bass_dinger

My hero!!

Last week, a lot of the band were away, which meant that the very experienced worship leader needed to bring his own band in. He asked if anyone from the church's own Gospel choir wanted to come along. One person who arrived was truly awful- flat, sharp, moving from one note to another using glissandos until she hit the right one. The very definition of Fretless Singing... Let's see how they deal with this situation. I am told that the band and all the singers will be invited along for vocal training, and each person will be recorded individually, and allowed to listen to the results. The person will be directly told, even though we have a recording of the problem already. I think that we are going for kindness, and enabling. The leadership don't want people to feel hurt or excluded. As for me, I am comfortable enough with my ability to offer to step aside, if they want to ....er...make space for new talents.

I was a bassist for a ukulele group. We spent longer talking about songs, than it would have taken to play them. We never got more than 12 songs in the set list. When we learnt the 13th song, we forgot the 1st one. I sacked myself in the end. They were, and are, a competent group. However, I had moved on from what they were doing, and just before the pandemic felt like the right time to leave. I was ask to return for a single gig. I asked for the songs and the chosen keys, but they never arrived, so I was never able to agree to the gig. I think that the chairman wanted me to agree without knowing what the songs were.

Details, please!

I am guessing that this was a top quality bass in its day, and something that your dad (and others) aspired to own. It would be good to learn to play it, to continue your dad's legacy. One of two things will happen. 1. You will try to play it and fail, and so realise what a musical genius your dad was. 2. You will try to play it and succeed, and preserve a little bit of your family's heritage. As for selling it... lots of people have £800 (or whatever it might fetch). But only you have your dad's fretless Eccles 4 string bass... PS take it out of the attic! The only wood that belongs in the loft a 4x2 roofing timbers. Buy a String Swinger, and mount it on the wall, as befits that very artistic bass.

Listening to John Deacon, I do wonder about his influences. He seems to have arrived in Queen fully formed, and hugely skilled, and very adaptable to the various styles of the band. School band; covers band on guitar; Queen's bassist.

The saga continues. Get a new bass Before I sent off the '99 XB500 for repair, I needed a replacement. A helpful Basschatter contacted me, and within a week I had collected a second bass - a '94 XB500. This earlier bass has a 3-way switch rather than a pan-pot to select the pickups - and the pickups are J-type single coils, rather than humbuckers. At first, I struggled - I felt that I had to push the bass (and myself) to get a good sound - I needed more skill, more technique, in order to play well. However, bandmates told me that they prefer the sound of the J-type, and I hear that it sits better it the mix. It is also more rewarding - find the sweet spot on the string, dig in, and it gives more variety than the humbucker ever did. (By contrast, the humbuckers on the '99 bass felt more even in response, more manageable for a novice, more forgiving - and generally, more "polite"). So, I have a replacement bass that suits me well, and which I am happy to use while the other ('99 XB500) goes in for repair. Dismantle and dispatch the old bass I did not need to send the whole bass in for repair - just the neck. However, I was nervous about removing the neck. I knew enough to loosen the strings before I removed the screws, but needed advice before I made a start. Andy advised that I should release the initial tension for all of the screws - 1/4 turn anticlockwise - and then take each screw right out, one at a time. For myself, I numbered the screws (just in case they were different lengths, or thread pitches), and screwed them into a sheet of cardboard. They were all the same, so, I popped the card and screws into an envelope which I then taped to the body. I don't want to mislay the hardware! With all of the screws out, I was advised to rock the neck lightly backwards and forward a touch, to loosen it enough to be able to lift it out vertically from the neck pocket. I should not try to pull it out from the side (the pocket and neck usually have a slight taper and so generally will not pull out from the side). I followed the advice and the neck lifted out of a nicely snug pocket, as Andy said that it should. Having suffered the mild trauma of taking my bass apart, I next need to find suitable packaging - I am thinking that a carpet roll tube and bubble wrap would be a good choice. I also need to decide whether to post it now, during a Post Office strike, or to wait until later in the month. With a new bass already in use, and the old bass in bits, the possibility of a repair is all starting to feel more real. Just for fun, here are both basses together, at a wedding (I played. The basses were not getting married . . . ). Green '99 (in need of repair); and the replacement ash (?) '94 model. Spot the differences!

So, I agree that listening to what others play can inspire us bassists. However, mimicking other musicians can only get one so far. For me, listening does not tell me why a musician played certain notes - nor does it tell me how to play those notes. For that, I (and perhaps others) feel that we need formal training.

I am starting the grades- Rockschool 2, I think. I am okay with chord charts and making stuff up. I seem to have picked up simple theory (major scales, chords, key signatures) through 45 years of playing. However, I am not so good at sight reading, and my ability to read and play rhythms is very poor. I also lack the ability to hear a song and transcribe it I am hopeful that some grades will help me to develop those skills that I lack, and allow me to become a more well-rounded player, and more useful when it comes to supporting other musicians.

That's helpful to know. I play in a church band, and previously, a ukulele band, both on bass. Certainly, playing with others helps improve one's ear, timing and sensitivity to the playing of bandmates. However, a lot of the music is improvised, with nothing written down, apart from chord charts. It seems to me that I need to develop my ability to read music. Do you have any advice, or hints?

This is the musicianship that I aspire to - reading the dots, and understanding timing too. I probably started too late, and did not have lessons. However, I do enjoy sight-reading music on YouTube videos.

Or, indeed, what confidence does the fretting system give the player, when its name includes the word Buzz - and the second word sounds like Fighting. I am yet to find out how to tune the thing properly. I have heard "fret the note E on each string, and tune to that. Also "some tuners have a Buzz Feiten setting ". However, I am yet to find a definitive answer. Perhaps it is like adjusting the bias on your tape deck. It can be done, it will sound better, but good luck finding someone who can do it.

My own bass has the Buzz Feiten system. For the past 6 months I have been seeing that a tuned open string gives me a sharp fretted string. I have started tuning to the fretted notes. @LeftyJ's post explains why. Cheers!

Mohini Dey is rather attractive, and talented but I don't like her bass playing.

So, I tried harder. A recent trip to the luthier diagnosed my buzzing frets as a serious curve to the neck. By serious, I mean noticeable, becoming unplayable, and very expensive to repair. A post on Basschat found me both a luthier that offered advice and help - and another bass, which I collected on Saturday. So, I have mothballed the old green XB500, and loosened off the strings to prevent more damage. The Green XB500 has now been replaced by an ash XB500. It's lighter, and there are a few other differences too - photos to follow. However, a new bass feels like I am properly out!

Washburn 5 string active bass, Boss cable, Boss TU2 tuner, short no-brand cable, Ashdown Electric Blue 180 Bass Amp upgraded to 220 Watts, and with the head removed to a separate unit. 5 on stage Behringer mini monitors on poles, PC screens for each musician and singer, sharing the chord charts (or rarely, sheet music) from a single dedicated PC running Power Music. All signals into a splitter box, to an on stage mixing desk for the stage mix, and to a second digital mixing desk for the room and with another mix for the broadcast. Oddly, my bass is not in the room mix, which is becoming a problem as the congregation get louder, and my amp can't fill the room without being too loud on stage. The other bassist uses a Fender P copy.

Yes, the camera work was good - different angles and shots. Broadcast quality, but not distracting. The service too was good.

Looking tired on the train home. Next to me is my bass case, as I collect the bass from Croydon and return to Kent

Mudpup freed up some space in my house by taking away my empty 4 unit rack case. Arranged a convenient collection time, and let me know that he was a little late due to traffic. Kindly offered a charitable donation too.

Bought a tiny battery tester from zvirus. He took the time to locate the item for me, from within his stash, and posted it quickly.

Andyjr1515's PM, and this thread, and messages from basschaters, have given me options to think about. Most pressing is whether the existing fretboard can be saved and reused - right now, my understanding is that it could be reusable- but I need to be open to other options. For example, I would be content to lose the fret board (and the markers), if that makes the work easier for andyjr1515. My aim is to have a usuable instrument again. However, I am also excited about the possibility of improving the instrument - not just a replacement truss rod or fret board, but a better truss rod, or an improved fret board. I also need to think about a spare bass while the neck on the 500 is in for repair. That gives me the option of converting one of them to fretless. However, right now, that feels like an unnecessary distraction. Over the next few days, I will collect the bass and bring it home, and take some photos to share with andyjr1515. That will give him a better idea of the task.

To be fair, the quote was for a little less - but still £700 and potentially above that, but would have covered everything, including work to refinish the neck if it were damaged when the fret board was removed, new truss rod, a refret, and new fretboard too. Here's an example of their work, plugging a jack socket hole on a mahogany Lowden. I am happy with everything they have done, and they have been honest about stopping other projects when I would have incurred a big bill, for no real benefit.

The only card he needs is the Bass of Spades…

If that is Plan B, then I plan to take up guitar!! I think that the stuff that goes into the truss rod cavity is similar to bathroom sealant - flexible enough to move with the truss rod, but grippy enough to stop the metalwork from vibrating. However, it seems that my problem is not a rattling truss rod, but one that is fully tightened and stuck in both directions. So, no washers can be fitted, and we have no more adjustment to remove the bowing in the neck. It is a sad day for my bass guitar....

I think that it would work out as less than that, and the work includes the removal of the fretboard and a refret too. As for andyjr1515, is he the gentleman who repaired the neck of a Washburn acoustic, when the truss rod had burst out of the neck? If so, I enjoyed that thread! Hmm. Washburn. Truss rod problems. I see a theme here.