Bilbo

That was pretty cool, Adam. My only criticism, and I mean this to be constructive, is that the piece if about 3 minutes too long! Any producer worth his salt would edit that back to about 4.00 and fade after the change in the feel of the drum part - there is a lift there that sould start the lead out on a high. After that, there is nothing to maintain the listeners interest. I love the opening groove, though.

I got my fretless Wal in 1986 and have loved it ever since! It makes so much sense to me to find a bass that does it for you and then work on the music. GAS is a great way of kidding yourself that the problems with your playing are with your gear not with your competences as a player. I hope you and your 5 have a long and fruitful relationship. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=21583&hl=wal+custom+fretless"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...custom+fretless[/url]

[quote name='jakesbass' post='507139' date='Jun 6 2009, 06:25 PM']Lovely part that Bilbo. Reading semiquavers at that tempo is very good practice, I guess those classical guys see those phrases as sentences, I'm afraid I'm not that disciplined and have to go through those passages slowly. Thanks for the transcription mate. Jake[/quote] I can pretty much read that one cold but that is because I know the piece well so I am only reallly reading the notes notthen rhythms;does that make sense? I will try and do the other movements when I get a chance.

This is the first movement from the Bach Double Violin Concerto in D minor transcribed for bass guitar. I had to redraft the chart to fit a four string bass (there were a couple of low Ds and low As that had to move) but it still sounds cool - just like a proper bass part A great reading exercise, a great line and,if you haven't heard it, a great introduction to Bach. This embedded YouTube video is not great but it is chosen because the bass part can be heard quite clearly (sometimes it is lost in the chaos!!) so, if you read the chart along with the video, its cool. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1zmBQAg87Y&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1zmBQAg87Y...feature=related[/url]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='506429' date='Jun 5 2009, 03:39 PM']Unfortunately it's the rather random and unpredictable variety of coupling called mechanical coupling, whereby the stage floor acts as a giant drum skin. I wouldn't want to be reliant on that for my lows, especially as it often causes big bottom onstage but not out in the room where you really need it. To get acoustic coupling just keep your cab within a foot or two of the floor and walls - that gives you extra lows with little risk of membrane resonance weirdness, just straightforward reflected sound from your cab coming back and reinforcing the sound that's going forward. Alex[/quote] Hey, Alex. You know some weird stuff, man...

OOOH! Welsh sheep jokes! How original. ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ zzzzzz zzzzzz!

The pull off with the thumb is almost imperceptable (like a ghost note version of a thump) and you don't need to pull hard as much as 'brush past' the string with your thumb - just enough to make it click. The rest is about your sound and how balanced the various aspects of the technique are in teh overall effect.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='504829' date='Jun 3 2009, 04:41 PM']I can groove through a sh*t amp without my pedalboard. I may not enjoy it as much, and probably won't play as well, but i'll still be able to "groove".[/quote] We aren't disagreeing. You sound good, you groove. Just because you have no pedals doesn't mean you don't sound good. Just because you have a bad amp, doesn't mean you don't sound good. Bad sound = less convincing groove, IMHO.

[quote name='chris_b' post='504805' date='Jun 3 2009, 04:18 PM']That might be true, but if he doesn't try then he won't know.[/quote] You may be right, Chris. The trouble with gear is that, even if you live near a credible dealer, you never get to try until you buy. I haven't even SEEN any of the cabs you mentioned, let alone played one! I will look out for them, tho'. If I can improve on the Eden with a lighter rig (without selling the car), then that's cool.

That must be it

I have just ordered some castors for my Eden Metro (the last set broke) because I have done a few gigs recently using my SWR/GK MB112s and I am not 100% happy with the sound. I have worked with this little set up for a good few months now on small group jazz gigs and, to be fair, its ok, it really is, but, being blunt, ok just isn't good enough. OK gets you to mediocre in a shot. I wanna sound taaaaaaaasty. So I am going to move back to the Eden and start enjoying the sound again. I hate the weight of the damn thing but its the sound that matters and, with the castors in place, its less of an issue as I only need to carry it over thresholds and up steps, mostly when there are people around who will help. Its so easy to get your head turned by the path of least resistance but, on this one, the end result justifies the effort. In my opinion, that's where the groove comes from; the sound not the notes. Compromise the sound and you compromise the groove. I want that on a t-shirt

Could be - I don't know either I am just aware that moving stuff around causes sounds to change. So, if you move lots of things around, perspectives changes. Also, if the waves are reflected on different services, some frequencies are absorbed and others not etc. All of this changes the overtone percetnages in a note and so on. Whilst this will not, of itself, impact upon intonation, I can see that it will impact upon the listener's perception of that intonation. Same as a recording - whenever I record myself, my intonation on the playback is out. It sounded perfectly good when I was playing the tune but, when I listen to it played back, there is something about the recording process that makes it sound out of tune... What?

I have played all sorts of music on a fretless, not just jazz/ballads/quiet stuff and there is next to nothing you can't do on it (it will only go MWAHHHHHHH if you want it to!). THe only thing I think that the fretted bass excells in is slapping and, possibly, tapping (although the latter of these still sounds horrible to me, fretted or fretless). Re: Sound in the toilet - If anything moves in the room – the sound source, the listener or any reflecting surface – then the Doppler effect comes into play. The Doppler effect is best demonstrated by the siren of a passing fire engine, which appears to drop in pitch as it goes past. Sound can’t travel faster than its natural velocity in any given medium (in this case, air), so if the sound source moves, then velocity of the source converts to a rising in pitch for an approaching source, a lowering of pitch for a source that is moving away. In most contexts where acoustics are important, neither the source nor listener will be moving significantly, nor will the reflecting surfaces. If, however, you move several tens of metres away and listen to the original sound through three brick walls, each covered in tiles, plaster, wallpaper etc stuff that is in tune 'onstage' will appear not to be.

The playing of the thing is important and the points raised are valid but. for me, after playing fretless almost entirely for 23 years (on the full range of the neck - no dusty bits here!!), I find that the most important things to ensure good intonation are the sound you have at any given time and your ability to hear and listen to that sound on stage. Your muscle memory is important but your EARS are what tell you when you are or are not in tune. If you can't hear yourself, you may be in big trouble, even if you don't know it. I would practice intially in a quiet space so you can get used to developing reference points for your tuning (open strings, octaves and harmonics) and can relate your intontation to other sources such as other players or recordings. As you get more confident in your intonation, you can get out there and play - its may takes hours, days or weeks; that is a matter for you. Your commitment to effective intonation will, however, remain your priority forever as, without attention, it can easily slip, even after decades.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='503657' date='Jun 2 2009, 12:08 PM']Is he a relative of Martin France by any chance?[/quote] I used to think so but for some reason I think he isn't related (I can't remember the facts, its just that I remember being wrong about something - its such a rare occurance, it sticks in my memory ). If someone can confirm the either/or, that would be great. As for subaudios question, the charts were a mixture of basic chord charts (such as you would see in one of the real books) but with added kicks, stabs, riffs, fills, intros and codas - some were very intricate/clever arrangements and needed us to be really focussed in terms of nailing the chart. The dots refer to specific details. You would expect to create your own walking lines or groove parts 'in the idiom' required (swing/Latin/funk/pop etc) but certain details would be written out very specifically (eg if you were doubling a piano part or a lead line or if you were playing a specific fiqure as a lead in or ending). The most important skill under these circumstances is to be able to deal with the geography of the chart (sines/codas/repeats etc) so, whatever else goes wrong, you know where you are in the performance.

That went ok. We had to play for 7 different graduating jazz singers (Anglia Ruskin University) and I had to learn 34 tunes/arrangements in a two hour rehearsal - hurrah for dots, I say!! It was great becasue Nic and Chris Ingham (the pianist/arranger) were 100% on the money so, as a result, I was able to relax and just nail the gig. I missed a couple of odds and sods (the odd coda and a couple of endings were imperfect) but basically I did a professional job. Nic is half way through a tour with Terri Callier and Chris plays with Claire Teal and some other name vocalists so I feel like I have had a valuable experience. On the downside, my soudn was not what I wanted (should have used the Eden) and the room was unforgiving but, otherwise, a good night.

I have recently discovered this technique and argue that it can be done without the nail (I hve hardly any nails) but not for more than a few mintes at a time at first. You need to build up a callous on the top side of your thumb the same as you did the bottom side so take your time an be patient. Its a case of practising the techique until it is 'automatic' and confortable, same as most other aspects of technique (PS I haven't used it on a gig, yet, and feel that I am unlikely to!)

For me, this is another of those things that is surrounded in myth. When we are young, developing players, we are convinced that we need to give 100% to our chosen instrument, in this case the bass, and that to spen anytime with another instrument, such as the guitar, will udnermine us in some way. Bad! There are 1,000s of great musicians out there that can play more than one thing. The one that impresses me at the moment is saxophonist Chris Potter who also plays guitar, keyboards and flute (if not more). Charles Mingus and Jack DeJohnette have both done solo piano lps, most arrangers have more than one instrument (piano is often one of them). Steve Swallow writes mostly on piano, as, I believe, does Pat Metheny. Al DiMeola is a credible percussionist. Omar Hakim, drummer with Weather Report and Madonna () plays guitar. The list is endless. I play guitar and bass and am getting into piano to fill some gaps in my knowledge of harmony and orchestration. Bass is the one I gig on (have done a few on guitar but you wouldn't want to hear it ), Its the music that matters and knowledge you gain from playing one instrument is invaluable in broadening your insight into the MUSIC

I've got a jazz gig with Nic France on Monday. He's played with Allan Holdsworth, Jim Mullen, Ronnie Scott, Ian Carr's Nucleus, Loose Tubes, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Andy Sheppard, Hank Crawford, David 'Fathead' Newman, Mose Allison, L. Shankar, Bill Withers, Pete Townsend, Jools Holland and Annie Lennox, Billy Cobham, Terry Callier and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour ('David Gilmour Live' DVD). Not that I am nervous or anything Its the Anglia Ruskin University Jazz Singers bash in Cambridge. I think every other bass player in East Anglia must be busy that day. I am just looking forward to playing with a great, great drummer and seeing if I can deliver at this level. Should be interesting, one way or the other.

Hadn't gigged for a month before a jazz trio gig I did last night. Sounded like it

Anyone know what happened to that Jaco fella?

I played one and a half minutes of jazz on the National Lottery Live in 1994. The piece opened with 12 bars of walking bass with the camera on me throughout - full screen. When I went to work on Monday, everyone had seen the programme but noone had recognised me (except an offender who appeared in reception on the following Thursday). So much for 15 minutes of fame!

AAAH - the wonders of tabulation!!

Last month, I posted a transcription of the first saxophone solo I ever wrote down (it is under the Theory and Technique forum), Gerry Mulligan's baritone solo on 'Song For Strayhorn'. The amazing thing was that I did (most) of it from memory (there was one four bar passage I made a complete dog's breakfast out of and had to revisit) - I originally learned that solo before I bought my Wal in 1986. Nowadays, I can't remember my name unless someone shouts it at me.