Steve A

Hi, As a regular visitor to the Wirral I'd just like to see who else here is from there and where. I spend a lot time in Wallasey these days. All the best! Steve

[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='658639' date='Nov 18 2009, 10:12 PM']Thank you so much for posting that ... I have a new bass hero Andy[/quote] It's a pleasure. Someone I know posted it on facebook and I thought it would be a crime not to share it here.

[quote name='gcordez' post='658209' date='Nov 18 2009, 03:31 PM']Hey Steve, Check this guy out too. Rinat is a serious B.A.D.A.S.S [url="http://www.ibragimov.co.uk/page-sets/music-D-bass.html#youtube"]http://www.ibragimov.co.uk/page-sets/music...ss.html#youtube[/url][/quote] Very nice!!

Check this out! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrqq5L96reE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrqq5L96reE[/url]

I've been lucky enough to secure a short tour with a bluegrass band in December. Excellent musicians, lovely songs and great, fun music. It's easy. Root, fifth over and over again. As long as I learn the songs, what could be simpler? WRONG! I've had to take so many breaks in practising the songs today because of the sheer strain of playing such simple parts. It's a lot easier to play lines that use different fingers for the different notes of a bassline once you've developed a decent amount of overall hand strength, but try playing a root (E on D string) then a 4th below (B on A string) over and over and over again on a bass with relatively high action, with solid time, without your arm and hand feeling the strain. It's NOT easy until you develop the strength and I'm clearly not there yet. But, it's great practise!

[quote name='51m0n' post='634170' date='Oct 23 2009, 08:30 AM']Its just an awesome sound isnt it![/quote] Yes, it's perfect for what I do. It's simple to use and sounds great. That's it!

[quote name='jakesbass' post='655825' date='Nov 16 2009, 11:29 AM']Later today I will post some pics of a good attitude for fingers wrist and arm...[/quote] Looking forward to seeing that myself, Jake.

[quote name='TPJ' post='655769' date='Nov 16 2009, 10:45 AM']I wish you the best of luck getting back into DB, it really is a very rewarding instrument and I hope you get to experience that.[/quote] I agree... I've found it incredibly rewarding to play double bass again this year.

I studied double bass for a couple of years (starting at the age of 27) at music college here in Birmingham but suffered with tendonitis because of the combination of double bass and also playing a 36 inch scale 5 string... I had to stop practising and only played a few sporadic gigs during that period. it affected my electric bass playing too when I'd get stabbing pains if I moved my fretting hand up the neck. After a period of rest and wearing a splint on my left arm for months I discovered a routine of warm-ups as detailed in the book 'The Bassist's Guide to Injury Management, Prevention and Better Health' by Dr.Randall Kertz. I would then warm-up before every gig and long practise session, I sold my double bass and 5 string and played only 4 string bass for the next few years. Since then I've taken up double bass again (at the end of last year at the then age of 35) and have been playing gigs on it for most of this year. Because of the warm-ups, a gentle practise routine and regular gigs I've been able to develop strength and haven't endured any of the problems I had before. Initially there were a few muscular aches and pains but I think that's to be expected in the early stages of developing strength the instrument. The fingers got a bit sore to start with but regular gigs meant that they hardened up pretty quickly and now they don't give me any trouble at all. I took lessons while at college and am trying to apply all that he told me while I play now but am considering taking a few more early next year just to make sure all is ok. That's my experience so far.

[quote name='Maxcat' post='632690' date='Oct 21 2009, 06:17 PM']HI all. A quick question for you. Up until now, I have used a tone bone Bassbone to input my bass and Eub. With the new band I use 2 basses and the upright. Whats the best solution. One option is to use another true bypass AB box into channel 1 of the bassbone with the 2 basses, and plug the EUB straight into channel 2. Is this overkill or is there a simpler solution. (Ill save you "just use one bass") Any other ideas. And if its an AB box any recommendations? I was looking at the Radial Big Shot as it would be nice to be able to adjust the input volumes, but I dont need a tuner out or a mute switch Cheers Don[/quote] Don, I've got exactly the same situation going on right now. Just bought a Radial Bigshot A/B box which is fantastic (solid as a rock and great quality) but essentially need to get the two basses into the A/B box as well as a Double bass (mic and pickup blend going through a Radial PZ-Pre preamp pedal) into one amp. So far the way I get around it is by using an ART Powermix 4 channel passive mixer. [url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/art-powermix-1-mixer--28239"]http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/art-...-1-mixer--28239[/url] I go from the A/B box into one channel of the mixer and take a line out of the PZ preamp into the mixer and take all that into the amp. Best I can do so far! The Lehle 3at1 pedal looks fantastic though. Thomann sell them for about £170. Steve

[quote name='gcordez' post='636919' date='Oct 26 2009, 02:17 PM']on a different tangent- how you getting on with the mic and realist pickup?..[/quote] Hi there. Loving it thanks!! Getting a very natural sound from the set-up. You can hear the bass here on a recent gig in Cardiff. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBNmBrL9NiE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBNmBrL9NiE[/url] Hope you're well, Steve

Hi, I use a Realist pickup and SD Systems LCM100 clip on bridge-microphone into a Radial PZ-Pre pedal pre-amp. That goes into a Markbass SA450 or Little Mark II (although I prefer the 'drier' sound of the SA450... The LMII sounds 'glossy' if that makes any sense!) into a Bergantino HT112 12" speaker cabinet. After experimenting on various gigs this year I now position the cabinet behind the bass to minimise feedback from the very sensitive dynamic mic. You can hear it here. The Blended pickup/mic signal is being sent direct to the desk via the Radial's pre-EQ XLR output. The Markbass/Bergantino rig is just for stage monitoring. I think it's a pretty natural sound. Please feel free to critique any bad techniques you witness! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBNmBrL9NiE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBNmBrL9NiE[/url] Steve

[quote name='51m0n' post='625745' date='Oct 14 2009, 09:39 AM']If its really big bottom you want then I would have to suggest a Barefaced Vintage or BigOne. The Berg ae410 is superb, but the HS410 has more low-mid bump, so that may suit you more. Either way Berg is about as good as it gets IMO (see sig), its just which Berg you need to choose.[/quote] I've got the same rig (Markbass SA450 and Berg AE410) and it's just the best sound I've yet had. Big, warm, clear bass. By the way, for what it's worth, I did a comparison of my AE410 with Geoffbassist's HS410 a few months back to see if there would be any benefit in changing my setup... We both agreed in the end that it wasn't worth it. the AE410 seemed clearer and had a wider frequency response. The HS410 sounded smooth but to me not as big and warm as the AE cabinet. Depends what kind of thing you're after I suppose, but I was happy enough to keep my amazing cabinet. Steve

Hi, Check out a recent session I played at for Midlands based band The Musgraves. [url="http://www.myspace.com/themusgraves"]http://www.myspace.com/themusgraves[/url] Hope you like it! Steve