P-T-P

There's no real cure for GAS but the best thing you can do is to FART (find a real treasure) as this will at least keep you satisfied for a while. It doesn't matter how much you love your current bass(es), there will always be something that catches your eye/ear which you weren't prepared for. When I got my DJ5 last year it was pretty much everything I had been searching for in a bass and kept me on the straight and narrow for a while, but I missed the searching for goodies and basses would appear which turned my head and even though I can't imagine I'll stray far from that DJ5, I'm now looking to see if something will better it.

I've just picked up a 6 string for a second attempt (the first failed onyl because the bass wasn't comfortable for me). The first 6 string I got I gigged with it immediately (was playing 4 strings primarily at the time, though had played 5ers for years previously). I think there's a perception that there's a difficulty curve from 4 to 5 to 6 but I don't believe that to be the case. Most of the playing techniques you'll use are the same across the three instruments. 6 string isn't more difficult, it's just different. There is a learning curve in terms of getting your fingers/pick/thumb used to finding the notes you have grown comfortable playing on your 4/5 string, but we're talking a matter of hours if you practive regularly not months. Yes there are new notes and arpeggios and scales and modes available to you with the extra string(s), but there's no law that says you have to know all of these on a 4 string bass before you're allowed out to play so why should it be different for 6ers? In terms of techniques, a six string does open up the possibility of new horizons in terms of chordal playing which are a lot more restricted on a 4 or 5, there's also the whole flamenco type approach which makes a lot more sense on a 6 string. It can be daunting when you pick up that 6 for the first time and you may even get frustrated because the extra strings will 'cause you to flub lines that you can play easily on whatever bass you were used to, but stick with it, slow your playing down a bit until you stop making the gaff and with a few hours of regular practice you'll be fine. Just remember, it's not harder, it's just different. Ultimately for me, what will determine whether I end up playing 5 or 6 (or more) string will be how comfortable I am physically with the size of the 6 and if I can find the time to learn and make use of the additional possibilites it offers. I don't think there's anything to be gained by the line of thinking which has a 6 string player being better than a 4 string player or the antithesis of that which sees 4 string players saying "Well if it was good enough for Jamerson..." when confronted withthe idea of a non-four string bass. Geddy Lee does amazing things with a 4 string bass playing in essentially the same genre as John Myung who does equally amazing things on a 6 string bass. Jamerson did ungodly things on a 4 string bass, but Anthony Jackson, who has taken much of his inspiration from Jamerson, does equally astonding things on a 6 string. It's all about what lets you express yourself best. If you can paint a beautiful picture using red, white and blue then more power to you; but if you get a hankering for a splash of green or gold, why restrict yourself when that palette is available? You might have more shades and colours to choose from, but it's all just paint in the end.

[quote name='obbm' post='62533' date='Sep 19 2007, 10:31 AM']Can anyone recommmend or not any particular wireless hardware. There seem to be a lot of systems out there now and trying to decide which one to go for could be a bit of a minefield.[/quote] db Technologies claim to have better bass response than others and of the two in-ear systems I tried, that is true, although the db unit was really old and didn't provide the cleanest sound. When the db finally gave up the ghost I switched to the T.Bone unit which our guitarist couldn't get on with and I think it's fantastic, best overall mix I've had since making the switch - signal was clean as a whistle and much more alive because of it and I didn't notice any major loss of bottom end. In fact, I kicked my octave on at for a bit of a mess around while guitarist was off on one his solos and the sound was massive. There are occasional one second or so dropouts, haven't worked out the cause of these yet, doesn't seem to be a volume peak issue, could be though as there is in-built protection of some kind. I'm sure it's something I'll get to the bottom of fairly quickly and if not it really is not the end of the world. For £160 I don't think you can go wrong really. Well you can go wrong if you don't get some decent phones to use I suppose!

I use IEMs. A bit strange at first but love them to bits right now. I currently am using a set of Shure E3c phones and one of these [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_tie16st_863mhz.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_tie16st_863mhz.htm[/url] I was previously using an old db Technologies wireless unit which died on me on Saturday night hence I used the spare T.Bone one. The db unit had slightly better low endresponse but the T.Bone is a far cleaner sound with a lot less compression hiss and I really liked it and for the cash I don't think you can go wrong. To feed it you'll either need a monitor mix tailored to you or a FOH mix going into a small (2 channel) mixer with the other channel being a feed from your bass. This would then go into the transmitter and away you go. It takes a bit of getting used to. You need to get a good seal when you put the phones in as that's key to good bass reproduction. I found the foam tips to be the most comfortable to wear, but they have very good sound isolation which can make conversation on stage a bit tricky and leave you feeling a bit odd when you finish a song to what seems like muted applause. A couple of ambient mics added to the monitor mix can help with this. I find that our dtummer's (un-nic'd) kit cuts through the isolation and/or bleeds just enough into his vocal mic that I hear him at a nice level. Similarly, so long as my amp is kicking out enough, I can feel it's presence through the floor and that makes the whole thing work. It took 5 gigs or so to be comfortable wearing them, 10 or so to get the mix working nicely for me and now, as I said, I wouldn't be without them and am considering investing in a high-end system and getting moulds made.

Which end of the bass is posing the problem? It's been a while since I first made the switch from 4 to 5, but at the time the problem was at both ends. Strings too close together at the bridge and neck to wide at the nut. I still have that issue with a lot of 5 strings but for my money, the Lakland 5 strings are the best fives for a four string player.

Top man. Bought his TRB-6 and he met me after the Police gig I'd been to in otder to drop it off. Can't fault him and would happily deal with again.

Go for a classic solid colour, one of the lesser seen Fender ones like Foam Green (not Surf Green), or Daphne Blue or Shell Pink (if you can stomach it). As an aside, if you e-mail Dan at Lakland and explain what you're planning to do but mention the problem of the colour coded headstock and losing the decal, he will likely offer to send you replacement decals, he did with me, although I didn't go through with a refinish in the end.

Saw them on the 5th at the NIA and thought they were great. I've been a fan of the band for a long time though so hearing the songs live for the first time was great. I was more impressed than I was expecting to be and thought the musicianship all round was excellent, Copeland in particular. It also seemed like Sting is enjoying being a bass player again. It was definitely a performance and not a recital though. There were a few (minor) flubs in places and on more than one or two songs they went off on new tangeants that occasionally made you wonder how they were going to get back into the song again, but get back in they did. Even though they've played pretty much the same set at most of the gigs on the tour I didn't feel like they were just going through the motions, there was an edginess and tension between the three of them (in a musical sense) which made it for me. Mix was great where I was sat, at least it was once they got a few numbers into it (guitar was too quiet early doors). It was funny watching Stewart Copeland during the more free-form parts of the set as his facial expressions made it look as though he was falling in and out of love with Sting depending on his like or dislike of whatever groove Sting was cooking up. Sting was a very good frontman, but more often than not I found myself watching (and listening most intently too) Copeland. We should all be allowed to play with as talented and uncliche a drummer as he is at some point during our bass playing lives. My guitarist buddy also was disappointed with Andy Summers, though personally I thought he was choice. I think he didn't play single thing that was obvious and that there was much humour in his solos. He's released 12 albums and toured consistently since the Police broke up so it isn't that he is out of practice. By all accounts he is a better guitarist now than he was when they broke up, though of course I suppose that's a subjective thing and I'm guessing that people being disappointed by his playing is a result of their preconceptions of how he would play rather than a lack of ability/preparedness on his part. I'm normally a hater of guitar solos but enjoyed watching and listening to his. I will grant that he did look like he was going to suffer a stroke all through the set.

Thanks peeps, quite liking the bag of washers idea as a short term solution until I decide if the bass is a total keeper or not.

When did MIJ jazzes, even if they are from the period when there was no US production, become worth nearly three times what I would expect the asking price to be? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Genuine-Fender-Fretless-Jazz-bass-in-white_W0QQitemZ290159934309QQihZ019QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Genuine-Fender-Fretl...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

Yup, bought it last week from a fellow basschatter.

My current charges... [attachment=2204:001.jpg] Pearl White Lakland DJ5 with tortoiseshell pickguard and retrofit Bartolini NTB pre-amp [attachment=2205:002.jpg] [attachment=2206:003.jpg] [attachment=2207:004.jpg] Yamaha TRB-6 [attachment=2208:005.jpg] Warwick Thumb Ltd. Edition Bleached Blonde 4 [attachment=2209:006.jpg] [attachment=2211:008.jpg] [attachment=2212:009.jpg] Colour is closer to this pic, but the others show the flames off better... [attachment=2210:007.jpg] Cort Elrick RB-5 [attachment=29942:RB5a.jpg] [attachment=29941:RB5b.jpg] [attachment=29940:RB5c.jpg]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='58133' date='Sep 10 2007, 12:28 PM']We're having this conversation in my band right now as our photo shoot is coming up next Sunday. We're a bit resistant to the idea of a uniform as such, whats important to us is that we're distinctive and memorable - our individual personalities will count most for that. But the girls all have such divergent dress senses that its hard not to look a little chaotic. For example, one of our singers likes her bangles and jangles, another is more urban chic and a third tends towards gamourous. Its hard to reconcile those tastes into a look as such. However, the Spice Girls did a pretty good job of it and I'm still trying to crack their formula. I think the lack of accessories helped a lot, they didn't generally wear patterns onstage and each of them chose a look that didn't overlap with any of the others. Of course, in some ways the singers are the easy bit. The musicians are a little harder because we are in more of a supportive role and so our personalities aren't so crucial. I completely agree about black and the backdrop - we've had this experience ourselves mainly because the lighting was rubbish at most of the venues. If you look at some of the Jools Holland HipHop/RnB DVD acts most of them are looking good wearing black. I suspect this is because the lighting in the studio was a lot better than we've had on stage. Wearing something lighter in tone definitely helps lift the band out of the background a little.[/quote] I think it worked for the Spice Girls because they had a hefty amount of marketing behind them to reinforce their individual appearances. Posh, ginger, Sporty etc. weren't nicknames the fans came up with, they were created in a boardroom somewhere and the girls were sensible enough to live up to the images. Individualism is great, however it can also come across as too eclectic to be memorable. On the other hand, uniform can be uninspiring and bland. That's why we've settled upon a colour theme of black and white. We wear pretty much whatever we like as long as there's the B&W colour theme strongly represented. I think that's probably the way I would go if I was in your situation, say to the girls they can wear what they like as long as there is a common colour thread weaving it's way into the mix. The rest of the band could then either reinforce the colours or contrast with them.

There's definitely something to be said for having stage clothes, even if that means you just waer a different shirt and jeans to the ones you turned up in. I think it is kinda ritualistic and gets your focus on the performance. My band has gone from black trews and tidy shirts (which mainly ended up being black) to suits and ties (looks good but hot under lights and I personally found it very uncomfortable) to our current black and white theme which is proving to be very simple to achieve and effective. If required we do the DJ and bow-tie thing but thankfully it isn't required that often, but even when itis, the jackets usually come off pretty early. When we do a pub gig, I like not having to dress up as such, but I do still always change my clothes to go on stage, even if it is just a case of putting on a different shirt.

One thing that I've been thinking about since first contributing to this thread is that manufacturers like Fender, MMan etc. whose line-up of core instruments remains the same from year to year, have to do something to keep their profile in the magazines and so on. Although Fender, for example, introduce new finishes for their standard instruments each year, a 2003 US jazz is going to be the same as a 2007 jazz in terms of features, so why would a magazine bother to review the "new" model? With that in mind I can see some justification for special editions, though you have to question the need to have so many available all at one time.

Some very good advice from others which I can only agree with. Most important thing I think anyone has said is that while the B&G may know what you are like and may not want a typical wedding band but it is a virtual certainty that most of the people there will enjoy themselves far more if they get something akin to a typical wedding band. We charge a lot more for a wedding than we do for a club gig but we can do it because we are versatile. We may have a set in mind when we start off, but once things are underway everything can change. With regards lights, you may need some lighting for the band, but more importantly you'll need some flashing colours on the dancefloor. Remember the people aren't there to watch you, they are there to celebrate.