Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Taking a bass on holiday


arthurhenry

Recommended Posts

I always take one, I have a cheap hohner travel bass for if I fly, booked on a Baltic cruise this summer and will take the jazz with me. Partly for practice but mostly because it’s something I enjoy. Some people read a book, I play bass. I have a Dunlop pedal amp that works ok. I do get some funny looks though and was asked which of the bands I was in on the last cruise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not abroad, but I've taken a silent travel bass on the last two UK holidays.  I'm still a relative newbie, so not playing for a whole week sets my muscle memory back aeons.

And I intend to continue that argument even if one day I can play entire Yes albums from memory! 👍 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven’t taken my Wingbass abroad yet but will do so soon. I took it on our annual holiday to Wales last year and it was brilliant to have to noodle on whilst sitting in my hammock watching Sybil playing with the cows. The size makes it perfect for travel; I think the original concept was to make a hand luggage sized bass for flying (hence the name)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have taken a bass with me on a canal holiday as had to practice new tunes for a gig immediately on our return. I think the slower pace of life on a narrowboat suits just sitting there idling the afternoon away with a tune and a beer. And my wife is pretty laid back so that helps. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, ped said:

I haven’t taken my Wingbass abroad yet but will do so soon. I took it on our annual holiday to Wales last year and it was brilliant to have to noodle on whilst sitting in my hammock watching Sybil playing with the cows. The size makes it perfect for travel; I think the original concept was to make a hand luggage sized bass for flying (hence the name)

Happy Jack and I had a chat about whether he preferred a Wingbass or a Snapdragon as a present. Nice as Wingbasses are, they don't seem to be designed to do the job of a normal bass - they are, so to speak, a standalone dusty end. They are obviously way more precious, higher quality and more expensive than the Snapdragon, but they don't cover the same ground. We decided that, for someone who wants to keep their fretting hand exercised on the basslines they play with their band (often mostly on the first 7/10 frets), the Wingbass is less useful than a longer scale bass - unless the person in question is a solo bass player, of course. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

Happy Jack and I had a chat about whether he preferred a Wingbass or a Snapdragon as a present. Nice as Wingbasses are, they don't seem to be designed to do the job of a normal bass - they are, so to speak, a standalone dusty end. They are obviously way more precious, higher quality and more expensive than the Snapdragon, but they don't cover the same ground. We decided that, for someone who wants to keep their fretting hand exercised on the basslines they play with their band (often mostly on the first 7/10 frets), the Wingbass is less useful than a longer scale bass - unless the person in question is a solo bass player, of course. :)

Playing an octave up actually sounds great and you can hear yourself really well over your backing. I thought it would sound weedy but in fact it’s quite the opposite. I’m not a solo player one bit and my Wing is a full on groove machine. The sound is very hifi and rich. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it with a band but yes I look at it as an instrument in its own right. When I’m practicing it’s not playing standard bass lines, I’m noodling and grooving and the ability to get a great low action makes the Wingbass the best option for me. The spacing means transferring to a full scale five string feels the same. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, ped said:

When I’m practicing it’s not playing standard bass lines, I’m noodling and grooving

That's the point. I really loved your Wingbass when I saw it at the SE bash. If I end up buying one (they do lefties, yay!) it'll be for noodling and playing differently from the usual, not for holiday practice. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, chris_b said:

It's a holiday. Go and do holiday stuff.

Make sure you practice enough before you go.

This. A week or two away will make everything seem better when you return. It’s a time for new experiences and a break from routine so just enjoy it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, T-Bay said:

I always take one, I have a cheap hohner travel bass for if I fly...

I bought a cheap Hondo Alien for similar purposes. I would have liked a Hohner though. Anyway, not really travelled with it yet and I intend to keep it in the van, but my son will take it with him on holidays at the end of June (involving international flight). I can report then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I often take my little 30” Hohner travel bass. The mrs supports my “need” and as long as I practice when kids are in bed she does not cause me any grief, nor do I cause here grief with her need to read the most depressing quasi-literature she takes along for her enjoyment ;)

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got a tribute band rehearsal the day after I get back from holidays, so I've taken my new (to me) Cort GB4 with me along with a Tascam GB10. We're not at gig-ready state yet, hence wanting to keep everything fresh. Mrs Zero is fine with it, and she'll be doing a bit of revision herself, as she's recovering from a nasty bout of sepsis and missed a couple of gigs and any rehearsal for the last month or so. I've also taken a guitar with me in case we do any open mic nights.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took a big fat Gretsch 6210 on holiday to Cornwall with me a few years back as the day we came back I was booked to play a festival in front of 6000 people, so I wanted to just run through the songs whilst away, Mrs2611 took some lovely photos of me sitting in the sunshine on the veranda of our chalet strumming away, it gave Mrs2611 time to do her writing so we were both happy.

Take the bass with you, there's bound to be a little down time available where you can put in a bit of practice whilst she drinks Pina Colada's?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a holiday. Enjoy the time away.

On the few occasions when I have gone on holiday and taken my bass it has always been when I have gone in the company of other musicians. Invariably over the course of 7 days away we end up playing for a few hours in total at the very most. The rest of the time we are too busy doing fun holiday-type things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I often take a bass with me on UK holidays. I usually wake up early and my wife doesn't, good way to spend a couple of hour before breakfast. I just pay it unplugged and use my laptop for the songs I need to practice. Quite enough for my wife to stay asleep a few feet away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...