BassTractor

Yup, for the first time since I was a kid. I'm gonna turn more and more of my walking into running, and plan to "compete" in an autumn hill forest run, where I should be able to make the list in the age group 61-65. This year, a guy over 80 was as fast as I was. Next year I wanna run like a 75-year-old, and the year after that like a 65-year-old.

You're a genius! Also: "Listen, love, this was way too cheap to let pass. The seller lost 800 quid on it, ya know..." 😀

Not necessarily, as my life exemplifies. Live, I've played more with jazz ensembles than with any classical ones, and all of that was because of my studying classical music, and meeting people at music college.

I agree with one of the posters above. 😁

Happily, at least one person wasn't offended by your shooting from the hip. See, I only understand 24% of BC, and your shooting from the hip has consistently been in the other 73%. (BTW, my arithmetic isn't up to scratch either.) But yeah, great site, and one I'm very grateful for. Like you, I've had very demanding periods, and BC has proven to be one of the best medicines available to me. Not wishing to hijack the thread, but: thanks, folks!

The way I remember it, the Rick ban has never been about discussion or pics - just about buying and selling. I think it was even specifically said we could discuss and post pics as much as we wanted. AFAIK, the whole core is that if someone sells a copy (calling it a copy or calling it the original), that RIC then can sue if they think it's a copy. The owners and admins of BC can't be expected to be able to spot each and every infringement, and so the logical course then is to ban all selling of Ricks and copies. Of course it adds to the fun that such a ban is also saying a resounding "up yours" to RIC, but OTOH, as mentioned above, RIC might not care, as all they're interested in is selling new ones, and people not able to find a used one might go for a new one instead. BTW, as long as I can remember, all I ever wanted was some Rick basses. However, I've never bought one, and never will. Instead, Music Man have seen five of my moneys (and yes, I do think there's a huge difference between John and Sterling).

"Take care of your labia! LABELLA!"

You Brits always find the most exquisitely polite way to express "and shoved it down the guitarist's throat"

All the time, long ago. That's how I broadened my scope - - from an exclusively classical one to one also comprising of jazz and eventually rock. Two major lacks of success though: blues and latin. Blues night was me depping, having never played it before, and not having had one second of rehearsal. BL told me afterwards: "You classical guys stink big time when playing the blues". I don't doubt he was completely right. Latin was depping again (as always) in a big band, and suddenly BL decides we'll do some latin tracks - sight reading. Happily for me, not only the classical boy was slightly taken aback this time. IME latin is very hard to do without preparation if you're new to it, and evil tongues told me it remains difficult even when you're experienced. I guess they're right.

Yes, I like them. Have two or three of their albums, one of which has Stuck Between Stations. Lovely song.

If you have to buy new, and wish to stay roughly within that budget, Gear4Music do a slightly more expensive one (£249) that has mesh on the kettles rather than rubber pads. For learning to play drums at a budget, I'd go cheap mesh rather than expensive rubber even though a really natural response can't be expected for that price. But yeah, of course try to find something used first. There should be enough parents who sell their kids' unused instruments. YMMV.

Indeed. A "2M Baby Foam Corner Guard Safety Protect Table Edge Bumper Cushion Strip Useful", in situations like this, is always useful. 😉

Don't talk nonsense. Most people wouldn't hear the difference, and you're just 1cs less than him anyway.

Interesting. Maybe there's a cultural difference, or maybe you're playing behind chicken wire (a psychological fence as it were) ?

I spent the last 30 or so hours having a hard time trying to suppress posting it, whilst being flabbergasted it wasn't answer no. 1. Thanks, mate. I can now relax.

@Swaffle88, only you can narrow it down, as none of your alternatives seem bad. But how about trying first to see if the iPad route is viable, if you do own one already? All you need to know is whether your Casio does have the MIDI OUT at the back (I doubt it does though, since you talk about kids' stuff and light-up keys). In case it does spawn that output, then, if I remember correctly, you'll need a MIDI-to-USB interface as well as the USB-to-Apple connector. I have not heard about straight MIDI-to-Apple interfaces, but they might exist. Alternatively, a dedicated MIDI keyboard to govern the iPad isn't that expensive, and they're everywhere. @Woodinblack already mentioned one costing 30 quid. Me, I bought a nice M-Audio Keystation 49 at half price once. Can't fault it for even the full price. Relatively good keybed too (which for me personally is of the essence, but I appreciate that I'm weird). The musical instrument apps you can get for the iPad are of another world. One can purchase synths for pounds or tenners that originally cost tens of thousands (Fairlight CMI for example, but don't go there). Synths like Moog Animoog, Arturia iMini, Sunrizer, ARP Odyssey Korg MS-20 and other Korgs will do what you crave from the Bass Station, and they also come with presets/storage for your patches. I'm very sure many simpler synths exist that would demand less of your time getting to understand them, but off the top of my head I don't know any myself. The Arturia iMini is a Minimoog copy, and the Minimoog was a standard for synth bass in the seventies, as was the Odyssey (which is more demanding as a first synth, but luvverly). BTW, many synths that are monophonic in hardware, are polyphonic as iPad apps. The Odyssey for example is 8-voice polyphonic in its iPad guise. If it appears your Casio doesn't have the MIDI OUT, and you're satisfied with the sounds from the Casio, then just adding and instrument, like @Woodinblack's Roland JD Xi, a Bass Station 2 or a PSR-type keyboard would be OK. They all would do what you demand from them (caveat for cheaper PSR types), but seeing what you've written up to now, I sense (not know) that you'd be very happy with the Bass Station 2, which is very good as an instrument, and very good in its price bracket. Many people who own hardware synths for tens of thousands, also own a Bass Station 2. The JD Xi offers a lot more than the Bass Station whilst keeping the real synth sound, whereas cheaper PSR type keyboards often offer the more weedy sounds - it'd be like a more expensive version of what you already have. That might be enough, and it might not. Just now I realise that you were talking about looping, and that was the part I didn't really get. If this - in your use of the gear - means you want instant access to all your sounds without having to handle mixer sliders, then I guess there might be a problem with using your Casio both as a sound source and as a MIDI keyboard for iPad apps. You be the judge. Sorry for the length. In a foreign language it's hard for me to find the effective wording and to keep my thoughts together.

@Swaffle88, I don't understand everything (my English is limited), but it sounds like a plan to keep the Casio, and add the Bass Station 2. Also, the Bass Station can do more than just bass, so you might end up using it for solos and weird sounds too. A keyboard with lots of presets and stand-out bass sound must be available somewhere, but my feeling says it might cost more. Friend of mine just yesterday bought a Casio CTK-1550. I can check its presets for you if you like, to see what it has in store. That said, like @Woodinblack says, a MIDI keyboard (maybe your Casio?) and an iPhone or iPad is ace. Dozens of great pianos, synths and organs for Apple gear to be had for a few tenners - and many of those synths are way more powerful than the Bass Station, though they do lack its hands-on directness. When you ask if anyone plays bass on keys, do you mean bass parts? If so: yes, many here do, and an in-depth look at this very section (Other Instruments) will reveal that. If you're thinking of playing keys and generating bass guitar-like sounds with synths, samplers and romplers, then I haven't heard about others doing it, but I did in the past.

It's not the artist I proposed as a possibility, but it may of course still be the OP's artist.

I'm fairly certain it isn't Steve Morse - both because of style and because I played all his records to death. I remember that at the time of Satriani's "Surfing With the Alien", an album was released by a lesser guitar god in roughly the same vein as the footage in the OP, so if there's a list somewhere, and one checks albums from 1986 to 1988, then maybe this can be narrowed down considerably. Can't be of more help, sorry.

Makes perfect sense.

As the others have indicated, a synth is NOT an instrument that can emulate all other instruments. The Bass Station is a simple synth, and it can do the typical bass synth sounds we know from pop hits, and it can do some more. For chords and piano/organ/keyboard, my guess is that if you want hardware, your best bet is the instrument called keyboard (which is NOT the same as a MIDI keyboard) like for example the Yamaha PSR series, or a sound module like for example a second hand Yamaha MU128. In case of the latter, in order to play it you'll need a sequencer in your computer or phone, or a MIDI keyboard to play it yourself. Me, I'd avoid anything that is an analogue synth to get piano sounds - not even a 15,000 quid Moog modular synth - for many many reasons. A relatively cheap Korg keyboard I once played had fairly good piano samples, and that to me seems like a way better approach. Just ask if you wanna know more.

Of course it should, strictly speaking. In fact, I even tried sister site GuitarChat.co.uk initially. However, I then noticed there's little posting going on there as yet, and I thought that for a quick answer, Other Instruments may be too far outside many people's everyday awareness, and that General Discussion was the place to go, also seeing that a guitar is owned by many a bass player, and seeing that in the past, we've been tolerant of posts like these being in the wrong section, strictly speaking. The description for General Discussion also seems indicative of a tolerant attitude. YMMV. Thanko mucho, peeps, for the proposed brands and models! @Frank Blank's CGX122 seems like a perfect example of what I'd like to direct my nephew towards. My faith in the 122 series is better today than yesterday after some reading and after this recommendation. @Pseudonym's Alhambra is the brand I knew I had in the back of my head but couldn't remember, and they didn't come up in my search either, but I think this might be perfect, as I had decided to send my nephew to 4Sound's physical shops in Oslo anyway. @songofthewind's Ricardo Sanchis seems like the type of dark horse I was thinking of. Sounds very interesting. Since they're not readily available in physical shops here, I think we'd better give it a miss under the circumstances. Thanks anyway! It's stored on my HHDD. 😀 BTW, I didn't mention it in the OP, but I'm a fan of Spanish-built guitars of the Camps brand. In fact, I bought a then 300 quid thin Camps that I honestly think is better than my Yamaha CG172 which cost £500 at the time. I'm trying to direct my nephew also towards Camps. They have a line of 4 thin guitars (NAC-1 to NAC-4) that are only 70mm, and that have a lovely sound nevertheless. So, with Alhambra, Camps, Cordoba and Yamaha on the list, I'm very confident my nephew will get a great guitar without shelling out for the CG192. Thanks again!

It's about a guitar for my nephew, who has played before but should be regarded as a beginner. He says budget is roughly three to five hundred quid - - or really below that as seen with a UK perspective, as guitars are more expensive here in Norway. Readily available to test here are the Yamahas CG122 and CG192 nothing inbetween. The 192 is a given, but slightly above budget. I'm a bit sceptical of the 122, but maybe without ground. We can't get Alvarez here, but some C-Series Cordoba are available online. My nephew is probably unable to test and send back, so I'd need to know that they're good compared to Yamaha. Any dark horse I should know about? Oh, preamp or cutaway not demanded, but not a negative either. Thanks! Bert

I hope you did assume that that was exactly why I used it as an example, and yes: top 10 dullest. Nice observation, and a system I will borrow from you if I may. 🙂 Just think of that theme: 5- 1 2 3 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 or similar and variations. Insufferable. Now I think of it, it starts out well enough, and in that capacity even fits the thread a little bit: the opening with the two little streams seems promising... ...but the thread of course was about songs in our own realm, in which case nearly every goddemn synthpop song on the planet fits: it starts out with a nice enough synth intro, and then when they start singing... ...where's the bass guitar? 😡 😁

Wait til you hear "The Moldau" by Smetana. 😉