Bilbo

[quote name='Greydad' post='741024' date='Feb 10 2010, 02:16 PM']Hi PedalB, I actually have two bows at the moment and one of them is a carbon fibre one, so since you're only about 3 or 4 miles away you're welcome to try it out if you like. GD[/quote] This place is bl**** brilliant!

[quote name='riff raff' post='739030' date='Feb 8 2010, 03:51 PM']so is it possible that two different people may hear a tone/bass/sound etc and like it.but actually be hearing something quite different?[/quote] That would explain Duffy.....

I am making progress in my efforts to joined y'all in the doghouse and have noticed how easy it is for one to allow various parts of one's body to tense up as you play. I am a fan of Alexander Technique and am learning how to relax those parts of my hands and arms that I am not using at any given moment to allow them to rest. Interestingly, I also have to watch the tension in my back and legs - this is not borne of effort but simply a consequence of 'trying too hard'. By 'listening' to my body, as duckyincarnate suggests, I am finding I can stave off the worst physical problems. Three months in an no blisters, CTS or tendonitis!! The main issue is fatigue in my left upper arm and a general lack of stamina (Cherokke is off the set list for now ) but the progress is evident and I am happy. Just wish I could give it more time but that's been a problem with music in general for that last 20 years!! Its all good.

[quote name='riff raff' post='739012' date='Feb 8 2010, 03:40 PM']surely people have better things to do with their time..........good grief. [/quote] But this is science!!!

Maybe we should set something up at a Bass Bash - get a load of boutique basses and blind test them somehow. We could get a player to play x number of basses behind a screen; same amp, same settings, same leads etc and see whether listeners can 'hear' a boutique bass? Or get 30 players to play the same 6 basses or so but blindfolded to see if they can 'feel' an objectively 'better quality' instrument? We could we get Bass Player Magazine to sponsor it and get Mike (urb) to write it up?

Great fun, Steve. Great 80s technology vibe, too!!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='736264' date='Feb 5 2010, 03:06 PM']But then you're stuck with the same sound for the rest of your life. You'll be able to hear other cool sexy sounds, but you can't try and get them else your current sound might run away and leave you with a life of regret. Does that ring true for any older, wiser, embittered players? [/quote] I see your point and don't really disagree but I wonder if its like the shape or colour of instruments. IME, wooden basses and classic shapes tend to remain attractive whereas 'modern' things date. Are bass sounds the same? A great sounding synth from 1982 or a Mellotron from 1972 would sound naff roday but a piano still holds its currency. So Bootsy's sound may not travel well whereas Jamerson's will.

I guess what I am saying is that, rather than spend all that time and money trying to find 'that' sound, why not learn to love the one you have and save yourself the heartache

[quote name='silddx' post='736232' date='Feb 5 2010, 02:43 PM']Bilbo makes a lot of sense. How can you disagree with what he's said?[/quote] I want that on a tee-shirt

Its all about the music. Some great musicians have produced sublime art on crap gear and some great gear has been used to create some pretty crap music but one of the things I struggle with is the [i}relevance[/i] of the details some of us, as bass players, are atuned to. As I said elsewhere, I can't tell the difference between basses (ie gear) on recordings - players, yes, but not gear. I don't know a Musicman from a Wal from an Alembic from a Fender from a Status. Most of our audience can't either. All I hear is the note. There is a depth (overtones wise) that comes from higher quality instruments over those made from cheaper materials but, after a point, I don't find it that important and, depending on the circumstances, it may matter less and less. What I DO believe is that the tone your instrument produces effects the way you hear the music being played and, when you are happier, you relax and play better. I have never got that from any digital source but I have not spent any real time with effects or amp modelling so what do I know? What I will say is that I will become convinced about the bass/amp modelling concept when they can make any electric bass sound like Ray Brown's upright. Until then, I would guess its almost always 'nearly but not quite'.

Hadrien Feraud.

Different people have different values and, for some, the cosmetic aspect of bass ownership are less important than they may be for you. Some people gig more than others, some never leave their home. Some play in quiet cafes, others in spit and sawdust venues where chicken wire crosses the front of the stage. Some people play the bass with their teeth or set fire to them. Some people have lots of basses others have one. Some people are clumsier than others. Some people are married to women who throw their guitars up the garden when they have an argument. Some people stick stickers on their guitars, or spray paint them. Some polish them lovingly every day, others never clean their guitars at all. Some people spend thousands on guitars as an investment and lock them in bank vaults until they can accrue even greater value. Viva la difference, I say! Jaco's Bass of Doom looked like s*** but sounded fantastic.

[quote name='Major-Minor' post='734808' date='Feb 4 2010, 10:05 AM']As I've said before on this forum, music theory is .. erm .... music theory.[/quote] Agreed: that was why I put it in quotes. I long ago recognised that the concept of a piece being in a 'key' was potentially problematic in more complex music forms and particularly where jazz was concerned. A lot of jazz, particularly post-Parker/Coltrane stuff, moves through several keys over the course of one chorus. A 12-bar blues usually covers at least 3 key centres (depending on the specific changes). So, placing a key signature at the start of a transcription and keeping it there is not as simple as it might be in some of the little etudes you see in F. Simandl etc. As MM says, its all about understanding the industry standard imterpretations of terminology. A lot of this is genre specific and, if you are goign to do Nashville sessions, you will need a different slant than if you are doing a pantomime in Blackpool. I guess its like spelling in UK ENglish vs US English: its nearly the same but there are differences that will catch the unwary. Fundamentally, howver, its the noises that matter

Agreed, Major. If anyone calls a blues in Eb, Bb, F, C or anything else,. the default position is the first chord being a dom7 with the root stated. So a blues 'in F' starts on F7. In reallty, this is just a bastardisation of the fact that and 'F blues' and a 'Blues in F' are the same but a tune 'in the key of F' is a different kettle of fish. It is the difference between 'classical' theory and 'jazz' theory. If I am transcribing, like Doddy, I would use the key signature of the 'parent' key i.e. the F in an F blues, using an accidental on the Eb.

[quote name='blamelouis' post='734588' date='Feb 3 2010, 10:40 PM']Just picked up a copy of Ron Carters "Orfeu" excellent wee album . loving the brazillian textures. [/quote] Not heard that one. Who is on it? Russell Malone and Mulgrew Miller?

[quote name='Tait' post='729357' date='Jan 30 2010, 12:37 AM']jazz. just in general. sounds like one big mistake to me.[/quote] You an' me are gonna have a falling out Steve Howe - his entire career is defined by him uncanny ability to fluff every note and yet still make it work. 'Hey, Steve!! Spend more time practising and less time shopping for new guitars!!!!'