Bilbo

[quote name='AM1' post='429830' date='Mar 9 2009, 09:07 PM']Interesting point - I have now seen quite a few bass players (some of whom have been playing a really long time) whom are technically very good, but there is absolutely NO "feeling" to their playing and they have poor phrasing. To me, it's ALL about phrasing - it is intrinsically linked with "feel" i.e. groove. But there is a dichotomy in that it can be difficult to replicate "groove" from notation....[/quote] Agreed but have you ever listened to a classical piece and read the score alongside it? A player could NOT play the piece from dots alone unless s/he had a thorough grounding in the genre and knew, in a broad brush sense, what it is supposed to sound like. So, if a bass player is reading a funk line, he needs to know what 'funk' sounds like to make the music happen. Its no different.

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='429592' date='Mar 9 2009, 05:57 PM']...he will possibly send me hate mail for saying this but everytime I look at bilbos avatar, I think `Dave Lee Travis' ..with carrots![/quote] I always liked Dave Lee Travis and think his very public and courageous resignation from Radio One was one of the most high-profile criticisms of the threats of corporate media ever. DLT rocks (although any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental)

I have played a Wal (4string Custom Fretless) pretty much exclusively now for 23 years (in two weeks time ) and it delivers what I want every time. There are a couple of points I would make in defence of these great basses. I find that they allow you to be you; every Wal player I have heard sounds different. A 'Wal' sound is, for me, the sound of the player and not necessarily the instrument. A lot of basses sound like, for instance, a Fender, an Alembic, a Warwick etc (I have not played any of these for more than a few minutes in total so do treat my opinions with a pinch of salt) and they all sound like the manufacturer intended. My Wal, on the other hand, sounds like me (see my 'Wal Street Crash' mp3 posted here). I have played it through lots of different amps (SWR, Eden, GK, Trace Eliot, Frunt) and it always does what I want it to - if there is anything missing, it is me not the bass. As for slap; I don't so why would I care I would point out that I am a great believer in loyalty and intimacy with an instrument and, above a basic manufacturing standard, my perspective is to work with the bass to find your sound and not to expect it to 'deliver' something when you pick it up for the first time. For the record, I tried 3 Wals out before I bought mine (25th April 1986) and was so impressed with the consistency that I bought my current bass by mail order (I did the same with my Gibson ES175 and Takamine CD132SC) with no regrets. Other basses have come and gone but they never got anywhere near the airing that the Wal did and I can now honestly say that I haven't gigged with anything but the Wal for years. I also have no real urge to replace it (other than with a 5-string Wal). People are generally very complimentary about my sound at gigs etc and that is with jazz, funk and Latin outifts so versatility is also a plus. I love them. And, as for looks, have you seen my avatar?

I know Andy Crowdy and Phil Berry (they have both depped for me and vice versa) - both great players. Say hi from me when you see them.

Now I get it! I'm too tall!!

Janek Gwizdala?

I had seen one of those Trip videos before but not anything like that which you describe. If you find a video of it on YouTube,let me know!

Define 'great'. To be frank, they never held my attention for very long. I don't dislike The Police, I just don't like them enough to consider spending any time listening to them. I can enjoy a track or two but that's about it but, as for great, no, not really. But that's just me.

See, I told you to learn to read.... In my experience. reading ability is a braod church. A lot of jazz bassists can read chord charts and then odd bits of notation but are not 100% on a full written chart. I have had gigs, including shows, where its dots all the way and I have always managed without too many problems ('Who Will Buy' from Oliver is one killer I remember) but I would probably struggle with anything too demanding today as I haven't seen a full chart for years (except the ones I have written). It is a bit like riding a bike and you do get back into it quite quickly even after a gap but its down to the gig and how complex the charts are. Reading at a session where they are paying £400 an hour for studio time is a different thing to playing in a local big band for free. Personally, I think its a skill every professional should nurture for the reasons Adam highlights. PS I know its easier to say that do but isn't everything. No easy route to it, just repetition

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='426020' date='Mar 5 2009, 12:12 PM']I'm in four bands now and I'm turning down offers all the time... because apparently, my missus would like to see me in the evenings and have coversations and stuff. [/quote] Selfish cow! I have NO doubt that I could triple the number of gigs I have if I played double bass but its too late for me. If any of you are thinking of turning pro, the double bass is the way to go. If you can nail it and play good time, you will work. Electric bass still gets a bad rap in jazz but I can't really complain as I am out as much as I probably can cope with with a day job and a dicky ticker. I also like other aspects of music (composition, recording etc) which accepting too many gigs can get in the way of. But, what I can say is that, as a bass player, I work as much as most of the people I know and a lot more than many of them.

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='425241' date='Mar 4 2009, 04:21 PM']I'm gonna check this out when I get in, and if it's a waste of my time, I'm driving to suffolk to bum you.[/quote] Don't listen to it, FFS!!!!!

[quote name='Thunderthumbs' post='425101' date='Mar 4 2009, 02:21 PM']Nice. Reminds me of Percy Jones' bass on Brand X "Products".[/quote] That was kind of what I was hearing too. PJ was an early influence but we are talking 25 years ago and I haven't heard Brand X in 2 decades. I guess, it being a Wal Custom Fretless, it was his (or John Giblin's) bass!! For the record, I have not heard Trip Wamsley. I will look him up tonight (only limited internet access at work).

Just a bit of fun. I was playing about with my Wal in Cubase, got to overdubbing and came up with this piece of nonsense. Two minutes of random noodling [attachment=21404:Wal_Street_Crash.mp3]

Don't know how that happened

I saw a nice 7-string bass player on YouTube the other day, playing a nice, harmonically sophisticated piece. I watched the whole thing thinking I might have found something played on an ERB that would justify the E bit! I was disappointed as the plyer, who was clearly competent and knew his harmony, played the whole thing on the top four strings (DGCE). By my reckoning, he could have easily done it on a conventional guitar with minimal discernable difference. The problem is that, whilst he would undoubtedly turn heads as a 7-string bass player (lots of WOW factor), as a guitar player, he was merely ok. So, what's the motivation?

I read this when it came out and agree it is an interesting perspective on what being a musician (as opposed to a celebrity) is really about.

I recommend you fiddle for hours. That always works for me Learn to love the egg-timer!

[quote name='redstriper' post='421895' date='Feb 28 2009, 07:21 PM']Don't want to put you off, but I've been trying to do that for 30 years and still can't manage it - I think it's called tone deaf, but don't let it hold you back [/quote] If you can tell the difference between a dog bark and bridsong, you are not tone deaf. If you can't, you can always play Country & Western I made a lot of progress trying to name intervals on the fly (hearing something on a record, tv, even ringtones and working out the sequence without an instrument - its hard when you start but it does get easier. When you recognise the fact that most harmonic movement is within a half octave, you soon realise that there are generally only 5 options! It less intimidating already.

I'm with timlouden. Its about making the chart as legible as possible. I think you need to decide what you want to achieve with each chart. In the 5 or 6 transcriptions I have posted here I tried to make them as full as possible, including every fill, solo etc. But sometimes you may only be transcribing a part - a riff, a specific solo, an ostinato part etc. so you don't need to be as comprehensive. My choice for doing complete charts comes from years of frustration on my part at the lack of good practice reading material for jazz students. So I take a performance I like and write the whole thing out. For ther record, I understand that Charlie Banacos, the US educator that has worked with Jeff Berlin and Mike Stern, always encourages his students to transcribe whole charts inlcuding piano parts in an effort to improve people's ears. It is very important to make sure your charts include harmony/chords and not just the dots as their absence would devalue to exercise.

I have no doubt that my posture was a part of the problem. I played standing and sitting withthe bass at different heights but the problems got the better of me and I gave up - ironically, had I still been where I was when this happened, I would have been over the road from Jakesbass and could have had lessons! I may try again one day but I guess it is difficult to commit the money to a purchase when you have a nagging doubt that it may bite you on the a***!

Been using Rotosound Solo bass groundwounds for 20 years on a fretless without any significant fretboard wear. Gives me everything I want with no hassles (which, I guess, is why I have never needed to look elsewhere for strings). I use the same bass for jazz, Latin and funk/rock/pop and it delivers everytime.

Can't really comment without trying the ideas out but would ask about the issue of intent. If you are moving stuff around randomly and it resolves by accident, where is the artist in this? I am hoping this is a failure in my interpretation of the model as you have described it (I always find the written explanations easier to understand after I hear the thing work) but it sounds like a scatter gun approach (i.e. all notes can, in principle, work against all chords so why not play them). I hope I am wrong.

I have always aspired to a sound that contains as much wood as I can get with as little technology in the sound as is possible - I guess that's why I don't generally like effects, new strings or frets.

[quote name='endorka' post='419967' date='Feb 26 2009, 11:32 AM']The other aspect to the wobbly neck is that I find I have to grip the instrument harder with my left fingers and thumb, which of course is more tiring than the normal DB.[/quote] You have just answered my question in one sentence, Jennifer. It is primarily my left hand that is vulnerable to cramping and it feels like this tendency is aggravated when I try to play with my left arm raised (i.e. like when you play an upright). If the physical effects of playing a EUB make the left hand have to work even harder, I suspect that it will be worse rather than better. I guess I will have to stick to trying to work with the electric and seek a more organic sound down that route. I know it can be done but I still get the prejudice (lost a gig last week over it). Thank you all for taking the time to respond.

Anyone got a fretless one of these they would want to swap?