.jpg.518c69c2d9e1581799f3c11301dc2da5.jpg)
mcgraham
-
Posts
2,509 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Shop
Articles
Everything posted by mcgraham
-
That's fair enough! I never really found myself anchoring much, so the progression from even a slight movable anchor to the floating thumb made a lot of sense. Whilst I understand what you mean about the reference point / muscle memory, you soon pick it up with the floating thumb. You do get a constant reference point, it just isn't as definite as a string, it's just a position on the course of strings. Having said that though, if your technique uses minimal anchoring with a movable anchor then you're a darn sight better than a large number of bassists! Mark
-
Whilst you may not be 'anchoring' in the traditional sense, the purpose of the floating thumb is to allow you be able to slide from string to string without having to lift your thumb off a string, or remove it from between two strings. Those who place their thumb against a single point all the time are 'anchoring', those who are placing their thumb at a single relative point (i.e. always 'hooked' one string below the one you're playing) can be considered to be using a 'movable anchor'. The floating thumb, however, is not this. Relax your hand, place it on your desk such that the outer side of your thumb (relative to the inside of your hand/index finger) is flush with the table top. Slide your entire forearm and wrist (as one structure) across the table top. [i]That[/i] is the action the floating thumb advocates. Imagine the table top was the upper surface of your strings, you wouldn't once get 'caught' on or restricted by the strings. It provides for a relaxed hand, and a complete muting device for your strings that doesn't get you tangled in your strings. Making sense? Mark
-
PM replied to! Arrangement made, thus on hold. SOLD Mark -
SOLD! Hi people I've got a new neck for my Geddy courtesy of Mr. Jon Shuker. I therefore no longer need the old one. I kept this bass in a gigbag so the only wear at all (beyond any slight fret wear that there may be) is some transfer of the dye of the black gig bag onto the top edges of the circle shaped portion of the Fender headstock and the rounded surface of said portion. It's fully wrapped in bubble wrap very securely already since leaving Shuker's bass base, therefore pics will be on request. Please note that my camera is my cameraphone, so quality won't be great. You may be better checking out the Fender site to get an idea of what the necks that come on these great basses look like. This neck can be yours for a mere [b]£200[/b] plus postage. Note: I started a previous thread (repair section) on why I was getting a new neck made. Essentially I have very exacting preferences in my action, and this neck wasn't quite capable of achieving those tolerances. If you want a jazz bass neck with submillimeter action at the 12th fret this neck isn't for you. Above a 1/1.5/2 mm action at 12th fret you'll be fine. Also I had to pilfer the string tree for the new neck (button string tree), so the hardware is minus said tree. Let me know if you're interested. Mark [attachment=8812:IMAGE_074.jpg] [attachment=8818:IMAGE_075.jpg] This was the best image I could get off the gig-bag transfer. [attachment=8819:IMAGE_076.jpg] [attachment=8820:IMAGE_078.jpg] [attachment=8821:IMAGE_079.jpg] Sorry about the foot!
-
[quote]I'm afraid there's no plug included lol ;o)[/quote] So droll [quote]Haven't tried one of these yet, have MXR 80 and EBS Microbass 2 but this has me thinking......[/quote] I tried the MXR 80 but didn't really like it, I found it affected the tone of my bass in all the wrong ways, but that's my opinion. I've not tried the EBS Microbass but I hear they are amazing bits of kit. I can't comment on tonal comparison, but the Sansamp BDDI (and therefore I would assume the PBDDI too) has a very useable tone. I found that the blend helped me to vary between a clean 'uneffected' tone and something more reminiscent of an Ampeg SVT. Again, just my opinion. Mark
-
Cheers Dood, appreciate the plug! Mark
-
Hi people Long story short, I'd like to free up some cash. I can offer this great bit of kit for the same price as the going rate for a standard non-programmable Sansamp BDDI as (being up front and all) I'm obtaining this from Dood [hope you don't mind me mentioning your name bud!] in a straight trade for my standard non-programmable Sansamp BDDI, hence I am fairly selling it on for what I'd expect for a normal BDDI; our loss is your gain. It is in pristine condition complete with everything you'd get at purchase. So... mint condition, boxed, manuals, even the plastic bag included. I can get pics up if requested but it's essentially brand new. Price is [b]£100[/b] plus postage. Thanks for looking guys! Mark
-
That's a mighty fine looking bass to go in that case 6string! Mark
-
What techniques is the guy showing? Bass height is an interesting topic in itself. I've found that slinging your bass onto your left thigh (or the thigh on the side of your fretting hand) ala classical guitar will help you to get a better position for your bass, and with a straight wrist and floating thumb you will help to avoid 'birdwinging' your plucking arm. Also (IMO) it is vital to use a strap whilst doing so. Mark
-
Man that bass is stunning! I wish I could get on with Warwick, they make some truly amazing basses. When played through a rig they can have serious low end and some nice sparkling highs, but when I sit down and listen to them direct/thru good monitors or headphones they seem to have quite a.. dull, dumb, dead? sound, for lack of a better word. I'm sure many will disagree with me, it really is just my personal opinion, and I really wish that wasn't how I felt about Warwicks. Mark
-
[quote]Just started playing it a week ago. Biggest challenge is the string spacing. Tuned B-G with 128-40 guage and 16mm spacing doesn't leave much space between strings - fretting hand tends to mess up on moving octaves from string to string. That said I now realise 19mm string spacing is too much for me. Sounds very good - clear hi-fi sound. The treble eq doesn't seem to do much though. Very light and well made.[/quote] Very fair comments. I've actually moved back to wider/19mm spacing since some discussions with Mark @ BassDirect & Enrico @ Wood&Tronics. Whilst I prefer tighter spacing for reduced movement/economy of motion, wider spacing helps keep the right hand a lot more relaxed. It's a trade off between the two really. I'd agree re: the eq, although I felt it was the bass knob that was to my dislike; dialled in a woolly bass sound rather than warmth or punch. [quote]I intend to keep it for the moment. See how it goes later on.[/quote] Good plan. I can tell you that bassjamm would still love that bass back so if you do decide to move it on, please drop him a message. Hope all is well my friend, happy playing! Mark P.S. What string brand are you using that has a 0.128 B string?
-
Hi Ken Nice shot! How's the foray into five strings going for you? Is the Smith working out well for you? Mark
-
[quote]The brilliant Japanese pianist Hiromi -with monster Newcastle lad Tony Grey on bass ripping it up in highly melodic style:[/quote] Will watch this at home. Hiromi's stuff is top notch. She can get a bit intense at times but on the whole her compositions are amazing. Does anyone else find her drummer, Martin Valihora (sp?), to just ooze ability and taste? I find his groove playing, chops and fills really catch my attention. Mark
-
Anything that other band members do that wind you up
mcgraham replied to dabootsy's topic in General Discussion
To be honest it's more what other people's band members do that wind me up. Usually general arrogance or popstar/rockstar/<<insert-genre>>star attitude. If we're talking musically, there's a few things that irk me or cause me step out and take control in some capacity: (i) it's ALWAYS got to be drummers that lose time (or create time! it's amazing how drummers can violate the laws of physics); (ii) band leaders that don't really know what they want, i.e. they have or pretend to have an idea but simply do not bother to learn the skills necessary to convey it to the band, thereby accomplishing nothing and wasting time; and (iii) when people make excuses for something that is clearly their fault, but that's more a general thing. Take responsibility for your actions and what you are expected to do/be capable of doing. Mark P.S. I'd rather have a guitarist that is anal about tuning then one (I know many!) who insist their guitar is fine. I had one guy whom I said 'you're out of tune', and he looked down at his guitar and went 'hmm, you sure? it was fine when I tuned it this morning'.... thinking that the acts of putting it in a case, travelling for an hour or so in cold weather and then proceeding to strum for 45-60 minutes in a sound check would not change the tuning even fractionally. -
The electric bass is a very young instrument, and it borrows physical features from at least two camps, being guitar and upright bass, so there are still opposing camps as to how to *correctly* do things. Look at Michael Manring, his bass is pretty at a 45 degree angle to his body (from above), right arm 'birdwinged' over the bass, thumb anchored, and left arm is pretty much dead perpendicular out from the back of the neck and upper arm held high. The left arm helps significantly for spacing your fingers for intonation on fretless, but it is so tiring for extended periods; that is at least in comparison to Gary Willis, who brings his bass in parallel to his body ala classical guitar pose (standing too), right wrist unbent, thumb floating, left arm relaxed and hung low. I find the latter to be much more comfortable for extended periods, ergonomic and generally helps you with your technique, although it feels less natural to start with. Mark P.S. But Gary Willis RH technique is just plain [i]weird[/i]!
-
I remember learning about such genes in high school. Was that the hyperextending thumb? Supposedly it's a dominant gene, but it's rare to see such extreme thumb hyperextension. Mine only slightly hyperextends, such that it doesn't have the weird look of a deadstraight thumb. Mark
-
[quote]my left thumb actually bends backwards 90 degrees at the middle joint[/quote] That sounds like hitchhiker's thumb, just a very extreme version of it. If that is the way your body works, then that is the way your body works. But just be aware that if it naturally takes that position, you'll need to be a bit more careful to ensure you aren't putting excessive strain on it, as it is already in a position that would result in excessive strain on the thumb joint. I'm not sure if that has been explained particularly clearly, but in my (non-medical) opinion you need to lighten up your grip or adjust your grip as you run more of a risk of damaging your thumb than most due to the natural position it takes. Mark P.S. Just had a thought, if you bring the bass in closer to your body i.e. so that the neck+body is parallel to the front of your body (or at least more so than the typical 45 degree angle), you won't have your arm sticking out perpendicularly from the back of the neck, it'll drop lower. That should hopefully straighten your thumb out and help reduce strain, and keep your thumb relaxed.
-
I'm not sure if this is due to too much pressure, perhaps combined with hitchhikers thumb, however I would suggest lightening up considerably either way. I once read an article years ago that said you should be able to play without having your thumb pushing on the back of the neck, if you can't then you are pressing too hard. That has served me well. Try taking your thumb off and seeing how much pressure you [i]actually[/i] need to be exerting to fret notes. Mark
-
[quote]You can, of course, transcribe by rote rather than by the written note, learning the stuff by repeated listening etc, but this is a much slower process in my experience[/quote] Hang on a second, are you saying that learning a piece from written music falls under the category of 'transcribing'? I'm not disagreeing by the way, I'm just wondering if the generally accepted definition of transcription is a lot broader than I imagined it to be. Mark
-
[quote]Grrr.... Does that answer your question?[/quote] Yes, yes it does. Mark
-
Sounds exciting! Congratulations to you! Do you mind if I ask why you've opted for a wenge body? Mark
-
It certainly does what it says on the tin... funky! Mark
-
Oh that is interesting. It does make a bit more sense as that it heckuva lot of transcribed material. Whilst I'm aware that some people transcribe that much, it's a bit more *normal* to see he's consolidated others work together with his own. Mark
-
[quote]Interviewer: Are there any great jazz bass players alive today? Yogi: No. All the great jazz bass players alive today are dead. Except for the ones that are still alive. But so many of them are dead, that the ones that are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead. Some would kill for it.[/quote] That's genius, had me chuckling for a few minutes. Mark
-
Oh no! Don't do it man! Do you still feel it's not quite working for you? Feel free to PM if you prefer. Mark