iamthewalrus

Hi Noel, PM OBBM - he's your main man on here concerning cables. A lot of the BC'ers on here swear by his stuff. Next time I need some cables, I'm heading in his direction.... Cheers, iamthewalrus

I'm currently working on "I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea" - the band I'm in plays this in the set, & having recently discovered a transcription by John Currie whilst demolishing my collection of bass magazines, I found that what's transcribed is different (in parts) to what I'm playing! Cheers, iamthewalrus.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='661575' date='Nov 22 2009, 09:40 AM']Err folks..... I have a confession. I have been completely overcome by MK fever...! I cannot get Lessons in Love out of my head and am now desperately practicing it. Now being an out and out fingerstlye blues and rock player, this has pushed me a bit left of field.... So those of you that slap a lot is there a 'Proper" set up for slap.... Lets put it this way, having a really low ction and flats is not exactly working sound wise. Clearly roundwounds wil make a lot of difference, but is there any tips action wise? I'm currently having to slap over the 20th fret to get anything like a 1/2 decent sound...... Bit of help for a sad old git please....? [/quote] MK has his basses set up with a low action & tends to use either a 30-90 or 35-95 set of strings. If you watch a lot of L42 live videos, he likes to bend strings occasionally (not much chance of being able to do that with a regular set of Rotosound 45-105's, unless you're built like Arnie!!!). Alain Caron is also bit of a slap monster - check out some of his stuff on YouTube on his 6 string F Bass. Cheers, iamthewalrus

Have been reading these for about 6 months now. Sort of reminds me of how BP was when it first started. The interviews are written very well, & it's worth reading for Adam Nitti's lessons alone! Cheers, iamthewalrus

I've recently started to get a few aches in my left hand & my index finger on my right hand - not sure if this is the beginnings of CTS? I've been taking painkillers before rehearsals to try & pre-empt anything starting up. I read an article in a copy of BGM about taking vitamin B6 as an alternative so I might try that. The only other thing I think it might be is the start of arthritis (sp?), as I know my mum had it when she was alive. Otherwise it's off to see the Quack....

Reading this reminded me of the time I had a Marshall Bass Combo back in the late 80's. I'd gigged it a few times, but it developed a problem in the amplifier section - I phoned Marshall's HQ to see where I could get it repaired. They asked me if there was any way I could bring it up to Milton Keynes - luckily enough for me, my brother offered to drive me up there & back to Surrey where we were living at the time. To cut a long story short, we were given a tour of the factory whilst the main guy there worked on my bass combo & they couldn't have been a nicer bunch of people to meet.

If you're coming to the UK, ACM would probably be the best bet, but if you've got the money - Berklee....

It's strange how Rick Danko doesn't come up in the great bass player polls, he was very much an American equivalent of Paul McCartney. The Band were a great outfit - Danko's pocket with Levon Helm was as tight as a Gnat's Chuff. Sad to think that only Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, & Garth Hudson are the only ones left. I love "The Weight", but my favourite song by The Band is "Up On Cripple Creek" - great Clavinet playing by Garth Hudson combined with Helm's drumming -pretty damn funky.

Thanks for putting that link up - I used to have that gig on video (was shown on a late night Channel 4 series of Jazz gigs). Great line up of musicians - hard to believe that Hiram Bullock is no longer with us It's Miller Time! cheers, iamthewalrus

I remember reading about Flea in a copy of "Guitar Player" magazine in the late 80's & thought "not my cup of tea...." Roll forward 20 odd years later, I've got a different opinion of him - my bass teacher introduced Flea's bass playing to me in a big way, & I must say that I'm a fan of his playing now (the band I'm in do "Dani California"). I love his bass playing on Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" - that's a punk funkfest if ever I've heard it.... Cheers, iamthewalrus

[quote name='ezbass' post='610043' date='Sep 27 2009, 03:03 PM']For another homegrown make how about Overwater?[/quote] +1. Cheers, iamthewalrus

[quote name='Zombywoof' post='607695' date='Sep 24 2009, 01:57 PM']Stopped buying these kind of mags years ago. They're just loft fodder. I used to like Bassist magazine...what ever happened to it?[/quote] Bassist could have continued on to be a good mag, but I think the editors lost the plot towards the end with that cartoon that they used to put in it (what was all that about?). I wouldn't mind, but it wasn't exactly in the same league as Mr Natural or The Lone Groover (now I am showing my age....). They could have put something far more worthwhile in there. Shame really.... Cheers, iamthewalrus

I'm glad I'm not the only one who suffers from the same thing.... Cheers, iamthewalrus.

One of the guitar players in the band I'm in has a Squier VMJ - I've played it a couple of times, & I must say for bass that costs just over the £200 mark, it's a really good bass. You can get a half decent P sound, as well as all the usual Jazz noises out of it. If I could afford one, I'd have one tomorrow! Cheers, iamthewalrus

Eddie Cochran's probably one of the most underrated of the 50's Rockers. One of my first heroes! I remember hearing him for the first time on one of those Ronco compilations in the mid 70s - was gutted when I found out he'd been dead for 15 years. Excellent songwriter & a great guitar player (probably one of the first players of that era who could really play the Blues). IMO if he had survived that car crash in Wiltshire, he could have given Elvis a run for his money - either that, or he would have been a fantastic Country player. Cheers, iamthewalrus

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='540651' date='Jul 14 2009, 08:08 PM']A method for 5 string is not greatly different from that for a 4 string IMO- not enough to warrant a whole different approach. What are you looking to get from a method? Technical tips (finger placement or technique)? Ideas for lines? Something else? All of the above? I find it helps not to think of them as separate instruments, and as a result they don't require separate techniques. What you already know about bass still applies, you just have a few extra notes to play with.[/quote] +1 to this quote. At first it's tempting to use all those low D's & C's , but you soon realise it's about using them tastefully. Make sure you learn your scales & arpeggios down that end too... Cheers, iamthewalrus.

I've got an IGB68/5 to sell if anyone's interested? Cheers, iamthewalrus

[quote name='silddx' post='534173' date='Jul 6 2009, 09:30 PM']Sad isn't it. We could learn a hell of a lot from the guy.[/quote] + 1. Cheers, iamthewalrus

[quote name='BassBod' post='526994' date='Jun 28 2009, 07:53 PM']The Harvest bags that Overwater sell are very good - the canvas ones aren't stupid pricey. Well, they weren't a year or two ago...probably gone up a bit now. To be honest the standard Hiscox case is almost as easy to cart around as a good bag, is cheaper and will always provide more protection.[/quote] The OW Canvas ones were selling for £120, the leather ones were a lot more. Are OW still selling them as I can't see 'em on their website? Cheers, iamthewalrus

[quote name='Bassassin' post='528209' date='Jun 29 2009, 10:31 PM']Like [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280364434701"]this one?[/url] J.[/quote] It's not far off it - the headstock is a lot "smoother" shape wise from my one & the hardware's a different colour. Cheers, iamthewalrus

[quote name='woodster' post='530321' date='Jul 2 2009, 10:13 AM']and I now have a J Series which was built for me. The whole process was brilliant, Chris, Laurence and the boys really look after you and cater for your every need. I would highly recommend a chat with them to discuss your needs, you won't be disappointed.[/quote] +1 - exactly what the man said above. Nothing more to say.... Cheers, iamthewalrus

Hi, Have had a look at the pic & it looks like there is a LOT of tension in your picking hand. I think a more relaxed approach would be in order? A "moveable anchor" might be a good starting point (go to www.adamnitti.com - there's a lesson page on there regarding plucking technique), or failing that, go to Todd Johnson's floating thumb video on YouTube. There's also a clip on Dave Marks' YouTube lessons about tension in the plucking hand which is well worth a watch. Cheers, iamthewalrus

Brings back memories of my first good quality bass in 1985! Nice & comfy to play (neck was a dream!) I had a Black RB750 with Red binding on the body - I later had it defretted by The Bass Centre, & kept it until I ended up trading it in with a Trace rig for a Washburn ABG & a Boss drum machine. Happy days... Cheers, iamthewalrus