neilp

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1446814973' post='2902566'] Well, there are all the other times someone has expressed a similarly bizarre viewpoint about McCartney ... like every time he or The Beatles are mentioned. [/quote] With respect, what's bizzarre about it? Frogs Chorus? Mull of Kintyre? Band on the Run? All the most insipid Beatles output? Please.... A competent bass player, just about Look up Jack Bruce's views on McCartney.

McCartney doesn't count. Even if he died today, everything he's ever done has "trite" and "banal" and "cliche-ridden" stamped all over it in 20-foot letters. Iconic? Never was, never will be IMHO

If you're struggling with an unfamiliar piece, I'd try listening to it and counting through the bass part without playing anything a couple of times, then try to fit in the important entries. Build it up gradually. I haven't played the piece so I can't offer any specific advice. Sorry Neil

JPJ/Bonham for the groove, invention and elasticity

Boring! I love my Wal, love the way it looks, love the way it sounds, love the way it plays. I really don't care what anyone else thinks. If you don't like them, don't buy them. I don't care what they cost, I've got one and I'll never sell it, so the value's totally irrelevant. Neil

I have a B4FL, very nice! Well made, lovely fast neck, and I have to say the preamp is fine for me, I have no problem getting the tones I need. It gets nearly as much playing time as the Wal, so that must say something! Neil

If you're struggling with bass solos, simply don't do them! If you're at Grade 5, the biggest restriction is undoubtedly technique, which is why you're freezing. Your technique is not reliable enough when you're under perceived pressure. I have a ARCM performing diploma, and I don't play solos. Partly because I don't think I've ever heard a bass solo that a non-musician would want to listen to, and partly because I enjoy the job of playing bass, and if you're soloing, you're not doing the job. This is just my opinion, but the advice I'd give is to concentrate on the rhythmic and harmonic job of holding the song down, and leave the solos to others. That's what I've always done, and I don't feel I'm missing out! Neil

Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush - Don't Give Up Simply stunning

I think Dr Feelgood would fit - not many bands covering them that I've heard. Roxette maybe? The song, not the band lol

What was the point then? I must have missed it amongst all the back-tracking

Comrade??? Not sure I was the one asking people to "qualify" to own a nice instrument. It's not just hedonistic consumerism. I've spent what I can justify [i]to myself [/i]​on the basses I own. I haven't bought a bass in 10 years. If it offends your sensibilities to see an average player in a pub band with a Wal hanging from his strap, I'd suggest you haven't got enough worries in your life. Lucky man!

I didn't imply that you're a poor musician, where did I say that? Are you the best musician you could possibly be? If so/ please accept my apologies

Asking questions is good. Questioning people's right to play what they want, how and where they want to play it, is antagonistic and pointless. My double bass teacher said something to me many years ago. I was fortunate enough to acquire a double bass at a price I could afford, which turned out to be a VERY high-quality instrument worth many times what I paid for it. When I asked him if I should sell it and get something more suited to my ability at the time, he told me that in an ideal world, beginners would be playing top quality instruments, because they would be encouraged by the possibilities a great instrument will offer. So should there be some kind of audition before you're allowed to own a Wal? That really IS dictatorship! Besides, I'd probably fail the audition..............

You don't need to justify your choice of instrument, stings, amplification or anything else to anyone except yourself. Why don't the people spending so much time worrying about the moral well-being of their fellow musicians spend that time becoming better musicians? maybe then they'd find it "justifiable" to own a more expensive - avoided the word "better" deliberately - bass? Just a thought...

Whatever you require to do your thing is what's required. Simples. Setting is utterly irrelevant

Interesting. Earlier in the thread someone mentioned the concept of a "better" bass sound. Better in whose ears? This is purely my view, but if the audience isn't listening to the band -as an ensemble - then something is wrong. I'm a much better classical double bass player than I am an electric bass player. I like to believe I've got a decent feel, and I can work a groove pretty well and love the feeling of being locked-in with the rest of the rhythm section, but my technique has limitations that I've learned to respect. As a classical player my technical limits are way higher. In spite of this, my double bass would be regarded - is regarded - as a "budget" instrument. All things are relative, it's worth more than my Wal fretless. Why do I keep it? It sounds great - to me - I find it easy to play and I love it, despite its "characterful" looks! Why do I keep the Wal, which according to some on here is way "better" than I need or deserve? It sounds great, it's easy to play and I love it! Same with the SB1000 and the "cheap" Cort. None of them have a financial value to me, because I won't sell them. I've had them all long enough that they're part of who I am as a musician, for whatever that's worth! No apologies for my choices. Maybe I "should" sell the DB and the Wal and invest in a "better" DB. It has been suggested, but it'll never happen. It'd be like selling my soul. It's not "gear" to me, they're musical instruments. Again, only my opinion and not in any way intended to offend anyone, but I think that attitude makes me a better musician than I would otherwise be. I try to focus on what and how I play, not what I need to buy next to get "the tone".

I gig mine when a fretless is called for, really don't see the issue with weight or comfort - or image come to that! It sounds fantastic and plays superbly. How many people in a pub audience will spot a Wal and know what it is anyway?. I do get a bit nervous in the seedier places, that's why I bought the Cort!

I've recently put a set of 45-100 nickel on my SB1000, just about played in now and I have to say i'm really impressed. Tension is a fraction less than the D'Addarios that were on, but not massively different judging by the way the neck reacted. They do feel "softer" though, and a little faster, much quieter and the tone is lovely and fat, no harsh treble, very even response. Remains to be seen how they last, but I'd happily pay the extra just for the way they feel, play and sound. I'm a convert!

I'm not sure a £200 double bass will get you too much work - well, maybe one offs - but if you really want one, a half size really isn't that much smaller or easier to transport than a three quarter, and there are many fewer around. I've got a Czech 1960's ply bass you can have for £200, got a decent set of Spirocores on it

I use Petz #2, have done for years. To be honest though, I don't think the choice of rosin is something to get too worked up over. Nyman, Petz, whatever, just put it on and play. They all do the same job and the difference in tone or feel is tiny. Just play and enjoy!

They barely sound like musicians at all! Anyone worthy of the name knows the bass isn't an easy option. Even "noddy" bass lines need feel, technique and concentration if the band wants to do the song justice. Find another band...

You should expect a whole bunch of people keen to play great music together! Give it a go, what have you got to lose? At best you'll meet some good people and play some music with them and have a great time (maybe learn some stuff too!). At worst you'll decide not to go again. How will you know if you don't try it?

Thought about this a little bit more. Almost more so than any other instrument in a band (bar the drums), the bass has a job to do. If you're good at that job, you'll be making a significant harmonic and melodic contribution to the songs without ever taking a "solo", and still be focussed on the job, which is to "lock in" with the drummer and keep it all driving along. Have you ever heard a bass solo - or a drum solo come to that - that was anything more than a showcase for the player's technique? I'm not talking about little fills and runs here, which any bass player worth his salt will play where they're needed and where there's space for them. Have a listen to the guitar solo in "Tangerine" by Zeppelin. VERY simple little tune, no shredding, could easily be played on the bass. Now imagine it had been. Why would you? Have you ever heard a bass solo that you could say was essential to the song and done for entirely musical reasons? I haven't, except for a couple of examples from the Classical world, and they're very short and to the point. In m opinion, we're much better off using all that technique to do our job in the interests of the music

Fantastic instruments! I have a 79 SB1000 that I know I will never part with. Its always the first bass I pick up, even before the Wal! Superb neck, very playable and versatile. Who needs overpriced Fenders?

To me a bass player taking a solo is always a bit like a dog walking on its hind legs - the enjoyment comes not from how good it is, but from the fact he can do it at all. A bass solo that a non-bass player would want to listen to is a VERY rare thing