richh

Thanks for that, appreciate it!

I used to play with a pick / plectrum, but due to an injury, I had to convert to playing without a pick. I'm trying to work on a 4 bar phrase that is all straight 8th notes, and building up speed with a metronome. My main focus was my left hand fretting the fingerboard, thinking the right picking hand could take care of itself. I've eventually realised though, that my right hand may not be consistent. Basically, in analysing this slowly, I've realised that while I thought I was alternating index / middle fingers, this is not actually the case. So what I'd like to ask, is whether I should be aiming for strictly alternate right hand fingers, or if it makes sense to sometimes deviate from this? I feel like if I make a decision on this and spend a lot of time practicing one way, that I'll be embedding this into my technique. I imagine there is not a right or wrong way to do this, but I'd really appreciate your thoughts and advice! Anyway, I hope that makes sense? Thanks for reading and any suggestions!

Adam was great to deal with, sending the part out quickly with tracking info, and I'd have no hesitation buying from him again, thank you!

I just bought a speaker cab from Chris, and he was incredibly helpful, taking a lot of trouble to pack it up double boxed with loads of soft packaging, and sent on a good courier service with tracking, so it arrived at my work address on a specific day. The cab is in great condition, and I'd be totally happy buying from Chris in the future. I was a bit concerned as I've not bought via Basschat before, but I couldn't be happier!

There is some footage somewhere of Nile Rogers busking in London, and if I recall correctly, hardly anybody paid him any attention. Same is true of some other famous names, but as they were doing instrumental / improv stuff, maybe this is understandable? Musicians may be interested, but the general public are probably more interested in a vocal performance. I regularly see musicians I would consider world class level at small local pub and club gigs. But this is within a jazz context, where if you get a few punters and a stray dog in, that is seen as the norm!

Thanks for the replies and suggestions! I haven't got a specific plan to this, but would like to learn, if only for my own benefit. But I thought that it would be interesting to know how this kind of skill might actually be used in a gig type situation - or not. So I'll give it some thought and think how much time I can afford to spend on this. It may be that be able to read charts is more useful as a practical skill than 'reading the dots'. If I have loads of time I'd certainly like to practice both, but as for most of us, time is the scarce commodity.

I'm looking to improve my sight reading skills, but would be interested to hear how useful this is likely to be in a practical situation? Obviously it would be a good skill to have, but how often have you been asked to read a part? And if you have, I'm guessing that the ability to read a chart is more useful, than 'reading the dots'? Thanks - before I invest a lot of time and effort into this, I'd be curious to think how useful it is really going to be.

Out of interest, what are the typical age ranges for pro level function type bands? Genuine question, as I'm more 'mature' and have not gigged for many years due to work & family pressures. It would be great to think of being able to play with good musicians eventually, but if the guys are mostly in their 20's to early 30's that could be an issue. I'd guess that for some styles of music (jazz perhaps) that age may not be a barrier?

Thanks, the Vista Musicmaster looks good - is this a current production model though, or would I have to buy a used one? I don't mind either way, but I can't seem to find that model available as a stock item in the UK

Thanks for all the replies and a couple of PM's. I'll try some short scale instruments and see how I get on with them. I'd probably look to buy (or trade) for a good quality bass used so that if I didn't bond with it, I could hopefully trade for something else. That is something I've done a lot of on guitar forums, and I have too many 6 string electrics, so I'd rather cut down to fewer instruments, but have really good quality, easy to play ones.

Thanks, I've never played a short scale bass, but it sounds like it would make sense.

Hi, I am a guitarist used to playing Fender and Gibson style electric six string guitars. I got a Squier Jazz Bass (Indonesian) a while back, and am enjoying using this for recording and looping to put ideas together. While it is a really nice bass for the money, I'm interested in getting something better, and especially easier to play. Given that I'm really comfortable with the scale length of electric 6 string guitars (strat, les paul, etc), I'm wondering generally if it would be easier for me to get a short scale bass, or if anybody has any specific recommendations for a good bass for somebody who is primarily a guitarist? So it is two things really - scale length and also that I'm prepared to spend money to upgrade to something better in any case. If anybody has any suggestions that would be great please! Thanks!