Bilbo

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!!!!'

[quote name='macmellus' post='732404' date='Feb 1 2010, 11:38 PM']Had a lesson today. My teacher said I shouldn't be using a plectrum on DB. Onwards and upwards![/quote] Why not? Jimmy Page uses a bow on his Les Paul

I always considered that type of sound to eminate from the pick-ups being 'too' close to the strings and the circuits therefore running a little hot or the amp master volume vs. input vol. being set back to front (distortion). I never considered it to be peculiar to a Fender Jazz. I can get it on my Wal without any difficulty. Especially if the battery is running low

I am considering putting a 5-er up for £450. It is a Status Energy (the black one in the middle of the picture in the first post of this thread). I have photos of the actual bass itself on my phone but haven't got around to uploading them onto my PC yet. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=57072&hl=status+energy"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...l=status+energy[/url]

I don't think anyone is saying you can't HAVE them, its more a case of some of us not being ABLE to have them. Our differences are not aesthetic but economic. If I could afford a Fodera, I would have one. In truth, I could afford one but only if a LOT of other things go by the wayside and I am not convinced that the extra benefits of a Fodera would justify the expense as it relates to MY circumstances at this time. If money was no object, I would have one in a shot. And I prefered LP covers too. I actually don't read cd covers because they are mostly too hard to read (print is too small). And cover art on a 5"x5" square lacks something!

Don't ask...

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='732599' date='Feb 2 2010, 09:44 AM']It's actually got quite a steep learning curve.[/quote] Hasn't everything worth learning? It gets quicker the more you work with it. I find I have to 'think' less and less as time goes on and can just 'do' the musical bit! Once in a while there is a pause whilst I figure something out but, mostly, its an increasingly smooth process (unless you trying to transcribe the chords to '20,000 Prayers' by Jeff Berlin which is a complete nightmare).

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='732547' date='Feb 2 2010, 08:59 AM']Kindly expand on that... how do you know if you're right then. Your ear must be several orders of magnitude better than mine [/quote] Nothing that impressive, tpb. I use Transcribe and Sibelius. I have long since heard phrases rather than single notes so, as long as I have a starting point (usually the previous transcribed note), I can put together increasingly long passages using the computer keyboard alone rather than a bass.

No worries. I wasn't having a dig - most of what he says is useful. I have played fretless pretty much exclusively for 24 years and the playing in the dark thing is like tennis ball squeezing. It kind of makes sense but, in reality, it is basically useless. The skills you require to play fretless are nothing to do with the available light just as the strength you need to play an electric bass was available to you at around age 3 or 4. There is only one way to bass nirvana, fretted or fretless. Hours of tedious, boring, repetitive and wonderful practice.

Don't build it up to be anything especially difficult - 10 million vioinists, viola players, cellists and double bass players can't all be geniuses. Practice it like a fretted bass but just be aware of the intonation (your fingering needs to be more accurate than it needs to be playing fretted). A good fretted player should be able to convert to fretless in a few hours. It ain't rocket science. Its the same notes, the same scales, the same theory. Remember if you can't hear yourself live, you probably aren't playing in tune. And the playing in the dark thing? He's having you on.

I think it depends on what you are doing. If you are working on the intricacies of a complex piece you are trying to learn by rote, your playing position is not that important whereas, if you are practicing something like reading, you may be more inclined to play like you would at a gig so you can get the positions right without taking your eyes of the chart etc. I find it easier to play the DB without looking at the neck so that makes it easier for reading anyway. In my experience, the ability to play standing up or sitting down are both useful as you can be required to do both on different gig (being the only one standing in a pit orchestra can be inconvenient, especially if the pit is under the stage). Transcribing I usually do without a bass or guitar so its academic.

I have absolutely no idea.....

Try working out some solos off other instruments. Saxophone, trumpet or trombone solos are almost always a challenge on a bass.

[quote name='Sibob' post='731483' date='Feb 1 2010, 11:30 AM']Bilbo, it's almost like you're suggesting that a person who enjoys 'gear', generally won't be a good player!? I can imagine you on a session: "I bought my Wal and my Jazz bass"....."oh have you got a Precision, the producer wants a precision?"....."naa I'll just use the Jazz, it's the same"....."PINO??" lol, I jest of course.[/quote] Not sure what I mean. I guess I am saying that liking and enjoying gear is ok as long as it DOESN'T overtake the music in importance. For me, its like the pleasure of owning a book for its binding and not for what it contains. By all means enjoy the artifact but not at the expense of the art. As for that conversation at a session: if they call me, its for me, not my bass(es). If they want generic Fender Jazz/Precision sound then they should call someone who has a clue what the difference is!! In 30 years of playing (this year), I have only ever had one MD who wanted something that specific (a low B in his case) and, to be blunt, he didn't really have a legitimate reason for it. I guess there are producers out there who can tell the difference but I can't see too many of them splitting hairs over a '57 or a '72. And not many of them are woirking in Suffolk anyway One of the things that a lot of people may not be aware of is how many jazz double bass players travel the world on tours without basses, picking up a new instrument in each city. And they mostly still sound like themselves. Hell, what do I know. I'm a Probation Officer.

[quote name='Flanker' post='731488' date='Feb 1 2010, 11:32 AM']To the vast majority of the worlds population the cost of a MIM Fender Jazz would equate to a Bentley to most of us.[/quote] Good point well made.

Its got to be the music. Without that, the basses are just planks of wood with wires attached. I have long thought that some people are so into the gear and messing about with it that they forget to get good at playing it. I acknowledge it is important to invest time and effort in ensuring that your gear is of appropriate professional quality but, after that, its hair splittin' . One of my twitches comes when people say things like 'I like the sound of a Jazz ovber a Precision'. I have no idea what the difference is. Or a graphite nut over a wooden one. Or pick-up configurations. Or woods. I pick up a bass and see if it sounds subjectively 'good' and play on. If it doesn't, I look for another one. But I have only played around 10 basses in my life and all but two were perfectly satisfactory. I guess that's why noone has heard of me :lol: