neilp

Are you planning on flying somewhere with it? If not, you don't need a hard case. They are a complete and utter pain, avoid if at all possible!

That man is such a tart! He's spent years telling everyone who would listen that there was nothing worth playing that couldn't be played on a 4-string, and he'd never bother with a 5!!!

Wonder how many dollars Cort waved under his nose to bring about that change of heart

I agree with JB's previous stance on 5-strings, but the Cort Jeff Berlin models do look fantastic, and I'm sorely tempted by the Rithimic 4

Hope you enjoy it!

Philparker is dead right, these are superb days if you're looking for a boost to your learning journey. David is a fabulous guy and an unbelievable player. Great teacher too, so you should go if you can

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Why the hell would you take a 12 string bass to a jam night? A bit self-defeating. We all know what jam nights are for

Not by me it's not. Sweeping generalisation there!

I use Thomastik Bel Canto, they suit my bass better than the Evah Pirazzi it had when I bought it. The sound of the instrument is quite bright, so I'm wondering about a change to Flexocor Originals, but I'm not a great fan of the endless search for the "perfect" string.

At the heart of it, the bass has thick heavy strings and it's not easy to make them "speak" quickly and evenly. One of the ways you can get the screeching noise is if you don't have enough grip on the strings. This could be worn bow hair, not enough rosin or not enough of the ribbon of hair contacting the string. Could also be caused by tension in the bow arm, bow too near the bridge and moving too fast, or the bow stroke not being perpendicular to the string. Inconsistent weight in the bow stroke, poorly set-up instrument, unsuitable strings, old and useless rosin, the list goes on. This is why there's so little point faffing with strings etc etc to try to get your "tone". It's almost always nothing to do with perceived problems with strings or set-up, much more likely poor technique.

Maybe that's cos they need £899 for them....

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1476800523' post='3157350']
if you get the chance, take it

You only live once
[/quote]
What he said. I work as much as I can, and my plan is to reduce my living costs to the point where I can live on my musical income. Classical, rock/pop, originals, covers, whatever. Don't care, I love it all and I'd much prefer not to have to do anything else

Practice, practice and practice some more! I find - 30+ years of sightreading behind me, to be fair! - that I focus mainly on rhythm, the notes are the easy bit, particularly on BG. Tap out - in your head if necessary - anything that's not obvious, and make sure you know what you're counting - if you have a conductor, is he/she beating that 4/4 section in 4, or 2 or maybe even 1? The notes themselves can usually be read as you go, the key is practice and more practice!

The sounds are part of it, but there's more to it. I feel like mine inspires me, I'm a better player with the Wal strapped on than with anything else I've ever played. It changes the music I play for the better.

My Mk1 fretless is never leaving me. The world does not contain enough money. Every time it comes out of its case it comes "bearing a gift beyond price".

How did I learn? Bough a bass, started playing. Played along with records, formed a band with schoolmates and worked at it. All my formal musical education came from the classical world, playing double bass. I've been doing both for 35+ years now, and I wouldn't say I've learnt to play yet!

Bass guitar is no fun to me unless it's in a band setting. I practice at home, but the idea of noodling away at home just doesn't cut it. Give me a gig, that's always been my motivation to learn

Horses for courses, of course, but I find a "correct" French or Italian bow hold is much more natural than a "correct" German bowhold. It might be worth seeking out a lesson or two with a good classical teacher who can show you the True Path, whether with a French or a German accent!

You pretty much get what you pay for, so yes, pay a little more and then when your son moves on to a slightly better instrument you 'll have a decent bag to put it in. You can't have too many handles. My Roth & Junius bag has 6 handles and two carrying straps and is superb, if a bit dearer than the Westbury.

Lots of very fine players use German bow, it just doesn't work for me. Relaxation is the key however you hold the bow. Variations are huge, but as long as you can keep the bow perpendicular to the strings and the hair flat on the string with control and no tension in your hand, wrist, elbow or shoulder, it'll be fine!!! Not much to achieve then.....

I'd say your thumb is too straight, and the tip of the thumb is all you need in contact with the bow stick, and thumb shouldn't be in contact with the ferrule, but there's room for variation, and if it works it works. You should aim to have your hand as close as possible to it's relaxed resting shape and use the absolute minimum of force to hold the bow

660, not 600! 660 is at the top of 3/4, I'd say, and 700 is on the long side for 4/4. Anything over 700 is pretty long, and starts to become difficult to manage. Best advice I can give is learn to use less bow and go for a shorter bow

You need what fits you and the instrument. Many many years ago when I started playing I used the longest bows I could find, and still often struggled with legato passages because I hadn't learned to move the bow slowly. As I got more accomplished I found shorter bows felt better balanced (obviously!) and were easier to use. You need to try several lengths/weights and see what suits you. I'd suggest if you are a reasonably normal-sized human you should look at stick lengths anywhere between 660 and 700mm, but it does depend what you feel comfortable with

It's easy to be cynical about these things, but the bow needs to be viewed as an instrument in it's own right, and a fine bow makes a HUGE difference. Having said that, Ms Du Pre's name may well have trebled the value of that particular stick! It's a Tubbs, and fully blinged, so the chances are it'll never play the Elgar concerto again. "Owned" and "used" are two very different things, too.....

So sorry I missed this - from a selfish point of view it was worth missing it, but I would have liked to come. Happy to pay my £10 too if someone wants to tell me who to pay?
Hope there will be a next one!

Neil

1981 a second-hand Aria SB1000 in Handy Music in Reigate. Couldn't afford it then, I was 16. 5 years later I bought an identical bass, and it's still with me. Good call.........

Use a bow case if you have any kind of money invested in your bow - I do, and my bows are either in my hand or in their case.

Rosin is tricky, I don't normally add rosin during performance, unless there's an interval, in which case the bow will be unwound and re-rosined when it's tensioned again. No more than a couple of swipes.

I have two decent bows s that I have something useable to play with when the posh bow is being rehaired