SpondonBassed

[quote name='Stoatbringer' timestamp='1471972625' post='3117380'] Hi... I'm getting on a bit (49!) and a few years ago suffered a brain aneurysm which left me with a few memory problems. Anyways.. it was suggested to me that I take up an instrument to help my brain and help stave off possible dementia and after a few weeks of thinking about it I've decided to take up the bass. Anyone got any advice on how to get started? Are there any good bass teachers in the Bromsgrove/Worcestershire are? I was looking to get a Steinberger XT-2. Is it a sensible enough choice for a first instrument? What are the chances of scoring one second hand and where should I be looking for one? Is a small practice amp going to be all I need for a while or do I load up a combo amp on my credit card? Are there any other "must have" items I need to budget for? Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated. Any abuse and wragging will also be welcome as long as it's funny. [/quote] Welcome Stoatbringer! Great name. I returned to bass late in life having flirted with it in my youth. You might find that posting this in the Introduction section may help. I got my Steiny XT25 for about two hundred and fifty quid from Digital Village's (now defunct) website a couple of years ago. They dropped their price to match Thomann's price online. I had a 12 watt Marshall bass practice combi but never thought much of it. For another hundred and sixty quid I got a new 65 watt Laney combo with a 12 inch speaker. I would recommend no less than that wattage even if you never take your guitar out of the bedroom. There are some frighteningly powerful compact combis out there that would outperform mine and all. Oh, get a tuner that you can plug in line and learn to tune up silently. You will be making enough of a row at first without persecuting everyone around you whilst tuning up. Heeheehee, good luck.

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1472038014' post='3117874'] What atrings do Yamaha use? I know i still have the originals on my Yam 424x because they sounded and played really well. [/quote] Er... Kawasaki?

I think I'd rather have Jack Bruce back thanks.

[quote name='darkandrew' timestamp='1471987876' post='3117534'] If you have a Music Man, do you use Ernie Ball strings? If you have a Fender, do you use Fender strings? If you have a Warwick, do you use Warwick strings? ETC and if so do you find that the strings better suit the bass when they are from the same manufacturer? [/quote] Hell no! The over used claim that only replacements from the manufacturer will work well and not reduce your expensive toy to ruin - is pants. Use your good judgement and make your own decision because (as pointed out in The Life of Brian) "YES! We are ALL individuals". [i][b][size=2]Comments optimised for clarity in this consumer driven market.[/size][/b][/i]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1471936466' post='3117015'] True, but sometimes a little guidance can help you find things that you could miss/overlook on your own. I got into Dylan this way. [/quote] Thanks for that. My feelings precisely. Dylan being a cracking example because I hated him for his looseness and in particular his heehaw gob iron style. I scratched the surface a little and discovered that he had what people LOVE, musical ability enough to makes his words heard but not intimidatingly good for singing to. I think I need to hear Victor in a different setting to what gets put on yooboob. The post you quoted from had some pointers for me to consider. It's too early for me to call time on Wooten's work and say "That's that." wouldn't you say? It's never too late to learn.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1471934353' post='3116997'] His other gigs range from Bela Fleck, through to Chick Corea and pretty "normal" bass lines on Keb Mo's record of a few years ago. [/quote] I'll have a crack at those then. Ta.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1471900164' post='3116879'] It was quite alright and used it in a few gigs as I get sometimes a kick out of playing a ridiculously cheap bass. It upsets snobs [/quote] I like your style.

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1471898891' post='3116856'] It's funny. This post has been bubbling up in me over the last few weeks, months even. <snip> Can't argue with the impressiveness. Thing is, I rarely ever sit down to listen to music with the intention of being impressed. <snip> What do you guys think? [/quote] First, I am glad you vented your feelings here else it might have resulted in a rather long and nasty fart. As it is the brain fart that resulted is bound to be controversial. Second, What you describe reminds me of the old school High Fidelity "enthusiasts" (fanatics, if you will). More fuss is made over the means of getting the sounds than over the sounds themselves. I always bought sound systems to listen to music with and I get bored when the p33ing contest starts at the meeting of two such creatures. Similarly, VW impresses me about as much as much. All of the clips of him are demonstrative of how good he is. None of them show him really enjoying himself. Third, does the above answer the question? I can't knock Victor. I haven't gone looking for any albums with him playing though. That's how entertained I was by what's been posted of his work. Can someone convince me otherwise because he seems like a nice lad otherwise?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1471872486' post='3116550'] Heft isn't a flavour of the month - it's a force of nature. [/quote] My apologies. How about "Loudness" buttons then? Okay it'd have been a really long month but I'm not very bright.

Good one. You'll be fine. Enjoy it as the adventurous experience it will be instead of worrying about how you might cock it up.

Er... Heft?

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1471858674' post='3116344'] She looks as if she was was the one singing with Moving Hearts on this Welsh TV special I saw. Would that be so? [/quote] It would not be beyond the bounds of possibility I'd say but this might help you find out: http://www.irishmusiclegends.com/

[quote name='sharkboy' timestamp='1471802137' post='3116006'] Knowing a couple of the guys from The Bankrobbers, I'd suggest that although they may be from Belfast, they would associate much closer with the parameters of "Irish" that the OP set out! [/quote] May I point out that I don't set the parameters of what is or isn't Irish nor did I say anything to suggest so. In the North of Ireland six of Ulster's nine counties are British. Everything else is Irish, the rest of Ulster, all of Connacht, Munster and Leinster - all twenty six counties of it. You've given me some homework to do however as I am new to some of the bands in your list. I'll enjoy catching up with that, thanks for the linkage. Cheers

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1471792139' post='3115897'] I'm interested to see others list past flavours of the month though. Remember it doesn't have to be things that have vanished, just not as talked about or as valued or as in demand. [/quote] Vuvuzela!

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1471723823' post='3115390'] Anyone tried this, or know of any other methods worth trying? [/quote] Take up a less smelly instrument? [Ducks]

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1471773002' post='3115679'] I assumed we were talking about lesser known (but still amazing..) Irish bands. No doubt Gallagher and Lynott are up there with the best. [/quote] Yes, we are. The only limitations I had in mind (and they're fairly loose anyway) were for the bands to be Irish (Republic of) in origin and that the tunes are less well known than the big chart hits. The less well recognised work of well known bands for example. Songs that deserve a dusting off now that they aren't overshadowed by the successful hits. The bands that didn't get massive exposure are welcome too. It's turning out to be a rewarding thread. Keep it going, we may beat the disco thread yet, heeheehee.

[quote name='OddBass65' timestamp='1471772333' post='3115671'] Let's not forget Sinead O' Connor too. [/quote] Wow Sinead. Didn't she become a priest at one point or was that an urban legend?

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1471772460' post='3115674'] How long before someone asks why RHCP have replaced Flea with Adam Clayton? ;-) [/quote] Miaow.

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1471722214' post='3115379'] Some great Irish bands mentioned here but what about Lizzy? <snip> And how come no one has mentioned this fella yet? Rory Gallagher And to bring the mood down a bit, I love Mary Black's voice... [/quote] When I started this thread I had no idea how well it would go. My perspective was from the late seventies and eighties only because by then I had done puberty and was aware of music in a more carnal sense than I was as a child. Thank you for bringing the seventies into focus more sharply. Thin Lizzy did the big chart break through with Whiskey in the Jar in the early seventies. It caused a stir amongst the Christian Brothers in the primary school I was at by getting on Top of the Pops. Anyone who knows the strict Roman Catholic establishment will understand that that was an achievement all by itself. By putting U2 in the title of the OP I have overlooked that they weren't the first to bring celtic fusion to the world stage. Rory Gallagher is made of rock. End of. Mary Black is the only one of these that I saw in the flesh as it were. She is a class act.

[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1471714558' post='3115293'] Sorry to say Louis passed away today R.I.P. [/quote] That news has not hit Wikipedia yet but I'll raise a glass to him for his work anyway.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1471702410' post='3115197'] the "Meeting Place" on Dorset St. [/quote] Just up from Bolton Street Tech where I studied Aero Engineering. What a pub man! It was waaaaay too convenient to drop in for a pint and a "chaser" on my way home from tech. They had some mix tapes behind the bar of bands they'd hosted. I never heard the same tune twice nor did I hear a single tune that didn't hook me in some way. Again, Good linkage, Red Peters and Skid Row I know of but The Business is new to me so I'll catch up on that in a bit. Many thanks.

Welcome Fester. I like your avatar. When I grow up I want to be just like Uncle Fester.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1471620426' post='3114566'] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrKECKDPu1A"]https://www.youtube....h?v=yrKECKDPu1A[/url] [/quote] Granny's Intentions! Wow thanks Coilte. I used to hear a lot about them but never sat and listened. Born in '62 as I was, that's the sort of sound that was subconsciously absorbed by my very young brain. It resonates nicely now. I was lucky to live in a pub for a few years where my parents booked musicians to perform ballads in the bar every Sunday night. Not quite as Blue describes a bar gig but an education for me none the less. I remember a fair few of the showband names too like Big Tom, Philomena Begley, Tom McEvoy, Gina, Dale Haze and The Champions and lots more. In my early working life I'd go to the basement of the Harcourt Hotel in Dublin for some blues with Red Peters or similar. Great times.

[quote name='rushbo' timestamp='1471600700' post='3114316'] Any love for Something Happens? "Stuck Together With God's Glue" is a superb album. [/quote] I'd not heard of this band until you mentioned them. Thanks, I've got some clips down and they rock, as they say.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1471619118' post='3114540'] Cranberries? From Limerick and formed in 1989 so match the criteria. [/quote] Good one. Unforgettable vocalist.