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I have absolutely no 'ideological' objection to electric in jazz, but as others have said, there's something about the sound profile of the notes on an upright that seems to sit better. It also might be something to do with the fact that the kick drum isn't used in the same way in jazz, so the bass needs to provide more of a rhythmic 'thump', or it could be just that I prefer the sound

Another great lesson Geoff! I 'discovered' something similar a few weeks ago and I've been trying to get more comfortable in that area of the neck, but your lesson is much clearer and more succinct than the somewhat muddy concepts that were drifting round my head - thanks again for sharing this great advice.

These are excellent lessons Geoff - really clearly presented. What I really like is that you get to the point quickly and illustrate every point that you're making on the bass itself. Other videos that I've seen often involve the presenter standing there, bass in hand, talking for 5 mins before they even play a note, which can be a bit frustrating. But for "time challenged" people like me your lessons are perfect. Thanks for sharing!

I do if we're working out a new bit of a tune or something. I find it easier to know that a break is on "3 AND" rather than rely on the collective memories of band members the next time we do the tune. But most of the time the internal clock seems to do the trick.

[quote name='Rabbie' timestamp='1378768785' post='2204603'] I got mine from Upton and paid the charges, but recently got a spare here on Basschat. Sometimes one comes up in the 'for sale' section. Unfortunately you can't buy them in Uk (don't think so anyway). [/quote] Thanks Rabbie - yep, after much Googling I came to the conclusion that it's either Upton or secondhand. Oh well, there's no major hurry and I may still opt for a Full Circle instead as I'm getting adjusters fitted sometime soon... Cheers

[quote name='Rabbie' timestamp='1378413457' post='2200070'] Like anything 'double bass related', it all depends on the bass, your style, the size of gigs, the stage volume you need and the sound you aim to achieve. I think I have tried every pickup or mic I am aware of and I cannot find anything better than the Upton Revolution solo. In the studio it puts the bass sound to the desk pretty unaltered, and live you can play loud with not too much risk of feedback. Plus it is easy to install and relatively cheap. Other people don't like it as much of course, it's never that easy. [/quote] I must admit that I really like the sound of the Rev Solo. I currently have a BassMax, which has the same benefit of being easy to install, but it's way too boomy and artificial sounding. The Solo sounds like a good match. Do you know where I can get one from in the UK/Ireland? The Upton site charges $40 or so for delivery which makes this a very expensive option, but if anyone knows anywhere closer to home I'd be interested to find out.

I'm the opposite to many here in that I'd much prefer that someone borrows my bass than the amp. My rationale is that if someone is mistreating a bass you can pretty quickly spot it (plus I'm not massively picky about the general finish of instruments). But it seems to me that an amp can be messed up with a just a bit of cack-handedness on the controls and you might not know about it until the next day.

Thanks @2wheeler - that's just the kind of info I was looking for, especially the tip about using the 3rd finger. Although, as you say, thumb position isn't necessary in this case, it has made me interested in working on the transition so I'll have to dig out some suitable exercises. Thanks again!

I have a question that some of the more experienced players round here might be able to help me with - I'm learning to play the melody of "Billie's Bounce" and there's a part when it goes to a high G for a single note (or two if you count the eight-note triplet). I have big hands so I can reach F# fine just by stretching. But to hit the G, I find myself just removing my thumb from under the fingerboard and just extending the little finger a bit further for the G. My question is - should I instead work on using thumb position for this part of the passage. Or is it OK to just extend as I'm doing? Obviously, if there were more notes up there then I'd absolutely use thumb position. My intuition is that it doesn't seem 'worth it' for such a brief period but I'm also conscious that this kind of thinking is exactly how bad habits form.... Anyway, thanks as always for insights!

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1376995088' post='2181884'] After years of learning to play jazz on the fly, I've found the best walking bass lines are the ones which manage to sound like an effortless stream of notes, instead of a series of chord changes...if you see what I mean! [/quote] This is very well put. My lines still sound contrived and obvious whereas the great players manage to weave a line through the harmony without that "chord change here...." feeling. To my ears, Ron Carter is the master of creating lines that use the less obvious note choices but that still strongly outline the harmony.

[quote name='cybertect' timestamp='1374851357' post='2154084'] Although Fleetwood Mac famously trash that particular rule and make it work, with Mick Fleetwood playing ahead of the beat on drums, and John McVie on bass, playing slightly behind it. Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman had a similar sort of arrangement. [/quote] That's interesting - I've never really listened to this aspect of the playing on Fleetwood Mac or the Stones. Maybe it's a case of having to know the rules before you can break them, or, more likely, they just played what sounded good and it worked.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1375114962' post='2156867'] Walking lines at that pace are easy, soloing less so. I tend to be thinking three dimensionally, theory/scales/patterns, melody and reacting to what is around me. A bit of theme and variation is in there and the occasional 'lick' I have practiced. Some muscle memory, no doubt; its all in there. [/quote] Thanks for sharing that Bilbo - however you are doing it, it sounds great and I'll be delighted if I ever sound a fraction as good!

That's some fantastic playing Bilbo. I can barely play the first note in each bar at that tempo, but you're really swinging! Just out of interest, how do you find playing at that tempo affects your note choices? Do you necessarily have to pick from a smaller 'set' of notes? Or is part of the achievement of playing at that tempo that you're able to make the same decisions? From listening, it certainly doesn't seem like you're limiting yourself, but I'd be interested in what's going through your brain at that speed...

Another thing to remember is that the whole band (in particular the drummer) have to be playing with a similar feel. On Chicken Grease, the kick drum, guitar and vocal are all pretty loose as well as the bass. If you're the only one playing like this, it might well just sound 'wrong' rather than loose.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1371628875' post='2116275'] I don't disagree with what you say but would suggest that reliance solely on either method is potentially problematic. The ear only works if the ear is educated, rather like the mouth [/quote] I agree with Bilbo's 'education' point above. Of course, some people's ears ears maybe don't need to be educated. But I find that knowing more theory gives me more insight into what I hear and what I play and this in turn suggests new things to try on the bass.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1371485827' post='2114445'] Other week I watched 'Soul Power', the film about Zaire '74 - the Ali fight and music festival around it. Loads of James Brown (whom I also adore) and the whole thing is sooooo recommended! Owwwww-eeeeeee!! [/quote] +1. That Soul Power documentary is fantastic - I force my kids to watch James Brown's performance every now and again just so they know how it should be done. Not sure if they're that impressed, but it keeps me happy Also, the Fania All Stars/Celia Cruz jam on the plane is great.

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1370856286' post='2106225'] Thanks, you may well be right. I just took what I read on TalkBass when doing some research where a couple of guys thought the mid-range voicing of the S was better suited to double bass than the E [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f4/more-questions-about-gk-mb150e-372594/"]http://www.talkbass....-mb150e-372594/[/url] Doesn't mean to say they are right or that the E doesn't work very well for double bass either! [/quote] That's an interesting thread - my feeling is that there's nothing that the S can do that the E can't and that your "coffee shop" requirement would be more than adequately met with either version - but good luck with the hunt all the same! Cheers

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1370848537' post='2106144'] thanks for the heads up but I would prefer the S version, rather than the E, of the MB150 as its supposedly voiced better for double bass (the E being better for electric). Appreciate the post though [/quote] I don't think that's the case - as far as I know, the E version just has better EQ and outputs. But the core electronics, speaker etc are the same. Here's the manual so you can check though:- http://www.gallien-krueger.com/manuals/MB150-III-Manual.pdf I just got a second-hand MB150E and it's great for the DB ( I would have been just as happy with the S version, mind).

I have a Plat Pro that I used with my previous amp (a Roland) with a Bass Max pickup. However, I recently bought a GK MB150 amp and I prefer the sound without the Plat Pro. The Bass Max does have a relatively high output though so this arrangement might not work with other pickups. I guess the best approach is to try a pickup/amp combination and if it sounds crap, has feedback etc then a preamp is probably required...

If you can stretch the budget a bit then a second hand GK MB150 would be worth considering. They're small, surprisingly loud and they sound great, both for DB and BG. I have a Fishman Plat Pro but since I got the GK I've found that i prefer going directly into the amp. Like yourself, a new one was out of my price range but it was worth the wait for a second hand one.

For what it's worth I'd make sure that he can tap a basic pulse with his foot while playing. This might mean breaking the bass lines down into smaller pieces but once he can do it he should find it much easier to figure out how the bass interacts with other rhythms.

I suffer from nerves before even the smallest gig - like others have said, it's just one of those things and it keeps you sharp ! For what it's worth, 2 things that I always do are 1) don't drink beforehand - even a single pint messes with my ability to play and remember stuff and, 2) always have a bottle of water on stage to combat nerve-induced dry mouth syndrome The thing is, you're taking care of the important part (knowing the tunes) so you'll be great...

To answer your original question, the consensus seems to be that if you're going to play amplified then the carved top will make less of a difference plus laminate tops are supposed to be less likely to cause feedback problems. However, if you fancy the carved top for 'acoustic' reasons, one thing you could try is to get a 'mid range' pickup like a Bass Max. I have one of these and I plug it straight into my GK MB150 amp and it sounds pretty usable (I have a Fishman Pay Pro preamp but since I got the GK I find I prefer the sound straight into the amp). The trick for me was to tweak the EQ to get rid of the nasty 'boomy' high-mids.

@bilbo, that's a great post. IMO what you've described is the irrational 'fear of getting found out' that lots of us suffer from in all walks of life! You're clearly a very accomplished player and I'm pretty sure that all decent musicians who aren't completely deluded go through the same thought process. From reading about and listening to jazz my theory is that only the true greats really 'get' all aspects of the harmony of what they're playing. But this shouldn't stop the rest of us from trying our best and having fun at the same time.

IMO if you want to play jazz it's worth getting a book specifically about constructing walking basslines. I've got the ones by Ed Fuqua, Ed Friedland and Jay Hungerford and I got something from each of them. John Goldsby's Jazz Bass Book is a wonderful combination of biographies and technique that's filled with snippets from the great players. It inspires me to try new things out whenever I pick it up, well worth getting. Hope this helps.