fatback

[quote name='grumpyguts' timestamp='1407149881' post='2517722'] What would I need to know to hold my end up? [/quote] You've just gone and done it - joined BC Welcome. My history was much the same as yours. The info and encouragement on here got me back up and running. I suggest you post your Q in the General section, and I'm sure you'll get loads of helpful info. And well done getting back into da bass. it's an itch you have to scratch.

[quote name='Iloveteaa' timestamp='1407142648' post='2517613'] Thank you all so much for the advice. I'm going to go and have a look at it tonight. Has anyone got any tips on what I'm looking for if it's the real deal, or an unplayable cheap knockoff? Thank you again!! [/quote] I really think you'll need a double bass player to judge the instrument. The only alternative is if the seller is someone you have very strong reasons to trust.

Greets from a little further afield, but Ulster nonetheless. Cool town, Belfast.

To be honest, I'd be very very surprised if a £250 bass turned out to be playable. It could cost a lot to sort out (if it can be sorted). It can take a lot of looking and even more research to find a playable upright, so buying one for somebody else could be very risky. The nearest to foolproof is to buy a new one from Gedo or Thomann, but you're up nearer to 1k than 250. How about this: buy him a nice picture of a double bass with £250 pinned onto it. He can then spend a couple of months on this site researching the ins and outs and keeping an eye on the second-hand basses sold by members here (some good deals and trustworthy sellers). If he feels he wants to put some more cash towards it then, he can. Learning about the instrument before buying is a big part of the fun anyway. He'd also get a feel for what's involved in learning to play the beast and might even identify a good local teacher. Whatever you decide, best of luck and tell him from us he's a lucky guy

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1406120128' post='2508497'] Very likely. My band are taking it a bit easy this year due to everyone having babies, so we have around 50 gigs this year compared with 89 last year. This has meant that there have been a couple of points where I've had a two week break between gigs. Any sensible muso would be using this time to practice or write songs,but I generally find I just can't be arsed and end up standing holding my bass and staring at the wall wondering why I can't think of anything to play. [/quote] Bass needs company, I guess.

What a lot to think about. And thanks for the support. It's strangely disturbing to fall out of love with your db. Do you think she knows? Thinking about all the angles above, I reckon the problem is not playing with other people. Practicing ends up being mostly about failure, and you never spend time playing the stuff you [i]can[/i] play. If anything can kill your mojo stone dead I reckon it's floundering at the bottom of the technical mountain for no particular reason. So an ad for jamming it is then. Mind you, I'm not holding my breath. For reasons that seemed good at the time I ended up living in a musical dead zone (for a couple of hours around). Now made worse by the fact that huge numbers of people have left since our economic meltdown. Still, well worth a try. Easy to forget that music is about playing not practicing. Thanks again. Much appreciated. (I do love my db)

@RhysP an interesting suggestion about another instrument. I don't play any other these days, but getting hold of an electric piano might be a good idea. It would be nice to play actual tunes. Solo bass practice isn't the most expressive thing you can do. Hmm.

Aha, seems I'm normal. Thanks for the sympathy. Not sure I could cope with the guilt of not practicing or the inevitable pain when i pick up the thing again and blisters tell me i've not been practicing. So maybe the Rev's suggestion about simplifying will do the trick. Further navel-gazing tells me I'm suffering from jazz-induced feelings of inferiority. The inevitable result of starting to do anything that should have been started twenty years ago. Hell, i think I'll give Kelly a call.

Hmm. No gigs for too long (band defunct), still practicing but getting fed up. I'm sure it happens to everyone at some time, but it's the first for me in 4 years of db. Too much listening to genius players may not be helping much. Any ideas? I'm worrying a wee bit that i'm on the road to quitting. Oh dear, this is perilously close to a whinge.

[quote name='Owencf' timestamp='1404748742' post='2495370'] Results in, i know its only Grade 1 but 138/150 isnt too bad for a Double bassist who has the sum total muscial tallent of a rock and the breakdown they give you on the marking lets you know what you didnt do so strongly on. Dont be feart it is relatively painless, though some tuition would help most everyone in preping for it. though i wasn't keen to do them its a great benchmarking excersise. [/quote] Yay, well done. I've got to man up.

Nothing to add to the above except well done you, cherish that Mrs, and have a blast. You'll never regret this adventure, for sure.

Just an update to say how very good that material is; thanks hector. I'm using the pdf with the Aebersold play-along, and it's really opening everything up. Great.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1403710855' post='2485539'] You can spend the rest of your LIFE dealing with this!! [/quote] I knew I should have stayed away from this Jezz thing. I'll forget how to dance soon.

Thanks again. Looks like you can spend weeks or months on this progression and not get to the end of it. Thankfully i live in the country. No city neighbours would put up with this.

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1403692843' post='2485293'] Boom: [url="http://emp.byui.edu/WatkinsM/applied/09%20Rhythm%20Changes.pdf"]http://emp.byui.edu/...m%20Changes.pdf[/url] [/quote] Brilliant! Thanks a million.

[quote name='Owencf' timestamp='1403541798' post='2483742'] Ressurection isnt just done by Lazarus. Done my Exam today, it wasnt a train wreck but my scales were pish. I can do 100 tonne lifts without breaking a sweat yet put me in a room with someone getting me to play scales ill start to shiver like a scared little girl Oh well next time i know whats coming and can prepare accordingly. [/quote] Total respect for giving it a go. I'm still in coward mode.

Can anyone point me to something online about the above? Best would be something that explains a bit about the logic of the substitution. Dunno why I'm doing this. Nobody plays jazz within 50 miles of me anyway.

I found it changes the way I think, and so the way i hear. That from just reading the book a couple of times. A pretty simple message behind it, but like all good insights you can spend as long as you like working out the implications.

[quote name='JuliusGroove' timestamp='1403509902' post='2483240'] I survived! [/quote] Oh well done. Being jumped on for a solo is my recurring nightmare.

[quote name='sarah thomas' timestamp='1403031330' post='2479093'] A carved top isn't necessary. In fact, a decent laminate that can take a few inevitable knocks isn't a bad idea. I'd look at the for sale section here and wait for a East European model to come along. It depends on your budget, really. You are unlikely to get ripped off if you buy here though. How much have you got to spend? £800 should see you with a decent starter bass that will last you a few years, or perhaps forever, depending on what you want to play. Second hand basses hold their value too, so if you decide it's not for you after all, then you won't really lose out. Chinese uprights get a bad press generally, although ZMech may well have got lucky. [/quote] This. And don't forget to factor in a couple of hundred for a preamp and pickup.

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1402513498' post='2474350'] Jake/Sarah I've been experimenting with my posture a bit this evening (2 hours and counting) and can't seem to get the hang of what you're talking about. I can't seem to get my left knee onto the back of the bass without putting lots of weight on my right leg, or turning the bass in to face me lots. At no stage have I felt comfortable. Am I missing something? [/quote] It does seem to me that one result of the hip support and left leg approach is to turn the bass side on. I imagine not everyone likes that, esp. for arco?

Valvey dirt. Absolute necessity. Honest.

[quote name='ZMech' timestamp='1402264973' post='2471583'] Cheers for the video fatback. So the suggestion is the lean the bass forwards so that its own weight creates the necessary force? Shall have to have an experiment. [/quote] I find the height of the bass matters too. There's one setting that nestles the bout neatly against my hip and allows it to be trapped with the left foot. And it'll stand there for seconds unsupported if I take my hand off. Basses and people vary so much in shape and size, it does seem to take time to find the right positions. Took me ages, and I'm still not comfortable arco.

I think I remember this being good for that problem. Hope I've got the right one. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiJCOWAhE9Y[/media]