RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

The player I could've been , and the player I am . Good topic by Lou . I learned mainly unorthodox methods. I couldn't find a bass teacher initially. I phoned up a person advertising something in sounds magazine ' you don't need lessons for bass!' Yep I was told that, in the age of telephone calls. I learned a few bits by a scale book, A few bits from American gutar books, Hot licks video eventually a proper tutor who got me unstuck from my plateau. The main person who helped me was( and still is) ,a sh@t hot guitarist who I used to work with. Not in the same job, but in the same building. One of my best friends. He used to either visit me once a week after work, show me some cool metal stuff to learn( plus some theory), I'd give him a 5'er and after I cooked him grub, we 'd be playing for hours. Sometimes it was in his house. Some people say you shouldn't take bass lessons from a guitarist. He got me playing my first birthday gig at 30 in front of200 people, I did quite a few of those. Living in a big house with a big family meant that , I just learned root notes to begin with, and always had my stereo turned up high so I could hear the song I'm playing. Now of course, I turn down & listen for fills etc. Trouble with my playing at the beginning ,is that I was either frightened of hitting the wrong notes( I am les Dawson),or I got excited about slapping and tapping and was trying to do too much. I was very tense( not in my personality). The body needs to be relaxed and with age and hindsight , I know it wasn't. Then work,and a busy social life got in the way . Didn't start playing bass till late teens/early'20s. Considering my age now,and what pt I could've done I should've beenn sight reading/ regular gigger/regular recordingetc. Instead, I'm just a hobbyist.

Voodoo six were really good supporting winery dogs last year.unfortunately, Mr.vox( Bruce forsyths grandson) quit because of health reasons.

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1378753486' post='2204300'] I only know of Steve using a heavy precision, extremely heavy flats and trace elliott amplifiers - I've never seen him using pedals live [size=4] [/size] [/quote] Yeah, he is the epitome of normal rock bass . Awesome player.

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1426620513' post='2719991'] I hear there's a new Venom album out.....any good? [/quote] I did the venom thing in the '80s. Never again

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1426617177' post='2719911'] Me too ( despite my gig) Ill be watching this too. My latest musical crush is Meshuggah which is probably old news to you guys [/quote] Yeah, they've been out for a while. Don't think i've heard much/ any of their stuff. I thought it was meshuggga . Apparently ,it's pronounced me sugar. Embarrassing really. I keep thinking def leppard..

Shame . Used to like free many years ago. They do absolutely nothing for me now. All you hear is Paul Rogers . This man was the driving force IMHO . R I p

Thanks chaps . I had a feeling I may have to adjust the nut. The headless basses are stronger, so I was hoping to avoid that;) doubt very much if I'll be in a band, but what I intend to do , is play the stuff I should've been doing years ago. Playing in covers bands and having a good time socially in the past , stopped me from leaning the stuff I should know more as standard( metallica , tool, even rush and few tunes you know are down tuned). My ear has improved over the years. I was very much a hobbyist ,who took a long time to up my game doing the band thing and learned things more quickly . i suppose there are other things to consider, like why not just keep one bass de tuned in e flat. Have one as standard tuning. Or , just try again with another 5 string. More opinions please

Mmm. I'm a metal head, and doubt if there's much out there, so I'll be looking at this thread closely. iTunes ? Why not spotify? If you really like something, I'm sure you'll do itunes anyway .

I'm currently thinking of trimming the herd, and may have another stab at 5 string. Tbh, I didn't have too much trouble doing bits before, but being in a band plus lots of home problems I sold it. The stupid question I have; a lot of stuff is tuned d flat. If I have a 5 string, do I keep the strings b e a d for d flat tuning? The other question( aimed at steiney/status 4 stringers); I have steinberger & a washburn status . Would a low b string fit into the nuts, and bridge without adjusting either. (Straight swap for e string).? That's it . Fire away. Cheers;)

Quite a few people have posted threads same is the op.Thought about it myself, but I believe keep 1 bass just incase.

One thing to do ..have the bass situated so that, when you stand up and sit down , the distance is the same . Checkout how billy Sheehan explains it . I'm in my early 50s now. I was stop/ starting and stopped at about the age of 35. Started playing in bands again at 40 until 45. At about 42, I was in 2 bands. Normally play headless, but one of the bands I was in wanted a 'real bass', so I got a telecaster. Then I got shoulder pain// left shoulder more protruding than the other, and tennis elbow. Bear in mind, I was fit then and dpsaw an instructuctor who recommended me to a physio who de stressed my body. Acupuncture worked, with ultrasound( gel stuff). Plus excercises with tennis balls and turning my arms and shoulders in unison. After 2-3 weeks I was healed. Horses for courses and all that , but do think about posture mentioned above and things such as Alexander technique etc.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1426460791' post='2718312'] ... because it's what the Tories do. [/quote] Nail on head

Talking to my brother tonight. He says' you hardly touch your basses now. You don't need so many!' Thing is, I can't really argue with that. Latest thing I'm thinking is, trim down to 3 .Then, if I do that, why not get rid of everything and get 3 from scratch . ( ie fretted/ fretless & 1 other) .

The jack is what ruins it .

Shame . Similar condition to Jason Becker . We think we have things bad ;(

Cool

What bass do you have? Active or passive ?

If you're not gonna be doing loads, then try the digitech bass/synth/wah. Very cheap, always come up for sale on here. Try a you pube clip , and see if it's for you

Well, tbh you would be in a band situation again. I think you would have the same problems. Why not jam in a rehearsal room at a set time instead? ( say every 2 weeks or something). When I get the confidence back, this is the approach I'll be going for.

Cheers rob;) bizarre really. Back in the days of recording hifi in the'80s/ '90s, I used to love making tapes/ understanding peak metres etc. I understand GarageBand now, but like mobile phones , you have too many options and things get over complicated. My pet peeve is the graphic display. I just prefer basic peak metres hence my need for one of these.

Living in Camden & all those skagheads about , and you have no anger? Maybe you're better off with keyboards doing ambient music? Hard to explain , but finding chemistry with someone close can help. For example; when you have a 'best friend' where you can talk about anything and your other halves can't phathom what you're talking about . We are laughing our heads off, and they can't make us out. I had such a relationship. We would have harmless and witty personal digs at each other& people we didn't like. Sometimes , this would be rap mode( kid you not). We would be falling over ourselves laughing . We always said we would be great lyric writers . Lots of it un pc,) Even when painting together , ideas would churn out . Partnerships obviously work ( glimmer twins., Noel and Liam etc). I find that when you go with the intention of writing 'now', is when you draw a blank. Going about your business as usual,is when something might strike you. But, you have to remember it .