2wheeler

Sorry - I couldn't have got there until the evening. See you next time.

I would be very interested indeed. Since I stopped having lessons, I have a small(ish) list of questions I would like to ask at such a clinic.

If we want a good work-shop to hand, how about going across to Sheffield to John Shuker's? I haven't been there so I don't know if that is even a sensible suggestion.

[Edit: My bass is in need of a good set-up but I would be just as interested in something which was limited to playing.]

Just to drop in a comment about being too old...

I have seen both sides of this. I have once been turned down by a teacher for being too old but at least the teacher gave me a trial lesson first to see if I was a meteoric talent . Needless to say, I wasn't, so that was the end of that!

I also know a teacher who has got fed up with adult students who want to [i]be able to play[/i] but don't have the time or maybe the dedication to do any work and so they now only take on keen kids. I can certainly understand that point of view.

I hope someone can put me right on this.

I have a Line6 Studio Pro110 which is very dinky, has some great sounds and is surprisingly loud for such a small package. But it's not THAT loud. The instruction manual talks about taking a line out after the pre-amp to a PA for gigs but I want to know if there's a sensible way to get a bit more welly without a PA. Ideally something fairly simple and cost effective. I want something with plenty of bass but it doesn't need to be sophisticated.

There seem to be things called powered cabinets. Is that what I need? Or can I take the post pre-amp signal to another, bigger combo? Or do I need a separate power amp?

Many thanks in advance...

I can't do much on the 29th - I have a prior commitment that week-end. I might be able to drop in later on and I will if I can.

Thank you so much for the lesson on bad habits with one finger per fret. Maybe I will be able to last more than two songs before my left hand cramps up now!

I have not used mine with a kit drummer but it was fine with congas and timbales at rehearsal level and had room to go louder. Beware of the headphone socket. My headphones sound terrible in the headphone socket. It's a known, common fault but it seems I have to go to their depot somewhere on the Southern stretches of the M1 to get it fixed

[quote name='Hit&Run']Which edition of BGM was it reviewed in?[/quote]

Issue 32 (you can get this information from their web site, I did ).
[url="http://www.bassguitarmagazine.com/issue_32.html"]http://www.bassguitarmagazine.com/issue_32.html[/url]

That was a good question to ask because I see that Stuart Clayton did the review.
HELLO STUART! Are you reading this? Any comments?

[quote name='haruki']if this is the jazz-copy one cost on the £400ish range[/quote]

That's the one.

[quote name='paul, the']A peculiar thread.[/quote]

There are other threads asking if people have tried particular basses. What's peculiar about this thread?

[quote name='paul, the']Is it regarding the one on the 'bay?[/quote]

No. They're very new and I would be surprise to see one on ebay.

[quote name='2wheeler' post='99497' date='Dec 5 2007, 01:17 PM']Has anyone tried a Levinson Blade Tetra Classic? (That's the one with the passive pickups, despite having a battery for the mid boost circuit, if I understand correctly.)

This got a great review in Bass Guitar Magazine and I am very interested.

A related questions is, does anyone know where I can try one remotely close to York?[/quote]

Oops I mean standard, not classic.

Here's a picture of lucky me with the bass. Fortunately you can hardly tell I had to do a deal with the devil for my name to come up - there's just a whiff of a clue in the eyes...

I'll post a second opinion review at some point...

[quote name='2wheeler' post='167535' date='Apr 1 2008, 12:05 PM']Sorry - I haven't looked in this forum for months. I do know of someone who works out of the [url="http://www.rehearsalrooms.co.uk/"]White Rooms[/url] but I can't find the details right now. I will post them in a few days when I have rooted them out. PM me if I haven't done it by Saturday...[/quote]

It's Dave Clements and his details are on the White Rooms web page linked above...

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='173445' date='Apr 9 2008, 09:18 PM']Oh, go on then... But you first![/quote]

So you'd shag Dolly Parton after you had shagged the Big Beef Cheef?

That's what I call eclectic taste!

High marks for stamina too, come to think of it

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='173432' date='Apr 9 2008, 08:46 PM']I'm with the BigBeefChief on this one... (Apart from his lack of taste where jazz is concerned!)

I listened (or at least tried) to the RadioHead tracks from the Jonathan Ross show on YouTube & didn't make it through a single one of them. The singer couldn't hold a tune in a bucket & I could teach a total moron to play those basslines in 30 mins flat. So not very musically challenging & a dreadfully depressing durge to boot!

Oh dear, I sound like my Dad!

Oh yes, the point of the thread... Yes, the sound mix quality was lovely for tv studio stuff. Pity about the content, that's all [/quote]

+1

And am I the only person worried that the singer's head will wobble so hard it comes right off?

Good fun and lots of wrist exercise without endangering your eyesight

How about "Why bass is so important", a question largely answered by the "How Music Works" program on bass:
[url="http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/H/how_music_works/bass.html"]http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites...works/bass.html[/url]

I bet someone has a tape of this lying around - although I must confess I just watched it at the broadcast time and didn't have the forethought to tape it.

Sorry - I haven't looked in this forum for months. I do know of someone who works out of the [url="http://www.rehearsalrooms.co.uk/"]White Rooms[/url] but I can't find the details right now. I will post them in a few days when I have rooted them out. PM me if I haven't done it by Saturday...

[quote name='Alun' post='162193' date='Mar 23 2008, 02:12 PM']...there's a great article on him in this month's Bass Player.
...[/quote]

Very sad. Several lifetimes of achievements were crammed in.

Those generous folks at Bass Player have put the
[url="http://www.bassplayer.com/article/cachao/mar-08/33745"]Cachao article[/url]
on their web-site for all to read.

My first solid body electric bass is a single pick-up Warwick Rockbass Streamer standard. I used to think it was great and I loving tweaked the action, strung it with the finest DR strings. It has been in a cupboard for a few months now as I have been getting used to my new(er) Ibanez BTB555 (thankyou Tinman, it's a beaty!) and thought it better not to keep switching between the two until used to the new one.

So far so good.

I am on holiday and wanted to take something with me for practice so I packed the smaller Rockbass. Then I come to get it out and have a bit of a play. Eeek!
Suddenly it has become cheap and nasty. The neck is like a baseball bat, the tone is muddy and the only really good thing about it is the strings...

Does this happen to everyone? Am I just going to rachet my way up, getting a taste for more and more expensive instruments until I lust after some piece of custom-made sonic artwork (I am already thinking John Shuker )?

And would avoiding the bass bash help to slow things down a bit? (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's bad-ass.)

I enjoyed Ska'd for Life by Horace Panter. It was recommended in another thread somewhere...

[quote name='OldGit' post='157399' date='Mar 14 2008, 01:48 PM']hey well done .. That really is jumping in the deep end .. I play at a general jam most weeks and get caught out regularly with obscure album tracks, orginals (for goodness sake how am I supposed to know how someones original song goes??) and stuff from kids bands .. just smile and keep going, then go home and look them up on Chordie and youtube for next time

As an aside, on this video of Straight, no chaer,
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3-kr5M1fF4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3-kr5M1fF4...feature=related[/url]
Roy McCerdy is credited with playing "Slagwerk" .. What's that then? Best I can find is "Clockwork"[/quote]

Thanks for that: both the encouragement and the youtube link!

Love the comment about playing along to an original song

I am pretty sure that
Slagwerk = Drum kit
but I'm stuffed I know what the language is. I guess Dutch? Anyone know?

I had a sudden rush of courage yesterday evening and took my bass to the local Jazz jam night. I stuck to a walking bass line through "Straight, No Chaser", got lost a few times but got through it and had a very good time most of the time.

First time ever in a jazz jam. First time ever playing bass in front of an audience. Not last time!

Loved being part of the music, seeing the audience "getting it". Huge respect to the experienced players who make it look so easy.

Huge thanks to York's Black Swan jazz jam players for encouraging me and being very kind about the whole thing

Egad. It's me.

Pictures (+1 cheesy grin) on arrival of bass.

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='153712' date='Mar 8 2008, 07:11 PM']...I find the reviews to be very honest.[/quote]

I totally agree. There is pressure (implied and explicit) from advertisers and suppliers of review models to be positive in review ratings. I know there shouldn't be but that's the real world. As far as I can tell, BGM manages to confine the impact of such pressure to the star ratings (I agree with the BBC on that point: nothing below a 3 ) and remain very straightforward and honest in the detailed review comments.

For me this is an easy one. It's listening to music that makes me want to play.

I find the same thing works on other people: I start playing my daughter's violin pieces on my bass and, magically, she suddenly has the urge to practice on her violin

BTW, she's only a beginner, I can't play "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the bass or anything crazy like that :|

I think there's a lot of valuable material in Janek's BGM contributions.

When you see his playing, it's amazing he got that technical facility with ONLY 10 hours practice a day. Also I would say he can do both musical, supportive bass playing and dextrous pyrotechnics. I wish I had that choice...

Ultimately I have no idea how many notes he can play or how long he plays them. I know how fast I can play and Janek's tips (among other things) are helping me to get faster. I know how long I practice and Janek's column helps inspire me to play a bit longer. What more can you ask for?