LeftyP

16 hours ago, TrevorR said:

 

Our worship lead we wants us to smile at the camera a lot... which is the very thing that throws me. Now just wondering how it’ll come out when compiled?

I'm a bass player, I don't do "smile"!

My wife and I have recorded several of these 'put together' songs for Sunday morning streaming.  They are quite stressful as you have to get them right.  Any mistakes in a 'live' performance can slip by unnoticed, but when the video is going to be on You Tube for ever, you need to be on the ball.

Recording our parts in isolation is a unique experience.  I play bass and my wife either sings, plays oboe or her Yamaha wind controller.  All we get is either a piano or rhythm guitar track with, the occasional vocal for guidance.  We then listen to the guide track via headphones while recording our video contributions onto our mobile 'phones.

As I type this my wife is trying to keep in time and pitch with a rhythm guitar (that has its own rhythm) and a vocal that has "interesting" qualities!  The first week we both took over 20 attempts to record our parts.  Judging by the sounds and exclamations coming from the next room, this current song, "Cornerstone", is going to take some time!

On 22/05/2020 at 06:44, anzoid said:

Chowny SWB-1 Standard - body is wide but the short horns means it's pretty compact. Horns also mean on a strap ot sits more like a regular long-scale, but sitting down everything feels, well, shortscale. Slightly chunkier neck but 38mm nut. Strings are a bit close to the edge of the fingerboard, I presume because of the spacing at the bridge. It's pretty heavy - 9lbs or so.

 

 

I had a Chowny SWB-1 and was caught out by the weight of it.  They are really nice bass guitars but my old injured back just could not deal with having the SWB-1 hanging around my shoulders for long.  My bass (as featured earlier in this thread) is an Italia Maranello Cavo, which tips the scales at a fraction over 7lb.  I also have an old Tanglewood version of the Hofner violin bass that is lighter still.  To be honest, the Tanglewood would be more than enough for my needs but I do like the Italia model.

A local pub always played Neil Sedaka tracks at closing time to ensure the punters made a quick exit.  I quite like Sedaka's later stuff but have tired of "Calendar Girl" and "Happy Birthday Sweet 16".

Well, my wife and I recorded our contributions for next Sunday's on-line service.  As I mentioned earlier in this thread, we are new to this way of doing things and were using our mobile phones to record our playing while listening to a guide track through headphones. Talk about frustrating!!

We'd both been going over the song - "By Faith" from the Gettys - me on bass and Glenys on oboe,  but when it came to recording it was as though we had never played it before!  Getting the sound balance right while listening to the guide track in one ear completely threw me and it took around 10 attempts to get past the intro.  Then, I'd be doing OK, but trip over a few notes and have to start again.  This happened a couple of times as I neared the end of the song - AAARRRGGGHHH!

Glenys had the same problem with her part and we spent most of the afternoon in separate rooms going over and over our musical recordings.  In live performance the odd fluffed note can go unnoticed but when it is going to be "broadcast" on YouTube it has to be right.  I think I just about got away with it but will be waiting in anticipation to see how the various contributions meld together.  Hopefully, the other singers/players will mask my mistakes.

I used to like the song....................

Wilcock do a very nice looking short scale bass.  I have an Italia Maranello Cavo short scale.  I bought it because it is light - around 7lb and easy to handle.  It plays very nicely, even in my hands!

As people leave the service I think Chairman of the Board will fill the bill.

My late son-in-law was a red hot Labour supporter and a trade union official.  At the end of his funeral service we played "Part of the Union" by Strawbs - it put a smile on most people's faces.

My wife and I did our first go at playing/singing our parts and recording them on a smart phone last week, to be knitted together for our Sunday streaming service.  It's very strange listening to a backing track through small headphones and trying to keep in time.

Last week was "It's A Light And A Hammer" (kid's song) but this week it's the Getty's "By Faith" with me on bass and my wife on oboe.  We've decided to record our contributions separately! I'm currently getting the hang of playing along to a piano and cajon track and don't know who else will be taking part.  I usually follow a chord chart with the root notes placed above the appropriate words, but as no-one is singing on the guide track, it is making life interesting. All good fun and a great lesson in concentration and patience!

I mentioned this on the cycling thread but if you don't cycle......................

I am spending time on a turbo trainer rather than venturing out on my bike during lock down.  Sitting on the bike spinning the cranks in my back yard is mind numbing so I've been listening to some classic Motown/Stax and Atlantic soul through headphones.  I'm now realising what a great bass player James Jamerson was.  Trying to keep up with his bass riffs on the Motown tracks has inflicted great pain on my poor old legs!  The Four Tops, Supremes, Stevie Wonder etc. are great tracks to keep fit to - or in my case collapse to!

One of Willie's great comments went along the lines of;

"I don't know why everyone is criticizing Lance Armstrong for taking drugs while riding his bike.  When I was taking drugs, I couldn't even find my bike!"

We would have been going to the Montreux Jazz Festival but that has been cancelled and I can't see our holiday taking place either.  We were also looking to book for a Barry Manilow concert (Mrs. LeftyP is a fan) but that won't be happening anytime soon!

I may have posted this video on another thread so sorry if it is a repeat.  I don't understand the words but the emotion Trijntje puts into the song reduced fellow singer, Tino Martin, to bits!  All the people in the video are huge stars in the Netherlands and can sell out stadiums at the drop of a hat.

"Tin Man" by America.

I'm going through it slowly, writing down the name of the notes and working our the fingering for it.  Then I shall put it into notation-al form on manuscript paper.  By doing this I'm improving my Ear Training, music reading and finger dexterity all at the same time!  I need a cup of tea!

I've had La Bella flat wounds (.039 - .096) on my bass for about six months and the E string does lack a bit of sparkle with the A string not far behind.  I've just changed to Dunlop Stainless Steel flat wounds with a slightly heavier gauge (.045 - .105) and I cannot believe the difference!

The Dunlops are much brighter, to the point where I have had to roll off some treble, and feel really good under the fingers.  Even without the bass plugged in they project really well.  I think I've just found my "go to" flat wounds.

I'm not sure my choice is 'Cool' or 'Uncool' but I've just been listening to an album by the trio America.  They had a hit with "A Horse With No Name" - or as I like to call it "A Song With No Tune".  Their track "Tin Man" has a great bass line, simply credited to America.  Their song "Ventura Highway had drummer Hal Blaine on board and the legend that was Joe Osborne on bass.  Some nice easy listening country rock.

There was a web site - "menwholooklikekennyrogers.com" which contained photo's of - men who look like Kenny Rogers!  Sad to hear of his death, he had a voice that could only belong to him.

On 06/03/2020 at 19:17, BassTractor said:

I'm available too.
My right hand will do melodies, improvised solos and chords, making one guitar player superfluous.
My left hand will do chords, melodies and solos. That does away with the other guitar player.
My feet will do the bass part. No chords and certainly no bass solos, so we don't need a bass player either.

Things are cheap with me in your band!
PM me for details.

PS 
My portable electronic organ does have an advanced rhythm box with programmable Feel, Groove and Swing...

You are John Shuttleworth and I claim my prize!

On 11/09/2019 at 08:45, Hellzero said:

That's me this Saturday giving a run to my new Noguera 8 strings bass at our small comity Bass Bash at home...

 

That's not a bass, it's a harp!

6 hours ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

While I see your point, and did think about that when I started playing bass (recently enough for a decent choice of lefty models to be on the market), I absolutely didn't want a repeat of the 'being taught to write with the wrong hand' debacle that happened to me over 50 years ago.

Whenever I have to write something, I have to mentally prepare and make an effort, because my right hand always feels a bit like it's fighting against me. (Yes I know, it's the 'wiring' in my brain, not my hand, that's the problem.) My handwriting is also crap, and I am infinitely grateful for the existence of computer keyboards (even if they themselves are right-hand-optimised!). I resent having to go through all that, while I could have been happily writing using the hand that feels correct to me.

I don't think I'd have been able to learn to play bass at all, if I had been forced to play right-handed by myself, by others or by the circumstances.

 

Is it true that many hollowbodies have neck dive? My Hofner violin has some, despite having those tiny machine heads that are half made of plastic. Both my acoustic bass guitars have neck dive as well. Is it not the case that more weight in the non-hollow bit of the body is necessary to avoid the body being too light compared to the neck/headstock? (Genuine question, I hope my reasoning is flawed!)

Hollow body neck dive is noticeable on both my basses.  I installed Hipshot Ultralight tuners on my Italia which has helped a little but you are right it is still a bit neck heavy.  As to playing as a right hander when being left handed; It goes back to when I tried, unsuccessfully, to learn classical guitar.  Having never played a guitar before my teacher suggested trying the right hand method.  I have posted about this elsewhere on the forum.  The result is, I can't even hold a guitar in the left hand position very well.  I am a very basic (bass -ic) player in our church band and don't need to be flashy at all so playing "back to front", as it were, hasn't been a problem.

1 hour ago, walshy said:

No afraid it’s not, most of ours are up in Northumberland. Couple of pics, even made a few two storey ones!

Yours are positively palatial compared to the "shed" we had  barely enough room to get changed into our wedding togs!

2 hours ago, walshy said:

I have my own company making bespoke Shepherd Huts, kitchens and furniture. Big woodworking workshop hence why I’m making some basses and stuff now. Anyone needing some workshop space is welcome to come and use it too! 

You make Shepherd Huts - was this one of yours?  My wife and I stayed in it for a night when our daughter got married last August near Stoke-on-Trent.  Interesting, and all part of life's big adventure!

I'm supposed to be retired at 69 but I'm still presenting programmes on BBC local radio which I have done for over 40 years.  I told the station manager that I would keep going until I got it right and he said I would have a long career ahead of me!  Just about to go and present my usual Sunday evening show.

17 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Because wood is heavy, and enough wood so that things don't bend is heavier still. Techniques to make things lighter are more expensive

Hofner manage to avoid weight with their violin basses and other makers of hollow body basses don't appear to have bending issues.  Both of my basses are hollow body and so far they have not folded in half.  My point was really that the weight of a bass may only have a marginal affect on the sound once the amplification, pick-ups and strings have had their say.  That being the case (if it is) then there should be no need to make basses heavy.

4 hours ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

 

 

 I would settle for black, or white, or natural if they existed in lefty.

Heh.

That is the reason I'm glad I learned to play right handed even though I'm very left handed.  I can try out any make of bass in a shop.  I still can't play them very well but at least I can try!

Getting back to weight;  Why are bass guitars so heavy in the first place?  I've seen the arguments that a certain type of wood gives an instrument a characteristic sound, but with electric bass guitars there is so much going on between the strings and speakers I do wonder if the wood has a significant affect.  Let's face it, the type and gauge of strings, the quality of pick-ups, the instrument's tone controls, the amplification and EQ, plus the size and quality of speakers will all colour the sound somewhat.  Not to mention that some players feed their bass signals through more pedals than you'll find in a Tour de France peloton!  I suspect that we all pluck or pick the strings differently too so will anyone really notice much change from an ash bodied bass to a mahogany one?

I can understand that purely acoustic guitars will be affected by the type of wood and how individual timbers resonate but solid bodied, electric instruments, have so many other things thrown into the mix that the type and weight of wood must only have a minimal affect on the sound reaching the punters' ears on a crowded dance floor.

25 minutes ago, neilp said:

Do people really worry about this stuff? I have 2 Aria SB1000's, a Wal and a Thunderbird. The Tbird is the lightest, but I've never been sufficiently bothered to weigh any of them, although the Arias are as heavy as anything I've ever played. The answer is almost always a wide, well-padded strap and try not to worry. It's another of those things some people use to justify endless swapping of gear - think of all those ads saying "fantastic bass, sounds amazing and plays like butter, but I need something lighter/heavier/passive/active/thicker neck/thinner nek/5 string/4 string/more like a P/more like a J/pointier/less pointy/cheaper......"

I don't worry about it, I just don't like being in pain and possibly causing more damage to my spine.  There are genuine reasons for wanting a lighter bass and they have nothing to do with GAS.