Froggy

Annihilator who had the album Alice in Hell? Damn I wish I could actually play worth a damn!

Selling the tickets before the lineup is announced just goes to show that it's not somewhere to go to see the acts but somewhere to go to say you're there. I do seem to remember there was another reason they started doing it but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1427388670' post='2729808'] Ah, but. , Like a lot of others, I was educated in a 60s secondary modern. I read a lot as a kid, but trust me, I was the exception, not everyone did, So I can at least spell and use a comma and a full stop. I was never taught any grammar after primary school, I dont know the 'rules' so make mistakes. There must be loads of people in the same boat as me. [/quote] Yes, I expect there are many in the same boat as you. To be fair, basschat is far better in these respects than many places on the Internet. I didn't make very good use of my education, I work as a lorry driver, if you want to see terrible grammar and spelling try looking at lorry driver's Facebook posts. Some of them are far below primary school level!

Yes, it could be down to those things, and of course, nobody is perfect, however I see the same people making the same mistakes over and over again on places like Facebook etc. Many of these people have the same education as I do, and were taught by the same teachers that I was. I'm sure many of you have noticed the same at different places around the internet. Education in this country isn't that bad when it comes to the basics of literacy, so there really isn't much excuse for it.

Ooops! That's even better than grammer/grammar! I'll blame predictive text, but admit that I really should have checked before hitting the post button I also support the return of groovy as I missed it the last time 'round.

I'll hold my hand up and admit to being a grammar nazi, a spelling nazi, and an apostrophe nazi. To my mind it's just laziness, excepting those who are truly dyslexic as opposed to those who use dyslexia as an excuse for their laziness. I'm sure someone will be upset with me at this post, but I've never been one to mince my words. [edited to correct spelling, although I don't mine my words either]

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1424288289' post='2694836'] I'm not saying he's talenless, just that I don't like him or his music. I like rap, as said, Cypress hill, Tupac among others. I just don't like Kanye and if someone else does, bully for them. It won't change my outlook on his talent or lack of. I do think he is over rated, but again that's down to taste. What kind of world would it be if we all liked the same things ? [/quote] I have to admit, I'm with ubit on this. I grew up listening to hip hop and the modern crop of rappers just can't hold a candle to the old MC's. The only one I think is even halfway decent is Eminem, at least he writes stuff about life, instead of just "aren't I awesome? I have loads of money/girls/cars" I get very annoyed when dj's on the radio go on about JayZ's 99 problems. I want to shake them and tell them to listen to the original version! (1993, IceT, Home Invasion). I'd rather hear the raw stuff of IceT, KRSOne, NWA etc than the over produced commercial stuff around these days. I think most rap these days, at least the stuff you'll hear about in the media, is very much in the same ilk as Simon Cowell et al, manufactured pop for the masses designed solely to make money, not music. These artists all have talent, and there's a place for it too, even one direction (just not out of my speakers). The problem with Kanye is that he seems to think his is the most valuable opinion in the world, and that he's the best thing ever, when clearly, he isn't.

I'll keep working at it, no worries about that. I generally put in an hour a day, with more on weekends, plus a weekly half hour lesson, and I think the lessons are great, I'll be keeping those going, especially as I'm the kind of person who likes to collect bits of paper, so I intend to do my grade exams. As for a band and gigging, I'll grab any opportunities that arise, but until I find a more sociable job I won't seriously be searching as I feel it would be better to be able to commit fully to the band. Thanks for all the replies and encouragement, even the more negative posts have showed me what I need to be concentrating on. Now then, other than jam/open mic nights, does anyone have any tips on finding a band? With my eclectic music tastes I'm not too worried about genre.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1424153674' post='2693169'] Agreed, were all in the same club. I have been gigging for 45 years. I talk a good game and have a lot of opinions. However, and let me be real clear, if you ask me how good I am? My answer is always the same, [i]I'm ok, I can hold my own and I have good nights and then I can have nights when i wonder why I'm even playing.[/i] Blue [/quote] I have no illusions about being the next Jaco, but right now, if I was asked I wouldn't be able to say I'm ok, in fact, right now I wouldn't even call myself adequate. However, using rocksmith as a tool alongside taking lessons I've identified areas I really need to work on. Fretting accuracy being my biggest issue I think. So next stage for me is lots of practice trying not to look at the fretboard for shifts. I know if I was playing in a band of similar ability I'd be able to just play root until I'm more comfortable, but for a few months at least, I'll be remaining as a bedroom bassist.

I got rocksmith 2014 on Saturday, it's showed me that no way am I ready for a band yet! Good job I'm enjoying practicing!

I think it's just the magazine industry in general. As has-been mentioned, with the Internet at our fingertips 24/7 magazines, and newspapers too to a lesser extent, are finding it increasingly hard to make money. The only real revenue they have is from advertising, so is it any wonder that they seem to pander to those advertisers and stuff as many ads into the pages as possible? The problem is of course, that all they're really doing is delaying the inevitable. I doubt the print media industry will last another decade.

After I broke the D'Addario nickels that came with my bass I replaced them with the only heavy gauge bass strings in my local music shop, rotosound 66 steels and I love em! I don't have the experience to really say what the differ nice is, but they just seem right. Really happy with em.

Strange, I would have expected two fingers would be pretty much similar to one plectrum up and down speedwise. I have done a little with a plectrum, but I feel much more comfortable fingerstyle. There's my lack of experience showing up again! Benchmark, that was the word I was looking for!

I play fingerstyle, but I'll take a look at dakota. After Nicko's comment though I'll not get disheartened if I can't get it. Here's a question though, what makes it harder fingerstyle compared to plectrum? When I play if feel that my hands work independently but in concert with each other. What would be different if I was playing with a plectrum?

I don't think JTUK's comment is harsh at all, I think it's very pertinent. After all my experience is very limited, I've asked the question to hear advice from you all who know much more than I do. In answer, I've been concentrating on scales, arpeggios, patterns and grooves in my lessons. My teacher will often give me a bass line and chord progression which I'll play over a drum track with him playing guitar. I guess it's a bit like jamming, and I'm encouraged to change the line if I think of ways to improve it. As for what I can play, I'd say only 3 songs in all, and they're simple ones. Come as you are by nirvana, the chain by Fleetwood Mac, and Lady marmalade by pretty much everyone. (yeah, I have eclectic tastes) but I've learned these within a couple of hours practicing, and I play them regularly to tighten them up. oh, and a 12 bar blues that my teacher gave me, but the name escapes me. Playing with my teacher is why I think my timing is good, he says that I keep in time really well. One thing this thread has shown me, I may not be ready, but when I give it a go, not to let the knock backs disheartened me. Happyjack, yeah, I'm a long distance driver (for now) and although I know there are jam sessions all over the place, when I Park up I usually have between 9 and 11 hours to get some rest before starting very early the next morning, and added to that, it's not easy to park an artic overnight in a lot of towns these days! I think that my best course of action at the moment is to continue as I am, until such time as I'm no longer on the road all the time and can really commit to gigging and rehearsing with a band.

Good point Nicko, luckily I don't seem to have any issues with timing, but that's another thing for me to keep in mind.

Thanks for all the replies guys, I guess I'm about to embark on a search for a band. I'll have to learn how to go about that now too 😃 Unfortunately jam/open mic nights are out for me, they all seem to be midweek and as I said before, my job keeps me away. Kennyrogers, don't do it man! You know what happens, the diesel gets in your blood and you end up spending nights in a tin box on a dodgy industrial estate before you know it! It nowhere near as much fun as it used to be! I've even considered going to work for McDonald's just to get off the bloody road! Dadofsix and JTUK, I judge myself harshly, and have always held myself to high standards, but luckily I don't seem to hold others to those standards, but thanks for the warning, it'll be something I watch for! All the replies have been very helpful, and the thing I'm picking up on most, which I've noticed mentioned in other threads here, is that playing with others tends to help raise your game, so even if that's all I get from the first few tries it's a bonus! In fact, the mentions of it in other threads are what made me consider the question of is it too soon.

Looking for a bit of advice here. So I've been playing around 3 months now, taking weekly lessons for all of that time, and I intend to keep taking the lessons. I can play scales and arpeggios, I know to hammer on and pull off, I can learn songs and grooves as long as they're fairly simple. My biggest weakness is when I try to play too fast my fingers become less accurate when fretting, I hit the right note, but I'll often get fret buzz in faster numbers. My tutor thinks I'm too critical of myself, that I notice the things I do wrong more than I take note of the times I'm playing well. Thing is, as I said in my introduction thread, I always wanted to learn bass from a young age, but for various reasons never picked it up until now, almost 40. I picked up the bass with the aim of playing with a band, so when should I start looking into joining one? Oh yeah, one of my other weaknesses is lack of patience haha. I have other problems when it comes to actually joining a band too, I work away from home all week, and although that gives me lots of time for solo practice, it does mean that I'm only going to be able to rehearse with a band, and play gigs, at weekends. I'm looking to change my job, not for the music, but because I've had enough of sleeping in a lorry all week, so hopefully that'll pan out sometime this year. So am I being realistic? I've set myself a goal of playing in band by the end of this year, but in all honesty, I'd like to be at that point by the summer (again that lack of patience) Cheers, Mark

Exeter or Bristol would work for me as I'm pretty much halfway between both. Would be good to get some tips from people who actually know how to play! Count me in.

I'm still a newbie too, at almost 40 I've been playing around a month now. I've been working on scales and arpeggios with my tutor, but we both think I'm frustrated because I don't see any improvement. He says there definitely is, and to show me that he's got me learning The Chain. Sometimes mixing it up a bit can show you that you're doing better than you think.

This thread has started me thinking. I'm new to playing, currently I practice in my truck with a tiny 2w Marshall mini amp, perfect for the cab, but I'm looking at buying a proper amp for home, and eventually, gigging if I ever get good enough. I was considering a 100w bass amp, my thinking being that I can play it turned down and adjust the volume to the venue as my experience grows. Most of the venues in my local area are going to be pyb/club gigs, am I going to be seeing problems running a 100w amp at lower volumes? Or is this primarily a guitar thing and bass amps sound fine at lower volumes? For anyone wondering I was considering a Hartke HD100A.

Again, if you're playing fingerstyle you could use your thumb to mute the open e string.

Hendrix's cover of Like a rolling stone is great too, far ahead of Dylan's IMO, and as has already been mentioned, Johnny Cash's version of Hurt. If any of you listened to radio one a few years ago you might have caught Arctic Monkeys covering Girls Aloud and being far better than them at it. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTNC9l46oR4"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTNC9l46oR4[/url]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I already feel like I belong! Haha. The encouragement is most welcome too. I'd love to join a band once I can handle my bass properly, and I'm glad that some of you are older than I am! My only issue will be my job, I'm a truck driver, away from home all week, so it means lots of time to practice when I'm parked up at night, but precious little time to rehearse and gig with a band. I'll just have to see how that goes. Pinball, if I'm finished at a sensible time on the 19th I'll come up to weston to see your band play gladly. Thanks for the invite, keep me in the loop!

Hi all, after wanting to play bass all my life I've just picked one up at 39. I thought I might be able to teach myself using all the resources available these days, but I've decided to spend some time with a tutor too. Got a Washburn Taurus T14Q for £100 on Saturday, and I've surprised myself by being able to play twinkle twinkle little star already! I think I have a long way to go! :-D