Amazoman

Thank you all for the excellent adviceand contributions. I realise that chords and arpeggios and the notes that form them now need to be my focus and especially how they link together with common notes and half step lead ins and this will be my next goal. I am not bored with root and 5th Chris and Jake I just thought that I could contribute more to the music but I do understand the concept that 'less is often more'. The bass player previous to me was affectionately called 'root note Ronnie' and I was trying to avoid this!! I knew this wasn't going to be as easy as strumming chords on a 6 string guitar!!

Thank you Major for the swift response I appreciate it. I guess what I was trying to do was look for a short cut to the 'magic key'! I do not already know them all but I understand how to work out chord spellings. I can actually see in my minds eye the patterns on the fretboard that the modal shapes look like i.e where the first,second, third etc would fall under my fingers for each mode without necessarily knowing the names of any of the notes I was playing. My thinking was I only have to learn and visualise 7 patterns which are transferrable to any key. I thought if I was looking for the next chord change, thinking 'what notes are in that chord', 'now then where are they on the fretboard' this seemed a much longer process than thinking I'm in the key of A, the next chord is built off the second degree so my finger pattern is Dorian and so on. Do you advocate I scrap this idea and go back to commiting to memory the notes which are found in each chord?

Hi All, I play in a church band where we generally are given and play songs with chords written above the words ie no 'dots'. I have fallen into the root,5th, octave, rut and simply move that hand shape around as the chords change and because I know the melody in my head simply play a random beat that fits the song. In my desire to improve and be more effective I decided to investigate playing using modes and feel that I have missed something crucial in the learning curve. So: If I am playing a song that for example is in the Key of A and there is a passage of chord changes that goes Bm7,C#m7, F#m7 am I correct in assuming that the shape/pattern for those three chords as the changes come would be Dorian pattern starting on B, Phrygian pattern starting on C# and Aolian pattern starting on F#. If this is correct why doesn't it sound right? and how do I know which notes out of those patterns are available to 'sound right' without being stuck in another root, third, fifth, octave rut. I think I read somewhere that all of the odd numbered notes in any pattern should be OK or have I missed a vital piece of the jigsaw? Thanks in anticipation.

Thanks for the advice. I have contacted the seller who said that they would give me a full refund if required. Because I really like the bass, I asked them about repair. I had already spoken to Strings and Things ,Brighton the UK ditributor for Musicman who have not given me a quote as such but an off the head figure of around £75.00 to replace a pre-amp. When I told the company who I bought the bass from this, they agrred to pay up to £75.00 towards the repair as long as the invoice was made out to them, for accounting purposes. They would then send me the money. If it comes to more than that I would have to stand the difference. If they are true to their word I think they are being fair as they are simply a company who deals in bankrupt stock and would have no idea if the guitar was faulty. Strings and Thigs advised that I send it to them via a local .to me. music shop. I live between Derby and Nottingham and am going to talk to the people in Rattle and Drum, Derby.

Thanks Guys for the positive comments and the useful link. I live between Derby and Nottingham and have spoken to the people at Rattle and Drum in Derby. They will have a look and try and repair or they say they would send it to Strings and Things in Brighton, the UK distributors for Musicman. I am sure it will be sorted but it will obviously cost a fair bit.

Hi, I know that i have posted this in the technical section but have had no replies. Maybe few people look in there!! Hope the mods don't mind me re-posting here as I am desperate to know what to try next. Recently took delivery of my Stingray 4 (second hand off e-bay). Initially had a problem with crackles, weak and fading sound. I removed the control knob cover and gave the pots a squirt of electrical spray cleaner. Also inserted a brand new battery. It appears to have cured some of the issues ie It plays, no crackles, volume knob controls the volume, BUT! The other [b]three knobs seem to do absolutely nothing[/b] and makes no difference to the tone or bass of the note being played. Key question Is it possible for the pre amp to have shot it and yet still play with reasonable volume? The volume is much greater than when I take the battery out completely ie passive so I assume it isn't a battery wire problem I expected the sound to be much punchier than it is. When I opened up the control cavity all of the wires looked fine and attached but then again I am no expert and would not know how to test them. Any suggestions what to do next?

Hi, Recently took delivery of my Stingray 4 (second hand off e-bay). Initially had a problem with crackles, weak and fading sound. I removed the control knob cover and gave the pots a squirt of switch cleaner. Also inserted a brand new battery. It appears to have cured some of the issues ie It plays, no crackles, volume knob controls the volume, BUT! The other three knobs seem to do absolutely nothing and makes no differenct to the tone or bass of the note being played. Is it possible for the pre amp to have shot it and yet still play with reasonable volume? I expected the sound to be much punchier than it is. When I opened up the control cavity all of the wires looked fine and attached but then again I am no expert and would not know how to test them. Any suggestions what to do next?

Thanks for the swift responses . Yes Dave that is exactly the logo. Well found ,I have searched for this without any luck and you find it in a few minutes!!! I guess more practice is required to improve my technique as the pups are not too close to the end of the fret board to be the reason for poor slap sound.

Hi all. I'm really glad I found the site and lots of useful info. I am relatively new to bass having played drums for a fair few years but always hankered after a bass guitar. I bought one off e bay when one came up that I liked the look of and the price was right. It is a custom made bass which despite my best efforts have not been able to find anything out about. It has a small logo on the headstock, similar to a pair of wings a la RAF style , with a letter L in the centre and the name Liberty underneath. I know there is a company called Liberty in the states but they have confirmed it is not one of theirs. Any ideas anyone? Part 2- I can find my way around the guitar and I have played live on numerous occasions but I am certainly only beginner stage, it has a lovely tone and people comment on how nice a guitar it is but I simply cannot get a decent slap out of it. Is it me or do some guitars slap better than others and if so which are the better ones to consider for my next purchase. Thanks in anticipation.