neilp

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....

I think what I'm trying to get across is that the two are different instruments, feel entirely different to play and respond differently. The physical challenge is different, the sound is different, response to bow and fingers is different. If a teacher doesn't want to teach you on a EUB, find a different teacher, that much I agree with. Don't rush to judgement though.

A teacher is perfectly entitled to make that decision, and they have probably made it on the basis that there Are differences and they don't feel comfortable teaching what they don't know. I have never played an EUB, and I would say the same. I wouldn't teach you on that bass. It's not a snobbery thing. You should be grateful for their integrity

My SB1000. Iconic, in my opinion. Nothing comes close

Jerome Davies and Martyn Bailey are both top men, and both very straight and honest. I wouldn't take my bass to anyone except Jerome or Martyn.

Lack of ego, swing and ability to listen

I have a GK Backline 600 and a BLX 410 that between them make a great sound. I could do with another BLX410 to be honest... I love my Aria SB1000 and my Wal fretless to bits. Neither will ever be for sale. The Cort fretless is also worming its way under my skin in a way that several other basses have failed to do.

DON'T whatever you do add weight to the ends of your bow. No pro player I know would recommend that, it will just make the bow completely unmanageable. Weigh it. If it weighs less than about 130 grams its a wee bit light, more than about 150 is heavy. Either way, it's not the problem. The problem is the strings. If you want strings that are good for slap, they will be rubbish for arco. Just the way it is. Part of it is setup, too, but mainly strings. Make your choice, live with it. Sorry, but that's the way it is. Bowing IS much harder than it looks, and using the wrong strings won't help.

If you don't play it, how could you possibly miss it? Get rid, buy something you actually want.

You did better than me then - or anyone else!! Thanks, I'll have a look

The suggestions were fine, just nothing whatever to do with the question!

Bore oil, fingerboard oil, lemon oil, linseed oil, walnut oil all do the same job, pretty much. I don't need advice about what to clean my fingerboard with. I was just wondering if I could get some more of what I already have. Seems like the answer is either "no" or "here's the answer to a question you didn't ask". Internet...

He never plays anything exactly the same twice. For me, that's the appeal of Zeppelin. The feeling that even the songs on the albums are a captured moment. The looseness and freedom is always there

I'm not one for the "XYZ bass is only good for ABC genre", the question is whether it will do anything my current basses won't. I doubt it, but I may have to get one anyway

I don't suppose for a second your bass still has the original fingerboard. Ebony seems to be very durable though, and If it is the original, it will have been oiled periodically. Turpentine is almost certainly better than vodka....

Gets the crud off without drying out the wood. Vodka (or alcohol swabs) will do the same thing, but take the oil out of the wood.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it IS compulsory to have Grade 5 theory for ABRSM Grade 6 and above. Trinity don't require any theory, which is why a lot of people pick Trinity. Of course you'll need to give some guidance before a classical double bass player can play in a "Jazz" band....

Does anyone recognise this, and know if it's still available? I bought several cans around 30 years ago from a shop that was closing down. This is the last one, and it's so good that I'd love to have some more... It may well be neat linseed oil, but the can's pretty cool too! I'm a sucker for tradition......