Count Bassy

Just some thoughts on PMT: I was sort of warned off PMT by someone, when looking for an electric drum kit for my lad. As it happened the other shops (in Northampton) did not have the model he was after so we ended up visiting PMT anyway. I've got to say that the service we got from them was brilliant, we were there for a copule of hours while my lad tried out many kits, and the staff were very helpful and obviously real enthusiasts. After a couple of hours the bloke we were dealing with said that his boss had asked him 'why he hadn't closed the sale yet', but not to worry about his boss, he understood that £600 is a lot of money and that we couldn't make a snap decision while stood in the shop (he obviously had more idea of how to sell that his boss did!) The deal that they came up with matched pretty well anything off the net, so later that week we phoned the order in and it was delivered in a few days. However, we didn't have any headphones (it had never been mentioned as part of any deal - so that isn't a complaint) so I rang up to see try my luck in getting a deal on some headphones. They said they'd try to find something and a few days later a pretty decent set of headphones (it said £29.95 on the price tag) appeared in the post totally free of charge. I.e. they'd thrown in some headphones after the original sale had already been completed! I've got to say that I was pretty inpressed all round, and it meant that I'd bought from a real shop (albeit a chain) rather from the net, so I would certainly reccomend PMT (The Northampton one at least). Oh dear I seem to have gone on a bit.... I lived in Brum from 79 to 86, so I remember Musical Exchanges when in Broad Street, but they had moved to Snow Hill by the time I left Brum - A real Aladin's cave in those days. Clive.

ADDENDUM: Just come back rom band practise and played all of you really got me going with my thumb clear of the neck - a little bit of extra strain in the forearm by the end, but apart from that I didn't notice much difference. also, in answer to someone's question I play with the bottom of the body about an inch above the belt, and a such an angle so taht the bass head is about level with my own. Clive.

Alex, Bilbo and Matty, Thanks for your helpful replies. What's this thing called a technique that you all refer to? I've checked in my bass case again, but I don't seem to have one! Seriously though I take all your points on board. As I said in an earlier post I can see that if what your playing needs or allows your hand to move around a bit then the disrtance betwen the fets is less critical, but in my example the first finger has to sat on the seventh fret while the little finger stretches up to the 11th fret on the next string, otherwise you can't play the two notes together. I've had a quick go at using the 7th on the A, 9th on the D and 6th on the G and yes it does work without the stretch, and allows you to go to the 7th on the G as well if you wnat. But, on a 4 string at least, you can't move it up a string in the classic progession, and if you slide it all up 5 frets then you havn't got the root note on the open string anymore. It's a useful idea and I'll start to incorporate it, but it doesn't solve everything. Regarding the fretting pressure, I think i've got that about right, I've not tried to lift my thumb off, but suspect I probably could. One of the problems I have with the stretch in this regard, is that when I'm playing the example I gave, the little finger won't reach as far as just behind the 11th fret, so I do have to press a bit harder than ideal in this case. I really do appreciate all your ideas and thoughts and will give them all a try. I am a young player (well I'm 50, but you know what I mean), so am more than happy to take as many hints and ideas as I can on board. Clive.

Matty, Thumb to little finger , very tip to very tip is about the same as yours, ie 21.5 cm. The wrist joint isn't that specific, but I guess thats also about the same as yours. Stretch from the middle of the first finger tip to the middle of the little finger tip, which I guess gives you your nominal span for fretting, is about 14.5cm. Maybe it is a stretching issue. I can certainly reach things now that I couldn't when I started to play half seriously, about two years ago. However if I were to go to a 34 or 36" now I would be in the situation, in the short term at least, where I couldn't play stuff that I am currently playing out with the band. At least you seem to accept that a smaller hand (whether mine qualifies as one of these or not) can limit/influence one's choice of scale, which not every one does. Alex - a very informative post, thanks. I'll try your fingering for that pattern and see how I get on with it. However with my current method I might just be able to do it on a 34", but can't see how I'd manage on a 36" (i've never tried cos I don't know anyone with a 36"). I play with the end pad of my thumb pretty well in the middle of the neck. Is this what you also do Alex. certainly I've never played with the thumb wrapped round the neck as some people do. Has anyone here actually played a short/medium scale 5 stringer, such as the birdsong or Landing that I mentioned earlier, - If so I'd be interested in some feedback on them, although to be honest my standard of playing would in no way justify that sort of expenditure. And finally.... I just want to make it clear that I have absolulety no problem with any scale neck, or indeed number of strings, that anyone wants to play! 'Vive la difference' Clive

[quote name='mcgraham' post='174198' date='Apr 10 2008, 10:34 PM']Actually it'd only be two and a bit. I thought it'd be a lot more too! Point taken though, it isn't a definite rule that 'everyone' can get used to a longer scale. Mark[/quote] Yes you're right of course - my mistake. I measured it on my bass and got 2 and a bit, but by the time I'd walked to the PC it had magically transformed to 3 and a bit! Thanks for noticing and pointing it out! Clive

Several people here have said that you simply get used to a longer scale. I play a 32", and can fairly comfortably play the classic 12 bar blues thing starting at the seventh fret (its a stretch, but doesn't actually hurt) i.e. first finger at the 7th fret on the A string third finger at the 9th fret on the D string and little finger reaching to the 11th fret on the D string as required. (Think "Bang a gong", steamroller etc). I can also do this at the based at the fifth fret, but it really is a stretch and starts to get painful. Below the fifth fret I really am struggling to do it at all. My point is that if I went to a 36" scale (effectively adding three and a bit frets on the end ** EDITED: Actually its only 2 and a bit as has been pointed out below - please adjust examples below as accordingly **) then to play it rooted at the seventh fret would be similar to playing it at the 4th fret on the 32" scale, which from above you will see that I would find very difficult. I can see that if what you're playing allows your left hand to move about then, yes, you can just move it a bit further, and you'd probably get used to it, I've played 34" scales in this way with no real problem. If one of your fingers has to be anchored at a particular place, as in my example, then "getting used to it" is not so simple. (assuming that your fingers must remain attached to the end of your hand during the performance). I only play a four string so I can't comment on the tone a B string at different scale lengths, but the general consensus seems to be that the longer the better. If this is the case then why aren't we all playing 40" or 42" scales, cos wouldn't that sound better again? Surely it can't be a problem of reach because according to most people thats something you soon get used to. Sadly it is true that the choice of 32" scale strings is limited, I've always stuck to four strings and off the shelf options, but if I were to go to 5 strings and stay with a 32" scale, then, thankfully, there are pretty reasonable custom strings available (eg Newtone). As it happens my favourite bass of the moment (a USA Fender urge Mk1) is string through the body and consquently will take most standard length strings anyway. Clive.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='168568' date='Apr 2 2008, 05:08 PM']It genuinley annoys me when I can hear a great band with a crap sound/sound engineer as this is what I aspire to be, and this is where IMHO my talent lies.[/quote] You're aspiring to be a crap sound engineer??

I've never tried them, but Birdsong make a 30" 5 string (though they do some weird things on it), and Landing make a 32" 5 string. These are both high quality, low volume builders, and I'm guessing that they wouldn't bothetr to make these if they didn't work and hence couldn't sell them. I'm guessing that a lot of it comes down to correct string selection. If you put a standard string onto a shorter scale it will be correspondingly 'slack'. Personally I don't find that a problem, but if I did I'm sure a change of strings would address it. Having said that I'm quite willing to accept that a 32" and a 36" will sound different, but which is best is a different question, probably with out a definitive answer. Clive

[quote name='David Nimrod' post='160528' date='Mar 19 2008, 10:21 PM']There's your problem... bass really needs to mesh in with drums etc. The feeling of locking in with a good drummer in a real groove is like, Sex? As good as, anyway Get together with some other musicians and it'll all be exciting again.[/quote] [quote name='gilmour' post='160586' date='Mar 20 2008, 12:41 AM']a big +1 I find bass pretty boring to play at home or on it's own, the joy of the practice is in playing with others, when you sense that you're on that groove together ... [/quote] Much like the aforementioned sex then!

Brilliant, thanks for finding that Cantdo. I'd have spent hours trying to describe that in writing. Isn't the interweb great? Clive

[quote name='bremen' post='160320' date='Mar 19 2008, 04:29 PM']Are Star*ucks on it? They look for succesful independent cafés, find the landlord and offer an increased rent over whatever the café is paying. Saves all the tedious, time-consuming and expensive process of building up a business.[/quote] I gather that this also goes for the paint balling company 'Delta force'. Don't bother to compete, just go straight to the landlord and screw the small guy. Clive

When I've got the time I'll do it and try to analyse exactly what it is I'm doing and try do put it in writing, but I think the 'one forward, one reverse' description is probably better than my original. When you're doing it it certainly doesn't feel that like your putting any strain into the cable. I think the main problem with any coiling method comes when you uncoil it in a different way from how you coil it. For example if you roll the cable onto a drum (or round your arm) and unroll it there is no problem, but if you roll it on and then pull it off sideways you end up with a cable coiled like a spring. Clive

[quote name='Rich' post='159560' date='Mar 18 2008, 01:18 PM']Nothing wrong with the velcro strap, but winding it round your arm?? Noooooooooo... THE quickest way to tie your cable in knots, not to mention twisting it unnaturally. Wind it up into one hand... it doesn't take much longer than doing the round-yer-arm thing, but it preserves the cable's natural twist and stops it tying itself into knots the moment you release the velcro.[/quote] A trick I learnt many years ago, from a BBC sound engineer/roady, was to coil it up into your hand, but put a sort of reverse twist into it every other coil. Very hard to describe in writing, but the affect is that you can coil it up, then hold one end and through the coil away from you and it will (should) completely uncoil itslef and lay flat on the floor without a twist in sight. Clive.

[quote name='OldGit' post='159600' date='Mar 18 2008, 01:51 PM']Do you have a link? I couldn't find a website for them[/quote] Try these two: [url="http://cpc.farnell.com/PL00946/electrical-lighting-security/product.us0?sku=BRITISH-GENERAL-CT100&_requestid=182950"]http://cpc.farnell.com/PL00946/electrical-...equestid=182950[/url] [url="http://cpc.farnell.com/PL01353/electrical-lighting-security/product.us0?sku=PRO-ELEC-CT200&_requestid=183238"]http://cpc.farnell.com/PL01353/electrical-...equestid=183238[/url] Unfortunately with CPC you need to go above £40 on an order to get free shipping, and remember that the quotes prices don't include VAT. CPC also have a lot of other stuff pertinent to musicians: cable, plugs and sockets, adaptors, and pre-made cables, so you can soon spend more than £40 on useful stuff, and get the free shipping. Be warned however, that as well as quality stuff (Neutrik, amphenol, vandamme etc) they also do nameless stuff at ridiculously low prices, but you get what you pay for. Clive

I don't know about the other things, but I find the plastic things to wind cables round very useful for heavier/longer cables (eg a 15M speaker cable) - far less likely to get tangled in the cable box. Mind you I would pay more than £3.50 for one, and I still use a hand wind, or repeated fold, and velco for mic and instrument cables. Clive

Historically my heirarchy of instruments would be Melodeon(s) Anglo concertina Trumpet Bass Guitar. Currently I'm practising bass more than anything (its the one I pick up if I've got 30minutes), but melodeon is probably still top in terms of playing out. Clive

Saturday night, Welton Village Hall. Apart from my screwing up my short bass solo in 'Rocky Mountain Way' (very annoying), all was going well until the bass drum skin split at the end of 'All right now". Took an impromptu break while the great god Gaffa tape (all hail) came to the rescue. Unfortunately the incident threw the drummer off a bit and he started the next song (Roadhouse Blues) at about half the speed we'd normally do it (this was unusual as he's normally rock solid through any incident). Anyway recovered from there and all in all we seemed to go down a storm, which was nice. Question: Why don't they just make things out of Gaffa tape in the first place? Clive

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='151726' date='Mar 5 2008, 01:57 PM']As long as these people don't complain when a music shop shuts down, then I'm not really bothered either way.[/quote] That strikes a chord - our nearest music shop has just announced that it's closing afer 35 years, quoting internet competition as the main cause. It never really had any bass stuff, but had a lot of sheet music and tutor books which my wife (piano/Sax teacher) used to buy regularly, along with sax reeds etc, and guitar strings for my daughter. Also used to give her a 10% discount as a teacher. So now its a drive to Northampton (18 miles) and trying to find a sensible parking place etc etc, or resort to the net ourselves and thus accelerate the next shop closure! As they say, 'use it or loose it' - it's not just a cliche. Clive.

Would that drummer be the Ray Laidlaw of Lindisfarne fame? Talking of which, nice to see several of their tunes in the set list. One of my favorite bands of the time. Clive

Well (refering to the original post) it might lack something in the execution, but as an idea it seemed good to me. Far more interesting and musical than a lot of high speed slapping (for example). Clive

[quote name='alexclaber' post='146653' date='Feb 25 2008, 03:30 PM']Except in the instrument data window they have a photo of an electric bass guitar and an electric guitar, Alex[/quote] Ah, I stand corrected - I didn't even notice that panel on the right hand side, just went on the fact that the all the other instruments tended to be orchestral in nature. That'll teach me to read it all before commenting. Clive.

I'll have the musicmaster if you don't want it. I like a short scale, me. Clive.

[quote name='SJA' post='145063' date='Feb 22 2008, 02:10 PM']so the harmonics for guitar and bass peter out at about the same freq- around 5k?[/quote] And [quote name='Happy Jack' post='146336' date='Feb 25 2008, 08:14 AM']That is a fabulous piece of work. Thanks Alex. Just to confirm, do the descriptions 'guitar' and 'bass' in that chart apply equally to acoustic and to electric?[/quote] I think we should be careful here. Going by the rest of the instruments listed I would have assumed that they are talking double bass and classical guitar, and Im pretty sure that the harmonic content of these would be quite different to a bass and electric guitars. Clive

Keep the Bongo, buy a jig saw and a pot of paint. Clive

I Morris danced at Ken Clarke's daughter's wedding. Now I'd always had him down as a real ale man, but it was john smith's fizzy pop or something similar at the wedding do. Very strange. No wonder he never got to lead the Conservatives! Clive