petebassist

Jazz -purists look away now: Whenever I can, I like to write the bass lines myself for a given arrangement, and not being schooled in Jazz I find apeggios a good way to work as an alternative to concentrating on scales. Once I know the chord, I can look up the apeggio, and go from there. I use this book as a guide A Visual Guide to Chords and Arpeggios for Double Bass: A Reference Text for Classical, Blues and Jazz Chords/Arpeggios: Volume 11 (Fingerboard Chord

I saw Stu at the London Bass Guitar Show this year and he did a beautiful solo of Zep's Going to California. Great bloke and very inspirational.

[url="http://www.thethunderbolt.net/hidden-events-source/2017/11/9/wavered-albatross"]WAVED ALBATROSS + Wychelm + The Basil band + Omega 14[/url] Waved Albatross, Wychelm, The Basil Band, Omega 14. at the Thunderbolt, Bristol, on Thursday night.

There are no hard and fast rules, but your action does sound on the high end of the spectrum. Double bass isn't easy even with low action, so if you're finding it difficult to play I wouldn't recommend persevering without getting the action to a more comfortable height. As to manning up, there's nothing manly about having knackered fingers. It's also worth looking at what strings you have. Lights (weichs) can make a big difference, and also having the correct string length for your bass size so that the tension is as it should be. Not everyone rates them, but an adjustable bridge is good when you're starting out as it enables you to experiment a bit with different strings & heights - you'd need a luthier for that though & more cash...

Love the sound clip, funky as hell, and great playing... what's the track? How did you put together the other drum and guitar parts ?

Hi Geoff, I know what you mean about there being many variables. I tried out a number of old and new basses, but it was really hard to compare one from the other without the same strings, tension, setup etc. I also found that some more expensive basses didn't sound that great for pizz to my ears (and with my technique), but would probably sound great for arco. The new Eastman that I eventually found had the exact sound and feel I was looking for, and I thought with the laminate sides I could drag it round to gigs without being too paranoid about knocks and scrapes. I went for the Evah Pirazzi weichs too after watching your video on that, and after four months they're now giving me a great gut-like thump with a bit of spiro-like complexity on the D & G, which is exactly what I need. So the strings advice is much appreciated. If you're ever down Bristol way you're more than welcome to try out my hybrid for comparison, and I occasionally take it up to the North East when I'm working from up there. Also let me know if you're playing any gigs. Cheers, Pete

An interesting [url="https://discoverdoublebass.com/lesson/eastman-vb200-double-bass"]new Eastman bass review[/url] from Geoff caught my eye because I recently upgraded to a similarly spec'd Eastman VB105, which is a hybrid model with solid front and back, and laminate sides, and I also got it from Bassbags. Like the review model, the setup on mine is superb, and the overall service was great. (btw I have NO affiliation whatsoever with Bassbags :-).

Talkbassers among you might have see this [url="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/2-minute-jazz-christian-mcbride.1295477/"]interesting 2-minute video[/url] from Christian McBride where he talks about how to get a good tone, and someone's even transcribed the walking bass that he uses. I might have unlearn my chicken-wing arm technique that I learnt from Ed Friedland...

Has anyone come across a good bass transcription for My Blue Heaven? I love Dudley Moore & trio's version. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIVauBXP38E"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIVauBXP38E[/url] Awesome tone and attack from the great Peter McGurk! Thanks, Pete

I think you need a dictatorship not a democracy when it comes to covers bands - I think it's best left to the singer to choose songs, and that usually keeps the focus. If every member tries to choose songs, you can end up in endless discussions and disagreements. I doubt every band member loves every track & you could always start up your own band on the side to play other stuff.

I read that those hand strengtheners can also make your hand very stiff and inflexible, which is exactly what you don't want. I used to find that keeping my left arm raised (I'm a righty) in position for long periods was difficult. I now do a few press ups and upper body exercises in the gym to build a little bit of upper body strength. I find this also makes playing upright bass a lot easier, but before anyone chips in, I'm in no way saying that you have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to play upright. I'll be Bach!

Last heard Lulu on a Beatles/Lennon tribute show thing on the radio a few years back and she sang Don't Let Me Down live. Amazing. Good to hear that she's still going strong.

Looks very nice mate, with spiros too! An adjustable bridge is a good idea in my book if you haven't been able to try an instrument before buying. Best of luck with your new bass.

Caught this on Sky Arts the other night - great to see Roger Glover on top form, and of course the amazing Ian Paice. Roger was shown jamming with a bar-band in Nashville. Incidentally, he raved about the Nashville live music scene and said it was loads better than LA or New York.

Before a gig I always psyc myself up by listening to Cohen's 'First We Take Manhattan'. This always gets me in the zone. Along with a pint of diet coke.

[i]>>>[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]How do guys like me, I can't be the only one, deal with this overall lack of interest or compassion for the 4 gig a week lifestyle?[/font][/color][/i] I wouldn't worry about it, as has been said, that means more work for the guys who do wanna gig four nights a week, right? I'm happiest when I've got two bands on the go, especially if they're of different styles - for me this keeps everything feeling fresh too. Good luck!

Tricky one, everybody messes up at some point. In my bands, the modus operandi is, if it's not in the diary, then it doesn't exist. Emails and texts are just noise and easily forgotten. Google shared calendars are great for polling band members & nailing dates, and I couldn't work without them. Providing the drummer has a professional attitude, I think I'd eat a bit of humble pie. Good luck!

Already been said, but, whatever happens keep playin! And of course enjoy, even if only afterwards when you can reflect a bit over a pint. Oh, and get ready to be mobbed afterwards by adoring fans...

Agree with Razze06 - if you learn on a shorter scale length you'd have to relearn all of your shifts if you later switched to a 3/4 size scale, bearing in mind that there is no definitive size for these, you can get larger half size basses and smaller 3/4 size basses. Also, as a rule of thumb, the nut should be around eyebrow level when you're playing standing up.

Good luck with the new bass mate. The new Spiros will make a big improvement over the factory strings. What gauge did you go, for just out of interest?

Nice song. Love those Takamine TB10s. Very nice, do you ever play it upright?

Typo: "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]dial in a great tone with zero [s]tone[/s] or feedback" L[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]OL[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Of course I meant zero boom or feedback, at least I hope it wasn't zero tone [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I ordered my bass with the 'jazz setup' from Bassbags specifically [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]because I [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]wanted an adjustable bridge and the Lifeline. So far it's been great.[/font][/color]

I turned up to the new bass's first ever gig in Bath a little early at the weekend, this time armed with my reading glasses so I could read the friggin small dials on the PA. Turns out I had gain, mid, and low turned to max. I turned them all flat, and just added a tiny amount of low and high on the KK Pure Preamp and managed to dial in a great tone with zero boom or feedback. Much relieved and very happy.

Appreciate all the advice, will be giving these things a try. Cheers.

I tried out my new Lifeline pickup the other night (fitted on the E string side) into the band PA via a KK Pure Preamp. It seemed slightly boomy at times and if I upped the mid and treble I got slight feedback, so it took a while to dial in an acceptable sound, which was a compromise between volume and quality. I've got Evah Pirazzi Weichs on, and it's a VB150 hybrid Eastman with solid front and back with laminate sides. I thought I'd try to reduce the boom/feedback by stuffing a rag behind the tailpiece to dampen the sound. I'd be interested if anyone else had any tips using this pickup. Thanks, Pete