faceman

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm seriously considering a proper setup (any recommendations for anyone in the NE?) and some new strings. The thing with the Ric is, that I always want to play it, it's like I have a bond or something stupid like that. I think it's the 'one' for me, just a few big kinks need ironing out With much difficulty, I managed to photography my fingers and you can see the shoddy state of my fingers. They simply seem to be big blisters - is this caused simply by string type or can this be affected by action/technique? I've been noodling just now with a better left hand technique. It feels weird now but I think I can grow into it. The joys of no formal bass education! FYI - First picture is left hand, second is right.

Plus you can see in that photo I have quite small fingers the the 'massive neck' of the Rickenbacker makes it hard work, but you get back in tone the effort you put in, i suppose Also Rich, this is what I always do. For example in the song I was mentioning, I play the D on the A string with my first finger and the octave with 3 or 4. 2 is too much of a stretch, 3 is a stretch and 4 is painful! And to add some information BurritoBass, I play in practises twice a week and usually noodle for 15 minutes once a day. I've been playing for nearly three years, although I haven't been become a decent player until the last year or so. My technique in the past was shocking until one day I just fell into something natural! I usually play finger style towards the bridge of the bass, and usually rest my arm on the bass, see the photo above. Anything else that might help? Back in the day, my hands were obviously blistered a lot because I wasn't used to it but when I become more competent at playing, they gotten used to it and it's only the past few weeks the problem has arisen again. This could also be fact I've been playing my 4003 again, as it has been relegated for a while...

Thanks for all the comments guys, I will obviously try new strings but I've never had this problem before with my old Lakland or even my other Rickenbacker for that matter! I've attached a picture and I've adjusted my playing style to try and combat this issue. I have the bass higher on my body and replaced the clunky thing with a Pickguardian pickup so I know either play over the bridge pickup or just below the neck pickup. I agree that playing near the bridge is harder on the fingers, hence why I made the adjustments. I'm tempted to take the 4003 to be set up properly with new strings and adjusted action that might relieve the problem. The Rickenbacker was a present a deceased-family member so I have very mixed feelings about. I'd love to swap it in a moment for something more comfortable but it has a lot of continental value, plus it looks the dogs bollocks. Any thoughts of swapping/selling make me feel guilty but then the pain my fingers are in at the moment isn't good!

Afternoon all, After a standard 2 hour band practise today, I noticed my fingers are now in a shocking state. The skin on my index and middle fingers on my left hand are pretty bad, with the top layer of skin leaving a hole on the index finger while my right hand was in agony. The middle and index fingers are bruised, dirty and generally hurting when they contact anything! I've been playing bass since February 2007 and I just don't understand how at this point they have gotten so bad. Just using my laptop now with my right hand is uncomfortable. It's bloody annoying because I need to keep practising for a big upcoming gig but it's so painful using my right hand that I have to use thumb and pick, both of which aren't ideal for some rhythms., One immediate thought is strings but they are standard D'Addorios roundwounds that I have been using for years so I'm not sure if is this? Playing style? Size of the frets? Honestly, I get very tired of my 4003 sometimes. The ergonomics are ridiculous and it can be so painful to play. Even reaching for an octave on a note can be pretty bad - the chorus of one of our songs does this and I can barely keep it up because my third finger can't reach very well and my pink isn't strong enough. There are so days I long for the neck of my Daryl Jones again! Seb

Hey everyone, One that's be pickling at my mind for a while. Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend is one of my favourite bass players of current times - his lines are melodic, imaginative and damn right funky! He uses a Kustom bass, which seems to be a rare bass from the 60s in vein of short scale basses of that era. The pickup placement is neck (bang on) and bridge, pretty close. Check out these live and album video to get an idea of the tone I'm talking about... Cousins (Live) - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFfNffB4Vh8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFfNffB4Vh8[/url] M79 (Studio) - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTjwXwl_be8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTjwXwl_be8[/url] A-Punk (Live) - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ5TEg6vfLE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ5TEg6vfLE[/url] It's got some Rickenbacker balls in there but the hollow body adds something extra. So I'm wondering what sort of things are more readily available that have a similar tone to this? Hofner Club bass comes to mind but this seems to have more bass, the Eastwood Gretsch style is humbuckers so a much warmer tone. I'm stuck on ideas on this tone! Thanks!

I used to be a big Eagles fan, saw them live at at O2 Arena back in 2008. Randy used Fender P-Basses for the first two albums, then moved to the Hagstrom for the third/fourth albums and the Rickenbacker 4001 for Hotel California. His tone on Hotel California live is fantastic, just like a good Rickenbacker should be [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-qlORj0n2M"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-qlORj0n2M[/url] Timothy B. Schmit currently uses various Fender Jazz Basses, good live time! I've seen some photos of him using a single-coil Precision too around the time The Long Run. What can anyone tell me about Hagstrom basses? Don't know much about them! Hope that helps!

I'm selling my Ashdown EB180 on the forum at the moment, I've had it for two years and love the sound of it. It's surprisingly good for the size and cost of the amp. I found the Ampeg to be too much bass and a very inadequate sound compared to the Ashdown. No experience of the Hartke though.

Well after some Boxing Day eBay bidding, I have managed to get myself a Little Mark II (plus carrying case) for only £370 so I'm rather chuffed with that. The more I think about it, the more I loved the sound of the LMIII at the gig we did back in December. So back to the cabinet front. Thanks for all the advice, I think a single Aguilar 1x12 wouldn't be enough to hold it with keys and guitars so I'm still thinking a 2x10. Ashdown's 2x10 isn't much lighter than my 4x10 but I imagine would be lighter. Has anyone got any suggestions of any other 2x10s cabinets to look at? Does anyone have any thoughts on the Little Mark 210 Traveller? Thanks, and merry christmas all!

Although I don't own this DVD, I came back from university with it left in my laptop. It's a cracking DVD with the bad in very tight form and all the tunes are brilliant. Plenty of classics like Josie and Pretzel Logic, while the newer stuff is particuarly good. I loved Jack of Speed, What A Shame About Me and Cousin Dupree. Any excuse to talk about the Dan is good with me! Now just need to get Pete Academy's Nearly Dan DVD and I'll be happy

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='691381' date='Dec 22 2009, 11:53 AM']Gloria. Get easier than that. G.L.O.R.I.A.[/quote] I love love that tune, although no one I've spoken to has ever heard of it. Simple, catchy and rock'n'roll, man!

What sort of setlist did they play? I recently got into PIL (not being a fan of the Sex Pistols) and enjoy the off-the-wall nature of things like Death Disco, Albatross and Public Image. Some new stuff with Wobble would be rather great!

Sultans of Swing - the bass very much drives the song along and it's easy to spice up a little too!

I've found both Guitar Guitar and Sounds Live to be fantastic. Sounds Live tends not to have as much stock but they can get most things in, have exceptionally friendly staff and always offer you good deals. Bought my first off them back in 2007, various amps, Geddy Lee jazz and on the list goes. Went into Guitar Guitar to try out a Marcus Miller Jazz on Friday and the guys were very helpful and weren't pushy at all. I was wearing a shirt so maybe they took me serious? They have a very nice collection of Sadowskys and a Rickenbacker 4001C64 for £2,000+! Was a bit concerned about walking near it.

Evening all, After wasting several hours wasted on Love Actually (can't work out if it is good, crap or just stupid), I'm indulging myself on In A Silent Way and composing this.... On to the point, basically I've decided to completely re-do my amp setup as I've come the conclusion it is complete overkill for the sort of gigs I'm playing and it's taking up too much space. I've only got a VW Golf for transportation and with a stage piano, synthesizer, keyboard amp, keytar, keyboard stands, guitar, Vox amp, my bass in its hard case and drum breakables, there isn't much space left for my hefty 4x10. At the moment I've got an Ashdown MAG 4x10 cabinet with an Ashdown ABM-EVOII 575W RC head. I put the head online yesterday and it's already sold and being shipped Monday, good times So, I'm thinking of down sizing. At my last gig, I played my Ashdown cab with a Little Mark III and it was sounding very tasty with 4003. The E was so strong and has so much foundation. So, I'm thinking a Little Mark II/III second hand with some sort of 2x10 cabinet? I was considering the Ashdown 2x10 MAG or ABM, any thoughts on these? Any alternative suggestions? I've looked at this ultra-light ones, Aguilar is one that springs to mind but it's out of my range. One thing is, I don't want to loose the strong and clear sound I had with the 4x10 but I've never run it past half way power, and it's usually a quarter of the way. I occasionally use an Ashdown Electric Blue 120W practise amp and that doesn't have enough bass for a gig, IMHO! In terms of competing, guitarist has a 50W guitar amp and keys is also a 50W amp but it all goes through PA and gets beefed up through there.Obviously, budget is quite limited as I'm going to be restricted on what I can sell but I'm open to all suggestions Thanks in advance!

Wow there are some stunners there...but it leads to the question, which is your main player I think my favourites were the StingRay and Rickenbacker!

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='676310' date='Dec 6 2009, 11:31 PM']wow this has got to be the fastest added thread on record hahahaha[/quote] Everyone loves to spend money