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Are you a Goldilocks bass player?

#82
Barbaric.Eric said:
This thread is hilarious! I wonder if this translates to other instruments too (I can't even imagine some of us behind a drum kit with these compulsions).
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I play with a drummer who is working on princess status. His kit is just so, with heads that get changed when they start to look a little worn, and with highly polished cymbals. He won't crash a cymbal with the side of a stick because it might leave a mark. He uses nylon tipped sticks and only hits anything with the tip. He's actually a very good drummer and a great guy to be around. He has his personal quirks when it comes to his drums, though.
 
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#84
Gaolee said:
He's actually a very good drummer and a great guy to be around.
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That sounds good to me! I would submit that drummers are quirkier than other musicians...I know I am! I wouldn't pretend to play a trap set, but my hand drums and shakers and rattlers and rollers all have a place in the music room. I play with friends, and friends' kids pretty regularly, and I never say anything about 'putting things where they belong', but the very next morning...my wife laughs out loud about this...I clean and straighten things up (in her words!) "like your preparing a body for a funeral".
Hmmmmm:thumbsup:
 
#86
Michedelic said:
+1 on string buzz, arrgh! Equally annoying are buzzes from the speaker cabinet as it vibrates, like metal grills, no matter how tight you screw them down, Sessions handles, random objects on or near the stage, and so on. I can take snare drums in stride, although I'm not happy about it. But I will NOT abide with pedal boards with rat's nest connectors/power supply trainwrecks. It HAS to be trimmed to proper length George L's in a fathomable flow chart manner, Cioks or Voodoo Labs bricks neatly mounted on the underside of the Pedaltrain, with the power cables neatly routed and secured. No multicolored plastic cables/connectors, no loops draping over pedals, if something goes down, I want to be able to pinpoint it immediately and get it out of the chain. I'm a big fan of bands being able to roll out their gear onto a stage like a SWAT team/black ops crew. I detest anyone else(mainly guitarists, right?)who get on stage for set-up, fumble around pulling their pedals out of their grocery bag gigbags, trying to figure out their pedal order as they plug in, only to mumble "dude, I'm not getting any signal, can you help me?"(plus the inevitable "ya got a 9-volt handy?"), while the sound guy is tapping his foot, and that blonde at the front of the stage is starting to wander off.
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y-u-so-serious.jpg
 
#88
petrus61 said:
View attachment 612216
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If you're referring to the pedalboard thing, that's the one compartment of my life that HAS to be orderly; there's too much that can go wrong there(a full Pedaltrain Pro full of stuff). When you are on a dimly lit stage, and there's a signal breakdown, it's meltdown time(and please, no lectures on why do I need so many pedals, I'm so over that). My own private world is one that sometimes resembles the covers or inner gatefold pics of "Overnite Sensation" or "Something/Anything", maybe even "Beggar's Banquet", but I can't believe some players that have a board that looks like Medusa's head, or worse yet, no board at all. I've done too many 3 to 5 band bills, and it just grinds my gears to see a guitarist(or bassist, keyboardists too)just dick around with connecting their pedals on stage right before their set. Like I mentioned earlier, bands in that situation need to be like a SWAT team, a couple of snaps, a couple of zips, and the gear should roll out and be ready to go. It makes the evening run smoother, and it's considerate to the bands that follow. And if a particular pedal or connector fails, the neater the set-up, the easier it is to find the culprit, instead of a "uh, is it this one?" scenario. For me, having your gear checked and tweaked before the show is like learning/practicing a tune before band rehearsal.
 
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#89
Hhhmmmmmm ......... I do like to tune quite a bit. Maybe more than the average person. I'm not sure. Probably comes about because of my electric, though, which is a Jaguar. Famously known for detuning itself. Love the tone though.

Otherwise I don't think that much bugs me. I mean, my two year-old son likes to play with the knobs of my pedals, and turn them off and on because of the pretty lights. So at the start of my practice sessions I usually reset them all to what I like. Though sometimes for kicks I'll check out what he did, because, hey, you never know, right.
 
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#91
I dunno... I keep a constant eye on my basses' action and playability. I have 3 of the same strap (ibanez tree of life). I never leave home without my DI (vt bass). BUT... If there's an offer of back line I'll play through anything and leave my amp at home. If a bass magically appears to play, or if I pull out a bass that's been in the case WAY too long, I'll play whatever is there. And I'm perfectly ok with anything any sound guy wants to throw my way.

So, yes I am. But, no I'm not. I dunno
 
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#92
Some things I'm very flexible about--like fret size--if it's fretted, other like the neck, I can be picky about.

I love a chunky neck on a guitar (Although I also like some smaller neck guitars like Mustangs), but for bass I really prefer a slim neck. (One of the reasons I got a SDGR)
 
#94
funny thing about me and bass - on acoustic guitar, i can tell the difference between a 1.7" and 1.75" nut, and don't like playing anything narrower than 1.75" - 1 13/16" to 1 7/8" is my preference. and i hate D and U shaped necks. when i play bass, it's totally different. i play almost every neck shape and size comfortably and easily - heck, i don't even notice :D

alas, due to shoulder injuries i have size/shape and weight issues, but if it doesn't hurt to play, i'm perfectly happy to play it.
 
#95
dukemasterj said:
What needs to be "just right" for you?
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My just right things are :-

No cables under my feet.
Mic at the correct height.
Bottle of water within easy reach.
Set list where I can see it.
Cooling fan directed at me and ready to flip on.
And of course no beer on my amp.

I know a bass player who will only wear his "lucky socks" when playing a gig. One is fluorescent orange, the other fluorescent green. I keep meaning to ask him if he has another pair like that somewhere. :D
 
#96
Music is a form of spiritual (but not religious) purity for me. Music is the truth.

The instrument is the interface between my mind and reality.

In order for the interface to correctly interpret my feelings in their purest from, everything must be just so.

A string slightly offtune:- unacceptable.

Neck dive:- unacceptable.

Wrong neck shape:- unacceptable.

Someone sitting on my amp:- unacceptable.

I will not lend my basses to anybody , and no-one is allowed to play them except me. If someone else's DNA gets on my basses, it could throw the good Karma off permanently with dire results.

They can't borrow my amp either.......
 
#100
My fretboard is the wrong shade of maple on my new Rickenbacker. The tone is killer, the weight is perfect, it's otherwise a gorgeous instrument in every respect, but they used a really, really yellow-white bit of clear maple on the fretboard that A) contrasts with the maple on the rest of the neck-through, and B) doesn't contrast much from the inlays.

I'm still keeping it. :-)
 

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