OutToPlayJazz

I bought a molded shaped case with the embossed logo for my Geddy Lee signature. It's very tight & fits very well. Paid something like £109 from Thomann.de Highly recommended

Depends on mood... If I'm feeling melodic, it'll be a jazzed up version of MK's Dune Tune or School Days... Perhaps Victor Wooten's Amazing Grace (I have the sheet music)... Never really a slap solo or anything like that. Need to be warmed up to get some real speed going. Getting old?

Oh, almost forgot...

Never, never, never stop learning new things. I don't think anyone here would say they've reached nirvana in their playing!

A couple of highly enlightened people on this thread have already said my main one, but I'll say it again...

LEARN TO READ NOTATION!!! The possibilities are endless...

I'd also add...

If you're having trouble playing a certain passage, think about your technique, how can you make you playing flow? LH shape is very important. Don't play like a guitarist - Remember, it's a bass (a double bass turned through 90 degrees), and has absolutely nothing to do with a g****r!!

Again, learn to play upright bass... Opens up a whole new world of thinking with your electric. (*Lessons available)

Make sure you have an instrument for every eventuality.

Turn up early at gigs. Nothing like going on to play relaxed, as opposed to being stressed and harrassed!

Find an amazing drummer to play with - You know when you've got that psychic link & you automatically follow eachother's fills...

Play in as many situations as you can... Shows, operas, jazz, folk, brass bands, big bands, etc... There's more to life than a bunch of middle-aged blokes mistakenly thinking they're rockstars!

[quote name='Mike' post='78146' date='Oct 23 2007, 11:38 AM']Can you post a close up picture of the A string at the nut? If it's not bending down after going over the nut it will rattle. You can bend it yourself, or wind the string better on the peg - ie. ending up at the bottom of the peg.[/quote]

+1 on the string winding! My Geddy Lee Jazz has the same problem... Because I use such thin strings, I have to make sure the string is wound top to bottom to ensure maximum tension (curiously enough also on the A-string!)

I've also found that the GLJ having a very thin shaved neck does tend to go out of true. Make sure there's a little bit of neck relief there... And that there's no play in the neck relief screw. (The Fender ones in particular sometimes come with the screw in the centre so it's loose!) Looking down the neck from the headstock end, make sure there's a slight kink towards the top. That'll give you better overall string clearance. Keeping the instrument in a well fitted hard case helps as well.

If you have no luck, try bassbags on 07976 758727. Give them the dimensions & they'll custom make a bag for you. Very good quality as well.

I've played a Metro jazz... Fantastic bass, if a lot of money. You can get an idea of the sound if you listen to Tal Wilkenfeld. Lovely sounding bass!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRFkOrnds8I"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRFkOrnds8I[/url]

[url="http://www.talwilkenfeld.com/"]http://www.talwilkenfeld.com/[/url]

[url="http://www.myspace.com/talwilkenfeld"]http://www.myspace.com/talwilkenfeld[/url]

As Martin says, most of the Yamahas are good working tools, but a little on the bland side. If you're looking for an excellent quality budget bass, they're ideal - Like a BB414 or the active 614, but there's no soul there.

The only ones I like are the TRB series. Great growl on these & exquisite craftsmanship. Something you really want to own. I had a TRB5 Nathan East and wish I'd never had sold it. Am currently about to buy a TRB6-II in the next week or so.

HeHe... You need a big square left hand to play that!

"Deficient in the string department to the tune of two..."

Not yet, I've been working flat out for the past couple of months, but may get a chance to get back down there in the next couple of weeks. Will keep you posted. Actually buying a mint Yamaha TRB6-II this month...

Just been on [url="http://dame.co.kr"]http://dame.co.kr[/url] & there seems to be no link to any other country website or dealers outside of South Korea. Perhaps you can be the UK importer?

Looks a nice enough bass for the money... I'd go for the "Walnut gloss" colour, personally. Is this coming from Sound Control?

I'd second the vote for the Yamaha BB615. Loadsa bass for the money. Otherwise a Fender Standard Jazz V in midnight wine. Lovely sounding and great to play instrument.

I mainly slap on my 4-stringers as well... 5-ers are good too, but not my KingBass V. I ordered it with the 19mm string spacing, but the graphite neck is sooo resonant that the B string constantly booms as you play. So excellent neck and ultra, ultra fast, but too boomy for the job. Nuff said

Getting a Yamaha TRB-6 in the next couple of weeks, so will be commenting on the slappability of that one soon as well.

Many years ago, the Jonathan Ross show had a big funk band on called...

"Steve Naiive & those rocking sailors on the psychadellic sea of groove!"

Go Japanese... Aerodyne is a nice bass, or for me... Geddy Lee signature every time!

Hey Kev, don't play too loud in that new room at the Bell Vue... It's a suspended floor and echoes like a b*****d! I got told off for being too, erm, resonnant in there!! That'd be the Warwick $$ with the MarkBass rig, then! Playing there again soon, as I recall. Oh what fun!

That looks like a great quality bass for the money... There really are some great bargains out there & especially Chinese manufacturing is getting very good these days. I recently bought two "Boston" P-basses for £80 each (including the cases, straps, leads & 15w amps). Quality is excellent, as is playability. Brand names aren't always best these days.

Didn't see anything I was tempted by this weekend, but did finally pick up my Hofner gig bag for the violin bass. (Took about 3 months for it to arrive from Germany!)

Just wondered if anyone made any scoop purchases and felt the Saturday music shop magic? (And the guilty, "I've spent how much???" afterwards!)

I started as a cellist as a kid & graduated onto piano when I was 13. Started double bass at around 15 & picked up bass guitar (they're the same thing really!) when I was around 16-17.

Now a professional bass player (both variations) & cellist. I also teach upper strings (violin & viola) & classical guitar. I've been dabbling in a little electric guitar mainly this year, but am a bass player first and foremost.

Keep eyeing up a soprano sax... But I've never done any wind seriously. Could be a challenge

And another bump from me... I love mine & I think you'll regret parting with this one over a 'mere' Ray

Someone come and rip this man's arm off before he comes to his senses!

See if you can find a copy of "The Literate Bassist" by Fred Paterno (pub. Mel Bay.) Covers all styles and excellently well written. Other one I like is "Basslines" by Joe Hubbard. These are all notation, though. No tablature. Go on, it's good for you!

I'vde almost ordered one of those several times. Love the look of it - If you go to the Fender.fr website and look under the videos tab, there's a French guy called Ludo playing one in a video. Sounds a lovely bass. Still tempted, but never seen one in the UK yet or had the chance to try one

I have a vague recollection of Ashdown producing basses recently & remember reading about it on the long lost bassworld server. Anyone remember what the hell they were called? I seem to remember that they were a little bit like a Trace/Status T-bass or something like that. Is my grey matter taking over? Erm, nope... That'll be obvious when I start spelling 'gray' like an American!

The other reason could be the graphite wrapped rods in the neck. Graphite does give a very "growly" resonance, too. Never tried one with the grease bucket.

Also, my Geddy Lee has a sort of "3D" resonance to it as well... I think it's the vintage US pickups on it & the hard maple board as well, coupled with the extra resonance of the badass II.

I've always gigged (for about 20+ years) & it's an integral part of my living, be it out with the rock trio, the jazz band or playing in an orchestra/opera, etc.

To me a musician is anyone who wants to make music. Period. Doesn't matter if you're a pro like me or a so-called "bedroom hobbyist." The more people making music in the world, the better as far as I'm concerned.

I actually like listening to the "have-a-go" brigade at jam sessions, etc., as I can always find new ideas. I sometimes find that my classical training does limit me in some certain respects & the originality of self-taught people can be very refreshing

In short, we can always learn something new from people, whether they're good players or otherwise.