Skol303

[quote name='gapiro' timestamp='1456333695' post='2988006'] Time to listen again! [/quote] Ditto. Very difficult to make a final shortlist of three this month. I need some quiet time with headphones and an alcoholic beverage... [i](ideally most days of the week!).[/i]

^ Ditto! Always enjoy reading these. You certainly got the gist of mine. It's supposed to be about "escapism". Diving into something, to get away from something else. Well that was the Muse Anyway, great stuff mate.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1456252987' post='2987144'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]For anyone interested, here's my 'Play of the Day' topic for this month's Challenge [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] ...[/font][/color] [/quote] You've certainly got your work cut out for you this month, Doug!

I'm not keen on the tone, but her playing is impressive. She could fix the tone in seconds by turning some dials on her amp. I just wish I could attain her level of dexterity by doing the same!

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1456230081' post='2986795'] Gatefold...... I haven't heard that for years. [/quote] I love a good gatefold! Was sorting out my old record collection recently... bliss. Although I'd forgotten some of the dilemmas involved: sort by album title or artist name; sub-divide into genres; separate singles from LPs? Etc. You don't get such opportunities for anal retention with MP3s, that's for sure.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1456209361' post='2986549'] 15 entries!! Marvellous!! [/quote] Innit! A bumper crop this month. Enough for a gatefold double album

Yeah I'm working late, my head aches, my eyes are pied and... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/279691-february-composition-challenge-voting/"][b][size=5]THE VOTING THREAD IS NOW UP[/size][/b][/url] Get to it.

[color=#800000][b][size=5]Voting has now started on February’s Composition Challenge[/size][/b][/color] [size=5]Here's the inspiration for this month's music, chosen by our previous winner [b]Dad3353[/b]…[/size] [size=5]…and here are the compositions. Please vote for your top [u]THREE[/u] favourites:[/size] Leonard Smalls [url="http://soundcloud.com/dredd-and-the-badass-weed/feel-the-burn"]‘Feel The Burn’[/url] Dad3353 [url="http://soundcloud.com/dad3353/scintillating-curved-air"]‘Scintillating Curved Air’[/url] fingers211 [url="http://soundcloud.com/nigel-jewell/divedivedive"]‘Dive, Dive, Dive’[/url] christofloffer [url="http://soundcloud.com/christofloffer/sunburnt-toes2"]‘Sunburnt Toes’[/url] Bastav [url="http://soundcloud.com/organicpulseensemble/suspense-release-breeze"]‘Suspense - Release - Breeze’[/url] xgsjx [url="http://soundcloud.com/gxmix/start-of-a-party-1"]‘Start Of A Party’[/url] the boy [url="http://soundcloud.com/theboysings/goodbye-gail"]‘Goodbye Gail’[/url] lurksalot [url="http://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/acacapulco"]‘Acacapulco?’[/url] Rikki1984 [url="http://soundcloud.com/rikki-boyes/take-the-jump"]‘Take The Jump’[/url] Bleat [url="http://soundcloud.com/foolsjourney/sacred-places"]‘Sacred Places’[/url] Dapper Bandit [url="http://soundcloud.com/user-145360766/divingdive-in-bathysphere-dub"]‘Diving/Dive In (Bathysphere Dub)’[/url] Skol303 [url="http://soundcloud.com/skollob/dive-dive-dive"]‘Dive Dive Dive’[/url] Mornats [url="http://soundcloud.com/mornats/dive"]‘Dive’[/url] Bilbo [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/motion-capture"]‘Motion Capture’[/url] Doctor J [url="http://soundcloud.com/doctor_j_bass/the-first-time-you-jump"]‘The First Time You Jump’[/url] [color=#800000][size=5][b] Voting ends at midnight on Tuesday 29th February[/b][/size][/color] [size=2](for the first time yet!)[/size]

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1456134726' post='2985601'] I usually just say I play bass.[/quote] Me too. 'Bassist' and 'bass player' sound like a role or job title to me, and I don't fit either as I don't play in band. If I did, I might feel more comfy using either of those terms. 'Bass guitarist' = a guitarist who also plays bass IMHO

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1456141116' post='2985739'] Choose something for monitoring and keep it, judging all your mixing exclusively through that. How to choose the monitor system..? Play something that you know and like (any music that you'd like to aspire to; preferably in the same vein as your piece...),and go with what sounds best to you. It's more than useful, almost essential, to have reference music to use for comparison to your mix. [/quote] ^ [i]Sooo[/i] this! Reference material is essential and once you have a good stock of reference tracks that you're familiar with, you can mix on pretty much any set up.

Blokes... especially... like collecting stuff. I have a mate who buys up vintage printing gear and old brass typefaces; another who collects Russian militaria and Geiger counters; one who's into cider making (more gear - and more useful!); another who has more bicycles than is possible to ride in a week; a friend who's running shoe collection puts Imelda Marcos to shame; another who collects T-shirts; my dad who has an attic full of old computers and sheds stocked with HAM radio gear; a mate who collects, builds and sells on vintage cars; numerous friends hoarding piles of vinyl and yet still buying more... and so on. All things, none of which are needed yet still we feel the urge to acquire more of them. It's odd, innit!? My wife's response: "at least you're not buying golf clubs". That's about as sensible as it gets.

Just has a listen through all of the entries so far. Wow! I know we tend to say this each month, but that's because it's true: [i]really[/i] interesting and imaginative stuff. Well done all. I've left some comments on SoundCloud, but mostly of the "ooh, wow, great, like!" variety. I just wrote what I thought in the moment [quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1455925388' post='2983803'] Here's the mammoth list of instruments used... [/quote] Haha! That's always been why I've shied away from Kontakt... fear of 'option paralysis' from having [i]sooo[/i] many great instruments and pre-sets to choose from. I sometimes use Maschine for drum tracks and the library sounds are just superb - really good quality. I might have to bite the bullet sometime and expand my Native Instruments toolset... Great track by the way!

Ok I'm done. I've been listening to and playing a lot of disco recently; so this is a sort of 'nu-disco', summery number with perhaps a wee tinge of melancholy [i](that's what happens when I try to write a happy song when it's pishing down with rain outside!). [/i]Lots of layering on everything: drums, vocals, synths. But also very simple and repetitive. Chorus vocals are lifted from a track I'm working on with Mike Flynn ('urb' of this Parish) and sung by a London lass called Noemi Nuti, who's just great. They've been re-pitched and royaly fecked around with; as have my own vocals during the chorus (vocoder mixed with layers of 'dry' audio). Bass is a Fender Jazz, for anyone who may care about such matters. http://soundcloud.com/skollob/dive-dive-dive Had great fun with this and thanks to Doug for choosing such a cool pic. Love it. I'll be back on Tuesday morning to post up the voting thread...

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1455804740' post='2982588'] Yes it's that exact color combo[/quote] Very nice! Sounds Great (the UK supplier mentioned in the OP) are a shortish drive away from me. I might pop my head in and have a look. Leaving my wallet at home, for safe keeping

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1455801313' post='2982540'] Been GASsing for a P bass for ages and I kept looking for something like this one... in the end I though I might as well get this actual one. [/quote] If it's that particular colour it's a beaut! 'Eggshell blue', or something? Whatever. Looks fab.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1455799286' post='2982518'] OK... So I may have ordered one of these... [/quote] Haha! [i]Another[/i] bass, Rob?? Well, why not eh. Let us know how it sounds.

Good work guys! A fine crop this month I'm hoping to get mine finished over the weekend. For any other latecomers... don't forget the deadline for entries is Monday night.

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1455648535' post='2981146'] How many white, working/middle class men listen to Kanye or any hip hop? [/quote] Err... maybe you live somewhere rather 'sheltered'. But I know a good few white, working trades guys who listen to hip hop. In fact I can count at least four in my own circle of friends. Lovely guys, but face to face I'm fairly sure you wouldn't want to call any of them morons. Nor anyone on this forum, for that matter.

[quote name='Leonard Smalls' timestamp='1455635195' post='2980917'] Don't worry about that - just turn it up and brazen it out - that's what I do (Emperor's New Clothes 'n'all!). [/quote] My Big Muff can hide a multitude of sins! [i](I’m sure that’s not the first time you’ve heard that said…).[/i] I’ve actually been practicing a lot of disco/funk riffs of late due to receiving [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/70s-Funk-Disco-Bass-Patterns-x/dp/0634028561"]this book[/url] as a Christmas prezzie. So I’ll probably base something on one of those and let my inner Bernard Edwards shine through

[quote name='mimsy89' timestamp='1455623305' post='2980732'] [url="https://youtu.be/d77ceBv8CGw"]https://youtu.be/d77ceBv8CGw[/url] Here's one I've been working on. Had to use some awful video editor to upload it as the general camera on my phone keeps crashing so ignore the weird imprint and double shot on the sides Trying to incorporate the octave picking/typewriter technique in some of my playing Cheers [/quote] Welcome aboard! I'm currently at work so can watch but not listen... looks great (nice bass too). I'll give it a proper listen when I get home this evening. Need to get something recorded myself. It won't be anywhere near as proficient as some of you guys. [i]Yes, I am making excuses already.[/i]

[i][size=5]Aaaaarghhh, noooooooooo! Not this AGAIN!![/size][/i] That is all. As you were.

My take on this is that it's healthy for people to explore the forum and its various sub-sections. There are great tips for beginners scattered throughout Basschat. Most sub-forums already have a dedicated/pinned beginners thread of some kind. Putting all of this info into one thread might encourage people to get lazy and not explore the community to its fullest. Like, for instance... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/forum/10-recording/"][b][size=8]The Recording Forum[/size][/b][/url] ...which is [i]by far[/i] the coolest place to hang out. Of course.

Manchester. Y'know... in the big house up the road Welcome to Basschat!

^ As above, don’t get disheartened by a lack of feedback. All perfectly normal. Even for a forum populated by musicians. In fact, it’s a common trait of [u]every[/u] music forum I’ve been involved with.. [i]perhaps it’s me!?[/i] The majority of people who visit Basschat aren’t interested in listening to the music of other amateur musicians. Sad but true. The monthly Composition Challenges engage about 30 ‘voters’, roughly ten of whom tend to be the participants themselves. So that’s 30 people on average, each month, who can be bothered listening to the forums’s ‘highest profile’ member-made music. Just thirty people out of a community of thousands. The Recording section is itself a quiet corner of the forum. Few people come here, although there is a very healthy and active cadre of regulars who keep it bustling in its own little way. But there’s not enough traffic down here to make the ‘Share your music’ forum really buzz. And not enough time amongst those who [i]do[/i] visit to listen to everything that gets posted. So those are the facts of the matter. I’d love for it to be different - I’m as vocal as anyone in trying to get this community interested in music, rather than just guitars and amps. But as the old saying goes, “you can lead a horse to water; but you can’t make it drink”. And so on. So don’t let a lack of feedback faze you in any way. Just keep on posting your music. And also share it on other platforms, like SoundCloud. There [i]are[/i] people out there interested in hearing new music. It’s just that only 30 or so of them are here, on Basschat

[quote name='Huge Hands' timestamp='1455553987' post='2980147']Usually, NTSC discs don't work on Region 2 only players. However, some players are all regions...[/quote] [quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1455568410' post='2980353'] Same here - thought I'd be ok with my DVD player that has handled NTSC fine before, but I've just checked and that was Region 1-6 encoded discs, whereas Jaco is Region 0 only.[/quote] Cheers guys. I watched it last night [i](was meant to be a birthday present, but Mrs Skol brought it forward for Valentine's Day ). [/i]Thankfully plays fine on my very old and cheap DVD player. Great film, really enjoyed it - if 'enjoyed' is the right word. Obviously very sad towards the end; the footage of him with Jeremy Jemmott (the instructional DVD stuff) is particularly painful to watch. Still, very inspirational stuff. Interesting to see his son Felix, who appears to have inherited his father's hands and sounds like quite a player himself. Looking forward to watching the outtakes disc next chance I get...