petebassist

I thought someone would have mentioned Harrogate, the third point in the 'golden triangle' - get yourself somewhere in middle of the triangle and you could work all three - you might need to get savvy with the public transport though 😞

This. I couldn't organize anything without a shared band Google calendar. As to responsiveness, I can't be bothered with people I have to chase for commitments. Good luck with finding some like-minded band mates.

Agreed, they must've been a supergroup before the idea of supergroups was formed. Kenny Jones on drums, & the other Ron on guitar, Ian McLagan on keys, and of course Rod, amazing bunch of musicians.

Depends on the size of the room & the acoustics. Though generally, if you were bowing, then yes a double bass will hold its own against a group of guitars, as that's how they were designed to be played primarily and they can shake the walls. Played pizzicato though, it's surprising how quiet they are compared to guitars, at least when I play - some people used to playing acoustically can get more volume using a bigger attack with the plucking hand, but maintaining that for a long session needs stamina.

Hi, I'd definitely give the NS a try first, as they feel different to the Stagg. I did try a 4 string NXT four string at the London Bass show last year, but the action was set way low and with the stock strings, and I couldn't really get an idea of how it would play with a proper pizz technique and double bass strings. If you're used to an acoustic-like action on your Stagg you might need to max out the action to get the feel of the NS. I've never played a five string of any type though. As to models, I believe the WAV is manufactured in the Far East or Mexico and just comes with a strap as standard. With the NXT you get a tripod stand and upgraded components, and with CR they're made in the Czech Republic and higher spec I believe (whatever it is that bumps up the price). They don't seem to hold their value that well, so second hand prices are good. Good luck!

I guess it's like reading a novel written by somebody else. It's a nice change if you're used to writing your own novels. I don't think of it as just copying either, you're playing music that someone else has written, you can still be creative in the way you interpret, if that's what you like doing of course.

Is it important? Not necessarily, but I think it's a great skill to have, and the bass clef is usually much easier to scan than the treble clef where you have chords and more complex note arrangements, providing you're not up the dusty end a lot. I find it strangely relaxing & engrossing to read a walking bass line that someone else has written instead of making one up on the spot myself or playing from memory.

I think that's true everywhere, the same goes for keyboard players I hear. I have a lot of respect for drummers, it's an under-rated profession. With more and more electronic canned beats playing everywhere you go it's so nice to hear a proper acoustic kit.

Falloutboy's bass player at Reading - I guess you've gotta be careful which way you point it, but hey....

Keep as many projects going as you can manage time-wise - let natural selection determine which ones survive and which ones die off. As long as you're open about it I don't see any issue.

Fu%k-em ! Keep on looking until you find some other like-minded musicians, there're plenty out there 😉

To be on the safe side I think I'd put the old D back on or get my credit card out and buy a new D, though maybe someone on here could lend you one.

At the moment I only play pizzicato and I'm guessing Bottesini mainly played arco, but I'll take a look. From the clips I saw though, there was some chord work going on, so maybe the Bottesini and Isbin pieces can be played pizz? Will have to investigate further. As an old acoustic guitar finger picker (John Renbourn, Burt Jancsh et al) I like the idea of these pieces. Thanks.

Well done @Rob MacKillop, I had a quick look at the youtube samples and these look awesome! Although i mainly play upright, I do have an electric bass for rehearsals, so I'm gonna delve in - thanks for the introduction to Giovanni Bottesini, who I hadn't heard of.

It's maybe worth contacting the luthier to ask, as presumably he/she would have tested the new strings while doing the setup. I wouldn't expect one string to be noticeably different. Maybe the sound post slipped in transit or something like that? Is the tuning stable ?

Hi yes, I've subscribed to one of Geoff's courses (the Adam Ezra signature sounds one) and the lessons are a good length, well laid out, and easy to navigate. If you register with Geoff's web site I believe you can get taster videos to try out for free. Whether online courses are worthwhile I guess depends on your learning style.

Jazz Upright Bass Featuring Ed Friedland [DVD] - for beginners Ed covers the basic left & right hand techniques before moving on the more jazz-focused stuff. I use still use some of the practice routines every day from this, great stuff. I got this after trying other DVDs such as those you mention, which waffle a lot but didn't tell show me what to do. Good luck!

Went to see the brilliant band Moscow Drug Club last night at St George's in Bristol, with Andy Crowdy on upright bass. I've seen them before but last night I had a seat right down the front and the acoustics were great, so was able to appreciate things a bit more, particularly Andy's pizz technique & sound (I think he had a set of Thomastik Spirocores on). Looking online I see the HENLEY JAZZ WORKSHOP ‘MASTERCLASS’ coming up in August, so I'm looking into whether I can attend.

The band I play with has been offered some free recording time in a studio, so I'm looking for some tips around recording my double bass, particularly around technique. When I practise pizzicato at home I notice things like finger noise more when moving up and down the strings, stuff that gets drowned out when I play live. Also, does anyone dampen bits of the bass for recording? Any pitfalls to avoid? I know this is probably a big topic, but any tips appreciated.

It's difficult to find somewhere that does the whole end to end setup including strings and pickups etc. Bassbags does this extremely well, so worth a trip to compare what they can do for you. I tried out a number of old basses in various other shops and wasn't hugely impressed, but it depends on your budget.

Did I see Dave on Saturday night on Jool's show backing Lilly Allen on an acoustic upright bass? Things were a little hazy by that time of the night. Nice to see Dave back in action.

Lovely looking bass, I nearly bought one myself because I was looking for one with an adjustable bridge. I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks, enjoy!

Taylor Swift was fab (did I just write that?). I really enjoyed watching Nigel Kennedy on Monday evening - especially when Mark King joined in on bass and jammed on the Hendrix tunes.

Seems a tad cheeky - will they be borrowing your bass & rig too? Book another gig for when the singer's on holiday and tell him/her that you're gonna sing and play bass.