Greydad

I now go: -> Fingers (thanks Mum & Dad) -> strings (Velvet Animas, thanks Greg Cordez) -> double bass (thank you Stentor) -> DG Realist pickup (thanks Greg Cordez) -> Fishman Plat Pro EQ (thanks BassAce) -> W-audio PSR-12A 350W powered PA speaker (thank you wife for letting me buy them) -> Ears (and thence Brain) Seems to sound fine to me, but then I'm a noob. PA speakers tend to have a clean even response and for the money the W-Audio ones sound great (also good on vocals and acoustic guitar). Got rid of the original BP100 and never did get a decent sound out using my electric bass amps but the PA has been super so I've stuck with that. Cheers Neil

Sounds like a cool idea As I am in the Brizzle Aerial, either the South East or Midlands would be fine

Yeah, hardly a flawless performance but we only had 5 days to get ready for it with a new singer and a new drummer (regular guy was on holiday in the Med!) Great fun, I loved doing it, can you tell?

Hi All, Not sure if this is the right place to post this but I sent a recording of a song I wrote a few years back and recorded with my old rock band Men In Spex to a light-hearted competition Patrick Kielty has been running on BBC Radio 2 and managed to win it. The prize was to truck into the studio a week later and play the song live, which we duly did. Awesome experience and great fun, not really done anything quite like it before but anyway here's a video of us playing live if you're interested: [url="http://www.youtube.com/user/MenInSpex?feature=mhsn#p/a/u/0/nvqYAsq-tGw"]Men In Spex live on BBC Radio 2[/url] Cheers Neil

Hey Greg, yes, I looked at these around the time I was buying my bass and thought it was pretty clever, had good reports too. I'm impressed you bought one and pleased you like it. As soon as I get some free time again I'll invite myself round and have a look

Yeah, yeah, but what we really want to know is is she using Evah Pirazzi's or Velvet Anima's?

A small powered PA speaker and a pre-amp/Eq like the Fishman Platinum Pro or similar does the job nicely and won't break the bank

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='860543' date='Jun 7 2010, 11:34 PM']Haha you star! That is awesome. Same here I pretty much never pick up a BG at home any more. I still haven't gigged it though. I need to sort out my amplified sound before I gig indoors, and I need to make sure my intonation is effortless when I play outdoors because I'm singing harmony at the same time as playing reggae parts. I think next week we'll start busking, got a rehearsal tomorrow to finalise the set we'll be working from.[/quote] No, not a star and hardly brilliant, just mostly simple stuff, but there ain't many double bassists out here and people do really seem to like it. It would be nice to think one day I'll be getting gigs because I'm good rather than because I'm the only double bass player around for miles My intonation is not always right although it's ok most of the time now as far as I go and in theory should get better the more playing I do, hence the desire to do all the gigs and stuff I can. Jakes right though I should slow down and practice more. And go see Greg for more lessons. I'm doing a lot of acoustic-only playing in pubs and clubs, so most of the time not using any amplification - much simpler, so much less hassle. I have played my BG a bit more recently to keep my hand in and I still enjoy it but it doesn't grab me in quite the same way it used to do. Rather than trying to fit double bass into the type of music I was playing on electric bass I went off in search of a more sympathetic environment so changed musical styles so I could get playing quickly, hence the folk and bluegrass focus rather than rock etc. I've played some blues as well, that sounds quite good along with an acoustic guitarist. I've forced myself into several regular folk jam sessions which is another easy way to get playing and learn new stuff - I've found a double bass is always sympathetically received at these. I'm impressed you can sing as well as play - never got the hang of that, but would love to be able to do it. If I try to sing when I play bass I just fall over.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='859568' date='Jun 7 2010, 09:29 AM']Hi Greydad, Seems like you're getting lessons so I don't want to intervene so I have this suggestion, put it by your teacher and if it fits in with his thinking then all good. Slow all practice down to a quarter of the speed that you normally would play, make all the movements you make small but slow and take the time to see that you are making movements correctly. The reason: when you play things that you already know there is a tendency to play them just as you do, if this is giving rise to pain then that should be looked at. All fingers should be down with the little finger whenever it stops a note, if you do the slow thing you will make the movements that get your little finger supported part of your day, it's then and only then that it will seep into your playing in a performance situation. It's called undoing bad habits and it takes time and patience... slowly slowly catchee monkey. Jake[/quote] Hi Jake, yep, I realise my little pinkie needs assistance so I'm working on that and yes it's time I had another lesson!! I've worked out the little finger issue is down to trying to stretch too much (like on an electric) instead of moving my whole hand to where it needs to be so I'll try and make some time to work on that and play everything slowly as you suggest - makes a lot of sense. My main problem is that recently I've rarely practiced as such and haven't had time to get back to Greg for another lesson, I'm just playing live all the time (every night this week) so it's all at breakneck speed LOL. Maybe I need to take time out and review where I'm at. Great fun this double bass stuff, though! I love it

[quote name='Bilbo' post='858985' date='Jun 6 2010, 04:02 PM']Did a lot of DB practice yesterday and then a gig on electric bass. Feeling a bit sore today, handswise, like when you have been shifting bricks all day!![/quote] I'm playing DB at least 3 nights a week and the old hands do ache a bit sometimes but apart from the mutant right index finger (still somewhat larger than the left index finger) the bit of my anatomy that seems to take the heaviest bass playing load is my left pinkie - main pinkie knuckle joint seems to be tested quite a lot so I need to work on using the other fingers to help it out a bit (yes, Greg, just like you told me). Good news is my left hand span has increased noticeably at full stretch, bad news is when I play electric now the stretch is more than the old 4-frets worth so I keep going past and missing the top one LOL. Must re-train brain...

Wot? No pics?

All the best Geoff, hope it goes well!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='847103' date='May 25 2010, 01:58 AM']I stuck on the Graceland album on Spotify the other day, there's some stuff on there that sounds great on double bass and also that's interesting enough to just jam around if you're not good enough yet to play the stuff Bakithi played on it. Also try some old '60s soul tunes, and '60s ska/rocksteady stuff.[/quote] I got into it by starting off with some bluegrass stuff - much of it simple root-fifths initially but good practice anyway, you need your timing to be solid and you have plenty of time to work on your (simple) intonation. I also got to gig almost immediately and that is the fastest way to get down the first part of the learning curve. Moved from there on to walking lines (some pretty fast in bluegrass) which leads into blues - straightforward blues lines in different keys are another good area for practice.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='846880' date='May 24 2010, 09:20 PM']Fever [/quote] +1 Also 16 Tons

Google is sometimes your friend: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-175966.html"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/archive/inde...p/t-175966.html[/url] Not much on them out there, you could try contacting the original poster on the thread or oliebrice and see what they thought It's not an expensive bass, £850 new in 05, and should therefore be treated with some caution. Expect to pay for a setup at least and probably new strings.

[quote name='gcordez' post='837086' date='May 14 2010, 12:50 PM']Neil, Get the ATM450! Its very very good for that price. Im only selling it to pay for ££££ Schoeps mic.... Come over and check it out.[/quote] Nice try - you must think I'm some sort of infinite money supply Tried out the Realist properly last night through a house PA as it happens and general opinion from the sound guy and other folks was it was a great sound. Sound guy wanted a bit more mids though so I'll take the Plat Pro next time and see if I can noodle it a bit. No chance to get over this week sorry but I'll try next week - no hard sell on the mics mind...

Which mic are you using greg? I see you're selling a couple so you must have a favourite one you're keeping unless it's secret squirrel of course...

[quote name='bassace' post='836876' date='May 14 2010, 09:17 AM']Sorry to disagree but (is it just me?) I have an aversion to brushes. They don't give the crispness that sticks give, they seem to mask my playing and I never have a problem cutting through stick playing. Playing against brushes is like playing through porridge.[/quote] Interesting - must admit I haven't found it a problem so far!

With just guitar and drums you shouldn't have any problem being heard un-amplified. FWIW if the guitarist is playing an acoustic and the drummer uses say just a snare and kick (or just a snare! which we've done) and PLAYS USING BRUSHES if necessary you should be fine. I've manage to hold my own with two guitars, mando, dobro and various other instruments without too much of a problem. Drumming with brushes is the way to do it as far as I'm concerned it sounds cool and is just the right volume and feel for an acoustic band.

I appreciate that, but none of the things I've diligently researched so far describes it - there's no movement restriction, pain or tenderness. I have played a lot this last three days so I may well have just overcooked it. I'll be resting it for a few days anyway so I'll see how it goes - if it stays the same I'll pop in and see the doc.

[quote name='fretmeister' post='826201' date='May 3 2010, 09:07 AM']You married?[/quote] Yes. She does seem to have become unusually cheerful since I took up double bass, but I put that down to the fact I'm now out of the house playing most nights...

[quote name='marvin spangles' post='826613' date='May 3 2010, 05:10 PM']doesn't sound right to me. Do you suffer any pain when you pluck the strings.[/quote] Nope, not at all - it's just become pretty beefy. Feels like muscle, just a bit surprised it's so noticeable. I have been playing a lot though.

[quote name='bassace' post='826586' date='May 3 2010, 04:30 PM']Yes, mine is, but that's a few decades later.[/quote] Mine will be about the size of me arm in a few decades at this rate...

No probs, there's others here with far more experience than me here who will probably chime in. It is an expensive hobby it must be said. Strings can cost about 10x the cost of an electric bass set but should last you very much longer. They're also much more significant to the overall sound so don't skimp. Unfortunately it's a very expensive trial-and-error process to find the ones you like, try to ask a teacher or an experienced player for some guidance. There's also plenty of opinion on strings here and on talkbass I've never had a set-up done before so I will be learning as I go through the process. I don't expect to change anything unless it's broken and there's no sign of that, so I expect a setup using what's already there. At least that's the current plan...