Different Necks

The other day I woke up with a sore thumb, it was the day after school so I thought I just held the pencil too hard. The next day I woke with the same pain and realized: that I'd played the new guy both nights [and I'm not left handed].

My CP just doesn't gel with the new guy's thicker neck's radius, which makes him a pain to play too often. Speaking of, I had no clue how well I knew Igor's neck until the new guy came along. May as well say it now: new guy will be my last beginner bass. I love the price, but enough with the jumbo frets! They really are insanely large, I don't understand why, the sweet spot in the fret isn't larger.

So Igor's neck is too thin, new guy's is too thick. [I guess too picky.]   

It has a name

This thing:

It's a "string tree" yeah I would not of thought of calling it that. It helps with tone apparently. I tried figuring out what it was before but google metal on headstock and all you'll get is tuners. Count on TB.com to set me straight.

Picture of Intonation

As I've said before [I think, I can't find the post] I tune by tension, and I noticed without the string tree the A string [The Bloody A string!] doesn't have the right tension. Once it was on properly it all works out.

Okay it is abit of an eye sore, and googling pictures for this post I found alot of cute/demure ones, so yea! Something else I can upgrade.... [My poor wallet.]       

Strap Shopping

I love my mother. The other day I was showing her the Middle School-er's [not official name] new strings when she asked when I was going to buy him a strap. I have my mother's old strap and I must say, I am spoiled with the leather. I told her I found one for $10 and she rolled her eyes, and told me to buy a better strap.

To Levy's I go, one of the best guitar strap makers with straps under $50. For less than $35 I can get a double stitched, two and a half inch wide strap [half an inch wider then the old one, which I want since the new guy is heavier]. The one issue is that of the nine color options, five are a shade of brown. The other colors are red, blue, white and black [bleh]. The white could work but would get dirty quicker. The red could too easily clash with the bass [along with all the browns] The blue isn't too bad.

But then again, straps are seen mainly from the back and who cares if it clashes [I don't]. The strap with probably outlast the bass anyway.       

Time for the Real Thing

Strap locks wise. Getting real install-able ones will prolong the life of all my straps and there's that peace of mind. I installed a bridge, how bad could strap knobs be? [Cue, dun, dun, DUH!]

I suppose I should drop http://www.bassstringsonline.com/ here. I got my last set of strings from here and they arrived faster then the ones I got from up state [and my state is one of the ten smallest states]. The reviews for this place on TB.com are nothing but starring [I also believe the owner is an active member, so that's a bonus]. Prices are on point, if not cheaper with everyone else in the market; you do pay shipping and taxes but there's also a reward system which will get you 5% off an order once you spend $100.

Why am I talking about bass strings online in a post about strap locks? They have them too, cheap. Also the website is straight up about extra charges, unlike most other sites.  For $15 a set I have strap locks that will last me a lifetime. [At lease a risk taking teenage boy's lifetime.]   

Paint Options!

I want a hipster bass. A stand in since I can't afford/house a double bass. A mix of this:

and:

  

These are the paint options:

Which should I do?

I Now [Kinda] Get The Beatles

My mom raised me on rock, prog rock, country rock, alternative rock, plain old rock was known in my head as that kinda lame '60s rock. My mom didn't really help break me of this thinking, she only had one Beatles record back in the day, and it was instrumental. The first version of Come Together I ever heard was the Areosmith cover, and the original still sounds off to my ears.

Sure I respect Paul McCartney [for more reasons then just being a major 1960s rock star and still being alive] but I can only listen to his music for deconstruction's sake, not enjoyment. I'll never forget when I looked up the bassline of Silly Little Love Song and was blown away by how complicated, yet demure it was. [I know that song is actually from the Wings, but you can not separate the bass tone from the bassist.] Maybe it's because I've been raised on in your face basslines, but the second I played my flat wound strings, it clicked.

The brightness of round strings aren't there. The strings are smooth to play, but you have to work to get more then a shush tone out of them, but I get where that tone comes from now. [Holy crap! Just played them with Mary, it's thunderous!] 

Using The Margin of Error.

I love the margin of error! It really is the best part of [hellish] math class. Actually I really like anything where something I learn in class applies to life, but this one helped my bass.

This should not of worked, I used two totally different sources off the internet and neither was TalkBass.com. [And most TB members agree, their advice is well meaning at best and laugh your ass off entertaining at worst.] I found a tool on some bass part retail website that said to drill holes 30.882 inches [from what I'm assuming was the nut] with .030 margin of error for the bridge I bought.That number lined up with the top screws of the old bridge, this bridge has no tops screw holes.

So I lined the bridge with the old holes [which were between the new holes, thus impossible to see] and drilled a hole. It was a little low compared to the original holes, but Mom's Luke was sure it was within the margin of error. So I marked all the new holes, noticed I had the dots on a slant, freaked, had Mom's Luke fix it, and now I have a lovely working bridge!!    

I'm a weakling

Image from the Graphic Fairy

Upon triple checking that I had the right wrist position I found some tips I'm trying to learn. FretlessMainly talked about lining up your palm with your elbow, and Fergie Fulton linked some video about muting with your thumb and using your shoulders muscle.

I tried to use these methods the other night and discovered you really can't do one without using them all. I was playing Igor, who can be uncomfortable to play sitting down; and keeping my plucking hand's wrist straight was absolutely impossible unless I was keeping my arm up with my shoulder.

I've been in physical therapy for most of my childhood, I know the shaking from weak muscles well, but that was the first time in my life I felt it in my upper body. [And it was instantaneous, which is rare.] I've always known I had low muscle tone in my upper body, but this was the first time it slapped me in that face like that. Hell sitting down I couldn't last playing for three minutes.

[I set down with the new guy and he was much more comfortable to play seated.]        

That was convenient

Until it wasn't. My strings and bridge came in on the same day! Than I realized I got a different bridge then I thought I got. Instead of having to drill three holes I'll have to drill five. I should still be able to use the bridge, but The Middle Schooler looks so deformed; naked without the strings and mouth-less without any bridge. [But that may be because I just finished Let Me In.]

Did you know there is a wire under the bridge? I did not. [TalkBass you are so dear to me!]   

Screwdriving Punch Drunk

In one word: DON'T. It may sound fun [and maybe dirty] but it will lead to trouble.

My cautionary fable starts late one night, no actually I was putting off homework one afternoon. [Damn, I wasn't even punch drunk] I was trying to change strings when I wondered what was under the pick guard. Having a screwdriver at hand proved to be dangerous, off went all the screws, including the ones holding the pick up in place.

Did you know there's a spring between the pick guard and the pick up? I did not, and it was a bitch getting it back together. So for nearly two weeks I had a bass I couldn't plug in. [That didn't really matter because of the state of the strings, but still not a smart idea.] Even my mom's Luke [Gilmore Girls reference] thought it would be impossible for one person to put it back together.

[This is a weapon of organized destruction.] 

Oh, Internet Shopping

I'm on my way to modding; I bought a new bridge and strings for the new guy. I'm going with flats because I wanted flats last string change but chickened out, plus they were on sale for the price of rounds. The bridge is more or less the same as Igor's [which I have no complaints about whatsoever!]

At $42 for the bundle it's not bad at all, now to wait....

Burn That Bridge

I hate the bridge on The Bronco. Much to Pilgrim's dismay [Super helpful member of TB with a modded Bronco] I could not imagine keeping it on. Allow me to get a picture of the evil thing:

As you can see it only has two saddles, so you end up adjusting two strings at once. I actually wasn't too bothered by this, its true vice is the back plate [proper name is bridge plate]. See that bill hanging over the saddle screw? It is from hell's deepest circle. 

First it's impossible to access the saddle screws without scratching the paint. I may not be in love with this bass, but that's still not okay, especially when I get it repainted. [For those of you who think getting another screwdriver would fix this problem, hold on to your hat.] Secondly, that bill always cast the screws into shadow. It can not be gotten around. 

This Made Me Tilt My Head

Somethings you just come to learn. When greenhorns are learning to play they always hear about the one finger per fret technique; if they continue playing bass for two or more days they learn that the one fret for finger often goes against the "just relax" attitude of playing.

This is how most seasoned bassist's fretting hand looks. [Pardon the myriad of Seth Bolt pictures, I have a ton of pictures I've taken at shows.] Fingers all clustered together, somehow snaking around the neck to the right notes.

On another noodle session [which happens twenty times for every woodshed] I noticed my hand was automatically doing that super chill bassist hand thing. I never tried to learn this, it just naturally developed.        

With No Emotional Attachment

Comes what should be horror [when it comes to basses]. I'll let this post be about the strings.
They never felt right, one of many things I disliked about the bronco was that the strings were far too light.

I had a moment of giddiness as I recalled the higher gauge stock strings I kept from Igor. But Igor is a full sized bass, and the new guy is a short scale. TB said not to do it, but as still a teen with a bass I don't love [yet] I had to try.

If the tuners were set up backwards [so that the largest string was set at the top of the head stock] I might of had made it work; but there was no way it was going to happen the way the tuners were set. There was no blood this time, just much disappointment. There was a bright spot of hope as I remembered every teenager's partner in shenanigans, Duck Tape.

Sadly, even Duck Tape could not remedy this [fact Duck Tape can only double as a bridge for strings up to .65 gauge]. So my minion has been setting cockeyed and untouched for much too long.

      

Dealing with the Flip

I am a southpaw bassist. [Yes I dare to call myself a bassist, a bad bassist but a bassist nonetheless.] Yet I don't regret buying a right hand[-er?]. I still grab the neck with my right hand, I still question if the strings are in the right order, but there are moments when it feels so right.

It's so hard to explain, those moments when I'm frowning over adding something else to the to-do list, and I realize how much less I have to think right handed. It's like there's less effort to get out what I want to play, when playing right handed.

Playing southpaw isn't harder, it just takes longer in the millisecond frame of time. It's kinda scary yet totally awesome.

Comparison Time

Two entry level basses: 2002 not fender Bronco and 2005-06 Ibanez GSR200l.

Starting with the head stock I prefer Igor's. I like the look of the in a row tuners but let me tell you that top tuner is a pain the the ass to reach. Igor's head stock looks odd, notably where the head stock meets the neck; but The Bronco's is just too big for the bass. And what is that not tuner metal thing in the middle of the head stock? It's messing with my string spacing and I don't like it.
Last thing about the head stock, Igor has a truss rod cover, this new guy doesn't; it seems cheap and immodest without it. Ibanez wins for best head
stock.

The necks really are two totally different beasts. I can't tell if the maple fret board really 'poppy-er' since I still have stock strings on it. I haven't played long enough to properly compare the two, but the bronco has this strip down the back of the neck like the clocking of a stocking which is damn sexy.

The body is really where the bronco sucks, between the over sized head stock and the small and fat  body, I feel like I'm holding an awkward middle school-er. I miss the nice horn of my Ibanez, I feel like I have nothing to grab onto.

Hardware wise it's give and take. I love where the jack plug is on the Bronco, I still fumble around when plugging in Igor. The knobs are also better on the bronco, they're even with no screw needed.  The Bronco's bridge has to go. I couldn't adjust the action without scrapping paint with the screwdriver, good thing I plan to repaint it, but I have to get a new bridge first. Also there's something very stone age about the tuners.

This new bass makes me really love Igor.  

        

It's Here!

It came! It came! The weekend before I have a test, quiz, and paper due [thank you Murphy] my minion arrived. [Minion isn't his official name, that's just what popped into my head as I carried it into my room and Igor was setting in his stand; yes I felt like I had to introduce them.]

  He's kinda adorable. The head stock is much too big for him, and the body really doesn't give you anything to hold on to. The bridge is a bitch, and the tuners are stone aged, but I'm still so giddy.   

Stiff Left Hand

My left hand is going through boot camp this week as I wait for my Bronco to arrive. I made a point to count my change yesterday [so I didn't feel too bad about spending so much for that bass] and made myself put all the coins back into the piggy bank using only my left hand.

I'm also writing this post with just my left hand. [I've had to stop twice thus far for cramping.] My hand is creaking like an old person's but I have to keep working at it.

Trigger Happy?

I was impatient about this bass. I suppose I was spoiled with my first bass; I bought Igor twenty five hours after deciding what model I wanted. It had been over a week and the only broncos where coming up for $139 used [they're $149 new] which would be more then new after shipping and taxes after it would be all said and done.

Monday I clicked on to GC's website and freaked when I saw three new broncos all within my price range. I was too late for the $79 one, but the $99 ones were waiting for me. I jumped, and cringed when the final price checkout was $132. That's almost more than what I payed for Igor, who I got at 60% off him; and it was not even $20 off retail for the Bronco.

I starting regretting buying it right then and there. Posting about it on TB made me feel better since most said I still payed a good price. Most shocking is when my mom heard that I payed more then I wanted for it. [My mother is the legendarily frugal one in the family.]

"Eh, you love playing, no biggie."

It should arrive by Friday if this storm doesn't muck with the shipping. [Just in time for a load of school work.]        

The Bull's Neck

[This post is so behind the times.]

I spent a solid eight minutes with the bronco [in person] and I have to say, it's not as homey as I remember the Fender ABG's to be.  The neck is thick, quite the opposite of my Ibanez, which causes cramping every so often. I have heard of bassists sanding down the back of their necks [of their basses] since I plan on modding this bass I might add this to my to-do list; but it will be far down the list.

The frets were also sticking out on the neck on the sides. This is a normal problem/easy fix for low level basses, but it's still more work than I planned and I'm unsure if I want to go though of it.

What Luck

Whenever I want to go out to a music store it normally takes about six weeks to actually get there. So when I discovered a bass I wanted to check out [not this one, which I'm totally over] was at the local Best Buy I flipped. I managed to get a ride there within a few days, and the outing went without drama

When I entered the store I was greeted by an employee from some section I wasn't interested in. [It may of been the guy who was the Rush fan, or he thought I was a shoplifter since I was wearing a winter coat.] Upon entering the music section I was pleasantly surprised to see an employee behind the counter [that happens about 1/3 of the time] and it was kinda awesome that it was a chick too. But luckily the bronco was on the lowest level of hangers, so I needed no one's help.

Funny thing, at one point I handed the bass to my mom who was shocked how heavy it was. I never even noticed.      

The Sounds of Life

I remember being younger, watching some Disney as a tick of a clock and the tap of a hand lead to half a dozen people breaking out into song. I tried to make this happen in real life but I only got as far as a few people tapping along to the same rhythm.

The other night I was listening to old songs on my MP3 player [like shit I listened to in middle school old] and turned on one of my favorite songs from that era.

Listening to this song made a smile spread across my face, not from memories of the age [may they always rest six feet under] but from the simple yet fun bassline. I don't know if I always loved this song because of the awesome bassline, but it makes me feel alittle bit cooler.

The next day at school I couldn't help but hear beats in every interaction, or really the pocket to put the bassline in. You know when one person sneezes or coughs in a quiet place and two to five people follow suit? That had me laughing with the great basslines going on in my head.

         

First Try Success

48 hours after attending to move the truss rod, I picked up Igor and two less frets are buzzing! I'm so glad I got the Allen wrench turned the right way on the first try. I searched Google and ended up with the Dummy's page [Why? That book really is no help] The clock motion explanation made alot of sense to me but the picture throw me for a loop. Seriously what models have you access the truss rod from the bottom of the neck?

Since I still had two buzzy frets at the top of the neck I loosened the middle strings, popped them out of the nut and gave the wrench a solid twist. Now to see how the action looks tomorrow.       

Death of a Straplock

I never was able to find that missing strap lock, and the other one is officially almost dead.  There is a huge crack in it. They lasted four months, but for the price I'm thinking of getting another set. At a cost of a dollar a month I think [for my situation] they work.

Other strap locks cost upwards of twelve dollars, but need to be insulted on your bass. It's fairly common to drill into your bass to make them work, and that's one step I just don't want to my bass. I've also heard it can be a pain to get the strap on and off [like grab a wrench] when I actually want the strap to come off.  

With these simple strap locks it's no problem, they come on and off easily enough and give audible warning when I'm being too rough.   

My Date with Allen

I did it, I got out all the Allen Wrenches in the house and I attacked the Truss Rod! Well it was a battle just getting to the truss rod. First I had to unscrew the panel to get to the truss rod.

As you may be able to tell, I was only able to get two of the three screws undone. The screws are super tiny [Look! Something tiny on a bass.] and the screwdriver was causing the black paint to flake off [and made the screw head look like it was stripping] so it was alarming.

Once I put the wrench in I gave it a twist the best I could. Everyone stresses not putting too much pressure on the truss rod, and by extension the wrench; but I wasn't 100% sure the truss rod was actually turning.     

Now I wait, up to a few days for Igor to fully adjust. Igor is hanging out in his stand tonight, I'll see he feels after school tomorrow. Hopefully I actually did some adjusting, but better I did none than too much when messing with the truss rod. [Right?] 

Mary and The Pick Ups

Recall that I took another stab at picking. [By clicking on the red highlighted link.] and you'll remember I was concerned about electrocuting myself. I've since gotten over that fear, in fact, I decided to spend sometime woodshedding picking. That didn't last.

I had the metronome going and everything when the thought popped into my head, about having a place somewhere on the bass for a pick, when it happened. I thought the medal was balancing on strings for a minuet, but it was sticking to the pick up [magnetically]!

That planned woodshed was hit by a science driven train. Cue me seeing if I could get a different sound with the medal on the pick ups. I think there would of been a different sound if I had had more medals...    
  

Voice Tuner?

I've heard from several people that bassists should learn to sing. At first I thought it was meant as to learn another skill to make you more marketable; but upon woodshedding more I discovered singing worked as a form of melody. [Does that make sense?]  

Rock Music 101: The drums make the beat that is the backbone of the music. The guitar makes the melody that will get stuck in your head. The bass acts as the bridge between the two. With my metronome keeping the beat and the the bass in my hand, all I need is get my vocal chords to do something and I take one step forward.

There was one part of my life where I was in a chorus, it was during a very dark part of my life [otherwise known as middle school] which has been hard to revisit. That was quite a hypocritical attitude for me to type, I love how at concerts lead singers act like utter nut jobs on stage, but still it's hard for me to be a goof.

At one point, I was able to scat [scat singing] and kinda mumble in a tune like fashion. I forgot to turn off the clip tuner and even when I wasn't playing, the tuner was picking up frequencies. When I was scatting normally I hit D sharp and when I was fooling around down low I hit a B. Probably useless, but I found it to be amusing.
             

A Bad Twist?

I got one concerning reply to my latest post on TB.com. When I first posted about me tuning backwards a few people brought up how my old tuning could twist Igor's neck. [More tension on the strings, thus more pressure of the neck, in a way it wasn't designed for.]

Since raising the bridge worked on all the strings but the E string, it seems like that might of happened. Some TB-ers suggested that having my bass tuned properly might set it right, since the neck is made of wood which is pliable.

Only time will tell, but it does set my gut in a knot...  

Pampering Igor

Image taken from The Graphics Fairy.

While worrying/waiting for my bass to readjust I decided to clear Igor. I didn't know where the good polish was, and I know better the to use water on metal/wood; so I just wiped him down with a soft dry cloth.

Under a white craft light you can really see the fingerprints, and hairline scratches [but only at a few angles]. I also took some dry Q-tips to the dust encrusted pick ups and found some red color was coming up on the dry Q-tip.

Come to find out the bridge to be the dirtiest part of the bass.       

Emotion

I was upset the other day. Anger, frustration, fear was coursing though my body; stressing my body out to the point of illness. Within a few hours I remembered my bass, and as soon as I could I let loose on it.

I didn't record it or even bother to plug in, I'm glad I did.  It was a horrid, gnarly, buzzing, messy disaster. Just how I felt. Funny thing, I was playing on a windy night and when I stopped I realized I was playing to the rattling window frame as well as my rage.

In the morning both of my hands hurt along with my right elbow and shoulder. I know it was because I was stressed as I played, I know I need to find a way to relax while playing like that, but it felt so, so, good! Interesting enough the soreness went away faster then any other bodily pain I've ever been in.

        

Getting Some New Action

With my [new] proper tuning I found myself banging into the strings harder. Since I dropped my tuning by a few octaves I wasn't surprised since I more times than not mix up pitch and volume. The three largest strings kept hitting the fret board which annoyed the hell out of me, although not uncommon among bass players.

So back up the bridge went. [After much worrying, including but not limited to googling pictures of lefty loosey righty tighty] I got all my strings up to a good height, besides the E string. It's still doing it's smacking thing. Cue one late night cryptic post [sorry TB community!] and it has become clear,  I need to find an Allen wrench.

I Picked Mary

I used Mary as a pick actually [or rather a Miraculous Medal]. 

I have to say I really liked using a pick with some meat on it and the texture of the medal worked nicely as a grip. I didn't have any issue having the medal sliding up the strings like I did with the plastic pick, and I must say I enjoyed the sound.

It was late so I had to wait to try my new technique, which was just enough time to lay awake in bed and remember that Inspector Gadget episode where he handles an electric guitar, gets graphically electrocuted, than wakes up in a hospital. A cartoon Inspector Gadget ended up in a hospital. Suddenly it came flooding back, the fear that kept me a yard away from electric guitars until I discovered my love of mosh pits.

In reaction I posted about the possibility of getting electrocuted on TB.com and looked up just how sacrilegious it is to deface the image of Mary.

Thanks to The Church wanting to get away with idolatry, picking with the medal is no issue; but upon returning to my TB.com post I found several Inspector Gadget fans and one too many mention of Keith Relf. [Is there anyone who was in the Yardbirds that hasn't become famous for some reason???] Long story short, he electrocuted himself with an electric guitar.

Yet my story doesn't end here....                 

How to Use a Gigbag

Please note I am writing this post to document my own stupidity, I do not actually think anyone needs to be told how to use a gigbag. [If you are looking at this for this reason, I won't tell anyone.]

When placing a bass within a gigbag [for you must place one within before you take one from it...unless someone puts one in for you...] Take note of what side is up, for your bass. To just take off my bass and put it in a gigbag means that the logo on the bag has to be on the floor [Since it's a lefty]. Maybe I'll being approaching my gigbag from the other side, or I'll make the effort to actually turn my bass around.

When zipping up your bag [god given it will have a double zipper] make sure to have both zippers meet in the middle of the bass or at the top of the head stock. If you have the zippers meet in the middle UNZIP THE TOP ONE FIRST. I can not stress this enough. If you unzip the bottom zipper first the bass will fall out since it is bottom heavy and crash horrifically on the floor.    

I Need to Stop Thinking

I lay my bass on my bed if I play with it during that day, it's just a little thing I do because I'm too lazy to put him away to show respect. The day of the tuning episode I turned on my music and wanted to sit on my bed before bed; to do this I had to pick up my bass.

It's The Temptations! Get it?

Yeah...

So I noodle about for a bit and decide to try and play along with my music. I realized Florence and the Machine's What the Water Gave Me wasn't the ideal song, but it was late and I didn't care. I try to play along and just manage to utterly confuse myself. I stop noodling near the end of the song and there it is the bass line holding down the harp. And it sounds just like when I was noodling around without thinking.

At 5:09 on this video is when you can really hear it.

Dyslexi-what?

Before Lent I made an honest attempt to learn chords, but I just ended up trying to memorize the fret board in a musically organized fashion. Funny thing, my backwards tuning made total sense until my got away from the nut on the fret board diagram.

Then my mind and hands just switched to how I should of been playing all along. I mean, what the heck Dyslexia?!?! Suddenly my head totally understands where everything should be when the only marker I can see is the string thickness [when it is clearly upside down].

Whoa, I just got this [as in while I'm typing this] this is for a left handed person playing a right handed guitar upside down. So Studybass.com doesn't have an idiot proof website; or maybe that's why they took these diagrams down....    

Ash Wednesday

I tuned my bass like a normal person. If you think that's not enough for Lent [I was leaning that way] it was, believe me it was. Also saying "I don't need to stretch, I'm only tuning" is total bull shit. 

or not...

To say flopping my strings' tuning was a struggle is putting it mildly. First I tried to get each string into the desired note using my snark tuner. The little bugger must know I've been disrespecting it, the tuner was all over the place when it was picking up frequencies at all. At one point the strings were smacking the fret board, when I thought it was good enough to fine tune on my Bronco 40's tuner it sounded like the tiny [I'm unsure if I should call it the tiny string or the tiniest, but not much is small about a bass; calling it by note is out for the time being.] string was a piano string and the other three were a cool growling bass tone, but would hit the fret board if it was played too roughly. [And God, was that tone begging for that!] 

I get my bass over to my amp and discover the three cool sounding [yet impractical to play] strings were tuned randomly like F sharp and shit. Reworking the tuning using my amp [which is a literal pain, the printing is so tiny I have to stoop to see, not fun while holding Igor] I got the E and G strings in the right place [Biggest and littlest strings] but the former troublesome A string was passing on its legacy to the proper heir. 

I was so tired from this tuning ordeal, I just put my bass down, not bother to see how I like the new string tension, which is what I set out to do.                

Strap Placement

I've been standing with my bass again. When I first got my bass I told myself I'd stand up every time I'd play it for some random form of exercise. That actually lasted awhile but now I sit when unplugged and stand when using my amp. I've been reluctant to use my strap but with some reminders that I need to get my strap at the right height. [Too low may look right but it does hell on your wrists.] Since it was a pain to adjust the buckle from near the bottom strap knob I decided to flip it.

That worked, somewhat. It got the cracked leather out of my line of sight, but at the proper height the buckle is on my shoulder which is painful. I play until I am sore and right now my shoulder is the first body part to be in pain.

Also I timed how long I could play while standing, with the annoying strap its up to half an hour.
         

My Left Hand

When I play my bass, my left hand is doing the plucking. My left side has Cerebral Palsy worst [in its mild way] than my right side. When I picked up bass, playing right handed was out of the question because I could only handle two frets in a position.

After eight months of noodling around on Igor, I flipped him over for the heck of it. To my amazement I found I could handle three frets comfortably [my right hand can handle three and a half frets]. My ring finger was rather useless but my index and middle fingers were nearly as nimble as my right hand. This is because of one thing, me playing.

The speed in my first two fingers has tripled since my pre-bass days, so I've been trying to incorporate a three finger plucking technique into my woodshedding when I pick up Igor. It's way above my skill level, and I don't care, thoughts of getting a right handed bass once I have the cash up is all I need.

I can compensate without the extra movement, it is nothing to me but adding a trick to my bass playing.              

Metronome Review.

I bought one of these guys:
Its a Seiko SQ50-V Quartz Metronome. I got it off Amazon for about $20. [Looking about amazon it seems that the price has been upped.]

I really like it, it goes from 40-208bpm but doesn't have every single beat in between. It has a dial set up so all it takes is a quick twist to change up the tempo, no time lost.

It has two 'ticks', one that is very electronic sounding, the other is more like a clock's tock. With my bass plugged in I found that I couldn't make out the electronic sound out, but the tock worked great.

The volume on it was enough for young ears like mine, but I've heard reviews that it can be an issue for older users. I haven't used the head phone jack but it takes everyday music headphones. It has a red light that blinks along to beat but it's rather useless. [This isn't just my visual delays talking, reviewers agree.]

It also has a kickstand, but I've found it sets up on it's own; it runs on a D-Volt battery, which it actually comes with!

I really love that it also lists the Italian music types. [That is most defiantly, not its real name.] 

Taking on Lent

I'm currently a Bad Catholic, still a Catholic mind you I just haven't been to Mass in over a year. Last year was actually the first year I managed to not eat meats on Fridays [I also said I'd pick up my bass everyday-- that lasted four days...]; this year I think I'm going to tune my bass like a normal person's.

This all stems from learning that my mind is really fucked up, after seeking advice from TalkBass.com I've decided to try learning chords [different from chord charts, necessary to know]. With using Lent as a jump off point. Since you know, eating Asian food with chop sticks is getting old, [and never ends up working out].  

Whoa, according to this I've been using chop sticks backwards too...

B&B music

This is a really bad part three. [No reflection on the store] I'm just burnt out on the topic.

Big store, hard to miss, very clean. My first impression was on the corporate side. Due to another corporate music store that shall not be named [behold the tact] this put a sour taste in my mouth. Entering the store I found it stocked very well, if someone was standing in the designated pathways   you had trip over instruments to get anywhere. Again I found an employee eager to help me without attitude [Go Delaware, seriously though, go spread this awesomeness to the Western Shore....pretty please?!?]. Sadly all they had to offer was Ibanez, and like I said I had tasted crack with the fender neck and wasn't interested. That said they had every ABG Ibanez made so major props to them for that.       

   

Music Stores of Delaware

Remember this post? Well this is part two, written in a much less eloquent way.

Earle Teat Music, small shop, almost drove by it, that aside I really liked the place. It reminded me of your hometown dive bar that intimidates tourists but is a great place for the locals. The walls were cluttered with instruments but the store was nicely laid out and you can move about. They have a nice sized bass section and to my amazement, attentive staff.

To that dude at Earle Teat Music, I'm sorry if my behavior seemed bazaar, I'm from the Western Shore.

I tried out the Fender T-Bucket. To everyone who says acoustic basses are too big in the body, it's nothing. Really. I'm five foot one and have "small" hands and have never needed more then a minute to readjust to a bass. The neck of the Fender, it felt like home in my hand, as odd as that may sound. My fingers were where they needed to be without trying, and never felt like cramping. The guitar wasn't tuned and I was still in a traumatic state since my string snapped so I didn't try to tune it; but I knew an ABG wasn't for me.   

I asked about a semi-hollow body bass and the employee knew off hand [this amazed me] that they didn't have one in stock but that they could order one from Epiphone.

Eh, this is long enough, B&B review will come next [ish].              

New Level of Enlightenment

Disregard everything I have ever said about string and note placement. I am a day away from my 13 month anniversary with my beloved Igor and I have just discovered I have been tuning the strings backwards  this whole time. [Well not really, I've only been playing the right notes for six months I thought the idiot at GC tuned my guitar backwards.]

Long story short, it made the most sense in my head. Funny when you take into account my dyslexia, my right handedness, and my family history of doing one activity with the submissive hand. In my psychotic mind's defense the whole low end/this fret board diagram throw me for a loop.

[Not good on a dyslexic mind.] Now I need to decide what to do, I want to crawl into hole but I can't do that without life sustaining items [ie my bass] so I need to decide what to do. Should I finally get with the program and tune my bass like everyone else or continue my freak show ways because I understand them? I'm taking my plight to TB.com. 

String Review

I've been putting this off doing this review [dare I even call this a review when all I have to compare them to is the stock strings?] because I haven't had my bass plugged into the amp since when the first set of strings snapped. I've been playing before bed so plugging in isn't in the cards.

By god, do these strings beg to be touched [Rotosound Swing Bass 66] I can spend minutes just running my hand up and down the neck listening to the strings whistle [I'm calling it a whistle because it's too sweet to call a whine]. Playing wise they sound like a piano, very pop-y, abit like a guitar.

Interesting enough, the first set of strings [that snapped] felt odd, like there was some kind of coating on them or something. The second set of strings felt more like the stock strings, maybe I got used to the feel of new strings, but I don't think so.