jazzyvee

I've had one of these Gig Skinz canvas bags for holding my Mesa Boogie Walkabout head for about 8 years or so and it's still in great condition. Nicely added and a good thick-ish strap. Has pockets for leads and tuner etc. [color=#000000][font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][b]Gig Skinz DGSERATO Computer/Recording DJ Backpack[/b][/size][/font][/color] [attachment=195797:Screen Shot 2015-07-07 at 10.30.53.png]

Thanks for posting, I'm gonna get to at least on of their dates.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1435752305' post='2812075'] As I grew up playing instruments, I couldn't tell you when I've not listened to each instrument's part in the song. I do listen to the song as a whole, but my wife listens to songs very differently from me. She'll like a song just based on the overall sound & the vocal melody. I listen to it & even if the singer isn't an amazing vocalist, I listen to what they've put with the music, just like with the bass, it's not about how technically skilled they are there, it's about how they've come up with a great sounding part (Adam Clayton is a good example, many great basslines, most which a beginner could play). There's been many times I've said "Ohh, I like that wee synth sound that comes in here" & the Mrs says "What synth sound?". Sometimes I do wish I could hear songs like she does though. [/quote] + 1

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1435826711' post='2812685'] Played with a guitarist a while back who had heard someone make a comment about one of his solos which, to be honest, was a bit sad with quite a few bum notes in there (no, it wasn't jazz before any joker asks) I understand that no-one likes criticism however, his argument was that the guy wasn't qualified to make a comment as he was not a musician. My personal view is that if something is not good, it's not good. It's not as if he was playing anything so way out and clever that he could employ the "I think it went over their heads" argument I believe that if someone is into music appreciation, as opposed to actually playing it, they're more than qualified to say what does, or does not, sound good. [/quote] My question would be, what would his response be to someone who said his solo was fantastic, would he equally think that person was qualified to make that comment because they are not a musician? I doubt it. It's easy to accept praise for what you do as a performer and consider it valid but not so easy the other way round. Personally I self validate what I do as a player and that determines how I feel about a gig and decide for myself whether for me it was fantastic or below par. I am gracious to anyone who makes comments on what they experienced at the gig and/or my playing good or bad and try to engage with them how they reached their view. It's a good way of understanding your audience. From my experience most punters don't hear music in the same deconstructed way that we do as musicians so if something was sounding off they are not always able to identify what specifically or who in particular was responsible.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1435533053' post='2809868'] Nobody. There are just a lot of rock stars around. They are all different. [/quote] Yeah how can anyone define who the greatest is unless/until they state the parameters they are using to make the claim. Is it record sales, longevity, musical ability, vocal ability, songwriting ability, most money etc etc the list can go on. Every rock star out there is arguably the greatest at being themselves. But how determine who is greater than who, It's pretty pointless as far as I'm concerned.

[quote name='tonybassplayer' timestamp='1435527103' post='2809779'] Great shots, it's not easy getting good live shots in poor and rapidly changing light. My first attempt was rubbish [/quote] + 1. I did some photography at an outdoor music festival this weekend and since the lighting "daylight" was consistent it was pretty easy getting good shots. Personally when doing this kind of stuff I generally use the spot metering option on my camera so I can isolate my exposures for the subject and have less problems with dark background in combination with bright lighting etc. It's still not an easy situation to get well exposed pictures and I find removing the colour and using black and white really works best for me personally. My favourite lens for live photography, pre digital & autofocus, was an old breech mount Canon FD 100mm f2.8 lens.

None of my basses sound the same so in that sense I don't have backups. Usually as a band we travel light and hence no real opportunity to carry spares of bulky items. Neither me, drummer, guitarist or brass section carry spare instruments. The two keyboard players use 2 keyboards each on stage so are pretty much safe. Touch wood I've not had a bass break down on me just leads, tuners, DI-boxes, backline provided heads and cabs. I change batteries regularly maybe every quarter and more often if I've done a lot of playing before a gig. I have spare strings, cables and a mini toolkit so I can make truss rod adjustments etc if needed. I wonder if classical orchestra musicians carry backup instruments?

Mine [attachment=194912:ale_eurs1burlusd2.jpg]

I don't know what Christian music you will be doing but it it's gospel music you will certainly find a low B-string an asset, If that's the case I would suggest you take a 5 string if any of the ones you list is a 5er. Also if you have insurance you might want to extend the international cover.

I've had no end of problems with house provided bass gear either it's trashed and is distorting, I don't like the sound or it's Ashdown or all three. These days if we know in advance and we are travelling light I take my own bass head as i know what how to get my sound and it's pretty simple to use. Sometimes I just bring my F1-x pre-amp and go direct into the power amp of the bass head or even use it's DI and get a monitor feed. But with a reggae band that reduces the bottom end on stage and the band want to feel the bass too. My preference would always be to use my own rig but unfortunately that is not always easily practical so sometimes you just have to make do with the situation you have, forget about it and just get on with the gig.

Most of the gigs I've done I only carried one guitar especially when I was abroad touring and that was really due to financial constraints on weight to avoid excess baggage charges. Occasionally I have had broken strings but I got good at changing strings before the song finished most times and then started changing strings every gig until I got Elixir coated strings which kept their tone much longer and i find them more durable lasting about 3 to 4 gigs so I started using them instead of D'addario's which I prefer tonally. The Wilkinson Tremsetter in my strat is a godsend for when strings break. I Just need to tune up the one string and the rest stay put. There have been odd occasions when carried two when I needed an acoustic guitar for a couple of songs but that ended when I got a Parker Fly to deal with the acoustic stuff. These days If I was carrying more than one electric guitar it would be as a backup not specifically for it's tone on an individual track. I went to see Larry Carlton in concert last week and he used one guitar for the whole set and got a great variety of tones from his 335.

[color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] I still consider myself fairly new to live bass playing and I have a basses I love the sound of and I'm starting to discover what I think my tone on each instrument is. I use one brand of bass so do not have any real experience of different brands. So.... what I'm seeking for with this post is clarity to something I've read so many times on-line here and other places, and heard many bass players claim but I haven't read anything that convinces me that this is really true.[/font][/color][color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] What I hear is this "Most if not all of the tone we have as players comes from our fingers and not the bass." [/font][/color][color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] Now I'm not going to express my own view at this point, but I'm putting it out here to find out from more experienced musicians if there is any meat on this view. However, if that really is the case why are we falling for the seduction of spending so much money time and effort on the smaller percentage of our playing that contributes the least to our sound, namely the bass and the rig, the gear?[/font][/color]

[quote name='ChunkyMunky' timestamp='1433767682' post='2793740'] On the contrast to Nicko's thread similarly titled thread, I'd like to offer my inversion of it. I'm throwing my bet on 'Billie Jean' for the sheer repetition of it all. [/quote] For those of us who are used to playing reggae, repetitive and uncomplicated baselines are par for the course.

The little guitar shop in Hockley, Birmingham do hand wound pickups. I had a set made by Martin to replace the Seymour Duncans that were in my Rob Williams CSM guitar. http://www.thelittleguitarshop.com/hand-wound-pickups.html

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1433251115' post='2789384'] did my first gig with the ACS pro17's at the weekend, horrible, it was so quiet, kept thinking my amp had packed up and couldn't hear the guitarist at all, I've just sent them back to have PRO10 filters put in them, I don't want my hearing wrecking any more than it is at the moment but I also want to enjoy playing in a band, it's got to be reasonable loud, hasn't it? [/quote] Most of the time I find the 17's are great and I also use them when going to see live bands too. I could actually probably do with a couple more different strength filters either side of 17db. Sometimes the 17's could do with being a bit stronger for when we have a louder on-stage sound or the drum monitors are a far too loud. For some gigs where I need ear plugs the 17's are a bit strong and it leaves me a bit detached from the music. Anyone know any place to get extra filters a fair bit cheaper than ACS charge?

One time the band I was in were booked for a 21st party in a huge marquee somewhere in Stratford-on-Avon and we arrived there only to find that the marquee came with a band which was one of those old time jazz bands. The family were really great about it and said they would pay us anyway because it was their fault. We offered to play alternate sets with the band that was there but the jazz band were not keen on that idea so we went home with money in our pockets and no gig.

[quote name='BruceBass3901' timestamp='1433953296' post='2795415'] I think I am right in saying that the idea is to attach the bridge to a section of the instrument which is made from a different material, usually to increase sustain or change the tone (supposedly). Alembic did this quite a lot by having a brass 'tone block' under the bridge, others have used Ash, Alder or Mahogany. [/quote] This is what some alembics have under the bridge. Usually it's usually made from brass but you can specify what you want. [attachment=194019:serveimage.jpeg]

I have a Vigier surfretter I bought about 12 or so years back. Still in great nick. I used it live a few times when I was working as a guitarist with an Indian artiste and on a couple of TV recordings. These days it doesn't see much action. It's surprisingly easy to play if you trust your finger memory but clean chords are a challenge. The first guitar I made from scratch when I was about 18 was a fretless electric guitar, then made another in the early 80's from parts but that time I de-fretted a strat style neck to get a better finger board than the one I made earlier. I gigged quite a bit with that one too.

Recently I've been considering having mine it stripped back to the natural wood as it's all maple with a flame maple top under that back paint. I could then have it clear sprayed or a light tint to bring out the look of the grain depending on how it looks. Here is the build thread with the woods. http://alembic.com/club/messages/631/57606.html?1314917105

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1432895006' post='2785931'] Wow! Thank you both for those vids! I've never really been into Jack Bruce but I now realise that I've completely misunderstood him all these years. What a pedigree.. Pro at 15 etc... Sh**! Very informative hour just spent there. Wow! [/quote] + 1

As far as I know those two are the only exceptions to the No paid/free Endorsement rule. Everybody has to pay to get their new alembic either through a dealer or direct from the factory which costs more. Also not giving stuff away to endorsee's helps keep the prices down.... :-)

Here is a promo-clip from one of my band gigs at the end of last year when we did a concert in tribute of Grover Washington Jr. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3DD0UbiRrY&index=1&list=PL83iJEMd_7jyuO-wMpkpYhgOUhlE8Gwml&spfreload=10"]https://www.youtube....ml&spfreload=10[/url]

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1432799520' post='2785015'] I think if you had a bass that nice you'd have it on a stand wouldn't you ? [/quote] Yep and that's the reason Alembic started making those classic basses with a point. Back in their early days before they started making basses they did loads of headstock repairs so when they made their own, they put a point on in order to force owners to put their basses on a stand. [url="http://www.alembic.com/family/history_bodyshapes.html"]http://www.alembic.c...bodyshapes.html[/url] A lovely bass but still, I'm not a fan of the large bodied classic shape but the coco bolo does a great job of distracting me from the size.

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