petebassist

Looks a bit more professional than my solution, which is tying a sock round the strings just over the bridge. If I need full mute for quiet practise, I tie two on.

Fascinating programme!!

I haven't tried any from Thomann or similar, but people often seem to buy these and have to spend more on setup and strings. I used to have a Stentor 1950, bought second hand, which was great. Good quality instrument, great sound for the price, and light so good for gigging. They have a solid top and laminate back and sides.

@julietgreen thanks for the info it's great to hear that you're able to do this. I tried jamkazam earlier in the year without success, so I'll def be giving this a try.

https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/News/2020/Aug/Indoor-Live-Performances-Permitted-in-England-from From what I've seen on the news, some areas have 'local' lockdowns in place that prohibit people from different households meeting indoors. Nothing to stop people in those areas "doing a Dominic Cummings" by testing their eyesight by driving down to Bristol for the weekend...😉

Pretty sure these gigs are inside, unless they close off the side road and put up a marquee or something - it's gonna pour down this weekend I think. I'll be honest, I don't know what the latest rules are for inside, except something like, you can play quietly so people don't have to shout. And horn instruments are a no no. Nothing in my diary yet so I haven't had to gen up on performing rules.

Might be popping in there a pint at the weekend so I'll see if I can find out. I've played there a few times, it's a great pub and crowd, and medium sized so I guess they might space out the tables and seating and convert the dance floor into table space to help with the distancing. There's no outside performance space, just a couple of tables out front.

Wandered past the Golden Lion pub in Bristol UK this morning, and was excited to see a single band poster in the window advertising a band next Saturday...and according to online, there's one this weekend also. Not quite the number we had back January before the great plague, but it's a good sign.

Wow - brilliant video. Your band is only as good as your drummer.

I'd love one of these, Marcustico acoustics, more for the people who want it to sound like a double bass.

If you've got the stock strings (D'Addario® ECB81), I've got the same strings on my Ibanez SRH500F fretless and they're ace, and I think it's also the same Aero Silk pickup. I'm using a bit of foam to dampen the G and D strings slightly until they lose their brightness.

I notice the the Fleece n Firkin in Bristol is at least advertising gigs for late August and September. https://thefleece.co.uk/whats-on/

Can't wait to get back on the scene.

I tried some LaBellas on my Ibanez SRH500F and ended up going back to the original D'Addario ECB81 Flat wounds, which are awesome, and I even get some upright-like growl on the E string. I did also raise the action to tame some of the fretless mwah, and so I can dig in a bit. Scott has some great tips on getting an upright tone

Welcome Stef, what type of music do you play? How's the music scene up in Bergen (pandemic aside of course).

I'd say go for it, I think the brain can adjust to any changes given a bit a time, and you'd soon adapt your finger positions to a different scale length. Caveat, I'm not classically trained in upright bass, so I go on what I think I'd do myself.

Tab-haters look away now... This could be your new lockdown daily bass workout: https://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/jaco-pastorius-chromatic-fantasy-bass-tab-s15326t0

Mark Knopfler is also a great producer, having 43 albums under his belt, including, as a found out recently reading my Dylan book Down the Highway, Dylan's Infidels and a couple of other BD albums. And of course he's an incredible musician and songwriter. Now look at them yo-yo's, that's the way you do it You play the guitar on the MTV That ain't workin' that's the way you do it Money for nothin' and your chicks for free

Nice to see some proper playing videos. It sounds pretty good to me.

It's gotta be

Listen to these and see which sound you like? It's all about the tone. There's a Bass Sounds vid also by the same guy 🙂

Always loved DG's keyboards on their Walk On By cover, particularly the beautiful and hypnotic solo.

Been checking out Miles M on YT, some fab stuff a little bit different from the usual.

Got or had tickets for Supergrass, Bristol Canon's Marsh Amphitheatre middle of June. Tried to see them years back when they played Leed's Duchess of York in 1995, but couldn't get in. Denied once again...

Hopin that by August, smaller scale outdoor festivals will be allowed and maybe smaller venues. All with a social distance-lite policy of course. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one... There is a well known paradox about pandemics, that if you do the right thing, you minimize the impact and some people wonder why the measures were so draconian when the impact was minimal.