Bilbo Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 I did a rehearsal with my trio last night and covered 4 more of my tunes. They sounded great and I am really excited. My bass sounded great, also, which was a major bonus!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Oh - my signal chain last night was Bass - K&K pick-up - Fishman Plat Pro - Acoustic Image Clarus/Ten2 Ex all joined together with a couple of our own obbm's much-lauded cables. The signal was pure as the driven snow and silent as the grave. Exquisite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 (edited) After getting finickity about my action, and on the advice of teachers who know better than I have made a change from Spiro Weichs to D'Addario Helicore Hybrids E-D and a Zyex G (Larry Grenadier much?). They've only been on a few days, so still settling in, but initial impressions are that I'm incredibly pleased - especially the response of the Zyex G. Getting a huge even sound all over the board. Updates soon. Edited April 3, 2013 by Hector Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I'm at the stage where I can either work with my hands or play bass. When the weather gets warmer it may get better, if not there's going to be a bass for sale as I have to earn a living. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 I did a trio gig with no hand trouble at all. I think it is about the holistic approach. L/h, r/h, amp etc. And, mostly, not playing too hard. Let he bass do it's job and don't choke it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 [quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1365027608' post='2034457'] I'm at the stage where I can either work with my hands or play bass. When the weather gets warmer it may get better, if not there's going to be a bass for sale as I have to earn a living. Steve [/quote] Steve steve steve steve steve, let's not be too hasty here. What's up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 [quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1365027608' post='2034457'] I'm at the stage where I can either work with my hands or play bass. When the weather gets warmer it may get better, if not there's going to be a bass for sale as I have to earn a living. Steve [/quote] I know a bass-playing mechanic, so I understand this. Very tough call. Some jobs are just hand-wreckers. No kind of gloves practical at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 [quote name='fatback' timestamp='1365078205' post='2034923'] I know a bass-playing mechanic, so I understand this. Very tough call. Some jobs are just hand-wreckers. No kind of gloves practical at all? [/quote] I have a couple of problems. My day job (part of) relies on cutting wood with a fretsaw (either pedal or electric depending on whether I'm on the street or in my workshop) which requires pressure to hold the wood down and also feeds vibration though my fingertips (one of which also has scar tissue from my last minor accident) so I have vibration white finger in a couple of finger ends. I also have the effects of the broken left wrist from eighteen months ago. My right hand is fine but the left one is hurting a lot of the time to an extent where I haven't used my Street Trading License for several months. I have tried working in gloves and it doesn't work real well, I also tend to sand through the ends of them at a rate of knots. I'm hoping that when (if) it gets warmer then things will improve but at the moment, just when I feel I'm making progress with the bass I'm having to cut right back. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Steve I can imagine what you do is pretty terrible for your hands (Steve is a well known street-trading craftsman here in York) and I really can't imagine what you could do to guard against the vibration damage. Have you had any medical advice about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 [quote name='Hector' timestamp='1365026226' post='2034439'] After getting finickity about my action, and on the advice of teachers who know better than I have made a change from Spiro Weichs to D'Addario Helicore Hybrids E-D and a Zyex G (Larry Grenadier much?). They've only been on a few days, so still settling in, but initial impressions are that I'm incredibly pleased - especially the response of the Zyex G. Getting a huge even sound all over the board. Updates soon. [/quote] Two gigs in the last week with old musical acquaintances, two sets of compliments on my acoustic sound. Very pleased. They still need to darken up, but sounding like a whole new bass. Had a rehearsal in a space I usually dread (really dead sound) and typically needed an amp to cut through. With the new set up, seems the amp is no longer needed. p.s. Steve really sorry to hear about your hand woes - really hope things work out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Right, over the course of the last year or so I have now read this whole thread. And paid attention to all of it. What I would like to know now is what are the best warm up/ warm down exercised for the left hand (and right, why not) that can be done surreptitiously before a gig without looking totally mental. Don't mind if I look a bit crazy, but starting to get a few twinges in the left wrist now, probably got appalling left hand technique as well (trying to work on that, please don't tell me to get lessons, I can barely afford electricity and food at the moment) all pointers are good. At the mo I am trying to keep my wrist as straight as possible, use the tips of my fingers, and not too worried about thumb straightness. I think the problem might be that I am coming from a guitar point of view (always where I come from sadly) and my hand wants to hold a I-V-Octave I position for raking up and down those shapes (like a power chord) cos that's how a lot of my lines end up. I'm not actually holding it, but there's some kind of phantom trying to keep the fingers as close to this as possible, which is a bitch on an F in 1st pos. Links to handy guides, and personal experiences all welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 http://www.bapam.org.uk/documents/1_Dont_cramp_your_style_web.pdf I do these before gigs or long practise sessions, seems to help in general. Would interested to see if people have more hand-specific warm-ups? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owencf Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 (edited) I am getting a tiny bit of pain in my right hand when bowing, im putting it down to not having to grip it like a axe or a pick, and not being used to the fairy wand action So manly. It will likely diminish as i get used to the bow more. Apart from the slight tenderness in the tips of the fingers on my left all is well. Also Thank you Hector for the warm up PDF. Edited April 16, 2013 by Owencf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLoydElgar Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Its not only just gripping it "like an axe" it's also be posture during standing or sitting too... do stretch out, but it will not stop the pain... You have to be very careful when practicing as this pain can mature into RSI, carpel tunnel and other various issues that many musicians have... please just practice keeping the bow straight and your arm fully extended and the bow relaxed into the strings. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citymariner Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 This thread has been very informative. Reading similar problems that I am having from different people in their own phrasing has really made me dig deeper. I found I was getting pain in my left arm - I thought it was part of hardening up to the beast - and have since adjusted my stance etc. to alleviate the pain. Suddenly, things became a little easier. Now the challenge is to keep that position consistently and move it into the subconscious. I found a good video on YT that discussed the action of the left hand and the need to use your larger chest and back muscles to support your playing. The analogy was moving a music stand. You could just grab it and sling it in the corner, or, you could do it gracefully with just two fingers and use other muscles to support lifting the same stand with your two digits. This made the penny drop a little for me. On the advice of members' I've purchased the "Evolving Bassist" book and DVD for £27 off Amazon. Even if the DB doesn't stay I'm sure it will help my EB and music theory advance. I've lucky enough to be able to secure a long term loan of a DB to have a real good stab at it. I'm three days in and hooked. It really is so rewarding almost to the point that playing fretted EB is like playing guitar hero on Playstation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 (edited) [quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1366122800' post='2048609'] Right, over the course of the last year or so I have now read this whole thread. And paid attention to all of it. What I would like to know now is what are the best warm up/ warm down exercised for the left hand (and right, why not) that can be done surreptitiously before a gig without looking totally mental. [/quote] I do hand exercises while I'm driving to the gig. Flex the wrists forward and back. Wiggle the fingers. Twist the wrists. Clench fists. All this leads to a very warm forearm, so i know I'm doing it right. yes, I get very strange looks when i'm stopped at traffic lights. I admit to occasionally doing it in full view, especially the finger waggling, just to freak people out. They think the very least I'm doing is casting spells. Maybe I am. Edited April 17, 2013 by fatback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 [quote name='fatback' timestamp='1366191944' post='2049339'] I do hand exercises while I'm driving to the gig. Flex the wrists forward and back. Wiggle the fingers. Twist the wrists. Clench fists. All this leads to a very warm forearm, so i know I'm doing it right. yes, I get very strange looks when i'm stopped at traffic lights. I admit to occasionally doing it in full view, especially the finger waggling, just to freak people out. They think the very least I'm doing is casting spells. Maybe I am. [/quote] Genius! Now I need to stop doing gigs where I need to turn up 4 hours before we go on..... (Or 2 days in some cases) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 (edited) one tip... before doing any stretching of muscles, make sure there is moderately elevated blood flow to the area... so kind of warm up before you warm up if that makes sense. Stretching cold muscles can be counter productive. Shake your arms Lightly and quickly clench your fists (really rapidly) Vigourously rub the whole length of your forearms to stimulate your skin and warm your muscles. Do bicep curls but without weights All this increases blood flow, blood carries oxygen and glucose and other essential nutrients for proper muscle operation. (contraction and relaxation) Increased blood flow lessens the risk of injury. NOW you may stretch Grasshopper! Edited April 18, 2013 by jakenewmanbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 I did a Jazz Jam thing in COlcherster last night. The deal is, I get booked to play in a quintet for about an hour and then the rest of the evening is handed over to anyone who wants to have a go. Trouble was, no bass players. So I had to play without a break for nearly three hours. Now the great thing is that the last tune was (as it SOOO often is) Sonny Rollins' 'Tenor Madness' going by like s*** off a stick. Despite my own anxieties about stamina, this last tune was about 10 minutes long and I nailed it without any loss of impetus (it speeded up if anything ) and, more importantly, no hand or arm pains this morning. I have those gig with John Etheridge et al starting next week and it is a relief to know that I can at least keep going! I taped last night as well (Zoom H1) which gave me a frame of reference and some learning points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 My amplification vibe is so brilliant at the moment - trumpet player on a gig a few days ago said he loved my sound, and he loved even more how I was able to keep it when amplified. So pleased to hear that Even better, I found out that my head, 1x10 and clothes etc. fit into a small wheely suitcase so no more carrying a cab on my back! Life is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbass Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) If pain hits, stop playing and work out how to prevent it, so.... Going back to the original question, here is my experience: I am 60 years old next month. I took up jazz DB/contrabass in November 2011 after too many years of trying to make my Fender P bass sound like a DB (been playing bass since I was 15). I bought my bass from Peter Tyler, along with his excellent book and since then DB has been something of an obsession. I practice most days for about an hour. I have always stopped when I felt pain and worked out how to prevent it. We are all different, but I think posture comes first, then arm position and then fingering. My fingers were already hardened to long gigs playing my P bass. Arm position has to made be in recognition of reducing the bends in the muscle-tendon run to the fingers and stance must reduce the pressure in the back. I find it helps to play in socks or bare feet, even the smallest heels on shoes seem to make it more difficult to bring the shoulders to the right position, resulting in back pain. I don't really know if I'm any good or not, but my daughter asked me to play at her wedding in April 2012 and I played DB for an hour and P-bass for about 6 hours with various bands and musicians at my sister-in-law's and my party last Saturday. No one threw anything, complained or left early = good sign. Age is no barrier and DB is wonderful. Edited June 27, 2013 by timbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted July 8, 2013 Author Share Posted July 8, 2013 Seven sets in two days....and still standing. Need a few days downtime for near blisters to ebb away but, muscularly, all is well ( and some the Gareth Lockrane sets were manic, tempowise) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo1978 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 [quote name='Hector' timestamp='1365026226' post='2034439'] After getting finickity about my action, and on the advice of teachers who know better than I have made a change from Spiro Weichs to D'Addario Helicore Hybrids E-D and a Zyex G (Larry Grenadier much?). They've only been on a few days, so still settling in, but initial impressions are that I'm incredibly pleased - especially the response of the Zyex G. Getting a huge even sound all over the board. Updates soon. [/quote] Question... did you use the weichs to take pressure off your left hand/arm? And did the d'addirios also help in this area? Do you find the volume is better from the d'addirios? Sorry for all the questions, but strings are so expensive I want to get it right!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 15, 2013 Author Share Posted August 15, 2013 I got my Evah Pirazzi's because they are supposed to be good for both arco and pizz whereas Spiros are allegedly not that good for arco. Personally, I have never been that precious about strings and find that anything with a decent rep is fine by me. I am not yet good enough for it to matter enough to notice On my Wal, I don't even know what guage they are, just that they are groundwound (for fretless). I adjust to the strings and don't expect them to adjust to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroun Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Spirocore are awesome for the bow, you just need rosin and correct technique! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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