While I’m on the road, here is a guest post by fellow bassist Steve Uccello. Steve is an Upright Bassist/Multi-Instrumentalist/Composer/Singer-Song-Writer and you can here his latest work Uccello Project, Symmetria on Last.FM. Add you thoughts to Steve’s post in the comments section… Over to Steve…

All right bass people! I’ve got a question for you: When you started playing music, did you decide to play bass first or did you arrive there though a ‘winding’ path? I wonder this because lately, as I’ve heard more and more bassists’ stories, I am beginning to notice a trend in how they began. It’s usually something like, “we started a band when we were younger and no one else wanted to play the bass so I…” or “I knew I could get more gigs if I also played bass and now it’s all I do…” [More...]

It’s been a while since we’ve had a fun post, so in the great tradition of the 2 string bass and the Bogdon box bass, I present for your delight this from Bass Guitar Blog reader Elmar!

The Klangbox is made of fruit boxes and was originally meant to be a gig case for one of the owner’s cigar box guitars. Well it still is -the neck is removable. The strings are made of clutch and brake cables from old motorcycles, I’m not sure of the origin of the pickups or the scale length (probably long!). The bridge is also a unique piece of engineering, providing a ‘headless’ design. [More...]

So, to the business of setting up a Bass Guitar. Tuning aside – do start with that first! – string height is the number one adjustment on a bass. There are all sorts of reasons that string height adjustment is needed, from changing string type and fret wear to changing weather conditions and playing style. [More...]

This will be a mini series of posts – although I may put everything under this one post too.

How do you set up your bass guitar?

Obviously the ideal is to have a professional do it for you – you can’t be a skilled hand and experience to get the perfect set up. However, sometimes just a minor tweak is required,  or getting a full set up isn’t affordable or practical. [More...]

Todd Johnson and Jim Stinnett have  been busily writing and filming ”Fishin’ For Grips” – a tutorial on Melodic Harmonization for Bass Guitar. The Book and DVD combination is due out on June 1st and  priced at $40 for the set.

Fishin’ For Grips is designed to be the definitive approach to learning chord-melody on the bass guitar. I have seen Todd Johnson play many times, and his chordal and melody playing are striking, a true jazz master. 84 minutes of DVD footage and the book aim to clearly illustrate how Todd does what he does, and to provide a clear and concise methodology. [More...]

Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist, Ean Evans  passed away earlier this month. Ean was 48, and died after a battle with cancer. He was born in Atlanta, but moved to Columbus after marrying his wife, Eva. He joined Lynyrd Skynyrd after Lynyrd Skynyrd’s previous bassist, Leon Wilkeson, died in his sleep in a hotel room in 2001. Evans toured with the band until being diagnosed with cancer back in 2008.

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If you can get to London, this sounds very interesting! The acclaimed teacher and solo artist, Steve Lawson is putting on Beyond Bass Camp, a one day event looking at the bass as a vehicle for music, both within the tradition of the bass guitar, and beyond it as a tool for self-expression. Looking at technical, theoretical and mechanical aspects of making music with a bass. Knowing Steve, it will be blogged, tweeted and streamed around the Interwebs. However, being there will be the real deal: [More...]