jazzyvee

The point came for me when I got an alembic. Since then nothing else I've played gives me the ability to sound the way I want to. I've tried a number of basses at various points over the past 10 years that I've been playing bass to hear if there is anything I'm missing sonically and didn't succeed. To me most of the basses I hear regardless of what they are sound like they want to be a fender bass but more fender than a fender bass and with a different badge on the headstock. Not that I think there is anything wrong with that sound or the brand or anyone playing them. It's just not for me. I sometimes do tracks played by Marcus Miller and Aston Barrett in my bands and I can get the sound I need from my bass to make the track sound authentic and that's all that I need. So now whilst I will still keep my ears open I doubt if I will divert my funds elsewhere bass wise unless I have a custom bass built, but then I don't know enough about bass to specify the right bass for me. That said, I never say never!! Time will tell Jazzyvee

[quote name='lozbass' timestamp='1390152931' post='2342007'] Think you'll be pleased too with the Series (when the time is right) - may sound weird but another step-up from the already stunning Sigs. [/quote] Agreed Jazzyvee

I've only done it the odd few times and that was because the gig had some Stanley Clarke tracks which sounded better, and were easier to play, on my short scale bass. Usually it's one 4 stringer or one 5 stringer. I often wonder how much the audience appreciate the subtleties of different guitars/basses when i see them being changed multiple times on a gig. I've never been a punter at gig and thought hmm...... the bass player should be using bass X or bass Y on that song and not the one being played.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1389892488' post='2339236'] In the bands that I see, I think it simply boils down to this... there are bassists and there are people who play the bass. One has a more inherent creativeness (this, I don't think comes with practice - it may develop over time but if it is not there in the first place it's just not there) while the other has a more "paint by numbers" approach and plays what they have to in order for there to be a bass line in the song. [/quote] Yep I go along with that although I think some who "play bass" can still exert some creativity in how they interpret the bass lines they copy.

H-Gang by Donald Fagen. I'm learning it just because I love the bass line on that track. It's one of those tracks I'd love to play on a gig but something highly unlikely to happen. Jazzyvee

Alembic's non series basses don't give you the option to output in stereo (individual outputs per pickup) as standard but their basses with anniversary electronics usually have switchable mono/stereo jack sockets. The Signature such as the SC and MK basses are normally mono, however there are some threads on their forum on how to modify the wiring t to give you individual outs for each pickup if that's what you want. I have tried a couple of the MK signature basses when I was in the states in 2012 and they sound just as you would expect from an alembic. It is worth being aware that the wood recipe for alembics can be extremely varied and the tone is affected by that so that might be something you could read up about on their web site while you suffer more GAS. [url="http://www.alembic.com/info/wood_standard.html"]http://www.alembic.c...d_standard.html[/url] Jazzyvee

Absolutely http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVMnRN2TdVw Jazzyvee

I recall reading somewhere a Chick Corea interview where he was asked about natural ability and the gist of what he responded with was that natural ability only gives you a head start and unless you practice you won't maintain that advantage. Jazzyvee

if you haven't been there yet, you could read some of the threads about the MK signature basses on the Alembic forum. You can find out just about anything you need to know about them on there both pro's and any issues that owners have found. Here is a link to the Signature bass thread there if you want to check it out. I did a lot of reading on there before getting my signature bass and the members are generally a friendly and welcoming bunch and want you to have a good experience with Alembics. http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/418.html?1389785646 Happy reading Jazzyvee

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1389618105' post='2336110'] I had a chance of 'making it' in my early 20s. As is often the case, it didn't come to anything. Since then, there haven't been any opportunities for me to work in music full-time whilst playing the kind of music I want to play, so... I haven't. [/quote] I had similar opportunities in my late teens but they never amounted to anything concrete. Although that was always a dream for me, i never really felt that I had reached the standard as a guitarist that I considered was professional regardless of the musical abilities of other musicians I saw out there who were working professionally. I had another opportunity to turn pro in my early 30's after I was hired to do a couple of USA tours with a band who were regularly touring in the USA for long stints about 4 times per year. However even though I got on fine with the band, It was for various reasons I can't go into, too much of a risk especially since I was about the 3rd guitarist they'd used in as many years plus crucially the money was not enough. Fast forwarding to the present time I am now able to have a full time job and still take on touring commitments with the bands I've been working with over the past 10 years. So now I have the best of both worlds and enjoying it immensely. There is still time to consider a full time musical life if the right opportunity comes along. But for now what I have works for me. The dream is still there but it's filtered through reality tinted glasses. Jazzyvee

I guess whether you go with 4,5 or 6 depends a lot on what you want to play and how you want your bass tone to be. One viewpoint from one of my bass influences which i guess is biassed towards his needs for reggae but it is interesting about his view on tone in respect to 6 stringers. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9erbL9j3v5M[/media] Jazzyvee

http://www.technoempire.com/lieber-clarke-spellbinder-short-scale-lead-electric-bass-guitar-rare I wonder if John East was doing the Electronics for this early model of the bass. Jazzyvee

Yeah they had stopped playing for a good few years. I'm not sure when they started back gigging as a band, but I joined them initially in 2004 and did some gigs in UK, Europe and a 2 week tour in California and Arizona. There are only two of the original band members in the band today. Dennis Seaton ( Lead Vocalist), Michael Grant (Keyboards). Certainly Pass the Dutchie was a huge international hit for them and probably is, to date, their biggest hit. But they have had other singles that did well for them so even if they were seen as "one hit wonder" most bands never achieve that one hit. Anyway all are welcome to the gig if it's your thing. Jazzyvee

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1389222831' post='2331712'] Didnt one of them pass away recently? In odd circumstances IIRC. [/quote] I don't know the exact cause but I seem to recall that it was due to an unknown pre-existing heart condition. I re-joined the band as bass player last year, I had previously played guitar for them for about 4 years but parted company after a band reshuffle around 2009. Anyway on a more spooky note, not too long after i started playing bass with the band, I went to a funeral of a childhood friend and after the burial, I turned round to walk away from the graveside and there in front of me was the grave of Patrick Waite the former bass player for the band. That felt really wierd for a moment. Jazzyvee

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'm doing a gig with Musical Youth at the Jazz Cafe in London playing bass. [/font][/color] [url="http://mamacolive.com/thejazzcafe/listings/date/2014/1/26/"]http://mamacolive.co...date/2014/1/26/[/url] [url="http://youtu.be/iIqOtbg6zWo"]http://youtu.be/iIqOtbg6zWo[/url] Jazzyvee

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1386606158' post='2302071'] It weighs 9.8 pounds which is at the upper end of what I can cope with but is fine. Funnily enough I have no balance or on-strap issues with it, although a number of people had warned about this. A very wide Minotaur strap probably makes all the difference here [/quote] My shorty has some neck dive but after a while adjusting posture and the position of the bass becomes natural so I hardly notice it. I also like the wide Minotaur and leathercraft straps. I was recently listening to some of the tracks from your band. If you ever get gigs up near the midlands area let me know.

[quote name='Dave_the_bass' timestamp='1389086509' post='2329619'] I tend to chuck the songs on a cd and put it in my car. Every journey for the next week is done with the music in the background while I subconsciously learn the song and absorb the bass line. I then sit down with the bass and tend to be able to play a close approximation after a couple of attempts. [/quote] Very similar to my learning strategy. I tend to also visualise where I would be playing the part in my head which usually turns out close if not correct when I start to play the song. If the part has some tricky parts or a difficult solo that needs to be reproduced, i tend to work those out first because that may require a disproportionately longer time to get right than the groove of the track. Most of the time I use the CD Player on my hi-fi which has a repeat option so I can break the track down into parts for learning. Many of the tracks I get to play require me to get very close to the original notes and the bass tone so I usually try to get the tone right at the beginning so I'm hearing the music in the right context. I only tend to write things down if it is unusually complex or there are conflicts between the musicians about which arrangement learned by band member is correct. Jazzyvee

Still lusting for a Series I or II short scale Stanley Clarke Style alembic bass. Jazzyvee

I haven't had any good times using Ashdown bass rigs. There are a few places we play regularly that have Ashdown rigs and I now take my mesa boogie head or other times I go direct to the PA and bypass the bass rig completely. Jazzyvee

I'd love to do some steely dan tracks live something like Green Earrings springs to mind as a great one to tackle.

The times I've got a decent sound from a guitar in a bass amp is if the guitar is electric/acoustic or an electric with a piezzo switched on like a parker fly. However apart from that I used to have one of these peavey micro bass combo's to practice with at home and that was a great sounding amp and wonderful to play through using a strat. I used to take it to many a jam session or small gig.

I went this year for the first time and wished I'd brought my own bass when I was trying out bass gear. Does anyone know the policy about punters bringing in personal instruments to the show? Jazzyvee

[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1387393570' post='2311544'] I would say Yes to this, but for me the main point of an external preamp is for the times you dont get to gig your own amp. In a perfect world We'd all use our own gear at every gig but thats not really feasible (IME anyway). Having a preamp pedal will allow you to have the same tone (or as close as you'll get) at every gig, plus it means the PA should be getting my tone, rather than just the horrible dry tone. [/quote] I've recently started taking my F1-x to gigs where a backline is provided and some engineers still prefer me to plug into their box rather than use my DI-Out. However, when I do use my own DI out , I tend to give them the pre signal which gives them everything except the master volume so I can control my on-stage volume without giving the FOH a too hot signal. So far it's working well.