mcnach

[url="http://youtu.be/OWoQpzdB5gs"]http://youtu.be/OWoQpzdB5gs[/url]

[url="http://youtu.be/dsRmL9mgxCU"]http://youtu.be/dsRmL9mgxCU[/url] I love that bass. It's making me want -badly- a bass with a P type pickup closer to the bridge than usual... or even a twin P. Enjoy the video!

I feel like a bit of a fraud Today we had the very first meeting, tentative jam, to see whether we start a new funk band. Guitar, vocals and myself. We have a great drummer's interest, but we wanted to get together the three of us first, as we'd probably be the "creative centre". So... what bass should I take? Well, after talking so proudly of this Precision, and since I was playing it non stop whilst listening to The Meters etc... you'd expect me to take the Precision, right? Wrong. I took the MusicMan SUB instead. Well, it's the one I feel most at home with, and in these situations you never know what you will end up playing, so... But, hey... there was still some Precision content this evening. We listened to some maceo Parker stuff... and I just love the bass. Twin P style pickups. Have a listen: [url="http://youtu.be/JawQn7gKdJo"]http://youtu.be/JawQn7gKdJo[/url] Now, I want a P-type pickup closer to the bridge!!! Oh, and yes, it was promising... we already have two song ideas and it felt really good. A new band is born!!!

You mean the Sterling by MusicMan SUB, right? The MusicMan Sterling SUB was another bass: [url="http://www.music-man.com/specs/instruments_substerling.html"]http://www.music-man.com/specs/instruments_substerling.html[/url] which has not been available new for some time, and it would have been about £600. Because life was not complicated enough already...

I love the look of it! But I never had the chance to try it.

Like many of my "projects", this advanced very very slowly. As in... zero for several months and suddenly a tiny baby step. But it's moving! I decided against the ash body. I have it. I may use it in the future. Or not. But for the fretless, I'm going with the original idea. And today I tested it briefly. I decided to spray a little bit of Capri Orange on the back of the bass, without even prior sanding, as it seems in pretty good condition. The results are promising. It was a little tricky at first to produce a thin even coat, so I got a bit of overpainting giving a couple of small runs... but I think once you get the hang of it it's not that hard. It dries fast, which is nice, and what's even nicer is that once dried, it flattens very nicely, giving a pretty uniform shiny surface: the runs, unless very big, get disguised. I can see how after a few coats the result will not be bad at all, so I'm optimistic that I can produce something that will not be horrible. The paint sticks to the poly body, no doubt about that. It wont flake easily. Nice. The only negative point is... spraying directly over shoreline gold does not give me a very bright orange. So I have decided I should spray it with white primer first. I just ordered a can of primer, so hopefully I'll get to that soon. That will allow me to get the bright orange finish I'm after. It's not going to be a professional finish, but it's not going to look as terrible as I was fearing.

[quote name='MarkG' timestamp='1357507088' post='1923828'] Hi, Just flicked through your progress with the Vantage as I've got a white one. You do seem to have been unlucky with the bridge p/u routing as it's a very snug fit on mine. Anyway, it's kept you busy! [/quote] That's what David at ProBass said, that it was unusual for me to have that issue... so I guess I was the lucky one... Strange, as I'd have imagined these basses were routed using the very same jigs! Anyway, yes, it's kept me busy. Part of me still wants a blue or a white one... greedy, I know! Nah, I think I will stay with the one. I already have more basses than I need. (as if that could stop me! )

[quote name='apa' timestamp='1357501611' post='1923701'] why dont you pad the underside of the case so the poles are flush. Damn site easier than grinding magnets!! A [/quote] you misunderstood me. I didn't mean grinding the polepieces, they don't bother me "physically". I meant grounding them, as in connecting them to ground. That's as simple as running a strip of copper foil on the underside of the pickups, touching the bottom of each polepiece, and connecting that to ground with a wire. That way I will not get a buzz when I touch them (even if I rarely touch them!).

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1357498590' post='1923605'] Funny thing is I have had much fiestier rows with folk on here without that kind of thing, mcnach, TimR and a good few others have enjoyed a good debate with me but now get along well with me, maybe me and Inti will become pals? [/quote] yup, I'm sure that's the way things will be. Probably best to just nod to everything and walk casually away, towards the clowns but away from the circus. It was funny for a minute, now it's just boooooring. Edit: seriously, I just saw another charming and intilligent one liner, and it disappeared straight away. It smells of psychological problems. I'm staying out from now on.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1357497889' post='1923595'] So inti just removed his own offensive posts (not aimed at me btw) then private messages me a threatening message asking if I am harassing him! Classic [/quote] make sure you close your windows at night!

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1357397040' post='1922048'] Ok, what about their very slick changes during this entirely spontaneous jam? There's never somebody on stage going "Oh f***, we aren't playing in E-minor at 120bpm anymore?". It's just too clean to ever make me think that it's anything other than pre-arranged. [/quote] Maybe some of those "jams" indeed have some deeper level of prearrangement... That is entirely possible. What I'm saying is that good musicians that play together a lot, especially jamming together a lot, are able to play stuff without getting lost, and when they get caught out they can react so quickly to one another that most people would not know it. In my band, we are not 1% of the musicians those guys are, and we get away with a lot. So many times we just burst in laughter as we play because... somehow, unexpectedly, we knew where we were going, and we anticipated a change and worked seamlessly. Not every time, of course, not even once every ten times... But it happens. If we jammed together for 20, 30 years... I think we could

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1357406882' post='1922263'] Right, but that doesn't mean you don't know any theory. Everyone, [i]everyone[/i] knows some theory. See here: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A13_QGMtlRE[/media] [/quote] That's brilliant!!! Thanks for posting that.

I like fretless because it sounds different, and it's a sound I like... that's about it. Those typical fretless slides can get tiring pretty fast, but -like slap- if not overdone, they add another level of expression on bass. And when using an octave pedal, or some kind of synth, the fretless can be extremely cool. You can play it like a fretted bass... "with extras". Lined fretless are extremely easy to get used to, in my experience, but unlined is easier than it seems. The side dots are enough to help with navigation when jumping abot the fretboard a bit. The thing is that, if you have played bass already for some time, your hands know where the notes are better than you probably realise. Of course, on fretless you need to be pretty accurate or it sounds terribly off, but it doesn't take too long to be able to play it "alright". You quickly get used to "cheating", like adding a bit of vibrato immediately if you fall short or overshoot a sustained note, and if in doubt aim short and "microslide" up to the correct note. etc. To get to play like Pino... yeah, that's going to take a while and a lot of dedication... but you can play alright without as much effort as many think. Of course, it's not instant either... Another cool thing of the fretless, in some situations, is that you are less likely to get asked "can I play your bass, mate?"

One thing that I still want to do is ground the polepieces. They make a bit of a buzz when I touch them... something that does not happen often, but it annoys me. Just a 10 min job 'though.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1357416639' post='1922464'] Pics or it didn't happen [/quote] You are right, you are right... so here it is. It's a shame that the original pickups had those big ears, so the Wizard Thumpers leave a bit of a gap... but in person without a flash it's barely noticeable.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1357415182' post='1922435'] Precisions can have such a knarly , clunky sound that , funnily enough , a lot of less expensive examples can end up sounding great in the final mix , especially with flats . Sounds like you have hit on a winning combination . Good for you Sir ! [/quote] The nicest P bass I ever played was my now gone Squier CV60 in fiesta red. Of course, as I'm not a big fan, I have not tried hundreds of them, but that Squier was very nice. EXcept... it was a Precision. The reason I kept the Sue Ryder ones was that... ok, £60 new... if I sell them, what am I going to get for them? So they are the ideal candidates for me to mess with. Hence, one is fretless now. Not the best fretless ever, but I had this and a CIJ Fender Precision fretles simultaneously... and sold the Fender (it was a better bass, but the Ryder does the job too). Another one... one day I will finish stripping. It's too much of a boring job to sand it all... I'm glad I kept one untouched... except cosmetics (pickguard)... I should post a picture or two...

[quote name='apa' timestamp='1357408385' post='1922305'] Your getting old before your time mate A [/quote] The P bass has a bit of an "old geezer's bass" whiff to it, doesn't it? Hmmm, well, at least if sunburst with tortoiseshell pickguard. White and black can be "punk" and have some "street cred".

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1357375013' post='1921685'] Yeah, i've seen the Chili Peppers a few times live now, and their "Jams" are clearly pre-arranged, as much as i love them, and hate to admit that. But flea does throw in a lot of spontaneous fills. [/quote] well, there's prearranged and prearranged. we do a few jams too... and some may say they are prearranged, but the only thing prearranged is that we have played that sort of beats improvising together a million times together, and we end up having a few "sections" that we can easily switch into and play as we feel like, whilst still improvising within that context... It still has the "jam" flavour, but you are a lot less likely to end up going nowhere, or being boring. I'm sure the RHCP jams are much along the same lines. If you play and jam for years with the same people, you build up a lot of melodies and rhythms together, and it can seem prearranged, because you are able to play the same or a similar melody today and a few months from now without any further rehearsing or anything.

I have never been a fan of the P bass. I have owned several, and they mostly languished unloved and were eventually sold. When the Sue Ryder Precision bass sale came along, I ended up with three of them. One was left untouched - white/rosewood, I just put a black pickguard on it. Another white one... I sourced a Ryder maple neck to swap, and turned it to fretless, with a DiMarzio Model P pickup. Another, a blue translucent/maple was dismantled for the body to be stripped... and I have not finished. So, the one left untouched... I put a set of Status flats on it. These are very dull thuddy type of strings. I really liked the sound, but the Precision is not a bass I ever felt fully comfortable with. When playing the E string, I like to have something to rest my thumb on around the area where a MM pickup is, more or less. And that sound, it was not something I wanted in my bands... so... I did not play it that much (although I did use it to film Sea Bass Kid's first music video ) Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. It seems a new funky project i going to start and I have been asked to join. It's meant to be original material mostly but with a few covers. I was told about a song by The Meters... "Chicken Strut". Now, I did not know much about them. Cissy Strut was familiar, but I did not like it. I knew some slow R&B style songs by them, which I don't like either... So I was not expecting to like this a lot. But to my surprise... The Meters have tons of great funky tunes! Now I understand why they are always mentioned with such reverence, pretty much alongside James Brown. So I have been listening to a lot of Meters and James Brown... and without thinking, plugging in the Sue Ryder P bass with flats... and I am really really liking it. So last night I decided to put a set of Wizard Thumpers on this bass. I had this pickup in my drawer for a couple of years or so. Not only did the bass look nicer than with the original white pickup... but the sound opened up quite a bit, and now I cannot put this bass down. With regards to the thumbrest issue, I have a small aluminium block stuck with double sided tape (thanks apa!!!) and it's just lovely. I think I may be starting to "get" the Precision. what a surprise! With regards to the Thumpers vs original pickup... the original pickup is actually quite nice, but a lot darker. It does a great deep reggae tone, as well as a double bass type of sound, better than the Thumpers do. But the Thumpers are brighter and feel a bit more balanced... so even with the Status flats you get a nice compromise between bright tones (think Iron Maiden) and dark ones using the tone control. Mostly, the bass is not as "boomy". Good midrange. But the original pickups are surprisingly good too, just darker and heavier. Now I wish I had not sold that Squier CV60s Precision in fiesta red... that was a lovely bass with a fantastic neck...

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1357313335' post='1920826'] where's Inti? I reckon he'd be interested in this thread.... [/quote] be careful with what you wish for!!!

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1357326116' post='1921189'] That explains why I have been waving my hand at my bass for the last three days with nothing happening . [/quote]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1357319158' post='1921019'] Source Audio also do a unit to convert the Hot Hand's output to MIDI data, so you can use it with any unit capable of taking MIDI input. Edit: Turns out it's got an output for expression pedal sockets too, so you can use it with pretty much anything. [/quote] really? I did not know. That´s pretty clever of them!

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1357156457' post='1918393'] That's an old video. Still good! I believe he just used a Boss SYB-3 & a multi fx unit (if my memory serves me right). [/quote] He is wearing a "Hot Hand" controller, so that means a Source Audio pedal of some sort was involved: envelope filter more likely.

I don't understand how so many people like cucumber, when they just taste of unripe melon.

I only recently "discovered" them. I knew Cissy Strut and a couple of other tracks that did not really grab me... but when my guitarist was talking about some Meters track a while ago I decided to investigate properly... I could not believe I had not paid attention to them for so many years!