lowdowner

"ba ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba.........." oh yeah, i remember that one - really good!

My dogs - nothing else, absolutely nothing else

Oh, and in the second octave the notes are very, very, tightly packed - it sounds obvious, but it takes a while to get used to! Fretless will improve your 'ear' like nothing else

[indent=1]You'll get used to 'finding' the notes on a fretless but the best advice I had from my teacher is to think about what a fretless does that a fretted can't and take advantage of it - otherwise you might as well have a fretted. For example, you can 'slide' into notes, have a real vibrato from very slight to great big 'sweeps'. harmonics sound very different... in all, experiment with the unique sounds you can get from it rather than thinking of it as a fretted guitar with the frets removed (if you know what I mean)[/indent]

Stunning! It's the first bass I ever played, and still the only one I play (despite owning others in the meantime). Yours is a little darker than mine - I have a slightly reddish tone to the wood.

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1379130123' post='2209011'] I wouldn't be able to shut up about a new bass. I think everybody is in agreement that we don't or certainly shouldn't hide things like this from our other halves. The way I see it as long as you have enough money to live at the end of it spend as much as you see fit [/quote] this is just like me - 'look, new bass, new bass!!' <jumping around like an excited puppy> 'LOOK - NEW BASS!'... only to be deflated by a 'and how, precisely, is that any better than the ones you already have?'

I was watching Jules Holland earlier in the week and Kings of Leon were on promoting their new single 'Supersoaker'. I'm not really a KoL fan, but am I the only one to think that the bass line was kinda groovy? It may make me go and listen to more of their stuff - any other KoL bass lines I should check out?

[quote name='JamesFlashG' timestamp='1374176739' post='2146204'] Ahh that makes sense thanks! So mine is August 2010 theplace I bought it from sold it to me as new but maybe its not since is been a few years since its was crafted, although could be as it came in original warwick packaging and with all the warwick stuff. Seen a few of these in this topic already but another won't hurt love this bass. [/quote] Beautiful - just like mine. It's good to see another Thumb 4 B.O. on this thread. For me, they're the DB's

Bought my Vigier from Mark at Bass Direct. He also tweaked my Thumb. Oh, and i bought my Genz Benz amp and cabs from there too. Oh, and my stageclix, erm and... well, you get the picture - recommended, but take a fat wallet if you can!

Brilliant, brilliant idea. A set is on its way

[quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1371414879' post='2113703'] Most Definately not to do with my upbringing. There was little musical consistency to my childhood, there were moment of brilliance drowned out by masses of what can only be described as torture. Beatles, beach boys, deep purple, and bob Marley drowned out my the likes of the carpenters it s a wonder I made it through!!!! I too started on a 6 string and loved it for a time, but it never quite clicked (possibly attributed to to my lack of patience and short attention span) but always liked what flea and cliff burton did. Then when I was about 20, I went on tour with "the Dixie chicks" as a lighting tech, and that's when it changed. I can still remember sitting side of stage at the dimmer racks and watching Jerry Flowers (also played for the ranch and Keith urban for your country boys n girls) absolutely grooving along on bass, and looking f#€@ing cool doing it. I got back off tour and went to to local music shop and bought my first 4 string. Enough said. Occasionally I start to think about what it would be like to be a lead guitarist or a singer, and have people actually take notice of what I do, but deep down I know where I want to be.... Deep in the pocket, locked in with the drummer and making the room shake with the low end! [/quote] Wow - great story... great stuff

Some seriously deep and personal thoughts coming out here - great Spacechick - oboe to bass eh? For me it was flute to bass... weird path to bass playing huh?

My Genz Benz went awry about 2 weeks ago... the lights all started flashing (all the leds!) and no sound came out. I contacted Bass Direct where I bought it from and Mark arranged with Fender to pick up the amp by courier. It was fixed in a couple of days (the power supply had turned out to be faulty) and a courier dropped it off to me a day later. Great service. The amp was about a year old so it was in warranty, but all the same, very pleased Just so you know. Bass Direct and Fender rock

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1371413687' post='2113664'] I've always loved music and wanted to make it, though I was not fortunate enough to have the chance to play anything until I could afford it through working , but I've always picked out baselines in music, and it felt the natural instrument to want to buy, that's why I'm a bass player. [/quote] Yup - i'm with you on this one. I suspect the majority of people pick out the melody, or the drum beat, but it's only us slightly weird people who pick out the baseline...

so you're a 'born bassist'? Do you ever think about playing anything else?

It's sunday evening and I've embided a fair amount of 'medicine', but I've been wondering... Does anyone else feel that you may have been born (or raised, or whatever the correct 'nurture vs. nature' term might be) to play bass, or a bass-type instrument? I was wondering if people become attuned to particular types of musical instrument for some reason whilst they are forming e.g. to be attuned to rhythm and bass, or melody, or choral, or whatever? Do you feel that when you found your 'inner bass player' you'd come home in some way, or even that you don't yet think you've found what you're looking for? Were you born to be a bassist?

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1371411279' post='2113590'] How much you have to learn ... [/quote] having read the entire thread I can see you are not being entirely serious... My original suggestion therefore stands... :0

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1371411279' post='2113590'] How much you have to learn ... [/quote] go on.. enlighten me

Weird question. Step on bathroom scales without bass, record weight. Step on *with* bass, record weight. Subtract former from latter and ta-da!

Have played bass for our covers band for some of Bonnie's tracks - great fun and great tracks

1) I used to walk past a guitar shop on Denmark street as a kid and look in the window and thought the bass guitars were the coolest thing I'd ever seen 2) I learnt 'normal' guitar and always wanted it to 'groove' but all I got was a fiddly melody! It took me a while to work out that the bass gave all the groove and put 2 and 2 together 3) I like that I can be the 'quiet' member of a group ego-wise, but without the bass you don't have jack Actually I have many more than 3 points, but those are probably the top reasons for taking it up...

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1370078312' post='2096228'] +1 The first Mrs G laughed at my playing and told me I was useless at it. I stopped playing for our 24 year marriage. Then as the 2nd Mrs G was a keys player I picked it up again and I'm getting better than ever thanks to her support and encouragement. [/quote] That's pretty shocking on so many levels - must be really gutting for your partner to tell you that you're bad. For me, that would be grounds for a serious heart to heart about how 'supportive' we were of each other in an already tough life (whilst secretly making me wonder if we'd both made the right choice in partner)!

Oh, and the other thing is that as a beginner who doesn't know about basses, buying an 'expensive' bass like the Warwick gives me confidence I'm not wasting money on a dud (without experience how do you know except that other bass players are willing to part with serious wonga to buy one)? After a few years I know Ibanez are decent and well worth the money, but I'm more confident now. Coming from an orchestral instrument world where 4-5K isn't expensive, what I paid for my Thumb seemed a bargain. If I were starting out again today I may well go down the Ibanez route

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1368201240' post='2074437'] it's the law of diminishing returns, plus everybody likes to think they've got a bargain [/quote] Definitely true. For each little extra bit of quality/finish materials you pay a lot more. In the end, it's only the 'feel' of the thing that appears to be different and that's subjective. I ilke my Thumb's wood and grain, and the way it is shaped, and I know the wood and construction are expensive things to pay for. To me it's worth it. Mind you, if I owned an Ibanez I think i'd like that too - I seriously looked at one a few months ago as a 'gigging' bass and was sorely tempted. Nice bass, and definitely could make me happy

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1363193985' post='2009572'] Lotto results , John Prescott and cage fighting then - not looking good to be honest , chief ! [/quote] Yes, and on another thread I think you admitted to preferring a vodka tonic with lime and ice (the latter two items gives the game away). Exclusion time methinks