What are your irrational prejudices? I have some bonkers ones...

[iamtheelvy]

On 20/08/2025 at 18:11, AndyTravis said:

The rickenbacker gang love keeping stickers on pickguards…

 

knocks me sick.

Well, I do still have this:

 

But I’ll do you one better with this on the same bass:

 

Never quite got round to removing it…

[casapete]

34 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Or Jethro Tull...

 

25 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Or Focus.

Or The Moody Blues.

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

They really aren't.

 

 

As presumably a 4 is compared to a 3 string bass?

 

I think they are.  They demand a distinct right and left hand technique, especially with regard to muting, and a different mindset with regard to the scale patterns you use.

 

No. There's an optimal number related to the size of a typical human hand. A typical five is too wide to allow thumb muting and left hand fingers access to all strings without a lot more wrist flexion. 

Edited yesterday at 16:32 by Stub Mandrel

[Stub Mandrel]

3 hours ago, Terry M. said:

You forgot to say this is in your opinion. Fixed it for you.

 

Isn't a prejudice an opinion by definition? 

 

 

[prowla]

3 hours ago, SimonK said:

Flutes - an instrument that is never needed in bands that include drums, bass and guitars. Orchestras, marching bands OK maybe - but not rock music! Bloody things are seldom in tune anyway.

How about flute-like sounds on synths?

[prowla]

3 hours ago, Terry M. said:

You forgot to say this is in your opinion. Fixed it for you.

In my opinion an irrational prejudice is an opinion.

[Terry M.]

12 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Isn't a prejudice an opinion by definition? 

 

 

I quoted your assertions not your prejudices. 

[Terry M.]

11 minutes ago, prowla said:

In my opinion an irrational prejudice is an opinion.

See above. 

[Stub Mandrel]

29 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

I quoted your assertions not your prejudices. 

 

For a moment there I thought you were takingvthis light-hearted topic all too seriously. 

 

I play fivers now and then. And I play with a plectrum sometimes too.

 

Sometimes we do what we have to do, not what we want to do.

[kwmlondon]

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Or a bit more obscure, Prince Charles and the City Beat Band.

 

That looks like a very specific night club 

[Judo Chop]

Four string flutes

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 A typical five is too wide to allow thumb muting and left hand fingers access to all strings without a lot more wrist flexion. 

 

I guess that means you need to define what a typical 5 is.

I mean my rick 5 is exactly the same width as the rick 4, wheras my typical 5s are between 60mm and 70mm at the bridge where I know a lot of people have crazy wide basses that are almost 60mm for just the 4 strings. I really don't believe that your hand manages to fail to work properly with 10mm extra width.

[Stub Mandrel]

9 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I guess that means you need to define what a typical 5 is.

I mean my rick 5 is exactly the same width as the rick 4, wheras my typical 5s are between 60mm and 70mm at the bridge where I know a lot of people have crazy wide basses that are almost 60mm for just the 4 strings. I really don't believe that your hand manages to fail to work properly with 10mm extra width.

 

My hand works on my fivers, it just doesn't feel as comfortable, and I have long fingers.  Close spacing is an option,  but too close can inhibit fingerstyle.  Let's just say I have never found a fiver I can play like a four? Regardless of muting issues.

[RhysP]

On 22/08/2025 at 20:14, HeadlessBassist said:

 

John: 🎶"Pino, your dinner's ready!"🎶

 

Pino: "Ya what..?"

 

I didn't know that Pino was in a band with Bingo from The Banana Splits.

[SimonK]

4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Isn't a prejudice an opinion by definition? 

 

 

 

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. – William James

[snorkie635]

2 hours ago, RhysP said:

I didn't know that Pino was in a band with Bingo from The Banana Splits.

Yep Bingo used to be in our band, but then his number came up and he's now playing alongside Pino Coolada.

[prowla]

Adults on scooters.

[Terry M.]

Pickup pole pieces that don't line up with the associated string.

[Leonard Smalls]

Can't be doing with big drum kits, unless said drummer is of a serious Cobham/Chambers etc standard.

Should learn to use snare, hi-hat and bass drum properly first!

[StickyDBRmf]

42 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Can't be doing with big drum kits, unless said drummer is of a serious Cobham/Chambers etc standard.

Should learn to use snare, hi-hat and bass drum properly first!

Irrational?

[Boodang]

On 16/08/2025 at 02:12, itu said:

And stop using that g-word. It's an electric bass. 

The acoustic bass.... part of the electric bass family! 

[Boodang]

2 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Can't be doing with big drum kits, unless said drummer is of a serious Cobham/Chambers etc standard.

Should learn to use snare, hi-hat and bass drum properly first!

A bit like 5 string bass players who haven't first learnt how to play like Pastorius. Outrageous. 

Edited 58 minutes ago by Boodang

[razor5cl]

Someone here mentioned separate volume knobs and it's currently driving me mildly loopy. Just had the electronics swapped on my Jackson Kelly and I have two active EMGs with no preamp so separate pots it is.

 

How does one deal with this? Having played for almost 9 years now and gotten used to having a master volume to quickly mute/unmute my bass with. I can quickly turn both down easily enough but turning them both back up is a faff.

 

It's especially annoying since one of my band's tunes has a part where I do a volume swell up on a big power chord. So far I've been doing it with just one knob and then turning the other one up once it's already ringing out at full volume but sometimes I forget to turn up the other knob (like on stage this weekend oops!)

[Geek99]

1 hour ago, Boodang said:

The acoustic bass.... part of the electric bass family! 

Useful piece of kit 

[Mokl]

1 hour ago, Boodang said:

A bit like 5 string bass players who haven't first learnt how to play like Pastorius. Outrageous. 

To be fair, this thread was intended to be about irrational prejudice.