Skol303

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1454899522' post='2974021'] A few practice *hours/days/weeks *delete as appropriate. Have been put in there. [/quote] Damn right! Wow. Great playing - good sense of rhythm and an unusual technique in places. Really enjoyed it Definitely a breath of fresh air from the usual 'twiddly mwah-fest' that tends to typify fretless playing [i](not that I don't find that mwah-vellous too!).[/i]

Audio clips! Now please!

^ Cheers Rob! Aye, it’s surprisingly tasty for what is on paper quite a standard passive fiver. And yes, I may be wielding it for the noodle challenge. I’m currently switching between this and an acoustic fretless, so it’ll be one of those. Or both, if I’m feeling especially ambidextrous

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1454669028' post='2971802']I have a lot of love for Jeff and Cort, he's a legend and they are great basses...[/quote] He’s honestly not someone who’s been on my radar until purchasing this bass. I’d heard of him, of course, but had never taken the time to check out his playing. Seems very '[i]Jaco-ish'[/i]. I have a bunch of his tracks earmarked for listening to…

^ Cheers guys! It's certainly made me see Cort in a new light; I'd always overlooked them in the past. The Bass Lounge had a [i]very[/i] nice Cort Artisan in stock when I visited - [url="http://greatbritishbasslounge.com/product/cort-artisan-a5-custom-sp/"]this one[/url] - which had the quality of an instrument at least twice its price. Really good basses for the money, it seems. PS: I think Jeff Berlin is happy to change his tune about 5-strings when it comes to promoting product...

Beautiful! I've only listened on my phone but it sounds great. Nicely played and sung too. I might have to start crooning this one to my own boys at bedtime. Although I might need to practice it first... The Composition Challenge awaits you! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/278121-february-composition-challenge-get-writing/

So I’ve just acquired one of these: [i][size=2](stock photo)[/size][/i] And wow! I’m gob-smackingly surprised by just how damned good it is Back-peddling a little bit… I’d noticed the Cort Rithimic Jeff Berlin basses a while ago. I’m not usually drawn to the whole ’signature’ instrument thing and to be honest, neither am I a huge fan of Jeff Berlin [i](that’s not to say I don’t like the guy or his playing; more that his name has zero sway with me).[/i] But I noticed they were getting great reviews and I’m aware that Cort has a solid, albeit somewhat overlooked, reputation for making good quality instruments - what with them producing a lot of the Indonesian-made output for Ibanez, Fender, Lakland (I think) and others. So I was interested, but then forgot about them. Cut to a few weeks ago and I noticed a Cort Rithimic V ‘Jeff Berlin’ Signature for sale at the [url="http://greatbritishbasslounge.com"]Great British Bass Lounge[/url]. Intrigued, I proposed a part-exchange with a Warwick Corvette Standard 5-string (very nice bass, but the string spacing was proving just a wee bit too narrow for my taste). Popped in to meet with Drew, the shop owner - a thoroughly nice chap - and walked out with the Rithimic V. And I’ve hardly put it down since. [i]Very[/i] impressed with this bass in every way! On paper it’s not especially awe-inspiring. Here’s the spec: [list] [*]Alder body with burl walnut top [*]3 piece maple neck, bolt-on with satin finish [*]34” scale, 21 frets [*]45mm nut with 19mm spacing at the bridge [*]2x Bartolini ‘Jeff Berlin Custom’ soapbar pickups [*]Volume, blend and tone controls [*]Babicz FC bridge [i](very much like a Badass)[/i]; Hipshot Ultralight tuners [*]Weight: 4kg or thereabouts [/list] …so not too shabby at all; but not exactly head-spinning ‘boutique-spec’ either. Just a nice, simple, solidly-made instrument. What’s really slapped me around the chops is the playability and tone of this bass. It was bought new and the factory set-up by Cort is just outstanding - or at least it suits my playing style to a tee. The neck is virtually straight, very low action and fitted with light gauge strings (DR DDT 40-120). It really is a joy to play - largely, I think, because the neck profile is quite thin/shallow and tapers nicely from a wide spacing at the bridge to a narrow-ish nut width. I suppose the term to use here is “fast”! At least I feel very nimble when playing it. The tone is also surprisingly varied for what is simply a passive instrument with only basic controls (blend and tone, plus volume). Cranked towards the bridge it’s bright and “burpy”, lots of zing when slapped, but a touch warmer than a traditional jazz bass. Dialled fully towards the nut and the tone gets quite wooly (too much for me), but with a touch of bridge p’up blend it finds a character all of its own. Hard to describe - I need to post up some clips! - but the spaced-out pickup position probably has a lot to do with it. And the pickups are nicely hot too; lots of outputs for a passive. So yeah. It’s definitely a keeper and for the time being at least, has cured my GAS! Job done. [i]PS: I’ll post up some audio clips and photos when I finally get round to putting it down long enough to do so…[/i]

I can honestly say that for the first time [i]ever[/i] I am currently GAS-free! At least in terms of instruments and amps, etc. It's a very peculiar yet liberating feeling, which will probably end up something like this...

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1454589833' post='2971089'] (... [i]and don't get me started on Brussels sprouts..![/i]) [/quote] We won't! The previous 'episode' is still very fresh in our memories

[quote name='Agwin' timestamp='1454587416' post='2971051'] If it takes off, how about calling it the Basschat Noodle Bar? [/quote]

Really good entries! Well done guys. All very tuneful. And there was me expecting a barrage of overdriven, machine gun-style 16ths! Hopefully there'll be room for some of that too Keep 'em coming.

[quote name='Agwin' timestamp='1454499495' post='2970226'] OK, so someone has to be first ninny... [/quote] EXCELLENT! Well done on being our[i] numero uno![/i] Just had a listen and its great. Very nice composition and well played. Mine own attempt will be neither of those things!

^ Ditto the sentiments above; really sorry to hear about your brother. Not much I can offer in way of tangible support, other than words written here. But if you want me to take over your Modding duties for a while then drop me a line via PM. Very happy to do so. Hang tough, mate. Paul

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1454489425' post='2970128'] ... I await the deluge of entries. [/quote] Indeed. I'm sure it will be a shower of sss....onic excellence

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1454488865' post='2970124'] Should we drop this thread in the recording forum? It seems a bit unbalanced to have the noodle challenge pinned to the top of GD and therefore more prominent than the actual compo comp? [/quote] I'm going to leave this first one pinned in General Discussion to give it a bit more exposure. Subsequent 60 Second Challenges [i](assuming it proves popular)[/i] will be posted in the Rec' forum as per usual.

[i]Pinned![/i]

^ That's quite a recording session Doug! I've heard of sleep deprivation being experimented with as a creative catalyst. Providing you don't also start drinking absinthe and necking LSD I'm sure you'll be fine. Good track though! Maybe there's some mojo in the method after all

[quote name='Bleat' timestamp='1454452599' post='2969973'] Is it within the rules to allow someone to add to a composition ie words and singing...as I am useless at both! [/quote] Yeah of course! You're welcome to collaborate with other people as much as you like

Ok... I know you've all been waiting with baited breath for the outcome of this tale! I've since cleaned the case with a standard bleach solution. Smell has receded. No sign of the mold returning. All good. I've also installed a couple of moisture traps in the loft to check the humidity up there. A few weeks on and they're pretty much bone dry... so the problem doesn't appear to be poor air circulation in the loft, but more likely mold spores already present in the case before I stashed it up there. The moral of the story being: if you pick up a second hand hard case that smells a bit fusty, give it a good scrub over with bleach solution before stowing it away. The End

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1454342407' post='2968728'] So are we putting our entry links on this page? [/quote] Yup. Post a link to your recording in this thread. I'll then compile them all into a handy list when it comes to the voting.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1454291613' post='2968345'] I suppose I best enter myself.[/quote] [quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1454312238' post='2968378'] Is that even possible? [/quote] Contortion is a mysterious art!

[size=5]A quick heads up that [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/278121-february-composition-challenge-get-writing/"][b]February's Composition Challenge is now on...[/b][/url][/size] [size=4]Tuck in if you fancy something a little more juicy to get your chops around [/size]

Well done Doug! And a round of applause to everyone else too. A great start to the year. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/278121-february-composition-challenge-get-writing/page__pid__2968441#entry2968441"][size=5][b]February's challenge is now up[/b][/size][/url] Take the plunge...

[font=Helvetica][size=3][color=#800000][b][size=5]February's Composition Challenge is now underway![/size][/b][/color][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][size=5]Here’s the image for your inspiration, chosen by last month's winner, [b]Dad3353[/b]… [/size][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][b][size=4]Click on the 'Spoiler' button below to read the usual rules and caveats:[/size][/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4][spoiler]By entering the competition you agree to the Basschat Terms and Conditions and Forum Guidelines, which are designed to help ensure the forum remains free of offensive and/or illegal behaviour and material. In a nutshell:[/size][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4][b]1) Please avoid any content that other forum users may find offensive[/b]. If your track contains explicit lyrics, for example, then please warn other forum users so they can choose for themselves whether to listen to it.[/size][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4][b]2) Please make sure you have permission to use any 3rd party sounds included in your track[/b] (ie. sounds that you have not recorded yourself, such as samples of other people's music). The owners of Basschat accept no responsibility for infringements of copyright or other forms of legal ownership, which are solely the responsibility of competition entrants. If we spot any breaches of copyright then your track will be removed from the competition.[/size][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4][b]3) Entries should be no more than five minutes long[/b] and written/produced during the month of the competition, taking inspiration from the photo provided. No cheating![/spoiler][/size][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4]If you have any questions, just ask.[/size][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][b][color=#800000][size=5]The deadline for entries is midnight on February 22nd.[/size][/color][/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3][i][size=2]...go on, dive in![/size][/i][/size][/font]

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1454276467' post='2968227'] Can it be aimless? [/quote] As aimless or purposeful as you want to be! Either way, 60 seconds is mercifully short