Bob G

I intend to get at least one lesson, I want to make sure I get my posture right. My plucking technique isn't too bad - I've watched and imitated a couple of vids on YouTube, also I am very quickly getting to grips with the intonation and scale length so playing in tune is coming fairly easily.

This is the silk winding on my strings - any ideas what they might be?

Hi! Having played electric bass on and off (mostly on) for about 50 years I've just bought a double bass, dirt cheap, and if you saw it you'd understand why! It's a bit of a state to look at but seems pretty solid - it has a label inside which reads Excelsior, Boosey and Hawkes and I believe it was made in the 60's. Any opinions/info on this make? Also, is it possible to identify the strings from the colour of the binding at the tailpiece end? I'm going to be playing, or trying to play, folk/blues/jazzy stuff, all pizzicato and these strings, while sounding ok are a bit dead, lacking that pizzicato twang and punch that I'd like to achieve - hopefully it's the strings and not the bass although no doubt if the DB bug bites I will possibly upgrade the instrument eventually. Any recommendations for strings to go for? A set seems to be very expensive, but will need changing a lot less than a bass guitar I suppose. Also, is there a market for used strings if I want to try more than one set without breaking the bank? Cheers for any help. Bob

I think I'm ok on the bass front as it's passive so hopefully won't blow the soundcard. I will look into the options - quick and dirty or cheap and cheerful will do me! Thanks everyone.

I have a bass, and I have a PC (tower variety with various inputs). How do I connect one to the other so I can play the bass through the PC speakers while playing music through same?

I'll keep an eye out for that, Gary.

I have this Peavey head dated 1979, I'm used to bass/mid/treble/maybe presence on amps, what does the parametric eq do, and how does it work?

Probably been asked before, but how do I cure noisy/crackly pots on my Peavey head?

Hi everyone, my name is Bob Green, I'm 61 and have been playing bass since I was 15. i've had a layoff of about 15 years during which time I dedicated myself to playing the saxophone then the double bass, but now it's time to get back into the real reason why I make music, the bass guitar. Coincidentally, a friend decided he wanted some space in his flat so I have acquired, on long term loan, a couple of basses - a Squier P-bass and some kind of Yamaha, also an old Peavey 100 head and a really old Vox 2 x 15 cab. I'm just starting to really get back into it, if I can sell my double bass and a couple of saxes I will upgrade to an instrument of my choice, most likely a real Fender - I'm a traditionalist like that! I love most kinds of music, in the past I've played prog rock, punk, jazz funk, blues, indie pop/rock, psychedelic/electronic etc, even dabbled in the simpler end of the murky waters of jazz. My favourite bassists, in no particular order, are Richard Sinclair, John Wetton, Mike Howlett, Colin Moulding, Bruce Thomas, Hugh Hopper, Bill MacCormick, Holger Czukay and many others. I will quite literally listen to anything. I expect I'll be asking a few questions, hopefully I will get some worthwhile answers, but I also look forward to just chatting and sharing with other people, it looks like a nice place here!

I have recently acquired a bass and have no idea what strings it has on it (other than that they are metal as opposed to gut or synthetic) or how old they are. If I were to describe the winding at each end by colour would it be possible to identify them that way? The reason I ask this is because, as I develop my technique I may want strings that produce, say, a warmer, or punchier, or more sustainy, or louder (!) tone so it would be useful to know what I am currently using as a reference point for further exploration. Perhaps I should point out that I am working towards playing jazz, and pizz only, for now at least. If this is any help the silk at the tail end is a darkish red, at the headstock E is green, A black, D red, G brown. Thanks for any help!

I'm new to this double bass playing, about a month in, although I've played bass guitar for over 40 years. What I would like to know is how Danny Thompson gets that growl in his sound, does he have a particularly low action, or heavy right hand action, or is a particular string make more likely to produce this sound? Whatever, I like it a lot, even though I'm not likely to try and emulate it (at least not yet!)

Hi Geoff, I am new to double bass (2 days in!) although I've played bass guitar on and off (mostly on) for nearly 40 years. I've only briefly perused your lessons, but from what little I've seen I think they will be right up my street. Thanks for all the time and effort which you must have put into it

Thanks for the welcomes and the pointer to the EUB & Real bass section. If it's as friendly and helpful here as the sax-players forum I was on until recently I'm sure I'll have a great time

Hello, Bob here from wonderful Welwyn Garden City. I'm 58 and been playing various instruments for 50 years - mainly bass guitar and acoustic guitar but also keyboard (throwback to childhood piano lessons) and drums, although for the last 10 years I've been playing saxophones almost exclusively. I have been the proud owner of a double bass since just yesterday, and want to get into some jazz playing, probably at the simpler or more bluesy end. I may well have some very basic questions to ask in the future, and this seems like a good place. Cheers (with aching fingers!), Bob