Boodang

Roc 'n Soc throne is my main seat for drums, bass practice and just generally sitting around. Not an office / gaming chair, but with a back rest the most comfortable throne I've had.

Hal Leonard books are great. YouTube is a good source of free lessons but it's also full of idiots, so start with some recommendations... Scott's Bass Lessons and Dan Hawkins are worth checking out. And remember to keep it fun, learning scales, technique etc is necessary but you're playing bass to play music so play along to and learn the songs that you love to listen to.

Pah, guitar is easy.... just learn the blues pentatonic and randomly play it throughout songs paying no attention to what anybody else is doing. Then take all the credit (not that I've got a chip on my shoulder about guitarists!).

Use a small mixing desk. The Behringer xenyx 1202 is currently £50 at Gear 4 music. Job done.

Try a Radial Stagebug SB-2. A passive di, great tone and difficult to overdrive. And not expensive.

I like to have the single coil J bass sound and the Precision tone, just not in a package that's as agricultural as a Fender. At least go G&L or something with a little more class!

Definitely this. Coming from DB this seems like the most natural place to play but definitely helps in producing a fuller tone.

I play DB as well as EB. Tapewounds on my fretless EB probably get the closest, but I also use the Galli Synthesis strings which have a nylon core and are close in feel to the Obligato strings on my DB.

Actually, Shakespeare could be a clever choice for a desert island. His plays were written to be performed not read, so you could spend your time doing one-man shows to the wildlife. It would take a lifetime to learn, which given the circumstances, you'd have the time spare.

1. Jazz Jungle - John McLaughlin; top musicians in full free fall jazz fun! Plus Chambers on drums having tons of fun. 2. Lotus Feet - Shakti; beautiful blending of western and eastern improvisation. 3. Giant Steps - John Coltrane; the perfect jazz track? 4. Aga of the Ladies - Hellborg / Lane; Lane at his most melodic and least manic.... beautiful. 5. Bethany - Janek Gwizdala; perfect soloing? If not, it's close. 6. Bright Size Life - Pat Metheny; Metheny always said he had so much still to learn when he did his first album, but I don't think he bettered this. Plus, Jaco's playing is spot on. 7. Stratus - Billy Cobham; one of the greatest bass grooves... and try playing the drum part! Obviously ignore the first 2 minutes of 'I discovered a moog lying around the studio'. 8. It Remains to be Seen - Bennie Maupin; 70s groove at its groovyist. Book - Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake; pure poetry from start to finish, never get tired of reading it. Luxury- John Bonham acrylic reissue drum kit. If I play the kit loud enough it might disturb someone on a neighbouring island and I'll get rescued.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, some super cool soloing, inspirational stuff.

Where are the resin fingerboard fretless basses? And I don't mean high end stuff like Pedulla used to make (as good as it was), but something at a reasonable cost like the old Squier VM jazz, now sadly out of production.

I've always worked on the 'no @rsehole' principle. No amount of talent is worth it, life is too short. As difficult as it might be, if your vocalist has reached that point, life, and music, will be much better in the long run.

I'm a diehard pedal fan and I think the reason for this is that I've yet to find a multi fx that can sound as good as dedicated effects. For me it's quality over quantity, although the size of my pedal board is suffering!

Our stand in bassist plays pick with a Pbass and flatwounds and it sounds great. Less top end than the roundwounds obviously but has a 'thump' that really pushes thru.

Over the last 2 years I've gone on a bit of a pedal buying spree and the equilibrium has settled at just over 20 units. But despite all the 'interesting' fx,and an honorable mention has to go to the Walrus Slo, the most inspirational has been the Aguilar Grape Phaser. In theory quite a 'plain' pedal but it's taken the place of all my envelope filters and set me on a path to fully exploit it with a flurry of rhythmic pick playing aka Chris Squire style.

For a change I'm currently playing drums in a cover band, usual mix of pop rock stuff. Our regular bass player has a great finger, solo tone, but live we're boosting the high mids to make it cut thru. Our stand in bassist mainly plays pick and the tone cuts thru with no eq adjustments. Interesting is the case of Steve Swallow who not only swapped double bass for electric but played with a copper pick in order to cut thru and be heard.

Our vocalist just bought the Zoom V6. Great to use live as quite possibly easier to use than the Helicon with separate pedals for individual effects.

TC Hall of Fame 2.... there's some good toneprints that will meet your needs.

Well, to achieve that we'd all have to go and do something silly like.... playing bass rather than talking about it!

One thing I forgot to add... must exclusively play an electronic kit. That way you have a volume control.

Geddy and Alex must be gutted to know how bad their drummer was.

1. Turns up with a set of spare strings as opposed to the statement 'I've never broken a string yet!'. 2. Never plays slap.* 3. Turns up with, and does play, double bass. *slap on DB rockabilly style is the exception.

As a drummer as well as a bassist; 1. Play a solid groove. 2. Fills and flourishes that are appropriate and well executed. 3. Dynamics (this can't be underestimated). As a band we operate the 'no *rsehole' rule, so all the above means sh*t all unless this criteria is met!

Basses are meant to be played and if it were me (and I've done this myself in the past) I wouldn't be precious about it. If you like the feel of the neck, get it fretted if that's what you want. After all, despite all the fuss by those that call them vintage, it's still a cheaply made, mass produced, bolt on neck solid body and hardly a Stradivarius!