Dood

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1502044101' post='3348951'] But as with any gear, it should be used as an addition to your technique, never a substitute! Si [/quote] Haters gonna hate whatever, so I say: "Be proud and say that it's part of your technique." I choose to use this tool and I don't give a crap if people don't think I'm a great bassist. They're probably right anyway, but I'm enjoying myself.

Just another tool we can use. As I often say: if I thought that playing bass with a kitchen utensil would create the sound I want, then I would.

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1502034099' post='3348866'] Your thoughts are well placed, especially if you've been playing and you haven't had to use theory yet. With a good teacher, something of a rarity, the concepts become easier to understand. As I said it's all about the context as well. [b]It's worthwhile learning the theory in something you already know[/b], then branching out to a song you've always wanted to learn. I was fortunate enough to study this stuff at Uni and college where I had some amazing teachers, especially my lecturer at college. He really lit the fire of understanding and wanting to be "clever" in music in me, and since then I've gone ahead and taught myself an awful amount, building from my basic knowledge through books and songs. [/quote] I meant to quote this point too. Again, totally agree. In our formative years learning how to speak, it wasn't from a book, it wasn't from a formal lesson, we picked up language from those around us and manipulated those familiar phrases to get what we needed. Learning a song and extracting the theory from it I suppose works the same way. A while ago, one of my students called me up after a drive home from work one day and told me about a song that came on the radio. He asked if the track's main riff used the Minor Pentatonic scale. I wasn't familiar with the song myself but yes, indeed it did. He was able to identify that in a relatively early lesson because we had 'reverse engineered' a song, extracted, then learned all about said scale in and out of that context. oh and yes, I also like that you have mentioned that learning doesn't stop just because you have learned something. That's what I really love - you can learn something new from everyone, even if they have never picked up the instrument before. Indeed, they can be the most interesting to teach!

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1502034099' post='3348866'] Your thoughts are well placed, especially if you've been playing and you haven't had to use theory yet. With a good teacher, something of a rarity, the concepts become easier to understand. As I said it's all about the context as well. It's worthwhile learning the theory in something you already know, then branching out to a song you've always wanted to learn. I was fortunate enough to study this stuff at Uni and college where I had some amazing teachers, especially my lecturer at college. He really lit the fire of understanding and wanting to be "clever" in music in me, and since then I've gone ahead and taught myself an awful amount, building from my basic knowledge through books and songs. I wasn't intending on giving such a reply earlier, I got lost in the theory haha! You're spot on. Theory needs more time and it's better face to face than on an internet message board! Learning theory is a very dynamic process, some days it's frustrating and pointless, other days it clicks and the concepts are clear and easy to understand. All help and advice is useful to someone though. Even if that's not clear to them right away! I'm lucky enough that all my students private and college ones have all bought in time my style of teaching and my approach to music. I tend to look at things from a bigger picture view, more like a band leader or producer would. Sometimes the perfect note is the root player low and straight rock semi-quavers to drive it along! [/quote] Yup, agreed and adding context in to the mix just makes things even more exciting, even if it does quadruple the word count here

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1502030684' post='3348838'] I agree with the above.[b] However a beginner has to start somewhere[/b]. Often this is the problem...i.e. they are swamped in an ocean of information and don't know where to start. That's why in an earlier post I recommended to the OP (assuming he was interested) the site www.studybass.com. IMO it is one of the best out there because the lessons start simple and each one builds on what went before. Granted, a good teacher would be a better option, but in the absence of one, it is the next best option. [/quote] Totally agree. My point focussed on how to explain that 'somewhere' with absolute clarity and for my students to understand and recall that information. The link you mention seems to do a great job of getting down to the nuts and bolts first. To expand, TTSTTTS is useless if you haven't actually explained what T or S actually is and why. "Major Minor Minor..." etc is pointless if you haven't explained that each is a chord and actually, how the chord was made in the first place and why we're even doing it lol. I also think that it's very important to have a clear and methodical, progressive plan of learning, so I also agree with your point regarding being swamped with information (and misinformation) causing frustration and not knowing where to start. Totally, it's not easy. Granted, when I started playing I spent hours upon hours working stuff out by ear, grafting tracks ad travelling many miles to get to see or work with great musicians. Today, there is that and so much more at the touch of a button. Certainly teachers within my area must have gon up ten-fold since I was a kid too.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1502025567' post='3348799'] Really wish I was playing a 27" scale baritone guitar sometimes too as the 25" scale is a bit cramped for my fingers. Is there a Musicman Silhouette in my future...? [/quote] I've got an Ibanez with a 26.5" scale. It's designed for being tuned a tone down as standard, but I leave it up in 'E'. It's only a small difference but it's easier for my massive hands to get round with the extra inch on the scale length. This gives a bit more room between the frets!

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1502028303' post='3348813'] Oh! a bit more response than I was expecting! It's as if we are on the opposite sides of a chasm of understanding. I doubt very much that anyone here, if they've been playing a couple of years, doesn't know about scales and chord tones, or about which chords go together and form the structure of most of the songs we play (and by implication the circle of fifths). Even transposition is something you won't really avoid, even if all you do is the bassists version of using a capo... move your hand and play the same pattern. Whilst there are a few people who may play everything by a combination of a decent ear and trial and error and proudly proclaim it as the only way I suspect most of us are hungry for any bit of theory that would help our playing. The trouble is that when someone just says 'learn your scales' it's a meaningless phrase. I'm sure all of us can play a pattern of eight notes and probably know major minor and blues scales (avoiding the mixolydian word here) but if that is all there is to it how does that help? This is where the conversation usually breaks down with frustration on both sides. Most of us can play a major scale, up and down, starting on whichever root note we choose. If we can't we could learn to do so in a few minutes. Surely there is more to it than that? Even calling the notes out as you do it, well I can see that would be useful in learning the fretboard but is that really all there is to it? And how does that help in a practical sense? Honestly I'm not trying to be contentious, I know the ignorance is mine , I just don't get it and can't understand why the people who do get it can't explain what I have to gain. That's why I'm interested in what the OP gets by making the journey. [/quote] I wish I wrote that instead, as it's kinda what I was getting at. I LOVE the OP and that it's a great feeling when something slots together and sounds ace - and it didn't need lots of explaining to make it work and derive a huge amount of pleasure from it. That in itself is awesome and should be rattled out over and over as the sense of achievement will never be lost. I do agree though that the teaching of theory is often a mess and far from progressive leaving students, musicians confused and unfulfilled. Great teachers are hard to come by and unfortunately, I really don't think the odd paragraph on an internet forum trying to explain what an experienced player thinks is a relatively simple concept is the answer for someone seeing this stuff for the first times.

[quote] {snip} Now you can transpose songs easily as well. If anybody has theory questions I'm always happy to help! [/quote] I understand what you are trying to say in a limited space, but a beginner will look at your paragraph and shrug. [i]You[/i] know what it means,[i] I[/i] know what it means, but there's so much information missing there, it will put students off. Thus I have to say that no, someone seeing this information for the first time won't even know what 'transposing songs' actually means, or indeed what the diatonic chords are and how to create or identify them. That said, hopefully this post will highlight the importance of getting great teaching, whatever the source, be it online, private teacher, videos, books etc etc

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1502017924' post='3348748'] On a more serious note, I originally trained as a guitarist and taught both for many years. I've always advocated making the effort to get some idea what your fellow musicians are doing. [/quote] Yup I very much agree and maybe despair a little at the disparity between the way that guitarists and bassist learn their instrument of choice, given that they 'are' one of the same. So, as one very small example, when I teach, bassists know what chords and keys are all about and guitarists can handle walking the neck. It will help your skills as an individual musician, but also working in a group too. Oh, and learn to drum too. Really, not just feel when a fill or groove is coming up, but why. *disclaimer: I know that everyone has very busy lives and it's not always possible to find the time to learn etc etc etc

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1501947279' post='3348424'] Fair enough, Dood, but an obvious question for you - how many pub gigs a year do you (personally) go out and find & negotiate? I do this a lot, but I'm always happy to learn. [/quote] Amongst other stuff I 'do', I play in a busy function band too and we do play pub/small venue gigs along side large venue and private bookings. Each of us as band members are expected to go and seek, negotiate and book gigs. To be honest, negotiation has never been a problem, as a self-employed pro musician it's kinda necessary all the time, the same as a plumber or electrician seeks work.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1501927597' post='3348257'] Still puzzled at the number of people who say we should all join the MU and start insisting on signed contracts before we play. I can only imagine that you guys play in more rarified levels of venue where you wouldn't get laughed out of the pub if you tried that line when fishing for gigs. I'm now also playing in a band on the club circuit and that's different, for sure, but pubs? Yer avin a giraffe mate. [/quote] Or, putting the shoe on the other foot, if more bands protected their investments, their hard work then venues would understand that this should be normal process and common place. They are happy to take details for tax and accounting purposes and insist on PAT testing and insurance, but bands are expected to accept that they don't have a leg to stand on when the venue changes their mind? Yer avin a giraffe mate I mean, everyone moans about another venue closing but maybe what is needed is a more resilient and trustworthy model to work with. Bands are services to the venue and services need paying for. But ya know, if bands are happy for pubs to laugh them out the door, then it's no wonder that these problems (OP) exist.

Genuinely, you'd be better off buying a pair of bass cabinets rather than trying to make a guitar cabinet work for bass. So, yes, you can sling a bass speaker in a guitar cabinet and you'll hear sound. It might even work well, but probably not to it's optimum. It's a lottery if it's guess work. There was a story on BassChat where a speaker's warranty was voided because it went in to a wrong size box and burned out under stress.

If there was any more a reason to ensure you have a contract for a gig, this is a good one. For future reference, join the MU who offer template contracts to print out for venues to sign prior to playing the gig.

[b][u]Style[/u][/b] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Traditional or custom – Custom 6 string Headless Doublecut [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]No of strings - 6, tuned B to C[/font][/color] [b][u]Woods[/u][/b] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Body (inc finish) – Light Ash Body, [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Chameleon Flip Paint Finish (Purple to Green) over the body and all of the back of the neck, topped in wet-look gloss.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Neck – 7 piece Wenge and Maple NeckThrough, where the Wenge makes up a larger portion of the laminate total.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Fretboard – Master Grade Bird's Eye Maple, custom inlays to match my 7 string.[/font][/color] [b][u]Hardware[/u][/b] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Machine heads/tuners – ABM Monorail bridge pieces[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Nut (material and width) – Custom Brass head piece.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Frets – Medium[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Pickups – EMG DC[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Pre-amp - EMG 2 band currently.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Pickguard (if any) -[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bridge – as above[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Strings – brand, gauge and type – D'Addario NYXL or FlexSteels 6 string set.[/font][/color] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Other - The body shape 'customisations' on this model became standard options in the Shuker line. Custom adjustable ramp on both this and 7 string bass. LED inlays, a surprise gift from Jon Shuker!!![/color][/font] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Born early 2007, "Baby Doodle" - or 'Sally', as Rich calls this one Chameleon Flip Paint in action:[/font][/color] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"][/color][/font] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"][/color][/font] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"][/color][/font]

Sorry, wrong picture, meant to be this one!

[b][u]Style[/u][/b] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Traditional or custom – Custom 7 string Singlecut[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]No of strings - 7, tuned F# to C[/font][/color] [b][u]Woods[/u][/b] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Body (inc finish) – Light Ash Body, [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Chameleon Flip Paint Finish (Purple to Green) over the body and all of the back of the neck and headstock topped in wet-look gloss.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Neck – 7 piece Wenge and Maple [i]semi-[/i]through neck, where the Wenge makes up a larger portion of the laminate total.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Fretboard – Master Grade Bird's Eye Maple, custom inlays[/font][/color] [b][u]Hardware[/u][/b] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Machine heads/tuners – Gotoh Resolite[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Nut (material and width) – My custom Brass and Graphtec laminate.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Frets – Medium[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Pickups – EMG DC[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Pre-amp - EMG 2 band currently.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Pickguard (if any) -[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bridge – ABM Monorail[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Strings – brand, gauge and type – D'Addario NYXL or FlexSteels for the 6 string set, custom string for the 183 gauge F# string currently, though this may move to a full set soon. Newtone strings are awesome for gauges that D'Addario are unable to cover. [/font][/color] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Other - . Matching Bird's Eye facing on the headstock. The body shape 'customisations' on this model became standard options in the Shuker line.[/color][/font] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Born early 2006, [url="http://www.ShukerGuitars.co.uk"]ShukerGuitars.co.uk[/url] "Doodle"[/color][/font] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][/font][/color]

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1501780831' post='3347342'] I thought that was Cher back in 1998? [/quote] oh gawd, just when I thought I had forgotten about that. Cheers Delberthot ha ha ha ha!!!!

p.s. - I went in to a well known chain store recently who offered a free 'taster' hearing test which they ran in a building, next to a busy set of bus stops and the test gear was a set of DT770's! - I mean, they are great earphones, but not surprisingly the results were way off.

Any hearing test online is meaningless unless it is ran through properly calibrated equipment - Laptop speakers, hifi speakers and even studio monitors are not, so I'd take any result from the test with a pinch of salt. Then ignore them completely

[quote name='gillento' timestamp='1501704012' post='3346805'] My HDN212 will go on sale once I'll bring it home to take pics ..... just preferring my 2x15" RJ by Markbass...... [/quote] This one is real nice! Gilles is a top chap too!

Or one of those bags for carry electronic drum kits that have several slots for the small pads?

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1501616497' post='3346004'] I've no idea if it will be the same, but Nate Mendel's '71 Precision has an 'A' neck on it, which although is a 40mm nut width, feels much slimmer than a 'standard P'. His 'signature' bass has the same profile, but doesn't seem to have the rounded off fretboard edges. It also happens to be my favourite neck profile too, which also appears on my '76 Matsumoku precision bass. Could this one be similar? [/quote] Actually, looking closely at the picture on my small screen, the nut width does appear to look like 42mm rather than 40mm.

[quote name='tredders' timestamp='1501615166' post='3345992'] Horace from the Specials recently found and bought back his '71 P bass that he used to record Ghost Town on. Was round having a cuppa and a noodle on it earlier on. It has the most amazing thin (from front to back) neck, and it's just lovely to play. It's totally different to my '73 P bass neck, and much nicer. Yes, I have P bass envy! The point of this post is as follows: Mine has a B profile, and I assume that this one has a standard C neck (although that is just an assumption). I've played a few early 70's Precisions in my time, but can't remember one that had a neck quite as good as this one - standard P bass nut spacing, but thin from front to back, and quite flat.. Is this a standard profile for that era? The back of the neck was very worn, and H couldn't remember whether the neck had been reshaped, or just nicely worn from lots of playing. Can anyone who owns a late 60's / early 70's P bass with a C profile neck comment? If it's a standard profile, consider me on the lookout for one... Picture of said bass with said Mr Panter. It's got DiMarzio pups, brass bridge, brass nut, bronze coloured pick guard, and brass knobs. Oh, and it feels like it's been painted with a thick paint brush. But it sounds bloody great, and plays even better! [/quote] I've no idea if it will be the same, but Nate Mendel's '71 Precision has an 'A' neck on it, which although is a 40mm nut width, feels much slimmer than a 'standard P'. His 'signature' bass has the same profile, but doesn't seem to have the rounded off fretboard edges. It also happens to be my favourite neck profile too, which also appears on my '76 Matsumoku precision bass. Could this one be similar?

Yup same here! But then the B|Amp came along and that's all my itches scratched! I think you might like it!