Bilbo

I used to do an exercise where, starting on the 12th fret of the G string, I placed my fingers, one per fret, on the 12th - 15th fret. I then played the notes under my left hand fingers in the order 1234 I then skipped to the D, then A then E strings, playing the same pattern, 1234 I then move to the 11th fret and repeat, then 10th and so on down to the 1st fret. I then repeat the exercise with the left hand fingers playing 3124, 1423, 2143, 4132 and other variations, all starting on 12th fret and working down to 1st. Then, to make it really hard, play it on the g, then A, then D then E string, incorporating the string skips into the pattern You can do it with a metronome to help timing issues but don't tell Jeff and increase the speed gradually over time . If you get into a rhythm, its actually quite zen like.

Heavier strings are generally believed to provide more overtones and sound subjectively 'better' (fuller, warmer, more sophisticated etc). String height has an impact on this as well but, in general terms there is an equation between heaviness of strings/tone vs playability. The compromise is a personal thing. A general example is that rock guitarists tend to use lighter strings (.09 guage on the high E) for speed/shredding whereas jazz guitarists use 0.12s or 0.13s for tone. Bass strings are so much heavier that the differences between guages are greater but the principles are the same, heavier string better tone, lighter string easier to play. The optimum equation is personal and established through experimentation over time. I hace 0.45 guage (G) Rotosound Solo Bass on my Wal and have long since found that to be my 'best fit'. I tried 0.40s but found the tone to be lacking. My guitars are all 0.12s.

[quote name='Rayman' post='638030' date='Oct 27 2009, 03:28 PM']Selling stuff you don't actually have in stock is out of order in my opinion.[/quote] Most furniture shops sell you stuff that hasn't even been MADE yet so you can't really criticise music retailers for engaging in what is effectively normal practice in the retail sector (for reference, the 'make it to order' business model means that considerably less storage space is required). Or do you actually believe that GAK have all of that stuff in their Brighton shop?

Anthony Jackson only ever plays sitting down and he ROCKS!

Get some different gigs. If the whole thing hinges on standing up, it can't be that interesting

It'll make it worse After 23 years of pretty much dedicated fretless playing, when I play fretted I get what for me is an inordinate amount of fret buzz and the whole thing, to my ears, sounds dead. This may be a subjective thing and a reflection of my preferences but I guess that, if you continue to play the fretted bass regularly, this woudl be avoided. I agree with Doddy, tho'. It should improve your ears.

[quote name='Golchen' post='638766' date='Oct 28 2009, 08:43 AM']no other set of musicians seems to have this curious attitude whereby they want to put-down virtuosos of their chosen instrument. I'm not criticising anyone here, it's just an observation.[/quote] I get your point, G, but I guess that bass players are in a unique position in that the role of their instrument is traditionally supportive. As virtuosity tends to lend itself to solo flights of fantasy, it requires a conceptual shift that many are reluctant to make. I think the reasons for this are complex and may include a reluctance to engage with the 'new' vocabulary required to 'keep up' with these virtuoso players but, as I said, there are few other instruments that are so locked into a role as the bass. Interesting point: I grew up a prog. fan in the early to mid-70s and one of the criticisms levied at prog and rock in general came from the 'anti-guitar hero' sensibilities of the Punk/New Wave movement. Guitarists were as culpable as anyone and criticised Steve Howe, Steve Hackett, Richie Blackmore, Leslie West etc etc as 'self indulgent.

[url="http://www.jazzwise.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=547_16&osCsid=teun7s2dbknhgg8hft20orasc2"]http://www.jazzwise.com/catalog/index.php?...hgg8hft20orasc2[/url]

I agree totally. I think there is a necessary process when you explore the potential of the instrument in the hands of those masters but, ultimately, it IS about the music and great technique is of limited interest in the long run. I have long since lost the whole bass album/bass magazine/GAS/gear obsession perspective and started listening to the music. I still love virtuosity but not as an end in itself. I think some of the players listed as early favourites have still made some beautiful music, in spite of their reputations as shredmeisters. Jaco's 'Word Of Mouth' CD is full of great music (i.e. not bass focussed) and I love Stanley Clarke on those first 2/3 Return to Forever album. But it is great playing in the context of great music rather than great playing full stop. I have said elsewhere here that its one of the reasons I don't really enjoy James Jamerson: great player but I don't really like that Motown stuff he is playing those great lines on. Jeff Berlin is another one: great player but I just don't like the music he makes. I find that studying music and not musicians also takes you away from technique/acrobatics and back towards the noises we are all making. Most bass CDs are like movies with great special effects and no plot. You're just growing up, mate

Jakesbass is a pro and there are several others. Me? I eat.

Both - ES will play until 2 a.m.. ToP will probably finish earlier? Are they both London venues?

75 tracks of Coltrane for £10 - if I didn't have most of them....... [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Train-John-Coltrane/dp/tracks/B0014WSX2K/ref=dp_tracks_all_1#disc_1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Train-John-Co...ks_all_1#disc_1[/url]

[quote name='Rich' post='636833' date='Oct 26 2009, 12:38 PM']What, you? surely not! :lol:[/quote] I know. It looks bad, doesn't it? I just think that so much of what this business is about is shallow posturing and not 'the real deal'. It therefore looks like I am dissing everything when I am actually a great supporter and staunch advocate of great music, whatever form it takes. I actually think I am tBBC in sheep's clothing.... I mean, Steve Harris? Ok, if you're 13!

Its the sound that matters not the weight. I went down the lighterweight route and just couldn't live with the compromise in the sound and went back to humping my Eden combo. I actually got around some of the weight issues with some planning and thought. Sound, sound, sound!!

Just to stir things up, I will offer some opinions (I have several) - I think Cottle is overated! What I hear is a man who has learned 1,000 licks off other people and who puts them together to create something, errr, the same. I was impressed with his technique at the early stages of hearing but, once I got past that, there was not a lot of him in there, just losts of other people. I would rather Steve Swallow (yes, I know he's not British) anyday, even though he has half the technique. I also think Gwizdala is a relative lightweight compared to some of the real greats. His playing is not yet fully formed and he could be a lot better before he is done. I love his work ethic and hope it pays dividends but, so far, IMO, he's a work in progress. His work is ok but not brilliant but I think the important word is 'yet' Back to the posts on why someone is 'one of the best': I think it has to do with the old 'can anyone do it or is it a fresh and original sound'? Chris Squire is an absolute gem in that his whole concept is uinique to him and noone else has ever really taken his concept and moved it on. Mike Rutherford, however, is a player who I consider to be completely replaceable in Genesis - his songwriting role is another matter but his playing? Could be anyone most of the time. I actually think his contribution to teh success of Genesis was his arranging skills and the fact that he could play guitar, bass, bass pedals and backing vocals. It was all of it, not just the bass playing. Never been an Entwhistle fan because I have never been a Who fan - I have always been someone who can't seperate the player from the songs they play. As Ox has only ever really been The Who's bass player, I was never really listening. I agree with Jake (again), Dave Holland has done so much with so many people as well as under his own name, he has to be up there with the best.

A colleague and I were talking about Marshall amps in work once (several years ago) and one of the admin. ladies, a quiet, sweet 50+ woman, dropped in the conversation that Jim 'used to hit on me all of the time'. We looked at her wide eyed as she explained that, as a teenager, she had hung around with The Who and used to see Jim quite often and he was always trying to ask her out but she refused his advances. Respect!

I'd love a 1986 Wal Custom Fretless 4. They sound and play brilliantly and I can really express myself on them... Oh - I've got one! Brillo pads ! Anyone wanna swap a Status Energy 5 for a Stagg EUB?

Can't wait

You can do a self assessment on additional income under £15K. Its relatively easy (takes me an hour ot two a year). The claim form comes with instructions and you really only need 4 figures: those that appear on your P60 every year, your gross income, your expenditure/overheads and your capital allowances. I have declared for years: its not worth me losing my day job for not declaring income when, after declaring it, I don't pay any or very minimal tax. That tax can also be collected through your tax code so its a breeze. But I have had more rebates that tax bills. I don't know how the services work but how would a conviction for tax evasion effect your prospects?

+1 for 'A Remark You Made'. There is actually nothing hard about it but it sounds like a fretless is supposed to and is playable by anyone who can hold a bass (unlike Portrait of Tracy' ). There are also charts available on the net. Also 'This Must Be Love' off Phil Collins' 'Face Value' cd. Alphonso Johnson at his coolest.

[quote name='4000' post='628945' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:05 PM']With all due respect, it seems to me that you've decided you're right based on your own particular needs and choices, and then have (as many people do) tried to judge the choices of others using this criteria. There's nothing wrong with making people think, but when you try to convince them that what they're thinking is wrong simply because it doesn't agree with what you think that's another thing entirely.[/quote] I never thought for an instant that I was right, I just had a position and put it forward. In case people hadn't noticed, I enjoy the debates not because they are resolved but because they are engaging. What I struggle with is the apparent dichotomy between the idea that Alembics (or whatever) have a distinct sound but that, if you play one, you won't sound like whoever. There is a subtle contradiction in there. We will, as always, have to agree to disagree and just enjoy the ride

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSwHtKCi0Kg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSwHtKCi0Kg[/url] My YouTube debut! No histrionics but fun..... (seen elsewhere on here)

But if you have had 50 basses in 30 years, you have averaged seven months with each bass - I suspect its even less in many cases. That's the same as having a sofa with the plastic covers still on - you'll never get used to it. And I would assume that you have tried a zillion amps in combination with each bass so the number of variables is sky high. I have no problem believing that there are differences between basses and woods, different pick up combinations etc but it seems to me that some of us have out heads turned when a bass sounds different and lack any sense of which bass sounds great and which sounds just ok. Going down the custom route just seems like expensive hair-splitting. My point is this: my Wal has served me well in rock, funk, shows, jazz, small groups, big bands, function bands etc. I can accept that a different bass in each case would be different but I see it as hair splitting as well and I know that noone but me would notice. I think its like the LPs vs cds vs MP3s discussion. Everyone says that LPs sound better but, if you are listening to music in the car, who will be able to tell? I believe producers are capable of asking for a specific sound but if someone wants me to sound like Stanley Clarke, they have booked the wrong bloke! Put an Alembic in my hands and I won't sound like SC, I guarantee it. I just struggle with the idea that, with 50 basses to choose from, you can't find one that works

[quote name='4000' post='627386' date='Oct 15 2009, 09:56 PM']Actually one question I'd like to ask Bilbo (not specifically relating to custom basses but potentially pertinent to some of the issues that have arisen) is does he play the same way on every instrument he picks up, therefore imposing his style, sound and note choices on the instrument in question, or does he adapt his playing to suit the individual instruments strengths? Steve Howe has been quoted as saying every instrument makes him think a little differently, and I tend to feel the same. Many lines that work sonically on my Seis just don't work on my Ricks, and vice versa, and the feel and response of the instrument is also something that affects what I am likely to play on it.[/quote] I suspect it is a bit of both. I approach different instruments the same but am likely to have to make miniscule adjustments to accommodate stuff like string spacing, neck profile, body shape. WIther way, the adjustment would take minutes for most playing and hours for more sophisticated techniques. IN reality, I play another bass about once a year for 10 minutes. I actually think that the quality of your amp is for more central to the sound than the wood your bass is made of. This applies to all sound reinforcement. Guitars and keyboards through cheap amps are just as bad a basses.

[quote name='The Funk' post='626929' date='Oct 15 2009, 02:05 PM']1. Double basses cost a huge amount of money - you normally check you have the right one for you and then stick to it. It's also a quiet, muffled and indistinct instrument (even though I love it).[/quote] Isn't that the point? They spend a lot of money on a professional standard instrument and then mould themselves to its individual personality and find the instruments own voice. DB players don't buy and sell with the frequency of electric players. And its not always true that they spend a lot. I have come across many DB players whose instruments were not that expensive and they stick with it. Classical bassists spend 10s of thousands on their instruments but jazzers can spend relatively small change (£45 in one case, £0 in another!!). Jazz instruments are chosen for their idiosyncracies and not their purity. DId you also know that Ron Carter uses hired instruments when he gigs out of the US? Different one every night. [quote name='The Funk' post='626929' date='Oct 15 2009, 02:05 PM']2. A piano is a piano - a lot of pianists complain about the keys on unweighted and semi-weighted keyboard instruments. They also don't have to carry theirs from gig to gig on their back[/quote] I doubt many piano specialists would agree - there are good pianos and bad pianos but the pianst just gets on with it. [quote name='The Funk' post='626929' date='Oct 15 2009, 02:05 PM']3. Sax players are some of the fussiest I've ever seen when it comes to particular reeds/mouthpieces etc - an old bandmate of mine GASed for a Selmer Mark VI and a Michael Brecker mouthpiece.[/quote] That's no different than someone agonising over string guages. Reeds are funny things. Unlike a box of, say plectrums, many sax players go through a new box of reeds and throw half of them away as unusable. Mouthpieces are again a specific interface with the instrument. The instrument itself remains 'off the peg'. Either way, most sax players I know are nowhere near as fickle as bassists or guitarists about their gear. [quote name='The Funk' post='626929' date='Oct 15 2009, 02:05 PM']There are three reasons I'd go custom: 1. aesthetics - I can't find a walnut Jazz with bullet truss rod, rosewood 'board, white blocks/binding 2. tone - I want to take advantage of Delano's Hybrid pick-up system, which combines a J and MM pick-up in the same unit 3. scale length/tuning - for the Doom side project, the band would like me to tune down to a low A (ie. a tone below low B ), but I'd still like to be able to play a traditional looking 4 string, so a 35" or 36" custom bass seems like the best option.[/quote] The first two are dubious, IUAM, but the third is entirely defensible. If the music requires a modification, it requires a modification. Horses for courses. Most music doesn't.