neilp

The best advice I can give is to think of them as two entirely different instruments. Try both and see which you prefer, but as a beginner I'd say learn to play double bass, then playing EUB (electric upright bass) will be relatively easy. Double bass is fab, you'll love it

The Aria and the Wal, almost every gig

I don't know if it's related to your problem or not, but that nut looks crazy high and needs cutting! getting the strings closer to the fingerboard at the nut will make it all round easier, so I'd start there...

Desperately trying to think of a reason not to!

I'm delivering a boat to Scotland this weekend, coming home with an empty estate car and a very full wallet. Detour to Edinburgh is very tempting!

Ok, I can see you all disagree! No biggie, I'm just a luddite I guess! I do wonder though if the episodes we've all heard of musicians being out of tune on stage and not being able to sort it are a product of the tuner age... Why else?

I don't personally "aspire" to any type of music. I think it takes as much skill to make a really good job of Mustang Sally as it does Birdland. Different skills, granted. And you don't need a fretless Wal to play Birdland any more than you need a pre CBS Precision to play Mustang Sally. Play a bass you love, play any music anyone wants you to play and play it as well as you possibly can. Simples

I don't think that, but I do think that, as a general principle, it's more important to be in tune with each other than with a little green light, and it would be a good thing for a band - any band - to make a habit of tuning up as a band before they play. After all I can go to an orchestral performance with my bass perfectly tuned to my tuner, but what happens if the A from the oboe doesn't match? Do I tell her she's flat, or do I tune to her? It's a skill we should all learn IMHO

If you seriously believe all your electronic tuners give you the same result, there's no hope.... It takes a 70-piece orchestra about 45 seconds to tune up. Any more and the conductor will start firing people...

Fabulous! Well done! I hope that'll give you an extra push to do even more. Congrats Neil

Ok, but do you all then use the same tuner? If not you won't be in tune. Orchestras manage. Ever asked yourself how?

<p style="margin-left: 80px;">It is a small effect, but the whole instrument vibrates, s it all contributes to tone, sustain etc. If you think about it, its clear that the bridge transfers vibrational energy into the body, which vibrates. The strings are vibrating too , so the pickups are vibrating relative to the strings, which is bound to have an effect on the frequencies detected by the pickups. I like the Babicz bridge, whether or not you can hear the difference.</p>

I can't and don't want to judge the "best", but if there's one drummer I'd want to play with, my "favourite", it's Bonzo. So powerful, so groovy, always sounds like he's got more time than anyone else, if you know what I mean? Otherwise it's just a list of great drummers

Hi all, To anyone who read the feedback I originally left, I'd like you to know that lcu1988 has been in touch, explained his situation and we have resolved the whole thing. I would in fact give completely the opposite feedback and thank lcu1988 for his integrity Neil

In the spirit of my new resolution to get out more! I'm happy playing most styles - except funk, and I don't slap. Good gear - GK amplification has replaced the Dynacord in my signature. Good technique and ears - I'm classically trained, and I'm also looking for classical gigs Happy reading dots too, so last-minute deps are fine Transport no problem. Contact me here or [email protected] Neil

I think he meant getting paid direct by the brewery...

Blue talks sense for me, that's exactly how I feel about it

If you want to eliminate string noise and you want to keep roundwounds, yes you'll have to lift your fingers. Elixir give a lot less noise and last a lot longer, give them a try

I couldn't let one comment go by without replying. Why bother with an orchestra? Because it's fantastic fun, it'll teach you more in an hour than you'd learn by yourself in a month, and playing with a bunch of other people will remind you to be a musician. As a great conductor I work with says "always be beautiful, even when you're wrong"

Robert Plant, Grace Slick, Kate Bush, Elvis despite his tuning, Roy Orbison, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

Something a little out of the ordinary for you. Horsham Symphony Orchestra with the amazing Gerard McChrystal on sax. Most fun I've had in years. Ravel's La Valse and Dave Heath's Celtic concerto among other things, and a brilliant bass section.

Eyebrow or just above when in playing position. As an aside, lots of people lean their bass into themselves quite a lot when playing. I've always found it better to lean it only just enough to keep it from falling forward, so there's almost no weight against your belly. Then you can move around, and even use the weight of the bass to help your left hand.

Elbow is normally the cause of these things, so yes, elbow up and check that the nut is just above eyebrow level

Amps cabs and compressors have NO effect on how the instrument responds to the player. They do have an effect on the sound of those responses

+1 for Jimmy Nail. I loved his "Love don't Live Here...", and there's one or two gems on Crocodile Shoes even...