LeftyP

Well it was a Blues band!

The weight of the Chowny took me by surprise as I had been playing a Tanglewood copy of the Hofner violin bass and that was very light - I still have it. I would not wish to put anyone off buying a Chowny SWB-1 as I really liked it and it played very well - it is a very good bass guitar. My back issues were the problem - not the guitar. I tried flat wound strings on the Italia but have now fitted my favourite tape wounds to it. I like the sound and feel of tape wounds (D'Addario) as they are not "zingy" and prevent the zip-wire sound when sliding across the frets. They provide the bass with more of a thump instead of a piano ring and I prefer that. I can stand with the bass around my neck for much longer than I could with the Chowny and my back is very grateful for that! The Italia is certainly something different from the usual Jazz and Precision basses out there and suits the music I play (in a church service) very well. It's a keeper!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-ECB-82-x-5セット-ECB82/dp/B009RIJXA4/ref=sr_1_166?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1548763891&sr=1-166&keywords=d+addario+bass+strings

I was on holiday in Switzerland a few years ago and came across Peter Mafay on a German TV channel. He is huge in Germany.

"Cherish" - The Association (1966) "Cherish" - Kool and the Gang (1984) "Cherish" - Madonna (1989)

You will not be disappointed with a Chowny SWB-1. I had one but had to change to a lighter bass because of back problems. Not that the Chowny is heavy - just my back is delicate! I now have an Italia Cavo short scale bass with D'Addario flat wounds on it and it is a lovely little bass.

https://www.minotaurguitarstraps.com/bass-wide-straps/111-bass-fclef-brown-camel.html I have one of these which is starting to soften nicely and looks pretty good too!

You drummer is ace. She makes Charlie Watts look animated!

Yes, loved the old Hammond sound and have albums by Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff and Richard "Groove" Holmes. Jimmy Smith's rendition of "Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf - parts 1 and 2 is just magic. And don't forget the old Pickwick record label 12" albums with such stunning titles as; "Hammond Goes Latin", "Hammond Party Time" and of course "Hammond Ago-go!"

Two more sisters - they are twins. From a Christian music background but now trying other styles. Interesting studio set up.

You forgot; Kenneth McKellar and Jimmy Shand!

Two talented sisters from Sweden and one plays a Hofner club bass - what's not to like!

I've had my Italia Cavo Bass for a month and am still finding out what it can do. It has a retro look about it and, despite its Italian name, was deigned by an Englishman (Trevor Wilkinson) and built in South Korea! The build quality is very good. It is a short scale bass and features a semi hollow body which makes it pretty light at just over 7lb. There is a central block inside the body to which the bridge and pick-ups are anchored. The weight - or lack of it - is what first attracted me to the Cavo. I was playing a Chowny SWB-1 short scale bass and really liked it but my 68 year old back struggled with the weight of it, even though it was just over 9lb and not very heavy for a bass. Sadly the Chowny had to go and I managed to track down the Cavo bass at Richard's Guitars in Stratford. It took a lot of keyboard time to find a UK dealer who had one available and Richard's were good enough to have it weighed for me. They set the bass up beautifully but it came supplied with round wound strings which I very soon changed for flat wounds. Although the Cavo is "short scale" it needs medium length strings (34") to take into account the bridging system. D'Addario Medium Scale 45/100 flat wounds fit it perfectly. The bass comes in a choice of two colours; green or red, and I chose the red which I hope comes out well in the photographs. I am not a big fan of chrome but the Italia's styling carries off the shiny stuff well and I do like the look of it (even the strings are Chromes!). On the strap there is slight neck dive but nothing to get excited about and the lightness of the bass is very welcome. Controls are; Volume, Tone and "Sweep" which enables the player to blend the bridge and neck pick-ups to order. One thing that has caught me by surprise is how much the tone control alters the sound. The Cavo is a passive bass and usually tone controls on passives have very little affect on the overall sound (the Chowny's tone control was almost just a decorative knob) but turning the control from one extreme to the other produces a noticeable change in the tone of the Cavo. I play in our church band and the bass is plugged into a D.I. box and fed to a mixer at the back of the hall. I have very little control as to how the bass sounds or sits in the mix and I am still experimenting with the tone and pick-up controls to find a sweet spot. All in all, I really like this little bass guitar. It makes a difference from all the Fender look-a-likes, is kind to my ageing back, and I think it will be my playing partner for many years.

Joe's bass playing on The Fifth Dimension's recording of Aquarius/Let The Sunshine is one of the best performances you will hear. Very skillful but controlled. Joe was one of the unsung bass heroes and it's only in recent years that I discovered many of my favourite recordings had Joe laying down the bottom line. Thanks Joe.

I started a thread on this forum in early October about the weight of bass guitars and why the manufacturers or dealers don't specify the weights of the instruments. I've just changed my bass for a lighter model because I have back trouble and even my 9lb Chowny was too much for me after a short while. My new Italia Cavo (semi-hollow) bass is around 7lb and sounds good with flat wound strings. It also is much kinder to my 68 year old spine than the Chowny. I loved the Chowny but my back didn't appreciate its mass.

It may not be your fault. We have had the same problem on one or two electrical items that have a plastic covering. I know of several digital radio owners who have had "sticky issues" on their receivers. I have also had a couple of pen drives and a small MP3 player show the same problem. I think it is to do with the quality of plastic type covering they use. We also had the mic stand issue but got rid of the stand in a bit of a clear out.

Yes, I am a lefty but play right handed.

I've just taken delivery of a new bass guitar. It's an Italia Maranello Cavo hollow body model expertly set up by Richard's Guitars in Stratford-upon-Avon. It is short scale and weighs in at a tad over 7lb - which gives my old back some respite. Despite its name it has not been anywhere near Italy (unless its journey from South Korea took a detour). The Cavo is beautifully put together and Richard's have done a fine job of setting the action and adjusting what needed adjusting. It is strung with round wounds but I much prefer flat wounds so I think I'll swap them once I've had a good play with it. There is certainly a retro look about the bass - in a 1950s Wurlitzer jukebox sort of way - and, although I am not a fan of chrome, the guitar carries it off well. You don't see many of these around and Richard's Guitars were the only people who had one in stock when I checked the t'internet. Santa has arrived early!

I'm not sure that earning a living from playing an instrument makes you a "proper" musician. My wife has a music degree and plays first oboe in our local orchestra. She, along with the other members, can sight read a score and perform to a high standard. However, the orchestra is a voluntary thing and the members even have to pay an annual subscription to belong to it. They are all fine musicians but do not make their livings from it. One or two teach music but the rest have every day jobs. The orchestra gives three concerts a year and has weekly rehearsals under the watchful eye of visiting conductors (who are paid expenses). I think there will be many accomplished players who do not earn their livings from music, or even supplement their income from it, but when they pick up their instruments - they are musicians!

I've just scanned the list on Wiki and know the vast majority of the titles. They are played a lot on many radio programmes and performed in cabaret in clubs and cruise ships. I am fortunate in being old enough (68) to remember the days of the crooners and ballad singers my parents liked and listened to on the old "Light Programme" before Radio Caroline came on air (I love 60's music - the songs of my teen years). I work in broadcasting so get to hear a wide variety of music that I would not choose to listen to. If you want to expand your playing options you really need to become familiar with the likes of Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen, Irving Berlin etc. They wrote timeless songs sung by Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Andy Williams, Jack Jones and countless others. If your listening habits are Radio 1 or Later with Jools then you are starving yourself of some real quality music. I can bop (not too energetic these days!) to Britney, Aretha, Tina Turner and the Motown classics but I can also enjoy the "Standards", Country music, some classical and - as I play in a church band - the old hymns and new contemporary worship songs. There is a wealth of wonderful music out there. When you consider we use basically only eight notes (plus a few sharps and flats) it is remarkable just what a variety of melodies have been written.

I'm not ashamed to admit to liking Britney. I enjoy the song and wish I was as supple (and young!) as she is. "Hit Me Baby One More Time" is also a great video - in fact any video with Britney in it is good!

Yes, I have the Tascam GB-10 bass trainer/recorder and use it every day. I generally listen via headphones so as not to disturb the neighbours or Mrs LeftyP. It is a great tool for learning songs and trying out various bass lines. You can change key/speed or loop a few bars to play over again. It has a built in metronome and tuner too. I am in our church band and we have a communal contact site where the songs are posted - lyrics, sheet music and chord charts. I print off what I need, find a version of the song on YouTube which I convert to MP3 and load it into the Tascam. I can play along and try all kinds of variations to the songs. Being able to change the key is a great option as sometimes the videos are not sung in the same key as our music. The unit is so small and light that you can slip it into your guitar case, or even your pocket and take it anywhere. I still have the Tascam CD version of the machine - now surplus to requirements.

I'm enjoying the course and it has even made me realise what a good bass guitar I have. Before I embarked on the technique course I thought I had bought the wrong type of bass as it felt awkward and heavy. After learning how to hold the thing properly and get the guitar balanced things began to change. The 3rd lesson - using the thumb on the plucking hand to mute the strings - was a real eye opener. I have been anchoring my thumb on the end of the fret board and not moving my hand position at all. Moving my plucking hand back from the neck to between the two pickups was strange at first. I was fumbling for notes and kept "falling off" the stings but after a short time things began to come together. I like my bass a whole lot more now! Getting the basics in place may seem a little tedious at first but it pays dividends later on.