bass_dinger

I am curious. Can any basschater tell the difference between brands of strings, when they are listening to a track, or a live band? For me, I like the sound and feel of Dunlop steels, but found a £5 set that sounded similar enough when I am playing in a band setup. Certainly, nobody in the audience has ever complained or noticed the difference. As for this... ... I visited the Bass Gallery, and tried lots of basses. When I found one with strings that I liked, I asked what type they were, and bought a set. They were the Dunlop steels. I also had a basschat recommendation for an eBay seller who had some £5 sets that I tried, and they were fine.

String manufacturers. Pick a string winding colour, or ball end design, that is unique to the string and brand. That will allow string spotters to identify what type of string is on their bass, by simply referring to the inevitable Bass Chat Field Guide to bass strings. Or not....

Orange amps in other colours...

If you win the lottery this weekend, I have a special price for you.....

519 plus my 3 = 522.

https://www.hifix.co.uk/hi-fi/hi-fi-separates/cassette-decks/ TEAC appear to. Or you could look on ebay for new-old stock, of the brand and model that you are looking for.

A thread resurrection, to recommend a hi fi amplifier repair company. I discovered ARS (Amplifier Repair Services) when I wanted to fix the crackling selection knob on my Arcam Alpha 9. For £140 they removed the selector switch, gold-plated the contacts, and replaced internal components to factory specification. They now repair other items too. CYRUS ONE & TWO NAD 3020 ARCAM ALPHA 9, DELTA 290, ALPHA 7 & 8 MUSICAL FIDELITY A1, B1, MA50 A&R CAMBRIDGE A60 NAD3130 https://www.amprepairservices.com/ No financial interest, just a satisfied customer.

An update on the rattling truss rod... It was not a rattling truss rod but a low action that could not be adjusted out due to a stuck truss rod. @Andyjr1515 worked on it, and released it, although the movement was a little stiff, and did not move smoothly, and fine adjustments would take time to achieve. I also considered having more work done - conversion to a fretless bass. However, I was persuaded that a bass with position markers for a fretted bass, and a stiff truss rod, would not make a good fretless, and reduce the resale value of the converted instrument. I actually spoke to the designer of my bass, and learnt that about a dozen fretless Washburn XB500s were made for the Japanese market, so, they do exist. Right now, I have two fretted basses, and I am happy that they both work.

I am out - I needed an urgent spare bass, while my other one was being fixed. I now have two electric basses. I guess that is how it happens, with bass collections....

My latest practice routine - I humble-brag on basschat about my wonderful practice routine and detailed planning, to shame myself into actually practicing at all!

I came to the same conclusion - a pair of basses of the same model suggested that one should be converted to a fretless. However, I was persuaded that a bass with position markers for a fretted bass, and a stiff truss rod, would not make a good fretless, and reduce the resale value of the converted instrument. I actually spoke to the designer of my bass, and learnt that about a dozen of them were made for the Japanese market, so, maybe one of those will come up.... yeah, right!! In the meantime, don't you already have a rather splendid fretless!?

I have also added a page on ear training - being able to work out the chords to a song that I know. Usually, I would use a chord chart, or a playalong-sheet-music video - so ear training is necessary for me. I am also learning to sight read using playalong-sheet-music videos, and tab videos too. All of that will hopefully get me to the point where I have the dexterity and skill to play what I hear in my head - so "stretch ... and go", as below. I find that it takes a lot of practice to be able to play without practicing....

I experience something similar. I learn a song, and eventually reach peak incompetence - no matter how much more I play, I don't get any better. I then come back to it the next day and I can play it better. Perhaps my brain is processing the learning overnight, and when I next play it, has worked it out.

I recall a post on Basschat, it which someone shared that they had bought a shaker unit separately, and installed it into a home-made platform. Thus, I wondered how easy it would be to make a bassboard, if one could source a shaker unit.

Well, you (and I) have learnt that we should. And we probably know that we could. From there, it is but a small step to "we will". One day.....

I have two A5 notebooks, a double page for each song that I am learning. I will make notes of the date on which I played the song, and how it went. So, maybe "we are family. 2/11/22. The verse section seems to be different to the transcription that I am using. More bounce and pop on the original? Slow it down and listen?" In theory, I should look at it again the day after, and act on my notes. In reality, I rarely do. But I have found that when I do, I can work on aspects of piece, and not just rehearse my mistakes. It also acts as a useful record of my repertoire - according to my notebook, I used to be able to play "Oh what a night". Not anymore, however.... I also have some A4 binders of the sheet music. PC, yamaha AG03 mixer, and AKG headphones complete the setup, and allow silent practice. Little and often is best...

The colour one is especially useful. This weekend, I discovered that the tone of the fifth to 10th frets had more "presence" than the first five frets. So, I will be using your chart to remind me where the notes are, as I navigate the new zone. I was also reminded why a 5 string feels logical to me - those three diagonal C notes on the first to 5th frets feels like "home", to me.

You convinced me that they are very playable, and fun too!

You're better than me! I ended up enjoying to the track, rather than listening to your playing. And that, to me, means that your playing is good.

That looks organic - as if player and instrument have grown older together.

He looks like he is at a concert, enjoying the musicianship. Oh, wait, he is, and he is!

If I remember rightly, he sung "I want my MTV " to the tune of "Don't stand so close to me" in the outro.

Tell him to put all four strings on, and turn down the tone control. And get him to join basschat.co.uk

So... if I had the ability, and a cello (I have neither), I could follow the music, and play along with this track. In fact, if I have just the ability to read music properly, in the bass clef, I could play that music with a bass guitar. Is there anything simpler for beginners like me?

Phwoar. Look at that bass! Washburn XB400 in teal. Take That, playing Smells Like Teen Spirit