tinyd

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1451500425' post='2941045'] I would imagine in the modern era, Seven Nation Army would be the most recognisable, and that ain`t even a bass. [/quote] This gets my vote as well. Even though it's not actually played on a bass, it might as well have been and it's definitely a bass line.

As others have said, I'd listen to some recordings. Although there are loads of varieties of jazz, for many people the place to start are the classic recordings of the late 50s and early-mid 60s from the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard etc. Most stuff on the Blue Note label is very listenable, plus, unlike many earlier recordings, the sound quality is great and it's easy to hear the bass. Once you've found some stuff you like, the next thing to do is to figure out how to play bass to these tunes. There are loads of books available. I've got something from each of these:- [url="http://www.amazon.com/Building-Walking-Bass-Lines-Builders/dp/0793542049"]http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/0793542049[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.com/Mel-Walking-Jazz-Lines-Bass/dp/0786659963"]http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/0786659963[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Bassics-Ed-Fuqua/dp/1883217504"]http://www.amazon.co...a/dp/1883217504[/url] but there are loads of others. Then you can do some more reading and have a look on the forums here and on TalkBass. Hope that helps

I think that this is a pretty common pattern: 1) Someone figures out a new way of doing something, 2) Everyone admires the person, 3) People start copying, 4) Other people refine, 5) Years pass.... 6) Original person's innovation seems a bit crude / obvious / naive compared to later refinements. I think that 6) can be true for some people without detracting from the original achievement. Personally, Jaco's first album is one of my favourites, but I can take or leave a lot of his later stuff.

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1449827741' post='2927187'] We use a Tascam DR 05 and get very good results with it. Dead simple and we've got a decent live demo for next to nothing. [/quote] I've got one of these and it's great for live recordings.

Before my last rehearsal I lowered my bridge a little bit and my sound and intonation were a bit crapper than normal, plus I had unusual cramps in my right hand. Now this could be because I haven't been practicing as much as I should, but I think it might also be that the lower action was making me overplay to compensate for the lower volume. So I guess it's always worth experimenting.

[quote name='dand666' timestamp='1449673596' post='2925851'] What transcribing software do you use? Also do you use a midi keyboard for inputing? [/quote] On Android I've been using Audiopo to slow down and loop the music I'm transposing, and Passacaglia Music Notation which is an excellent notation app. I haven't used a midi keyboard, I just enter the music on the stave in Passacaglia, but a keyboard makes sense if you're using a PC or Mac

As @dad says, other countries' music also uses clave rhythms, but the Cuban variants are probably the most rigid in that they don't change throughout the tune.The rhythms are over 2 bars, with 2 beats in one bar and three in the other and depending on the tune these bars can be played with the 2 first (2-3 clave) or the 3 first (3-2 clave). The Wikipedia article is pretty good https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clave_(rhythm). What's more, there are two main variations, son and rumba, that have slightly different beats. To further add confusion, the term "tumbao" refers either to the bass rhythm played over Cuban/salsa tunes or to the rhythm played on the congas. So if you're looking for rhythm tracks to play along to, you could try searching for "conga tumbao with 2-3 son clave" for example. If you fancy treating yourself to an Xmas pressie, The Latin Bass Book by Oscar Stagnaro and The Salsa Guidebook by Rebecca Mauleon are both great. Have fun!

+1 on transcribing - I've finally got round to doing a bit and it is great, quite addictive to be honest. I've put a couple of apps on my cheap Android tablet that really help with the process. I'm currently doing Paul Chambers' line on Stolen Moments because I find that my own playing over minor blues tunes is a bit weak and I wanted to pick up some tips. But it's also handy to have someone else's transcriptions for sight-reading and general inspiration.

[quote name='Panamonte' timestamp='1449410238' post='2923250'] +1 Thanks for posting the link tinyd. That's Sunday afternoon sorted! [/quote] No worries - it's always good to be able to share other people's hard work!

This blog has an entry about Sam Jones' version on Somethin Else along with a transcription http://bassoridiculoso.blogspot.ie/2011/01/sam-jones-bass-line-on-leaves.html?m=1

I saw a band in the World's End in Finsbury Park back in the 90s who played awful pomp-rock with excruciating lyrics. During the intro to one of the songs, the bass player had his arms crossed across his chest with his eyes closed while the singer treated us to his deep observations about all the bad stuff in the world. Half the pub were really into it, the other half were openly p*ssing themselves.

+1 on John Goldsby's book - apart from the theory stuff, it's also a great read as it has loads of stuff about the great players. For more general jazz theory, I really like the [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine-ebook/dp/B004KA9UX4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447237231&sr=8-1&keywords=jazz+theory+book+levine"]Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine[/url] and [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazzology-Encyclopedia-Jazz-Theory-Musicians/dp/0634086782/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447237267&sr=8-1&keywords=jazzology"]Jazzology by Eddie Rawlins and Nor Eddine Bahha[/url]. They're both very readable - Jazzology is a lot more like a school textbook (in a good way) and concise, whereas the Levine book is huge and sprawling but a real treasure trove of interesting stuff.

I can't read very quickly but as others have said, at jam sessions it's only the chord charts that really matter. For just chord charts, I'd strongly recommend iRealPro - it has thousands of tunes and you can play along with them at home, transpose them etc. I do also use the real book itself, but only for learning melodies in my own time.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1446559598' post='2900286'] If you don't want to go down the DB route you could always get yourself a Ashbory bass - don't be fooled into thinking it's a toy...makes all the right noises you'd expect from a real DB and you can pick one up for under £150. [/quote] Along the same lines as the Ashbory, the Kala Ubass also seems capable of getting a tone that's similar to upright. This guy's videos really make me want to buy one:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XChCuQ37DHA

There are examples of people playing "straight ahead" jazz on BG but these are very much the exception. It all depends on what you want to achieve. If you want to keep playing jazz because you're interested in the music then I'd recommend finding a double bass and having a try (maybe get a couple of lessons from a teacher). If you don't think it's for you, then you can carry on with the BG and make it work in a jazz setting. But I'm guessing that once you hear the sound from a DB you'll want to get one ASAP. That's a whole other journey, of course, but personally I've never looked back. And strangely enough, even though I rarely touch my BG these days, my playing on it has improved because in my experience learning the upright has forced me into a much more disciplined approach to bass playing in general.

[quote name='JoeEvans' timestamp='1446498979' post='2899900'] The constant height is great, and I just went with the general consensus of nut at eyebrow height, which seems fine; it would be easy to cut the wooden pin down a bit if it turned out to be too long. You could also just hang on to your old metal pin for times when you wanted a different height (e.g. sitting down, low ceilings etc). The bass also feels a lot more solid although that's mainly because the old 8mm pin was so wobbly at full extension (I'm quite tall). [/quote] Yep, I'm tall as well - Ben's endpin really helps things feel a lot more solid alright. Maybe that also helps the sound indirectly (i.e. you can focus much more on playing the bass rather than worrying about wobbles)

I have one of Ben's endpins and I'm really happy with it. I'm pretty sure than it sounds better than what I had before. But as TPJ says, the height being "just right" and lack of slippage is also a big bonus.

[quote name='Jazzjames' timestamp='1445629760' post='2893046'] Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams. " '64 concert " aka my funny valentine & four + more. [/quote] +1 I never get bored of listening to this lineup. The Plugged Nickel concerts are great as well.

I've played with drummers who seem to think that the only requirements are i) owning a drum kit and ii) believing that they can play in time. Other musicians tend to learn at least a basic knowledge of theory, even if it's just names of notes, and usually admit that they'd like to know more. But some drummers seem to adopt an "it's all about the feel, man" attitude and end up being sh*te. Which is a shame, because IMHO there's nothing like watching, or playing with, a good drummer.

I don't really listen to lyrics much, but I've always liked this:- "He left no time to regret, kept his d*ck wet with his same old safe bet"

If you chuck an immaculate 1958 Les Paul and a Squier strat out of a plane, which will hit the ground first? Who cares?

The Latin Bass Book by Oscar Stagnaro is a great guide to playing various styles, plus it comes with a really good CD. In my experience, the tricky thing about playing latin stuff is that the rhythms on the different instruments all 'interlock' in a particular way so everyone needs to know how to play them. The basic patterns themselves aren't that tricky though and it's great fun when it all comes together.

If it's the GK MB150E combo that you're using and you're reasonably happy with the sound, you could try an extension cab for more volume (the MBX112 I think) instead of a new amp. You've probably considered this already but I just thought I'd point it out just in case.

If the bass root notes sound too low when you use alternative tuning is it worth just using standard tuning and learning to play the parts up around the 4th fret? Obviously this is going to involve more work but in the long run being able to switch fingering is a good skill to have anyway.

Two feel is used a lot in classic standards recordings - the Miles Davis Prestige albums are good examples:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36wafFjFdYs