oggiesnr

A word of caution from the other side. If you are selling, and it is being collected, DO NOT accept Paypal, insist on cash. Reason is, they take your goods, then complain to Paypal that there is a problem (or even that they have not got them), Paypal stop the payment from your account and you are going to get your goods back how? Steve

Have a few lessons with an experienced teacher (not just a mate who plays bass) and concentrate on developing a solid technique that works for you. From there on in it's a question of moving steadily forward working on what you need for the music you want to play. Steve

Second one makes me wonder whether the wood was too green when it was made and it's just going to continue cracking as it dries out. Wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Steve

There's always one of these [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_synth_drum.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_synth_drum.htm[/url] I've a friend with the Yamaha version (four times the price) and it sounds dam good (but they're a good drummer). You good always get a keyboard to play the GM drumkits on their synths. Steve

Which variety of elctric mando? If it's a four or eight string mandocaster/solid then it's straight into a guitar amp, no prob. If it's a hollow body then you can get feedback problems. Steve

Having been playing around on the DB for last three weeks I've now had my first lesson with Lisa Featherston. I was worried that I'd have picked up lots of bad habits but apparently not, phew Really good hour where she checked out my technique and gave me some more pointers and we talked about what I was wanting to play and what I was looking for. Highly reccomended, if you're in or around Hull details are here [url="http://www.musicteachers.co.uk/teacher/7a3500f48c64c712719c"]http://www.musicteachers.co.uk/teacher/7a3500f48c64c712719c[/url] Steve

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1333373242' post='1600696'] By suggesting that songs would sound different with another band he is implicitly acknowledging that you have a creative input, if there is even a sniff of a prospect that there will be any revenue from your efforts GET IT IN WRITING!!!! Some of the best 'friends' in the music biz have been brought to deep hatred stakes over this sort of disagreement. get it n writing, agree the terms, get it in writing, and finally get it in writing. If there is no prospect of revenue then I suggest you just continue to have fun! [/quote] +1 It may not seem important now but if one of the band's songs were to be covered etc etc then it could become a major financial issue. It also protects you if rather than supplying arrangements and ideas you happen to write the words and tune of a song that gets to be a hit. Steve PS If you are writing material there is always a chance of the prospect of revenue

The man who defined the sound of the modern 5-string banjo, Earl Scruggs, has died. He was one of the very few musicians who actually changed the way an instrument was played and heard. Good article (written before his death) here [url="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/01/steve-martin-earl-scruggs.html"]http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/01/steve-martin-earl-scruggs.html[/url] Steve PS Yes it is written by that Steve Martin, the comedian, he happens to be a very good banjo picker.

Glad you got the same level of service. Steve

The advice I was given was not to worry about an expensive gig bag as they all seem to wear in the same places at roughly the same rate (may not be true for the really expensive ones) so I've spent £50 on a Hidersine from Alan Gregory and I'll see how it goes [url="http://www.alangregory.co.uk/music/Three_Quarter_Size_Double_Bass_Cases.html"]http://www.alangregory.co.uk/music/Three_Quarter_Size_Double_Bass_Cases.html[/url]. If I have to replace it every year then that's just part of the costs of a DB. Steve

Horses for courses and know you audience/venue. As an old folkie I probably know more questionable songs than most but there is a time and place to sing, for example, "Fields of Athenrey" and it's NOT in most pubs in Govan! I still have nightmares about a Paddy's Day gig where the audience split 50/50 Catholic/Protestant. Fortunately there was chicken wire across the front of the stage! Steve

I play acoustic pretty well all the time and agree that most acoustic basses aren't worth the effort, the bodies are too small and they have to be plugged in to be heard. The ones that are worth having are either too expensive and/or almost impossible to find at short notice. I play a Tacoma Thunderchief (no longer made as Fender bought and shut the factory), I've played a Fylde Falstaff (no longer made) and a Martin and a Guild which may be available but at a hell of a price. What's your drummer going to do? Unless they cut way back the whole thing is a hiding to nothing as they'll drown the lot of you. Personally I would take your regular bass, a small amp and find a setting that sounds more natural than electric which probably means letting it ring more (don't clip) and more mid tones. Steve

Just had my bass checked over by Peter Hall in Beverley and I'm well impressed. He did a couple of odd jobs that needed doing, told me what might be coming down the road as I improved and would feel the benefit of then but don't need now (I'm a total newbie on DB), didn't try to a whole lot of make work and charged me a lot less than I expected. Added to that he's a nice guy who took the time to talk to me about what I wanted out of the bass and made me feel like a valued customer. Contact details are here [url="http://www.chapel-allerton.org.uk/pjh.html"]http://www.chapel-allerton.org.uk/pjh.html[/url] Steve

Between £200 and £500 will get you a smaller chinese made new instrument (Boorinwood, Parrott etc) or a slightly bigger secondhand one, if you strike lucky even an italian one. Question will be size. If he's going to be playing in odd keys then I'd go for a minimum 60 bass intrument. Likewise the number of voices (sets of reeds and therefore sound options) will affect the cost. Three or four voices would be a good starting point. Bear in mind that the more notes and basses the heavier the box and some of them are hefty beasts. There are some nice boxes on Ebay at the moment in that price range. As a rule I would by from a player trading up or destocking from AAD (Accordion Aquisition Disorder ) rather than the clearance, selling for a friend or "it was my late XXXX's hasn't been played for z years but.." brigade. Have fun Steve

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1332100185' post='1583328'] Piano, that's if I'm correctly understanding chromatic and diatonic to be references to button accordions? [/quote] Correct. Next question is what is your budget and what music are you trying to play? Also a warning - do not buy one of the cheap, 1930's to 1950's boxes that infest Ebay, unless you are very lucky they are pretty well unplayable. Steve

Piano, chromatic or diatonic? It makes a difference Steve

[quote name='Immo' timestamp='1332097150' post='1583238'] The perfect plan is to have a drummer/guitar playing girlfriend to jam with simply for fun. I like being a writer and I like to play bass for fun, honestly. [/quote] So part of your plan is to come up with a time and place to leave your current band! Good luck Steve

Been there, done that and got the hell out of Dodge, suggest you do the same. However I would also suggest that you sit down and take a long, hard look at what you want to do/be. There is a concept/tool used in consultancy (both business and personal) that is deceptively easy but quite hard to do properly. The short version is imagine three circles A,B and C. Circle is A is where you are now and you must be honest, it's the starting point and if you lie to yourself here then it don't work. Circle C is where you want to be, what your objectives are, again be honest. Circle B is the plan to get from A to C. The point being it's a plan to get to the objective you set out, not to get somewhere else, if it ends up at D then either you've not been honest or D is really where you want to be. Catch is that plans are specific so "I'm going to practice more bass" is not a plan, it's a hope, "I'm going to practice two hours a day" is not much better. "I'm going to practice from 6.30 to 8.30 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday" is a plan, it is specific and you can tell whether or not you've done it and how much you've fallen short if you have. Anyway, enough babble from me, I've got a bass to practice Steve

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1331743209' post='1578151'] If that's Nick's (2wheeler) old bass I doubt there's too much wrong with the setup, unless the bridge has moved in transit - it should be lined up with the notches in the f-holes. Could be that it would benefit from lower tension strings - my bass is pretty thumpy on the E but it was worse when I had evah mediums on it, they really strangled it. Bear in mind also that different string types have very different sustain qualities - quite deliberately. Do you know what it's currently strung with? [/quote] It is Nick's old one, there's not much wrong that I can see but he did suggest that I have it done, the finger board would probably benefit from a fettle. We don't know what the strings are (I think they were on when he got it). Steve

Thanks for the replies. At the moment the D and G strings sound well but the A and especialliy the E are a dull thud. I'll see what the set up guy reckons, it may be that a decent set up will help the sound. I take Zero9's point about technique, we'll see what happens. Steve

So my mate who's a singer got pee'd off with paying all those (sometimes unreliable) bozos behind her and invested in some professional backing tracks and a decent PA and lights. She now makes a lot more money and can have all the effects and sounds that she wants, all programmed by another mate with a keyboard and a PC. Downside of course is that the drummer, bassist, multi instrumentalist and guitarist are out of a job. I think there's a slippery slope between being a live, gigging band who can be spontaneous and go with the flow, and a singer backed by a file of noughts and ones. Steve

Mainly pizz, it's a border morris team we play for. Steve PS Bass safely collected!

As of tomorrow I will be be (hopefully) proud possessor of an Antoni 3/4, purchased from a fellow BCer. I currently play acoustic bass but need more unamplified oomph, hence the upright. The "band" I'm playing for has an ever changing line up but at it's best can consist of an accordion, two melodeons, a concertina, couple of whistles, couple of hand drums and a guitar, hence the need for oomph and as we play out doors amplification is not possible. So, I'm arranging to get the bass checked over/set up but I do know that new strings are on the agenda. Anyone got any suggestions? Many thanks Steve

I had a Selmer 60, then an HH and lastly an Orange 150w (I think) with a homemade cab with two 18 inchers in it. We were a covers band playing clubs up to 500 capacity and the backline went straight out. We had 100 watt Carlsboro mixer/amp for vocals and one drum channel but everything was backline online. We still got asked to turn it down! Last week a band turned up at the pub (250 capacity) next door with 4k of PA, you could hear them play (badly) half a mile away! Steve

Talk to your doctor or physio and follow their advice. The consequences of making a long term mess of this are horrid. Steve