invicta59

Hi Daf.. do you know if 'something' did get sorted? It would be a shame to lose Innovation strings - they've kept me in business for about 15 years

Nothing at all. I've got friends that have owed me beers for a lot longer, and I see them most weekends! Oddly enough I remembered this topic just a couple of days ago so looked them up. I see they've been available for a while so, as soon as payday arrives, I'll be having some of those. My current Silver Slaps have been on about 6 years now, so probably overdue a change Regards Dave

Find two songs you want to play along with and I'll try and put some tab together for you. I'm not great at it, but if you get a little bit out of it, that's got to be better than nothing

Difficult to know what you mean by 'in relation to rockabilly'. The scales are related to every musical style. You can play as few notes, or as many of them as you wish in your music but its a case of figuring out what 'feel' you want to achieve. Simple rockabilly (Johnny Cash style) sticks to basic Root/Fifth type playing with some single and occasional double slap, as in those videos, to give the Boom-chicka-Boom sound. https://youtu.be/Roug4qG7qCY Add just a few additional notes to climb/descend from one chord to another and you could have something like Bunker Hill's You Can't Make Me Doubt My Baby. https://youtu.be/5tKul8mXb3c Take it to a simple 12 bar run using 2 more notes over root/fifth and you could get Hocus Pocus by The Raiders. https://youtu.be/sWJY80hVmwg Then, take a few more notes, jump between octaves, put a bit of a swing into the timing and you could have Ronnie Self's Ain't I'm a Dog https://youtu.be/FhZRvyvzi7M Its all Major scale, its all rockabilly, but it all has different approaches.

Hi Daf, I'd like more info please. Do you have any gauge measurements for them, just for comparison to the Silver Slaps I use? Many thanks P.S. Good to know you are still around

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1478884701' post='3172473'] It looks like a lump of foam.. wheres the mic? Where does it fit? [/quote] http://www.remic.dk/wp-content/uploads/REMIC_D5400LB_PD_2015B.pdf

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1478874180' post='3172295'] http://www.remic.dk/shop/upright-bass/remic-d-5400-lb/ Check those prices! [/quote] £1250!!! I'll buy a J-tone and have 1210 quids worth of hangovers...

I use the Silver Slaps which are low tension - a little too low on some occasion but I can live with it. As part of Daf's string trial a while back, I tried the Super Silvers and couldn't really tell that much difference in tension so not sure that would help. Obviously, all basses being non-equal, it may be a totally different experience altogether on your bass. I find that synthetic strings seem to get higher tension as they get older and all the 'stretch' has been taken up. 10mm doesn't sound too ludicrous. I've played higher action on loan basses without problems but on one particular bass that had about 30mm across the fingerboard at my normal playing position, I just played it with my hand about 12" higher than normal

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1477932863' post='3165366'] I've seen it in action, looks proper neat to me too [/quote] Thanks I'm happy with it. On our journey to the Bash, Guy was telling me how impressed he was with the Shadow pickup system. I like the sound of it but strapping something that looks like it belongs in a 1980's Terminator movie onto my bass is enough for me to say 'bugger that'

[quote name='Trimmo91' timestamp='1477813301' post='3164519'] I'm trying to aboid having two leads coming from the bass. My idea is this: Bridge wing pickup (doesn't require preamp) Fingerboard pickup that goes into an eq pedal mounted under the fingerboard for volume and eq control. Both of these then go into a fender micro aby pedal mounted in the tailpiece. From the pedal to amp input. Should this work? I can't really see why it wouldn't. [/quote] I'm not sure how mounting 2 pedals on the bass is 'tidy'. Maybe it's just me but that means more junk that needs to be removed for battery changes. I use a twin pick up with a single female stereo jack. The kind of thing K&K, Superior Bass Works, or J-tone produce. Therefore 1 single stereo cable from bass to pre-amp (like the one jrixn1 posted). I really can't imagine anything tidier than that. Nothing other than the pickup itself on the bass and that only takes one minute to remove, if I need to do so.

I cant be bothered with hanging a ton of junk on my bass, just to make battery changing a 10 minute job, so I just run a 20' stereo cable from the pick up and have my pre-amp on top of the amp - its not like I ever need to adjust it mid set. Short of taking the pick ups off altogether, I can't imagine a tidier way to do it

[quote name='thebigyin' timestamp='1473923859' post='3134088'] there's a lot of hard work involved in learning it, i don't read music and don't fancy taking lessons ect, i should of done a bit of research really. [/quote] What exactly is it that you are having problems with? Your profile indicates that you play Blues, RnB, Soul, Motown and Classic Rock, and there are plenty of walking bass lines played in all that lot, so I presume that bass runs and chord sequences aren't the problem. Is it fingering the notes that's the issue? There's no shame in putting markers on the side of the neck to help with intonation. If you can identify where the issue lays, then maybe you can get more specific advice. FWIW, I don't read music either, and I've never had a lesson in my life - lessons are not obligatory. If they were, then the first double bass ever invented would have just laid on a luthier's bench until it rotted away, unused.

It seems to me that the best thing for you to invest a little money in straight away is a trip to the Double Bass Bash in Derby in a few weeks time. There will be a variety of people, playing in various styles and if you ask any of them nicely, I'm sure they'll let you try their bass and their string choices - I certainly would. Honestly, even if only 10 people go, you'll not get a better opportunity to discover the double bass and it's many nuances. Last year there was a very healthy turnout. I see you don't drive, and that you are in Grimsby. I live near Scunthorpe and am planning to go, so if you are interested, and if my plans remain on track, I might be able to squeeze you in (I will be taking my bass, amp, maybe a couple of cabs and another buddy, but there should be room for another person).

I think the thing to remember with gut strings is that, back in the day they were the cheapest option. Steel strings were available from the mid 50's but were expensive in comparison. Today, anything non-synthetic is expensive Personally, having played all manner of strings over the years, the last string I would ever put on my bass would be a gut string. I find them to be ludicrously expensive, difficult to keep in tune (I've spent a night having to retune after EVERY song, which gets kinda boring after an hour), fragile and no sustain (at least, not enough for me). Horses for courses with this. The only way you'll know if you like them is to try some.

Pencil me in please, if you don't mind some rudimentary slapping and plonking. I'd bring my Zeller Bass, K&K pickup, GK amp and Fearless F112. I may also bring some more Tricky Audio 'Greenboy' cabs, and possibly a Tricky Audio builder (Guy).

I enjoyed it last time so if you can put up with inane slap-dashery, I'll come

I use an RB1001 - no complaints here. I've not played through an MB800 so cant offer a comparison, but they both get good comments. Depends if you want to use the Bi-amping feature of the RB series, I guess, or prefer the lighter weight of the MB

You could remove the E string () or, as some rockabilly bassists do, slacken it off so it just gives a click sound with no note . Alternatively, you could try tuning down a semitone or two across the board, if its that much of an issue?

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1443438525' post='2874603'] hope your other half understands that you need to play it routinley every half hour or so! [/quote] If putting a pallet in the hallway is no issue, practicing is a cinch.....

I estimate the first blister between 17:30 n 18:00

and the endless pursuit of tonal satisfaction begins on Tuesday

All the bands I have ever been in have been rockabilly bands. Back in the (early eighties) day, Rotosounds were the the only real alternative to steel, so I used them for about 10 years. It was never a major problem, but the slight tonal differences between the top pair and bottom pair occasionally caused me some aggravation while trying to get a decent EQ from the amp, but I never had any problems with playability. I started using Innovation about 8 or 9 years ago, and the Silver Slaps are quite similar in tension, but the tone and volume leves are considerably more even across the set, so they are my (current) string of choice... for gigs Now the quirky part... While the Innovation strings are great for amplified gigs, I am not that fond of the acoustic sound. This doesn't bother me usually, as I have absolutely zero interest in playing quietly, but our last album was recorded acoustically to try and emulate some of the fifties recordings so I had to change strings to get a more natural sound.. to RS4000s, which are less 'clanky'. I think that the Roto's are about £40/£50 dearer than Innovations. Personally, I dont hear £50 of improvement, but while I would choose Innovations first, I would take Rotosounds over gut or steel any day of the week. Any of this helpful? Probably not

I use the Innovation Silver Slaps currently. I wouldn't say that they are a 'softer' sound but they suit my requirements. TBH, I only play through an amp so acoustically I'm not bothered what they sound like, although they are not unpleasant, they can be a bit 'clanky'. I have limited experience with gut strings but I find that they are, generally, a lot higher tension than the synthetic 'gut-a-like' strings and are quite pleasant to play. I enjoyed playing Andy(onehandloose)'s bass strung with guts at the bash last year. Did you try his bass? I know you had a quick go on mine, which was on Silver Slaps. Maybe too long ago to remember any comparisons though

Are we doing it again this year? T'was great fun last time

Andy, In order to keep up with JD's 65w valve guitar amp I ended up, after a few trial and errors, getting a GK 1001RBII and a GK NEO 410. That is he only thing I have tried that could 'keep up'. Since then, I use the same head but now with a fEARful 112, which outperforms the 410 with ease. Both cabs are 8ohm, so I have about 450w output to play with, and I have plenty of power in hand for medium sized gigs. If you are in the vicinity of the Harlequin on 21st Feb, you can see what I have and if you let me know when you're playing, and if I aren't already out myself, you can try my fEARful 112 cab and see if that makes any difference.