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fumblefour
01-18-2011, 03:22 AM
Hi all! Just to introduce myself: In my teens through to my mid-twenties, late 1960s to mid 1970s, I played bass guitar: typical story of a succession of bands/lineups, based in London, playing pubs, colleges, festivals (they were free in those days..sigh), self-organised tours in an old bus and the occasional support for up and coming bands. Then work, marriage, kids....you know...so I sold my kit (a Rickenbacker and an old valve Bassman amp: if only I'd mothballed them!) and that was that. Now, some 30 years later, with retirement only a few years away, some male menopausal instinct caused me, on passing a music shop, to wonder..."well...it's cheaper and more fun than a sports car..". After overcoming the shock of seeing basses with 5 and even 6 strings, I took the plunge. So here I am: determined to learn properly this time, so just started TMBG. Oh, and given that I'm unlikely ever to play onstage again, I've gone the whole hog and got a Squiers Modified Vintage fretless - daft I know, but I can always claim incipient senility, and there is something about the sound and feel of it. At least it only has 4 strings. Wish me luck.

SilverFlame46
01-18-2011, 06:43 AM
Hey fumblefour, welcome to Thunder Row and TMBG. Glad to have you as part of the family and GOOD LUCK with your TMBG Lessons. I know you are going to enjoy the journey!!!

Bassix
01-18-2011, 07:59 AM
Welcome, Fumblefour.

I doubt you'll be fumbling for long as those bass riffs materialize from your brain and get back under your fingers. Good Luck!!

Elmeaux
01-18-2011, 08:05 AM
Welcome to Thunder Row!! Enjoy yourself here. We're all about supporting each other and having a few larfs.

Oh...and post some pix of your ax.:cool:

jthomas353
01-18-2011, 08:25 AM
Hi fumblefour. Welcome to the Row. Glad you're here and back to playing bass again. It's a blast. Post pics of your gear when you have time.

John

TLDTR
01-18-2011, 09:59 AM
Welcome, Fumble Four. Your story can be echoed by thousands of us, but not necessarily so eloquently. I can tell you're going to enjoy TMBG, and we're going to benefit greatly from following your progress on Thunder Row.
Cheers!
Ed.

stantonl
01-18-2011, 07:17 PM
Hello Fumble Four, glad to have you among us. Nice bass the Squire Vintage Modified Fretless, had the chance to directly compare one with the much more expensive Jaco signature bass and had to admit they weren't that different. Definitely a great bass and a great value. Enjoy!

Greg Jewell
01-18-2011, 09:44 PM
fumblefour:

Congratulations and welcome to the fretless sub-set of bass players. Instead of a refurbished VW surf bus, I too approach seasoned citizenship by dismissing the hardware clutter about a rosewood fingerboard. It's nice to know we'll never worry about playing a song the same way twice. Welcome to Thunder Row...

Greg

TobiasMan
01-18-2011, 09:49 PM
Welcome Fumblefour!

What a way to get back into the game. 30 years off and you leap in with a fretless!

They are a blast and sound lovely, but must be played precisely - no middle of the fretspace playing! :mad:

fumblefour
01-19-2011, 04:03 PM
Welcome Fumblefour!

What a way to get back into the game. 30 years off and you leap in with a fretless!

They are a blast and sound lovely, but must be played precisely - no middle of the fretspace playing! :mad:

Thanks for all the welcomes. Yep I did play a bit of fiddle back in the Cretaceous period, so at least I went fretless with some idea of what I was letting myself in for. I'll probably grab me a used fretted bass at some stage as well, but right now I'm having a blast and since I use headphones to practice only I can hear the bum notes - of which there are many! Still, when you hit it just right, ain't it fine? And if it all gets too hard, I just do a long, slow, smooooooth slide up and down the neck and calm descends on me :)

c-note
01-20-2011, 06:41 PM
Welcome to the row fumblefour enjoy I know I do

Pointbass
01-21-2011, 10:35 AM
Hi fumblefour, it's nice to see players coming back to the bass ....

And don't worry about all of those extra strings you see, they're kinda becoming commonplace, especially the 5 string basses. Once you get the chops back, you can climb aboard the extended range bass bus and fool around with one of these:

http://www.imjustabassplayer.com/images/fbb_fl8_full.jpg

Elmeaux
01-21-2011, 10:53 AM
Oooh, and it's fretless, too...double the challenge...

SilverFlame46
01-21-2011, 03:57 PM
Oooh, and it's fretless, too...double the challenge...

Right you are, Elmeaux. But how do you even hold one of these, it must weigh a ton!!!

jthomas353
01-21-2011, 05:26 PM
Notice how thin the top horn is on this. I would be afraid it would break there. Also, the neck barely fits in the guitar stand. Otherwise, it is very nice. Anyone know the maker/brand?

TobiasMan
01-21-2011, 06:42 PM
With a neck that wide, most of the strings in the upper register would only be playable via tapping - basically impossible to fret them in a normal way. Almost becomes a Chapman Stick. I have trouble with fretting my six string up beyond the 12th fret on the B, and the E string if I move up much higher than that.

Don't know how you'd reach across 8!

Greg Jewell
01-21-2011, 08:28 PM
No frets...no worries.

TobiasMan
01-22-2011, 07:31 PM
Frets, or not, how does one reach them unless you are tappping?