Cato

Apart from anything else playing guitar is fun. I started off teaching myself guitar on a £20 nylon string student job, then I got my first bass. Most of my time in bands has been as a guitarist, even though a lot of the time I would rather have been on bass. A knowledge of chords is certainly useful when playing bass and, possibly controversially, I think a knowledge of bass theory, particularly walking lines, is useful when soloing on guitar.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1501777854' post='3347320'] Amazing what passes for genius these days. Taking a vocal sample up two octaves so it sounds like cats screeching then adding some unimaginative rapping over the top seems to be the bar! [/quote] His early stuff was excellent. He used to be fairly normal and modest (for a rapper) but a few years back his mum died suddenly. That's when the weirdness started. I also blame him for developing the autotune/vocoder style which seems to be dominating popular music at the moment.

At last I can stop the shaking and the cold sweats.

[quote name='archie_the_cat' timestamp='1501354605' post='3344256'] So, what are you saying, that bass break is done with some sort of backwards tracking? Is the whole bass line constructed that way or just that bit? [/quote] It's just the solo. The second part of the break is the first part played backwards.

I've bought my last two basses sight unseen online. The first was a Squier Jazz from Andertons, the first one they sent me was set up okay, but the back pickup broke within a week, I was able to exchange it no problems and the next one they sent me was technically faultless, although I did set it up to my preferences. Then , back in January, I got a Mexican Precision Special from Guitar Guitar. I was really impressed with the set up on that one, the intonation was spot on and the action, which I'd describe as medium low, was perfect for me. My next buy will almost certainly be a Sire V7 fretless and I have absolutely no qualms about ordering one online.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1501039993' post='3341965'] How would you recruit musicians. [/quote] http://youtu.be/EXMvh-mYFYU

I'm sort of glad I learnt to play by ear before the youtube days. Don't get me wrong, these days if I want to learn someing the 'tube is my first port of call, and it was especially useful when I finally got round to learning to slap properly. But I also like it when I hear something brand new and I can visualise the patterns involved in playing it, even if I may not have the right key, I think that comes from the early days of learning, when I was wearing out tapes, listening to the same few seconds over and over again while working out a part.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1500928328' post='3341171'] [/b] The natural wood ones tend to be Alder as it has a better grain and is harder than Basswood: the downside is they are heavier than the colours. Had a VM Jazz that was too heavy, even for me.... [/quote] Luck of the draw?? My natural VM 70s jazz is bob on 9lbs. I think it's swamp ash, but I'm not 100% on that. Edit: I stand corrected, apparently it's 'soft maple', whatever that is.

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1500812628' post='3340302'] Well - the first job is to finish off a Wal neck replacement for one of our basschat colleagues (a new 5-string fretted neck as a fully reversible mod to a wonderful fretless 80's instrument). Shouldn't take long. Then...and here I have to whisper it very quietly so no one hears....a couple of six string electrics. One commissioned and one for me. But ezbass...don't you go telling any of the others! [/quote] Any chance you could post the skinny string builds on here? I know it's a bass forum, but I think it might stop a few of us going through cold turkey, you could call them short scale six string piccolo bass builds....

Can I be the first to say 'It's all in the fingers'?

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1500730917' post='3339854'] And so, other than a tweak of the truss rod to suit Mick's DR Neon White strings and printing and attaching the label, it's finished Forgive the gratuitous photos: [/quote] Following your builds has been one of the highlights of the forum for me, since I discovered BassChat a couple of years back. I think this may be your Sistine Chapel. Maybe you could call it the Michelangelo. Congratulations to The Greek for the concept and especially to you for the execution. As someone with no practical skills myself I have a genuine admiration for those who do. P.S. hope the build doesn't cause you permanent eye damage the way the Sistine Chapel's ceiling did with it's creator.

I remember reading in a bass tuition book, probably coming on for 25 years ago about a fretless with brass fret markers. Can't for the life of me remember the make/model.

Has 'The Curve' been done? I think it might have been, but a quick google search hasn't turned anything up. I also like 'The Lens' although that does risk people asking who 'Len' is and why you're playing his bass. Other brainstorming ideas are 'The Aristotle', 'The Demosthenes', The Socrates' or 'The Zorba'. Apologies for any inappropriate cultural stereotypes....

Nice.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1500317978' post='3336915'] I believe it wer young Britney wot said " oops I did it again". [/quote] I'm not generally a fan of the Ricky shape, but that's a beauty.

I've got a VM 70s Jazz which I love to bits. It was originally supposed to be a stop gap until I could upgrade it for a US Fender model, but, to be honest I can't really see the point. A US Fender will obviously be a better instrument, but I seriously doubt it's £1000 better.

I don't think pressuring yourself will work. If I sit down and consciously try to write something, I rarely get anywhere, most of my musical ideas come from noodling around on a guitar or bass. Most of my lyrical ideas come straight out of the blue, normally when I'm nowhere near an instrument. If you're not under any time pressure your best bet may be to step back from the writing thing for a few days

Just a thought, if you're just starting out, have you considered learning to play right handed? I'm a righty myself, but I'm aware that our left handed friends are cruelly discriminated against when it comes to the availability and range of basses made for them.

My brother in law started last year when he was 40ish and is coming along pretty nicely. Ultimately it all comes down to practice, yes there are different levels of natural talent, but ultimately I believe you get out what you put in.

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1499493362' post='3331833'] The bass ia great, but I'm wondering if there's an issue with this batch of cats? It seems to spend most of it's time asleep [/quote] 😅😅

That is exactly how I like my Jazz basses. Natural, black pick guard, maple board, black blocks, chrome hardware, complete with full cat accessory. NB. be careful when fitting the cat, they can be quite sharp if you attatch them incorrectly.

Never stretched my strings, never heard of stretching strings until I joined this forum. Generally I find things have settled down within 24-48hr of restringing. A bit quicker if I play a lot.

I think my next purchase is probably going to be a maple board fretless V7.

There were definitely trans green Bass Collections. School friend of mine had one.

Nice. Looks like a bugger to tune though.