surfinbernard

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1340559455' post='1706230'] Hence the winky face. (I also play slide guitar quite a lot btw) Requires more musicianship in fact, as you can't go for big widdly passages, what with having the whole bar shape to work with. Really have to think ahead with your note choices. .... and back to picks. [/quote]

Practising with a drum machine or playing along to a cd, alternatively a metronome but it's a bit boring. Groove, groove, groove. Repeat grooves for at least a song length at a time, lock right in, it becomes an obsession, perfecting the feel each time you play the groove, trying to improve on it each time, articulating it for maximum 'loose tightness'.... shorten a note slightly, lengthen a gap slightly, two notes slide together for a nice shove towards the 1, make the middle of three notes staccato and emphasise the last more.... these micro adjustments are what gives it the groovey feel and playing many repetitions of the groove enables you to explore and experiment with it, and enjoy what the groove has to offer. The most beneficial thing you can do to improve general musicianship is not playing but listening, IMO. Listening to different styles, following your favourite styles of music back through their roots etc, listening to good bass players and asking yourself what is it that sounds great about how they play? Developing your listening ear and your appreciation of music will, I believe, have a massive knock on effect because playing an instrument is done more with the ears than the hands. Playing with other musicians is something there is no substitute for and is the most fun it's possible to have on this planet to my knowledge.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1340558016' post='1706192'] which they are.... [/quote] I disagree, they are doing what they need to to get a certain sound. The skills involved are different, it still requires musicianship.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1340555708' post='1706133'] occasionally but not always. [/quote] I think I would involuntarily laugh in someone's face for trying to draw lines like that if they were serious. Son House made amazing music by just singing and stamping his foot and clapping, I find that more 'real' than any soulless technical shredder on the bass or any other instrument. Music is as real as the passion that goes into it, impeccable technique is not even necessary to make great music. I don't use a pick but I wouldn't set myself apart from bass players who do, that would be like a slide guitar player being considered to be cheating because they tune to an open chord.

The most obvious iconic one is Sid's white P bass of course, the irony being that he couldn't play it really.

Anyway surely this sort of comment is said in jest isn't it?

Yep, not all shops are created equal and it's not always the bigger shops with the poor customer relations/ lack of helpfulness. I love PMT in Brum which is a big shop but they go way out of their way to help, are always willing to get you stuff, always ready to try to sort something out, will let you take stuff home and bring it back and exchange for something else if not suitable, will knock money off and price match even internet only shops. It all pays off for them because people keep going back.

I agree with some of the advice posted so far, mistakes are a normal part of playing an instrument and there are a couple of things you can do. Firstly practice, if you notice you are playing repeated mstakes this is a 'learned mistake' from incorrect practice method, you 'unravel' these by reprogramming yourself to play it correctly at a slower speed, then accurate repetition and then speed it up. Random mistakes also all but disappear with regular practice. The other thing is recovery, there are some tricks to smoothing over mistakes o make them sound intentional such as in the Wooten video, but the single most important thing is to quickly move past it, most listeners won't notice a small slip if you carry on regardless, and even if they do it won't sound as bad as you think, it's easy to make it more obvious than it has to be by freaking out or shrivelling up for a second rather than ignoring and continuing.

Warwicks look like squashed chickens to me, even some have a dildo shape cutaway at the top. I bet they are lovely to play though. I don't care for Ricks, they sound thin and are, in my opinion, just all flash and no trousers. Pointy guitars and basses, such as B.C. Rich are really not my bag, impractical and ugly. Not keen on the P bass because of the big neck. 'techno' basses such as stick basses, not my thing either. Ones with a million strings on. Nope. Never say never though eh?

Yes it's a daft argument, anybody who sounds good counts as a 'real' bass player. Some also think you are not 'worthy' if you can't play slap, or choose not to. It's amazing how much more respect you get when you do learn to play slap, I find that when trying gear in a music shop, how seriously I am taken increases tenfold if I play some slap, which is annoying as I would rather test out the equipment playing the style I will normally be playing! Great music doesn't have to be technically flash, it has to convey an attitude, make people feel something, do that even with a one note line and you are winning.

Interesting thread as I am a massive blues lover but most of what I like either has no bass (older one guitar stuff, or even acapella) or has upright bass (older jazz band blues), and even the stuff with bass guitar on is quite basic with the basslines, so needless to say I don't really listen to blues for inspirational bass playing, more because I just love it. Howlin Wolf is my favourite electrified blues man, hands down, some lovely classic blues bass lines to be heard on his older recordings, the psychedelic album is worth a listen but not as good as the original recordings. I don't know about modern music haha. I do like Geezer Butler as a blues bassist, although Sabbath weren't a blues band, Butler's playing most certainly is a lot of blues, and it's excellent.

And hell yeah to Peaches ^^^

Hhahahaha that article is hilarious, two 'walking basslines' she's listed there, except they're not are they? Plus the list is utter cack. No Duck Dunn? In fact no, screw my taste, I know the music I like is the best but anyone's taste would be fine if it were good. this article encapsulates everything that's wrong with music journalism, they haven't got even a vague clue, seem to be much more concerned with dictating what's 'cool' than sharing any real love for music, and are clearly on the verge of cultural starvation with the narrow range of piffle they listen to.

Thanks for the welcome! I never meant to imply anyone here is preoccupied with gear I only meant that perhaps I don't have as much technical knowledge a some on here from what I've been reading. My almost nerdy obsession with music only very slightly spills over into technology although I often wish I was a bit more interested, perhaps enough to build a valve amp say.

I bought a drum machine from them, really quick and packed well.

I just bought a Reidmar. I tried a lot of amps in the shop and really had in my mind to buy a valve amp or one with a valve preamp. The guy somehow convinced me to plug in the teeny Reidmar and I reluctantly agreed, believing that for one thing it was not going to be loud enough at 200 watts, and for another it would sound cold and uninteresting. I loved the sound straight away, it's punchy, loud and musical, much richer tone than I would expect from a little digital amp, I suppose I am out of touch with what modern technology can do these days. Also it is plenty, plenty loud. I played it through a Gallien Krueger 15" cab with a tweeter, also not what I thought I wanted but I bought that too. I'm chuffed with my unplanned purchases, I will just get a valve preamp and get some vintagey dirt that way. I haven't ruled out buying the little cabs to go with it at some point but I saved a bit of cash by getting the GK used and I did really like the sound, PMT in Brum are great and promised they would give me a very good price if I wanted to trade it in for the EBS cabs later on. Can't go wrong eh. Bear in mind that, to my ears at least, there is a lot more volume from those 200 watts than you will get from some 500 watt ones. Don't ask me why, I'm not very technically minded, but there was no question that it was louder than two otehr amps I tried which were more money and rated at 500 watts. I would get yourself to a shop where you can try one, preferably with a variety of cabs, and compare it to other amps. I'm sure you will be quite surprised how good it is for the price.

Lots of obscure 60s R&B, soul, popcorn, garage and the like.

Hello, I'm new! I've been a musician my whole life and playing bass for maybe 10 years, with some gaps, pregnancy and kids will do that! I only have one bass, a USA Fender jazz which I really love, just swapped the pickups for Lindy Fralins. I'm now getting back into it after a long gap after I became pregnant with my youngest son who is now two and had to pack in the band I was playing in (just a local covers band). So! I've bought a new bass rig, a EBS Reidmar and a Gallien Krueger 115RBH, and I am starting a new band, soul, R&B and garage from the 60s So thanks for having me and looking forward to some bass chat... however, I admit I am much more interested in music than gear, but gear is nice isn't it?