Naetharu

Hi folks, For those of you that have the HELIX could I ask how it compares with the HD500X in terms of sound quality? My whole band has decided to go ampless from now on (some form of DI for us all and in-ear monitoring on stage rather than a traditional backline). I'm pretty much thinking that either the HD500X or perhaps the HELIX is the way to go for me. I need a good basic bass sound (ampeg type sounds are idea for me) but I'm also after a means of bi-amping so that I can run a guitar-sound ocatved above. We're a three-piece and I would love the ability to hold the whole rhythm section down while our guitarist has the chance to do some more lead oriented sections of playing. I tried the HD500X and loved the overall effect but at the same time I was not blown away by the sound quality of some of the guitar amps. So if anyone has experience we both, especially in some form of bi-amping situation could you give me a rough idea of how different they are in quality? I wish I could compare myself but there is nowhere near here where I can find a HELIX to try.

Just wanted to add that I recently picked up a Mustang 1 as my first amp. I mainly play via headphones so the speaker was not much of an issue but even so it still sounds very nice given the price point and size of the amp. For a mere £90.00 it is fantastic and it comes with some really nice software including some very easy to use patch editing stuff which makes it a doddle to get a nice selection of sounds sorted out. The only downside is the presets that come with it are mostly useless. For some reason they went for loads of flashy effects rather than just good amp sounds so almost everything has some form of cave-like reverb, delay and sometimes more. Five mins in the editor though and it does a very nice impression of a Blues Jr.

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1459935182' post='3020938'] Hi all, I've put a 'Bassist Available' ad on Join My Band and am contemplating paying for Bandmix - is it it any good? Any other places I should be advertising? Looking for Pop/Rock covers so nothing genre-specific I suppose. Thanks! [/quote] It might be worth considering any local(ish) websites/publications. Here in Essex we have a couple of magazines with web stuff that have a presence. Also, music shops are worth popping a note down in if you have any good local ones. I found some folks to play with last year by leaving an ad in one of my local shops.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1459540765' post='3017606'] It sounds like it's slightly overloaded. What's the bass? Does it have a particularly hot output? [/quote] I'd second this. I have an MS-60B too and I get a similar kind of sound if I use it with my Harley Benton active bass which has very loud MM-style humbucker active pick-ups. However, when I use it with my main bass which has a Delano Sonar active set-up (passive bass level hotness just with some EQ) then I don't notice any issue.

I guess a bass is original iff everything about it is so. Otherwise, it'd be a case of original with the following exceptions... As to how much that matters, as stated above that will come down to the individual buyer and what they are looking for. I can imagine myself being tempted to pick up an early Fender one day. If I did, it would be with a view to using it rather than hanging it on the wall and so a certain degree of replacement parts and wear and tear would be fine. On the other hand, if I wanted one as an investment/decoration I'd no doubt be looking for everything original down to the fret wire and pots. Also, I'd be willing and expect to pay far more for something that had 100% original parts in working order than I would for something with even reasonably minor alterations.

Have you come across the game/program Rocksmith? I ask as I find it is a wonderful tool for helping with practice and having fun with your bass. For those who might not be aware of it, the program is basically a 'game' where you connect your bass (or guitar) to your PC/PS3/XB360 via an audio interface, and the game teaches you to play songs. While some might be turned off by the appearance, which is similar to the old 'Guitar Hero' games, it is in fact a very effective way to learn new tracks, and is rather good fun. The basic Rocksmith 2014 game comes with loads of tracks (I'd guess around 100) and there are tones more you can get for a very reasonable price (packs of 4-6 songs sell for £6 or so). You learn these songs by playing along with the original recordings, and following a kind of real-time tab on screen. The game is also smart enough to scale the song to your ability. So if you are totally new then it will pick out just root notes at the start of bars, for example. As your playing becomes better it adds in more complexity a bit at a time until you end up with the full song. I honestly think it is fantastic. Not only is it great practice it is also fun to play right from the outset because you are playing full songs right away along with the full original tracks. It's also great to get the clear feedback as to where you are doing well and where you need to work on your playing. Anyhow, I hope that might help a little and at least give you something to consider as an alternative to just quitting. All the best James PS: here is a link to the steam page with the details of Rocksmith 2014 which is also on sale right now for the crazy price of £5.99 - http://store.steampowered.com/app/221680/

Hi folks, I've been working away on learning a couple of more complicated songs this week ('Limelight' by RUSH and 'Time is Running Out' by Muse). It's taking me a long time to get them nailed down - I find some sections stick in my mind but others I just cannot seem to remember properly and so I find myself going over and over them. With this in mind I thought I would pop in and ask you how long it takes you to learn songs. I'm thinking of things like the above here, where its reasonably complicated and riff based rather than just root-notes and chords. I'm curious to know how you go about the process too if you would care to share. Partially just out of interest and also in the hope of getting a few tips and ideas along the way All the best James

I've done that one before with a Fender Jazzmaster guitar. In my case I was working away from home for a long period of time and selling it myself just didn't make sense. I needed the cash from it at the time however, and so I was happy to let my local shop do all the hard work in return for a reasonable cut. I guess it just depends on why you are selling and to what extent it is possible for you to manage that sale yourself.

[quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1454410280' post='2969390'] Aaargh.... Keep.... Flip.... Flopping. Ok, my reasoning now is this. Maruszczyk might (in the realms of who-knows-what-will-happen-in-10-years) get bought out.... I can make something uniquely me there... I can always get an HH stingray down the road. Damn.... I think the Maruszczyk might be winning. I'll make my decision in March with a clearer head. [/quote] Actually this is quite sensible reasoning. Maruszczyk is a small operation that works as a collaboration between Adrian Maruszczyk and the folks at Mensinger Guitars. While I don't imagine they are going anywhere tomorrow, they are not the same as a big company like Music-Man or Fender. Also, their output is clearly nothing like the big companies - each of their basses is hand-made. Most are done to order, and a few for the purpose of trade-shows etc. So, I guess I would agree with your general reasoning - right now Maruszczyk is putting out some amazing instruments for prices that are just crazy when you stack them up against the other options out there. The Maruszczyk is not going to be a Music Man, but it will be something very special and can be as customized as you want. I've not regretted getting my Maruszczyk one moment since first getting it into my hands and I have no doubt what-so-ever that when the GAS comes calling I will be going back to Adrian for another bass (or two...). Stingrays are wonderful instruments too, but they are factory production basses made in vast numbers and by all reasoning will be around pretty much for years to come. With Music Man you're not depending on one or two people still being about and in the business.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1454362984' post='2969064'] Thumb and fingers and cramp all up my forearm. Mainly at the bass of my thumb. If I play a thinner neck I don't get any issues, maybe I need to give it a bit more time. [/quote] First, I would take the above advice and seek a medical opinion if this continues - there can be a lot of reasons for pain in your hands and/or lower arms when doing repetitive movements like playing bass. However, anecdotally I can offer the following: I found almost the same experience when moving from a chunky neck (Squire VM-P) to a thin (Ibanez SR300). It was bad enough that I just stopped playing the Ibanez and bought a different bass. However, I have returned to the Ibanez for short playing sessions since as I love its sound for slap, and over time I seem to have become used to the neck profile. To hazard a guess I would say that my hand needed to be in quite a different position to make use of the skinny neck on the Ibanez and I was finding it hard to make that transition when I went right to that full time from having played a P-bass for several months. So I guess my 'advice' would be perhaps try easing into the new bass slowly, and see if that makes a bit of difference?

I play a maruszczyk with a mm style humbucker in the bridge and a Delano 2 band active/passive eq. It sounds fantastic to my ears but it is not the same sound as a 2 rq ray. Less metallic with more body to the sound I would say. I love the ray sound too and would like to get one at some point. If I were in you position I would go for the maruszczyk given the custom options etc and the stunning build quality. Much more value for money and you get something unique to you.

[quote name='slayer1968' timestamp='1453312098' post='2958371'] hello there, wanting to start learning the bass. Any tips on equipment choice for home use. A few years ago I started with the electic guitar and bought a 2nd hand Jackson USA soloist a joe satriani JVM and a 1960ADM cab. Stunning sound. prefer fender superstrat shape, an American deluxe FMT or Custom Shop precision bass or 90's Hamer USA chapparal max bass. Initially I would get a 4x10 and valve preamp/hybrid head then add a 1x15 later. mint 2nd hand and ex-demo rather then full price new. I rather like the look of the mesa standard powerhouse 410 and 115 with a m-pulse 600. I would jump at a hellborg pre and stereo pwr amp for a grand. cheers andy [/quote] Hi Andy, First welcome! I notice that you say you are after a rig for the purpose of learning bass at home. With this in mind I would focus on getting an amp and cab that sound nice at modest volumes, and that offer the feature-set that you find the most useful. The Mesa amp you mention is very powerful and is way more than you would ever need to play even medium sized gigs. If you are playing at home and practicing lots it might be good to look for an amp head that offers features such as head-phone sockets and line-in. I find the line-in function especially useful for home use since you can have the whole mix coming from the headphones/amp that way meaning you can jam along using a smart-phone or MP3 player. Some good examples of amps that offer these kinds of features would be the Ampeg Porta-Flex series, the Gallien Kruger MB-200, the TC-Electronic class-D amps and some of the Mark-Bass amps. There are no doubt quite a few others too though those are the ones that I can think off right away. As to speaker cabs, it is really a case of trying out some different options to see what you like. They come in all shapes and sizes from small portable 110 units to massive fridge-sized monsters from Ampeg. I play in quite a loud rock/metal band and I find that I can get by using a 112 just fine on stage provided that we have a PA, since the cab is just for my own monitoring anyhow. Try and spend a bit of time in a big store and mess around with a few different options to see just what you like. When it comes to bass guitars you seem to have a clear idea of what you are after anyhow. Given that you are talking about Custom-Shop stuff from fender I assume that price is not an issue. In which case I would recommend you check out some of the other more specialist bass brands too since they often offer excellent alternatives to the classic Fender stuff. The obvious things to consider would be Sandberg, Dingwall, Mike Lull and so forth. I am sure some other helpful folks on here can offer you a far more comprehensive list than I. But certainly if you are after a Fender shaped bass there are many options beyond Fender themselves that are well worth considering. All the best James Edit: Re-structured to make reply clearer since first one done on my phone

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1453554771' post='2960486'] Buying used always has [i]some [/i]kind of risk attached to it. But if the price is right, it's often too tempting to resist. And generally I've had few problems buying from eBay shops. Gumtree is dodgier, as there are fewer checks and balances in place and Crack Converters is pretty much a Wild-West situation where the dollar is king. Having said that, most items of interest I ever see in CC seem to be overpriced. [/quote] My local one had one of the new Epiphone T-birds - the ones that RRP around £270 - when I was in last month...they wanted £400 for it and it was marked up as a 'rare and classic' model. So yep, pretty much hopeless those places. Shame as they used to be pretty good when I was a kid: I managed to feed my video-game habits on pocket-money thanks to the one in Colchester back in the early 1990s.

Are you sure it is the action that is the issue and not the string type/tension. I ask as I find that cheep strings feel bad and have a terrible tension especially on the e and b. I moved over to using La'Bella perfect tension strings a few months back and they are a dream to play. Might be worth considering which strings you are using and are if that helps?

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1452021595' post='2945661'] Sorry but this is cobblers - I've been playing for 36 years & I still could not play you a single scale, and I have no idea what a chord pattern or a tension is. This hasn't stopped me being in lots of bands & even doing paid session work because some people just like the way I play. [/quote] I'm not sure you quite understand. The point I was making is as follows: Everyone that plays any form of modern music (jazz/blues/soul/funk/rock/pop...etc.) is working in the Western Musical Tradition: the sounds and rhythms that these styles use are not random. They have arise over hundreds of years and have come for form a body of music that has unique and distinctive characteristics. I appreciate you never learnt any [b]formal [/b]theory. You never sat down and learnt the names of scales, chords etc. But you have learnt a great deal of theory [b]implicitly [/b]- through listening to music and through playing with others. You have learnt (by ear) to recognize which notes sound good and which sound less good together. You have also learnt (again, by ear) to recognize tensions and release in music. If you are even a beginner level bass player you'll recognize that the 5th chord of a major scale wants to resolve to the root. You may not understand that is what you are hearing, but you will (by ear) be able to hear the tension. These sounds are not just good and bad simpliciter: the 'right' and 'wrong' nature of certain sounds is something we learn to hear because we grow up listening to a certain musical tradition. If you try listening to something radically different (try Turkish folk music for example, which uses lots of micro-tones) you'll see this. The notes you pick work [b]in the context of western music theory [/b]and it is only because you are familiar with that (albeit implicitly via years of listening) that you are able to hear certain notes as sounding good and others as bad. The difference between someone who 'learns by ear' and someone who is formally trained is not that one knows theory and the other does not. Rather, it is that the latter knows the theory explicitly and is able to articulate that knowledge in a common language that is specifically designed for the job (everyday language, while wonderful for general discourse, is rather poor and precisely describing pitch, timing and so forth). This is of major benefit in certain situations - such as when trying to communicate ideas to others or writing music down in order to preserve it in a non-audio format. So yes, you can learn to play without [b]formally studying theory [/b]however that does not mean that you are not using theory. It's just that you're using theory that you have picked up from informal listening - reproducing note patterns that sound good (i.e using scales and chords - that's all they are after all) and adapting common forms of rhythm.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1452210380' post='2947775'] ...I've been genetically programmed to expect a four-in-line headstock with a P-shaped body. A 2+2 just seems wrong!! [/quote] I'm totally with you there - the 2x2 just looks a bit strange on this shape. The actual bass looks quite beautiful - understated and yet elegant. Not that I would ever consider the prices of one of these, but then I would not be in the market for a Fodera anyhow. For those that love their basses and are looking for something a bit more classic and simple in style it might be just what they are after.

First, to the OP: Are you having trouble learning theory in general or is it sight-reading in particular. I ask as it is perfectly possible to learn theory to a very high degree without learning to read/write music. It's certainly a benefit to be able to read/write but it is not needed in order to have a robust understanding of theory and how it applies to bass. If it is the reading side of things that is holding you back I'd recommend simply putting that to one side for the time being and focusing down on learning the applied theory for bass. I'd also recommend a teacher for this. When I started playing back last April I found myself a fellow who played upright bass in a Jazz band and he was fantastic for getting my basic theory down. Once I had the basics I found that a lot of the other stuff became much easier to follow. [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1452004722' post='2945387'] Depends if you think you need it or not. I've managed perfectly well with patterns, movement and sound. I find music theory...the enemy of spontaneity. If I can do what I feel needs to be done in an interesting and creative way and it sounds good, then I'm happy. Is that so very [i]wrong[/i], people?? [/quote] The trouble with this view is that you are actually using Music Theory - you just learnt it the hard way. Like it or not, you are part of the western musical tradition, and as such in order to learn to play your instrument you have had to build up a body of knowledge so that you are familiar with things such as the major scale(s), the minor scales, chord patters, different tensions etc.There is no way around it - if you play you are using theory. The difference is how well you [b]understand [/b]what you are doing; not whether you are using theory or not. And in my experience a good understanding of what you are doing is never a block to being spontaneous or creative. People that don't study theory seem to think that it is some kind of set of rigid proscriptions about what you should and should not do: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MUSIC! It's not - it is a body of knowledge that [b]describes (not proscribes) [/b]the enormous effort that people have put into music for the past two-thousand odd years (well, sort of - at least the past six hundred or so with more tenuous roots going back further). Just as with any other human endeavor, it is wise to learn from those that have come before you as much as you can. Doing so avoids you spending enormous time and effort simply re-inventing what has already been done. Oddly, there is a real fear amid the un-initiated that they will somehow loose their creative capacity if they 'join the system'. It's not unique to music: I used to teach at university and found the same attitude from the first-year students who were worried that by reading too deeply into historical philosophers they would somehow become unable to produce interesting work. The truth is always the opposite. Nobody is or should force anyone to study theory if they don't want to, but the idea that doing so might be detrimental to your playing is a myth that needs debunking. Some people with strong theory may be poor at being creative but they would have been so regardless - its not their knowledge of theory that is causing them trouble.

Hi folks, I thought I would pop a quick post in here to suggest you check out Mark from Talking-Bass.net. I've been having lessons with him for the past couple of months and I'd really recommend him for the following reasons: (1) He is a fantastic bass player and musician - just check out some of his YouTube videos. (2) He charges £25/hour which is a very reasonable price for the lessons. (3) He is also a great [b]teacher [/b]and is very good at explaining complex ideas in ways that make them easy to grasp and remember. (4) The lessons are supported by a vast catalog of free online video lessons he has done. The lessons are via Skype which worried me a little before I tried them however I can happily say now that it has not been an issue at all. In fact, before I went to Mark I tried four local tutors all of whom were good in their own way, but Mark is by far the best [b]teacher [/b]out of everyone I have tried. He is very well organised, remembers what we were doing previously and has a clear idea of where to direct each lesson. So far, every time I have a lesson with him I come away feeling that I have really learned something new be it a bit of technique, theory or some other aspect of playing. Here is an example of one of Mark's online lessons to give you some idea of his teaching style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvetqZBespk

Hi folks, I'm hoping that some of you might be able to help me out with some tips/tricks here. I've been playing bass for around nine months now and my technical skills are moving forward nicely. However, my brain seems to be like a sieve when it comes to remembering the stuff I learn. Is this something that some of you find too and if so how did/do you manage it? Is there a better way of learning/practicing songs that might help with retaining them? Any help/advice you could offer would be really appreciated.

First, to the OP - don't let one person being a bit of a nob make you question your tone. If you're really unsure then by all means ask your band-mates for some honest feedback but from what you say it sounds more like the bloke in question had a bit of a chip on his shoulder than anything to do with your tone as such. However, on a slightly different note I would say that some subtle overdrive/distortion on the bass can actually really help it cut through. I tend to run my Ampeg SCR-DI with the scrambler section turned on, drive at around 10 o'clock and the blend around 11 o'clock. That gives me a bit of bite when I dig in and a little bit of sustain from the compression while keeping the tone nice and warm. I guess closer to a nice tube amp sound as mentioned above. [quote name='Behlmene' timestamp='1451533989' post='2941338'] No overdrive on a bass. Overdrive is for guitars. [/quote] Not sure if you're serious about this, but if so you need to open your mind up to new sounds my friend. It's fine if you're not keen on a driven tone for your bass playing, but simply ruling that a given effect should not be used is daft. Just go listen to some Muse, or Avenged Sevenfold, or The Killers, or The Dead Whether, or Mastodon or The Neutral Milk Hotel. or The Arctic Monkeys &c. to see how effective drive/distortion/fuzz can be when used well. Sure, its not appropriate for all occasions - you probably don't want to crank the Big Muff Pi when playing mellow backing to an acoustic set, but used well over-driven sounds on bass can be fantastic.

(1) Play a load more gigs - a dozen or so during the year would be ideal (2) Record our first EP and get it up on Spotify/Band-Camp etc. (3) Keep up the pace with learning - try to take my Grade-5 Rockschool exam by the end of the year (4) Attend the South-East Bass Bash 2016 and meet some of you folks face to face