dclaassen

I get really good results with lighter gauge (.125 B) Elixers on my MPV-5. I also get a pretty good B tone with the HB flats on my Dynabass. Less happy with the B on my fretless Spectracore using low tension flats. I do use the B up the neck and find, like many on here, have tone and intonation issues above the 5th fret with fatter B strings.

I also don’t gig regularly. I try to play about 30 minutes or more per day…lots more if I do have gigs coming up. I alternate between a band’s set list, other stuff I know, and new material.

Intentionally not in a band full-time and happily retired, but also looking for dep gigs to keep me sharp. 68, very experienced and can read pretty well. My preference would be classic rock or country, pit work, or big band/ swing, but can also do other genres.Comfortable on fretted and fret less, but don’t have or want an upright. Can also do bg vocals on stuff I know.

I’ve used both and now use neither. For me, it was always about playability. A really good jazz neck is perfect for me, and an active jazz can give a pretty wide tonal range. There is, however, a big difference, as many have pointed out here, between living room tone and gigging tone, and, for me, that’s almost always going to mean using an active bass. Right now, that’s a Peavey Dynabass 5…which has a wonderful jazz-like neck bur also monstrous super ferrite soap bars.

2 gigs today with Stevie Daniels. First one was an afternoon noon car show somewhere deep in the fens. (Why do all those fenland towns look the same?). We were placed on a flatbed stage across the entry road from the bar and the crowd. As a result, very little crowd interaction and lots a dust every time a new vehicle came through. And, we were facing the sun…hot!. Second gig at the Burleigh Club in Peterborough. Nice pub and small but enthusiastic crowd. Used the Dynabass, trace head, and GB 1 12’s. Footwear was Justin western boots. No gigs now until the end of June.

There have been many times in my life, including now, when the bass I’m carrying is worth more than the car it is in…having said that, can I charge more for dings, which are asynchronous unintended organic tone divots?

In an ideal world, this is true…..but very few “Jazz players” are capable, and many rely on a few licks, don’t listen enough to respond musically to other ideas, and usually (sax and guitar) play wayyyyy too many notes. Tbf, I can’t solo like Ron Carter either…

This is exactly my experience with jazz jams. I do not find it enjoyable.

Sat in with Stevie Daniels at the White Swan near Newmarket. Great crown…lots of dancing and compliments. Debut gig for my new Elf head paired with Genz Benz 12’s. First set was with my Spectracore 5 fretless, then used the Peavey Dynabass for set two. All worked really well, and the Elf didn’t even get warm.

This is great advice!

There are, imo, different steps involved in learning to read notation. First comes understanding the actual notation for pitch and rhythm. The other step is being able to read music at tempo. I guess the last step is being able to sightread at tempo…this takes years to master. The other complication include key signatures, choosing where to play a passage on the neck as you are reading it, and, in the case of a lot of written out jazz parts, dealing with rhythms that are not exactly as written and parts produced by non-bass players that are unplayable as written. Then, at last you master all of this, get a pit gig for a musical, and have a singer need to go down a step on the night…. please don’t get discouraged though…all it takes is time

I picked an Elf up last week and have been using it with a Genz Benz 12. Very well pleased, especially with a bass with hotter pickups. Not at all bothered by the fan noise.

Nice! I have the Focus version of this 12…wonder if there is a tonal difference

I’ve got a dynabass 5 with the super ferrite pickups…massive sound and a very slim, jazz bass-like neck.

….tone is in your fingers….ducks

This is exactly my current rig…

Two Genz Benz 112’s for most things, but the Trace Elliot 410 and 115 are in the garage. Trace vintage power…GP12 smx 400w. I am thinking about getting an Elf for home and small/ medium gigs

Have you reinforced your floor?

So…we all park at your place!

I’d love to have the 63 jazz back, along with the 68 unlined fretless P that I traded for it. However, the one I really would love to have back was a MPC Outlaw, with the plug-in effects modules. A really surprising bass that was my backup for years.

Not quite a gig, but was in Germany with students at a jazz festival. I was the Rhythm Section Instructor for the top jazz band Long days but good fun with a bunch of great young musicians.

I have a hard time believing that my 4x10 weighs more than my car!

Wondering how heavy that beast is…