BassTractor

Hey Fraser, Sorry for the bewilderment. It wasn't my goal. I'm guessing you may be using a tablet or mobile phone when reading BC, and not see what I was referring to. On the full computer version, to the left of the posting itself are from top to bottom: - your login name - your advancement status on BC (this is not an official term. I made it up in lack of knowledge.) - your avatar - some other stuff, like where you live and what your interests are. In your case, the advancement status reads "No longer a newbie". This only means you have written more than 10 posts. But as you may gather, I couldn't resist the temptation to make you aware that you are NOT a newbie anymore. Nice, eh? BC makes sure you feel good about your progress! best, bert

Honestly, I'm more afraid of his mouth than of his shoes.

[quote name='Absolute Beginner' timestamp='1388825760' post='2326416'] I'm new to the world of bass playing [/quote] No, Fraser, you aren't. It says so clearly under your login name and above where your avatar is missing. Sorry, can't help with books. Have no idea.

To answer the question, I'm happy to report I've never experienced this. On the contrary I'd say. I've only encountered singers, guitarists, bassists and drummers who would not, or could not, follow me when I started playing my own songs that they'd never heard before, or when I exploded in spontaneous, enormous reworkings of the material that should have been known to them. Twats, all of them. But seriously, I have indeed not experienced it. The keys guy from the OP seems like a twat, but OTOH he may also just have been on a totally different page. I myself have ruined a concert piece when as a music student depping on piano, finding out too late I was expected to do advanced stuff in a style I knew zilch about. Who was the twat? The guy who ruined the piece during concert, or the guy who came hunting after me through the corridors in such a way I probably would have been lucky if loud, well worded verbal abuse was all I'd received had he caught me? Probably neither, but we sure as hell were on different pages, and communication obviously had been lacking before I was asked to do the piece. BTW, the twat was obviously really me, as the hunter has made more albums, and also happens to listen to the name William Scott Bruford.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1388844393' post='2326743'] Has anyone else experienced this kind of 'forward-into-the-past' -type weirdness, or am I alone in this?? [/quote] Not me, but I seem to remember the band Nucleus at one point consisted of the exact same people as one of the later Soft Machine line-ups. Soft Machine, Nucleus, Discreet ... a good line in my book.

[Throws cap up in the air] Thanks, Ped! I too warmly applaud any action that makes BC a more considerate, kinder place. However, how is one going to moderate when people post "lawfully" but mean - without strictly breaking the rules? Point in case: recently, a known BC member (not me) was treated very unkind in Off Topic by people who only alluded to the person in question, without mentioning names. (BTW; me too I'm avoiding names right now, mostly to try and protect that victim's anonymity but not only because of that.) This victim's anonymity (I don't know the correct term for it, but allow me to call it "anonymity" just for now) made sure that he either didn't defend himself and risked the false notions about him getting even more cemented, or did defend himself at the risk of being called paranoid. Another member asked who this person was, and a mod of sorts stated something along the lines of naming names making things worse (= more cruel?). The offenders seemed not corrected or moderated or whatever. In the mean time, as far as I can understand, there [i][b]was[/b][/i] appalling behaviour, and there [b][i]was[/i][/b] a victim. (BTW, I too, in response to something I'd written, have received posts and PMs that to me seemed from a different planet altogether, as if the "bad" that I'd done gave other people a free pass to write whatever vicious stuff they liked. However, please accept that this post is not a "Booohooh! Poor me!" post. I hate course, unkind behaviour, but can absolutely tackle it if that is needed. I write this paragraph only to make it very clear that the preceding paragraph really isn't about me (couldn't be either, as I avoid Off Topic as much as I can).) My take is that generally, some people care less than others about BC, other members or other aspects, and are more willing than others to find ways to hurt other people or to just write frustrations off their chest whilst carefully keeping their texts within certain boundaries so as to be hard to moderate. Some people seem allergic to open visors. I think the important question is: Is the moderator team willing to and equipped for tackling these people? If not, I fear that stricter moderation is only going to lead to a raise in sub-surface aggression, and looser moderation might actually bring BC closer to the aimed for result. Rather than enforcing rules about forbidden behaviour, is there a way one can enforce rules of good behaviour? Mind you, I don't have the answer to that question, but I do know that when I worked in child protection, we made contracts with kids from dysfunctional families, and every single sentence in those contracts was about what was allowed - nothing about what was forbidden. Worked a treat. BTW, I'm aware that BC is not the kids from dysfunctional families. . . . . . . BC is the whole dysfunctional family!

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1388778914' post='2326041'] I've neither heard or even seen a Barefaced cab in the flesh, and can't afford one anyways. They do however, seem to get a disproportionate amount of criticism. A simple question about a handle turned into a product assassination...problems with handles have apparently hit Markbass at some time, we don,t however see posts then saying the whole product is crap. Others seem to confuse not liking the finish with saying that barefaced have a poor finish. Criticism is valid only if it has substance and isn't just the usual British 'have a knock' at something. [/quote] This sounds reasonable and level-headed to me. Someone said something about the harshest criticism coming mainly from people who were on BC when Alex started out, and that was my personal impression too. It may be wrong of course, but in case this is indeed correct, there may be a case of old feelings making people less open and flexible, and reading stuff about BF like the guy from the hot place reads the bible. I've never seen or heard a BF, but to me the positives seem to outweigh to negatives by far. As a result, I had in fact ordered two, but had to put the process to rest due to family circumstances, so can't comment from experience yet.

Thanks, Waynepunkdude! Some better pin-up posters there. I can now keep all my ITWT CDs, thanks to you.

[quote name='tommorichards' timestamp='1388752696' post='2325557'] sounds a lot like living colour to me. [/quote] Ah! There's the bit I couldn't place immediately. Thanks! Living Colour indeed, and a lot of 24-7 Spyz and even a slight tad of Mr. Bungle I think.

Despite what I wrote above, them singing the praise of "Murder, She Wrote" makes them seem like Angela Lansbury pin-up poster owners. I can't stomach that thought, and think I may have to retract everything, and send all the CDs back too!

Great! Thanks for posting. Must check out Intraverse more. Have been an avid fan of In Tyler We Trust since Hernandoitwt made us aware of them, and look forward to the 2014 outing they promise us.

Lord, are you helping him choose one in a shop? I ask because from what I've read on BC, not all VMs are good right from the factory, whereas the CVs reportedly can be bought unseen. CV is more expensive than VM though. The Affinitys I've seen locally were slightly shoddily put together, and I did not have the knowledge to judge them. You could though, so if you're helping him you could find him an Affinity - which is clearly cheaper than a VM. That or used of course, in which case it has already been said above. FWiW, I have three CVs (two 50s Ps and a 60s J), and to noob me they seem perfect or near perfect. A real bassist played my 60s Jazz, and was more impressed with that than with my lim.ed. Bongo.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1388504225' post='2322778'] My comment about 'brave comments' was general... so no, not anyone in mind. why...you feeling guilty or something...? [/quote] Whilst i'm not feeling guilty for (what I thought was) having tried to stand up against someone whom I believed attacked BC, I do see I was the person who got all the FLAK back then and the references later, so yes, I do not believe it was totally out of order to expect your "brave" comment to have something to do with me. I'm very glad though that this is not the case. Cheers! [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1388504225' post='2322778'] FWIW, I have no wish to reopen the debate in question so I suggest you, too, let it go. [/quote] Like you, I have no wish to reopen the debate, and in fact had let it go back then even before all the FLAK came my way, as some specific info came my way about the situation that BC found itself in. As a consequence, I also abstained from responding to that FLAK - - hard as it was, as the FLAK was very hurtful to me. However, people keep referring to my actions for something like seven or eight months now, using words like dickhead, asshole, numpty, cretin and the like. My silence in the matter has brought neither me nor BC in any other place than that the view seems to prevail that a nice person came to BC to share his wisdom, and was hounded away by the unforgivable actions of some asshole (me). IMHO this is not a true representation of what happened. Also, it is very hurtful to me, especially coming from BC - a place I love to death. But then maybe I'm just way too sensitive. Thanks for your response! I wish upon you every bit of pleasantness and peace that the world has to offer. Oh, and a Happy New Year!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1388495055' post='2322611'] people get braver when not face to face........... [/quote] Are you brave enough to tell who you are thinking of? I criticised said gentleman in an open fashion, mentioning the exact anti-BC behaviour that I was critical of. You yourself were among the many people who came with vague accusations that did not contribute to anything, except for entering vitriol on the forum. [quote name='Bassman Steve' timestamp='1388495113' post='2322613'] No, I have a cretinous outpouring which seems to be rather threatening. Don't bother responding and leaving any more vitriol. Maybe there's something lost in translation. [/quote] Threatening? Vitriol? Hereby I ask the mods/administrators/owners whether they would be so kind as to comment on whether it's OK on BC to accuse people in the above fashion. I have openly and with reason criticised one person for his, IMO appalling, behaviour on BC. The amount of FLAK, namecalling and false accusations (vitriolic even) that I have received as response to that, has been out of this world. However, NOBODY has reacted negatively to those responses, and almost one year later, people still keep coming back to it in similar fashion. Here is the exact PM I sent Bassman Steve. I think there is no threatening or vitriol. I'm open to being corrected. Start PM: " "Cretinous outpourings", eh? Oh, the irony... So it's not OK for people to openly criticise with reason a person who has lied, manipulated and threatened, but it's quite OK for you to use words like that about people you do not mention so it gets hard for them to defend themselves, and without offering your reasons for your harsh conclusions? " End PM Now, I guess that if one really wants to misconstrue what I wrote, one could say there is vitriol in the "irony" bit, but threatening? FWIW, I never intended any threatening, but I did want to confront Bassman Steve with his writings.

I was planning on being the first thicko originally, but then decided it was better to use Google. So now I know! The Better Liason! Thicko No 3

[quote name='Bassman Steve' timestamp='1388491125' post='2322533'] I'm reminded of the cretinous outpourings of the critics when Guy Pratt was pleasant enough to introduce himself on here a little while back. [/quote] You have a PM.

[quote name='Mr Stinky' timestamp='1388403482' post='2321504'] Is it really that important to use the correct fingering? [/quote] Nope. That is: if you can comfortably play the stuff you want to play, and don't strain yer andromeda (or wha' evvah), then no. But the moment you hear or feel you have trouble with your timing - or other issues - then fingering can be a great tool rather than a nuisance. As an organist I'm used to choose fingering exactly depending on the effect I wanna reach - mostly the fingering that will most naturally result in the timing I was after anyway. I suppose much of that would go for bass too, but personally haven't needed it on my low E yet. [quote name='sarah thomas' timestamp='1388404126' post='2321522'] Unsolicited advice is rarely welcome. Smile, say 'excuse me' and go off to do something more interesting. Like going to the toilet. [/quote] My advice to you: quit giving him unsolicited advice!! (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

My own experiences with Gear4Music have been more than perfect, them showing a high level of service and being proactive, so the negative comments here surprise me. I also seem to remember G4M came well-recommended in several similar threads earlier. I agree their choice of courier is part of the package, and must be part of the rating, though my experiences with that part have been perfect.

[quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1388184115' post='2319340'] I know how to HOLD a bass. [/quote] BC is a place to spread the knowledge, not for boasting!!! So: how does one hold a bass?

Too much awe in this thread methinks, and people thinking way too lowly of themselves and way too highly of the original artists. You are just people, and so are the original bands. They are not gods. They are your peers! Being a lesser player is almost a given - not something that should be made to be the core. BTW, respect is something different and something good. I'm not about not respecting people. Of course, being a classical boy, I've always played "people's songs back to them" (though not to the likes of JS Bach or Cesar Franck), and I get the impression the classical realm is different in that you always play your own version (that's even in the job description), and can just hope that the composer senses the respect you put inside.. It's "your" piece now - in a sense. The composer's job was done when the piece became available to play, except in some are cases where one had to get the composer's permission to play it to even get a look at the notes. An acquaintance of mine once got permission to play a certain piece and came dancing and shouting through the corridors because of that feat's uniqueness. Too much awe! Me, I once got permission after having told the composer I'd spent one and a half year just to build up the technique and the stamina to play his work. He simply looked straight at me and asked: "Are you ready?". The answer seemed to satisfy him.

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1387969417' post='2317573'] We're aiming at a march release. I'd categorise it as 'homebrew thrash metal' [/quote] Man! I'd always hated homegrown thrash, and was expecting homebrew thrash to be much of the same. Was I in for a surprise! I LURV homebrew thrash! You've sold me one - - unless it costs 150 Euro of course.

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1387894522' post='2316985'] WTH Bert! That's the title for my upcoming ep! [/quote] Seriously? What a cool coincidence. When is it out? How do you rate the music on it? [quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1387904080' post='2317105'] I played in a band supporting Christian Death [/quote] Cool story, Chris, and I'm now slightly less frustrated I never bought any of their albums. What a dunce.

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1387781659' post='2315473'] Avril Lavigne butchered Fule [/quote] Thrailer Thrash

You bunch of nitwits! They charge you £1599 for the striking red colour, and it's totally worth it! So the preamp is free, as is the class D amp. Deal of the century!

Yeah, I recognise that, MM20. When I wanted a pipe organ in the house, all that that meant was to buy the house next door as well, and remove one of the floors in it as well as the walls between the houses. You know what? She [b]questioned[/b] that idea!