anaxcrosswords

Funny enough the one music shop in the Trafford Centre - and it's a small one - seems quite bassist friendly. 4 or 5 bass combos last time I went in; nothing big and mostly Ashdown, but they had a nice Trace Eliot combo too, looked like about 150W. At least 3 lefties on the wall too, admittedly not very good apart from a Squier Jazz (bought one from them for my daughter early this year and it's very good quality).

That’s a technique I have used, and is probably still the default. For some reason it just sounds a bit messy – I’m particularly prone to the forefinger ringing out harmonics instead of damping. Doesn’t help that I prefer 40s string sets; heavier gauge would be less lively but I’ve never liked them.

OK, a 4th but that's my final offer The technique I've been trying to use - and it's the only one that brings any semblance of success, though still not great - is having middle and index finger in parallel, my hand pointing almost directly up the fretboard. It's not as uncomfortable as it sounds, but still a touch unnatural, especially if I have to move quickly to a more conventional position.

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1432153531' post='2778744'] Double thumping for me too. To the OP- Do you mute using your left hand? This is easier when moving across frets than when alternating strings but not moving position, as you can spread your left hand which helps to mute. For what you are suggesting I would need to mute strings with my right hand as well for it to sound clean, raking etc. [/quote] I only have a thumb on my playing hand so rely almost entirely on the fret fingers to do whatever damping they can.

Hmm, not sure. He's well remembered for his Diamonds Are Forever role but doesn't appear to have done other film work - that seems to have been a sideline to his far more frequent jazz bass work.

Have found Wiki mentions of Depp playing guitar & drums, but can't find bass.

Do we have on here a list of celebrities who happen to inhabit the 4-string world as a sideline? We have Prince William, and many know that Top Gear’s Richard Hammond also dabbles. Let’s start with those two and I’ll edit the list as suggestions come in. I used to have a very modest list of maybe half a dozen but it hit the recycle bin at some point. As the list gets updated I may be adding names for which I've not seen evidence of their bass playing. If some names seem unlikely to you, please shout; hopefully those putting forward names will back them up with pics/articles etc. Prince William (British monarchy) Richard Hammond (former Top Gear presenter) Keanu Reeves (actor) Penn Jillette (of illusionist duo Penn & Teller) Gary Sinise, actor (Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, CSI, etc) Hulk Hogan (actor, former wrestler) Martin Clunes (actor) Johnny Depp (actor) Mark Kermode (TV presenter & journalist) Harry Shearer (former Simpsons voice-over actor) Mike Huckabee (US politician) Curtley Ambrose (former West Indies cricketer) Nigel Short (chess player) Phil Jupitus (comedian) David Cameron (British politician & Prime Minister) Kim Kardashian (celebrity) Gary Oldman (actor) Daniel Radcliffe (actor) Kevin McCloud (designer, 'Grand Designs' TV presenter)

Ah, a 5th. Thanks! It depends which strings I'm using and how high/low on the fretboard. For one song, getting the right depth of sound means playing Ab/Eb and Bb/F using the A and E strings, ie up around the octave. It's cleaner when played lower down using the A and D strings but it lacks punch.

After 30-odd years of playing it’s surprising to find there are apparently simple playing techniques that cause me problems. Because I’ve always learned by ear I’m going to sound like a right **** for not naming things properly, but I think it’s lower 7ths that do for me, especially when played in quick alternation. I’ve been going through a Motown medley this week and the songs feature a lot of ‘lower 7ths’ (if I’m wrong in the terminology, what I mean is moving to the same fret position but one string down, eg C on the A string to G on the E string). Alternating these at pace seems to unavoidably create loads of unwanted noise, harmonics, open strings etc. OK, for the C/G example I could use the G on the D string, but I’m trying to be reasonably faithful to the original. Do you have technique bugbears?

For me it's not the number of people but how full the venue is. If I'm playing to 50 people in a room built to hold about that many it's great; would rather do that than play to 500 at an arena.

Precisely my motives, Discreet. I want to be looking at the audience although not seeking eye contact.

It may be an odd thing to obsess about, but the more I practice a bassline the more I’m tempted to add to what I’ve learned by taking my eyes off the neck and looking out front. It’s not always easy – for example moving from low G to the octave on the A string (without looking) is occasionally hit and miss. I guess it’s something to perfect over time, but is it something you like to think about and work on, or are you already very comfortable with playing whatever lines you have to without watching your fingers? Or, on the other side, do you find you can’t play without watching the frets?

I'm sort of torn now. If all goes well with t'courier service, I should very shortly be the proud and loving new owner of a Dalectro Longhorn which has a white body with a pale blue edging... which suggests the blue lumies might be a particularly fetching addition. Might turn out that I take 2 basses to this gig, which will be a first.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1431027227' post='2767134'] We did an open-mic night and one of the bands did their three allotted songs and were desperate to do more. They said "who wants to hear The Boys Are Back in Town" to which the guy running it said "Everyone, just not from you". Pretty funny, but also cringe-making - never beg an audience. [/quote] Fantastic!

Whether with your own band or watching another, what’s the most cringeworthy thing you’ve witnessed? For me, it happened many years ago when my gf and I had a fortnight’s holiday at an apartment complex on one of the Balearic islands. They had a communal restaurant/bar/entertainments building and one night we sat to watch a youngish chap singing and playing his synth-type keyboard. He was pretty awful, but we thought there was about to be a huge improvement when he played the opening chords to Jump (Van Halen) – got it pretty much spot on, especially with the sound. But after the intro he stopped to let everyone know he didn’t know the rest of the song but that he loved the way the intro sounded on his keyboard. Debbie and I either spilt or nearly choked on our drinks.

Funnily enough, one of my favourite bands, Deaf Havana, also had a shouty tantrumist before James V-G took over the lead.

...and Kissing the Pink

If I remember right, the B-side to Level 42's Love Games was Forty-Two, a cracking instrumental and exactly the right bassline for someone just getting into slap/pull.

There was a big musical change for me about 6 years ago, thanks to the PS3 driving game Burnout Paradise. Before that, I’d always fallen into what I now [i]personally [/i]feel was the musician’s trap of only appreciating great musicianship, especially in terms of funky basslines. The Burnout Paradise soundtrack opened my ears to music that was simpler but somehow hugely anthemic. There were two songs in particular, Finger on the Trigger by NHOI and Dead Living by Sugarcult which pretty much blasted away the ideas I used to have about what constituted a great song.

Yeah, there was an age of rap that was fun, often with quite a good message – I’m thinking White Lines, The Crown, er, possibly others – but modern rap (even a lot of RnB) seems to enjoy focusing on misogyny, shiny ting and claims of sexual prowess. I’ve sometimes wondered if a deal should be done; you stop referring to females as bitches and hoes and we’ll stop referring to you with the ‘n’ word.

My reason for disliking a lot of (especially old) stuff may be seen as a bit odd. Basically, it’s about production values. We’ve taken many technical leaps over the past 20 years, and when I listen to modern rock / pop punk songs (they just happen to be the genres I enjoy most) I get a room-filling sound with total clarity and kick drum & bass guitar that can be physically felt. The past is littered with ‘classics’ which are, to me, dirges – Whiter Shade of Pale, House of the Rising Sun, Comfortably Numb etc etc etc – but as a bassist I was brought up on Level 42 and worshipped everything they did. These days, though, I hear anything prior to Retroglide and just think it sounds flimsy in terms of production. There are songs I hate, of course, but there are many I used to like but can’t listen to now because they just don’t sound as good.

Bloody hell - why can't I live a bit further south?

I often wonder where responsibility lies when it comes to live performance. Most of us are used to playing at pubs/clubs and other established live venues where you can pretty much take for granted that a licence is in place. But we do some private functions at other types of venue – we’ve got one in a school hall in a week or so. I’d be surprised if the school has the requisite licence, but who has responsibility for checking?

BTW this is for a one-off gig, so as long as they get through that...