Cairobill

Absolutely right - I started playing db in my mid thirties and it's really helped me progress as a musician and bassist esp. with jazz... The big mistake with DB is to transfer using the gripping method of fretting from electric to db. It really hurts after a few minutes and any effort to persist will result in tendinitis. People sometimes expect it to hurt and persist with bad habits and it can seriously bugger your hands/forearms. DB left hand is all about using arm weight and correct hand/finger shape so that you can use arm weight to depress the strings without screwing your tendons. A really good DVD with a sound analysis of left and right hand technique is Rufus Reid's 'Evolving Bassist'. He covers left and right hand technique, chord theory, walking and runs through a few great standards. It's a fantastically well spent 20 quid. And, of course, get a good teacher and use a bow too, if only just for practicing, it nails your left hand technique and intonation. Rufus Reid DVD for 16 quid! Buy it now, it's all in there... [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolving-Bassist-Rufus-Reid/dp/0757915655/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258382107&sr=8-3"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolving-Bassist-R...2107&sr=8-3[/url] [quote name='jakesbass' post='655825' date='Nov 16 2009, 11:29 AM']Hey Bilbo, I would be bound to chime in. Having heard your electric playing on a few of the things you've posted it's clear that you have great harmonic facility and technical execution. You can transfer those skills onto DB very easily. Primarily if you are worried about injuries as has been said make sure you are warmed up before practise, a quick spell on electric first can be useful with that. Secondly work very carefully on the physical approach to the instrument in the left hand, and do very little until you are doing it right. Straight wrists, gently curled fingers, not to much 'gripping' more using the natural weight in your arm to get pressure on the stops and into your finger tips. Use the pads of your fingertips rather than curling too much and in fact with the right approach you can stop notes without having your thumb on the back of the neck at all (NB that is to see that applied pressure is correct and NOT a recommended way of playing per se) Keep your elbow up and your wrist as flat as planet earth (it is flat isn't it?) Later today I will post some pics of a good attitude for fingers wrist and arm... Most of all you have PM and posting here for a constant stream of help and advice so, really, I mean it, contact anytime. Enjoy, you will prosper spiritually on it as it is the natural home of your second love (assuming your significant other is 1st) Jake[/quote]

With Bravewood the relic is one part of the equation and obviously very much a taste thing. Sonically and construction-wise the basses themselves are jaw droppingly good...I mean really, really good... Nick

Lined boards exclusively.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='646643' date='Nov 5 2009, 08:16 PM']Having met the man in question a couple of times (and he is a really nice guy, too), whether or not you like what he does, he did do one thing. He made a whole generation of bass players work hard to try and emulate him. None of this current day instant gratification nonsense, just pure hard practise to achieve something and become better bass players. Whether you're a simplistic root note rock music plodder or a jazz/funk twiddler, players like Mark King are and should be considered as a welcome inspiration to us all.[/quote] Well said...he's a great stylist and certainly inspired me (along with Jaco, Lee...etc etc I'm an eighties kid) to woodshed. I like the post earlier about MK giving Charlie Haden an award - they are effectively at either end of the spectrum. Haden is texture, space and weight while King sticks out in the mix, filling the stave with chugging beats. But I have a taste for both. As I get older I veer towards the Haden end of things but I still appreciate King's playing... EDIT - Now does anyone know about the viking portrait?...I am intrigued...

Just listening to Pursuit of Accidents the track...fantastic, really distilled, great vibe... I might do a playlist of what I think is the good stuff...and what tracks I think are well dodgy. I can't think of any band whose stuff has so polarised my opinion of their music. Some of it I really like, some of it is really, really bad...

I remember watching Top of the Pops as a kid when Level 42 did Sun Goes Down. My first impression was "I didn't know Steve McQueen played bass?". My second impression was that it was a great bass line. King is only knocked because he is so high profile and he's stylistically SO identifiable. No one can deny that he is a fantastic bass player - and he's a lot more than the super fast slap stuff if you ask me. His bass playing generally is very strong indeed. Level 42's music, on the other hand, had terrible quality control - but the good stuff is great fun. If I was to recommend one album I would go with either Pursuit of Accidents or World Machine...then again True Colours has some great tracks... Nick P.S. Does anyone know the truth to that story that he had a portrait painted of himself as a Viking hanging over his fireplace?

The only bass I need is a maple boarded jazz... ...maybe with pearl blocks? Ahhhh decisions...

[quote name='Spoombung' post='643309' date='Nov 2 2009, 12:28 PM']Thanks Alan. I probably shouldn't say this...but my own personal favourites don't usually feature the bass too much![/quote] Of course when you're making the music, the more familiar elements like the sound of your fretless playing must after a while feel a bit 'been there done that' so, to your ears, your favourites aren't bass heavy. But whenever I hear you play the bass it sounds like only you could have done it, it is a completely unique sound. That is a serious achievement on any instrument let alone the bass. Kudos! Cairo

Hey Clarky My advice is to buy yourself a copy of Rufus Reid's 'Evolving Bassist' DVD and get your Zeller set up properly by a good luthier. I know a fantastic guy in Clapham who would do you a great job for relatively little outlay. Just as an aside, Zellers get pretty bad press for being cheap production line basses but Lawrence (the luthier I know) had a Zeller in that he had set up and it really sounded big and punchy. It's all in the setup! Drop me a line if you want me to hook you up - I can;t remember the exact cost of a thorough set up (setting the string height, soundpost adjustment, fingerboard/nut dressing etc) but it probably wasn't too far off £100... I found that after taking up upright that my electric playing improved considerably, so there are other side-benefits as well. Cheers Nick

I'll suggest using Thomastik Spiros, the Mittels (which are the mid gauge). Very focussed pizzicato sound, moderate tension and they sound better the more you break them in. I've had mine for 4 years - I use a Realist to amplify my bass - while it brings out a lot of bottom end it does take away some of the colour in the sound. I'm seriously considering using an electrovoice re20 mic for live work, they sound incredibly good for recording... Nick

You're on the right track... I have to say that you should dispense with all that godawful bass solo album stuff apart from one. Pastorius is a very good composer indeed - none of the others in the list are on the same page. So, continue listening to Pastorius and righteously shun the rest of the finger wiggling. It can be a pleasure to listen to (as a bassist) but musically it is pretty thin gruel... Nick

I don't know what is about Jamerson but his bass playing makes me very happy indeed Nick [quote name='jakesbass' post='632244' date='Oct 21 2009, 11:39 AM']Very good advice indeed [/quote]