EssentialTension

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='598943' date='Sep 15 2009, 08:38 AM']Why buy an expensive bass? Well, all the reasons given on the last few pages I guess. But why do you think it's "expensive"? Buy a £300 bass new, then try to sell it a few weeks/months/years later. You'll be very lucky to get £150 back for it. Now [i][b]that's [/b][/i]expensive. Buy a pre-owned, pre-depreciated £2000 bass, and try the same thing. Assuming you chose sensibly in the first place, chances are you'll at least get your money back. Do it on a rising market and you'll make a handsome profit. The cheapest bass I ever owned cost me £565 to buy and I sold it for £1200. So owning that "expensive" bass cost me ... erm ... minus £635. During a recession. Once you've reached the point where you can afford a high-end bass then you should be able to avoid it costing you any significant amount of dosh. Sometimes, the trusty old car analogy (Lexus -v- Ford) just doesn't work ...[/quote] This is a good post - calling basses 'expensive' without this kind of analysis is meaningless. And anyway, one person's 'expensive' is another person's 'bargain'.

$599 on US eBay - fretted and fretless. I fancy one but not at that price.

[url="http://www.kalaukulele.com/Kala%20Ukulele%20uBass.html"]Kala Site[/url]

I've never been able to tell the difference between through-body and through-bridge.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='595494' date='Sep 11 2009, 11:03 AM'][/quote] Very nice trio.

[quote name='chris_b' post='598841' date='Sep 14 2009, 11:21 PM']a didgeridoo player[/quote] [quote name='RhysP' post='598846' date='Sep 14 2009, 11:24 PM']Oh Christ.[/quote] Don't judge people before you've met them.

There are never any strings on his basses either .... probably 'cos they're still drying from the spray can.

[quote name='RhysP' post='598837' date='Sep 14 2009, 11:18 PM']Talking of Hell - I was in a Pret a Manger in Oxford St on Saturday buying some sandwiches & a coffee. My bill came to £6.66 & the guy that served me laughed & pointed to his name badge - it said "Damien". [/quote] :ph34r:

[quote name='nottswarwick' post='588094' date='Sep 2 2009, 10:21 PM']The one exception would be "disco octaves" - I find these easier to do if I anchor on the pickup.[/quote] Yes, I find those quite difficult without an anchor.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='589752' date='Sep 4 2009, 03:16 PM']IIRC, it's from back in the day when nobody was sure how the new-fangled electric bass guitar was going to be played. A lot of early players plucked with their thumb (or a thumb-pick) -- the thing below the strings was a [b]finger[/b] rest.[/quote] Or 'tug bar'.

[quote name='YouMa' post='598818' date='Sep 14 2009, 11:04 PM']He would probably get barred for putting up some weird installation art in the beer garden.[/quote] I thought that was the smoking shelter.

My alder fretted Precision is 8lbs 5oz. My alder fretless Precision is about the same. My mahogany Lakland Decade is 9lbs 2oz. I had a Jazz that was closer to 10lbs. None of those are/were at all problematic.

[quote name='lee4' post='598784' date='Sep 14 2009, 10:23 PM']Add a bridge to neck thumb rest and I might be tempted.[/quote] Do you mean a B string?

[quote name='RhysP' post='598786' date='Sep 14 2009, 10:26 PM']If you detest the blues as much as I do then most jam nights are the Seventh Circle of Hell.[/quote] Seventh Circle of Hell - Middle Ring: Anyone recognise the gig?

IIRC, Fender Showman amps were popular with some bassists in the late sixties (e.g. Jack Casady) while some guitarists liked the Fender Bassman.

[quote name='Doddy' post='597585' date='Sep 13 2009, 07:06 PM']The technique,the expression,and most of all the music, comes firstly from the player.[/quote] I agree with 'comes firstly from the player' but I'd add not only from the player.

[quote name='Doddy' post='598734' date='Sep 14 2009, 09:36 PM']a place for acoustic guitar playing singers to get up and sing their 'original' songs,solo.[/quote] Those 'original' singer-songwriters nearly always remind me why playing covers can be great.

[quote name='YouMa' post='598739' date='Sep 14 2009, 09:40 PM']it would be nice to have oblique strategy cards at jam nights where the next band can for instance only play reggae,the next funk,folk,etc.[/quote] I like that idea with a second card for the key. Reggae in Dbm ..... mmmmmm.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='598706' date='Sep 14 2009, 09:09 PM']Ok... next question then... does anybody know of any in the Glasgow area? I found a list of what was described as 'jam nights' but [b]they all turned out to be 'open mic' nights which I'm guessing is just singers.[/b][/quote] Not necessarily. You need to go along and see what happens.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='598582' date='Sep 14 2009, 07:35 PM']Jam nights are a bit like swinging parties..... I've never been, I don't *really* know what goes on, but I'm slightly intrigued. I personally can't think of anything worse than going up on stage and playing something I don't know and haven't practiced. Is that what you are supposed to do? Sounds terrifying!! Please explain [/quote] It can be nerve racking but there's really no need for it to be. The worst thing that can happen is that you won't want to go again. The best thing is you'll get better. If you go to one a few times to pick up on what songs get played, learn a couple of them, and then go back and ask to get up for those songs. You'll still need to adjust to how the song is played that night.

[quote name='YouMa' post='598679' date='Sep 14 2009, 08:49 PM']+1 unless you are jaco and have a very loud amp jam nights tend to be dominated by [b]A)Guitarists playing long solos.[/b] B)The people who organised the jam night.[/quote] Quite a long time ago I was the regular house bass player with my drummer mate at a blues night and if any the guitarists bored us we would just hit the turnaround three times and quit. Followed by the drummer shouting 'NEXT'.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='598675' date='Sep 14 2009, 08:44 PM']Cheers. Am I getting the impression here that Jam nights are really blues nights? (I think my band played a 12 bar blues song once!)[/quote] Not always blues. The one I was at yesterday had a 'NO 12 BARS IN E' rule and hardly any of it was blues. Mind you, I forced them into Got My Mojo Working in E. :brow:

I think these things can sometimes be more difficult as the bass player. If you're a lead instrument - guitar maybe but definitely, say, saxophone - you can hang around playing nothing and then come in with the odd line here or there and maybe take a few bars solo. However, as the bass player there's a kind of requirement to keep playing and lay down some groove with the drummer (if there is one). I usually don't look forward to going to these kinds of things to play but when I do I always enjoy it. I was at one with a mate from Leighton Buzzard only yesterday afternoon. Half the time I didn't know what I was doing, the other half I sounded good. Anyway, the audience seemed to like it. You have to accept in advance that you will play some not so good notes - the trick is not to play those notes a second or especially a third time. EDIT: Strangely, the half where I didn't know what I was doing was sometimes also the half where I sounded good.