guyl

Sniggered at “crotch” walnut. Totally childish. Sorry!

At the end of last year I spent £10k on a bass from Turners in Nottingham. I fully accept that I paid "dealers price"/"top price". If I knew what I was doing and had searched long and hard enough I could have probably picked a similar quality instrument for much less privately. But as I don't know what I'm doing, it was incredibly useful to be able to play literally 30 or 40 basses side by side to understand the differences, and learn exactly what I needed. They brought coffee and left me alone for as long as I liked, but also had the technical expertise to answer all my questions. Before I completed the purchase they let me take the instrument home (and on a gig) for a week, and then gave it a final fettle in the workshop at the end. If I ever go back and want to trade the bass in against another in their shop, they will give at least what I paid for mine in px. So no regrets - paid for the benefits of a dealer but used and appreciated those benefits. All of that said, after using them for an education, I might be more inclined to try privately next time.

+1 from me too

This doesn't just apply to bass gear. There has been a revolution in all gigging gear - affordable IEMs, user friendly desks, PA speakers etc. 20+ years ago the pressure was on a bassist to turn up to a gig with a rig that would make a decent, venue-filling noise on it's own. Now there is every chance that the PA will be able to do it for you - or at least support your puny 1x10.

And maybe, like vinyl, big cabs will come back into fashion once we all sold ours...

Saw Blicher, Hemmer, Gadd at Nottingham Southside Bar on Sunday. No bass player - Hemmer covers this on his B3 (which was frighteningly better than some bass players I've seen). But mainly i went to see Steve Gadd on drums who did not disappoint. That old boy can really groove! Fab gig.

Just bought a new bass that looks like it is fitted with a walking stick end. It's rock solid in terms of avoiding slippage, but it creaks really loudly on solid floors. And as I found out on my first gig with it this weekend, the Lifeline pickup actually amplifies the creak!

Exactly this.... And I wouldn't rely on any venue for a decent stool. If you are able to travel by car, stick in your own. I use an old bar stool, bought from a car boot sale that is light and exactly the right height/size for me. Sometimes you luck into the venue having a super-comfy, professional looking stool which is briliant, but more often than not, you'll be glad you took your own! Also, one of those light but huge hard foam cases from Gear4Music is great if your bass is in a van and gives much better protection than a soft case. But it's a bit too bulky/impractical for your standard car and public transport.

Playing at home my touch is light and delicate and low action is a dream. But live I always end up super aggressive and low action just kills the sound. No matter how hard I try to relax, it just doesn't happen. Its like a weird psycological disorder stops me from playing lightly as soon as there's other musos or audience. (It also makes me speed up at difficult bits, to make them even more difficult!) No option that to raise the string height. And probably get tendonitus in old age...

Had this little Korg Pandora for yonks. Never used it live, but as a practice tool it is great. Can plug in bass, headphones and music source for trying to learning tracks off a recording. It allows you to eq your own bass so it doesn't obscure the bass on the recording you are trying to learn. Or eq the bass out of the recording. The "Phrase trainer" is super useful - allows you to slow down tricky bits without losing pitch whilst you work them out. Anyway it died. Is there a newer version, or better alternative? Or a piece of software that does the same?

Nicely written article. And a very tasty bass....

Billy Sheehan for me. Innovative and instantly recognisable. Amazing performer and great musician. And a lovely guy too!

If he’s as good as the YouTube vids I’ve seen, this will be amazing. I’m actually in London that night, but off to see Hamilton with my daughter...

Thanks for the offer @pete.young I’m in Stockport - but travel a bit for work and will take you up if I’m in your neighbourhood

Wow - thanks guys. Great help!