josie

Welcome!

Welcome!

Emotional. You may remember I mentioned a few weeks ago that my friend and long-standing duo partner, who has been ill for some time, was taken into care the night before we were going to play our local om together for the first time in months. He has been allowed home, at least for now, and emailed me late this afternoon to say he wanted to come out and play "The Weight" tonight (one we've enjoyed playing together before) and would I join him? First time I've gigged my new Ibby 6 - a complete joy - I cut loose and used all six strings to put a bit of variation and sparkle into what can be quite a dull song, and his rhythm guitar and vocals were strong as always. Good harmonica and cajon sitting in with us too. Real synergy, strong groove. I don't think I've ever heard quite so heartfelt a roar of applause there as we got. We were mobbed afterwards by people saying how good it was. And we were - but it was mostly an expression of the love and respect that community has for him. There are many reasons why I so much value my relatively new ability to play bass, but the privilege of supporting him tonight is one I never expected. Proud and humble. The joy and healing in his face... priceless.

Welcome!

Of course within the £630 import allowance you could probably find something interesting that was easier to get there than here - it might still be worth nosing around the pawnbrokers, basses are a lot cheaper and less sought after than comparable guitars. Maybe something that's cheap because it needs a bit of work that you could do when you get it home. That's $800 at current rates - that can buy a seriously good bass if you're lucky. My 2002 Aerodyne cost less than that, so I walked out with it through the green lane legitimately, with the receipt in my pocket to prove it in case I was stopped.

Looking around... The 1966 EB2 with my son in Nashville doesn't count. The cheap Encore P in my office doesn't count. The Jazz+V and Warwick Thumb 6 on sale for commission in my local guitar shop don't count. The GMR single cut 5 in my BL's house doesn't count. That leaves six - GMR 5 - my first and still true love and main squeeze GMR fretless 4 - with flat-wounds, can sound almost like a sitar when I want it to Fender Jazz Aerodyne 2002 - gorgeous, I gig this to watch peoples' eyes come out on stalks, as well as how good it sounds Ibanez 1406 - in serious danger of becoming my main squeeze Martin Kelly acoustic Club 5 - the wood grain is a work of art and sound is wonderful Martin Kelly acoustic Dragonfly fretless 5 - as above and silver-shimmers with flats All of these have been gigged except for the Ibby which will be at our next gig 🙂 Happy cat 🙂

Gigs can be dangerous. I would never have known I needed an EB2 if I hadn't seen one live. (Can't even remember the name of the band.)

I seem to remember there was a thread about this a while back, but I thought it might be interesting to float it again: What design features have you seen on a bass guitar that you think they should all have? I'll open with three: -- Safety catch on the jack input so the cable can't be pulled out accidentally. I've had this on my Jazz+V and Ibanez 6. -- (Active only) Active / passive / standby control options. I used the standby a lot when I had it, on the J+V. -- (Active only) Easily opened battery compartment separate from the rest of the electronics. The first time I've seen this is on my Ibby 6. I do check batteries regularly, but it's so much easier to do when you don't have to faff about with a screwdriver, and then carefully avoid deranging the rest of the more or less carefully installed wiring, and losing the very small screws. Interested to hear anyone else's views on this (including any luthiers here!)

Correct, 2.5% import duty on anything up to £630, plus VAT on the value plus the duty. Official web page here. Also, for anything containing rosewood (such as many fretboards), you need to apply for a CITES permit.

Welcome! Love the sound of pedal steel 🙂

Welcome! Good looking basses, I'd love to see pics of the uprights too.

Welcome back! That stuff is hard to take. Glad you're on the way back up, and hope you find a bass soon.

My son has big hands and long fingers, and has been complaining for a while that his Fender Strat had too narrow a neck, and wanting something with a wider one. He's just moved on to an Ibanez semi-hollow-body, which he loves. I did point out to him that it has the same width at the nut, the same string spacing, and pretty much the same neck profile. The only significant difference I can see is that the body is bigger and differently shaped. So there may be other factors than the neck profile in how easy you find a particular bass to play, in ways you might not expect. As said above, just try as many as you can, with an open mind.

I should have heard alarm bells when I got my place in my first band without an audition. I believe I would have passed, and I also believe i would not have spotted the problems that led to my leaving, and them soon after breaking up. But it was a sign of the BL's uncritical attitude, which was at the root of many of the problems. It's not just them auditioning you, it's also about you figuring out whether you want to be with them.

I've had this (see below) for a couple of weeks now and it threatens to take over from my original beloved GMR5 as my main gigging bass. A bit of a back-story of GAS and regret - I wanted the easy range of a 6 for my ex-band (indie-pop) and impulse-bought a Warwick Thumb on BC. Fine bass, but too heavy for me, body shape that didn't fit mine, and a growlier sound than I wanted. I wouldn't have bought it if I'd had a chance to play it first. It did confirm that I did want a 6 that suited me! So now in a blues band, do I really need that high range? No, until our lead guitar player left (for understandable personal reasons) leaving us with a very good, but a bit flat rhythm guitarist. So space for some crisp high-end detail in the bassline, which I love playing. I'm using all 6 strings, and can play all sorts of stuff just between frets 3 - 7. It's incredibly light for a 6, fairly flat satin neck, relatively little taper from the nut to the bridge, super-easy to play. All six strings equally tight and clear. Lovely sharp bright sound on G and C, good punch on B and E. Decent sustain although not as good as the GMR. Nice detail that the battery is in a compartment of its own with an easily opened cover, separate from the rest of the electronics, so one doesn't need to faff about with a screwdriver to test or change it. (Why don't all active basses do this?) It will take some time playing with the controls to figure out how to get the exact sound I want, but that's part of the fun 🙂 And the owner of my good little local independent music shop - a bass player himself - believes he can get enough for the Warwick to cover what I paid for it with a decent commission for himself, so all's well 🙂

If this is now about bands from Canada, don't miss The Sheepdogs - "retro-rock" with wonderful 4-part vocal harmonies and a great live show. http://thesheepdogs.com/ Birmingham tomorrow, London Monday, and a few more UK dates in Feb. Deserve to be much better known.

Not a Beatles fan and can't really compare, but the whole thing does sound very crisp and clear. It's good to be able to hear the detail in the bassline. Ironically this was the song that most inspired me to play a fretless bass! I was in a regular duo with a rhythm guitar player - great voice, slightly flat guitar - and got a silvery shimmery sound playing slide on a fretless with flats that worked perfectly. If I had tried to play anything like the original bassline on my bass the combination would not have worked.

Magic carpet would be good... I'm starting to think if I'm serious about wanting to be in a gigging band I'll have to find the time and money and brain cells to buy a car and learn how to drive it, and I don't see how I can 😞 I love my band and everyone in it, but we're never going to gig as much as I want to.

Welcome!

If you have an edge of a table or similar to clamp onto, try a Pub Prop - much more secure than the black rubber disc thingies. https://www.eaglemusicshop.com/prod/banjo-music-mic-foot-stands/pub-prop.htm

Welcome!

Imho it takes a combination of experience and information. One could tell that these two (for example) sound very different, without knowing why, what contributed to the difference. I often get frustrated reading descriptions on BC of different "sounds" from different basses or amps or strings and not being able to hear them to fit the actual sound I hear to the description. (Which is something the podcasts could help with?...) Some of the better YouTube demos do give you the sound, and sight of playing technique, and technical specs to learn from. We aren't all lucky enough to be able to own and play a lot of different stuff, and even if we did, our own playing ability (certainly mine!) might not be able to explore the differences. For example, I love my GMR fretless, and I know that chrome flats are right for the sound I want to get from it, but listening to @Steve Amadeo play it was a complete revelation. Not that I'll ever be able to play like Steve, but it gave me new ears and new understanding. I'd relate it to having an ear for much simpler things like intervals and chord tones. One of the most important things for me about going through grade exams has been the aural tests - I've really struggled to identify, for example, a major from dominant from minor 7th by ear (although I can use them all in a bassline almost without thinking). My teacher has made me work hard on it, and I'm definitely a better player for that.

Welcome!

Welcome Neil! Nothing wrong with dinosaurs, and so much that's good about the blues 🙂

Welcome! I'd just add to the good advice above, *your* bass when you find it will have the right look and sound but also the right shape and fit. The one that, as soon as you pick it up, instantly feels like an optional body part will be the one you never want to put down. Let us know how you get on!