OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Yep, mainly in the F clef. I'm rusty so having to think about it, but its still much easier for me than reading tab.
The Bassist and Guitarist thread
- Thread starter Drago
- Start date
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Seevio
Guru
- Location
- South Glos
This is Rock n Roll. Bass music is written in tab!
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
You've got GAS, gear acquisition syndrome! There's no cure. Like bikes!
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
Having said that, after 50 years of playing bass, I've stripped it all back to the bare minimum super-lightweight rig. Easier on...everything!
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
I've renamed the thread.
delb0y
Legendary Member
- Location
- Quedgeley, Glos
D
Deleted member 23692
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DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
The one thing I don't encompass is electric bass as a solo instrument. Doesn't work like that for me.
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
I use modern flatwound strings, either D'Addario Chromes or Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats. These can be quite twangy with tone right up, yet very mellow with lower tone. Much easier on the fingers and frets, and if you look after them (and if you don't suffer from killer sweat), they can last years, which makes them, in the long run, much cheaper than roundwound strings.
And if any Cyclechatter wants their bass set up, and they are nearby, gimme a call!
And if any Cyclechatter wants their bass set up, and they are nearby, gimme a call!
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
What are they like price wise compared to conventional strings?
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
Expensive. £30 to £40 a set. They might last ten years, though, which roundwounds never do. Although if you want to do slap bass, roundwounds are definitely it.
If you want really soft feeling flats, go for TI JF324 Jazz Flats, even pricier, very supple, less twangy, again very long lived if you look after them. This means a wipe down after every use.
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
This looks a good website.
https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/string-sets-c865/bass-guitar-c34
https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/string-sets-c865/bass-guitar-c34
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
If you have a guitar shop nearby, see what they stock. They are not likely to have a good range of bass strings unless thjey specialise, but if they have what you want, it's rarely much different in price. Stringsdirect and Stringbusters not greatly cheaper, pays to shop around.
AuroraSaab
Veteran
Good call on the Ibanez, Drago. My son has an Ibanez bass which is very nice. He hasn't really persevered with learning to play yet though. He started with an Epiphone viola bass copy but it had terrible neck dive.
Between us all we have quite a few guitars. OH has just bought a used Fender US telecaster which is awesome, we have 5 or 6 acoustics, and a couple of other electrics. As with bikes, the n plus 1 equation applies. I bought this for £50 in a charity shop earlier in the year - an as new Loar acoustic, a beautifully made copy of a pre war Gibson. It's a shame I am pretty much just a strummer.
Between us all we have quite a few guitars. OH has just bought a used Fender US telecaster which is awesome, we have 5 or 6 acoustics, and a couple of other electrics. As with bikes, the n plus 1 equation applies. I bought this for £50 in a charity shop earlier in the year - an as new Loar acoustic, a beautifully made copy of a pre war Gibson. It's a shame I am pretty much just a strummer.
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Stephen Piper
Veteran
- Location
- Romney Marsh, Kent
After playing in various local bands as a drummer, and occasional guitarist, over the past 45 years, I finally find myself playing in two bands as a bassist. I have always dabbled with bass so have a few chops and years of practice behind me. I cannot read tab or the stave quickly enough to use in a live situation, but tab helps as a learning tool. I manage by memorising parts, and even if they do fade if not used regularly it takes very little to recap and bring them back to mind. YouTube is a god send for tutorials on how to play almost any bass line in the rock and soul idioms, wish it was around in the 70's when that stylus had to be reset a thousand times to work out the notes one at a time.
I have four basses, a couple of cheapo types left knocking about for practicing on (a Peavey and Epiphone), a Fender Jazz Bass for gigging and fairly recently I acquired an inexpensive revolution fretless, which is already gathering dust alongside the mandolin and lap steel which are hardly ever played either.
I still play drums in a band and our current bass player is an inspiration as he only has two fingers on his fretting hand and plays with just an index and little finger. Sitting beside him on the drum stool I do not notice any difference in his playing compared to any previous players.
I have four basses, a couple of cheapo types left knocking about for practicing on (a Peavey and Epiphone), a Fender Jazz Bass for gigging and fairly recently I acquired an inexpensive revolution fretless, which is already gathering dust alongside the mandolin and lap steel which are hardly ever played either.
I still play drums in a band and our current bass player is an inspiration as he only has two fingers on his fretting hand and plays with just an index and little finger. Sitting beside him on the drum stool I do not notice any difference in his playing compared to any previous players.
