Hot Tub

Erm... If an item displays an incorrect price which is LOWER than the correct price, then the retailer MUST sell it for the lower price. They are then quite entitled to amend the prices of any other incorrectly labelled items. It's the Sale Of Goods Act, and it's the law. I'm guessing this probably doesn't help.

Right then. I want to be able to read standard music notation for bass. I know there's several "How To" books out there, and I've ordered one to start off with. But do you have any tips or tricks to make the learning easier, or is it just a matter of learning it parrot-fashion until it sticks?

Sir may find this helpful: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8hrPpMqCZo"]Highway Star Bass Cover[/url]

Yeah, sorry, what I meant to say was that with continual plugging and unplugging the socket can get quite loose over time. I guess that leaving an instrument plugged in until the battery dies is a bit like riding off with the disc lock on. Everyone does it. Once.

TBH, what I'd really like is a little miniature switch for ON/OFF. That way the bass can be left plugged in all the time. I mean, how hard can it be? Why don't the manufacturers do this?

Used to be a good place on the outskirts of Edinburger called The Spider's Web.

Someone who knows what they're talking about will be along shortly. Until then, here's my 2p worth: 1. Probably just knackered strings. Pop a new set on, see how it sounds, and take it from there. 2. There are loads of products on the market, but I've never used them. I've just sprayed a little furniture polish onto a clean duster and give it a good rub with that. 3. It's pretty straightforward. When you trim the new strings make sure you leave enough to wrap around the posts a couple of times. And always be sure to wind them DOWN from the top of the post, not up from the bottom. 4. General purpose strings? You won't go far wrong with a set of Elite Stadiums, 45-105.

Bachman Turner Overdrive - [i]Not Fragile[/i] Pink Floyd - [i]Another Brick In The Wall Pt2[/i] Queen - [i]A Kind Of Magic[/i] I could go on and on....

I'm really interested in this too. I have half a dozen playalongs recorded onto dv tape, and have subsequently transferred them onto dvd. They were recorded with just a good quality video camera (something which just a few years ago would have been regarded as "professional" equipment), and it's built in mic. The picture quality is excellent, and the sound quality is very good. But the files are massive! And I have no idea how to upload them, or what I'd have to do to them first. Sorry I can't contribute anything positive here.

[quote name='bythesea' post='529133' date='Jun 30 2009, 09:51 PM']Was before my time on BC, but always sad to hear news like this. Condolences to his family.[/quote] Same here. But it's always sad when a member passes away. It is, after all, a community of sorts. RIP fella.

3.5mm on the B, evenly decreasing to a monkey's ball-hair over 2mm on the G. Happy with that and it feels good with no ringing or fret noise (well, no more than you get with nearly new strings!) henry norton - Better man? I doubt that. Anally retentive about measuring things? Probably.

Allen key - check Feeler gauge - check Back in a mo......

Oooh, yessy!

+3 = 1467

Haven't read the whole thread, but here's my thoughts.... Victor, Stanley, Marcus, Tal, Jeff, Michael, etc., These people are the astronauts, the F1 drivers, the fighter pilots of bass guitar. Absolutely thrilling to listen to and to watch, but they have no relevance whatsoever to what we do on a daily basis.

Carol for me, but that's only with a gun to my head! We're comparing a very good apple with a very good orange here. Two completely different players, styles, techniques, and for that matter genres. (OK, I think that might be splitting hairs), but I think Carol Kaye was the more versatile of the two. It's totally subjective. She cooks my noodle more than Jamerson. It's my opinion, and worth exactly what you paid for it.

WOW! I mean, seriously, WOW! I am totally overwhelmed with the responses to this. You people are truly amazing, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. A few have asked "what's the worst that can happen?", and I have thought about that. A lot. I think the worst that could happen is not that I make a mistake, or stick to roots, or "forget which end to blow into" (I spat tea when I read that one! ), or even just freeze and do nothing. I think the worst that could happen is that I disappoint myself. It's something I've wanted to do since I first picked up a bass, but what if I can't? What if I pluck up the courage and "Just Do It", and find out when it's too late that I just can't? These are rhetorical questions, I'm not looking for answers from anyone other than myself. If I can misquote Dennis Healey here: I'd rather people asked me "Why are you not up there playing bass?", rather than "Why are you up there playing bass?". That's maybe an easy get-out. OK, I'll admit it; that's an easy get out. I need to have a serious think about this. But thank-you to everyone - honestly, Thank-You all - for posting on this subject. Those of you who have taken the time to share your own experiences and offer advice are absolutely brilliant. Oh, and regarding going to a Bass Bash - I did go to one a while back. Outskirts of Northampton, IIRC? While I enjoyed looking at all the amazing instruments and gear, I felt very intimidated and completely out of my depth. But that's just me.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='524172' date='Jun 25 2009, 10:19 PM']Hot tub. can i ask why you think you dont have the confidence to play in front of people. have you ever tried. its not hard believe me. i have seen some right plonkers who thought they were John Entwistle, i dont know all the facts obviously but there are people on here who could give you advice and help aplenty. thats if you want to be in a band. if you like playing bass, next step let other people hear you.[/quote] You certainly can mate, and I've decided to post on here rather than PM you, in the hope that maybe other people can relate to what I'm saying. There are certainly others on here who have said similar things. I'm 46 years old, and I have always had a dreadful lack of self-confidence. I've never taken part in any group activities. At school I was cajoled into the football team, then the rugby team, and any other team my parents and/or teachers thought I should join. And I got out of these teams just as quickly as I could because I was never comfortable in these "group" situations. I was always the fat kid who never got picked, and ended up getting dumped onto a team who never wanted me there. My interests have always been solitary: I used to enjoy playing golf (alone!); I used to ride a motorbike, mostly on my own as I detested the "pressure" of being in a group of riders (then two bike accidents five years apart gave me two knackered shoulders which ended my golfing ambitions!); I enjoy photography, which I can do alone; astronomy (I have a mahoosive telescope which I use, alone); and playing bass, which I do alone. I work as a crime scene examiner which is mostly solitary. I occasionally have to attend major incidents with other CSEs, and when that happens I'm a gibbering wreck, because I always think they're better than I am. They're not. Performance figures show very clearly that they're not. But I never let the facts get in the way of a good neurosis! Also, I can't give presentations. Even if the subject is something which I know absolutely inside out, I cannot stand in front of even a friendly, receptive audience in case there's someone there who knows more about it than I do, or who might ask a question which I can't answer. Getting back to bass, I bought my first instrument when I was 15 or thereabouts, and since then I think I've only been without a bass for a total of maybe 7 or 8 months. And it always comes back to the same things: I don't think I'm technically competent; an audience scares me stupid; I can't play slap (& if you can't slap, you ain't a bass player). I love bass. I absolutely adore it. Every night I play I get a tingle up my spine, whether it's through headphones or the combo. And I have dreams - NOT nightmares! - about one day playing in a rock covers band in a little pub somewhere to maybe 20 people. I imagine how that might feel. I don't want adoration, I don't want hero worship, I don't even want applause. But I do dream of what it must feel like to be able to do the one thing which I have always been unable to do. Just once. I'm guessing everyone's bored rigid now! "[i]Somebody wake up Hicks[/i]."

[quote name='deaver' post='524169' date='Jun 25 2009, 10:16 PM']Route 36 Rehearsal Studio just outside Salisbury runs a 'Rockschool for Relics'[/quote] Gonna have a look at that - cheers! Maybe there are similar things happening around the country - I don't know...?

[quote name='bythesea' post='524150' date='Jun 25 2009, 09:51 PM']What about those who played in bands in their teens and have come back to it a little later in life? ;p[/quote] I take your point. But the issue I'm hoping to address is of those who (like myself) have NEVER had the confidence to do it. For whatever reason; whether you don't think you're good enough technically, or the thought of an audience scares you sh!tless, etc. If you've already done it, at any age, then you don't have an issue, and the sort of group I'm envisaging would be of no use to you. In fact, someone with live experience joining such a group would most likely put other people off, and so be totally counterproductive. But thank-you for your feedback!

There's a few people who have said that their biggest regret is not playing with other people. Not just on the "Regrets" thread, but it's a subject which does come up on here from time to time. I certainly fall into that category. Never done it and don't have the confidence to do it - ESPECIALLY not with an audience! So, my idea is this: Would it be possible to set up groups (I'm thinking facebook here) where us talentless cowards could put in details of what we're looking for, and arrange some sort of jam sessions? For example, this is what would probably do it for me: 25 mile radius of Leamington Spa Trad. rock/blues, 60s/70s/early 80s Would like similar age(s) or older - say, 40 up Ambition and volume more important that talent and ability Only for gig-virgins! If you've warmed up a stadium for U2, I don't want to meet you. Whaddya'll think? Or, does something like this already exist?

+1 for Hercules. Just bought one of them grabby things (GS414B IIRC?) from Mark at Bass Direct. Excellent piece of kit. And while I'm at it, a big +1 for Mark. Top bloke!

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='511390' date='Jun 11 2009, 04:32 PM']You can only come in if you like Jazz. The rock and pop sections are full [/quote] You can only come in if you like Jazz. The rock and pop sections are full That was an echo from the jazz section. Sorry. Welcome to Basschat MfM!

Maybe it was just a duff unit? Alternatively, and this might be a really stupid question, but how were the EQ & filters set? The VLE/VPF filters are pretty unique, and can have an amazingly positive - or negative - effect on the sound. In any case, "weak" is certainly not a word I'd associate with MarkBass!