SteveK

Almost certainly down to your hand position. Don't grip the neck or have your thumb over the top. Unless you have tiny hands, the only part of your hand to touch the neck should be the ball of your thumb (positioned about half way down the back of the neck), and the tips of your fingers. Try playing with your bass higher. See if that helps.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1168080' date='Mar 19 2011, 11:32 AM']By the same token...ELP...?? oh dear god..!!![/quote] To be fair though, ELP were never good live, regardless of their age. Made some great albums though. [quote name='Doddy' post='1168283' date='Mar 19 2011, 02:33 PM']There are great young players,and there are great older players,it makes no difference.[/quote] I'm interested to know who the great young players are (jazz excluded). They don't seem to be making much of a stir

Had the interesting experience of touring with the Allman Brothers in 1991... They aren't everyone's cup of tea, nor mine particularly, but I can't deny, when they're on it, they're [i]really[/i] on it and there's a great vibe. Spent a few interesting, and not entirely sober, evenings with Greg Allman. He really is (or was) a larger than life figure. Should add that The Beach Boys were also on the tour.

[quote name='chilievans' post='1165685' date='Mar 17 2011, 01:00 PM']Sound advice mate thanks Out of curiosity how high is your action?[/quote] I don't have anything to measure it with, so all I can tell you is that E @ 12 fret is slightly less than a £1 coin... But, having done a quick check of the basses that I have at home - they vary. The £1 coin is tighter on some than others If you've had it setup properly, then the truss rod should be ok. So, it's just a case of slowly raising the action until you're happy with the amount of rattles and buzzes.

Should've said, "Oh dear, I was told that it was a good sounding bass... Got anything that actually sounds good?"

[quote name='chilievans' post='1165606' date='Mar 17 2011, 11:49 AM']I've recently had my bass set up and it has a lovely low action. The problem I have is when I play a crescendo I get a but of fret buzz. Should I play with a lighter touch or raise my action or ......? Any advice greatly appreciated[/quote] Unless you feel your technique needs attention, raise your action. I'm a fairly hard player (who wants it? ) , so always need to have my action set fairly high. Your instrument is there to serve you, not [i]you[/i] serve [i]it[/i].

Can't be bothered with all that note malarkey...I'm a "feel" player, me!

[quote name='davidmpires' post='1163256' date='Mar 15 2011, 04:07 PM']Just strech to reach the minor 3rd instead of the 10th?[/quote] Yes, (it is a Major 3rd though) Try this, starting A on 12th fret: A C# E C# 4X G# C# E C# 4X F# C# F#(8va) C# 4X 10th fret D D(8va) F# D(8va) 1X A D F# D 3X Hope this makes sense. Could really do with the ability to add chord diagrams or notation to a post

I didn't know the song, so just had a quick look on Youtube. If it's [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Zs7XS3XUo"]this version,[/url] you seem to have the wrong chords. A - C#m/G# - F#m - D The 2nd chord (C#m) is 2nd inversion with G# on bass Pretty easy to relate to bass. Basically, play as is. Starting A on 12 fret.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1157399' date='Mar 10 2011, 11:08 PM']So much for my big fact hunt. [/quote]

When people (not just musicians) ask, "What do you think?". They generally want positive comments. Anything negative is often not taken too kindly, which makes it kinda pointless. It's also difficult to know how much credence can be given to a comment when we don't know the credentials, tastes, ability etc of the commenter.

[quote name='BigAlonBass' post='1153142' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:41 PM']......and there's the crux of the whole argument, right there. If you play in front of an audience, you have to play what THEY want to hear, or you don't work.[/quote] [quote name='skankdelvar' post='1153794' date='Mar 8 2011, 01:56 PM']The transactional nature of paid public performance means that you have to give the punters what they want. If you don't give them what they want, don't expect to get paid or get asked back.[/quote] How times have changed! When I was cutting my musical teeth, the general vibe amongst serious bands was, you played what you [i]felt[/i] was good, you experimented, you attempted to do something original. Whether the audience were going to dig it or not was secondary. Seems now, there's too much "playing it safe", taking the easy route. Musicians these days seem to lack the courage of their convictions. Question: If a band has more success with songs than the original artists/bands, does that still make them a "covers band"? Guess it does! ...oh well!

Doddy is mostly correct in what he is saying. However, I think he is in danger of overstating the case and in his enthusiasm making one or two rash statements. As I've said before in previous threads on the same subject, we have all heard of the great non-trained, non-theory musicians. In fact one of my closest friends, who will be known to some BCers, hasn't the faintest idea about scales and modes, and basic theory, BUT, he is probably the most phenomenal guitarist/musician I know. These people are very few and far between. It's dangerous to think that maybe you will be one of these great, untrained musicians... it's a fairly safe bet that you won't.

On the evidence of this thread, it seems to me that the message is getting through. We don't have the "I don't do theory...I'm a feel player" and "Jaco Miller doesn't know any theory and he sells by the gazillions" type posts, as I seem to remember from older threads on the subject. Personally, I would advise that theory is a bad idea and should be avoided at all costs... ... last thing we old pros want is for some young(er) rapscallion to start getting all the gigs.

[quote]a slight difference in tone[/quote] If it really [b]is[/b] a slight difference, then, I wouldn't worry about it. That's one of the differences between man and machine. In the past, producers and musicians alike will have spent hours programming their sequencers to get that "slight difference in tone". Nowt wrong with using one finger if you really want that machine-like quality.

I bought the [url="http://www.guitargrimoire.com/gt03.htm"]guitar version of this[/url] many years ago (don't think there was a bass version then). If the bass version is anything like the guitar version, then, it's Probably got every scale/mode known to man.

[quote name='blamelouis' post='1141749' date='Feb 25 2011, 08:55 PM']BIG Jaco fan but hadnt heard that before ...thank you for that [/quote] You may also enjoy [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89WkxKpevLg"]this from the same album[/url]. Doesn't feature Jaco in the same way, but IMV his contribution to the theme is the icing on a great track.

Respect to Pete Academy for his restraint in his response to BigRedX's post. I'm sure on re-reading BigRedX regrets his post and will want to edit it.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMXz7FUi4-I"]Jaco's "burp"[/url] in all it's glory. The guy deserves respect from each and every member of BC

[quote name='Faithless' post='1138656' date='Feb 23 2011, 03:01 PM']I'm going to fly with Ryanair to London next week, and I've bought my bass an extra seat to have it with me.. and my question is - can I have things like cable, strap, etc in my gig bag to bring into the plane? The thing is I don't have checked-in baggage, so if I'm not permitted to bring that crap along with me, they gonna stay at home..[/quote] Done it many times over the years. They are not restricted items. Shouldn't be a problem.

Looks to me like a confidence issue or a technique issue.

[quote name='endorka' post='1135197' date='Feb 21 2011, 10:35 AM']This and the similar sentiments expressed by others in the thread surprises me. Jennifer[/quote] Come on Jennifer, the word "shallow" in the topic title should've been enough to tell you that this was a [i]males only[/i] thread.

[quote]Anyone else as shallow as me? smile.gif[/quote] When I got my first brand new sunburst Fender Precision (very early 70s). I would wake up in the night, switch the light on and marvel at its shape and contours... ...and then I would look over and notice the bass Of course you're not being shallow. We're all a big bunch of kids who want to look cool.

[quote name='robocorpse' post='1133236' date='Feb 19 2011, 11:54 AM']Its a guitarists technique that the bassist has to follow to make it easier on the ensemble.[/quote] Why? I totally understand why a guitarist would use such a tuning. But why a bass player? He won't be playing open power chords...will he? The same notes are available, he just has to reach them in an unorthodox fashion, which would make study bloody hard work.

I understand the need for drop tuning, but I can't figure what advantage there is for C# G# C# F# tuning. You say you haven't been playing long...I can't help thinking you're making a rod for your own back. Not sure how much harder you could make it for yourself