mcgraham

I don't recall what workshop urb would've been doing, but if it was to look at technique then I'd be happy to stand in in his absence... provided people were interested? I can look at 2 finger technique, the different variations thereof as well as what works and why. I can also go over the 4 finger Matt Garrison technique, slap/double thumb, left hand technique, harmonics (artificial and natural), muting, ergonomics, etc. I'd be happy to spend some time on explaining the above but also leave room for Q&A and looking at specific difficulties that people might have... a trouble-shooting clinic if you like? Music theory is also possible, but it depends what people want as it's quite a diverse topic and sometimes a bit drier than looking at more interesting techniques... though I like to think those I've taught find my teaching fun and accessible! I've messaged silverfoxnik about this but thought I'd add it on here in the event anyone is interested.

I am so up for a jam. I never get to do anything like that anymore.

Just remember not to take sweets from them or talk to them without an adult present.

I've also got another friend coming along for the ride. They're not a BC forum user so not sure what you want to do about adding to the list.

I think that enjoying making music you love is the goal and reward, and that can totally encompass having and looking for gear you enjoy using, or exploring/changing around your gear to try different things and keep it fresh. Personally I want to do the above, but I also love learning about gear and how to use it. I read lots, buy on occasion, and keep an ear to the ground for new bits that I might like. It's a recursive process too, as things I reeeally like I keep and it affects my progress and enjoyment as a player.

I'll look at the link later, but wanted to chip in as it's a great topic of discussion. I agree about the loudness wars. I myself do like a more forward sound to instruments in mixes, but currently produced stuff just seems to lack dynamics. Even the parts that are being played softly seem to be incredibly loud all the time. I find that the constant level doesn't draw me in but keeps me at a distance. As an example, Janek Gwizdala released an album called Live at the 55bar, supposedly just recorded with two condenser mics roughly equidistant from the centre of the band. No overdubs, there are mistakes, and the pristine-ness of the instruments is not the same level as commercial recordings in studios, but the overall sound of the album as a whole - and I'm ignoring the quality of musicianship and the songwriting in this, just talking the sound of the album - is possibly my favourite sounding album. It's not my favourite album, but the way it just captured the band is beautiful. Nothing is too quiet, but equally so nothing is too loud or in your face. There are points where you sometimes wonder if your CD/ipod has stopped because there's dead silence, then a really light snare hit permeates the silence... it just draws you in grabs your attention (IMO).

I've had enough of not having the opportunity to field-test my ideas, so I'd like to start up a slightly unusual originals project... [b][i]What is the project?[/i] [/b]In short, an instrumental group (bass-drums-guitar to start) that is heavily focused on improvisation and collaborative composition from those ideas. We wouldn't be necessarily bound to any one genre. If I had to call the vision for this anything I'd call it jazz, but it's really going to be whatever we make it. My own personal style and ideas stem from jazz and gospel, but with a much more aggressive and sometimes dissonant/angular edge to it (e.g. Guthrie Govan, Hiromi, Hadrien Feraud, Steve Jenkins). [b][i]Who am I looking for? [/i][/b]A bassist who loves diverse and different genres and who concentrates on the improvisational side of music. The The point of this is to be collaborative and bring our own skills and ideas to the table, and to have a safe environment to field-test ideas and then craft them into pieces. Please note that technical proficiency would need to be at a level where you could play more or less anything that was asked of you. Of course this can mean going away and working on things, but an above average level of technical proficiency will be necessary. Listen to tracks by the above musicians to get an idea of the proficiency I'd be after (these would be the sort of 'ceiling' level difficulty tracks, but gives an idea of what ideas I've got bouncing around in my head). [b][i]What would it involve? [/i][/b] As a rough starting point, say a 2-3 hour evening practice/get-together once every two weeks or so to work out ideas. We would discuss and share ideas in between practices and put them together in those practices. How often we meet and what the remit of involvement would be would be flexible/negotiable though. Please post here and/or PM me if you're interested or know someone who's into this sort of thing. I'm also looking for a drummer to get things going.

There are deals to be had, they just seem sparser for many reasons. For example, the US has Guitar Center and various other nationwide music store chains that give offers applicable all over the US - do we have any equivalents (remaining)? The US also has a huge concentration of musical instrument manufacturers in the US (e.g. Fender, Gibson, not to mention amplifiers and effects pedals), thereby shaving off import/custom costs that would be added to the same products over here - do we have many equivalents? On the flipside, Anderton's recently bought out a backlog of Cornford Roadhouse amplifiers and are offering them for about 60-70% of their original street price. They've done this to help promote sales of Cornford but ultimately it gives us and them a good deal.

Great advice in here, and some great builders mentioned above. In answer to the original question, I have two custom basses built by Wood&tronics (based in Italy) one fretted and one fretless. The fretless was totally custom and the fretted has the specs I would've ordered but had already been built before I bought it. The totally custom fretless is the greatest bass I've ever played. I've not had GAS for any basses since. Regarding luthiers in other countries, I don't think there's anything wrong with opting for such luthiers, but you need to be able to check out multiple examples of their work beforehand. If you don't want to run the risk of being disappointed you need to be choosing the luthier based on the work they produce and not on their prices or purely aesthetic appearance. A great place to do this is Bass Direct, because you can try loads of different basses from many different companies side-by-side and work out which features/companies/styles/sounds etc you like/dislike. You might even find an off-the-shelf one there that is exactly what you're after - that's what happened when I went looking for the fretted 5 string I now have. I didn't rush into it though, I played it afew times and waited about 3-4 months before I finally bought the thing. I went with Wood&tronics because their vision for the instrument showed in all of the examples I tried (even the ones I didn't want to own) and I knew they would be able to produce the type of instrument I was after. I didn't need to fly to Italy to sort it out, but I did need to do the background work beforehand to be confident with the luthier I was choosing to work with.

Started with Squier P-bass, went to Ibanez next because I was told by other 'musicians' I respected to avoid Fender basses as they 'were crap'. Utter bollocks to them and I now know better. The jazz pickup config is the sound I hear in my head so was glad to come around eventually. I don't regret any buys or sells I've made, but if starting again I would've cut out the Ibanez stage and go straight from P to J bass.

What scale??!?!? [b][i]32 inch[/i][/b] scale?!?!?! Madness I tell you... madness...

Blimey was the last one really that long ago? Mr Lizard, I'd also be up for another one, and I reckon there's quite a few others who would also be up for one.