fatback

I know it's silly. But even struggling through a few bars at a time is an education of sorts. I guess I just like the tune.

By coincidence I'm torturing myself trying to play the Bach cello concerto in G thing (pizz as a start) and the stretches do get tough. I'm finding that sometimes a pivot and three fingers just isn't fast enough and end up using that third finger. Not a good idea, I'm thinking. The strain will surely tell. Even attempting this is for me plain silly. But i'd dearly love one day to be able to play that piece.

EA Doubler and Midget works well an is amazingly easy to cart around. There's a new version of the Doubler just out, with more oomph. First stirrings of GAS in years, and there's nothing wrong with the Mk I I've got.

If you use the Rabbath pivot, you find yourself using four fingers naturally as you approach the heel. I use Weichs though, so that makes it easier. I try to use with caution, given the weakness of that third finger.

A lot of love on here for the Full Circle. Worked more or less out of the box for me. I've got it paired as a just-in-case with a mag but never had a problem .

I'm finding a surprising benefit to working with modes. I've completely stopped playing and thinking in fingering patterns. Working with modes makes me think in terms of scales and note names. I don't get time to practice anything now but the modes of every major scale and their arpeggios. Staggeringly boring but it keeps me going when I don't have the brain cells to play actual music. I didn't expect it to change the way I think. Every chord now is a mode choice for me, and so I think of the scale under the mode of the chord, complete with note names, not a mindless pattern. Amazingly different. And I never was clever about these things.

Nobody who knew him had a bad word to say. Seems he was as decent a bloke as he appeared to be.

Ooh, nostalgia. Used to gig one of these way back, and loved it with a Black Widow cab. Versatile and bulletproof. [edit] Just saw you're Glasgow. Maybe it was mine (Edinburgh).

Raising or tilting a cab is a perfectly sensible way of hearing yourself better. If you raise more than a couple of feet though, you'll lose volume because of a lack of boundary reinforcement from the floor surface reflections (or something ) This is a very noticeable effect. No problem if you don't raise too high or tilt too much. As somebody said, the biggest problem is posed by very tight stages, where the speaker has to be close to you. Even then, if you're gong through the PA you can raise the speaker on a keyboard stand almost to chest height and the loss of volume doesn't matter so much; it'll still be loud enough for monitoring. The biggest problem is a tight stage and backline only imo.

All good advice above about preamps. Whatever pickup you use, your amp or preamp needs to have the right impedance, and that's where your preamp comes in. A good preamp (and some amps) will have a high pass filter and polarity controls too. Useful for dealing with boom and feedback. A 'doubler' is just a two channel amp with the channels configured slightly differently so you can easily use both a mic and a piezzo, say, or have one for electric and the other for acoustic bass. Such amps tend to be expensive but yummy. As for marks on the board, i found that a couple of stick-on paper dots on the side were life-savers on gigs where either i couldn't hear myself well or at all (common enough) or I had to hit the pitch on the first note without fail. For practice I use them to check my thumb placements stay consistent with large shifts and I'm not drifting around. I'd say try a piezzo pickup and preamp first. If your gigs are really loud, add a mag pickup (if you have metal strings) as a backup (you can have both mounted). Mics are great for sound but hell for feedback in a loud gig. Don't worry too much about any of this stuff. It all takes time and experimentation, so the trick is to be relaxed about it and not spend too much cash too soon.

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1451650076' post='2942037'] I have played with various covers/functions bands over recent years, but all with the main focus being on the gigs I get to do, regardless of my numbness toward the material. Currently I am in an 80s tribute , I love the material , gigs are always a blast and we have good gigs booked in, but again its all about the gigs and want goes down well. I am thinking of forming something with the reverse intention, to get together and play material that doesn't really have an easy audience entry level, and focus on something that even if it did, we may not hit the mark (maybe folk or even obscure funk covers) . I have a good network of players I think I could find the right people, and know others that would be up for something like this. I don't think I have explained it well, but question is, has anyone done this, started up a project knowing it wont have an easy audience to target, but just for the music and fun of doing something different (different for those involved at least) [/quote] All the best bands I was ever in started this way. The best thing in the world is when people get together because they want to play the songs, feel they could do something worthwhile, and for no other reason. If you do it putting the music first, the audience will find you anyway. Go for it.

Nice one, thanks. I didn't know anything about him. Amazing tone, if the vid is anything to go by. I'll be searching him out.

You've survived, and that's a hell of an achievement. With support from others you're on the home stretch now. You've shown courage and determination. Best wishes.

Sly and Robbie for me. But it's good to hear a mention of Czukay/Leibezeit. Snake Charmer, anyone?

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1444760694' post='2885746'] Loved my Wal - bought it new if 1986 for £750, sold it because I was an idiot. Aesthetically not for everyone, but the best sounding bass i ever owned in 36 yrs of playing [/quote] Exactly what I would have posted, right down to the year and Scotland too. Especially the idiot part. Except mine was second hand

[quote name='philparker' timestamp='1445458611' post='2891705'] Mmm...my Eminence has a 'T' shaped end pin - and that works. [/quote] Would someone need a side frame thingy at all witha T-shape end pin? Or does the frame bit help in some other way as well? I've never even held an EUB, but i have wondered.

Out of curiosity, is there any reason that EUB players don't use a fork-shaped spike to stop the swivel? Or do you need it to swivel a little bit?

And I blame John Major.

The trouble with double bass is that it doesn't really want to be an add-on to anything. All in all, taking it up is pretty major commitment in time, pain and money. All hugely worthwhile, but there's nothing quick or convenient about any of it. Just buying one can take ages of research. The EUB suggestion is a very good one if what you want is a taster and to make rapid progress. It's also pretty well the only way of practicing arco quietly and solves the transport problem too. If i had neighbours nearby, I'd quit bowing altogether out of pure shame.

Poverty is God's punishment for playing jazz. But seriously, hang on in there; everything comes in threes.

Nice! Any opposition and you can make it clear that now you don't require mistresses, fast cars or other expensive habits. This one will do nicely. I wonder if an adjustable bridge would cost much more than a luthier shaving the existing one?

[quote name='ljbass' timestamp='1443352857' post='2874008'] [size=4]I remember Michael Klinghoffer explaining how the instrument weight can help increasing left hand power[/size] in one part of [color=#333333][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]"Mr. Karr would you teach me How to Drive a Double Bass" videos. He shows it is possible to play[/font][/color] not using his thumb, just let the bass leaning against his fingers a little bit[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif][color=#333333]...[/color][/font] [/quote] I learned a lot from that when I started, and pizz it works a dream. Arco, I have trouble keeping the weight off the left hand while putting weight on the bow. Did you ever ask yourself why we bother at all?

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1443275662' post='2873561'] Try playing sitting down - took a bit of experimenting to find the right relationship between seat height and bass angle, but the mechanical benefits of having the bass completely stable with no input from either hand is great for arco and pizz. I found that a lowish seat with both feet comfortably flat on the floor was most comfortable, YMMV but worth a try as long as you don't play a lot of slap. [/quote] Thanks for the suggestion - I'll give it a go. I guess I've been reluctant because if I use the bow gigging, it'll be standing up. But really, I do want to get bowing again. I wonder if I'll have to change the spike height much for sitting? Another change I'm trying to avoid.

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1443179951' post='2872855'] Interesting, you mean the different requirements of posture for playing arco vs. playing pizz? Like, how changing the endpin height or bass angle for that reason can have an effect on the left hand? [/quote] Exactly that. i changed the endpin height to better suit arco, but there's still the issue of the inevitable change in the angle between the arms. I'm guessing there are two factors at play; one is the extra six inches or more further down the string that playing arco involves compared to Piz, and the second is the bow pressure making the bass push back somewhat against the left hand and so restricting mobility. No doubt a teacher could help with this, but that's not practical where I am. I'm experimenting though with posture changes to make sure that the balance of the bass isn't constraining my left hand. I do think that's the bigger of the two problems. It's the loss of hard-won left hand facility that's putting me right off arco atm. Sorry for the fairly pointless whinge. I know a teacher is the only answer.

[quote name='invicta59' timestamp='1443190253' post='2872985'] and the endless pursuit of tonal satisfaction begins on Tuesday [/quote] ...along with the endless pursuit of strings and pickups