Boodang

... oh, and something I found useful when initially getting to grips with the intonation on my new lined fretless was to put a clip on strobe tuner on the headstock to double check my technique. You still use your ears and don't rely on the tuner, but to initially fine tune my technique was really useful.

When I started playing bass many moons ago, I decided it would look cooler (!) on stage if I played fretless bass. So I went out and bought an unlined fretless bass and it was 20 years before I picked up a fretted bass (I've been playing bass for going on 40 years now). Something I have found over the years of playing fretless is that there is a period of time with each new fretless bass where you get familiar with the fingerboard and your fingering. I recently bought a lined fretless and it's taken a lot longer to get familiar with than my unlined basses (I don't consider lined to be cheating. If that was the case Jaco cheated! And what counts is the end result not how you get there). Anyway, tips; use your ears and concentrate on / practice your intonation technique (as in set aside some regular practice time for it) especially at the dusty end of the board. And, the best thing I've bought recently for practice purposes... an EHX Freeze. Great for playing along to chords, notes etc on the fly.

I bought an Aguilar Octamizer a few months ago and have been using it constantly. Has an organic tone which I love, the tilt eq is great and you can change the filter tone from smooth to something with a bit more edge. I also have a Cog T65 for full on synth style subs and use the built in in effects loop with a fuzz to dial it up a bit. A big sound but not very subtle!

Each toneprint radically changes the nature of a pedal... great fun. Out of interest, does the classic toneprint get close to the OC2 sound?

Have you tried the 'Classic' toneprint yet that does the old school monophonic thing?

Another variation!! Playing exercises that just concentrate on note learning can be boring, so quite good to combine it with something that has a musical element; Pick a note, now link all of them on the neck with a triad pattern. Try and make it musical, I find it helps if I play this with a drum track. Do the above exercise but with a chord progression, so now you have a bar or two with one triad before having to move over to another (there's plenty of apps that you can use to create chord progressions to play over and a great way to practice). I find by doing this I also come up with new bass lines.

Love BVs pick playing, such groove! What finally convinced me to nail the technique and now it's 50% of my playing.

Another method! Slightly more complicated but works a treat once you get your head around it; Start at C. Play a major triad. Now go around the circle of 5ths, doesn't matter which direction, and play a major triad each time. Say the root note each time you play it. Do it again with minor triads. Work out variations in how to play the triad patterns in different positions and do them. Use a click track. Now you not only know the notes on the fretboard but also associated triads.

Many years ago, my first proper lessons were with Joe Hubbard. He had a warm up exercise which doubled for learning the fretboard; Play all the E's - start with lowest, play them all on the E string then the A string then the D string etc until you get to the highest, then go back down from highest to lowest. You should now have played every E on the neck. Do the same for F, F#, G, G# etc. Say the notes as you play them and when it's, for example, G#, say G# going up and Ab on the way down. If you can use a metronome/ click start at a speed where you don't make mistakes then build it up.

Yep, Break the Machine out of stock so went online to get from Seamoon direct. Postage is a flat rate of around $35, they didn't mention if there was a waiting list so I'm assuming they're in stock. Then it's just a case of import duties!

According to their blurb it has an 'old school' monophonic octaver setting. I haven't tried it so I don't know how close to an OC2 it can get but I'll be interested to hear from others who have tried it. Apparently the toneprints enable modulation as well as octaver settings which sound interesting.... I'm tempted!

On the extreme, my double bass strings have been on for about 15 years and I've got no intention of changing them!

If your brain wins and you want to get some money back for the Seamoon, do let me know!

Players change roundwounds regularly as they can lose their top end quite quickly. Flatwounds don't have so much top end so not really an issue.

According to Sting in an interview, the song is about a stalker!

And STING. How to do (iconic) bass lines with the minimum of fuss.

If it's funk don't forget BOOTSY!!!

Scott's Bass Lessons or something similar. You can go through the free stuff on youtube but then you're just scratching the surface whereas completing a program really helps you dig in and internalise the information. For beginners tho I would recommend SBLs fretboard accelerator program. At the end of it you'll have fluidity around the neck, know where the notes are, know your triads and have a good understanding of the basics. Can't ask for more really.

Chris Squire used a pick, along with his Rickenbacker, to be heard. To aid this he would slightly brush the string with his thumb on the downstroke to increase upper harmonic content to cut through even more. Chris Squire was certainly not trying to blend in when it came to his playing! The other band members always said he was key to their sound.

If you do buy second hand I'd still pop into a shop, hopefully they're nice and friendly. Then you might know if you prefer chunky P type necks or the thinner jazz necks.

Honestly you can't go wrong with any of those choices. I'd say at this stage the most important thing is how they feel to play for you. Go into a shop and just pick one up to see how it fits the hands and feels, you don't have to play anything and one of them just might 'feel' like the right thing. If then you have no preference pick the one that looks the best! If you're going to be playing with other musicians you'll need an amp but if you are not and it's just practice at home get a small mixing desk (a small Behringer will cost about £50) then you can play with headphones and mix in tracks and lessons to play along with. Or get a preamp like a TC Electronic spectradrive which does a similar thing but you'll also be able to use later when you're in a band. If you do need an amp you'll need to get advice on what will suit. Don't underestimate how much it takes to be heard over a drummer! Nothing worse than turning up to a rehearsal to find you can't be heard. If it's just low volume acoustic levels then it's a lot easier. Good luck and let us all know what you get.

Like hifi it's the law of diminishing returns. Technically it'll be better at 18v but to your ears it'll be minimal. Then there's the other pedals your signal will go through, plus your amp, plus your speaker cab....

Bought a few TC pedals recently and just love the toneprint facility. Everytime I download and try out a new print it's like buying a new pedal, and it does make them very versatile. So, what are other people's favourite toneprints? At the moment I'm using Captain East on the spectracomp as it's a nice 3 band setting which gives the bass frequencies some punch without squishing the top end (this is on permanently now). Funk in the Trunk tube drive, nice for when you want to drive the bass forward in the mix a bit. Gwizdala's Sausage & Beer on the Fashback2. Three or four repeats so not overwhelming. Steve Vai's Ocean Machine on the HoF2. A nice wide wash with a bit of chorus.

Update on stability; went away for a few days on a course, came back and strings were a semi tone down (and no, my tuners are not slipping). Tuned up, another day of playing and at the end of it they seemed stable, plus after the initial tune up they didn't need any tweaking. So, 2/3 days to settle down but don't know how much of that is down to the amount of hours I've been playing them. Great strings tho, really enjoying them and will be putting them on a fretted bass. At the moment they are on a fretless jazz, I've been learning some Brecker Brother tracks and they sound perfect.