Rayman

I watched some of that programme recently where an opera producer takes a load of kids from a pretty rough background, kids who had no interest in classical music at all, in fact very much the opposite, and he ended up getting them all to sing in front of a large audience at Glyndebourne with great success. So I concur with what you say to a large degree, but I still don't believe that you can be taught to be a quality solo singer if you're hopeless to start with. Maybe part of a choir yes absolutely.

I believe that just because you're an excellent musician doesn't always mean you can sing well too. I still believe that singing is a natural talent that some have and some don't, and it's hard to get it if you don't already have some talent in the first place. Singing perfectly in tune with the notes on the bass isn't vital, if you listen to many people who do it, they're not always perfectly in tune. Is it important to [i]be[/i] perfectly in tune when scatting along to the bassline? Don't know.

It apparently improves your knowledge of the notes on the fingerboard to be able to sing them as you play them. I've heard plenty of jazz piano, guitar and bass players do it, but I must confess, it annoys me a bit. Never heard Steve Harris do it.

Thoroughly enjoying listening to the album, downloaded it this morning. Some blistering but tastefully done playing, the album certainly doesn't strike me as pure bass jamming for the sake of it, I think the tunes stand up as a whole with some nice hooks to pull you in. Outstanding drum tracks, always good for a bass players album, and some nice brass too, including on my favourite track "Hinterlands". It's always good to get the kids involved, and on "Mr Ben" it sounds like a little Urb is getting in on the action, which made me smile. Highly recommended by me.

I did a masterclass with Adam @ Bassday last year. I started off just being totally blown away to be stting there watching him, but ended up totally lost in a big steaming pile of theory that just went right over my head. Still love the guy though.

[url="http://www.bgra.net/2004/review.php?id=1742&type=bass"]http://www.bgra.net/2004/review.php?id=1742&type=bass[/url] [url="http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Aria+Pro+II/Magna+Series+MA30K/10/1"]http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...ries+MA30K/10/1[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62867"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62867[/url]

Adam's my favourite player, period.

I'm jealous, it looks fabulous.

Never tried a Dingwall, but aesthetically they aint my bag. Having owned a Sado and played a few, I have to say I've been underwhelmed by them. I find them a bit sterile. Me? I'd buy an Overwater. [i]Just my opinion[/i].

That's gorgeous, not your usual fayre though mate? I had you down for a slightly more traditional style bass?

I was 13, and [i]just[/i] starting to show an interest in music. I would have had a copy of ELO's Out Of The Blue around then which started me off, but it was my older brother playing Be Bop Deluxe and Yes records that really grabbed my attention. I got my first bass from Rhythm House in Stockport, a Columbus Jazz, maybe a year or so later.

Yum, black/maple Precison, doesn't get much better than that.

I, like Pete, have to pipe up for Marcus, one of my favourite playes. I too have grown tired of some of his slappy poppy solo stuff like some other people, but as part of a band, the man is a groove god for me, and no-one could ever convince me that he doesn't put his heart into every note he plays. That said, Steve Harris, Robbie Shakespeare and Jah Wobble are groove gods to me too. Horses for courses. We'll none of us ever agree who's great and who isn't, we all like different stuff and different styles don't we?

Looking forward to seeing the bass, and I'm very interested in what you think of it, they look fantastic. Paradoxically, is there any chance it could've been imported in one of the containers on your ship at any point?

I'm no expert but it looks OK to me. Any BC bass I've ever tried has been great.

If someone blows you away live with various tricks and stuff, but doesn't do it for you on the car stereo in the cold light of day then maybe the tricks and chops don't amount to much. It's [i]all[/i] about how it [i]sounds[/i] to me.

Fantastic....love it.

[quote name='Rich' post='886223' date='Jul 5 2010, 12:41 PM']the last thing we need is [i]yet another[/i] "it's just fretw*nking / no it's not / yes it is" thread[/quote] Ditto. Just take the music for what it is, and as a jazz fan (and rock, and dub and...whatever) I really like that kind of stuff. Some of it I don't get of course, but that's the same with any genre I guess. I went through a big time solo bass type thing about 12 months ago, Marcus, Janek, Victor etc etc, and while I still like that stuff, I find I much prefer now to hear the bass as part of a band groove rather than what I'd call showing off widdley diddley stuff, but there's a place for us all, whatever we're into. For me [i]personally[/i] Adam Nitti is still the man.

3 or 4 times a year per bass for me normally. Although I do sweat like a glass blowers arse during gigs, so if I have a lot of gigs it might be more often. I normally use EB Slinkys, and they'll last 3 or 4 months before they're too dead for me. I do like some zing in my string.

Anndra, I wonder if you know of a photographer sadly no longer with us called Bob Carlos Clarke? His style was quite similar to yours, and I'm a big fan. I did a masterclass with him some years ago before he decided to jump under a train, it was a fantastic day, and I still have the signed print he gave me. I for one would love to see more of your stuff.

He does yeah, give him a call and tell him what you're after, he'll wind a pickup accordingly. Have you thought about Villex? Passive, but massive range of tones and big output.

I've been on here a long time, and done many [i]many[/i] sales and trades with all sorts of people on basschat (and bassworld as was) and never once had an issue. You'll find the vast majority of people on here are the salt of the earth, although there's always a few characters to avoid, I hasten to add I don't know any on here. Follow the advice above, try and do some research into the person you're trading with and if they have good feedback etc, then you shouldn't have a problem. There's always an element of trust when posting stuff, but it's a lot safer on here than on somewhere like ebay because most of us on here know who most of the users are. Just be a little wary of new members who haven't posted very much. You do get the odd member who only comes here to sell stuff, and people like that we don't know much about.