julietgreen

On 12/09/2019 at 15:56, Blartfactor10 said:

J Tone is simply the best Upright Piezo you can buy for the price. Nothing comes close. All piezo pickups need just the right amount of pressure to work correctly. Opening up or shimming the gap in your bridge is crucial to getting a good tone. J Tone Pickups are built using quality components. I am running one on one of my basses. It sings!😀😀

I realise that this is a 6 year old post now, but perhaps you could elaborate on the pressure issue. I've got my J-tone pads squeezed rather tight in the gaps on my bridge. Is that not a good idea? Should I give them a little more room?

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. So far this tells me that I'm not a million miles away either with the J-tone pickups for now (This is my first year of gigging on the DB. Maybe one day I'll think about laying out more for something else) and my markbass and trace combo as my monitor with a line out to PA (possibly with no bass in my monitor if possible). I hadn't thought about blocking the F holes. I'll look into that.

3 hours ago, JPJ said:

I’ve used J-Tones (Reds and Big Twin) and found them to be excellent pickups providing you spend time to get the fit in the bridge wing ‘just right’. I’ve recently moved to a David Gage copperhead, which is a huge improvement over the J-Tones but I guess you’d expect that given the respective price points. So far I’ve had no feedback issues with the copperhead, but I’m playing a gig in a couple of weeks with a notoriously resonant stage so that will be the acid test.

Do you used F hole blockers on louder stages? 

I've never thought to use F hole blockers. I'm very new to the world of double bass.

I've started gigging with the DB this year. I'm using a j-tone piezo pick up and a trace amp and mark bass two by ten cab. It's been OK ish so far. The last gig I had to deal with a bit of feedback. Set up was cramped and I was practically on top of the cab. Some festy gigs coming up will have bass rig set up but they'll be for eb. I've never tried it through anything else yet. Was thinking of sticking to my combo and Di to the PA. I'd like to pick the brains of experienced dB players who have used amplification. Thoughts? 

31 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

Having been musically inactive since lockdown (partly due to knowing I would be moving), I've got a try out with an Country/Americana originals band on Sunday, and now a mate at my new work has asked me if I would like to do some really interesting Blues. Why was the timing so bad, or can I fit both in 🤔

You can definitely fit both. I've been in multiple bands on saxes and bass. Rehearsals every night of the week! I was younger then. Now I grumble about having to rehearse in person and not on jamulus.

You realise this is entirely different if you're a female bassist, don't you? 😜

Thanks people for the advice. I followed some of it and I also started consciously working on pulling my shoulders back and making sure I don't drop my chin down whilst doing the things - typing, looking at screens etc. And whilst playing. I just ran through a set with minimal discomfort, so I think I might be on the right lines. I also booked a physio. I 'sledded' down the stairs about a year ago on my back (unintentionally) and that can't have helped!

19 hours ago, NickA said:

May not be the bass playing. I had a right hand issue that only appeared when playing a 5 string electric bass.  Turned out to be a ulna nerve problem from the way I used a computer track pad 😂.

 

Does it go away if you take a few days break from playing?

 

But yes I did have that rhomboid pain thing ( along with pins and needles in my fingering hand) .  Maybe not from bass playing, maybe more from too low a work desk... Many hours of "postural realignment" with a variety of physios, none of which worked much till one of them found a single exercise that did the trick. ( Lie on front arms by sides, raise arms, still parallel to your body, pushing shoulder blades together, relax, repeat) it tenses all the muscle fibres then allows them all to relax together and also strengthens the rhomboid muscles so they're not over stressed by whatever you were doing to annoy them.

This is true. It hurts when I start playing bass, but it could be typing at the computer or even looking at the phone too much that has triggered it!

4 hours ago, Beedster said:

Yes! Mine was the result of keeping amplification volume low to avoid feedback and therefore having to dig in with both hands - increasing muscle tension around the shoulders as I did - just to be heard. The fact that you're now in a band sounds awfully familiar. Advice, make sure you are able to hear yourself and to be heard without you having to do anything different from what you'd do practicing at home. Plenty of folks on here will advise re how that can be done 👍

You could be on to something here. I'm getting it practising at home so no amp. I'll try some amplification and see if it helps. 

4 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

I don’t want to patronise you, but a lesson can help if you’re worried abkht technique 

 

The other thing that has helped me is going to the gym. Working on my core has improved my posture which has, to a great extent, eliminated strain from my back.

I guess it's always a good idea to have some lessons. I do also work on core strength. It's weird that this is a new thing. 

15 minutes ago, Owen said:

Are you sitting or standing to play?

Standing. I haven't tried sitting yet. 

That's the muscle that lies between the shoulder blade and the spine, in case you weren't sure!

I've been playing dB for a couple of years now and this is new. I'm playing more than I used to, because I'm now in a band and am practising more! I don't think I'm doing anything particularly wrong -though I must be. It seems to be just the action of the left hand is causing this. I'm as relaxed as I can be. I don't hold up my elbow to play. I use the weight of the arm. I'm not holding the bass tightly etc. I don't want this to become a thing that stops me from playing.

Anyone had this and overcome it?

J

On 06/12/2024 at 14:53, FretsOnFire said:

I've noticed that when I play I very rarely if ever can get through
songs (covers) with 100% of the notes hit.

 

I seem to be unable to play
a song without the odd mistake (not that anybody but me would notice
unless you played the song yourself)

I've read that even the pros have this issue but it's still in the
back of my mind that I've made the mistake and I'm sure I'm not the
only one here with the issue.

 

My question is.... How the heck do you get along with this problem? 😬😁

It's gratifying to read this. At my last outing, I realised I'd gotten to the end of a short set and hadn't made any mistakes. It was a remarkable moment. It's rare. Usually there are a few and it's always about lapses in concentration. 

I'm keen to do the melody for j'attendrai on double bass for the Hot Club style band that I play in. As I'm newish to dB and I've not been doing melodies so far, I'm seeking advice on which fingering you would use moving from c to d to e and back on the g string as happens in this tune. 

2 hours ago, Staggering on said:

Lucky you, I would love to land a gig like that!

Are you using any type of amplification? Your choice of mic/pickup/amp may have some bearing on the strings that you use, some pickups make all strings sound more or less the same.

I've got a good system that seems to work for me. I have a J-tone double bass pickup through a Trace amp into a little Mark Bass traveller cab. I think it sounds OK. I haven't gigged much with it for the DB yet - only tried out in rehearsals. The last gig I did, it had to be accoustic as there was no power.

I'm playing double bass in a new Hotclub Style band. I love it. I don't have decades of double bass experience but it's huge fun and I can get away with not being the most technically dazzling player. I had the db set up a while back and it plays fine even though it's a student model. The string are still the ones that came with it when I bought it. Anyone play HC style and do things differently string wise? Are there specific strings that work better for you? Other types of insider information also welcome.

These replies have really helped put things in context. It might have been a good networking opportunity but this was for a band I don't know and a bit of a drive away. I slightly know the person that asked me. I turned it down saying I'd be more than happy to dep for/at a gig. (It's mainstream jazz, so mostly leadsheet stuff) or to dep rehearsals online. I did this a lot between 2020 and 2023 (jamulus) and I found it to be an excellent way to rehearse. No humping gear. No freezing rehearsal rooms. No commuting. No standing around waiting for people to have fag breaks. I do enjoy playing jazz on EB but like some of you here, as I get older, I get pickier about how far I'm willing to go and how late I'm willing to set out!

Have you ever been asked to come along to a band's rehearsal because their bassist was not able to make it but they really needed some bass.

I find this an odd request. No gig. No fee. Just could you come and sit in for us.

20 hours ago, jrixn1 said:

Most of the suggestions so far you can busk from a chord chart, right?  But the original example of Night in Tunisia is in a different category, as iReal is not going to bail you out here - the only option is to know it already.  I'd say more along the lines of All Blues, Footprints, Four on Six, the intro to Seven Steps from Heaven... if you DON'T play something approximating the original line, you're gonna get funny looks from everyone!

YES! This! Exactly.

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

 

So What..?

 

Rhythm Changes..?

 

Mr PC..?

 

Misty..? (my favourite...)

 

Take Five..?

 

Enough for now; the list could get to be very long indeed..! 

Yeah. The list could be long.

A specific bassline to rhythm changes? And Misty?

I was reminding myself of Night in Tunisia yesterday, and also, the Real Book suggested intro to Blue Bossa. I was thinking about pretty mainstream jazz that has special basslines with a mind to learning them properly. Herbie Hancock stuff, obviously. What else comes to mind?

On 05/09/2022 at 22:44, Doddy said:

It's hard to say what to play without knowing things like the time signature, the feel, or the melody. All of those things should guide you in what to play.

Note wise, yes you could play an open E through all of it if you wanted, but you could also play E's in different octaves too (if you wanted to stay on just the root). Alternatively, do you know the notes that are in all of those chords? If you do, that gives you a lot of options of where you can take your bassline.

Hi Doddy

Yes, I know the notes in those chords, so I was wondering whether other bassists would voice them. I realise the feel of the piece would contribute to the decision.

2 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

Tomorrow Never Knows is very similar to this; nothing wrong with playing (mostly) one chord for 4 minutes at all.

Hmm... OK, cool. I'll have a listen to that one. It would certainly make remembering it easy. By 'one chord' do you mean one note? That's the thing...

Someone I know has written a pop song with chords along these lines:

E        Aadd9/E    Emaj7sus2    Esus4 (x2)

E            Esus4    ,    E      Esus4

Aadd9/E          E              Emaj7sus2

So, essentially, it could be open E string throughout! I'm not sure what I would do with it. Put in those voicings? Create an ostinato bass riff? Is there a trick here that I'm not seeing? What would you do, given it's a basic pop style, guitar led song?

Someone has asked me to play a (very simple) bass part to a bit of Bach. I have a basic double bass such as is used for jazz etc. The Bach part goes down to C. Is it feasible to drop the E string down? I know I can try it and see, but I wondered if it was something that was ever done.