Skol303

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1354862198' post='1891295'] A drink each could be pricey! Any woods or finish in mind yet? [/quote] Actually yeah... 25,000 members at say £3 a pint... err, anyone for a nice cup of tea? In terms of materials, my initial thoughts are a mahogany body (for its reputed rich lows and mids), coupled with a bubinga/rosewood neck/fretboard. All with a natural finish - seems a shame to paint over such nice wood. But it's early days and all that could change! I'll wait to see what ideas Paul comes back with before making any firm choices. I'm more than happy to draw on his expertise, particuarly with regards to materials.

^ "To much booze and he was bustin' To find a quite place that he could trust in But stumbling blind he fell with a thud Hitting the dirt like Max Clifford..."

Well this is my first ever build diary! As some of you may know, I was lucky enough to win November's BC Composition Challenge, in which Paul at [url="http://www.13guitarco.com/"]13 Guitar Co[/url] was kind enough to offer up a custom-made bass. So firstly, MASSIVE THANKS to Paul and hopefully this will inspire other sponsors and affiliates to do the same in future. Very early days in this project, but I'll use this thread to post progress on the build for anyone who's interested and/or considering using Paul's services themselves. I've emailed some ideas to Paul which we'll no doubt discuss in due course. For the time being, I have in my head a 5-string, 24 fret active bass that in no way resembles a Fender (no offence meant to Fender lovers!). If anyone wants to share ideas, experiences, etc, then please feel free. I'm really keen to learn as much as possible from this process. Thanks again BC... I owe you all a drink!

Just put a plug out for the single on [url="https://twitter.com/Skol303"]Twitter.[/url] Good luck with it!

^ Didn't Edison (or was it Einstein) say that productivity is "1% inspiration and 99% perspiration"? Personally I prefer the wise words of Yoda: "Do or do not... there is no try!" Seriously though Rob, I hope you get round to it mate. I'm struggling myself - I've got an idea but it's a fiddly one and I have little time this month. Still, I'll definitely be cooking something up

Cheers mate! Yeah, that's a Theremin in the instrumental part. Not a real one unfortunately - it's a synth patch - but it sounds ok. It's got to be one of the most distinctive synth sounds. Very spooky and has great vibrato. You can actually buy Theremin on ebay quite cheaply but I've heard they're a real pig to play. Anyway, glad you dig it

Yay! Lucky guess but I'm still chalking it up Hope the single does well and raises plenty of money for HtH.

^ No probs mate, I'm more than happy to help a fellow BC'er!

Hi Rick, I reckon phone calls are certainly going to get you the best results. I've never promoted bands but I used to work in the music press, which sometimes involved more of a 'PR' role in trying to get coverage of particular bands and events and magazines. What worked for me in that context was: 1. Identifying and dealing with the person who makes the final decision, not their underlings. 2. Being concise and to the point. Setting out what you're offering and what you want before getting into any detail. 3. Being confident but not cocky in how you 'sell' your act. The meek do not inherit the stage! - they more often get ignored or exploited. 4. Being persistent but not a pain in the ass. Leave your name & number and call back if the person you want to speak isn't available (always better than leaving a long message). Follow up the initial phone call with an email, reiterating what was discussed. Be proactive and organised - because you can't rely on the people you're dealing with to do the same. 5. Using good quality images... or none at all (poor quality photos do more harm than good). I'd say the photos you're currently using aren't ideal for PR/booking purposes. "The first bite is with the eye," etc... If possible, I'd strongly recommend getting some professional images taken - this doesn't have to be an expensive exercise, most colleges/Unis will have photography students looking for portfolio work who'll likely do it for beer money (or you might have a mate with a fancy camera?). I've quickly had a go at re-hashing the email you're using - see below. Not that the original text was bad, I've just tweaked it here and there as though I were sending it out myself. ---------- [i]Hi [NAME < VERY IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS THIS PERSONALLY!] I understand you're the person in charge of booking live acts at [VENUE/EVENT NAME]. My name is Ricky and I represent Cerberus Cell. We're a death metal band from Cambridgeshire with a strong following. We combine traditional musicianship with the latest technology, using guitars and vocals alongside programmed drums and synths to create a unique live show. We've heard good things about [VENUE/EVENT NAME] and would like to discuss how we could arrange a gig at your venue [/event] in the near future. We are about to launch our first album, "Lessons In Divinity" [LINK TO DEMO], which is already gaining major interest since it was first aired at a pre-release party in November. We are now keen to capitalise on our growing support and bring our live show (as well as our fanbase) to new locations across the UK. Please let me know whether you'd like to discuss this further. I'd be happy to arrange a meeting if you're interested. Kind regards, Ricky Greenwood[/i] ---------- Hope that helps mate and good luck!

Hey Milty. Try this - it's fun! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppR6LcGnkUY

Hey Joe. The recording ain't great, but your playing is! Very fluid with some great little flourishes. I really like the harmonic around 1:40-something. Make me realise I need to practice... lots!

Nice cover mate. I'm not a Chillis fan but this sounds well recorded and tightly played to me. Good work!

Welcome Eelboy! Interesting band name you have there... and some good music too. Nicely mixed, the bass sounds great. Reminds me of Butthole Surfers and NoMeansNo. I like it!

Sounds superb to me! I'm guessing mixed ITB.

[i]Finally[/i] got paid and made a cash bung to the BC kitty... keep up the good work folks! Paul

Nice loops Paul, cheers for sharing! Do you know if they're copyright-free and can be used for whatever, or tasters that are under license? They'd make good templates for programming MIDI beats anyway.

Nice one Shep! Great stuff mate. I'm thinking of trying something dubsteppy for this month's composition challenge. Time to dig out my OC2 and rattle some windows...

Nice vid, I like it! Good track too. And congrats for the Beeb coverage, that's excellent mate.

In case anyone's interested in covering, parodying, bastardising or otherwise butchering a Christmas classic this month... here's a useful article giving examples of some popular Christmas songs that are - and aren't - in the public domain (i.e. copyright-free): LINK: [url="http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/2010/10/dont-let-a-lawsuit-drain-your-christmas-cheer-holiday-music-and-the-public-domain/"]http://diymusician.c...-public-domain/[/url]

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1354582173' post='1887807'] I guess you mean particular tracks by other bands that we'd like to sound like, in which case no, we haven't got that kind of vision. I can say that we like 70s reggae, funk and soul music and this song started with the bass line, at a time when I was listening to a lot of Fela Kuti. We really appreciate the work that any of you put into it and there are absolutely no rules as far as we are concerned. Feel free to make us sound however you feel works best and hopefully have some fun with it [/quote] ^ Righto, that's cool with me mate. Thought I'd ask before I start messing around with it

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1354558177' post='1887358']I quite like the idea that this is a poor lonely fat fella with mental and physical health problems, who only gets any nice attention at Christmas and looks forward desperately towards it all year. The picture is actually taken in July. He has a dream that one day someone will fall in love with him and tries too hard to make people like him, but they are instead very wary of him. But the story has a happy ending, although no-one falls in love with him, a stray dog sits with him and when he wakes from his alcoholic stupor they become the best of friends and have adventures together [/quote] Ha ha, you've got one fertile imagination, Nige! Love it. Thing is, I'm actually picturing that story when I look at the photo now!! (in my head the guy is played by Mongo from Blazing Saddles). There's a TV series here for the taking... [quote name='steve' timestamp='1354579433' post='1887779']after just get back from seeing Gary Numan, I've been inspired to have a rethink. I've decided to scrap the story of the elves spiking Santas drink and go for something darker and more industrial[/quote] ^ I'm thinking along these lines too, Steve. Probably going to try something a bit more electronic and grimey this month. Although we did put the tree up at the weekend and like you, I started to get a flutter of feeling festive! Still, nothing that some mangled electronica can't squash

Just giving this a quick bump. Also, I was wondering whether a couple of reference tracks could be suggested by the Tacsi lads, or whether it's just up to us to work on the mix as we see fit? Probably the latter is more fun but thought I'd ask.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1354478972' post='1886496']I have an idea or two but am not sure if I can be arsed (it would be something I wouldn't actually like). Problem is, as a life long teetotaller, I don't like 'drunk' stories and alcohol and its associated activities bores me rigid[/quote] Maybe that's your angle right there Bilbo. I'd hoped the image left plenty of room for humour and joviality, but I also thought it had a darker and more 'sobering' side (despite - or perhaps because of - the intoxicated state of its subject). Just like laughing at someone falling over on You've Been Framed. Then wondering whether they suffered a fractured skull as a consequence. Christmas is full of mixed messages after all... take your pick! ;-)

[quote name='steantval' timestamp='1354452067' post='1886028']The Parma Violets were everything that is bad about a lot of music nowadays, jumped up pricks with zero talent. How does having "lots of energy" make you good musicians? [/quote] I don't think I said they were good musicians, did I? (quickly checks...). Nope, thought not. I said I understood why their music would appeal to a particular market. Which is a different point entirely. Sorry to be pedantic, but heh. I'm no fan of JLS, for instance, but zillions of teenagers are and does that make them wrong? Although I take the point that it's fair to question whether a band like the PVs should be given airtime on Later... but then I think that about at least one band Jules' has on each week. Different strokes for different folks, etc, etc...

Folks, your golden opportunity is here... ;-) http://basschat.co.uk/topic/193270-december-composition-competition/page__pid__1885883#entry1885883