moonbass

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McDgDlnDX0Y"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McDgDlnDX0Y[/url] Is this it? You have to wait until 2.51 for the chorus. A.

I've just been playing along with the remastered version of A Kind of Blue, and the head it definitely starts on a D (although granted difficult to play this an octave down!) As someone who struggles still to get my head around the practicalities of modal jazz just thought I'd suggest something to the OP, if trying to wing it for a gig in a few days. If you've got access to a piano you can get your head around the sound of D Dorian scale by simply playing only the white notes of the keyboard (ie: no sharps or flats). As you are forced to avoid the black notes you can practice riffs and then translate them to the bass without your fingers automatically reverting to the blues scale or minor scale etc. (Although I have to say for me one of the sexiest bits of Miles' solo is when he breaks out and plays an Ab! I think the suspense of staying in Dorian makes playing the odd flat Vth quite dramatic... but perhaps I need to get out more...)

I bought a Silver Series Jazz when they first came out; 'twas my first ever bass. It was amazing; lasted me way longer than a beginners bass should do. In the end I'd defretted it, varnished the neck, then had it planed back down, added EMG JVs and a Badass, and I swear it sounded every bit as good as my Jaco signature Jazz, and actually felt a lot more comfortable to play. Amazing build quality for a bass at that price. Incredible that the neck survived my cack-handed attempts at woodwork and came out shining! A.

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='840046' date='May 17 2010, 07:17 PM']Something I learnt a little too late is that it's ok to mark your chart with reminders, vocal or musical cues - especially if you have a long rest section or have played the same pattern for 62 bars in a row. I used to think it was very un-professional to mark a chart like that - which is nonsense, and far less unprofessional than playing completely the wrong thing or getting wildly lost.[/quote] +1, BUT do it in soft pencil if you're playing from rented scores and rub out at the end of the run! Good luck! Andy

In support of going for the audition and show I'd say that there is no better way to learn to sight read than doing a musical. You will almost certainly feel out of your depth around classically trained musicians in a pit band, but nothing focusses the mind like being terrified! I think a lot of bassists go through this trial of fire when learning to read and you can pick up sight reading surprisingly quickly if you approach it right. Most musicals have the bulk of the notes playable in first position/close to the nut (although I've never done Rent I suspect as it's more modern there's probably a lot of notes up the dusty end of the fretboard though, so perhaps a difficult debut.) You might want to stick to learning to read notes down the nut end (ie: notes written on the lines and spaces of the stave rather than above or below them,) and learn the other bits off the record, as sight reading high notes when starting out will be almost impossible. When I was learning to read doing pit band stuff I used to write out the chords over the bars as well, as then if your sight-reading fails you can always fall back on improvising which you probably feel more comfortable with. It's time consuming, but worth it for a safety net. You'll find you pick up rhythms a lot quicker than notes as well so it's usually not noticeable to the listener. There are several shows which are quite easy to play with minimal sight reading chops: Grease, Oliver, older stuff like Half a Sixpence, G+S. There's also ones I wouldn't touch until more confident: Chess, Little Shop of Horrors, Andrew Lloyd Weber, as they have unusual time signatures and prominent bass parts. Of course it's best to be up front with the MD as you'll never be able to blag the whole run of a show on bravado alone; but there's a lot of qualities to doing pit work other than sight reading that an MD will find important: punctuality, easy-going, stamina, not mucking about on your instrument in between numbers, getting the interval drinks in, etc. If you get through your first show, you'll probably be hooked on it as it's usually great fun with great people, which comes in handy the 20th time you run through a show like 'Oliver'... root 5th, root fifth, when will the torture end...! Good Luck, Andy

Hi, I'd second all the above - bought an American '75 reissue with rosewood board last year and it does exactly what everyone says: bright, punchy, easy to play, excellent for slap, funky fingerstyle, well made, etc. I would just say that I think the rosewood looks amazing, and the pearl inlays look much better than the black block inlays on the maple, BUT if I was buying again I would get the maple board. I think the brighter sound from it complements better what the bass is all about. I don't understand why they didn't use the pearl inlays on the maple board like they do with the MIJ '75 reissue as they look way better (IMO). Anyway, I've now got a non-identicle twin MM so it's all good! A. [attachment=42557:DSC00014.JPG]

I'm sure you're right about the deterioration in build quality during the 70's, but that makes me wonder why Fender chose the '75 jazz to for the vintage reissue? Owning one the resissue is one of the best basses I've played, so is it very different to the original? Why didn't they go for an earlier year? A.

Just bought a beautiful Stingray from Tom. Incredibly speedy, friendly and in excellent condition. Buy with confidence! Cheers Tom, Andy

Thanks for the offer OTPJ... however, I accidently went and bought a natural stingray off another basschatter.... should arrive in post tomorrow! Whoops; guess I'll find out if I like 'em the expensive way! A.

Hi, I've got the urge to go Musicman-stylee with my Disco-funk band. Am ideally looking for a natural finish Stingray or Sterling 4, but would like to try as many out as possible before buying. Does anyone know any music stores who have a good selection at the moment? I'm based in Cambridge but willing to travel. Any suggestions welcomed. Cheers, Andy.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MonpZ0o0RuU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MonpZ0o0RuU[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfCDwlfbgZE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfCDwlfbgZE[/url] Shows what a good pickup can do for a 'cheap' bass eh? A.

As a lined fretless player I can just about get away with playing an EUB neck with side dots. BUT I would love to know how you unlined fretless players manage to hit note's in tune on an electric bass neck when making big jumps. For instance if you needed to hit aBb on a D string... in the dark... in a quiet bit of the song... how do you do it?! Is there some arcane secret that you're not passing on to us mere mortals? (And no, I won't accept 'practice' as an answer!) A.

Hi, I couldn't agree more: have seen them live a couple of times and they have been stunning (and loud... really, really loud!) I have to say though, their new album has failed to impress me so far... maybe just needs a little more time? If you're checking them out for the first time definately recommend starting with their first album 'Frengers', but second album 'And The Glass Handed Kites,' is brilliant too... really dark and complex; each song segueing into the next! They're really bass heavy, very melodic, but it's the rhythmic complexity that astounds me. They frequently change time signature several times in a song although it always seems to make perfect sense, unlike a lot of prog experiments. Definately, definately give them a look! Andy.

Hi, I've got one of the new NS WAV4's and it's great (cosmetic build quality issues aside - and actually the body looks great!) I also don't really agree that you can't get a good acoustic upright sound. As long as you amplify/record appropriately I think you can get pretty close. I think the trick is to not treat it like a bass guitar, the minute you start getting rid of high mids or over-compressing the sound, you definately slip into fretless bass territory. In fact the WAV4's polar pickup sounds exactly like a fretless in arco mode, but has a great acoustic thump in plucked mode. I've also tried the Ergo EUB which is hard to get hold of in the UK, but which has a brilliant simplicity to it, and sounds great if treated right. If I were you though I'd wait until the new NS NXT EUB comes out and see if you can try one out as it definately sounds interesteing on paper. Andy

I've got the same problem - straight shaft as on my '75 reissue I presume. I'd love to know the answer too! Chrome telecaster type that I've got have too small a hole. Andy.

Hi, I'd really like a pearloid scratchplate for my Fender '71 Reissue Jazz, but the only one I could find doesn't quite fit (screw holes not in correct position and 1cm gap between scatchplate and metal knobs plate (you know what I mean). Any ideas where I can get one that fits properly? Also ordered some replacement metal knobs for it (flat top chrome telecaster type), but the poles are too big for the holes? Anyone had success making holes on metal knobs bigger (drilling or suchlike?) Or know where I can get metal knobs that fit the '71 reissue? (Presumably they're fairly standard sizes on Fender?) Cheers, Andy

I've got the Fender Jaco Fretless Jazz. It's a great bass; thin neck, very warm and funky passive pickups, looks great. Has reverse elephant ear tuning pegs which take some getting used to. The fingerboard is also surprisingly flat, and I can't help thinking that jaco's always seemd to have a smaller radius. But it definately sounds like Jaco's. If you want a nice glossy modern fretless sound, you'll struggle to get it from this bass - but the warm yet agressive 70's thing oozes from it. One other thought though - before this I had a Squier Silver Series Jazz, which I defretted (using simple instructions off t'internet) and added a Badass II and EMG JV pickups to. Finished up with a really, really great sounding and playing bass for about half the price of top end Fenders. Andy

Just a few thoughts: 1) It's something that will probably come with time as long as you know what your hand should be doing - as strength builds up in your hand muscles the shape will follow 2) Try not to just think of the finger movement as just coming from your knuckles - the tendons that move your fingers start up at the elbow - and so you've got to think of it all as one unit, with tension and force coming from your forearm, wrist, hand and knuckles/fingers. 3) Without a bass, try sticking your thumb up like you're hitchiking - this is more the sort of position your thumb should be in to get a good anchor on the string /pickup/fretboard to get a good pivot Good luck Andy