BottomE

[quote name='gothpugs' post='1361254' date='Sep 3 2011, 08:05 PM']I'm just learning, been playing a couple of months and never used a pick yet. When I get blisters I just prick them with a pin and put a plaster on and carry on, then take the plaster off next day [/quote] Now thats what i am talkin' bout. Good man.

[quote name='funkbox1977' post='1360977' date='Sep 3 2011, 02:24 PM']Hi, I've been lurking on these forums for sometime and thought it was about time I said 'hello'! My name is Paul I've been playing bass since 1974 and yes, I do have the grey hairs to prove it I currently play a Spector Euro 5LXEX purely for my own pleasure, no band commitments At the moment toying with the idea of purchasing an Overwater Progress, 5 string fretted. I'm a big fan of contemporary and modern Jazz, including Jaco and Stu Hamm. Cheers P[/quote] Hello Paul from a fellow Dorset bumpkin. Enjoy the forum. Jerry

Dep guitarist - very good (but loud). sh*tty stage - bad sound - good audience though. All in all 5/10.

Just got an email from his son too! Wow what a company.

I am a bit excited about these now. It was a random Ebay impulse buy.

The 3 pickup thing is hideous.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1358611' date='Sep 1 2011, 11:30 AM']Isn't Kent Armstrong the alter ego of Superspiderbatman?[/quote] I was thinking more a mix of Clark Kent and Stretch Armstrong (the rubbery 70s super hero toy). What a guy though. In this day and age he gets a lot of Kudos for taking a bit of time to help someone out.

Took a flyer on Ebay with some Kent Armstrong Jazz pickups. Put in a low bid, went out for the day and was surprised to see i'd won them for very little. Anyway, i took some photos and emailed the Kent Armstrong website hoping against hope that someone might help me identify them. Got an email last night from the man himself not only telling me what they are and also what to expect tone-wise. And can you believe he also told me who made them! What a star. Just saying.

With a bit of EQ'ing i can get a pretty good impersonation with a fretless Jazz Bass.

[quote name='Shambo' post='1357644' date='Aug 31 2011, 03:34 PM']'The Meters', first album by The Meters, or 'The Great Ray Charles' by the erm... great, erm.. Ray Charles.[/quote] +1 The Meters

I am a recent P Bass convert. Still love Jazzes but there is something about a P Bass. In a recent quest to buy one i discovered that there is a massive amount of difference in feel amongst the same type (American, Mexican, Jap, Squier etc) of P Bass. You can get 2 US P Basses from the same year of manufacture and they will play differently. So, like most on here say its really about playing one and finding one you like. They mostly sound very similar though i think i can discern a difference - the US Pickups/Electronics do sound a bit thicker and beefier. I bought a 1986 Squier which is the ugliest bass i have ever owned. The previous owner must have used it for demolishing something as it is very beat up but it has a lovely buttery sound and feels comfortable. Weighs a ton. It cost £75 and i am happy to gig and record with it!

[quote name='seashell' post='1357464' date='Aug 31 2011, 01:12 PM']Yes, another class I go to is Body Balance which is a mixture of youga, tia chi and pilates again done to music. There are some lovely core exercises and postures that really stretch out your back. It's just occurred to me that I could be stretching my back out nicely with that, only to squash it up again with the weight lifting! So I think I'll try to avoid exercises that involve having the bar across your back in future.[/quote] +1 Pilates and Little Mark have prolonged my playing days

Back to the OP. After moving back to England for 5 years now i went and visited all my old mates in France this year. All of them said that my French is better now than it was when i lived there! I find the same with theory and playing in general. I learn something new then leave it for a few weeks. There is some kind of process that goes on subconciously fitting all the parts into place - whatever i don't know but a break is often a way of getting better.

For about the first 20 years of playing i didn't give a monkey about my sound. I had reasonable gear, kept getting gigs and didn't think it important. Took a break from playing and then all i did was worry about my sound. Lately i am back to not worrying about it. The gear is all very good quality but more importantly i have started to realise that i sound pretty much like me on whatever bass i play. I have also realised that punters don't give a toss. Feeling comfortable with the sound is important but i am not so obsessed with a particular sound. Edit - referring to gigging sound and not recording.

+ 2

yum

I can't choose between the two. In different circumstances i like them both. If i had to choose, a matter of life or death, then i would go for passive. I prefer the natural growl tone of a passive bass than one that goes through an active circuit. Gigging is probably easier with active especially if you are jumping through differnt styles of music that need a range of tones.

Thats brilliant. I am sure it was deserved. Jerry

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1352854' date='Aug 26 2011, 06:35 PM']I would hope intonation would be set correctly before you are at a gig and need to tube up.[/quote] Me too. I was just saying that they aint the best tools to do a setup with. I prefer my mates old 1980s Korg analogue tuner for that. btw - i think you meant to say "lube" up

Can't argue with that.

[quote name='Machines' post='1352566' date='Aug 26 2011, 03:20 PM']I've got a Rotosound one (does most stringed instruments) and it seems to track better and quicker with higher frequencies. A 12th fret harmonic E is much better than an open E I find.[/quote] Which is fine if you know your bass is setup correctly. Only problem with this is that its harder to setup intonation if you can't track the bottom E.

I was a sceptic at first. Mrs BottomE bought one for me and i now have 2 which are great. Small and light they are very accurate - you can use the digital representation of the analogue meter or the Hz settings to tune. Can be callibrated. Shows up nicely on a dark stage. Works on vibration so usually not affected by noise from other instruments or environment. Always seems to take a bit longer to tune the E string. Don't know how effective it would be if you had a 5 stringer.

[quote name='pickle' post='1351532' date='Aug 25 2011, 05:04 PM']Well the first lesson is free so im gonna give it a go and see how it works[/quote] Fair enough. Please post and let us know how you get on.

[quote name='pickle' post='1351452' date='Aug 25 2011, 03:56 PM']Through webcam and either mics or DI into the pc[/quote] Are you not worried about the quality of a lesson like this? I guess it depends what you are meaning to learn. Have you anything specific in mind?