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[quote name='alexclaber' post='550007' date='Jul 24 2009, 11:39 AM']I would therefore advocate playing along with a metronome that is clicking on just 2 and 4. This will take some practice but it shifts the onus onto you to lay down your half of the groove in the correct place. Alex[/quote] +1 to this for a ton of reasons, you are more responsible for the time, you get to swing as hard as you like/can, you get to play with the groove/pocket far more. Should be a requirement of all musicians and bands that want to be 'tight' that they should set up a handclap on 2 & 4 on a drum machine and rehearse with that through the PA, it does wonders for everyone!

My compounder makes a HUGE difference to my sa450 depending on the settings. I usually set it as trasparent as possible, all I want is a little help to even out the difference between slap and fingerstyle when I get too enthusiastic with the slap side. I have an ongoing battle to 'tame the beast within' when I use my thumb , it sounds so much better when I stay in control tonally, but its so much fun to let riiiippppp whe I get into it. The one thing I have found that helps is to turn up the amp so far that I darent lay into it. Or set up the comp properly.....

They are all completely different. The front skin tip from OG above is really valuable. More often than not in a jam rather than an audition type event the drummer and you will be ready to go before the guitarist, at which point the drummer will look at you and sort of say 'go on then' in some strange gutteral grunty language. At this point I have a couple of grooves ready for this that I can play comatose. By this I mean I can enforce the groove (the amount of swing and the feel) regardless of what a drummer is doing as they come up with something to play along. They neednt be complex (shouldnt be really) but they should feel really good to you. Its important that you can play these consistently regardless of metronomic befuddlement instigated by wayward drumming! If you can hold it down if the drummer is decent then qute soon what he is playing will gel with you and that when it starts to take off. Usually at this point the guitarist will start making a noise that ruins everything..... As for staring, I worked with a drummer for a while who was the most intense starer I have ever met. He would attempt to afix you with an eye to eye stare of such lazer-like intensity that the first few times he did it it completely threw me off. However I came to realise that staring back really helped to make the telepathy flow, and we got to be really really good at communicating our intent musically whilst locked in this eyewatering battle of the eyeballs. Weird, never met another one that bad, and normally staring os not necessary or particularly required. Listening is.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='549333' date='Jul 23 2009, 07:51 PM']The classic Flea sound is a Stingray, but I think he used an Alembic for recording, too.[/quote] Yeah but vintage Flea sound is a beaten to sh** P

[quote name='3V17C' post='549140' date='Jul 23 2009, 04:42 PM']and for what its worth he's my feeble attempt from a couple of years back![/quote] Not feeble at all sir, very nice indeed!

[quote name='iamapirate' post='549011' date='Jul 23 2009, 03:16 PM']Check out the MXR one as well, I had a go on it and it's awesome IMO About £80 second hand off here??[/quote] +1 I have the MXR auto-Q (less than £80 SH off here. Excellent pedal, got to try it in anger at a jam last weekend, really really lovely sound. Doesnt have many different variations, but what it does sounds fantastic. It also has an auto-wah function that kiscks in after a user defined delay, which is unique I think....

Anyone think one of these would be a good addition to a Squire VMJ Fretless? Just cos it currently has very low output - I like the sound, its just very quiet compared to the other basses in da house....

[quote name='Faithless' post='548057' date='Jul 22 2009, 07:53 PM']I'm about to get bashed for following, but whatever.. BLAH BLAH BLAH I'm getting my coat, Faith.[/quote] Can you play this? Could you when you were 17? Prove it, or keep you negative comments to yourself, they aren't helpful, well intentioned or otherwise. In fact even if you could your attitude is entirely unhelpful in this instance. Zoe, it was a fine effort, and a real sign of your growing confidence with your playing and your standing on this forum that you posted it knowing its not quite perfect. We all know the buzz of the breakthrough to get to this point playing a really hard piece. You've really come on, you've clearly put a lot of effort in to your playing and you should be really proud of what you've accomplished. Keep at it and post the result of another couple of months effort on it, I really want to hear it getting better Top!

No I used to construct speaker stands out of two concrete blocks bolted together. Then bluetack the speaker bass entirely onto the stand. Total price per side <£5 works as well as anything we found to compare it with, and looked really cool!

Whatever works best for you. Really, has a lot to do with how low/high you 'sling yo ting' too, a low slung bass requires a more FLea like hand pos, a higher slung one and you aim more Wooten. If I had to suggest which I felt gave more options (and so is marginally more 'proper') I'd say up higher, thumb upwards hand in a relaxed fist ready to pop with 1,2 or 3 fingers, or double thump ie Wooten, King stylee...

no vol setting probs here....

Nemesis N8 (I think), by far the best sounding practice amp I've ever heard, like a really big rig, but quieter - handles the Roscoe low B with style....

Learning a lot of covers is a good start. I just got Ultimate Slap Bass (never too late to increase your 'vocabulary' as far as I'm concerned), its been highly recommended, and at first glance looks like a great place to go (comes with a couple of CDs) as it covers a huge amount of ground. I got it from here, cheap price, turned up next day, what are you waiting for??? [url="http://basslinepublishing.com/Books/UltimateSlapBass/tabid/69/Default.aspx"]Ultimate Slap Bass[/url] They also do a Level 42 book for a tenner....

GWOUUUINNG-BAP The sound of sex....

You did the right thing. Tw@ts like that dont deserve a band, and usually end up in a reheasal room on their own at some point.....

[quote name='alexclaber' post='545389' date='Jul 20 2009, 03:35 PM']I see they say that getting a good bass sound is one of the hardest things when recording. I've always found it an absolute doddle, pick up bass, plug in, play, done - so I must be doing something right! I spend a thousand times as long getting the drums sorted. Alex[/quote] +1 New(ish) strings, decent bass, decent technique.DI (+mic for the overdriven amp crowd - pay attention oto phase between them) Works every time. Drums are a complete nightmare in comparison! zillions of mics, spillage like an oil tanker, dodgy technique (more often than not) and then there are cymbals (how many drummers can play a hihat at an appropriate level to the snare?) Then you almost always have to eq the nuts off it

[quote name='iamapirate' post='546172' date='Jul 21 2009, 11:12 AM']haha, Well that was my first thought, actually. Also, I don't get a lot of volume out of the 4x10s because they don't quite use up all 300 watts, IMO. I've heard 100watt amps louder than it :/.[/quote] Nope, you dont get a lot of volume out of them because they arent very sensitive drivers placed in a not very well designed cab. Frankly the results are severely below par (to be extremely poilte), IMO. A few 10s of watts either way isnt the issue at all!

There always a bit of hiss of it. Its nothing to do with anything plugged in. Some amp designs are a bit hissy IME. Its not gonna be an issue at all at a gig. Doubt it would even be much of an issue recording. Note this is plugged into a pair of Berg HT series cabs (reknowned for having probably the best tweeters ever put into a bass cab and custom crossovers, so if there is any hiss we hear it ) The sa450 is quiet as the grave in comparison.