Bilbo

I think a lot of bands lose their creative spark because their writing is based on limited material and the well runs dry. Jon Anderson has always written astonishingly sophisticated music because his 'muse' is 'everything' not just a narrow stylistic field. Squire was a bit narrower but still good, as was Howe but, after those three, it gets REALLY formulaic. I think Yes have a chance if Anderson comes out to play. If not, it may be the beginning of the end. A Steve Howe solo project may be more credible.

No disagreement with anyone who wants to do it on electric. Just expect to be everyone's last call guy.

I have SO got the arse!!!

I saw them in Bristol on the Drama tour, at Wembley on the 90125 tour and last year with the current line-up. I saw Anderson on a solo gig with John Giblin on bass and Wakeman on a solo gig (piano only). I have seen Bruford loads of times in Jazz gigs so I think I have got most of them somewhere or other!!

JPJ made a much bigger contribution to Zep them merely bass playing. He is a very well educated musician.

I agree with whoever said that the relationship we all had with music and media in the 70s was very different to that which young people have today. Someone on here listed their fave bands a while back and I had never heard of ANY of them. The only 'rockstars' you see in the media today are lost in the miasma of mediocroty and famous merely for being famous. Even a lot of the talented people are 'of a kind' and there is nothing that could be considered edgy enough to warrant the status of rock star. I remember someone saying that rock music has become the voice of corporate America. I think it feels like there is some truth in that.

I don't disagree with anyone on here but I do think there is a certain preciousness about bands that belies the reality of them as a means of expression and a means of generating income. Imagine if Apple had called it a day after the death of Steve Jobs. Or Rush had knocked it on the head after John Rutsey left. The Stones without Brian Jones etc etc. I understand that some members are more central to the band that others but a band like Yes that has had many, many permutations, each resulting in subtle changes to the 'product' should surely be able to carry on making music with people who they have an established bond with. I still think of Alan White as the new guy in Yes but he has been there well over 30 years.I say let them continue and we can all like them or dislike them depending on the work they produce rather than who is involved and who is not.

Yes, but there HAVE been different singers and bass players (Tony Levin, Jeff Berlin). Why should Squire and Anderson be any more 'essential' than Wakeman, Howe etc etc. Could there be a different Yes project; White, Howe, Anderson, Moraz? Or WHAM?

I am starting this as a seperate thread as I do not want to compromise the tribute thread elsewhere on the forum. Firstly, it remains to be said that any fan knows that Chris Squire was as much 'Yes' as anyone, even Jon Anderson I wonder what will happen with Yes now that Chris Squire is no longer with us. With absolute respect to all parties, Yes have never been shy of finding an opportunity to capitalise on their legacy but I wonder if the demise of this most unique of voices will make continuation of the Yes 'brand' untenable. The band has existed in various formats without Anderson, Wakeman, Bruford, Howe, White, Banks etc etc and AWBH was able to function at some level without Squire but Yes without THAT bass sound, coupled without those vocals? Is it viable or a step too far?

Of course you can play Jazz on electric bass. You can play Jazz on any instrument. The question is, firstly, what is your definition of ‘Jazz’ and, secondly, whether or not the sound of the instrument sits well with the rest of the ensemble. Steve Swallow is everyone’s favourite electric player because his sound and time sits nicely in the mix and his ideas are sufficiently organic to satisfy the expectations of the rest of the band. The problem with electric bass in Jazz is not the electricity in the bass, it is the idiomatic aesthetic of the preferred double bass alongside the player’s knowledge of the requirements of the genre. Most standards gigs are ‘of a type’ and the ensemble is trying to create a vibe that is idiomatically consistent with the expectations of the audience. A lot of electric bass players in Jazz are rock/funk/fusion players who have crossed over into playing standards because that is the nature of most of the Jazz gigs that are available. We all want to play in Weather Report or Snarky Puppy but this is not really what most people think of as Jazz and is not what Jazz musicians are usually talking about when they are looking at the idiom. As a result of their stylistic proclivities, electric players ‘hear’ Jazz differently and ‘play’ Jazz differently to double bassists. They are generally busier and more ‘guitaristic’ than double bassists. Most performances of standards recorded using electric bass are fundamentally unsatisfying to Jazz fans not because the bass is electric but because the sound is relatively thin. There is a strong relationship between the tone of an instrument and the ‘swing’ (in all it’s various forms) generated. Listen to Paul Chambers ‘doom, doom, doom’ and it is different to Jimmy Garrison’s more ‘compressed’ ‘dum, dum, dum’. Different feelings created but neither are more right or wrong that the other (although most people would prefer the swing generated by Chambers to that of Garrison). A lot of walking electric bass, on the other hand, is audibly more of a ‘ping, ping, ping’ and does not have the same effect at all. (interestingly, the Buddy Rich stuff mentioned about is generally of marginal interest to Jazz aficionados – it is all show and no substance. Same with Maynard Ferguson etc). In bass terms, Swallow is one exception because, to my ears, his tone relates to that of the electric bass in the same way a nylon strung guitar relates to a steel strung one; it’s warmer and thicker so sits in the mix more organically. His is not the only solution, however. Anthony Jackson manages to achieve an incredible level of swing through the use of extended strings and his own take on tone. Jaco, interestingly, found a solution occasionally but was massively inconsistent. His sound on the Word of Mouth record works very well but his ‘standards’ work with Birelli Lagrene and Jon Davis is shockingly bad. Another electric bass in Jazz ‘failure’ for me is Laurence Cottle. Great player with massive fusion chops but his sound fails to fulfil the required role in a ‘standard’ Jazz setting. The point I am making is that there is absolutely a place for electric bass in Jazz but the player needs to find his space in the mix, needs to know the requirements of the idiom and needs to recognise the fact that they will almost never get called for ‘Jazz’ gigs unless there are no double bass players available or unless the people calling him have no more idea of the idiomatic requirements that s/he does (there are plenty of musicians out there playing Jazz who have no concept of the requirements of the idiom and who are happy (in their ignorance) to approximate. An electric bass played alongside a drummer or guitarist/ who themselves. only have a superficial understanding of Jazz is certainly not going to make things worse. Nor is it going to make things better. But a great Jazz ensemble which has its collective concept in a conventional Jazz aesthetic will always sound better with a double bass. Which is why the upright player gets the call before the electric player. It is not prejudice, it is preference borne of knowledge and experience.

The Gear4music basses have a shocing reputation but the Thomann ones are ok. There is also Gedo Musik in Germany who do some nice starter basses in your price range.Here is my five string (a bit more expensive that your budget but not a million miles away) - check out my Soundcloud page for samples. Thomann and Gedo both get good feedback as do Stentor and Christopher basses. Archer are less highly though of. Ref: mail order being a gamble; every guitar or bass I ever bought was bought mail order and so far so good! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/93958-i-did-it-now-with-photos/page__hl__gedo+musik__fromsearch__1

A genuinely creative voice on our instrument. An early hero. R.I.P.

Doh!!!

GOAL!!!!!

Now?

Bugger!

Can we stop now?

Actually. I don't really want to pay that much so I will wait until I see one secondhand.

I just came across this. I read the reviews on Thomann and think that this is brilliant. Trus tme, it has to be better than the crap that my generation started on (Columbus anyone? Zenta?). I think it would be brilliant fun to try one of these! And for all the wrong reasons!! Do they do it in fretless?

I have one bass and one amp. If I have a breakdown (it has never happened), I will borrow some kit. If it's on a gig, well..... Thinking about it, I don't even have any spare strings. Last broke one in 1981.

No worries. I have gone off the idea. I did some research and realised that I meant the Pink Fairies.... 'We're Piggies from Uranus...'!!!

I always loved the bass part on This Must Be Love by Phil Collins (Face Value). An easy part but one that strangely eludes you.

10! A healthy crop by any standards! Well done everyone. Now to listen..... (Note: one of the advantages of submitting a composition is that you don't have to listen to all of them)

She's ten, guys!!! Give her a break. Buy a cheap black one and let her cover it with stickers!! She has other basses around to compare. If she gets serious, she will find her way. My first guitar was unplayable, had steel strings and two nylon ones. Now look at me. Felixstowe's second best double bass player!!

Jeff Berlin has been linked several times with major Rock acts but the idea is laughable really. JB could play the parts standing on his head but he could never play the part. He was a middle-aged man in his teens and never had that sense of danger we associate with Rock music and all of its sub-genres. He has tried to get himself linked with all sorts as a composer/player and spent a lot of time trying to link his chordal bass concept with artists like Bonnie Riatt etc. They had the sense to pass on the idea but JB would keep on keeping on. A great technician but no idea about the entertainment industry at all really. Just one nearly off-topic comment; has anyone heard Sammy Hagar's version of Donovan's 'Young Girl Blues' off his live LP 'All Night Long'? Stunning.