padmavyuha

[quote name='gnasher1993' post='661367' date='Nov 21 2009, 11:08 PM']Could you get me a pic of the German bow? I'm definitely interested.[/quote] Only one I have now, should be up to taking better photos in a couple of days:

[quote name='TheRinser' post='661157' date='Nov 21 2009, 05:52 PM']Where abouts are you based and do you have any pics of the case?[/quote] 10 miles south of Bristol. Got no pics, but you can see 'em on the [url="http://www.tomandwill.com/"]http://www.tomandwill.com/[/url] website. Sorry, just recovering from 2 days of projectile vomiting virus and not up to camera-work yet .

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='660999' date='Nov 21 2009, 03:00 PM']Would you consider selling the German bow separately? Always wanted to try it...[/quote] Sure - £40 plus postage. I got it off someone on eBay - probably Chinese, no name, but a nicely put together bow I think.

[quote name='TheRinser' post='660997' date='Nov 21 2009, 02:58 PM']Would you be willing to sell the Tom and Will's case separately? If so, how much?[/quote] Sure - £100 plus postage, or collect.

Sadly, I've had to accept that my minor disabilities are not going to let me get away with playing the double bass. So I'm going to stick to what I'm good at (drumming and singing!) and sell the bass. If you're interested or know someone who might be: Stentor Messina (2002) 3/4 with recent new adjustable bridge and new endpin fitted by the Bristol Violin Shop, and new Velvet Blues strings on it. Looking for around £1500. Comes with a crap French bow, a not-so-crap French bow (£95 from the Glasgow Violin Shop) and a carbon fibre German bow. I also have a Tom & Will gig bag, pretty much unused. I hope I haven't crossed a line here - I feel like I should post this ins the For Sale bit, but that all seems to be EB's, and people seem to sell stuff in this forum. (Photo doesn't show new bridge/endpin/strings.)

Well, herre's my Messina - next step, get an endpin with a longer spike!

Went to Glasgow, got a French bow, sort of middle weight brazilwood job. It'll certainly do until I know enough to know what would suit me better. On the balance, the French one seems to give me more control, and an unorthodox grip means it doesn't hurt too much. Picking up my actual bass tomorrow!

Cute! I can live without diamonds (though an emerald might be nice...) thanks for the comments. I'm up in Edinburgh this weekend, so I'm going tocvisit the Violn Shop In Glasgow to get some hands-on advice and try out a few bows. It did seem to me that a French bow was easier for me to control, if I can find a way to hold it that doesn't overstrain what muscles I do have in my hand. I tried learnng cello about 15 years ago but the bowing hurt too much - but paradoxically my hand is a lot stronger now than it was then, and I'm continuing to exercise it. I've no way of telling how much of the discomfort I experience with a French bow is just what everyone gets when they first start playing!

Being new to this game, I don't know whether this is a ridiculous question or not... I'm missing a few muscles in my right shoulder/arm and the arm's a little shorter than the left. I tried French and German bows in a shop recently, and what I found is: French bow - hard to grip, easier to play with at the tip end, less stretch needed German bow - easy to grip, harder to play with at the tip end, too much stretch needed (The 'harder/easier to play with at the tip end' thing stems from lack of the normal muscles to apply pressure with.) So I'm wondering: can one get extra long German bows easily? And does the end weight vary a lot? I have this idea that the ideal bow for me would be a German (for the grip), with a heavier tip end (for help with bowing at that end? would that actually help?) and longer than usual (to overcome my lack of reach). This is where you bowers come in - does any of this sound like it makes sense to you, or am I missing the point with bow design? I'm about to start lessons, but the teacher I've found is a jazzo who doesn't use bow much anyway, so he's not going to be much help here. I am keen to bow to the extent of my ability, so I need to get myself a bow that will compensate best for my disability. If a custom bow is going to be the only answer, I have an archetier friend in Ireland who might cut me a deal... Comments?

I'll give that some thought if I ever get to the 'playing with others' stage of my career! The MU variable subs thing is good to knoiw - I was put off by the ₤150 figure quoted above.

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='581745' date='Aug 26 2009, 07:06 PM']Unless you want to give [url="http://www.tanksforsale.co.uk/"]these guys[/url] some business...[/quote] Well, if I ever buy a hard case, I'll bear them in mind...

I went with Allianz in the end - a bit more than originally quoted, as I hadn't put on a high enough replacement value to begin with. No-one else seemed to come near the same price on it. I was going to have 'in unattended vehicle' cover too, until just before the deal was done, the sales bloke mentioned that cover was dependent on the instrument 'not being visible in the vehicle', at which point I laughed and said 'let's not bother with that, then.'

I wondered when Mingus was going to get a mention .

Yes, the more I think about it the less I want to sling it on both shoulders, since one of my shoulders is iffy - and I have no idea how much this bass in its case is going to weigh yet. Oh, for a hoverboard. Meanwhile I'll stick with slinging it over one shoulder if necessary.

Thanks, both - I think the Ritter is a better bet, though pricier - but I think I've tracked one down 2nd hand, so that may be the answer. I hadn't really given thought to whether the wheel fittings on the T&W are adequately padded on the inside, I'd have to see one to tell. Wheels are probably not important anyway. As for backpack straps, I'm 6'3" so height isn't a problem in one direction, though someone else pointed out that it's easy to bash your bass's neck against doorframes (and even ceilings, joists etc.) if you're not being careful. I guess I'll have to cultivate a team of willing groupies to carry it for me - motivation to become a good bassist .