colgraff

@Gaf, That is an awesome picture. I can also tell that she is either about to start gnawing on it or has just stopped! Cool stories, too. Especially love the crap in guitar one.

I was a huge IM fan in my youth and was impressed with how Mr Harris got away with recycling bass hooks. Example: Intro to The Clairvoyant is the intro to Number of the Beast played an octave lower and in reverse. N ot B intro is also used in Ancient Mariner an octave lower. Many, many other examples.

I'm a leftie but play rightie. As a rule, if it requires one hand (ahem) I'm a leftie but if it requires two hands (boastful ahem), I'm a rightie. So in cricket, I bowl left-handedly but bat right-right-handedly. In bass terms, I suspect that this is why I have never found complex fret work too tough, but superfast fingering or slap stuff is beyond me.

When I get bits like that, I click "other" and type "Grrr" in the box. It almost always works.

What are they narrow-minded about? Where do they live? Country fans in Bible Belt might be a teensy bit more narrow-minded about religion than a folk fan from Andover!

This is tricky. If you approach it from a purely musical point of view then he is being rude. If you approach it from a religious celebration perspective then you are being a bit precious given that the Lord is generally considered to take a more the merrier stance. Of course, the truth is probably somewhere in between.

I'm okay with dancing over the fretboard but speed is my problem. The little fills that make a tune but outfox me: slap bit in Carwash The last bit of the solo in Run to the Hills (around 2:53) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDd-GXkMrJs

I agree with everything said above and would add that AFTER seeking professional advice, are you getting enough exercise? In my early bass playing days, at a similar age to you, I was getting shoulder trouble and was advised to take up walking and jogging to improve my posture and then to join a gym to do back, thigh and shoulder exercises.

Simon and Garfunkel, Concert in Central Park from September 1981. I love this. They are both at the top of their game and it manages to be relaxing and upbeat at the same time. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=concert+in+central+park&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=89A3B620931FF6073D8089A3B620931FF6073D80

[size=4][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif]Everyone knows there are bass lines that are really impressive whether or not they are difficulot, but what about the ones that you dread playing but noone else can see the problem?[/font][/size] [size=4][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif]For me it is repetitive patterns that change one part, then change back. Notice me by New Model Army is a good example:[/font][/size] [size=4][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4ErZefDt44[/font][/size] [size=4][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif]Even playing it slower and without the harmonics and the super fast bit, I get tangled up. I think of it as a tongue twister on bass.[/font][/size] [size=4][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif]What do others find hard?[/font][/size]

Re Hero Worship and musical influence. I saw New Model Army, David Bowie and Metallica in their glory years and those events certainly shaped my desire to play and style of playing. Not least because all three were in relatively small venues, so I could get close to the bassists and watch them (Gail Ann Dorsey, I still love you!!!) while absorbing the band as a whole.

These were all my favourite bass lines at one time or another: Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes (just great fun) Hysteria - Muse (iconic) Naked in the Rain - RHCP (awesome mini solo) Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash (first distorted bass I heard)

My six year old, who has guitar lessons at school (and has his own guitar) is obsessed with my Dingwall and begs me to let him play with it. As he is my own flesh and blood, I love him unconditionally.....but it is my Dingwall and I am terrified! He is very careful with it, too but still. I wondered if other people suffer from this dilemma and if so, do you fancy posting posting pictures of your pride and joy (with a child attached!!!)?

PM'd

Picked up Aurora amp from Pete. Fair price, gear exactly as described and a nice guy.

I just bought an Overwater base from Gary. Great bass, great guy. Quick and easy purchase and a good man to do business with.

After faking his own death, Freddie Mercury became Freddie Starr.

IMO, most albums that were truly ground-breaking also age very badly because they inspired a legion of imitators which in turn stimulate creativity and innovation within their milieu. In turn, the original idea is refined, replicated and polished in a variety of ways; some better and some less good than the original.