neilp

My favourite bass player of them all is Rinat Ibragimov. Some wonderful youtube videos of him playing - mostly the more Romantic repertoire. He had a major stroke a few years ago, which tragically left him unable to perform, but his sound and emotional connection with music are endless inspiration to me The Koussevitsky was one of the pieces in my ARCM recital many many years ago, I had a couple of lessons with him before the recital. Eye-opening.......

Nice playing. A bit lacking in intensity for me, and a bit monochrome. There is more to be had, playing closer to the bridge. I played in a Masterclass with Gary Karr in the 80's when I was a real bassist, and the focus and intensity of his sound was extraordinary. "Vocalise" is now played much more often by cellists, violinists and all sorts, but the story goes it was in fact written for double bass, for Serge Koussevitsky. He's another fascinating character, there are many great stories about him....

I've just acquired an Ashdown ABM500, which has a built in one-knob compressor. I'm still playing with gain levels and compressor settings, but I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised how much variety in compression attack and ratio you can get. So at the moment, it's yes, but the built in Ashdown, the Boss and TC that I had on my board are in the cupboard.....

I think the "floppiness" of the E string is an optical effect, probably something to do with interaction between the frequency of the notes and the frame rate of the video?

If the repairs are as sound as you say, I'd be tempted to put a nice new set of tuners on it, and a new bridge, and leave the rest well alone. I don't know why, but something about that bass is saying "1930s" to me, very loudly. It might well be absolutely lovely

More than happy to help if needed. PM me. I'm busy, but I can usually find some time for bass bimbling

Really?? They have two guitar hangers, clean, modern, well presented rooms with aircon, good quality PA, decent amplification, good drums and cymbals if you need them, a clean, modern kitchen wit free tea and coffee, a comfortable lounge area, friendly, welcoming attitude and fair (cheap) prices, and you think ONLY two hangers is a fail? Bring a stand. More power to them, I say, they are raising the bar in this area, that's for sure.

It's a distress purchase. You can avoid it by bringing a spare. If you're not prepared to do that, for whatever reason, then you have to pay the price they want. Think of it like buying fuel on the motorway. Fill up before you leave.....

The coat stands are a cracking touch, as are the comfortable chairs, great kitchen facilities, free coffee, blah blah. Check it out if you're in the Horley area, it really is a cut above. I have no connection, other than having spent a day there and been very pleasantly surprised by what I got for my money

I take it yo mean the Hive Rooms? I was there last week, they're doing a fantastic job, and you can tell them I said so! I noticed they stock Elixir guitar strings but not bass. I use Elixir on my fretted basses, so that would be good, and someting for the fretless ones, either tapes of some kind or TI flats. That would make the best rehearsal facility in Surrey even better.

I don't get the worry about neck dive. I have four basses. The Wal, Aria and Cort balance perfectly. The Thunderbird (obviously) does not. The solution? a tiny bit of support from the left hand. Don't let go of the neck, and the problem goes away. Maude, all Brighton based bassists have such a thing in their gigbag

It's a basic of musical literacy to be able to read both bass and treble clef (and for orchestral and chamber music, as well as the solo repertoire, tenor as well). I think bass and treble clef are essential, but I must admit to being irritated by the use of tenor clef, which is totally unnecessary. I often have to play parts written in all 3 clefs....

Geoff is right, in my opinion. I sit for orchestral and chamber music where I'm part of an ensemble, if I'm playing as a soloist (whether with an orchestra or pianist, chamber group, whatever) I quite often stand. It's great to be able to do either, but I have to admit I don't have Mr Karr's technique, so as the music gets more technically demanding I tend to sit more, as I don't have to think about controlling the instrument as well as playing the notes!! When I sit, I sit with one foot on the ground, but these days lower than I used to, with my right leg bent.

I thought it was just me.......

It works pretty well, but it also has a screw-in spike for use in relevant conditions. I play sat on a stool, so if I can't use the spike I use a Celloboots rubber endpin holder, which is more than big enough

Take the G on the A string with your 2nd finger, 4th finger for the D at the 12th fret on the D string, then the E is under your 1st finger on the G string. More string crossing, but less stretching. You have to choose. Whats important is to be fluid and rhythmically good, not which string you play.

Force of habit from orchestral playing, I always tune the D first - because in orchestras you tune the A harmonic on the D string to the A from the oboe - then the A string, then G and E last. I don't think there's a right way, really, but you should certainly go through them twice.

I have a Glasser carbon endpin in my bass. The endpin unit is an excellent device, but I'm not so sure about the carbon pin itself. It's not very rigid, and having changed to using fixed wooden endpins from Ben Bastin, I feel like the bass is louder and more focused, so the carbon pin is surplus. If you want it, it's yours.

No, my advice is not to take short cuts. Read it again. Develop a sound technique

If you're new to bass, the best advice I can give is NOT to use the shortcuts and work arounds that everyone has advocated. Don't be lazy at this stage. Develop as sound a technique as you possibly can, it will serve you well later as you start to play more demanding music. Don't try to run before you can walk, the span will come, but only if you work at it. Once you have that capability you can choose when to use it...

I knew Lemmy a bit in the early 90s and I got the impression his heart wasn't really in it ....

If I sell something, am I allowed to order something that won't turn up until 2020 at the earliest? I pulled the trigger on a T bird a couple of months ago, and while I love the sound and the way it plays, I confess to feeling like a bit of a Richard playing it on stage. I'm very very sorely tempted by the idea of a bass built for me (ie new, specified and ordered by me, not picked off the wall in the shop). Foolishly looked at the Wal website. Do I need another one? No. Does that make a difference? Hmmm.....................

There will always be better musicians than you, yes. If you really want to be a better musician, go find them, play with them. Beg them if you have to. You'll be amazed how much you can do when you really have to. The higher the quality around you, the more you will raise your game. It's scary, but feels amazing afterwards.

I use medical swabs. Isopropyl alcohol. You can buy them for peanuts on Amazon in boxes of 200, when I clean my strings I use one to clean the strings over the fingerboard and one to clean off the rosin, otherwise you just end up spreading the rosin the length of the string. I keep a few in my gig bag, so much easier using a disposable swab than a bottle of something and a cloth. Give it a go. NOT suitable for guts....