bassbiscuits

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1435763728' post='2812238'] Here's my VM5 which I got from Bass direct in May (the picture is from their website too) I'd been playing a mex Jazz V up to that point and the difference is startling! What Strings are people generally using for replacing the supplied Sandberg ones? I'd like to keep the same gauge if possible as the setup was flawless and I dont want to mess it up!! [attachment=195460:VM5Front590.jpg] [attachment=195461:VM5Top590.jpg] [attachment=195462:VM5Head.jpg] [attachment=195463:VM5Rear590.jpg] [/quote] Yeah I'm confused by what gauge are on mine - apparently they're 40-100 but they definitely feel more like 45-105, unless it's just cos the whole guitar is stiff and new. Mine are still on from buying it as they sound and feel great.

Just picked up a markbass lm2 from Andy Absolutely spot on - great condition exactly as described, good comms re courier tracking and arrived on time. Very happy to do business again.

There was a Marley blue four string at Bass Direct which I'd seen on the website before I went. I dismissed it cos I wasn't planning to spend that much money. Lovely tho. Little did I know. I ended up spending the same amount and buying a brand new TT4 instead!

In addition to the good points above (keep it simple definitely, and take some simple spares to cover you if things go awry), I'd say try to relax and enjoy the experience - not everyone even gets to play gigs, so you're already doing well! Playing live is a bit of a different skill to playing at home, and its good to do both. Onstage sound was a shock to me at first, but with a bit of practice you'll be able to pick out what's happening more clearly. I personally carry little foam earplugs with me just in case (and usually use them too if I'm spending the night standing next to cymbals etc) When i started I had a temptation to play everything i knew in every song to begin with, due to nerves mainly. A few gigs in, you'll start to relax more and play less, but play better. It'll sound more tasteful and thought out, and then you'll be sounding like a proper musician, and no one will realise you're new to it! You'll most likely be buzzing at the end of it, and itching to do another one asap. Enjoy the experience. It's great fun.

Nice!

This

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1435601450' post='2810481'] Hang on, Kanye West, along with other hip-hop giants like Jay-Z, Snoop, Fiddy and Pitbull ARE this generations rock stars. They sell out arenas, have sex with supermodels, crash super cars and drink bottles of champagne worth $1,000 each. Are we also assuming they're all male? Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have also had their fair share of scandal and are probably as popular as the aforementioned male artists. You guys should read the gossip mags, they really get up to no good! [/quote] Thanks Truckstop I think you've managed to explain better than me the point I've been alluding to (or fearing more like) - that the guys you've just mentioned have taken up the mantle of swaggering bad boys and girls which were once the mainstay of rock. And in turn, rock's heroes are all the older generation, and all the myth, legend and fair dose of unsavoury bullshit that goes with it. Kanye isn't the worlds greatest rock star, even compared to his own contemporaries, but the fact it's a struggle to find many definite contenders from what you'd consider rock or metal nowadays kind of suggests it isn't the channel of rebellion it once was. I wasn't after a definite answer to any of this btw - I was just thinking out loud, and glad you chose to join in my rambling speculation and raise a lot of interesting points.

Ha ha it wasn't an ageist requirement, and I don't think there's one overall "greatest rock star" anyway. The point i was trying to make is that i'm hard pressed to find someone from my own generation (no pun intended) - who can really be considered as legendary as the generation before, who had Hendrix et al. And that's a sad thing to admit.

It's the oldies ain't it? Whichever way we look, the best true rockstars at the moment are the old ones. I'd throw in Jagger, Richards, Springsteen, Sting, Daltrey, Townsend, McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi easily into that list of bona fide superstars. Just hope that in 10 years time we've got enough younger guys reaching that legendary status to be able headline the big festivals eh.

That was my worry - realising that all the really amazing greats, Hendrix, Lennon and McCartney, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Page, Janis Joplin, Rod Stewart, The Stones, Aerosmith, Clapton etc were famous as young people in their 20s or 30s. Adele is a rare really brilliant, significant young singer/musician, tho not a rock star. Alex Turner? Mark Ronson? Ed Sheeran? I dunno. I guess I'm hoping to prove to myself that great rock music isn't just made by old farts from the past - is it?

Let's be clear from the start that Kanye is not the world's greatest rockstar, despite his boasts. But the answer to "well who is then?" been troubling me all day, as my imaginary argument with Kanye finds me struggling with the fact that every possible contender seems to be over 50. Got me thinking that maybe he does have a point in as much as all the cocky young swagger is coming from hip hop and r'n'b artists. I'm struggling to think of a truly significant current rock/metal star aged under 30, or even 40. That's not right. Anyone?

Here's mine - it's a passive California TT4 from Bass Direct. My first non-Fender in ages! It's more of a creamy colour than it looks in the picture here, and is soft aged. It's exceptionally lightweight - about 3.8kilos which is very much less than my other main gigging bass, a 1995 USA Precision, and a relief on my shoulders now I'm the wrong side of 40. Sound wise it doesn't have that same huge bass thud of a precision, because, well, it isn't a precision. What it does have is a tighter, more focused, low end, with a good bit of grit, which after a couple of gigs is really beginning to grow on me. It also has enormously good articulation and note separation, so that everything is really clear and even sounding, with amazingly clear harmonics especially on the bridge pickup solo'd. It's a different sound to what I normally gig with and it's taken a couple of gigs to get used to. But my drummer said he can hear me much more clearly - I guess the slightly blurry thump of a cranked P bass is different to the shimmering articulation of a J-style bass. So far so good.

Welcome to the P bass side! I've been playi one for 20 years, more by chance than anything else as it's what I could afford. But over the last few years I've broadened to trying jazzes and various other basses too. It's made me realise just how 'right' Precisions are. They're not as versatile as jazz, or have the same clarity. But in terms of solid, low end thump and just sitting perfectly in any band setting, they're the best things there are.

Wow - thank you all for your very thorough answers!

I see some bass players on youtube and such like with what look like fuzzy hairbands tied around the nut area of their bass. what is it, and what is it there for? I'm assuming its not a hairband of course - i might be wrong. anyone?

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1435133589' post='2805694'] For me this is the essence of these frustrating instruments, and the reason the Epi's don't work for me. The ergonomics of T-birds are truly awful. They neck dive like crazy and twist away from your body. Playing them for a lengthy time makes muscles you didn't know about start aching like mad. Even with a wide strap the weight goes entirely on your left shoulder and the bass feels unstable. the only time I used it for a full gig (2hrs+) my left wrist ached for days after. I find my fretting hand is holding the bass as well as fretting it. The joy is that the Gibsons are really light and have a superslim/fast neck, there's a tendency to chuck them about a bit when you are playing and that adds to the energy of the performance and the fun factor. The Epi's are heavier so you lose that, I guess if you are built like an ox then it may be less of an issue. I actually think the Epi's sound great and the QC is probably better than Gibsons but the extra weight kills them for me. [/quote] I reckon things like the Mike Lull T4 are the way to go for really superior build quality and great ergonomics within a faithful T bird style. Shame they're about £2,500 tho...

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1435319397' post='2807619'] This. Awesome tune, but you have to [i]really[/i] work for it. [/quote] Ah now I'm ok with Sir Duke, but only recently realised its in A flat, not A, which racks up the difficultly level a smidgeon... Kick ass tune tho.

As a footnote to this, I did bite the bullet and strung up my old precision with 45-105 last night and it sounds lovely. No probs with the nut, and the intonation etc seems to be unaffected. I didn't particularly choose to play lighter gauge strings in the first place - I didn't even realise strings even came in different gauges when i started out, and just ended up using whatever gauge there was. 45-105 seem more versatile if they can handle various tunings a bit better than the 40s... i could learn to love them....

[quote name='anaxcrosswords' timestamp='1435259334' post='2807121'] If it's any consolation, bassbiscuits, it even goes wrong for Kingy: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FA73eliAUU"]https://www.youtube....h?v=-FA73eliAUU[/url] A mistake caused by mishearing the sequencer on Hot Water. On the studio recordings of Lessons In Love I think a fair bit of the bass is sequenced anyway - not sure of the extent to which it's used live though. [/quote] Aha - he is human after all! Yeah that's the problem i find trying to figure his bass parts out - i can't actually figure out what's even going on a lot of the time. I saw him live a few months back and he was incredible (along with an awesome live drummer) - but still well beyond my grasp....

Rhythm stick and level 42 lessons in love - both for the reason that the timing has to be spot on or it all turns to sh*t. I reckon I'll get rhythm stick if I just keep at it and stay relaxed. But I'm beginning to realise Mark King is just on a different musical wavelength altogether to me. I've never thought I had a particular style, but I can safely say that Mark King is completely the opposite to me in his whole approach and technique - I think he's brilliant, but I just can't replicate any of his stuff. Like Bon Scott singing Nessun Dorma - it just isn't gonna work...

I'm the only person in my band who thinks to take any spares to gigs, or even any tools, fuses, duct tape etc. And sod's law, its always the other members who need it, cos my stuff all works. There's enough to be stressed about at gigs, so i make sure I've got the basics covered. But realistically i can't take two amps, multiple basses etc along. I play guitar in one version of my band, and although i take a spare guitar to gigs its never been out of the case. Better to be safe tho, if you can be arsed to carry it all round.