LeftyP

It's made of Paulonia wood which grows in Asia/China and is used in some surfboards and boats because it is so light.

For some time now I have been thinking of getting a 5 string bass. I play in church and some of our worship songs drop down to an Eb and even to lower D. I usually play them up the octave (Eb on the A string) and can get away with it but I then have to go to an F and then G by which time I am venturing into six string guitar territory! I didn't want to spend a lot of money in case I couldn't get the hang of the extra string and my 75 year old back won't take a lot of weight to I hunted around the internet and eventually found a likely candidate at Gear4Music. They do a "Chicago 5 string Bass" for £129.99 plus 99p postage! This includes a lightweight carry case, audio lead and strap! How could I refuse? When DPD delivered it the next day my wife joked that they must have sent me a toy plastic bass because the box was so light! The bass was well packed inside a stout cardboard box that was inside another stout cardboard box. When I eventually uncovered the bass I was impressed - it really looked good in a deep transparent red colour. Using my luggage scales it weighed in at only 6.5lb (2.9kg). That's about 1lb lighter than my 4 string semi-hollow Italia short scale and just a few ounces more than my Tanglewood violin (Beatle) bass! On the strap there is very little neck dive and its contoured shape is kind to my aging body. I changed the strings to LaBella lightweight flat wounds and the instrument sounds very good through my home system. Getting used to the extra string is a challenge! I'm either hitting the wrong string with my fretting hand or my plucking hand or both at the same time! It's starting to come together and for £130.00 plus new strings this is one very capable bass guitar. If you are thinking of venturing over to the dark side of 5 string but don't want to break your bank give this one a go. I shall be playing in church this coming Sunday so there'll be plenty of practice to do between now and then.

Is Gear4Music still in operation? I ask because I have tried to order a new bass from them - on-line - but cannot complete my order. I have bought stuff from them before but it was some time ago. When I opened up their web page it recognised me and had already filled in my email and password for me. I went ahead and put the bass in my cart and went to pay only to be asked to log in. I thought I already was logged in! So, I clicked the "Log In" button but was told I had used an incorrect password. Given that it was Gear4Music that had entered the password I was somewhat confused! Counting up the Asterix I worked out my password and submitted it only for it to not be recognised. I asked to reset my password and was told that an email had been sent to me to enable me to do that. After four attempts to get them to send an email I emailed them via a link on their web page. The email failed to deliver! I gave up and left it for a couple of days during which I received auto generated emails telling me I still had something in my cart that needed to be completed. I went through the whole procedure again but with no success. I've put the idea of buying a new bass on hold! Has anyone else had problems with the company?

Just seen one for sale on Bass Direct site!

Just two posts above yours!

For the third year in a row we had a Church Weekend Away at a local Guide & Scout centre. The weather was excellent and so was the food! Friday night BBQ followed by a Ceilidh. Saturday morning there was a service and Bible talk with refreshments in the middle! Saturday afternoon fun and games such as Badminton and Frisbee Golf (so much better than real golf) and more great food. It was back to church for Sunday morning before returning to the centre for a picnic and more games. It was a great way to meet and get to know new members with over 150 people attending. I was playing bass in the band and the singing was brilliant. I can recommend such an event to build church relationships.

I've had my Italia short scale bass for eight years. It took some finding but I eventually tracked one down at Richard's Guitars in Stratford-upon-Avon. Since then they have not been advertised anywhere. I did see a used one on the Bass Direct site last year costing just shy of £1000 - about £350 more than I paid new! I'm not sure if they are still being made or imported. I recently had the bass set up by Overwater (I live a ten minute walk from their studios in Carlisle) and it plays a treat - even in my hands!

La Bella generally say on the packaging whether the strings are suitable for through bass stringing.

I'm left handed but play right handed. Interestingly, the young lady playing the flute is also left handed but plays her instrument the conventional (right handed) way. I don't think it's possible to play a flute on the left side because of its mouth piece and key layout. We have several lefties in our church band pool; some guitarists and a drummer. The other lefties do play their guitars in the left handed way and the drummer swaps the kit about so he can play it.

We had a multi-church event this week called Living Word. Thursday night was our church band's turn to lead. I think the attached photo of me is the most flattering one I've seen. That's me (or my legs) hidden behind the right hand PA speaker! No-one notices the bass player.

I ordered a set of LaBella flat wounds from BD and they came the next day at £10 cheaper than Amazon!

I think I may have posted about this before, but if you need ideas for a band name pop into B&Q and go to the Valspar paint counter. They have colour cards covering the full spectrum of shades (there's a name for you!) with all sorts of creative names. Our bathroom is painted "Harp Strings"!

A local country music act was called Ken and Doug but they were a trio! I'm still trying to work out which one was called And.

Funny that Ewan Maccoll, who wrote "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" hated every version of it! He wrote it for Peggy Seeger who became his third wife and she told me the tale which is confirmed on Wikipedia. MacColl made no secret of the fact that he disliked all of the cover versions of the song. His daughter-in-law wrote: "He hated all of them. He had a special section in his record collection for them, entitled 'The Chamber of Horrors'. He said that the Elvis version was like Romeo at the bottom of the Post Office Tower singing up to Juliet. The other versions, he thought, were travesties: bludgeoning, histrionic, and lacking in grace."[6]

It varies from band to band but generally; keyboard, acoustic/electric guitar, drums, violin, mandolin, flute, oboe, bass and vocals of course. We didn't have drums as our drummer was on his honeymoon in the Philippines (he's from there). Not all the instruments are available every week so it can be mix and match.

My church cannot accommodate the number of people who attend every Sunday so we are planning to move to a larger building. In the meantime we have gone to two morning services - 9.15 and 11.15am. Both services are getting pretty full! We now have four bands to cater for the increase in services. There are two bands who take turns to play at the early meeting and two more at the later gathering. I now play every other week at the 11.15 service and we need to have a mid-week rehearsal because it is impossible on a Sunday morning as the people of the first meeting mingle with the later arrivals and chat over tea and cake! I must say I'm enjoying playing more often and can already feel my ability increasing. Our band does not have a drummer at the moment (he is on honeymoon) so it is up to me to keep everyone in time. That means hitting the root notes and providing a good foundation for the other band members to build on. The mid-week rehearsal (Friday evening) is also a good time to socialise with the rest of the band and try out new arrangements. The only problem with playing at the second meeting is that I can enjoy some tea and cake at the start and the end - not good for the figure!

It's funny, when I started reading this subject I couldn't remember whether my bass had side dots or not! I had to check. It does have them but they are very small and black. I suppose I must use them for reference without really noticing them!

Apologies if this has been covered before but, is there such a thing as a short scale, lightweight, 5 string bass? I play a short scale 4 string which does the job very well but we do some songs at church where I need to drop down to Eb. I normally just play up the octave but would like to try a 5 string. One of the other bass players was using a full scale 5 string this weekend and I struggled to pick it up! Why are these things so heavy? Any suggestions would be welcomed.

I don't normally receive or expect compliments for playing in the church band but this morning I received one! A very attractive young lady, who has been coming to our church over the last few weeks, came and told me how much she enjoyed my bass playing. I thanked her but said that no-one really notices the bass but she was insistent that I had done a good job. She was in the early to mid 20s and was working at a local veterinary practise. This 74 year old grandad now feels very encouraged!

Hope this link works!

It's a bit long and wordy but highlights what playing in church is all about. Have a brew and enjoy.

I was at a local village hall on Saturday night to see the Haley Sisters from Yorkshire. I first met Jo-Ann and Becky in the early 90s when they were in their late teens but Becky has just become a grandmother! They have been a fixture on the British country music scene since they hit the road and provide close sibling harmonies with some good guitar work. Becky married Brian Smith who has played in Nashville and recorded and toured with Crystal Gayle. He is an amazing guitarist and adds a lot to the overall sound. Becky plays semi acoustic guitar and Jo-Ann the Hofner violin bass. I love Jo-Ann's playing as it is perfect for the songs they do and the harmonies they produce are so natural. Their sound system is also excellent and consists of a Yamaha powered mixer feeding a Bose tower set up with small woofer to handle the bass. The sound is clear and loud enough to not be uncomfortable. As I play their songs on my radio programme I was asked to compare the show before sitting back to enjoy the evening. To add to the event we enjoyed pie and peas before hand! The photos and video were taken on mobile phones and the stage lighting played havoc with the focussing but I hope they give some idea of how the evening went. They do have videos on their YouTube channel which will give you more of an idea of what they sound like and their song selection. received_531472272572035[1].mp4

I was playing bass this morning to a packed church - it was standing room only which is why we are looking for a larger building. We only did four songs; "Praise To The Lord The Almighty", Our God Is A Great Big God", "All People That On Earth Do Dwell" and "O God Beyond All Praising". The last one is to a tune by Gustaf Holst from his Planet Suite. There really wasn't much I could do with the tunes so I just stuck to root notes. The result was very affective and the congregation responded with gusto! I usually try to put in some fills and approach notes but today proved that less can be more. I enjoy playing the bass and always try to be innovative without going over the top but just sticking to the root notes for every chord change let the songs breathe. The band sounded tight and it was a pleasure to be part of it. To top it off our pastor gave a great message before we all had tea and cake! Roll on next time.

I'm left handed but play right handed. When I was learning my teacher said that, as I hadn't played before, it would be wise to adapt to playing right handed. I'm glad I took his advice. He also said that you don't find any left handed pianos etc! I now find it very awkward to even hold the bass in the lefty position! Enjoy the instrument and the memories it contains and don't fret about being just like your dad.

Is Chowny still on the go? Their website does not appear to have been updated for some time and their last blog was May 2018. Can't find anyone who has hem in stock.