SpondonBassed

Aw feck.

How are you going to carry that one off? I mean it's one thing to do both parts of a Bach invention yourself but you'd have to be triplets to do The Delicate Sound of Thunder.

Dear Aunt Bay, Following some recent lumbar discomfort my doctor has recommended that I take a rest from bending over backwards whilst trying to satisfy punters' incessant requests for Iron Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Mustang Sally. So that my back heals with no loss of mobility she has suggested that I take up limbo dancing as a hobby so that I can get right back into playing the bass on discharge from her practice. My concern is that I might have to become a slapper if I set my action sufficiently high to practice limbo with. I already have a dubious reputation for hanging around on street corners as it is.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1497604936' post='3319400'] Funny you say that... we have a last minute gig this Sunday... there's some charity event involving running and walking (I'll drive there, thanks for the parking pass ) at Holyrood Park, and they must have had some cancellation and asked my main band to help out. The weather looks promising, sounds fun, we said why not. The problem is our trumpet and our sax players can't make it. We decided to go ahead anyway, and kazoos may be brought out [/quote] I wish I could be there to see that. ...and why not? as Barry Norman would have said.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1497546851' post='3319055'] Rime of the ancient mariner... with sax, cello and ukulele. Got it! [/quote] Can't we squeeze a kazoo solo in there somehow?

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1497379152' post='3317719'] This is VID from Motherwell gig i attended including Joe (Leftyhook) Hope <snip> [/quote] Thanks for that Dave. If I'd spent longer looking I might not have made the mistake that has put Joe in a poor light. It is as you say, "Well worth a look".

How low is low? No lower than the belly of a racing snake I'll wager. Oh wait, I've just thought of a few people who might actually be... I tend to go by feel as mentioned by another member above. I just looked at my main guitar, the Steinberger, with a rule so this is approximate; For the low B it's around 2mm at the 12th and about 2.5mm at the 24th but it needs a bit of a tweak to get a slight buzz out from the B in the 7th to 12th area. I changed to flats and made slight adjustment to the saddles at the time. A couple of months on with the strings bedded in somewhat, a neck relief adjustment and saddle re-check is due.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1497528237' post='3318873'] I'll collect you on the way if it's in that direction [/quote] Many thanks Pete. As long as there are no sheep clusters forecast for the journey. I'm all punned out from ramming 'em into your post elsewhere.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1497508833' post='3318683'] [url="http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/reformed-nitro-taps-bassist-victor-wooten-for-comeback-album/"]http://www.blabbermo...comeback-album/[/url] Could be interesting. I love Vic, but I've always been curious to hear him with a metal drummer. [/quote] Gillette comments: "To have Victor on board is a dream come true. The caliber of musicianship is beyond anything the metal community has ever experienced. This takes the term 'supergroup' to a whole new level. The metal gods are definitely watching over us." No hyperbole then. Actually, I will keep a keen ear out for that one. Could be interesting, right enough. I can't wait to see how they manage to make Vic look scary. It's got to be a bit like hanging chains and razor blades off of a teddy bear. Menacing but cute with it. Please tell me he's going to tour with them as well.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1497483530' post='3318653'] The one year I went, I saw Alanis Morissette turn out an awful set (she kept playing terrible harmonica solos at every opportunity, she literally played the same three notes on every song, in a slightly different order)... [/quote] No you didn't just say that! [attachment=247336:AlarmistMarmoset.png] "OMG!!!" - Alarmist Marmoset

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1497219244' post='3316672'] Al is the lead guitarist shredding his arse off.�� Blue [/quote] Irie

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1497463247' post='3318447'] No, you're confusing with 'firkin', as in [Norfolk accent] 'Oi loikes me a good firkin, does Oi..!' [/Norfolk accent]. [/quote] PMd

I liked it better when you said "...Then on to the pubs..." I'd have drunk to that then sat back to see what pickups you favour. Heeheehee

Looks like a Warwick five that's only ever seen four strings at a time...?

[quote name='The59Sound' timestamp='1497383322' post='3317768'] I can send you a ticket for free if you would like? [/quote] Would you extend that offer to other Basschatters in your locality too? Where are you?

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1497441976' post='3318159'] Thanks for listening, always good to get feedback from another pair of ears Great advice Doug! I do need to take my bushel off and have a bit more confidence in my playing, perhaps. [size=3]A bushel is like a merkin, right...?[/size] [/quote] Now now. Just because the word bush is contained within the word bushel there's no need to shave your muff.

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1497432098' post='3318019'] There's always folk selling flats they didn't like on the "other items" forum, just pick some up from there and try them for peanuts. [/quote] Very True. I have a smashing set of five hard-to-come-by SS DBE flats that came from a forum member.

[quote name='Crawford13' timestamp='1497455191' post='3318326'] I notice when you answered the question about how much you play, you said you don't play every day. I would recommend playing for even 15 mins everyday and you would be surprised how quickly the callouses will come on. [/quote] You don't actually have to play. Lately I've been doing finger exercises on the bass for 45 minutes, in the morning, six days a week. I don't even have to turn on my amp. If I have time I'll play too or play during a later session. I'm in between projects and I have been doing this for a month. I am lucky to have the time of a morning to do so but now that I've started I would be reluctant to stop as it's helping me build stamina and dexterity in both hands that wasn't previously there just from practice. I only ever got blisters when I used to dig in with both hands early on in my playing days. I agree with another comment that you might find a lighter touch and more gain helps too. Digging in is a valid technique but even F1 cars need to run at much less than 100 percent for a good part of the race. My point is that you can pull a bit extra out of the proverbial bag if you reserve digging in for exceptional moments during performance.

[quote name='Mickyk' timestamp='1497391031' post='3317856'] So come guys get recommending,i'm finding myself wanting to play funk a lot ,so i guess my Yamaha BB424 came from the factory sporting roundwounds although this i'm not totally sure about ,unless someone can enlighten me. Any way if that be the case then i'm in the market for some Flats,so can you recommend me some,but bear in mind i have short arms but long pockets . [/quote] Short arms but long pockets? You'll struggle on Vulfpeck's Back Pocket then... Recommendations are plentiful here. Sometimes you may even encounter some common sense! My recommendation? Get some and try them. Cheap (and nasty) ones might not be the best thing for you but be guided by the advice after you search the forum using "flat" and "tapewound" as the main search terms. Cheap does not [i]always[/i] mean nasty. Bear in mind that the two categories of roundwound and flat wound are an oversimplification because some flats sound roundish and some roundwounds sound flatish (usually when they get loaded with finger gunk and nicotine). Borrow or buy some for a try, listen, feel and appreciate the differing qualities of the strings. When you see folk say they [i]can't[/i] get on with certain makes, types, tensions, gauges, coatings etc. please bear in mind that those comments aren't always based on a long term evaluation. If you can adapt to different situations however, you will develop a wider range of skills. Listen and feel. Your ears will tell you about the mids and the highs but only your chest will tell you about the important bit for us bassists, the low end. This will only happen at decent volumes so find a safe practice space to turn it up. Oh and by the way, funk and slap aren't the same thing. The UK in the eighties saw the terms "Jazz/funk" or "fusion" hit the popular charts for the first time. Prior to that it was more of a cult thing. It still is because the charts were full of commercial examples featuring a small set of skills from the genre squeezed into the three and a half minute single format. There wasn't a lot of your actual Jazz or funk. Happy hunting.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1497338280' post='3317333'] You would probably enjoy the annual Bowie Con then. Not my cup of Darjeeling, but each to their own. Talking of Elvis tributes, ChangesTwoBowie are playing the Sounds of Summer Festival at Hylands Park, Chelmsford this year and Pete Storm is doing the night after us. Elvis tributes get a bit of stick as basically most blokes can put on the white suit and a wig and blag their way through it if they can sing a bit, but Pete takes it to another level. Here he is performing one of my favourites, Polk Salad Annie (which includes a bass solo). [media]http://youtu.be/JCaETQEbFR4[/media] [/quote] https://www.evensi.uk/david-bowie-convention-2017-boom-bar-hull/190924171 I wasn't sure if you were pulling my leg or not. Don't know why I should be surprised really. I have a childhood recollection of a performance by Elvis of Polk Salad Annie that my juvenile mind registered as "Poke Sally". Even now I have to double check. The performance I heard sounded like the entire brass section had been at the Columbian marching powder! Cracking tune, in many ways. Cheers.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1497294008' post='3317145'] I was expecting cheesy bollox or muso tripe, but that was actually pretty good! [/quote] I must make a note to avoid that restaurant.

Burn the heretic!

I reckon we need a battle of the Bowie tribute bands. Maybe the winner could go through to a round of contests between Elvis and Bowie impersonators. The glitter industry is assured a bright future.

[quote name='darkandrew' timestamp='1497311989' post='3317275'] Things have changed! When I was gigging, all the rehearsal studios would provide was a PA and a few beaten up old mics. [/quote] It was as Paul says in Dublin thirty years ago. Twenty quid an hour got us a large room in a large ex-residential building in the city centre. All of the rooms had a basic drum kit and PA. You could then hire additional amps and cabs for the session. Kit was used and sometimes the worse for wear but it was never a problem to change it on request. These days, in Derby at least, it is not that different. With inflation the rates are actually better now. http://www.musicshed.co.uk/index.html

[quote name='Grassie' timestamp='1497285670' post='3317044'] Did you mean to type "Stewart Copeland"..? [/quote] Yes, sorry.