Steve A

You might be right Geoff.

Oh bugger. Only two minute drive from my house...

Has anyone ever had a double bass refinished? I have a bass which I don't really like the colour of and wondered if it's possible to refinish in a darker colour, remove the shiny look of it and therefore improve my quality of life. Any thoughts or idea of costs? Steve

Hello, I am an experienced bass teacher living and working in Wallasey, Merseyside. I've been a touring and recording musician for 25 years working in the UK and internationally, performing in clubs and festivals and on radio and television. Whether you are a beginner or have been playing for a number of years, I can help you to develop as a player. My experience as a working professional means I can help you to develop confidence for any playing situation you may find yourself in. I concentrate on teaching the fundamentals of music and the essentials of bass playing. You don't need fancy techniques in order to play well and get good gigs... you need a solid foundation: You need to know the notes available to play in any situation. You need an understanding of harmony, a developed sense of musical hearing and the ability to know your options which will enable you to make informed choices regarding notes, rhythms and phrasing (which comes from the analysis of music you love and the playing of other musicians). Understanding the basics of harmony is actually not as hard as you might think. The hard part is committing to a regular routine of personal practise outside of the music lesson to get the concepts in your mind and under your fingers. I currently teach all age groups and offer lessons weekday daytimes, evenings and weekends. I have students across the UK and Europe and teach via Zoom. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss your requirements. Thanks, Steve

Sounds great Adam!

Thanks Gunsfreddy! I'd like to do more of this kind of playing. I don't do enough of this kind of thing these days but I really enjoy it.

Thanks Kenny!

Wish I hadn't sold my Moon bass now but you can't have them all can you!

Ah, near the oil terminal...

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this but I'm a bit tipsy and can't be bothered to read through the entire thread! I often found it useful to record a drone of a certain pitch or chord and then practise playing melodies and improvisations over that note/chord to practise playing in tune. Use open strings to gauge your pitch to compare to fretted notes. Try and play as much fretless as you can (the ideal is to play it exclusively but of course that isn't always possible) if you want to get good good at it. It's a combination of ear development and muscle memory that can only be attained by regular practise and repetition. Hope this helps (says someone who regretfully had to sell his beloved fretless to buy a new car last month )

I recently sold my Pensa fretless to Ari who was sadly unable to meet me in person. He arranged for his girlfriend to meet me to collect the bass and made the money side of things nice and easy. Hope you're enjoying the bass Ari! Steve

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='738280' date='Feb 7 2010, 06:19 PM']Superb playing. Love it! [/quote] Thanks Pete! I was checking out some youtube footage of you with Nearly Dan the other day too. Very nice! Must come and check out a gig before too long.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='738272' date='Feb 7 2010, 06:10 PM']Great fun, Steve. Great 80s technology vibe, too!! [/quote] Ha ha, thanks Bilbo! It was a lot of fun getting these tunes together.

[quote name='silddx' post='735803' date='Feb 5 2010, 08:35 AM']Those are fair points.[/quote] For the sake of balance, I recently demonstrated the back pickup sound (of a lovely fretless Pensa Jazz bass I owned for a while) to a student of mine who thought it sounded thin and horrible... I personally liked the punch, woodiness and precision of the sound but it wasn't to his liking. He thought it was nasal and thin and not at all to his taste. Simply put, we're both from very different musical backgrounds and grew up listening to very different music and it's all a matter of taste and personal preference. As 'they' say, 'there is no accounting for taste!'

[quote name='barks' post='734241' date='Feb 3 2010, 05:10 PM']i've always loved my Bergies. Two 1x12's with Aguilar 500SC. Neil [attachment=41753:DSCF1623.JPG][/quote] Neil that's lovely!

Nice Mike! I always enjoy your videos. Steve

[url="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6610558556587749772#"]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6610558556587749772#[/url]

[quote name='silddx' post='735706' date='Feb 5 2010, 12:42 AM']...but his sound was brash, ugly and selfish, and he was only ever out for himself.[/quote] I disagree. In my opinion his sound with Weather Report on 'A Remark You Made' and 'Canonball' among others is soft and beautiful, his phrasing melodic and serving the music. Joni Mitchell employed him for what he brought to the music, his characterful playing and his tone. Listen to the other bass player who plays in a more standard manner on an album like Hejira. Meat and potatoes and nothing wrong with that. But Jaco's playing stands out head and shoulders above that because of the (at the time) uniqueness of his sound and the personality and character in his playing. Nobody could match Jaco in those days as far as expression goes. You can't get that level of expression without paying attention, in great detail, to your personal sound.

Hi all, I've put together an edited version of some rehearsal sessions for a band I was in a couple of years ago if you'd like to have a listen to some of my playing. It's a bit of a long example but stick with it if you can be bothered! I used a Moon jazz bass with Sadowsky onboard preamp for this band. Sadly I no longer own that bass. The recording features my good friend and great player Andy Edwards on drums. Hope you like it! Steve

Nice nice nice nice nice!

[quote name='TPJ' post='734121' date='Feb 3 2010, 03:07 PM']I can't help but think having a finger board that detaches will really affect the tone as they are usually glued on tight. But who knows until you try one. Buy one and let us know [/quote] The fingerboard is very snug and tight to the neck. I don't know what the actual difference in tone would be compared to a glued on neck. On the website the creator of the idea comments on how this design differs from other portable basses by way of the fact that it is still a double bass in dimensions, with the same sound producing capabilities as a normal bass. The sound will be less 'different' to a non-folding bass compared to a bass with a slimmer body or different body shape etc... It would be interesting to hear the same model of bass in folding and non-folding versions.

The bass I tried felt lovely to play, had a nice slim neck and was well balanced and comfortable. The tone was smooth but had character. It wasn't ferociously loud but loud enough as I played it with a full circle pickup into an Acoustic image combo anyway. It sounded lovely. In the mix listening from out front it sounded warm and woody.... just right. If playability and portability were the main factors I'd have one immediately! I'm considering one as soon as I can afford one.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='734109' date='Feb 3 2010, 02:56 PM']Just watched the video. Tearing it down looks surprisingly quick but I imagine setting it back up again would take a lot longer.[/quote] I watched my friend set it up and tear it down and it's all pretty quick once you know what you're doing.

It only takes a couple of minutes to set up once you have experience of it. You could still be set up and ready before the guitar player has unpacked all his pedals.