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

Whoops, maybe I wasn't too clear, it's for a bass guitar rather than upright! The Gallien Kruger MB210 sounds interesting, especially as various expansion speakers are available. My budget I guess would be up to about 400-ish, and the sort of sound I am after would be more-or-less the traditional Fender thump - I love the feel and sound of a Precision although my last bass which I swapped for my current saxophone was a late 80's Fender Jazz with actives which I loved. I didn't over-use the actives, it just meant it could replicate the sound of a Fender with new strings all the time. That is the sound!

Hi bassists, I have need of some kind of bass combo, preferably small and light for portability and space reasons, yet loud enough to be heard in, say, smaller club settings or playing with jazz combos. What would you recommend, and what wattage would suffice? I've seen various upright bassists using what look like very small combo's with small speakers (8 or 10 inch at a guess) which seem to be quite punchy, and wonder if something like this would be ok for bass guitar. Bearing in mind my last bass combo was a big old Peavey TNT I am somewhat out of touch with the latest technological developments, so any help would be appreciated. One of my main considerations as I said is that I would like it to be quite small, also it would be nice if it had a headphone jack and line in for home practising playing along with CD's or MP3's etc, but that isn't an essential. Cheers, Bob

I've just been reading through this thread - I have a real hankering for an upright, I've been playing saxes for about 8 years but following recent dental work it's quite uncomfortable, and as a bass-player of some 30 years the old low notes are calling to me once again. I don't really have room for a 'real' DB unfortunately, so I reckon EUB might be the way to go. Having read all this, I am definitely going to count the pennies a bit. If not a Stagg (which seems to have nice features) is there something a little better/more expensive, say around the 7-800 quid mark? Cheers, Bob

Thanks for all the help everybody! Plenty to think about, especially as I have just got back from seeing a piano trio featuring the utterly wonderful Arnie Somogyi playing bass.

Thanks for the welcomes! Back when I was playing bass, I started off in about 1971 with a borrowed Danelectro, then my own Vox Precision copy (£15!!) through whatever amp I could blag, eventually I got my own real Precision which at various times went through Hiwatt (for that authentic JJ Burnel sound) then Marshall heads, with either (or both in extreme circumstances) a Marshall 4x12 and Vox 2x15 cabinets. I finally ended up with a Fender Power Jazz Plus (active, all black, nice instrument) going through one of those ludicrously big heavy Peavey combo's. I also had a brief flirtation with a Gibson EB-something, fairly short scale and a bit flappy, but basically was always a Fender man. Also owned a cheapo fretless for about 20 years, and ended up swapping a bass for my first saxophone about 8 years ago. I've also done brief stints in various bands playing guitar, keys in another, and drums in one (plus a ludicrously under-achieving career as a solo acoustic guitarist/singer) but was really always a bassist, it's my first love really despite having only toyed with the old fretless on occasion over the last few years while playing the sax. Every gig I've been to over the last year or so has made me more aware of what the bass is doing to the point where I can almost feel that old neck in my left hand and my plucking fingers get kind of itchy, so I think I'm ready to get back into it. Cheers, Bob

Hi! As I said in my intro, I haven't played bass for a few years, but have over 30 years of playing bass guitar behind me (committed Fender player!). I am ready to return to bass-world after my sojourn in sax-land, and would like some advice please. Over the last few years I have really got into jazz music of all styles, and find myself listening increasingly to what the bass is doing, and thinking I could handle that! The question is where do I start? All I know is that jazzists seem to favour 3/4 instruments, but how much should I pay for one to get me started, should I go new or used, what brands are to be recommended/avoided etc etc etc??? I'm thinking of an acoustic rather than solid instrument, but beyond that have really no idea. Any help gratefully received. Cheers, Bob

Hi, Bob here, age 56 and from Welwyn Garden City. First up, I have to admit to being a traitor to the cause of the low rumble - I've been playing saxophones for the last few years to the exclusion of all else, but now it's a bit painful following extensive dental work. So, I've decided to return to the bass which I had been playing for about 30 years, and as a self-inflicted punishment I am considering the upright bass rather than the guitar variety! This means I will in effect be a novice in terms of technique, but at least have a feel for the role and possibilities of the bass, and this seems like a nice friendly place for asking what some might consider very basic questions. Cheers everyone!