TheLowDown

33 minutes ago, tauzero said:

π, although I'm comfortable with the square root of 2. π is just such an awkward number.

Quite tasty, though.

Well I'm another who wants to give it the benefit of the doubt. I'm quite looking forward to it but with realistic expectations.

When I was younger and had to do a class talk or something, Dad used to tell me to imagine everyone in the audience dressed as a clown. The reasoning being that it makes the audience a lot less scary. It didn't work for me 😄. Or you could look at just above the back of the audience, which gives the impression that you're interacting with the audience.

Something else that you may find useful is the fact that excitement and nervousness are exactly the same emotion, the only difference is the label we attach to them.

Best of luck anyway 👍

I would keep it. Not everyone stays with 5/6 string basses forever, so there will be a time when you will kick yourself for selling it.

I would go for either a HB, Sire, Yamaha or Ibanez.

Personally I would stick at 40-100 or 40-95 for short scale. I find that the higher the gauge the quicker the notes start to sound ill-defined on the E string

The P6 series is looking tempting, but the Z series are far too heavy.

The Harley Benton B450fl produces a nice tone and is lightweight.

It's unlined if that bothers you, but IMO they are preferable and easier to play than lined fretless because the side dots on an unlined are in the 'correct' position(ie where the frets are) whereas on a lined they are the same as fretted bass, which make playing more challenging as the lines are often very faint whereas side dots are brighter. I think it also teaches better habits with fretless too.

I have both fretted and a fretless, but I rarely play the fretless. I can see why people love the fretless but it's just not for me for the most part.

I agree with a lighter gauge string being used for a better B string tone. To my ears the heavier the string the less well-defined it sounds.

Hiromi is awesome! I was first made known of her from when she did Alive with Anthony Jackson on bass. It's quite a journey...

RIP Sam. I really didn't expect that at all. She seemed a lovely gal who put herself out for others.

3 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Will Gregory (of Goldfrapp fame) is doing a vintage synth gig at St George’s Bristol. I am going.

Sounds like it will be really good! I've only recently started getting into synths.

Yes I quite like TC but haven't heard them for a few years. There's also Air, Zero 7, and Goldfrapp who were all over the scene about 20 years ago but never hear anything of them now.

I would mind less if bands were upfront about what exactly is live about the concert.

2 hours ago, BassTractor said:

Yeah, one has to keep a clear mind, or else it's easy to get dragged in.

Have you considered semi-modular, like the 2600 and others as a compromise of sorts?

For me personally, after having spent virtually no time on tinkering for decades, these knobs and cables offer a welcome return to it, as I've loved tinkering since the early 70s.

As to going modular, I decided against it - not for tinkering reasons but for pecuniary ones. Just the price of Eurorack cabinets alone!

Yeah, some of Behringer's offerings seem stellar in that regard, and for example the Model D and the 2600 also offer more than the originals.

I think you'll enjoy it very much then 👍. Modular synths are very versatile, more than enough to tinker with. I don't know about the 2600 but I know the Model D is well regarded.

I've recently considered going modular, but I fear that I will spend more time tinkering with sound design than making music with it. Behringer make some fantastic value for money reproductions of the old faithfuls.

Only unless there is something specific, or a specific combination of features, that you need that can't be bought any more cheaply. There is a plentiful supply of suitably high quality basses at a fraction of that price and with features that I would be looking for, so I would feel that spending £1500 on a bass would be a waste.

I love funk, especially when it's blended with other genres like jazz. I'm not a fan of the sound of slap, though, for those songs that use it.

Don't think he can go wrong with this

https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_hbp120bk_ebass.htm

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Not sure what the future expansion is? But anyway, similar to your B, the C string is not really anything I have ever needed. As with the 5 string I use what position I want, I don't really see an advantage of 5 frets above the top of the G (or 3 in the case of my shuker).

Future 'expansion' as in playing chords(the C string makes it easier to test out the sound of chords for writing chord progressions), walking basslines, and experimenting with solos are made a tad more convenient on a 6 string. The initial reason for the 6 string was for possible creative home projects, and as well as the reasons I've just mentioned, and the fact that it effectively includes a 5 string bass within it. Essentially, it's a 5 string with added benefits.

It can be said that a good reason for having a 5 string is because it is better to have the B string than be without it when you need it. The same can be said for the C string, especially if you want to experiment.

8 hours ago, Terry M. said:

You say your 6 string does all. Why do you need a 4 string then out of curiosity and not a 5?

Because it provides significant advantages over the 6 string that the 5 string doesn't quite manage. For example, being as light as possible, range of choice of strings, range of choice of bass, less of a need to mute effectively for recording, and simplicity when it's preferred, and so on.

9 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Because for me the neck gets too wide to use in normal bass mode then, apart from when I had a GVB36, which for some reason I got rid of, and at that point it becomes easier to view it as a tapping instrument, such as an NS:Stick, but then it has not enough strings to make it versatile. So for me 6 is worst of all worlds, if you go past 5, you might as well go straight to 10.

I don't play 4s or 6s, but I can see the point of a 4

I honestly don't find that with the neck being too wide. With 6 string I prefer 16.5mm at the bridge so the width is minimised, and keeping my thumb in the centre of the neck means that there isn't much of a difference for me between 5 and 6. I had been toying with the idea of getting a Sire M5 for reasons of GAS, but I'm finding it very difficult to justify to myself when I have a lightweight 6 string. I'm not really all that fond of the B string anyway, and which is the only point of the 5 string, so it's not really a priority for me. I tell myself that I have a 6 string if ever I need a B string. The 6 string also allows for various future expansion possibilities which the 5 string does not.

I think switching between 4 and 6 string also stops me from falling into a musical rut in the way i play.

If you play using floating thumb and you have a lightweight 6 string, what's the point of a 5 string? I have a 5 string somewhere, but I can't think of a reason to use it when the 6 does it all and more. I still need a 4 string, though.

4 hours ago, Terry M. said:

Would thinking of the Dorian as a minor scale with a raised 6th been any easier?

Not for me because I don't see any benefit of that, but it may do for others. I like to keep things simple so I want to see all the modes as being variations of the major(Ionian )scale, so dorian being a major scale with flat 3rd and flat 7th works best for me.

Well if it's a benefit if you enjoy it.

Also, for many people with dementia, many of their hobbies they will be unable to do. But because music ability is so deeply integrated(evolutionary speaking, it's far far older than the language centres of the brain) in the brain, we can still enjoy listening to and even playing Mustang Sally et al.

To add to what TheGreek has mentioned, I first saw this short animation a few years back that was quite illuminating