uncle psychosis

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1379181399' post='2209611'] Maybe that's where I've gone wrong - diving in to playing it at full tempo straight away. Does this starting off slowly thing actually work well? I've never tried it [/quote] yes! Its probably the single most useful practice technique around. Play it slowly, play it right. Then get quicker. Even top, top pros don't try and learn everything at full speed.

Saw a Trans Black one of these in Red Dog Edinburgh today. Looked fantastic and felt really well made (and light!), I dared not play it in case the credit card came out...

Played the Fender Pawn Shop version today. I liked it a lot, but I don't know what I'd "do" with one musically. £600 for a Fender one is probably out of the question, but a second hand squier might sway me...

I'm in much the same position. I keep thinking about swapping my 5 for a 4, but I actually really like using the B as a thumb rest!!

The Mooer Phaser is outstandingly good, in their defence.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1379021710' post='2207974'] I think this may be just one of the ways that banks etc are ratcheting up their various charges. I've had a capital One credit card for ages and sometime ago they changed their T&Cs such that a 'transaction fee' is now charged for every foreign currency transaction. I'd forgotten all about it until a recent trip to the US. Another example is that Nationwide used to allow free cash withdrawals at foreign ATMs, which was really useful because the FX rate was generally better than most money changers so it was cheaper to only withdraw foreign currency as needed (safer too), but they now charge for such transactions. I think there are still cards and banks that won't charge for such things (as per SpaceChick's example), though I suspect they probably still make their profit margins by giving a slightly less advantageous FX rate - a bit like those 'commission-free' exchange bureaus at airports - so it's hard to win consistently. B@stards eh? [/quote] The Halifax Clarity card is really great for foreign transactions---no commission, no foreign exchange fee, and they use the bank's own exchange rate without loading it against you. They make their money back via APR, so as long as you pay it back quickly you get a great deal.

That's proper nice, that is.

[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1378979733' post='2207225'] This is completely wrong - if the strings were properly grounded then touching them would make no difference, as they'd already be at ground potential. Touching them is proving an (indirect and high resistance) path to ground, via your body, which is enough to attenuate the noise, which is probably induced noise from electromagnetic interference (TV, lights etc) on the strings and other metal parts of the bass. An earth must've fallen off inside the bass, or possibly the cable has a dodgy shield so I'd try a new cable first. [/quote] Not this again. Noise goes away when you touch the strings because you're grounding *yourself* not because you are grounding the strings. The human body is a massive antenna for unwanted electrical noise. This noise is picked up by poorly shielded pickups and so you can hear it. When you touch the strings you ground yourself and the noise goes away.

I'd put the screws back in---you won't lose them, the holes won't get full of dirt and other crap, and there's no danger of somehow snagging the hole and damaging the paintwork. The fact it looks nicer is a bonus!

[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1378887202' post='2205914'] The LMB-3 is actually a compressor though, despite the name, since it's got an adjustable ratio (making it a limiter with the ratio at infinity, but a compressor elsewhere in the range) [/quote] Some genius marketing from Boss right there

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1378816802' post='2204969'] What do these actually do? Not being sarcastic, I really don't know! [/quote] [quote name='Jack Cahalane' timestamp='1378819114' post='2205041'] Me neither! [/quote] Limiting is a specific form of Compression. More on both here: [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/limiter.shtml"]http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/limiter.shtml[/url]

Blue Bossa is a great audition piece. Nice and simple, great chords for soloing over, and its not a blues (everyone will play the blues!)

I bet they're really handy bits of kit but I've just never been able to justify the price. For the size of stages most of us play on it just seems like overkill...

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1378823271' post='2205123'] I suspect that the shim has always been considered to be part of the factory adjustment procedure in bolt-on basses. If the pocket is designed to give the correct neck angle and elevation with a small shim in place, there is scope to adjust the angle in both directions (either by using a larger shim or removing the shim) to correct for manufacturing tolerances. If it was designed for the perfect angle without a shim, adjustment would only be possible in one direction and any instruments that needed to be adjusted for less neck angle would have to be rejected. Viewed this way, it seems like a smart bit of design for production line instruments. [/quote] ^^ this.

My mate has one of these. Annoyingly he's left handed so I haven't been able to have a proper play of it. It certainly sounds alright.

Are there really people out there who think that being deceitful about purchases worth hundreds or thousands is a good way to behave in a committed relationship? Or who think so little of their wife that they reckon she can't tell one red bass from another? I really hope that it's just tongue in cheek jokey bravado, otherwise it's little wonder the divorce rate is so high.

I don't really think its surprising that in a country with a population of 60-something million people that advertising gigs to a few thousand bassists isn't going to result in all that much interest.

I'm not sure the bass guitar will go through many more major changes. Once instruments become widely adopted they tend not to change all that much, because musicians on the whole are a fairly conservative (small c) bunch.

Recently I've been learning finger style having played with only a pick for years. I've noticed that my timing is definitely much better with a plectrum. Something I really need to work on with my right hand I guess.

[quote name='rodacademy' timestamp='1378369876' post='2199142'] Thoughts? [/quote] I can't say I'm very big on self-congratulation and bassists seem to enjoy slagging off other musicians too much for my liking---see the ubiquitous use of the word "guitard" on this forum. To have a great band you need all of the musicians to be on the ball and you need mutual trust and respect. I certainly don't see myself as the guy that holds it all together. We're all responsible for that.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1378244240' post='2197739'] Mark Knopfler. That is all. [/quote] Good point. If there's any danger at all of you sounding like Mark Knopfler you should definitely be changing your technique.

[quote name='mikeh' timestamp='1378227419' post='2197373'] Struggled with this myself, but then realised if you press the small blue circle on the far left of the thread title it does just that. [/quote] That seems to take you to the last post you read in the thread, not the last page. I'd love a "last page" and "first page" feature please mods

For those of you who have multiples of them...can I ask why? Do they sound different or is it just a collectors thing?

£1200 (maybe £1150) sounds reasonable to me. Yeah, you might be able to pick up another one for a *bit* (not much) cheaper but you wouldn't be as sure of the history and with this one you know exactly what you're getting playing, sound, and feel wise.