thumperbob 2002

Actually I think that most musicians, if they have started on a chordal instrument- guitar, piano etc, will have learned a lot of songs from chord charts, but someone starting on bass, with a good ear and no interest in learning any theory could easily not need this information. If you have been doing well for 15 years pal you obviously have a good ear and may not need any other help to learn songs etc. Good on you Pal.

[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1328782241' post='1532467'] Ok, I'm gonna stick my neck out in good faith... what exactly is a chord chart?! I'm entirely self-taught, electively nil-by-theory and play completely by ear, so maybe it's not surprising that the first time I encountered the term was when I joined BC, but to this day I still don't know what it is that I'm missing, how one would use such a thing, or why it'd be a source of such ire to other musicians if I failed to provide one! When I try to employ Google, I get pictures of either guitar chord 'boxes' or just the note positions on pictues of a fretboard, neither of which help much. I'm guessing that I'll never find a use for one given that I haven't needed one in the last 15 years, but I'm still genuinely intetrested if anyone can enlighten me... [/quote] Wow!! Good answer there

Just be cool and enjoy yourself- give yourself the mindset that you are auditioning them, not the other way round. Make sure you know the songs better than they do. Be prepared to make a hasty excuse and leave immediately if they are a bunch of numpties ( happened to me more than once- always got my wife to call after an hour with some excuse for me to leave- she knew I would ignore the call if they were OK )

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1328606708' post='1529717'] No it doesn't. You either don't have a back problem or are lucky enough to be able to 'sort' yours with a wide strap. If I wear a bass that is over 9lbs for more than an hour I pay dearly for it the next day. I have a wide leather strap and a Comfort Strapppp, both wide. Yes it helps, a bit, but it doesn't 'sort' it. For gigs if my back is playing up I select one of my 7-8lb basses, if it is ok the I go for either my Fender Power Jazz Special, which is just under 9lbs, or my pimped Westone Thunder Jet, which is 8 and a bit lbs. For rehearsals I generally go sub-8lbs. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world. [/quote] I understand what you mean pal- I have had a bad back ( but only a pinched nerve which lasted a few months )- obviously for any serious problem any weight will make this worse. But for most of us without real long lasting back problems- a wide strap and good posture will sort the discomfort of a heavy instrument- I have found that if I stand straight and do not look at my instrument but at the crowd ( which is more interesting anyway ) I feel fine- even after a long gig.

I tend to only change basses ( from Low End Jazz 5 to Fender Jazz 4 ) if i am getting so bored with the set I need something else to make it more interesting. I use a sub octave effect for that low Eb with the 4. The Warwick Thumb stays at home which is a real shame but now they are £3500 new no point gigging with it as the other basses do Soul / Funk / Motown so well. A wide strap will sort any heavy bass.

I have both 2 x 12 and 2 x 15 Schroeder cabs. Very light, ridiculously loud and cut through like nothing else. Sound crap at low volumes.

Buy a line 6 bass pod- you`ll get one for under £100- best tone tool I ever bought!! Every sound you want is there- only takes the time to learn it.

How about this classic- Louis Johnson on bass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrqOG9U6VyU

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1327570291' post='1513388'] That was a Friday, as I played there the night after, Sat 13 June 1987. Was my first gig with my then band, The Shout. [/quote] Bloody hell- I was probably there- I have seen a book on the Adelphi with some posters and my band are in there supporting the Happy Mondays and the Farm ( both pretty bad at the time )

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1327496749' post='1512257'] Dat wus our Sonia dat like. Straight outta Anfield. [/quote] Thats the one!! Quite lovely in a bit of a rough way.

Talking about the Adelphi- this is me playing the bass in 1987 there. What a dancer!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjJ_j2NNy28 Them were the days.

I am in a 7 piece soul band- doing all the standards etc- currently working on breaking down the walls of heartbreak- the bandwagon version. Brilliant song with a fantastic feel- the bass is quite busy- with some chromatic runs and the timing of the bass lines is a little odd. To get the real feel of the song I think that working out and playing the exact bass line is the way to go. With something like this song where the bass is not that clear this can be challenging so obviously will take some time. I think the audience, whilst they wont really understand if the bass in correct or not, will get the feel of the song by staying to the original as much as poss.

Played with loads of celebs- normally on the same bill. Freddy Starr was quite odd and the Chuckle brothers a bit creepy- I do remember a red haired girl in Liverpool dancing madly only to realize it was that scott aitken and waterman chick with the massive cheeks-( cant remember her name but she was very nice ) Met the queen and had a lovely chat ( another story )

Welcome pal- I am from Hessle- born and bred on Hessle Road!! Play in a band called Soul Patrol- we have two residencies- Fusion Bar on Wednesday Market in Beverley on the last friday of the month and Fusion Bar Cottingham Road on the first Friday of the month. I used to play fretless many moons ago- there is a dedicated double bass forum on this site pal- loads of info there.

One year I had three summer seasons- 31 gigs each venue- Sunday Skegness, Tuesday Ayr in Scotland, Thursday Bognor Regis, all driven there and back from Hull- never stayed over, unless we had a gig nearby. All for one 45 min spot at each venue.

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1327055335' post='1505643'] Tis True, Youtube is full to the brim with bass lesson. i.e. Marlow DK is a top guy (sure he will have been mentioned) No need to sit in front of someone to learn to slap. We are so fortunate in these modern times! I am sure the more 'experienced (time!) can tell you that once upon a time, there was nothing but your vinyl albums and cassette recorders to learn from. I recall my ' bedroom days' when my amplifier was a wardrobe that was scratched to bits from my bass headstock pushed up against it, using it for its natural vibrational enhancements, Those were the days.....................not! [/quote] Yep- how times have changes- so so so much easier to find out exactly how to do things nowadays- for more or less everything. Cant be improving peoples ear training though.

My last post was a little negative- Slap is another skill on the bass that is worthwhile learning I think. Get the groove workshop DVD by Victor Wooten- worth it for the price of a couple of lessons.

Theres a million youtube vids on how to play slap- should`nt cost you a penny. I only took lessons for revisiting my reading skills so didnt need a bass specialist teacher. Slap is mainly just practice and other than impressing musos in the audience is not really that useful.

This place -and the Duke of Cumberland is literally 2 mins from my house- got two wedding booked to do this year. Thanks pal for the heads up.

Play lots of places in hull- which hotel was it? Would like to be prepared!!

True, friends are more important than music- but surely he will see that the band is important too and if he really wants to play he will either improve or quit. Been in lots of bands - some with pretty ropey drummers and for a bass player there is nothing worse. Seems like this fitness lark is more important to him......go figure!!

The housemartins and beatiful south all had equal royalties ( may be not credited but all share the same £% ) I believe which I think is very generous of Rotheray / Heaton. That was one band not bothered at all about money and quite refreshing to hear.

[quote name='Jigster' timestamp='1326471513' post='1497725'] always curious about how much extraneous string noise/scratching cuts through in all this - like super new rounds for example... [/quote] not much-if any at all depending upon your cab / amp / pa.Guitar, cymbals, keys all in those frequencies.