Mornats

Hey basschatters, My bass tutor is very sensibly getting me to start notating music (listening to it by ear, working it out and writing it down) - which is fantastic, and I've decided that I need to start notating my own music. so, for the tasks my tutor's set for me, I want to write it down on blank sheet music paper so I'm not getting any help but for my own stuff I'd like to have some software where I can pop the notes down and have it create a midi file so that I can play it back so make sure it sounds like what I think it should. Any advice on which software I could use? I'm PC-based but do have a MacbookPro but my preference is very much for PC software. I don't mind paying but something less than £50 would be ideal. Cheers!

[quote name='Inti' timestamp='1357741295' post='1927570'] I'm not speaking about insecurity here. There's a big difference between what you play and how you sound. I could play the same line on a fender and on my yamaha and it would sound different. Amazing how some people have such hard time accepting this fact. Fascinating. [/quote] During my bass lessons I'll be using either my Overwater or Rockbass and my tutor will be using his Musicman Stingray. All three basses sound different to each other true, but by far and away the largest perceivable difference in sound comes from when I play a bass (any of them) and my tutor plays the same bass. So this is the point that I was contributing to the discussion - being taught a better technique and improving ones ability to play makes a more noticeable difference to the quality of the bass's sound than changing instruments. I think what has been missing here (and is possibly my fault) is the emphasis on the difference being in the [i]quality[/i] of sound, not just change in tone. Or to put it in other words, I'd be far better off spending £100 on bass lessons than £1000 on a bass if I wanted to sound better. So yes you're right, basses do sound different (even all non-pro's know this...) but I think I wasn't clear in the point I was trying to get across!

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1357691120' post='1926980'] With a good instrument you should be able to control the subtleties of tone using your hands only. [/quote] Would you say this is only true of good instruments or any instruments? I'd have thought it would be the same for any instrument. That is, you can control the tone in the same way with the same effect, even if the instruments natural tone is not as good as another's.

I have to say that I'm not knocking good gear of course. 4 Strings hit it on the head when he said "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Shouldn't we be putting our efforts into playing our basses better rather than playing better basses?."[/size][/font][/color]

[quote name='Inti' timestamp='1357678577' post='1926709'] I really feel the tone is more determined by the gear than you think. Just put an od on your bass and try to get a clean sound with your fingers. [/quote] Sorry, totally skipped this bit in my reply. I don't think we're talking about technique making a bigger difference than an effects pedal - after all they're designed to very specifically alter the sound. My point is that I believe my tone has changed and improved for the better by taking bass lessons more than it has from upgrading my Dean Hillsboro to any of the other basses in my signature.

[quote name='Inti' timestamp='1357678577' post='1926709'] Do you sincerely think you could hear the difference by an open string played by Jaco, Berlin and DiPiazza? I really feel the tone is more determined by the gear than you think. Just put an od on your bass and try to get a clean sound with your fingers. [/quote] You could tell the difference between Matt playing my bass, and me playing my bass. The difference was at least the same, if not more than if I'd plugged a different bass into the amp. The bass was my Overwater by Tanglewood Contemporary J4 and Matt's Markbass 1x10 combo (sorry, don't know the model number). This was in fact, on open strings too as it was my right hand fingering technique that we worked on.

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1357566362' post='1924530'] What exactly did you learn about fingering technique? I want to improve my tone massively and I know the instrument is only a small part of the equation. PS: Sorry if you've already told this story [/quote] I didn't even think about explaining! Ok, so left hand technique was all about making sure I was fretting properly (fingertips, not mashing the strings with the pads of my fingers) and getting used to one finger per fret. I'm now able to fret more confidently and and move around quicker, resulting in more time spent pressing the fret down the right way. So this helps with the tone coming from the left hand. But it was my right hand technique that made the biggest instant difference. I noticed that when Matt played my bass, it sounded rounder and fuller than when I played it. I was fingering the strings with my fingertips, raking almost vertically up the strings. Matt taught me to play a bit more "into" the string, moving down towards the body slightly, using a bit more of my finger and bring them down to rest on the string below a bit more. The result was a much fuller, meatier bassier tone. It was like changing basses. And overall, the improvements in technique, and again confidence, have given me a much more prominent, upfront and bassier sound. There's a lot more to it, many minor nuances that have helped but I've described the larger changes.

I have a Rockbase Corvette with active pickups and it's as powerful as my other basses. The difference must be passive vs. active I think.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1357514013' post='1923992'] The spotify technology is awesome, but the revenue that the artists get is so pitiful that I'm put off using them. Call me sentimental/naive/stupid but I'd rather use spotify purely as a preview service and then go and buy the record. [/quote] Yes, I mentioned this as a dilemma of mine a page or two back.

You know, if the future turns out in such a way that bands could only survive if they played live and people paid to see them play live, then it might finally end the tirade of crap that the likes of Simon Cowell spews out.

Yes, I think you're right that the instrument does indeed play a part but I don't think we'll work out how much it affects it, whether it's 50/50 or something different. However, if you're investing in good tone, the value is in investing in your fingers IMO. As my bass tutor said when I mentioned I was thinking of buying another bass "stop being silly, all you have to do is play your current one more".

I do like how streaming services are coming along. Here's an example of how it's worked for me. I was in Tesco, looking at the pap they have in their top 10 CD chart. I saw the Paloma Faith CD that looked interesting and I was vaguely aware that it was quite4 decent. So rather than risk £10 on the album, I whipped out my phone, looked her up on Spotify, dragged her albums into my "new music" playlist and headed home. Once home, I opened up Spotify on my PC and the albums were there in my playlist. I listened, liked and then made a radio station from her songs. Regina Spektor came up, as did Lana Del Ray - all of whom I quite liked. So I've got around half a dozen new albums to listen to, without risking money on a CD that may have been pants. Oh and when I'm at work, I can change around my playlist that I use in the car, download anything new whilst I'm there and have a totally different set of music for the trip home. This, to me, is simply awesome. Probably more awesome than my taste in music lol

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1357505855' post='1923788'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Streaming services still have a long way to go. If they are going to be people's sole means of listening to music. Myself and my friends spent Christmas away from home in a rented house. Despite only being an hour's drive from Nottingham we were in an area with no mobile phone signal, and no WiFi signal either free or subscription. Without local copies of the songs we wanted to listen to, we'd have been without music for the whole week.[/font][/color] [/quote] Spotify Premium lets you download local files and play them offline. I use my Galaxy S2 in my car with Spotify in offline mode all the time now. Streaming services are moving faster than the music industry itself ever will.

Well, I'd swap all of my instruments for one piece of crap bass if I could gain a load of skill in the swap. And I'd guarantee I'd sound much much better than I do now, or would sound if I played a £6,000 bass. I'll mention it again, a bit of tutoring on my fingering technique (stop sniggering!) improved my tone massively. It made my good Overwater sound amazing. Nothing to do with the bass, all to do with how I was playing it.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1357462260' post='1922819'] Everyone has their own basic sound. The trick is finding the gear and settings which compliment it best! [/quote] +1 [quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1357460926' post='1922810'] Give me your gear and i'll let you know Dave [/quote] Lol, nice try!

Something I've noticed in this thread is the apparent guilt about paying for a Spotify Premium account. And I include myself in this. So, I pay £10 a month for premium account. Not a small wedge but good value in my opinion. Yet I feel some guilt that I'm not paying £10 for one album that the artist gets some royalties from. Yes they do get some money from Spotify but it's a very small, insignificant amount from what I've read and been told (from a musicians union guy). There are arguments that it's mainly about promoting the band. In the US, artists don't get paid royalties for being played on commercial radio stations (in the UK they do) as it's seen as a promotional tool. Spotify can be seen as the same. However, if I hear a song on the radio and really like it, I'll have to go and buy the album. The chances of me tuning in to hear that song, the album, or a series of songs like it, are very very slim. So buying the album is the best way forward. So radio works as a promotional tool in this scenario. Now, if I hear a song on Spotify radio (try it, it's brilliant for introducing you to new music) I'll add that artist to my New Music playlist and will listen to them more, and also listen to artists like them. However they've missed out on an album sale as I'll listen to their music on Spotify. So, I love music, and want to support artists. Spotify gives me the ability to find and listen to more artists than I ever would have been able to before, and all for £10 a month. But I don't get to buy one album a month (i.e. same monthly cost to me) that will benefit an artist more than the royalties from Spotify. So that's my dilemma, and also the dilemma of others if I've picked up sentiments from replies to this topic correctly. Spotify, even the very legal paid-for version is still seen in a similar light as downloading music illegally. It seems to be seen as dirty sin. Why is this?! It's 100% legal, but as recent large corporation tax scams have shown us, 100% legal does not equal even 1% morally correct. I love the Spotify model from the consumer point of view. It's what the music industry should have come up with itself 10 years ago if it wasn't so intent on suing its own customers and clinging on to a dying commercial model. But it still seems like I'm doing artists out of album sales. So, sorry to derail the OPs question a little (and to me, I echo the comments about why this has to be asked on a musicians forum ffs.) but even the legal channels seem to not sit 100% comfortably with musicians.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1357401065' post='1922130'] Shouldn't we all be getting on with some serious study and practice rather than spending our time and money concerning ourselves so deeply with minutiae of guitar/amp/speaker construction? [/quote] Yes. My tone has improved massively since taking lessons with Matt Downer. Much much so than the thousands I've spent on gear.

Yes. I sound like me on any gear. Anyone else sounds like themselves on my gear.

[quote name='Ashwood1985' timestamp='1357387461' post='1921895'] I know the dreaded 'squier' tag on the headstock can be a hard thing to live with [/quote] Seriously, if it bother people that much, just scrape it off and put a Fender decal on there. Then you'll be happy that you're playing a much better bass than a typically sh*t MIM Fender! (In my experience of trying out Squiers and Fender MIMs.)

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1357400347' post='1922112'] It sounded very neutral whereas I think for me I need an instrument to have a bit more character in sound. That said, the build and overall quality was very good. [/quote] Yeah, I'd agree with this actually. My only real gripe (other than weight) is that's quite studio-like and lacks a bit of character. Mind you, popped through an Ashdown 220 Touring amp, it gains some character. Ignore the sloppy start to this one as I was trying to catch them out and didn't know they'd join in and play it up-tempo! http://soundcloud.com/mornats/money-band-rehearsal-with

I've always bought my music. I guess I appreciate it more for buying it. However, I now have a Spotify Premium account which I love but it does mean I'm not buying albums. Not that I bought many, one or two a month tops. Sometimes none a month. So my outlay is about the same, but I get much more music. The downside is that I know the artists get fekk all from Spotify. If I love an album, I like the idea that the artist is getting some of my cash. So whilst I'm still legit, it doesn't feel as right as it should.. but then again, the labels negotiated those deals with Spotify so must be happy with them...

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1357394374' post='1922002'] I've got an OW 5 string custom jazz, and would say that it plays and sounds just as good. [/quote] A fair few people say that. Main differences being build quality and finishing. The British made ones being perfect ofc and the Tanglewood made ones being mass produced with the usual tolerances.

In fact, the only basses I've played that I liked more were one example of a Fender American Standard Jazz (but none since I played the one in question) and Pinball's battered Sandberg. Oh, and the 70's P I played at the SW bass bash. So it takes a very special bass to make me put down my Overwater.

I use one as my main bass and rate it very highly. So has everyone who's played it too. It's set up pretty good, and was set up pretty good in the shop too. I only picked it up for a quick go, spent 45 mins playing on it and bought it. Didn't even ask for a discount! It plays very very well. It's a little larger (i.e. longer) than a Fender Jazz and a little heavier but it feels very solid. It's very easy to play but I do wish it were a little lighter as I'm used to very light basses (Bass Collections if you're familiar with those). Sounds wise it has a John East designed pre-amp that he designed specifically for this range of basses. A lovely range of sounds from a P to a J - the J being particularly sweet. The pre-amp is great IMO. The 5khz boost pull-switch on the volume control is a nice addition too to get a bite of bite coming through. I've got the trans black one and it looks fantastic IMO. Totally a contemporary jazz. I used my Overwater on this: http://soundcloud.com/mornats/into-a-dream

[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1357317189' post='1920960'] Anybody played the modern player tele bass ??? [/quote] Yep, I played one in Newcastle over Christmas. Nice and light, felt right and couldn't tell it was made in China. Very nice to play too, an easy neck to get to grips with, a nice size without being too thin. I really did like the sound of the two humbucker pickups. Quite a classic P and J sound but with something a little different that makes them not sound like a virtual instrument as most Fender Precision and Jazz basses do in my opinion! I very almost bought it to be honest. I now really fancy a passive bass with a classic sound (but with a twist). I like how the two pickups were quite far apart so there was a fair bit of distinction in the tone. I don't usually go for a) Fenders or classic 50s looking ones but this one grew on me very quickly. I've read some people say that the strings don't line up with the poles on the pickups quite right and have suggested that putting a more classic bridge on there solves the problem. The model I was playing had a rattle coming from the bridge on the G string (the guy in the shop said they'd give it a full setup to get rid of that and he was quite disappointed that it had gone on display with a rattle). I'm actually going to put my 5 string BC and my Dean up for sale to fund one but I would like to do a side-by-side comparison with a Squier P first He also gave me a Squier VM Jaguar bass which was in my hands for around 5 seconds before I gave it back and picked up the Tele bass again - it felt awful in comparison but to be honest, my experience of trying out Fenders has told me that two seemingly identical basses can be like chalk and cheese to play. Some are brilliant, some are utterly awful and some are distinctly average.