bass_dinger

15 hours ago, Norris said:

Well done for passing!

 

Maybe it's time to learn something for pleasure? It doesn't need to be difficult, just something you enjoy. You can always learn your grade 3 pieces at the same time. It's important to keep it fun.

With 48 different Grade 3 pieces to choose from, and a World Of Books account, I have found a few pieces that are both part of the syllabus, and great fun too.

In other news, my neighbour's daughter is one Grade ahead of me, and has the same piano teacher. Dad handed me her now-redundant Grade 3 books.  So, I have 12 pieces from the syllabus to try.

I will nevertheless be working on other things, such as some pieces by Bach. 

As for scales, I will give them a miss for now.

However, if I carry on at the current rate, I will be taking Grade 5 piano by March 2027, so should l want to aim for the Theory exams soon?

I use them on both of my 5 string Washburn XB925 basses (fretted, and fretless).

The fretted bass came with a set, which I liked so much that I got a set for the matching fretless.

I liked the grip and bite of them being round wounds, but slightly smoother because they have been compressed. A nicely tight string, but not so much tension that I have to fight with them. 

On the fretted, there is a good low B, solid sound across all of the strings, and a lot of resonance transmitted through the neck.  

The fretted seems to have thinner gauge strings on it, and I am still getting used to the instrument following a recent neck adjustment to give me some mwah.

They were difficult to find - my fretless set were ordered from Holland, I think. 

And the set already on the fretted came with the bass, from Hungary. 

I am not a connoisseur of bass strings.  I have never tried the main brands. So, I can't really compare them to other brands.  However, I like the SIT strings that I have. 

Ooh, hang on! One of my Washburn XB500s has a D'Addario low B (0.130", I think).  I prefer the SIT low B to the D'Addario. 

This, from my piano teacher:

"Congratulations Robert on passing your grade two piano exam with a mark of 117. Just missed a merit. Here's to grade three. Onwards and upwards. "

So, I have passed, but I am inexplicably grumpy about the whole experience. 

I am already working on the grade 3 pieces. I will spend two weeks on each piece and then move on to another piece, regardless of whether the music teacher feels that I have used the right amount of staccato or legato in Bar 27.

For now, I want to play music, not work toward the exam. 

Yours grumpily, Robert 

I only now spotted this thread.  I have a Workingmans 12  - I assume that it is an early one, as it has a 3-digit serial number. 

I used it at church - 250 seat capacity, drum kit.  Although we have a PA, and the SWR WM 12 has a DI out into that PA, most of the sound was from the stage.

It sounded a bit breathless and shouty because it was working hard to fill the room, and to manage the low B. However, the gig didn't demand lots of trouser-flapping bass - instead, it gave me the musicality and definition that I needed 

It remains a great amp, which I still use for gigs. No plans to sell it on 

On 08/05/2019 at 12:24, Soledad said:

Really fancy an SWR though.

And to think that I am only up the road from you - I am in Swanley, albeit 6 years too late. Sorry that I couldn't give you a demonstration when you were searching. 

On 12/11/2025 at 17:39, bassbiscuits said:

Any recommendations on decent small practice amps, sort of 30-50watt I’m guessing for playing at home with her mates?

So, the answer seems to be "get something with more power, and more bass-presence, and turn it down at home"

That makes sense - certainly, it is was what I did.

My Laney 30 watt amp upgraded to a 100 watt SWR Workingman 12. I gave away the Laney when I realised that the SWR functioned as a band amp and a home amp too.

On 09/11/2025 at 22:59, Quatschmacher said:

Sadly this got rejected at the review stage.

https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/6c5ba1de-c5d4-4221-9f3d-0a4be46b8db2?tab=official-updates

That's a shame. 

I was disappointed to read the very generic Reason for Rejection section.  

7 hours ago, stevie said:

This should be a caption competition photo. Gary @cetera saying something to Chris Childs (or vice versa).

 

 

"Move the pointy bit of your hat to the front, you poncy boyband pop-star!"

4 hours ago, stevie said:

The Pedals 'R Us corner.

 

 

@basexperience looks both delighted and surprised to be surrounded by so many pedals! "These pedals are fantastic  - and they are the same ones that I have at home! What are the odds of that?"

I chatted a while, and was infected by his enthusiasm and passion for playing. And I was reminded that we play music, rather than work music!

4 hours ago, stevie said:

This should be a caption competition photo. Gary @cetera saying something to Chris Childs (or vice versa).

 

 

 

Gary is saying  "Without a cap on, I get an extra three inches of headroom."

Or Chris is saying  "Am I meant to be on-stage?"

I will be taking this to the local recycling centre on Saturday.

I will be taking this to the local recycling centre on Saturday.   

52 minutes ago, bassbiscuits said:

 

Any suggestions ?

@NancyJohnson of this Parish, and joint-patron of the South East bass bash, had a splendid little Eden amp for sale. 

I tried it out at the event and was impressed  - the only reason that I didn't buy it was because I use headphones at home, and because it struggled with the low B on my 5 string. *

However, if you are looking for recommendations for someone who has a four-string, then the Eden range impressed me.

* that's two reasons. 

On 27/10/2025 at 18:25, Paddy777 said:

Location would be useful! 😀 

Dalston, apparently  - and they have found someone. 

I sent a direct message to the OP - I didn't want them to think that we were not keen to help!

There is a whole thread on mandolin playing, here.

On 02/11/2025 at 20:08, bass_dinger said:

the exam, scheduled for the 10th.

Well,  that was a very unsatisfactory experience. 

D minor, I played wrongly.  Wrong notes in two of the pieces.  My singing was off-key.  Terrible. 

However I already have the Grade 3 pieces, and am playing them already.  

So, I have not let the bad experience put me off. However, I plan to do things differently for the next few months, and don't plan to focus on the exams for a while.

11 hours ago, zbd1960 said:

There is some debate that one of the suites was written for a 5 string cello.

 

Vivaldi only needed 4 strings.

And indeed, only 4 Seasons  

4 hours ago, silverfoxnik said:

Hi Folks, 

 

Is anyone travelling to Sunday's Bash from the Kent area?? 

Yes.

At this rate, I will still have it on Boxing Day, and you will know by then if you will have been gifted a mandolin.

Happy 40th, by the way.

£50 now

Yeah, but the price...

From memory, a shaped bass case was £170. Now, €310.  Even accounting for the exchange rate, that's a 50% price rise.

Let me look at my own early XB500, and take some photos and get back to you. 

In the meantime, you might want to start a separate, and new, thread about your own XB500. 

On 23/03/2025 at 17:42, bass_dinger said:

 

So, I practice, and focus on the syllabus.  And if I am ready for the exam in June, then all well and good. And if not, then November is an option too.

It's November already, and I am barely ready for the exam, scheduled for the 10th.

Grade 2 has been a very unsatisfactory experience. I have played the exam pieces so often that I have grown to loathe them. 

For Grade 3 piano, I plan to try a different approach. I will play each piece for two weeks, and then move on to the next piece regardless of whether it is exam-ready. Hopefully, that will stop me getting bored with playing.  Moreover, I will practice for longer each day, without distraction. 

3 hours ago, binky_bass said:

I'm willing to bet he'll be let off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist... probably in the form of a warning and a £50 victims surcharge fee. This country is a joke for bringing anyone to any form of real justice. 

We will let the Judge be the judge of that....

More seriously, that is why I shared the list of charges, and the Case Reference. It stops speculation about what is happening, and allows us to easily find out the outcome. 

I am hopeful that justice will be done. 

A further update. 

Those who have evidence relating to the current crimes, or who have a Crime Number when you previously reported Micheal Mason to the police, might want to 

share it with Leicester Court.  To do this,  send an email to [email protected]

The header of the email should include the reference, the defendant's full name, the hearing date and the court name.

So 《  33JJ0821825, Michael Mason, 26.11.2025, Leicester Crown Court 》 

The body of the email should contain details of the case which relates to yourself  - evidence of the purchases of items, screen shots, 'evidence' of failed deliveries, whatever you have.

Although the trial won't be considering those earlier misdemeanours, it may help the sentencing judge to form a view of the defendant. 

A German Democratic Republic mandolin, for sale. 

I have played it occasionally for the past 25 years, but have now upgraded to another mandolin. 

To be fair to any prospective buyers, the action is a little high, and having no truss rod on the instrument makes it difficult to lower further. 

Moreover, the tuning pegs a perishing, and some have been repaired. 

This would be a good instrument for anyone wanting to try out the mandolin.

9 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I had a live CD of theirs, came with a Sunday newspaper supplement, annoyingly I can’t find it now but it was superb, those great songs made even greater with live performance. 

You could perhaps replace your missing recording - there is an 11-track live CD from 2007, given away with the Sunday Mail, on ebay, for 99p.  More than one, in fact - so, I shall buy one too.

https://ebay.us/m/qbQK1X