may yourself be a musician? If so, we had a gig you didn't ner ner" Mature aren't I?

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='70645' date='Oct 7 2007, 02:46 PM']P.S. will there be christmas songs on your myspace this year Alun???[/quote] Probably Will have to start thinking about what to do this year! Cheers, Alun

My answer would vary depending on what I'm playing - for walking bass lines I often only use one finger and add a second in for skips, etc. For most soloing and groove playing I use two and occasionally my thumb and/or third finger. For chordal stuff I mainly use thumb & three fingers with the (very) occasional fourth finger. I prefer the sound of one as you don't get the inconsistent tone of using more, but it's not practical over certain tempos. Cheers, Alun

Started on bass guitar nearly 19 years ago ( AAAARGH!) and have no intention of stopping now. I have never allowed myself to think what I can realistically play or achieve, so keep trying to learn new things and be more competent at the stuff I already do. Yes, I'm an anorak! Just started learning upright bass too. Have played guitar ( a Yamaha FG acoustic and a cheap crappy Action ( think Aria made them) Strat copy) for about 17 years and am at a reasonably gigabble level. Dabble with keyboard ( I know where the notes are and assorted chords but have no co-ordination!), ukulele and assorted percussion and can JUST about keep a pulse going on drums ) no chance of a solo though). Own some penny whistles but have no idea what I'm doing with them past Three Blind Mice. Cheers, Alun

The Boss SYB3 could get you quite close, but the tracking can be "challenging" sometimes. Cheers, Alun

Same as most people by the looks of it - gigbag when it's going in the car (about 95% of the time these days), Hiscox case for vans, etc Cheers, Alun

[quote name='Machines' post='67491' date='Sep 29 2007, 08:22 PM']I must have missed you then ! I saw Gary there..[/quote] Ah I guess so. Yeah, I saw Gary, Gizmo ( not sure if he still posts here) and Pris who's involved with BassDay UK. Will have to come back up to PMT and have another play about - so many toys in that shop!

[quote name='Machines' post='67431' date='Sep 29 2007, 05:56 PM']Probably a Bullet Special 6 - looked like this pretty much ? (I've played it too). [/quote] Yeah, could well be - was a lighter wood body IIRC. Was a while back, whenever the Marcus Miller clinic was. Cheers, Alun

I played a Sandberg six string ( can't remember the model sorry!) in PMT in Birmingham and it was wonderful. Really easy to play and a good range of sounds. In fact I would say it was comparable to the Shuker I've tried but about a third less price wise. Cheers, Alun

Yes, it's a good programme, it was originally shown quite a while back. I'm fairly sure it's out on DVD too. Cheers, Alun

[quote name='99ster' post='64076' date='Sep 22 2007, 04:22 PM']Nice one Thumbo. Let's all spread the word so these cowboys don't get any business from anyone.[/quote] That's a bit harsh isn't it?

Oh dear. This would be a quicker way... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU2CebfXM2s&NR=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU2CebfXM2s&NR=1[/url]

He's doing Bassday UK in Manchester in November, and does gig pretty regularly with various line ups around the London area. I may be speaking to him in the next few days, if so I'll see if he's doing anything near Chelmsford in the near future. Cheers, Alun

My worst string breaking experience was three in one set (luckily on a six string) a few years ago - first the G, then the A and finally the C. I was very bored in that band as we'd be playing the same set for ages so decided to just play the stuff on the remaining strings s, I usually take a back up bass ( if only the Ashbory) but don't often need it. For some gigs I may have a fretless anyway so that becomes the back up if my fretted dies. Cheers Alun

Yeah, that was basically it. In fairness, I also had a very sensible polite PM from him explaining the reasons behind some of my misgivings with the PJB gear at the Chuck Rainey clinic in Exeter. Speak as you find, etc - despite some of his less diplomatic outbursts, he was fine with me. Cheers, Alun

I'm pretty sure Elites do C strings as flats Cheers, Alun

Light gauge strings and a low action will make it easier but I'd really recommend putting the time in on your regular bass as you may find that the low action/light gauge approach won't be any good for regular bass playing. Some people are happy having different basses for different techniques, but I've always wanted to be able to incorporate techniques with my regular playing, even if it makes it harder initially. Cheers, Alun

I'm going to have to miss Reggie Hamilton alas ( isn't it actually a Greg Koch guitar clinic though? The advertising seemed to suggest that Reggie and Tom Brechterlin (spelling??) were his band rather than it being a bass clinic as such), but will have to see if I can get there for Willis. Incidentally, Mansons are a wonderful shop - buy things from them Cheers, Alun

James Jamerson and Carol Kaye - there's a lot going on in those Motown and Beach Boys arrangements Cheers, Alun

Congratulations - they're great basses.

I don't think I can really add anything to what Dave and others have said above - some in time swinging walking and maybe a brief melodic solo should do it - basically something which will make people think "yes, I'd like to hear this bass playing in my band". Hope it goes well. Cheers, Alun

OK, move any children, pets or the easily nauseated away from the screen..... With a local Latin band and my cheapy Squier VM Jazz.. With Laurence Cottle on trombone and my Cort...

Crafters are meant to be quite nice and I [i]think[/i] they're in that price range.

I found it fine ( much better than expected) at medium levels, haven't tried it at loud rock gig levels

Hi John, thank for the interest.. <brief off topic tangent> As far as I know ( although I haven't seen Jon for a couple of weeks so it may be further down the line now), there was a teeny bit of tweaking left to do on the mastering and then it'll be ready for production. I did most of the bass parts 2 1/2 years ago so it'll be nice to finally have it see the light of day Not sure on gigs at the mo as everyone's commitments are a bit mad ( Gavin's on tour with Fish and Mostly autumn, Anne's really busy, I'm pretty busy) but I want to get out and play ASAP so fingers crossed </brief off topic tangent> Anyway,back on topic I think I've read that there is video footage in existence but have yet to find a copy. Hopefully someone here will have succeeded Cheers, Alun