Oooooo Money!

I haven’t posted here in a while, my grandfather died a few weeks ago and I haven’t felt like doing much. Since his passing I have willingly inherited his CD collection, which is mainly Big Band and Country music, which although I like the slow gritty stuff, I’m not that much of a fan of those big Country ballads, think Rhinestone Cowboy

It was my birthday on the 27th and although I didn’t get much, I did get £200, of which I spent £50 yesterday. I bought the first seasons of Magnum P.I and Twin Peaks and New Super Mario Bros for the DS, a game I’ve been meaning to get for some time.

I’ve also been playing a lot of Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, which I finished unsurprising quickly. It’s good, but not amazing. Heh, I could say the same for the Simpsons movie, which I saw on youtube the other day. Although, that being said, it was better than I though it would be.

I still have birthday money left over, which I may spent, although I’m not sure yet. I made a big list of movies and TV shows I want to get on DVD, including The Shawshank Redemption, Scarface, and others, which I can’t seem to remember. Oh well.

Back To The Future

I’ve gone a little BTTF crazy over the past few weeks. I watched the trilogy through twice, and then watched the first one again until I stopped, thinking that if I saw II and III after it, I’d be doomed to re-watch the trilogy over and over and over. I had some money going spare so I spent it on the novelizations of part II and III and the soundtrack to the first film, which features Huey Lewis, more Huey Lewis, Etta James and Marvin Berry and the Starlighters (the fictional band in the movie).

Double Bassin’

Got my Double Bass the other day, as a present for my 18th, even though its not until the 27th as it was decided that it was more convienient to get it now rather than later.

I haven’t played it yet as I haven’t had a chance to set it up (put the bridge in place and tune it) but it looks awesome. I’ve spent quite a few times today standing with it to get used to the size. Its a 3/4 size bass, and although it has an adjustable end pin, its pretty much to right size for a person my height.

It came around 11am, in a huge cardboard box. The bass itself was inside a hard case, which is literally taller than our ceiling. I thought this would be too big but luckily, there was a gig bag thrown in, so I don’t have to use the hard case. The hard case came free by the way, and since I don’t need it, there’s no space for it for a start, I can sell that for around £120.

The bass is lighter than I thought it would be, and was surprised when I was actually able to lift it at all! Although, a double bass is a fragile instrument, and although I’m going to take care of it, I can’t help fretting. It can’t be stored in a place where it is too hot, the glue holding the pieces together would melt, and I can’t have it somewhere where its too cold, the wood would warp. I need to clean it every now and then too, but since its made of wood, any wood polish will do.

I hope the action isn’t too high once I set it up. If it was a regular bass all I would have to do is adjust the bridge or neck, in this case, if high action was the problem, I would have to take the bridge and sand it down until it was the desired size.

EDIT: I need sandpaper, or better yet, an adjustable bridge. I tuned to G string up to a G, but it was buzzy, so I assume I’ve tuned it to the wrong octave, which makes sense, otherwise the E string would be so loose, it would be unplayable. Of course, it was naive of me to think I’d be able to put the bridge in place, tune the strings, and be able to play straight away, but I’d prefer to learn how to setup a double bass myself, rather than wussing out and spending £60+ for a luthier to do it for me. Once I do have it set up and playable, expect piccys.