mcgraham

I'm with Bilbo on this one. I've heard a little bit of Kennedy and think his tone is excellent - definitely one of my favourite tones. I also find he grooves very well and fits the song nicely. However I find his soloing to be a bit random and nonsensical, not in a 'I don't understand jazz' kind of way, but in a 'i'm a teenager in a guitar shop' kind of way. If you watch the video of Weckl band playing "The Chicken" on youtube, I just don't understand what he's doing with the solo. It just seems like sheer legato speed with the occasional riff thrown in the mix. I'm not professing to be better than Tom, he's clearly very accomplished, I'm just saying that this is what it reminds me of. Perhaps this solo isn't the best one to judge him by? I'd be happy to be shown I've misjudged him.

Bass amps are a funny thing. On one hand you want something that fills the lower frequency sonic territory appropriately and so you want something full and not excessively coloured in its tone - on the other hand, if it's even useable as a bass amp then it clearly can't be excessively coloured in the first place. Not quite like guitar amps which are all about the colour they impart. Personally, my amp GAS stopped after I got my Berg IP and was killed stone dead when I got the EX112 extension cab. It is as uncoloured as I want to go, powerful, punchy, clear, articulate. The form factor is ideal, and ease of use is unsurpassed.

It's amazing how quickly the cost of pedals racks up. I'm doing a clearout at the moment and thought I should add up the total of what I'd get if they all sold, and what seemed like a handful of pedals all averaging less than £100 second hand added up to a grand! That's with second hand values too, so think how much I must've spent on everything having bought some stuff brand new. Mental...

Are you after a trem first, leslie second; or a leslie first, trem second? If you're wanting a straight trem there are LOADS of truly amazing options out there. - For simplicity and tiny size: the Lovepedal Baby trem (I've just sold mine unfortunately) - For simplicity with a bit more useable controls on top surface: Boss TR2 - For versatility and small size: Catalinbread Semaphore - For complete versatility: Goatkeeper, or Empress Trem, or Catalinbread Stereo Semaphore (Goatkeeper and Semaphore are HUGE). If you're wanting a leslie there are also LOADS of great options out there, but they tend to be more expensive: - Strymon Lex - about to release this amazing leslie sim, great new company if you've not heard of them. - Tech 21 Rotochoir for bass - also sounds amazing - H&K Rotosphere - THE defining leslie sim of the last decade and a bit. However, my personal favourite is something that is both but neither of these: Catalinbread Pareidolia. There's nothing else quite like it. It has two trems going 180' out of phase with one another, one connected to a high pass filter one connected to a low pass filter so the bassy part of the trem is at its peak when the treble is at its trough, vice versa, and they pass each other in the middle. Because of this you can create a variety of different sounds that really does put trem and leslie on the same spectrum, and you can move between them depending on how deep/shallow the depth in combination with how fast/slow the speed is.

I think the real question is... '[i]isn't[/i] bass?'

In all honesty I think that the general populace is blissfully unaware of the bass as an instrument and as a function. However, I think that as a developing instrument and with new and more exciting players out there, there is a slowly developing realisation that bass is not just 'the low tuned guitar in the background played by the grumpy looking middle aged man in the back' but actually a beautiful instrument in its own right. Re: 6 string shredding - it's not as prevalent as you might think, just quite 'in' with the bass playing culture at present. And even if you/I don't like it per se, it's good because it brings out new tools, techniques, and brings bass out of the shadows and into the foreground. So in answer to your question: 'Yes, I think it is getting cooler, but only ever so gradually'

Bass has [i]always [/i]been cool. It's those nerds who play them that ruin the image

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='1164600' date='Mar 16 2011, 04:29 PM'][Pedant Point] Is that BIG {girl's pants} or {BIG GIRL'S} pants or what? [/Pedant Point] G.[/quote] Does one exclude the other? Surely large underwear is suitable for large wearers of underwear and vice versa? [/Pedant Match Point]

Yes indeed! TBH I don't consciously decide to do one over the others, I just know which they are and have practiced so that I use whichever technique gives me the sound I want in the most efficient manner.

A violinist I spoke to years ago said there was three distinct types of vibrato: (i) from the wrist to the fingers (ii) from the elbow and forearm to the fingers (iii) the whole arm moves. I find I vary between all three depending on the depth and speed of the vibrato I want. E.g. subtle and fast I use the wrist, slow but massively deep I use (iii), medium depth and moderate speed I use (ii).

Depending on when it is I'd be interested in the hands on workshop.