dazza14

Oh man, I remember my first bass, it was an Encore E83 P style bass finished in sparkly white with a three-ply w/b/w scratchplate, white pickup covers and was a hell of a lump! I bloody loved it! Bought it from Modern Music in Abingdon for £130 (my dad 'knocked' down the salesman from the original £139 price AND got them to throw in a 'how to' book, a bag and a cable). I sold it about a year later but it had a Batman sticker under the strings on the body and a Sylvester transfer on the top horn.... yes, that's right, I was cool........ kinda.

Have looked at the 'Roqsolid' website and although they have covers to fit my cabs, you're looking at £60 for the pair, that's waaaaaaay more than I wanted to pay, I think my mate will probably charge £10-£15 each because the material isn't expensive and a quick whizz around with a sewing machine does the trick.

Now re-posted in 'Amps and Cabs'

This post was originally posted in 'Bass Guitars', oops! Wrong place so ignore that one... After walking the short distance from home to car and then car to practice carrying my bass cabs in the rain it started me thinking maybe I should get some rain covers for them, I mean I keep my guitar in a bag and my 'head' in a bag so why not the cabs? So I had a little look around, can't find any. I have two cabs, both Fender Rumble series - a 1x10 and a 2x8 - but they don't come with covers as standard and getting some made by lecover.com in USA is expensive. But a friends girlfriend is a little 'nifty with a needle' and she's offered to make me some bespoke, made to measure, built for purpose covers!!! Oh happy days, needless to say I've had to show her photo's and dimensions of said cabs, the cabs will be going for their first 'fitting' this weekend but i'll post some photos when they are made...

After walking the short distance from home to car and then car to practice carrying my bass cabs in the rain it started me thinking maybe I should get some rain covers for them, I mean I keep my guitar in a bag and my 'head' in a bag so why not the cabs? So I had a little look around, can't find any. I have two cabs, both Fender Rumble series - a 1x10 and a 2x8 - but they don't come with covers as standard and getting some made by lecover.com in USA is expensive. But a friends girlfriend is a little 'nifty with a needle' and she's offered to make me some bespoke, made to measure, built for purpose covers!!! Oh happy days, needless to say I've had to show her photo's and dimensions of said cabs, the cabs will be going for their first 'fitting' this weekend but i'll post some photos when they are made...

I fancy picking up a cheap Precision-shaped bass and I was wondering if anyone had any experience, positive or negative, about the Gear4Music branded LA bass ( [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/LA-Bass-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Pink/7LN"]http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/LA-Bass-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Pink/7LN[/url] ) it comes in a variety of finishes, including a sparkly silver and pink but is it any good? Even as a bass to pimp up with pickups, tuners, even neck (it would be nice to find something with a 'common' width neck pocket so if need be I could drop in a Squier one. I also see Westfield's pop up on e-bay, these seem better built but heavier, but a pretty even comparison with regard to price...

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Allez, allez, allez Wasps, Wasps, Wasps!!![/font]

I'm stuck in a rut with regards to my buying basses, I adore my Squire VM Jazz and buying another bass would mean i'm playing my Jazz less so I tend to 'admire from a far', but my fretless gets played when I need the sound of a fretless and I thought the Jag would b a great addition to my meagre collection because I hve nothing else like it... you're right, I should have left the shop with it under my arm and a smug smile on my face. But the final decision would also be based on the colour, I like the red... I like the silver... ooh decisions, decisions, I think i'll be buying one before Christmas!

A few months go I finally got around to trying a Squier Jaguar HB bass in Dawsons in Reading. I already liked how it looked and because I often have my right hand above the position of where the humbucker sits I thought it might be ideal for me, so I tried it and was blown away by how playable and comfortable it was. I play a VM Jazz and have done for years but the Jag gave a much deeper sound which I liked. My query is this though, although these are available on the usual online music stores they rarely come up on e-bay, Gumtree or on the 'for sale' section of this website, does this mean that people aren't buying them or when people buy them, they keep them?[attachment=165860:ProductDetailImage.jpg]

[size=5][sub]Well last night was a bit of a success, the drummer kindly let me influence his playing more so I suggested playing different cymbals at different times and it worked. When the solo's were played I varied what I was doing by adding fills that kept the rhythm going but didn't over-crowd the music, all in all it worked really well, we decided that one of the 'widdly diddly' solos would be better played in chords with a few variations and this kept the music ticking really well. Once I've got a recording of the songs i'll post one or two up. I think the whole problem was solved with an open mind and conversation - how true is that for most problems? - once we recognised that there was an issue we all addressed it, I think i'm lucky to be in a band with musicians that are open to change...[/sub][/size]

Well it's band practice tonight so i'm going there armed with a few ideas, namely listening more to what the drummer is doing and then working out if we can vary it together, after that it'll be walking lines, after that, enjoy the space! This seems to be a popular suggestion and I like the thought of the rhythm section doing just that, keeping the rhythm going. I'll let everyone know how it went.

This weeks practice i'm going to cut back on what I play during the vocals and then do more during the breaks, walking lines and things, and see how it sounds... Thanks for the advise and options chaps, i'll keep you posted and hopefully post a track or two so it's easier to see the problem...

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1401724271' post='2466186'] I've been thinking a bit about this thread since my last post and I think it *may* be more than this. A lot of soloing in the rock 'n' roll era involves thickening up the guitar with double stops or chord based soloing. It's easy for us as bass players to think we are the ones who are at fault but I wonder if your guy is doing a lot of single note soloing? Listen to Eddie Cochran or Buddy Holly - it's very heavily based around[b] not[/b] just playing single notes and that thickens the sound. Hi Burrito! Thanks for the replies, you were going to be my next port of call if I didn't get too many responses from this thread. I've had so many suggestions so i'm working through them one at a time, already spoken to my drummer to discuss his cymbal choices but that's reached a dead end, he seems reluctant to move away from the original recordings, so he wants to emulate what is being played rather than looking at what instruments we have and adjusting accordingly. My next step is effect pedals but I don't want to go down that route if i'm honest... My Jazz is roundwound stringed, i'm going to introduce my fretless with flats this week to see what that does for the sound but i'm hoping to use that for the real 50's songs and the jazz for ones that need a little more 'zing' (we cover modern stuff too, things that sound 50's) but if need be i'll play fretless all the time. Thanks for the offer of being second guitar, as long as you don't laugh at my bass playing you might have a deal! Just thinking about your playing from what you've said. In terms of the bass, jazzes are slightly better for cutting through the mix and playing more melody based basslines. A P-bass would thicken up the sound. And I assume you are using flatwounds, playing finger style nearer the neck? All this will make for a more authentic period correct sound. Effects weren't relied on then as they are now. Failing on all that I was deadly serious in my offer to try out on 2nd guitar. And I see Rockabilly Rumble are playing the Vic on Friday 20th. I'll probably venture down to that one [/quote]

I've recently started a rock n roll band and the band consists of drummer, guitarist, bass and singer, and its going really well but when we play covers from bands with two guitars the music really suffers because the guitarist switches from rhythm to lead leaving me and the drummer trying to fill the space left behind. Because a lot of the songs are walking bass lines it leaves a lot of space, I was wondering if there is an effect I could use to 'fatten' up the bass sound so we don't 'drop' everytime there is a solo. We could bring in another guitarist or keys player but not every song has a lead which would mean for 70% of the time the guitarists would be doing the same thing! I'm new to effect pedals so I really am scrambling around in the dark, I was initially thinking an 'echo' pedal of some kind but i'm sure there is something more suitable.

I had a looky at one of these online a few days ago, it's a bit 'flash' looking for me, bright white finish, mirror pickguard and white inlays on the fretboard (and a single control?? I like my tone choices) but i'm not surprised that it's a good bass. Squier seem to be churning out some great guitars at the mo. My current fave is the Matt Freeman sig bass, which is pretty similar but love the Olympic white/black colour combo.

My bass is a VM jazz from 2007 and it's been my fave bass since then, I flirt with my fretless Vintage from time to time but I just adore the Squier. The only downside is the weight, it's pretty bulky but hey, it sounds good and is nice to play. I upgraded the bridge and pickups but this was after a few years of playing it and wanting a slightly different, higher output from the pups. I recommend them highly...

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1396955046' post='2419015'] That's a real tough one dazza, sorry to hear about that. Seems I'm not alone but as I have said from the start, there are issues for me. 1. Found out by accident on Faecesbook. 2. Already gone from 1 x 30 minute gig to several "to get up to stage ready". 3. They will need to rehearse. A lot. It will impact, good luck to them, tomorrow night could be interesting. [/quote] I found out by accident too on Facebook, it was a right kick in the guts! If it's impacting you, which it is, then you need to do what you think is the best thing for you. I really hope you airing your feelings to the other members will bring some resolution, it may well do. Hopefully this is all simply bigger than it needs to be, and by that I mean hopefully the others are feeling a little stupid for 'forgetting' to tell you purely because they didn't think it would annoy you as much as it has. You're right by everything you say though, they will need practices if they are going on some ego-feeding trip down memory lane and it's a proper sh*tter that you weren't informed of what they were intending to do, but i'm really hoping that after a chat things will seem clearer to why they didn't tell you in the first place.

[i][i]I started a band with my oldest, best, most trusted friend and because he couldn't commit more time (and buy a better - by that I mean something more than a 35w - amp!) he left. I didn't mind because our friendship was deteriorating and we rarely spoke at practice, although we'd been friends for over 30 years. When he asked to return I asked the other band members and we all agreed unless he had a better set up and could show commitment and learn the songs we were going to play, there was little point in him returning. He took this as me being controlling and, behind my back, starting whispering to the other members saying I was slagging them off etc etc. I fought like a dog trying to replace him, keeping the band moving, setting up gigs and all this time he'd brought in another bass player and convinced the guitarist and drummer to join him. I found out on Facebook when I saw the new band page, I then got an email telling me what a w**ker I was, what a terrible father I was and how they always wanted me out of the band. I was gutted, it took about two years to get over it and it still affects how I behave/act in a band now. Since then the two members have both been in touch to apologise, they saw the side of my mate that I saw, they understood he'd lied and the new band was very short lived.... due to his commitment and setup (their first gig money bought him a new amp - which he still has!!). I understand he's in a wedding band playing maybe three gigs a year. Needless to say he's never been in touch. I can't help but think if we were more open and honest from the start it would have been different, but there is a sense of 'victory' in the fact the band lasted a short time and the whole "grass is greener" thing is true... be patient and talk.[/i][/i]

My band have been toying with the idea of wandering into a studio, recording a good-sounding cd and then keeping it in our sticky paws and selling the odd cd at gigs and festivals. BUT, with money being tight and not really knowing what studio is good to use (its a lot of money to waste on a poor sounding cd) i was wondering if anyone on here had a studio where we could invade over a few weeks, record our stuff and get something done? My band is a four piece - 2x guitars, 1x vocal, 1x backing vocal, bass and drummer - that plays predominantly rock and reggae. So is there anyone out there that wants to gain experience in recording a band, we can come to a payment agreement...

I've begun recording the practices, playing a very simple bass line that I can 'colour' in later when I listen away from the band, I also try and keep the songs in my head and think "what would I like to hear the bass player play?" and "what would fit that part?" I then doodle away until something sticks. The punk stuff is a little easier as I tend to separate the parts up into patterns, so the intro, the verse, chorus and 'outro', this often becomes quite samey on the intro and verse so I add or remove fills depending on what the drummer is doing. I don't want things to be complicated and messy. But I think the truth is I became lazy in repeating myself and not giving the song enough time for a line to settle in, doing the same old thing is easy but boring and I need to play and think more to find lines that will be good to play but also good for the song. Great advice from everyone, thanks to all that have given opinions.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1395404048' post='2402065'] ???? I would not call them bad habits. It's how you use them that counts. As has been mentioned, listen to some twelve bar blues. You should get some inspiration here. Also, even though you may not like jazz, learning some "walking" basics is a great way of learning bass lines for [i]all[/i] types of music. Dave Marks has a series of lessons here, starting with the basics and building from there : [url="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dave+marks+walking+bass+lesson&sm=1"]http://www.youtube.c...ass+lesson&sm=1[/url] [/quote] By 'bad habits' I mean I tend to repeat where i'd go next on the fretboard, for example if I was playing in an 'A' i'd probably arpeggio through 'B,D to E' but this bores me because I do it on other songs, this could be a 'style' but i'd like to do new things if I can. I really like jazz so walking bass lines have helped massively in the past, even on punk songs we've played to fill in the gaps between whatever the guitar is doing, but, again I don't want to always play a walking bass line. There is some great advice, learning harmonising notes will be very helpful, so too playing the root only to work on them away from practice, I've taken to recording new songs so I can do just that.