skej21

[quote name='Doddy' post='1202143' date='Apr 16 2011, 09:05 PM']I hear this excuse a lot (along with 'I don't need to know this stuff to play in my band'),and I don't buy it. Just because you like a particular type of music doesn't mean you should avoid an essential part of it's language. When I started playing I had to use my ear to learn the music that I was into and wanted to play,but I still learned how to associate the bass with the stave....and believe it or not,it actually helped with learning the music that I wanted to play and made it easier.[/quote] + 1 Also, the other benefit of being able to read is that your ideas are not just restricted to what's in your own head. You get to see another person's perspective on what they think a bass player should be playing and you often find stuff that influences your lines as a result, whether it's something good that you magpie away, or something that doesn't work and that you can avoid doing in the future.

Just want to sing the praises of Bassmerchant. Hassled them like an annoying school child about the Aspiration series basses, got the information I wanted and then left it a while to think. Decided to buy one and really wanted to support a specialist bass shop that i have had a number of successful transactions with in the past, but found the item cheaper elsewhere. So I asked them about it and they offered me a price-match. Paid at 4:40pm today, bass was put in the hands of the courier as I was on the phone to them and it will arrive (if all goes smoothly) tomorrow. Contemporary J 5... Excited!!

[quote name='TomKent' post='1202488' date='Apr 17 2011, 11:28 AM']But still, imagine the shame Paul would get if he was fobbed of because she wanted to play all the live gigs on bass herself? [/quote] But imagine the grin on his face when she realises that she's rubbish and has to beg him to come back... Pay-rise Paul?!

Anything that starts in 'We need a bassist and XXXXX recommended you...' or a call-back of any kind. Also, anything that ends in 'and we'll pay you £XXX' Best compliments you can get IMO

[quote name='gareth' post='1202645' date='Apr 17 2011, 02:48 PM']MiM 50's classic is the way to go - used from £250 - great buy, value and sound[/quote] MASSIVE + 1 Even new, totally worth the cash! These are a LOT of Precision for the money, second hand or new!

[quote name='Doddy' post='1202480' date='Apr 17 2011, 11:25 AM']The Bass Bible is a great book,but I wouldn't recommend it for the early stages of reading because of the inclusion of tablature. I'd try to find books that are purely notation instead,so it removes any temptation to look at the tab. You should still buy it though because it's full of cool stuff. [/quote] I agree with you Doddy, that the tab is annoying and not how I would choose to do it, but the OP might want tab alongside notation to get started. It's just a good resource either way and the OP can make his mind up as to when he feels it would be best to start working on it P.s. I've found that my students find it pretty useful as practice stuff outside of lessons as I give them the tab bits mixed up on one sheet and the dots mixed up on another. That way they can play through the notes on their own without looking at the second sheet of tab, and then try and figure out which 'tab' one matches it, so they can see it in a format that makes a bit more sense to them

+ 1 to Doddy's books with the addition of; John Patitucci's 60 Melodic Etudes (Here - [url="http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/60-Melodic-Etudes/5841170"]http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/60-Mel...-Etudes/5841170[/url] and you get a sneak at the first page) and Paul Westwood's 'Bass Bible' as that has A LOT of good small snippets of lines to read and means you can mix it up and change what you're playing before you get the chance to remember any of it!

Just shows you that the little things make a huge difference when you have a sensitive and responsive amp

[quote name='Skol303' post='1200736' date='Apr 15 2011, 02:27 PM']You've got to be a complete mug to spend money on something that somebody else has messed up on your behalf.[/quote] I'd imagine many people on here have had an ex (or 10!) who can testify to this!

[quote name='Doddy' post='1200852' date='Apr 15 2011, 03:39 PM']The thing with this is that players like Miles had spent so long playing and studying that when they are on the bandstand they aren't thinking "Cminor7..2..3..4../F7..2..3..4.." or "A minor=A,C,E"-It's ingrained. They know about scales and arpeggios and chords and all that stuff and it allows them to just play. When you are on stage you don't want to be thinking about every note,that is why you spend time in the 'shed,practising.[/quote] Oh, I know that. My point is simply that this argument is not as black and white as everyone is making out. I totally agree with yourself and Bilbo that if you want to be taken seriously in ANY musical setting, you should have a basic knowledge of it and do a bit of work. Turning up to a gig of any kind without that knowledge (IMO) is like turning up to a job interview and knowing nothing about the company you intend to work for and hoping to blag the job.

I hate to throw the spanner in the works, but even the great GREAT musicians of Jazz and music we would associate with music theory in practice, play without knowing what they are doing at the time. Miles Davis - “I'll play it first and tell you what it is later.” The guy has the knowledge and he can tell you what he played by analyising it after, but it's obvious that (in the musical moment) he plays probably from a combination of his ear and patterns he's played before. The quote also implies that he has not purposefully affected the harmony/melody of the piece, but simply played something that fits at the time and can explain/justify it through further analysis at a later point in time. Again, apologies for the spanner in the works!

[quote name='TomKent' post='1200179' date='Apr 15 2011, 01:34 AM']They get given them probably. [/quote] And that is why I am finding it difficult to find validity and sincerity in your opinions/view, valid though they may be. You have a clear bias and combining this with your slightly negative comments, the realist in me is saying 'he's just channeling the voice of Krampera like some corporate ventriloquist dummy... don't listen!' By the way, I'm TOTALLY biased towards my LMIII, so I didn't really need an excuse to give you the proverbial *fingers in ears 'ner ner nee ner ner, I love my Mark Bass and I don't want to know about anything better for fear of GAS, so I can't hear you, ner ner nee ner ner'*

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='1200666' date='Apr 15 2011, 01:44 PM']Not saying the Tanglewood website is pure gospel, but [url="http://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/products/electricbass/overwater.html"]there's no Elite 5 listed on it yet[/url], even though Overwater's site says the Elite is 4- or 5-string. Also no Contemporary J 5 in black. [/quote] I had a feeling that they wouldn't offer the Contemporary J 5 in black... damn. Blue is just a tad 'in-your-face' for me. As for the Elite 5, one of the seller's in Overwaters 'suppliers' list has it listed for sale on their website... Hopefully the response will be good news and not a 'we have it listed but there's a wait of X number of weeks'

Just sent an email to one of the companies on the seller's list regarding the Elite 5. Exciting times Also, does anyone know if the Contemporary J 5 comes in Trans Black, or is just Trans Blue, because I've only seen the 5er in Trans Blue?

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1200623' date='Apr 15 2011, 01:14 PM']Can someone please make the obvious 'oral tradition' joke so we can have a good, old-fashion schoolboy snigger and get this thread back on track? Thanks.[/quote] I wish all my fridays could be spent arguing over which oral is best... *ba-dum CHHHHHH*

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1200607' date='Apr 15 2011, 01:04 PM']..and also: "Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another.[1][2] The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants." [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_tradition"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_tradition[/url][/quote] It would appear we were both correct, although it appears that 'aural' tradition is possibly specific to music traditions such as 'folk' and 'blues'.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1200596' date='Apr 15 2011, 12:59 PM']You might want to check again... [/quote] I don't think so(?) Or at least this is how I've always been told to refer to it because you have 'aural' training/exams "Aural tradition - Many types of music, such as traditional blues and folk music were originally preserved in the memory of performers, and the songs were handed down orally, or aurally (by ear). When the composer of music is no longer known, this music is often classified as "traditional." Different musical traditions have different attitudes towards how and where to make changes to the original source material, from quite strict, to those that demand improvisation or modification to the music. A culture's history may also be passed by ear through song." [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music#Aural_tradition"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music#Aural_tradition[/url]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1200573' date='Apr 15 2011, 12:39 PM']It surprises me that a forum comprised of soi-disant musicians might include some* who are unaware of the importance of the 'oral tradition' in folk music, whereby one learns by listening, observing, performing and - in time perhaps - producing one's own variations. This simply a matter of context which one must respect. To scorn a man in moleskin trousers with respect to matters technical or notational is to invite a pitchfork up the fundament. And rightly so. [size=1]* Naturally I exempt the OP from my calculated slight. He asked the question quite fairly[/size][/quote] Firstly, I think you'll find it's an 'aural' tradition. Secondly, the most effective way to pass on music through an aural tradition is by communication, and if that means someone going *shrugs* 'dunno what i'm playing' then it's harder work than it needs to be IMO. To be fair though, most of the folkies I've played with have quite a good understanding of what they're playing. I was saying that the people substituting Cadd9 for a power chord are the problem.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1200519' date='Apr 15 2011, 12:05 PM']...another view: If I was confronted with a guitarist like this, it wouldn't really bother me. I'd just work out what chords he's playing and crack on. Life's too short.[/quote] ...another view Life's too short to spend half of every rehearsal working out what the guitarist is doing AND rehearsing the music

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1200503' date='Apr 15 2011, 11:50 AM']Not even knowing what chords you are playing is a rare inadequacy nowadays and one I won't indulge.[/quote] + 1000000000 Bilbo Also, in response to the OP... Since when was Cadd9 a complicated chord?! C E G and D? Hardly difficult. If the guitarists you play with have to revert to the power chord for something as simple as that, i'd imagine it would restrict the band quite considerably.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1198725' date='Apr 13 2011, 09:19 PM']Should have bought a Warwick.... Padded gigbag, tool kit, manual, straplocks, wax, duster, label telling me what woods were used, when and where it was made etc![/quote] It's that kind of attention to detail that comes in really useful... when you realise you need to sell/trade it for a Fender

Has no-one noticed that at no point does he actually state that the money you spend you will get back? It says 'we pay up front for...' but never says that you will be reimbursed for your expenses. Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

[quote name='Linus27' post='1199103' date='Apr 14 2011, 10:07 AM']The only thing is, that goes against the whole point of having a combo. I already have a Shuttle 6 and a couple of Aggy GS112 speakers so I might as well stick with that if I was going to start using the MarkBass head with a seperate speaker. The reason for the combo is the band I have just joined is an acoustic type setup and so I wanted a nice easy option of one bass, one combo, plug in and play and no complications. We rehearse in the singers from room as its acoustic so having a combo is just so much easier rather than taking my rig apart, setting up in singers house, practise, take it all apart again and assembling again at home.[/quote] I play a Precision with flats into a LMIII/Aggy GS112 and I've never had a problem finding any sound that I'm after. Maybe it's just the combo that's the issue and a seperate speaker is the answer? As for the issue of just wanting to lug a combo to practice. Stick the amp head into the front of your gig bag and take one GS112. Will be just as easy to carry as taking a combo.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1197512' date='Apr 12 2011, 10:42 PM']No one is bashing Mark nor suggesting he is a fraudulent seller the comments are no different to commenting on customer service by other shops or manufacturers (see the Ampeg oh dear thread).[/quote] Yup. The thing is, we all know that if Bassdirect had dealt with this in the way the majority of people have suggested, it is pretty likely that Truckstop would have been on here singing their praises and getting them more customers/sales/money. In dealing with it the wrong way, they are likely to have done the opposite with some people. Just silly IMO