Major-Minor

[quote name='obbm' post='511854' date='Jun 12 2009, 09:29 AM']Welcome and try not to think about age. There are a few of us pensioners here who are still gigging regularly.[/quote] I'm not quite a pensioner yet - not far off tho' But hi there - and thanks for making me feel welcome. Tally Ho The Major (Major F Minor)

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='511975' date='Jun 12 2009, 11:40 AM']Hi there from another oldie (first paying gig 1964). I've got a 1962 Jazz but it's modified and probably not worth as much as yours - photograph would be interesting - it's our idea of porn on here.[/quote] Actually mine is not exactly in mint condition. When i bought it (1972) it was a horrid grey colour so I did what was quite the trend in those days and stripped it down to the bare wood and then stained it sort of teak colour and laquered it. Also early on i removed the pickup cover,bridge cover, and thumb rest. I think I might have them somewhere in the loft ! Not too sure. So presumably that will affect the value ? Not that I intend to sell it - just interested from an investment point of view. The money might come in handy when I finally have to give up playing - hopefully not for many years yet but you never know..... Not got a photo of it - will have to sort that out. Tally Ho The Major (Major F Minor)

[quote name='jakesbass' post='502272' date='May 31 2009, 02:00 PM']Unless you're lucky I would think that you will struggle to get a proper fully carved instrument for that money. The point really, at that budget, is how does the instrument sound, whether it's laminate, carved wood or plastic for that matter. To get a really nicely crafted instrument with a strong fundamental tone will cost 10K plus (unless you're really lucky) Old instruments are generally recognised for what they are and since the massive export to the US of tons of old instruments in the last 15yrs the prices have risen steadily. To get a new fully carved instrument by someone who can really make wood sing you just have to think of the man hours put into making an instrument (It's a lot) urgo the price. So.... IMO at your budget don't think about provenance or how it's made just try some basses and choose the one that sounds right. (or start saving)[/quote] While this is essentially good advice, can i put a word in for Paul Bryants basses (www.paulbryant.com). A pupil of mine recently bought a Bryant direct from the maker (Kidderminster) and I think he paid around 5k for it. A lovely sounding bass. Obviously it has that slightly boxy "new" sound but with playing and the passage of time it will be a very nice instrument. If there is any downside with Paul's basses, its the finish, which is a little lacking in attention to detail. Another pupil turned up recently with a Chinese bass which he bought second hand for 2.5k. Again a very nice sounding bass. I think he was very lucky with this one but I think the Chines basses are improving all the time. Clearly, if you want a professional quality bass, you have to pay top money. A colleague of mine recently bought an old Italian for 35k - fantastic sound, but now she is up to her neck in debt ! Tally ho The Major (Major F Minor)

[quote name='subaudio' post='509882' date='Jun 10 2009, 08:55 AM']Hi All I bought Ray Brown's Bass book and started working through it last night, the first exercise is playing a one octave major scale through all the keys and then the major and minor triad In the book he starts with E major and works chromatically up untill all twelve keys have been played, (E, F, F#, G, G# etc)this strikes me as a little odd, is there a reason I'm unaware of that he has done it in this way as I would have thought working through the cycle of 5ths would be the way to do it, I'm not knocking the book I have learnt a lot by playing the exercises, I just wanderd if there was a reason for his aproach Cheers Marti[/quote] Marti dear boy I'm not familiar with this particular book, but it strikes me that Mr Brown is aiming his method at players who have already learnt the basics and are widening their scope to cover jazz / improvised playing. No decent teacher would have their pupils learning all the scales chromatically from day one - that's quite absurd ! That's why the Simandl book is so highly regarded - it is well graded, taking the student through the positions gradually and thoroughly, building knowledge of finguring while slowly introducing different rhythms and bowing styles. Incidentally, I always insist that my jazz students learn to use the bow. What better way is there to check your intonation and left hand sustain ? Can I suggest that getting a decent teacher should be a priority ? I notice from your photo that already you are developing a bad left hand position. A good teacher would soon sort that out ! Tally ho The Major (Major F Minor)

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='511589' date='Jun 11 2009, 08:40 PM']Dunno if this is relevant, but I had Thomastik Dominants on my last bass. They're a nylon cored string which keeps some of the feel of the spirocores (i.e. not floppy), bow more easily than the spiros and still have decent growliness and sustain for pizz. The only downside is their tendency to sudden breakage, though some people reckon you can avoid that with careful installation. They sounded good on that bass, but I've stuck with spirocores on the current bass as it came with them and sounded great. Dominants could definitely be worth a shot for mixed arco/pizz duties.[/quote] Thanks for this. Not sure I like the idea of "breakage" tho ! In all my many years of playing I've never actually broken a DB string (occasional BG strings maybe). In fact, a orchestral colleague of mine used the same set of strings for 35 years ("maturing nicely").... and they were second hand when he got them ! Mind you he is from Yorkshire and has a Scottish name ! And the only reason he changed them was our employer offered to pay for new ones! The Major (Major F Minor)

[quote name='geoffbassist' post='511681' date='Jun 11 2009, 10:56 PM']im a student at the RNCM who also plays a lot of jazz and i love the Evahs, really amazing string. Tom Martin uses them for classical and whilst i do miss the spiro wichs i love the ease of bowing....give them a try! if you want to have a play you are welcome to try my bass, cheers Geoff[/quote] Geoff dear boy This is just want I wanted to hear. I'm certainly warming to the idea of the Evahs. I worked with Tom Martin recently but didn't get round to talking about strings. If they are good enough for him....... Thanks for the offer of playing your bass. I might well take you up on that. Do you play in the RNCM big band ? Give my best wishes to Mr M Hall...... The Major (Major F Minor)

Does anyone have experience of Pirastro Obligato or Evah Pirazzi strings ? I've always used Pirastro Flexicor on my orchestral bass and Thomastic Spirocor "Weich" on my jazz bass and have no experience with any other double bass strings except Pirastro Eudoxas which I found rather "sticky" to play on. Ideally I'd like to find strings for my jazz bass that work better with the bow than the Spirocors. These are great strings for pizz with lots of growl, but are develish to play with the bow. I've read that the Obligato and Evah Pirazzi's, although originally designed for classical playing, are well thought of in jazz circles. Does anyone have first hand experience with these ? or any others for that matter ?

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='511437' date='Jun 11 2009, 05:15 PM']Welcome Major. Great name -"The Major". Like an Avengers villain or a porn star.[/quote] No comment..!

[quote name='johnny_b' post='511391' date='Jun 11 2009, 04:33 PM']Hey Major - welcome! I'm pretty new round here too - but it seems like a good crowd! If you get fed up with that old Jazz I expect someone round here will be willing to take it off you hands... [/quote] But for how much ? Last quote I had (from a dealer) was £2000 but that was 20 years ago......

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='511390' date='Jun 11 2009, 04:32 PM']You can only come in if you like Jazz. The rock and pop sections are full [/quote] I love jazz - and I play as much jazz as I can fit in. No money in it tho! Purely for pleasure. And creativity....

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='511363' date='Jun 11 2009, 04:16 PM']Hello Of course your not too old for this forum! we've got all ages on here Z x[/quote] Thanks for making me feel welcome ! The Major

Hi guys / girls This chat thing is new to me! I'm probably a bit too old for this but hey .....got to keep up with the times! I've been playing bass guitar since I was 18 (40 years ago), double bass since I was 14. So I should know a thing or two about them by now. Been pro all my life (BBC mostly - plus all sorts of other stuff). My first bass was a Hagstrom 8 string (in octaves) - but I removed the higher octave and just used it as a 4 string. Then in 1972 I bought a 1961 Fender Jazz for £150 - a lot of money in those days. My weekly wage in a Mecca dance hall (5 nights a week) was only £35. This bass must be worth a bob or 2 by now (any ideas ? - I'd love to know). In fact i got rather nervous about taking it on gigs (especially in dodgy pubs) so i recently bought a Yamaha TRB1005 (5 string) which I've grown to love. I had a Status 5 string for a while but never really felt comfortable with it - i think the neck was too small - 5 strings crammed into a 4 string space. Being a double bass player i suppose I like something chunky to get hold of. I also have an Aria Fretless which sadly is rather underused. Mostly the bandleaders I work for want DB or fretted bass guitar. I have tried all sorts of strings over the years but always go back to Rotosound Swing bass. I've had loads of different amps over the years - Marshall / Vox / Park / Carlsboro / Peterson / Custom / Ohm to name but a few. I now have 2 Galeon-Kreuger MB150's (one for the BG and one for DB - I often "double" on both instruments). What a great little amp - so easy to cart around and an amazing sound for such a small amp. On my wish list: Overwater 5 string - fretted and fretless. Tried a fretted one recently - fantastic!! Just wish I could afford them......... Best wishes to you all Bye for now Major F Minor