Frank Blank

Instead of just watching my fretless Fender sitting in the rack gathering dust and periodically failing to sell it on here, I thought I might actually pick the damn thing up and play it. One of my very favourite bass players is Mick Karn, listening to his playing always made me very happy on one hand because he was such a unique and brilliant player but on the other hand it always left me thinking I would never be able to play a fretless like that... so why bother? Which was, of course, a ridiculous thing to think because I should play like me and not just try and imitate such an original musician, however it has taken me decades to settle into playing bass and given the years I’ve wasted dabbling rather than really committing to it, it is no surprise that I’m not much of a player on a fretted bass and I assumed I’d be hopeless on fretless, every time I considered having a go I remembered Mick Karn and laughed at myself. I digress... ...so I did pick it up and came up with a bass line that I liked, albeit a bit pedestrian, and with my duo comrade we turned it into a song but I was still stuck in this stupid ‘Yes but it doesn’t sound like Mick Karn’ mode. I had to put the bass back in the rack and have a word in my shell-like. Of course it doesn’t sound like MK and nor should it, it should sound like me playing whatever instrument I choose to play. A couple of days later I picked it up again and I wrote a bass line like I write bass lines and I have to say I’m rather pleased with it. On Monday just gone we duly began building a new song around it. Cutting to the chase after three paragraphs of waffle, I find myself rather enjoying the strange elastic-y freedom of the fretless, having actually tried quite hard rather than giving up the first time I missed a note, I find myself drawn to playing fretless in a way fretted bass never drew me. Anyone else on here moved to fretless and have any tips for a beginner fretless player? Any old hands with wisdom to impart? I’m playing a lined fretless and I’m trying not to look at my hand placements but I was one for looking on fretted too... I could have just written Any advice for fretted player moving to fretless? Couldn’t I.

I wasn’t performing, I was driving and tech for Collapsed Lung.

I still wouldn’t like to paint it and I’m still sorry.

Hottest - Phoenix Festival 1996, Guardian Tent, phew.

Sold an Ibanez SRC6 to Ian, pleasure doing business, deal with confidence.

Sold Mick an Aerodyne bass. A pleasure doing business with him, trade with confidence.

Due to a timetabling miscalculation (my error) I am actually at work... Bah.

Will do.

Anytime. I have relatives in Northampton and I get my guitars set up by a chap in Warwick, about 50 mins from you.

Excellent band, I once backed up Dub War and Benji wore one of our beanies, made me stupidly happy.

Isn't this some kind of ancient coracle we should be rowing across a ditch?

I have a 23.5" scale Taylor Mini-e bass that changed the way I think about basses forever. I went from struggling to play (small hands, smaller talent) 34" scale basses straight down to the little Taylor and found myself able to do so much more on it than I thought myself capable of, the realisation set in that I'd not been playing longer basses for thirty years but I'd been fighting them. Now I don't play anything over 30" scale.

That's a great name.

I believe there was a funk/punk band in Essex called Funky Monks once upon a time...

Genius...

Where are you dude, you are more than welcome to have a try on mine.

...apart from the one going to PMT because it’s mine!

That's simply too complicated for a Friday before midday.

I totally missed this post somehow, even though it answers all the questions I've emailed you about *cleans glasses*.

It took me a few goes just now to Google it in order to spell it right just now!

We were young and a little whizzed...

...mind you I was in a synth duo once for a total of one gig going under the snappy moniker of Batrachophrenoboocosmomachia.