zbd1960

I agree with the comments about Avid - despite the economic cost of the loss I had to stop using Sibelius when Avid took it over. With regard to Macs... I worked in IT for nearly 40 years (big mainframe type stuff) and used Windows based desktops / laptops in the office and at home from around the early 90s. At home, I really lost my rag with Windows 10 - the never-ending updates, the instability, the crashes, the bugs, lack of drivers or the need to update drivers when you buy some kit... I switched to using a Mac at home in 2018, buying a 2 year-old MacBook Pro. Yes, it's slightly different to Windows, but tbh it's not a lot different. Overall the Mac has been significantly more stable and far fewer issues to run than a Windows machine. Has it been faultless? No, but there have been few problems and readily sorted. My most significant issue wasn't the Mac's fault but third party - I would avoid using Western Digital NAS devices as they seem to pay zero attention to OS upgrades and you run the risk of losing access to your data for a protracted period (I lost access to my NAS for two months due to WD not updating).

I want to come to this - not sure it's worth me bringing any kit though?

Congratulations - sounds like me going to interview with my portfolio of images a couple of years ago for my photography course (I'm over 60 and currently a full-time student...). I'm sure you'll have a really good time.

I've noticed that a lot of guitar/bass/sax players get a little tongue-tied around reading notation. Think of it this way: at its base, there are only 7 distinct note names A - G, plus a further mix of sharps/flats to make up the total of 2 semi-tones. Create a bunch of flash cards with a bass clef and a note on one side and the note name on the other, covering two octaves from the low E. Shuffle the deck and randomly test yourself on a handful once or twice a day. You'll soon pick that up. The other part is rhythm notation and things like Kodàly can help with that. You can download classical scores from ISMLP and follow the bass line whilst listening to the piece. Sight-reading is just a matter of doing it. Usual advice from those doing music grades is that sight-reading ability is about 2 grades lower than your current playing ability.

Take it easy and in the words of Arthur Dent: Don't Panic. They're not looking to trip you up, just assess where you sit. They're going to be interested in making sure they fill all their spaces - you're auditioning them as well. Hope it goes well. I'll post separately about reading notation.

I'd've said 8, 9, or 10 course lute... (lutes are generally double-strung apart from the top string)

Yay to confirmed - I will put it in the diary

Funny that.... I seem to be doing something remarkably similar

The age demographic in groups / societies etc of all sorts has changed dramatically over the last 40 years or so. When I started work, groups would have all age groups represented within them. Nowadays, you get a huge hole covering post uni to around 50. I suspect bands are not immune to this. My view is that there has been a huge change in working practices over the last 40 years - people no longer live/work in the same town; long commutes; working hours are rarely 9 - 5... end results is tired people with less free time during the week. PErhaps recent events will cause people to have a re-think? As a relative novice on bass I'll be looking for options shortly, although at the moment I'm signed-up with the local Rock School which has na adult section. They should start to meet shortly...

Just read through the whole build to date - love it. The walnut looks fab.

Nope - that's used for barristers....

Agree - Hercules stands are well engineered. I have one, and my sax stands (including the one for the very heavy bari sax), and my orchestral music stand are all Hercules stands.

Already there too

Best wishes for this - hope it works out for you.

No, you're not going mad - but I thought I'd separate the 'build' from me thinking about it... so this thread is in the build folder. If mods think that's pointless, then they can merge them.

A profundity

I tried several and found it to be very comfortable when seated

As promised, here is the thread to document the building of my bass. It is being built by Alan at ACG. https://www.acguitars.co.uk The basics: it will be a 4 string bass with a 32" scale length. The model is a Krell, and I am really looking forward to saying: the awesome power of the Krell... 🙄 I will talk more about it as it progresses. Last weekend I chose the various woods and settled after much chewing of the cud on: body - Spanish Cedar; accent layer - Purple Heart; top - Tasmanian Blackwood. The neck will be a 5 piece of Ash and Purple Heart, with Purple Heart fingerboard. Deposit paid and so build is underway. Alan did say that initial progress will seem rapid, but with builds as with IT the 80/20 rule applies: 80% of the work requires 20% of the time; last 20% takes 80% of the time... So pic has been received today of the body which has been laminated and cut out. Finished item is going to be around April next year or so...

It depends where you land in the production cycle, but he was saying roughly 10 - 12 months. Most viol/cello luthiers I've talked to in the past have said 3 years...

I'll set-up a thread to record progress and more details... 🙂 I opted for a 32" 4 string Krell (I am going to love being able to say "The awesome power of the Krell...." 👽) Spanish Cedar body with Purple Heart accent and Tasmanian Blackwood top. Five piece Ash and Purple Heart neck, with PH finger board. Pic is the wood selection

Thank you for the various comments and feedback. My current instruments are a Fender 4 string J and a Sire Marcus Miller V7 5 string J. After a lot of internet digging, reading this site, YT videos etc. I had a lengthy e-mail discussion with Alan at ACG and this weekend I took a trip up to Scotland to visit him. I am pleased to say that a 4 string has been commissioned and I spent a challenging, but enjoyable, hour or two working out my choice of woods...

There is some (unsubstantiated) debate as to whether Bach might have had a 7 string bass viol (i.e. french style) in mind for #6... As I said, baroque composers tended to use open strings, later composers didn't (I outlined in previous post possible explanations, but as ever, unknowable really).

Possibly Tim Toft in Stone? http://www.timtoftviolins.com

Cello's tuning is in fifths CGDA rather than the bass's fourths. Generally playing cello you avoid open strings... but it's a complex subject... In baroque era it was more acceptable to use open strings, but that was partly because they played on gut strings which do not ring the way metal strings do, and the bow and bowing technique were different...

A friend of mine is a sound engineer. He has an M.Sc in it. In most countries you can only use the title engineer if suitably qualified/accredited and it s a protected title. Not in the uk... we should respect the title of engineer more and reserve it for those with appropriate qualifications/accreditations but unlikely to change