T-Bay

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1480181113' post='3182347'] Chicken wire mesh screen..... [/quote] That thought always makes me sing the theme tune to Rawhide in my head.

Just a thought but why are the strings on basses/ guitars ordered top low- bottom high. Why not bottom low - top high? Would sort of make more sense. Is it because of how commonly each of the strings is used? (but doesn't that vary person to person as well?)

Peaches by the stranglers, doesn't get better than that for me.

It's a school for kids with special needs so a great place to work at the best of times, and we have a lot of staff with musical inclination so it's useful for me as a beginner. It also means that if/ when we get to the point of doing a set for a gig we have a great practice space to get stuff sorted. We will do a few songs for the kids at Christmas as well which should be fun.

Thanks everyone, the Almost famous sounds good, as does the sushi bar but as we aren't sure exactly when we will get there I guess it's out unfortunately. Don't do Macy's Ds but sounds an interesting building.

Off to see Placebo a week on Monday with a few mates, does anyone know anywhere close to the Manchester arena where we can get something decent to eat quickly? We will be tight on time and venue food is always overpriced and poor quality in my experience.

This afternoon has been interesting. I have been practising at work with a couple of mates for three or four weeks. This afternoon one of them arranged for us to play a couple of songs to a load of our colleagues. I have never played in public before but as it was dropped on me I just went along with it. I thought I would be nervous as hell but wasnt at all (too busy concentrating on playing I think!). It went really well and we had a lot of positive comments. We are playing a few more on the last day before Christmas so that should be a laugh as well.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1479932747' post='3180438'] Yep, my brother got paid via paypal, £300, he withdrew the money but some time later it turns out the person used a stolen card or account somehow, paypal have now had to give the victim their money back (and quite rightly obviously) and they now want the money off my brother, great! [/quote] He didn't do anything wrong so it's their problem. The bank should block the payment if he asks them to. If not then the online small claims court would almost certainly find in his favour if they try to take the money back.

It's certainly different! It's made me smile for sure.

Thanks everyone, within a couple of weeks I had taught myself Peaches the stranglers which is my favourite bass line of all time and just kept playing it over and over. Then things like blur song 2 which take about two minutes to learn the basics and half an hour for the whole thing but still amazes me every time I play it. Now I am trying to build on the basics and get used to playing in time with others, always easier to play with yourself or so they say. I am trying to do a wide range of stuff and just get used to what is possible. I think it will be a while before anything like system of a down chop suey will be on my play list though!

A couple of pics of the Aria:

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1479658843' post='3178199'] Yes - they are good suppliers. too. With veneers, I always like to see the actual piece I'm buying and tend to avoid 'generic' photos suppliers. To be honest, some of my best veneers have been got just by keeping a weather eye open on ebay for ones that catch your eye [/quote] Looking at the supplier you mentioned I can see why you would want to see the exact piece as there is so much variance. I haven't really thought about this before but do love that green birch burl finish. What sort of money are we talking about to do one? And how long does it take? I won't be able to afford it in the short term but would be interested once I have collected all the other bits I need. And you are close to me too (I grew up in Spondon and still visit my Mum yo there at least once a month). Feel free to pm me if you don't want to put figures on an open forum.

I hadnt even thought of refinishing either of mine, but seeing the birch burl one and thinking of it in a nice cobalt blue has got me thinking. I need to start saving up.......

[quote name='Luulox' timestamp='1479646532' post='3178046'] Welcome mate, quick basschat survival tip, avoid Canadians and bad mouthing Carol Kaye. All will be well if you follow that advice 😀. [/quote] I spotted that thread, who would have thought it would be such am emotive subject. I will steer well clear. More likely to be asking stupid questions.

They are beautiful, what veneer is the green one?

That looks stunning, would there be other options for the curved edges if the ply didn't look as good?

I have VERY little experience (playing three months) but am playing with guys at work who have been playing between twenty and thirty years, have been in successful bands and really know their stuff. I cannot believe how much I have come on in a few weeks. We started messing about with some stuff for Christmas so the slade classic was an obvious one. I practised for a week but first time playing together was a car crash for me. They were very supportive and gave me some pointers, I went away and practised like hell for a week. The next time around couldn't have been more different and within a couple of run throughs I was holding my own and when we played a video of it back I was amazed how tight we were. Ok we are only planning half a dozen songs by Christmas but as long as I put the effort in I won't shame myself. Was it a laugh? You bet it was, never had so much fun being crap at something in my life, then when it all came together it was a great buzz as well. What I am getting at I suppose is that we all start somewhere and if you are prepared to help the others a bit then in a shorter time than you think they may be playing much more like you want them to be.

I have only been learning the bass for three months but have found so much useful info on here already I decided to sign up. I am 44 and have never played before but have always wanted to. I decided to bite the bullet after a recent flare up in my inflammatory arthritis. I appreciate this may sound weird but having had the disease for fourteen years I am determined to stick two fingers up to it as often as possible and learning the bass seemed a good way to do it. I will be getting 'lessons' from a couple of guys at work who are very musically talented, one is mostly a guitarist and the other plays all sorts of things to a very high standard but nothing with strings! (Hoping he will cover the theory side with me). We are working together on a few songs for our Christmas works do which is helping a hell of a lot. Presently using an old Aria and a Marshall bass state B150, also have a (dreaded) stagg that I leave at work for practising if I get a few minutes. I listen to a wide range of music but 80% falls into alternative/ punk. I doubt I will ever be brilliant but just want to be able to play well enough to join a band and have some fun.