51m0n

Back from audition #2 Managed to get them from pretty stationary and too cool for school to boogeying and loving the feel in 50 minutes. Job done, satisfied that I couldnt do better under the circumstances, really grooved hard, especially their single, absolutely grooved my butt off on that one, went down very very well. Had to really hold onto the drummer though, still having issues with tempos, but much better! Expecting a call tomorrow evening. Lots of smiles all round though. Felt great on the last couple of tracks, an absolute blast to play. We shall see.....

Well they've never heard my rig, and they wont unless I get the gig, I aint hauling it out for a half hour spot for anyone, far too much cr*p!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='523698' date='Jun 25 2009, 02:46 PM']Stick some foam under your strings by the bridge. That way you can play busy without it sounding busy and by muting the attack it'll make you sound more behind the beat. You can also play the 'look how I'm getting in the vibe, this is old school' thang. And pronounce it fonk, not funk. Alex[/quote] Nah mate, I draw the line at that stuff. Rocco doesnt do it, I aint gonna. Really I can only take so much of the 'it must sound like an instrument built when dinosaurs roamed the earth or it aint fonk' thing. I'm really not kidding about the Roscoe sounding like a P on the neck pup - if it isnt authentic enough then let them find someone else. No punters would know. In a blind test the band wouldnt know for sure either. God forbid the try that tack with me, biting my tongue may not be enough

[quote name='WHUFC BASS' post='523691' date='Jun 25 2009, 02:38 PM']Now you're learning. If you have confidence in your ability and sound then I wouldn't let anyone (especially a non-bass player) tell me what bass I should and shouldn't be using. You can bet your bottom dollar that they'll be dictating how you play, what way you play it until you become just bass playing puppet. I've had first hand experience of this in the past. Never again![/quote] I've more confidence in my sound than my playing. Tone wise I'm on it baby, with my bass into my rig playing material I know it sounds 'kin huuuuuge! Hence I know I can sound fine. The issue is that they dont and the things they are saying are typical of people who dont really know much about how to make bass sound really good. The puppetry thing is acceptable to an extent on stuff that has already been done and dusted and is on the album - and to be fair they havent insisted on anything like note for note. They want just the right feel though. This is fine by me. If I start getting lectures when coming up with bass lines then I'd have a real problem. IMO people in a band write on their instruments what feels right to them. If the band constantly say its not what they want, well then you aren't in the right band are you! Thats when you point out you aint getting paid by the hour, so you arent going to be a session player for them. If they wish you to behave like a session player then they really need to get the wallet out there and then.

[quote name='Soulfinger' post='523680' date='Jun 25 2009, 02:31 PM']But it doesn´t look like one! [/quote] More importantly it doesnt weigh like one either. I aint about to play a gig under one of those with my back! They take me with the Roscoe or they get someone else!

Surely all I need is some wood, some sandpaper, and electric drill and some patience though

[quote name='Soulfinger' post='523651' date='Jun 25 2009, 02:05 PM']Is there a P bass you could borrow? Just so they don´t have any excuse whatsoever ("Well, you know, we´re an old-skool band so it´s got to be a Fender bass")... [/quote] The Roscoe neck pup sounds more like a P than a P

[quote name='Rayman' post='523647' date='Jun 25 2009, 02:04 PM']Just remember, you're checking them out too. If it's going to be a chore for you, and not fun at all, there's no point really. I'm assuming you're not a pro needing the money of course? That'd be different, then maybe you'd bite your tongue to get the gig and give them what they want. However, if this is meant to be an enjoyable experience for you, and you have little or no input into your own sound, then I'd have a problem with that. If it was me.....I'd see how tonights jam goes, and if at the end you're still not getting the vibe, I'd say thanks fellas, but this aint for me, and leave. They aren't taking the bull by the horns so you might have to.[/quote] No I'm not a pro, there's little or no money in this at all. In the normal course of things, I would pretty much turn up say, thats what I sound like, if you love it we move forward, otherwise I aint interested, I've done the whole chameleon bassist thing (ie sounding authentically different from 'me') before, it is a skill that I applaud, but its not [i]really [/i]what I want to do. The only reason I'd entertain the idea would be because a) I'd get some great gigs out of it, I'd take my time to prove them wrong by slowly but surely modifying things to my liking over months. They'd not notice until it was too late. I do like their sound though, just think they are misinterpreting what will work best for bass. Seems to me everyone who puts together a funk band is an expert in bass, whatever they play. That would be cos its only got 4 strings I guess I have a really awful BS filter, it clogs very quickly, backs up and makes a mess out of things.... I feel a certain amount of clogging is happening

As tempting as it may be, I wouldnt tell them to F off, it would look severely not good after all. I would say, "I dont think its really going to work out., mumble mumble blah blah blah....", and shuffle toward the door sheepishly. Or text them, thats dead hip with the kids these days I hear Using my own drummer; first I havent got one trained (bring out the gimp etc etc LOL!) and second, I dont really think that would look great either, "Your drummer is so difficult to reign in that I brought along Gimp here, he can count to four and plays real good, mind if he sits in?". I'll go along tonight, roll the Roscoe onto the neck pup, pluck over that pup and sit right back on it. If I get through it without making too many mistakes and groove hard then I'll be happy with myself at least. At that point they will have to ask me to be the bassist before I learn any other songs, or play with them again.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='523579' date='Jun 25 2009, 01:08 PM']Be bad, sit back, mute lots and play it cool. And then tell them you'll let them know if they're good enough. Alex[/quote] ROFL, thanks Alex! Thats really cheered me up!!

Yeah, I think I'm of the opinion that they have had all I am prepared to offer for the time being. That is if I dont get a decision within a couple of days after this evening they can take a running jump. I have a busy life without them, I have shown I am willing to put in a huge amount of work in a short period of time to learn stuff. I can play the material, and if the drummer wasnt f*****g everyone up with his bloody John Bonham impression I might have brought the funk as well last time - I mentioned this politely the next time I spoke to band leader dude. Going to be nice this evening, for my half hour slot and say "Its been great, I'll expect your decision tomorrow" as I leave. I am not going to audition again for them , under any circumstances at all. I dont know if I'm being a big girls blouse over this, but I - like I suspect everyone here - have been taken for a ride before with promises of reparations for effort in one form or another which have amounted to nothing, and I am very wary of expending more energy than I have to to prove myself. To be honest its already starting to feel a bit sour Band leader dude has stated the bass tone must have no treble, no middle, there must never be slap blah blah blah blah. Its tiresome, yes its a vintage tinged soul funk band, doesnt mean the bass has to sound like arse. As for slap, here we go again, no I dont slap often (and I havent at all yet); when I do its damned tasteful, but for gods sake, it was invented for vintage soul funk (Sly Stone anyone). I cant be held responsible for bloody Mark King can I. I saw Dr John this year, that luminery of oldest school New Orleans Funk, his bassist was sporting a very tasty Lakland 5 string through a huge Eden rig, and he was ferociously funky all night, he had a lovely bright full tone (plenty of whump too) and every line mixed up slap, fingerstyle, rhythmic pats, everything. It still sounded ludicrously old skool kool though. Rats, now I've really wound myself up Just starting to feel the pinch that got me out of playing in bands all those years ago I have suspicions about the trained pool of dep bassists thing too.

Hmmmm seems its still not in the bag after all. Apparently tonight there will be a 'round 2' and another couple of bassists are auditioning. I may well get pipped at the post here chaps. I've really done my homework on the 3 new tracks, been over to band leaders gaff and double checked with him what I've gleaned from the recordings. Its still hopeful. But I'm not 'in'. However I think if I don't get it for definite after this one I'm out of energy to continue endlessly putting in week after week of really full on practice unless I'm in the band. What would you lot do?

[quote name='neepheid' post='523323' date='Jun 25 2009, 09:40 AM'][url="http://www.thgknobs.com/"]http://www.thgknobs.com/[/url][/quote] Thats certainly a possibility, not cheap mind, but I don't think I expected them to be.

I'd love to get some turned wood knobs on the Roscoe, it would be the final touch for uber class IMO, but I've no idea what I'd need size wise or where to get them from

Pickup blend and hands, all else flat, if I'm going old school I'll turn the tweeter down for a more paper cone top end. Currently having to live with people who think bass should have no top and hardly any middle, cos thats old skool innit. Its doing my head in!

Another alternative is Hydrogen, its free, platform independent and rather good...

[quote name='Doddy' post='521826' date='Jun 23 2009, 04:22 PM']These are just some of the skills that have really helped me with being a Professional musician. Of course there are other, non musical things,like Personality,Image,Attitude,[b]Having a Reliable car[/b] -I could go on.[/quote] There you go then, get down your local garage and do a mechanics short course

Cwoooorrrrrr, thats so purdy Looks dead cool Alex, really pro!

Theres at least one off Blood Sugar, Mellowship Slinky maybe???

[quote name='jakesbass' post='521610' date='Jun 23 2009, 12:24 PM']Don't take this the wrong way but I feel you've slightly misunderstood JJ, his lines were on occasion fiercely complex and not only that, very hard to execute in emulation, but the one thing they all had was a 'rightness' which I believe is down to his musicality. He could make anything sound acceptable which to my mind is the hallmark of a true great. Listen to the way Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, or Ray Charles phrase... now try and notate it... some great complexity in there but entirely valid in fact they set the standard. Lines like 'I heard it through the grapevine' (Gladys Knight version),'Home cooking', 'I was made to love her', 'How long has that evening train been gone' and 'ninety day cycle people' are crammed with death defying rhythmic complexity that are extremely difficult to authentically emulate. And they contain oodles of real earthy feel. So in fact your "James Jamerson never played complicated" is entirely without evidence, he was a master of the instrument, and had a feel to stop the world turning.[/quote] So I can take it from that you aint too keen on his stuf then JB?

I'm defining pop as what is in the 'Top 40' as it were. Jeff Berlin reckons he can take a hard working student to the level of serious session muso in about 4 years. That involves a lot of very hard tedious work on theory and its application, getting your reading of charts and dots to the level of a monster and being able to improvise in any style and or key with great feel. Thats in four years folks. I dont think anyone can do it, but a lot could given the motivation. Given that, I think its safe to say you could be a very proficient workhorse bassist in 2 years with the right attitude. Most pop requires good solid foundations and a great feel, and some taste. Thats all. It's nothing like as demanding as being a session player IMO. When you start to get down the more bass-centric areas though, you need to invest more time on technique, but these are mostly outside the realms of current pop IMO. I've played for about 20 yrs, I took 4 yrs off from gigging, but picked up the bass occasionally (far too occasionally). I got some formal training, but never pursued it with anything like the dedication required to be a serious session cat, I was too busy impressing ladies with very fast fingerstyle, slap and tap stuff. More's the pity now! Nevertheless if you want to be that pop cat you have to keep your chops up, mine are woeful compared to what I once had IMO, and my forearms are killing me from having to really work at some new songs that demand a lot of concentration to get the feel right (sigh!) - and these are pretty much pop songs. You just can not expect to play as well without the chops, physically, to be right on it at any given tempo. Let alone improv etc.... IMO

[quote name='iamapirate' post='521341' date='Jun 23 2009, 12:22 AM']As for singing style, I'm not sure what songs I have on the myspace, but it's [url="http://www.myspace.com/bandhybridhybrid"]http://www.myspace.com/bandhybridhybrid[/url] Our singer sings at people's normal shouting volume, and yet we can't get the energy across that's in his voice very well. Is there a substitute for a wire coathanger for a pop-shield? I expect we'll get some tights and get the drummer and g-tardist to hold it in position! xD[/quote] Performance energy is not related to volume IME. Think of the energy in Sinead O'Conner's 'Nothing Compares' performance. She aint that loud in that.... This is a tricky one, he may be just unused to singing to a stocking in an empty room , he may be very self conscious about being critiqued :blush: , he may hate the sound of his own recorded voice (a lot of singers do!) Try dimming lights, get him in a seperate space, only have you and him there, getting him mellow, getting him riled - whatever. Ty getting him ti explain the lyics and what they mean to you. This is the bit a producer is for, an engineer catures sound, a producer creates the right atmosphere for the performance to be optimal (in theory anyway). You as the engineer can take a huge amount of that role on your own shoulders (and should in this case IMO) Good luck!

How about a 1" length of 4" diameter plastic drainage pipe?? + stocking of course....

[quote name='iamapirate' post='521341' date='Jun 23 2009, 12:22 AM']As for singing style, I'm not sure what songs I have on the myspace, but it's [url="http://www.myspace.com/bandhybridhybrid"]http://www.myspace.com/bandhybridhybrid[/url] Our singer sings at people's normal shouting volume, and yet we can't get the energy across that's in his voice very well. Is there a substitute for a wire coathanger for a pop-shield? I expect we'll get some tights and get the drummer and g-tardist to hold it in position! xD[/quote] Yeah any stiff but of bendy stuff that will hold its shape. Wire is best, and most people can find a wire coat hanger, or buy one. A 'proper' pop shield will certainly cost over £20, the DIY version is less than a fiver. The results are certainly equivalent for the home market - with a little time and effort you can actually make it look pretty pro too....

Please bother to write in English not text speak. As best you can. Some people on this forum are older than your dad, many have been playing longer than you have been alive, for some English is a second language, they dont do text speak. They all have great advice and knowledge they are happy to share with anyone willing to ask... I include myself the above (not the English as a second language bit tho ) crap I'm old ......