uncle psychosis

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1378069654' post='2195574'] How on earth does a capacitor "break off"? [/quote] That was my first thought...

Grolsch washers are great, so long as you don't regularly take your strap off. Then they're a bit of a pain.

If you're playing even semi regularly then a good strap is an essential investment. Makes playing more comfortable and there's less chance of damaging your back. Basses come and go but a good strap can last decades. "Bass straps" tend to be a bit wider than the guitar equivalents. I've got a Neotech Mega Bass Strap. It's made of really thick neoprene and is really wide, so it makes my bass seem really light. Definitely recommended.

A few years ago I went on a tour of the Becks factory in Bremen. In Germany, Becks make quite a few different variants of Lager, and one in particular, Becks Gold, was most delicious. I asked them if they had any plans to sell it in the UK and the response I got was "no, the only people who would buy it drink Becks anyway, so there's no point...". Perhaps there's something similar with these brands/basses?

I would offer to do one practice to help them out, but only because you say they're decent guys. After that they should be practicing with the new bass player anyway!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1377859965' post='2192835'] The title of this thread is three words too long... ;-) [/quote] Kids learn slapbass from this man? Never thought I'd hear you advocating that BRX!

[quote name='D.I. Joe' timestamp='1377857758' post='2192779'] Or Status Half rounds maybe? I've not tried them myself but they get a lot of love on these pages. [/quote] Someone (whose opinion I trust) told me that they couldn't find much difference between the status flats (what I'm currently using) and their half rounds. Thanks for the recommendations guys. Irritatingly it seems that getting half-round strings for a 35" five string bass is not cheap. I may just need to go back to roundwounds...(especially because I have a set of DRs with plenty play left in them lying around doing nothing)...

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1377851216' post='2192627'] It's posts like this that serve to remind me just how little I understand about electrickery. Increasingly, I give up on trying to understand WHY things sound better or worse (cos I can't, see?) and focus instead on how they sound to my ears, using nothing more sophisticated than trial & error. I really would love to know what I'm doing, but I spend enough time learning to play bass without starting Electronics 101 at the same time ... [/quote] This is definitely a good attitude to have! Most people's favourite records were all recorded by artists using gear that was riddled with electrical imperfections. Much better to spend your time practicing and writing music than worrying about whether or not the bypass on some boutique overdrive is buffered or not... However, the basic principles of electical impedance aren't *that* complicated. Impedance is basically resistance, but for AC current. When you connect two electronic circuits together (eg an amp to a cab, or a guitar to an amp) you really want to match (confusingly this doesn't always mean "equal" either, but that doesn't matter) the impedances of the two circuits---if you don't then the signal doesn't pass as efficiently as it could (other things happen too, but I'm simplifying). This is why you need to be careful when matching cabs and amps. To think of an analogy thats easy to visualise---imagine light travelling through the air (circuit 1) and then striking a window (circuit 2). The impedance matching (or mismatching) between the window and the air govern how much light is reflected by the window and how much passes straight through. Simples

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1377816284' post='2192443'] Yep, well the whole point is one finger per fret so the number refers to both the frets and which fingers you should be using to fret them. However even though it says finger 1, fret 1 in the chart above, you can start the fretting on any fret. It's the fingers in order bit that's important. Does that make sense? So in my chart you quoted that would be quite a stretch on a 5 string but that's the point The idea is to keep your fingers positioned above the fret (and hte string) they're meant to be playing, or have just played so you shouldn't be moving your hand forwards and back. It's about finger movement, stretching your muscles a little and getting used to being in those positions. It's all muscle memory exercise. [/quote] Yep, makes sense. Think its the kind of thing I might benefit from. Cheers

I saw that a few days ago, think it looks really cool. My wife is really good at decoupage, I'm half thinking about getting her to do something similar to a bass of mine...

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1377798354' post='2192064'] Yep, you can just add in the extra string yourself. It's not about the notes you're hitting but the order of the fretting and on which string you're fretting it. An example of a later exercise that's designed to help skipping strings would be: G -- - - - - -1 - - 3 - D -- -2 - 4 - -- - - - - A - - - - - - - 2 - - 4 E 1 - - 3 - - - - - - - - On a 5 string you could swap the E string for your B or just do the exercise twice, once starting on the B string and the second time starting on the E string. [/quote] Thanks. Does it give you suggested fingerings?

I'm going to be a bit of a heretic here......don't buy effects just for the sake of it. It can become horribly addictive and distract from more important things like just playing! If there are particular sounds you want to get that you can't currently then thats a different matter...

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1377716227' post='2190850'] I had a DC-9 - completely changed the tone, [/quote] Yes! Didn't like it at all.

I've got a "neotech mega bass strap" and its unbelievably comfy. Definitely recommended.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1377711417' post='2190737'] It took me a few days over a Christmas period to practice my fretting technique and I had people point out to me later that they could see and hear the difference when I played. Practice every day and it gets better and better. A good book to get is Bass Fitness ([url="http://www.musicroom.com/se/id_no/09/details.html"]http://www.musicroom...09/details.html[/url] - sorry, I won't link to Amazon!) and pick an exercise or two per day to practice. Start slowly and only increase tempo by around 3-5 BPM at a time. The value of having a tutor watch you do it and point out where you're going wrong and how to fix it is invaluable though. [/quote] That book looks quite interesting, but I play a five string. Would the exercises still be useful?

I like the headstock!

First things first: bass is quite a physical instrument, and it takes time to train your body, so don't beat yourself up too much. Also don't worry too much about speed---speed is the result of good technique and lots of practice. Left hand technique is really important and I personally found that one or two lessons with a good teacher to correct what I was doing with my left hand made a world of difference. The positioning of your hand and wrist are just as important as what fingers you use. Good exercise for the problem you describe: G -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8- 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - D -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A - - - - - - - - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - - - - - - - - E 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 Play this with one finger per fret, and do it slowly, you're aiming to sound each note cleanly and clearly, not to race through the notes. To make it harder you can move down the fretboard (1 -2 -3 -4) is a nice stretch or moving it higher up the fretboard makes it easier. For a bit of variety you can vary the pattern eg (5 - 7 - 6 - 8) on each string, just keep doing it one finger per fret. Do this for five minutes every day for a few weeks and you'll definitely notice a difference. If you are still finding it hard at that point its likely that your left hand/wrist position isn't quite right---which I'd recommend seeing a teacher for, but there's lots of stuff online for this too.

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1377686613' post='2190273'] Sorry if this has been covered before, but just to put my mind at ease, distance selling regulationa cover the whole EU don't they?[/quote] I very much doubt it.

I gave it a listen on Spotify and wasn't all that impressed. 2 or 3 tracks jumped out at me but the rest wasn't very memorable. Maybe its a grower...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1377604980' post='2189255'] I've owned the Behringer DC-9 (twice ) and it's the best budget compressor you'll get - for the money. Well worth buying if you want to see if compression is for you, and you can move it on without much loss if you don't like it: [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/behrDC9.shtml"]http://www.ovnilab.c...s/behrDC9.shtml[/url] [/quote] I really hated the DC-9 I had, but I can't remember why!

London is huge. Whereabouts are you going?

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1377458129' post='2187819'] Fair enough Mark * makes mental note never to deal with discreet * ..... kidding! I know a fair few people on BC quite well on a personal level (Happy Jack, MacDaddy, Thunderbird 13, bluejay, xilddx, Beedster, waynepunkdude etc etc) and I would never think of making a profit out of them, but then I am one of those (possibly gullible) people that believes in karma and 'what goes around, comes around'. Like I said early on in this thread, noone is right or wrong. Its entirely up to the individual and their personal stance[/quote] I had a bass that I wanted to sell that I knew another basschatter (and someone I know personally) really wanted. I was happy to hold onto it until he was in a position to buy. Friends and family get a different deal. [quote]As for the argument about putting bread on the table for your family, quite apart from it sounding faintly ludicrous and Dickensian, I sincerely hope none of us on BassChat actually have to rely on dealing in bass gear to support our families (excepting those who work in music retail of course) [/quote] I don't "rely" on selling gear to feed my family, but at the same time I've reached a stage where I only sell things in order to fund something else. If I under-sell gear then the extra cash has to come from somewhere, and thats cash I'd rather spend on my family.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1377421331' post='2187211'] Saw it halfway brought on the ted button. Very tight . Have only got American idiot and one single. I thought they were a 3piece. [/quote] they added a fourth member last year, but I think he'd been playing with them live for a long time. Dookie / Insomniac / Nimrod are three of the best albums of the 90s in my opinion. Definitely worth checking out.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1377384425' post='2187038'] Yes, unfortunately I remember. I'm a free market radical. Not to mention the worst kind of amoral profiteer it would seem. [/quote] I just thought the whole thing was weird.

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1377379978' post='2186993'] I've got it on now. I've got to hand it to 'em for being able to sustain that kind of pace, both musically and physically, for a good length of team. [/quote] Yeah, the Dookie stuff in particular must be really tough to plough through at that speed. Its physically impressive as much as it is musically! Really enjoying this, suspect I'll have Dookie and Insomniac on quite a bit in the next week...