bassist_lewis

here's one of the master's of solo bass and music ("The Music Lesson", buy it). I do a solo on one song with a pop/rock band and I used play lots of pentatonics but it just sounded like s**t. I think less is more with solos (especially bass solos) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U2cOVgaKBM&feature=g-vrec&context=G20a9221RVAAAAAAAAAA

[quote name='algmusic' timestamp='1323687323' post='1465690'] If you have a bass that you have problems with..GET ANOTHER BASS, then you won't have to.. [/quote] about sums up my feelings on the subject, if your bass keeps breaking then there's something fundamentally wrong with the bass

I know this is somewhat anethema on this forum but I'd like to have one go-to bass (or perhaps two of the same). I know that one bass won't cover every sonic situation but what I'd like to know is, those of you who use only one bass or one brand, how did you arrive at that conclusion?

this was my friends drum exam that i played for. he's a f******g beast on the kit!, check out his cover of tiempo de festival on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUsNNz1pz10&feature=related

I'm of the same opinion as the OP, I've been doing weddings and functions for the last 2 years and never had a bass break mid gig (strings or electronics). i used to use a 4 string and 5 string when I played for a jamiroquai tribute but I didn't like the hassle of swapping mid-gig. i read an interview with Lee Sklar who confirmed my feelings, if one song in the set needs a 5 string, play a 5 for the whole set. it was only when I joined this forum that I even considered taking a back-up bass. I did hear about a guy who forgot to bring his bass and had to borrow one from an uncle's friend who's kid owned a £50 chopping board with strings on it. A back-up would have been good in that situation!

first and foremost, tone is subjective, I might listen to your recording and hate it! The basses, amp, cab, audio interface and headphones/speakers will all have a "sound" and the way each component interacts with the others is what creates the final tone of the bass. The jazz bass isn't interacting with logic in a way that pleases your ear but it does interact well with the Hartke head and cab. To your ear hope that helps

when I was about 16/17 a vowed never to play a Fender because everyone played a Fender. However, I'm changing my mind, as with the stratocaster, the sound of Fender Ps and Js has become a trademark of genres and players, even pick-ups are sometimes referred as 'jazz style' or 'precision style' by non-Fender manufacturers.There's no escape!!! So I was playing an American Deluxe Jazz V today and felt that it was a very nice instrument but that it hadn't been well set-up out of the box, the neck pick-up was too quiet and needed to be raised, the string heights were kind of radiused like you'd find on a double bass so the A stuck up and tripped my fingers over and the relief (or general string height) could have done with being a bit lower. Is this a common thing with new fenders, that it has an off-putting set-up? And how far can it be undone? I like a super-low action but then my Clover's fingerboard is almost flat thanks in advance

I was playing one today and felt the midrange control was a bit redundant but then it was possible to get the right tones fairly quickly using my hands and only tweaking the treble/bass controls slightly. It was also quite heavy, not sure if I'd want to stand with it around my neck for 3 hours :S Otherwise great instrument, looks sexy as f**k too

I've read a lot about these basses, all complimentary about their construction, sound, playability etc, but what are they actually like to play? I know its difficult to get across but I ask because the nearest stockist to me is bassdirect in warwick and I live in Edinburgh (!). in particular whats the scale length like? I find 35" uncomfortable so not sure if I caould cope with 37" on the low B. thanks in advance

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1317718704' post='1393551'] The music business is a very broad field - just because you're not a pretty boy (or girl) who is in the media 24 hours a day doesn't mean you can't make a living out of music, whether gigging, recording, producing, etc. This trend toward thinking that people are useless (at anything) just because they're over 40 is ludicrous and demonstrates a narrow worldview in my opinion! [/quote] maybe at 22 I'm too young for this thread but I've already given up on 'making it' with an originals band, I just do it because its with good friends and we have a laugh doing it. From what I read and hear about its the older musicians (say, 30+ ) that get most of the actual work with theatres and TV because they've amassed enough experience, contacts and skills to do the job properly.

[quote name='Clarky72' timestamp='1317980088' post='1396829'] "Let's do 500 Miles for the encore, everyone loves it...." oh god!! [/quote] I've done that every saturday (and the odd friday) night for the last 5 months!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1317287042' post='1388950'] Excellent point, Pete. This stuff is not complicated and 'tricks' to memorise the whole thing are not that important. Just learn the damn thing [/quote] the trick is finding a method of learning that works for you

[quote name='J.R.Bass' timestamp='1317637263' post='1392478'] Ahh i find this method doesn't aid me in anyway. With a system like this there is little way to relate it to a scale quickly, whereas knowing that a Dorian scale has a a b3 & b7 it is instantly accessible. I hope that makes sense in a weird way [/quote] yeah that makes sense. But OTOH its good to have a few different angles to look at one thing from. I suppose the tones and semitones method is easier if your starting from the same note each time. in any case as long your learning it doesn't make a difference what route you take. kind of on the same subject, I've spent the last 4 years at university studying music, and though I think learning theory (note theory, Victor Wooten calls it) is very important for knowing the fretboard and getting shapes into your muscle memory, I'm finding as i play more and mature as a musician I don't really think about notes anymore, I just think sounds. Or sometimes I don't think at all, I just do it. Anyone else found this?

So I went into Guitar Guitar in Glasgow where I'd tried the Ibanez Bass Tubescreamer a couple of months ago, intending to double check I liked it and buy it. when I got in the shop I had a quick browse of the pedals and saw the BB Preamp, which, strangely enough, I'd been thinking about on the bus there. I heard it first in Janek Gwizdala's interview with Bryan Beller thought it sounded pretty good but hadn't given it much thought since, I'd read the review of the tubescreamer in BGM and they'd given it 5*s so was pretty set on that. But then i played through it. even my drummer friend said how much better it sounded and how quickly I got a good sound from it. [u]Overview[/u] Its a very small pedal, roughly 63x110mm, which is perfect for my diminuitive board. Very straight forward layout, gain and volume on the left and treble and bass on the right. there's a small red LED to show that the pedal is engaged, true bypass footswitch and a 9vdc input (centre negative). [u]Build[/u] feels pretty solid, not quite the weighty tank that is the bass Tubescreamer but I reckon I can stand on it for a few years and it won't break (I also trust the Xotic Effects brand to make something roadworthy). The knobs have enough resistance that you won't lose your setting if your foot brushes past it on the way to another pedal, unusually they're a kind of chicken-head shape, not quite T-Rex style but a very useful "beak" that shows how much of whatever you're dialling in. [u]Sounds[/u] Before I make any sweeping and potentially misleading statements I'll say that I was after a vintage sounding overdrive, kind of like the bass on 'Uptight' or 'Do I Do' (Stevie Wonder does the best bass everything!) but here goes: this is easily the best sounding distortion I've ever heard. Bar none. Ever. This pedal could function very well without the EQ as it seems to hold on to your tone very well and just drives it, which is what other distortion pedals should be doing but somehow never do. On the other hand I feel its better to have too much control rather than not enough, and have found myself adding a touch of bass boost. The gain knob is the real point of interest and where the most fun is had. It kicks in at around 8/9 o' clock (something lacking from the Tubescreamer which needed to be over halfway to get any drive), at this setting its a really subtle and creamy overdrive, adding a touch of grit around the edges of the note. turning up to 12 o'clock and it gets a bit more aggressive but still in the same region of creaminess, while from 2 o' clock onwards its getting to full on distortion, something like Hysteria (which isn't as massively overdriven as the kids on youtube think it is). The pedal is incredibly responsive, reating very organically to the dynamics of your playing. [u]Conclusion[/u] I think this pedal is brilliant. It gives me the exact sound I want with the option to expand and go further if I so wish, and is small enough to snuggle onto my tiny board with the Moogerfooger, which takes up about a third of it. If your after a fuzz then this is not the pedal for you, get the MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz or Blowtorch (i didn't know that amount of compression was legal!), or the Aguilar Agro. But if you want old-school, organic and reponsive overdrive, I couldn't recommend this pedal enough (anyone from xotic reading this? ).

Bass BB preamp. got one today. perfect. It can subtle, creamy overdrice up to full on fuzz. or, for something a bit trebly-er try the Aguilar Agro, very bright, very fuzzy. Only has one real tone tho. Both have a small footprint

cheers Crazykiwi! I'll study your post thoroughly. I'm not a huge drug/alcohol abuser so might get some time to practice. I have a friend out there already so she's giving me a bit of advice. what about contracts? sign them here or out there? [quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1317459965' post='1390867'] DON'T DRIVE!!!! Just.....don't....drive. G. [/quote] I... CAN'T... DRIVE..., I... DON'T... HAVE... A... LICENSE... I... KEEP... MEANING... TO... TAKE... LESSONS... BUT... INSTEAD... I... BUY... STUFF... !!!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1237285394' post='436976'] I own several 5 strings in 34, 35 and 36" scale and to me the 35" ones sound the least convincing. Admittedly the longer and shorter basses were far more expensive, but it confirms for me that the overall quality of the bass is more important than simply the speaking length of the strings. [/quote] I emailed alan at ACGuitars about a short scale 6 and he said that the scale isn't as important as how the instrument is built and what its built from. In my experience I find 35" too big for my hands, i know little guys that use it all the time but its just not for me. i also find that the B is tinnier and clunkier (not always, my ibanez BTB6 had an amazing low

I've been having this internal battle since I started doing covers gigs every week. I did a few over summer last year with a lakland 55-02 and found lots of use for the low B because of singers changing keys or to play somethign in a more comfortable position (500 miles for example, playing right at the nut for 6 or 7 minutes can be a strain). however i sold the lakland (and every other bass i had including an ibanez 6 string) and got a clover 4 string, i think I wanted to simplify or had a "back to basics" urge, all the usual arguments for having just a single 4 but after a couple of months of gigs this year I started thinking about getting another 5 or even a 6. I'm thinking of reading gigs as well, I haven't got any yet but I'd like to be ready when the opportunity arises. Don't really know what to do!

I've been asked to do 3 months playing a hotel in dubai. Its not absolutely final yet but its looking good, just had to send off some rough recordings tonight and should know for sure one way or the other tomorrow (or later today, being that its after midnight) does anyone have any advice or things to remember or things to look out for (regarding the contract, I'm aware that holding hands is too hot and heavy for the emirates, and that you need a non-muslim drinking license)? thanks in advance

sometimes i find it easier to think in tones and semitones: ionian - T T S T T T S dorian - T S T T T S T phrygian - S T T T S T T lydian - T T T S T T S mixolydian - T T S T T S T aeolian - T S T T S T T locrian - S T T S T T T

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTx8EgKUSDY THIS is slap

professionally experienced bass guitar tutor with a Bachelor of Arts in popular music. I can teach a range of different styles, from pop/rock to funk, jazz and blues. Lessons can focus on theory and applying it musically, reading notation, improving time feel or improvisation (jazz or otherwise). I can travel to anywhere within 15 miles of Edinburgh City Centre Cheers!

what about putting it into sibelius? then playing along

I just wish I could us effects more often!