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[quote name='gothpugs' post='1372050' date='Sep 13 2011, 04:13 PM']Basically i've been thinking of getting a new bass, or a second bass and I've been having a look at a few for sale nearby as much as i love my bass, its a cheap hunk of tree. lol Anyway there's a fretless bass gone up for sale near me, its not fully fretless but has markers, and its made by Axl. I like the idea of the fretless bass, a nicer sound and more fluid slides etc. and from what I've read you play a fretless bass ON the fret markers as apposed to inbetween in the area you would play on a fretted... Any one have an opinion on fretless basses? would they be ok for a beginner? anything else I need to know about fretless? are axl basses good? or at least better than my yamaha rbx170[/quote] You pose some good questions. I know nothing about AXL basses so cannot comment on that. When you say your current bass is "sluggish" what do you mean exactly. Bad action? Woolly sound? I don't think fretted or fretless is easier - they are just very different. If you are just starting then getting a fretless now might be a good move as you don't know any different. Although i can't qualify this statement i would think that learning on a fretless is harder as you need to be bang on the fret to be in tune (or use a lot of vibrato ). So if you are doing exercises like scales, arpeggios etc you might get more quickly frustrated practising on fretless. If you have dots on the fretboard of a fretless it makes it easier to play (opinion again) especially if you are used to dots on a fretted bass. This has been my experience. You can get "stick on" dots to put on a fretless neck but i do think that a fretless looks cool cos it doesn't have dots. I have recently started using a fretless and must admit that its more tiring as it requires more concentration than normal. Find myself watching my hands a lot more than with a fretted bass. One thing though is try the bass out before you buy it if at all possible. Might be more sluggish than your current bass

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1369767' date='Sep 11 2011, 07:56 PM']I pulled my back yesterday while loading gear in. Three hours plus in a cramped minibus. Two hour set set with an 11-pound bass to support. Over three hours back home and unload gear. Agony today. Anyone done a gig with back pain?[/quote] Yeah pretty often. Mine is related to my desk bound job and then hours sat on my ass with basses. Pilates has helped a LOT.

I don't want to sound stuffy or a right whinger (ok i know i will) but i don't like the design Yep, its personal taste but i think they look a bit geeky (ok, i reaslise this is an internet forum). The hollow logo thing on the breast ain't brilliant and it all looks a bit floppy, corporate and uninspiring. I'd love to see good quality round-neck black, red, grey, white tees with a juicy print on the front and/or back. Maybe a bit of humour? Just sayin...

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1370440' date='Sep 12 2011, 01:59 PM']I recorded straight into my pxr4 and then added the drum track in audacity[/quote] Lost me on the PXR4 thing. But yes there is too much gain going in. How do you monitor? Headphones.

I was happy with the same bass for years until i "found" Basschat. But yes, i sound like me on whatever gear i use.

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1370060' date='Sep 12 2011, 07:18 AM']Thanks for your reply I think I should have trimmed the input a little more, sorry! Not quite the mellow fretless sound I was looking for [/quote] Definitely. And up the drums in the mix. It sounds a bit muffled. What did you used to record?

Wow nearly took my head off! BIG sound.

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1369581' date='Sep 11 2011, 05:01 PM']I recorded a 2 minute track and posted it in the recording section. Absolute rubbish but I do enjoy playing Nobody's listened yet so perhaps everyone already knows how bad I am [/quote] Gonna try and find it l8r when the kids are in bed

Years ago when Hartke were good and expensive someone lent me their rig as they wanted to sell it to me. I hadn't used it till i picked it up from him and went straight to the sound check. Soon realised that something was seriously wrong. Farty noises etc. I speed home get my rig and do the gig. When i explain this to the chap selling the gear he gets very upset and says it must all be my fault. Being a peacemaker i offered to pay for it (stupidly as it turns out) and £180 later its sorted. I find out a few years later that the guy knew the rig was trouble before he offered for me to try it out The moral of the story for me is that always use your own gear and never anyone elses (unless its a jam night of course). Anyway, i vote NO. I understand its harder to have several drum kits to move about but your average bass rig can be wrapped up in about 3 minutes.

[quote name='Mornats' post='1369216' date='Sep 11 2011, 11:02 AM']Hell yeah! But the beauty of it is that only you have to listen to it I still cringe at some bits in the tracks I've put on soundcloud but it's all part of learning...[/quote] lol you are right. At least only we know how sh*t we can be sometimes. On the upside i believe my playing has gone from strength to strength because of it.

I use Groove Agent in Cubase or just a bunch of loops. Only ever use them for practice as find them very limiting for gigging.

[quote name='Mornats' post='1367677' date='Sep 9 2011, 02:19 PM']I struggle to practice sometimes. Most of it is down to not having any feedback (I don't play in a band) and also when I nail a piece, there's no record of it, no witnesses, nothing So what I did was to start recording stuff. So, does anyone else do this?[/quote] I do what you do! Did you find it really painful at first playing back what you recorded? I did. It was/is a real wake up call for my playing.

[quote name='fatboyslimfast' post='1367646' date='Sep 9 2011, 02:01 PM']Blimey O'Reilly. I'll never see Higglety House in the same light again.[/quote] Me neither. Looking forward to the next episode now. Need to ask the kids when it is on and then get them out of the room

[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='1365736' date='Sep 7 2011, 08:41 PM']iRealB is iOS only I think. They have website, so do a search and check it out. I have a few fake books in PDF format if you're interested.[/quote] I'll check it out. I have some real books thanks Edit: from the irealb website. Our equivalent Mac app version of iReal b should be ready for release in a month or so. We need to bring it up-to-date with the new version of iReal b v4 just released. [url="http://irealb.com/page18/"]http://irealb.com/page18/[/url] However we are not planning a PC version at the moment. It was a whole different experience though playing in a band than it is at home jamming along with Jamie Abersol mp3's. At home i can always just go back to the beginning of a verse/chorus and start again if i get a tricky bit. In the band situation i had to jump back in if i got a bit lost (even if not quite sure of where we were in the song).

[quote name='jakesbass' post='1365639' date='Sep 7 2011, 07:27 PM']First thing I'd say is be frank with them about where you are at, if they are happy for you to find your way over time then you are in an excellent environment to be pulled along really quickly... there is nothing like 'doing it' to get better at... doing it![/quote] Yes, i think they got the picture about where i am at But you gotta start somewhere i guess. The toughie is that in my band i am confident and doing a load of good gigs - right in the comfort zone. Its a bit of a kick in the teeth to be the noob and the one that needs to do the most work. [quote name='derrenleepoole' post='1365672' date='Sep 7 2011, 07:52 PM']Do you have an iPhone? If you have, get iRealB app. A fake book in app form. The new version doesn't come with the 900+ charts anymore. But I have the preference file saved, so they can be reloaded back into the app All fully transposable charts in digital, fit in your pocket form![/quote] Wow! That sounds ace. Is there a version for the PC?

Recently at home i sometimes noodle over jazz standards on a fretless bass. Saw an ad the other day looking for a bass player to join a small jazz unit - bass/keys/drums/vox. Against my instinct i called and did a session with them. I have never played jazz in a band before or taken the fretless out or even plugged it into my amp! To be honest it left me a bit depressed There was sheet music - i can read chords but am no great reader or theorist. Many of the songs had to be transposed on the fly - ouch. My walking bass was ok when needed but i struggled to keep up with some of the fast changes whilst transposing at the same time. All in all we did about 15 tracks and i probably did ok on half of them. Thing is, everyone was very nice and we all said we'd get together soon etc but i'd hate to be the one who is dragging his heels and letting others down. The positive is that in a sense it was a bit of a breakthrough - the negative is realising how much work needs to be done. Just wondering what you guys would do - any tips, advice? Thanks

I wished you lived down this way Major. Thanks a lot.

Me at a local festy in July. I have slated the shorts look in the past but it was damn hot...but i guess most of you are looking at the vocalist...

[quote name='seashell' post='1363020' date='Sep 5 2011, 04:09 PM']Not at all boring, thanks for sharing! [/quote] Man, i absolutely love Shearing. A complete gentleman with the amazing feel. Great story.

[quote name='henry norton' post='1362637' date='Sep 5 2011, 10:04 AM'][url="http://www.cafewalter.com/ha1/index.htm"]This[/url] is meant to be very good for giving you the true sound of your instrument, although it obviously won't reproduce the sound of an amp and cabinets. I usually try out a new setup/pickup/bass/string type by playing it through a headphone amp. You're absolutely right in that it won't produce a gigable sound but I test everything on the same, flattish settings which is useful to compare and contrast one to another. It's no good for optimising your sound though. That really needs to be done at the right volume into the right equipment.[/quote] Thanks Henry

I confess to having a bit of a fiddle with the action and PuP heights on my gigging basses. I do this at home and test through headphones via a USB soundcard. Sounds great at home. Sounds sh*t on stage! Caught me out this weekend and was saved by my old reliable Hamer that was almost exactly in tune after 4 weeks unplayed in its case. Before i fiddled with the basses i would have the amp EQ flat and did whatever i needed for the room with the onboard stuff when gigging. Night before last in a panic i started to try and optimise my sound using the amp EQ because the basses played differently but didn't get what i wanted in the time i had to do it. Is there a good way to test a bass setup at home through headphones? Unfortunately i can't rig up properly at home and test at the levels that i gig at. I think i already know the answer is no but if there is some trick or software or something that can help it would be great to know. FWIW: Bass > USB Soundcard > Cubase 5.something > Average £40 Headphones Thanks B

Help. I had to bring in the "Keeper" bass last night as i fear i may have screwed my other 2 gigging basses up a bit I confess to having a bit of a fiddle with the action and PuP heights on my gigging basses. I do this at home and test through headphones via a USB soundcard. Sounds great at home. Sounds sh*t on stage! The Hamer got me outta trouble though and the gig was ace with our dep guitarist. I bought another set of speakers for this one and with the amp at 4 ohms i had no issues keeping up Strange as this guy plays so differently to our main guitarist that it was like playing some of the songs for the first time again.

[quote name='henry norton' post='1361927' date='Sep 4 2011, 05:12 PM']This thread reminds me of a similar test some guy on Talkbass posted, bolting a jazz neck and hardware onto a bit of building lumber he found in his basement. He posted recordings of the donor bass and the plank which resulted in similar results to this bridge test. His results were posted blind though, which made it a bit more interesting. I use the same Schaller 3D bridge on my Precision because it lets me adjust the string spacing and more importantly, it looks very cool [/quote] How do you rate the Schaller 3D? I have a bit of a string spacing fetish

I just paid £75 for a Korean Squier Precision from EBay which i think is an 86 model. Its pretty beat up and ugly. I love it. Gets as much use as my other basses.

Wow. I want one. That is beautiful.