Recent content by BassmanBender1

What’s the best way to feed my bass into the church PA? The church soundman wants to mic my amp, but that seems like it will pick up unwanted sounds. I am using a Hartke HA5500 bass head and an Ampeg SVT HLF 410 speaker cabinet. I usually play a squier VM jazz bass. We used to connect an XLR...

Wow. This is a very cool response to thread. Thanks @pdbass for the tips on bass soloing!

This video cracks me up. It's my upright-bass teacher, Jonathan "Fizzo" Frias battling his bandmates while he tries to tune up for a gig.

Thanks, everyone, for such great responses. Knowing that this is not uncommon, I will be ready the next time everyone drops out. My teacher said I should practice soloing with a metronome behind me, so that my time is solid when I solo alone. Still, I prefer one instrument to comp and drums to...

I went to my third-ever jazz jam session yesterday, and I was shocked when everyone just stopped playing when I took a bass solo during Satin Doll and again during Girl from Ipanema. Dead silence. I couldn't tell whether they thought the song was over or whether this is something they just do...

I have one whiskey and coke before the gig and one at the break, except at those places that no longer serve me because I drank too many whiskey and cokes in the past. ... So, I strive to not drink before or during gigs.

That's a beautiful bass. Congrats on a great find!

That's a beautiful instrument. Congratulations!

I'm in the same boat, lots of rust with my EB playing. I play upright every day. Before California's Covid shutdown, I used to play electric bass at church, so I'd play it for Thursday rehearsals and then on Sundays. I was taking double-bass lessons, playing upright in the jazz big band at the...

I've been having so much fun playing my new-to-me Eastman Quenoil Double Bass, an Eastman 305 made in 2006 that I am just now getting around sharing it with you via an NBD post. It sounds great bowed and finger style and is fully carved, a fantastic upgrade over my Englehardt EM1 (which I kept...

Best laugh I've had this week!

Hi Bob: I am not the fastest with this technology, but I will try to record some video and post it soon.

After I posted my earlier note about the Ninomute, Nino O'Campo, the inventor of the mute contacted me via Talkbass message, and offered to replace my first generation device with his latest Ninomutes. It turned out that he lives about 10 miles from me, so I drove over to his house and tried out...

I have a Fender Rumble 100, and it's been fine for cocktail gigs and even when I played DB with the local community college big band pre-Covid. I also use it with my electric bass for small outdoor gigs and at blues jams and it's always been plenty loud. I often use a 25-watt Rumble for small...

That's a really cool show, @Bruce Calin. My wife and I discovered it on late-night reruns a few years ago. Another one that I like is "The Singing Detective," a British show starring Michael Gambon. I dig any Noir-type show, especially if it has an upright bass.