stewblack

I've just had an epiphany and I suppose this thread is the perfect place in which to share it. When I started out back int he 70's I was utterly convinced that writing my own songs, creating my own basslines was all that mattered, and the only way to becoming a self respecting musician. To that end I didn't learn one line of another musician's work for 25 years. Yesterday, whilst trying to tell my fingers to follow a bass line I was learning (Four Tops "Same Old Song) and they reluctantly refused to go in a direction to which they were unaccustomed, I realised said epiphany was upon me. In trying not to end up sounding like every other hackneyed musician who just lazily copied other bassists I had got myself stuck in a rut of my own making and in so doing had limited the dimensions that rut profoundly. The lesson I've learned is you cannot learn enough and the wider the variety of music you learn the more strings to your bow. Yes be original, of course be inventive but you'll close your mind to a world of possibilities, and end up trying to reinvent the wheel if you don't learn as diverse a musical catalogue as possible. Of course I utterly failed to sound original as everyone says I play just like Chris Squire - a bass player I've never even listened to!

And another big +1 for OBBM from me. I've used him for my personal kit and cabling for the venue I used to run. Fantastic service, top quality, - hey just check his feedback.

[quote name='rob_89' post='77289' date='Oct 21 2007, 01:52 PM']hi everyone, was just wondering - has anyone tried and tested the Behringer stomp box range? the price is attractive, but are they worth having? any feedback on this would be much appreciated, thanks...[/quote] I've got a few - you can't go wrong at the price. For £15 they are a steal. In places (the graphic eq pedal for example) isn't quite as good as the Boss, but I'm happy with them all. I have flanger, tuner, eq and chorus BTW. And V-Amp Pro. Which is a great piece of kit.

Played, as I've mentioned before, in a Specials tribute having been a two tone fan from back in the year dot. So I suppose of all the people who have been lucky enough to play on stage with me, Roddy Radiation and Neville Staple must be the proudest. Poor old Neville was then seen trying to revive his career by appearing ion the line up on Buzzcocks. How fleeting his moment basking in the reflected light of my greatness.

[quote name='OldGit' post='76624' date='Oct 19 2007, 05:33 PM']Oh Look at that! No, really just look at that! I hope your singer can cope with 34% less attention tonight [/quote] To be honest with that colour we could easily be talking 36 even 37%. That's a really beautiful instrument.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='76328' date='Oct 19 2007, 08:32 AM']. New stuff for Crimbo is limited to the Gerber Nautilus, Clutch, Reactor 3 Flashlight and the tracer headlamp. Just let me know what size/type SAK you want Stew and I'll sort something out.[/quote] My SAK was a fairly basic model - which is all I needed but my God I'm taken with that Gerber Nautilus - send me one of those and I'll love you for ever. Paypal? Cheque? Shall we pm from now on?

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='76301' date='Oct 19 2007, 07:32 AM']I followed your predicament with interest but like Chris I had a feeling it was going only one way as eBay really just like to take as much as possible whilst policing the important easy stuff. I'll bear in mind the offer of assistance Cheers to the rest of you (again). re. Amazon - unfortunately 99% of what I sell is used and I'd imagine Amazon is all new stuff. reporting the other guy would appear to be the easy and straight forward option. However, though I am 99.99% certain it has to be as a result of him (things just fit), I'd be the worst kind of lowlife if I were wrong![/quote] I meant what I said about buying one off you and Mods have cleared you for trade so to speak. Oh and BTW you can buy used off Amazon, they advertised used & new prices with each item. [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_/203-2309090-2483956?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=swiss+army+knife&Go.x=9&Go.y=13&Go=Go"]Look![/url]

Well I need to replace my SAK as I've lost mine and am lost without it. Do you have any of the leather holsters for them? I lost that too!! God I'm crap. If it helps you to sell me one why not pee em me I'll send you my email and we can do business.

[quote name='cris the man' post='75437' date='Oct 17 2007, 08:23 AM']is there anything wrong with a white and red fluffy strap? i think they keep my shoulder warm also - pink one for my heavier bass because it has more fluff whats wrong with fluffy straps? (the fluff gets everywhere but fluff rules!)[/quote] I have a fluffy purple one which clashes with my horrible pink bass just perfectly. If you want fluffy you go fluffy never mind the boo boys!

[quote name='obbm' post='75794' date='Oct 17 2007, 09:59 PM']It's a dead 50-watt valve amp and the bids just keep on coming. Madness. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150170133660&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...A:IT&ih=005[/url][/quote] The mind boggles.

[quote name='phsycoandy' post='75759' date='Oct 17 2007, 08:45 PM']Loads of u guys use Yammys, Ive tried a few in shops and been totaly underwhelmed, by the sound, and presence let alone the lack of mystique of say a Fender and indeed any future residual value. Please put me right.[/quote] It is funny how some makes just don't float your boat. I've a soft spot for Aria basses but like you have never been taken by Yamaha. I think a lot of it is down to looks.

[quote name='kevbass' post='75719' date='Oct 17 2007, 07:34 PM']What a joker, he knows he's taking the piss, he's just hoping that there's a small chance some gullible rich fool has more money than sense[/quote] Come on be honest - even with a major lottery win you just wouldn't. There are things I'd buy if I suddenly became hugely wealthy but I still would hate to be ripped off. I know a thing is supposed to only be worth what someone will pay for it but these examples are just silly.

Have to say I'm quite taken with the colour. The fingerboard looks nearly as dirty as mine. It's a reasonable price, indeed.

[quote][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4421&hl=ace+pro"]Actually, come to think of it...[/url][/quote] Ah well found that man!

Just spoke to the guy who does my set ups for me and he was hesitant about buying mail order if it's a thru neck. The trouble he had with my J&D getting the angle right led him to suggest trying it out first. I see Shine also do a six string for under £150. Again, it may not be top drawer - who'd expect it to be at that price? but it could be a way to give a 6er a real good go. I've never regretted the cheap 5 as I learned to play 5 string without shelling out a fortune. Now of course i want a Bongo 5. Ho hum.

I would consider an Ace-Pro 6 string for the simple reason that it's a good price to try and see if I wanted/needed/liked a six string bass. Also I suffer from severe inverted snobbery and quite like people turning their nose up at the no name gear! I, like a lot of others i suspect, am also stupid enough to spend a cumulative fortune in small amounts just hoping beyond hope that one day I end up with a real fantastic instrument at a give away price. I know the economics don't add up and I do own a Stingray (but at £500 I reckon it was a bargain) and it is an utterly superb instrument with a fantastic sound and lovely to play - definitely not just a name. All that notwithstanding I bought my first 5 string mail order and ok it needed a really good set up but is beautiful and plays well (J&D BTW) and I use Behringer kit and Epifani and Eden and there is no marked quality leap between them. Which bass do I pick up first when i want to noodle? £100 Westone just cos it feels lovely to play. Go on - buy one and tell us all what it's like!!

[quote name='Hamster' post='72886' date='Oct 11 2007, 03:07 PM']Sounds like a blast, but doing an extra 12,000 miles a year just for rehersals would kinda spoil the fun for me Hamster[/quote] +1 for that. I was in a tribute band and once the set was learned we didn't rehearse just gigged it worked out fine and cut out the leg work. Good luck finding someone tho' .

[quote name='Bassman7' post='73092' date='Oct 11 2007, 10:51 PM']If you are near an IKEA they are now stocking a great new package consisting of a compact Class 2 battery Charger for both Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries, 4x Ni-MH AA size batteries and 2x Ni-MH AAA size batteries all for £14.99!! Don't forget they also do great prices on Alkaline batteries of all sizes including AA and PP3 which are not made in China but in Germany by good old Varta! It might help, there again it might not but I thought I'd mention it![/quote] Thanks mate but our nearest IKEA is built on the ruins of what was once the holy shrine of British football and as such is far too painful to visit.

Ordered myself a pack of 10 from the bay. Thanks for the advice.

[quote name='butlerk02' post='72424' date='Oct 10 2007, 09:55 PM']Yeah, i agree. Whenever we play it everyone loves it. We also get a great reaction to L.A Woman by the Doors. Cheers for your suggestions so far guys, much appreciated. Been thinking about doing Kansas - Carry on Wayward Son, but i don't know if its too cheesy.[/quote] Doh! Just seen it on your list already - sorry.

+1 for the OLP. If you were further south you'd be welcome to try mine. If ever you're passing this way give me a shout.

Of all the covers we do the one that goes down an absolute storm is All The Things I've Done by the Killers. Dunno why but audiences at all sorts of different gigs really love it.

I must confess I have a sort of empathic understanding for the guy who wrote the hate mail. Wait wait - hear me out. I would never have written such a vile piece and I never heckle fellow musicians no matter what. It's a matter of politeness and respect., No what I mean is if you're a music lover and you hear certain types of music which you detest it's like toothache and feels almost like a personal insult. there was some really dreadful jazz being played at a charity do we attended a couple of weeks back. I mean really unmusical noise which everyone else seemed to love. I actually felt like screaming it was so bad. I was filled with an unreasoning anger and had to get out, it totally spoilt my day. Now had I bumped into one of the musicians afterwards I would of course have smiled sweetly and said "Good gig, erm, daddio" or some such. As I say it's about politeness so whilst I can understand that if you love music to hear it being done in a way you can't stand is galling, but the last thing you do is take that irrational bile out on a fellow musician. Oh and I quite fancy one of my cousins too.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='71945' date='Oct 10 2007, 12:48 AM']Anything where an alkaline battery lasts a long time is lower load - remote controls, active basses, many analogue effects pedals. High load items are most digital electronics (pedals, cameras, etc), torches, and so on. I have never found a reliable capacity rating for an alkaline battery as the high internal resistance means the capacity under high demand is a fraction of the capacity at low demand. I strongly recommend Hybrio NiMH instead of alkalines as they have very low self-discharge (80% charge after a year sitting idle), are fully charged when you buy them, and have all the other benefits of normal NiMH batteries. They don't make 9V's yet but I'm gradually replacing all my AA cells with them. Alex[/quote] Thanks Alex. I'll watch out for them.

[quote name='Bidd' post='71499' date='Oct 9 2007, 12:17 PM']After a new lineup (different drummer (who is absolfrickinlutely amazing), one guitarist instead of two, and no keys/sax) my band (The Gravel Shifters) have decided to change band name, as our musical style has changed from Chicago/Texas style gritty blues to a more audience appealing "Funky-Blues-Rock-Latino" quartet. Problem is we can't think of a name, and I've wondered if any of you have been in the same situation By the way we're going to play songs like: David Bowie - Let's Dance Jamiroquai - Deeper Underground (I have a cool effect through my Boss GT-6B) Santana - Black Magic Woman (Funkier with a Latino style jam ending) James Brown - Play That Funky Music Gary Moore - Oh Pretty Woman (Funkier version)[/quote] We've got a perfectly good name but other members of the band don't like it so we're all coming up with ideas, putting our favourites on a list and having a vote. At the end of the day once a name is used often enough even a really bad one sounds ok. look at Oasis. Dreadful name conjuring up all sorts of naff and cheezy conotations but no one notices now.