BassTractor

Oh. Didn't notice that. In that case: Paul McCartney! Aye, but as long as it's just a giggle, I have a hard time understanding how it could be interesting. We'd basically name any of the well-known artists that clearly have one form of talent, and that's it. The moment we do try to answer the impossible question however, it becomes interesting right away. I don't have the answer or any answer, BTW; but I do have a story that proves it's not me: Through the years, I've been in discussion with several of my composition teachers, where the pattern was that they were negative towards popular music whilst I talked warmly about it. One day I used the argument over all arguments (or so I thought), when stating: "Listen, I've loved your music since I was a kid. I must be very musical, so give me some credit when I say that there's a lot of value in at least parts of popular music." He simply stated: "I'm more musical than you."

Hehe. Your language. Wiktionay taught me that regatta (the regular one with 1 'g' ) not only means boat races, but also striped cotton fabric. BTW, back then people did say the album title was a loose playing with the words "reggae by whites", but I've never seen any confirmation by a Police bandmember. I'd guess people just invented a likely interpretation in their heads, and spread it. As to Sting, I've always been impressed with his choice of notes and rhythms in the bass parts, as well as with the combination of his playing and his singing. Also, The Police to me are a prime example of what you can get out of a trio with just one guitar and one bass. Highly impressed - for four decades now.

Nonsense! It means a white cotton fabric with white stripes.

Aye, and I think everyone understands. I even think that the unspoken premise of the whole thread is that we know about reality. But the question in the thread title was "who would you most have enjoyed playing bass with", and then we answer that - each in our own way. People not mentioning they need to make money does not mean they're unaware. That said, and as an example: My own making money off music has been through teaching on all different levels, from total beginners to post graduates. Even before going to music college I started and ran a music school so as to see whether I could bear living as a music teacher. You see, I'd noticed a pattern: most musicians started at music college with an idea of being a world star, and most of them wound up as frustrated music teachers. I didn't want to be like them. My gig work has cost more than it brought in, and I've been rigid about choosing gigs with near total freedom. Most of my gigs in fact haven't even been paid gigs, but the experience of working with all kinds of musicians - literally from beginners to world famous people - has been most rewarding. Making very little money off teaching has just been part of the investment and lifestyle. For me, playing with artists of all calibers has indeed been all fun and games, so Zappa wouldn't even have to pay me (but please don't tell him or the family trust ).

It needs to be fun, varied and demanding/giving enough every single night, so for me personally this band would need a huge song base too. Living Colour for example must have bored themselves to near suicide whilst repeating the same few songs live for decades. Zappa would probably be it for me.

Chris Squier never warranted a signature bass! Sorry. Somebody had to, I gathered.

Actually, people who can write hit classics are ten-a-penny, and that's why there are millions of hit classics on this planet. People like Bach, Mozart and Penderecki are extremely rare. Me, I love thousands of hit classics, and my iPod is filled to the rim with stuff you might appreciate - ranging from death metal to Spice Girls to Beatles to Prince to the Dixie Dregs and other already mentioned artists. However, the hit classics seldomly have been written by the most talented musicians ever, which is what the thread was about. I still love them and appreciate these songs for what they are. I do not need to dream up myths about them in order for them to become valuable enough. For example, I love the Beatles and have every album from Rubber Soul and on - but one. Paul McCartney still ain't no Bach. BTW, there's this little quick-and-dirty litmus test: ask Penderecki and McCartney to analyse and critique each other's work... You'll soon find that Penderecki immediately sees the strenghts and weaknesses of Sir Paul's output, where Sir Paul will not be able to even start analysing Penderecki's work. Yes, I'm aware that that is not of value to you. Your story is somewhat more like this: if by a weird coincidence a newborn child cries loudly and it somehow becomes a hit classic, then this newborn child is mentioned by at least 5 of the random people you stop in the street, and this newborn child then logically is way more talented than Penderecki ever was... I call BS. Sorry about that. Actually, in any part of life, I am always open for any criticism. You and I have never met, and I do not expect you to believe me, but what counts to me is trying to find something that has some value and some truth, and I like to find this stuff in a (fighting if need) collaboration with other minds. If that truth reveals my weaknesses, then I've learnt something and have received a clue as to what I need to work on. Criticise me all you want, but I do prefer it when people who criticise me base their input on facts and reasonable analysis. My calling people clueless may have been misguided, but does not come from a vacuum. It stems in part from some form of truth (Paul McCartney is a talented person who has written many songs that the general public can love (me included) but not more than that, and in 300 years he'll not have the status that Bach and the like will still have), and it also stems from observing the loudmouths on this planet for six decades and seeing how badly they treat the talents on this planet - talents who often accept this maltreatment in silence because they understand how the talentless function. When I wrote my above post, I was a bit fed up, and also remembered another thread that I sadly couldn't find and link to. I was unsure whether I should post, but the being fed up won. Your remark about my social calibration is the typical use-of-hastily-found-stick that I'm not too enthusiastic about (not that it was a particularly heavy stick).

Thanks, Dad. I was gonna like that, but computer says no. ("Sorry, you cannot add any more reactions today." - an unexpected feature of the new feature.)

That's a nonsensical, illogical stance though. But I give you that if you stop 10 random people on the street, at least 5 will agree with you. In the real world however, the most talented musician most probably (almost but not wholly by definition) will be known by, and understood by, very few. The moment you people want to educate your kids, and think that newborn babies have little knowledge, is the moment your popular view has become a falsehood. Cue the Triangle of Knowledge. People who think that Paul McCartney is the most talented musician ever simply have no clue, and when they attack people like me for being condescending, they are in fact being arrogant themselves. It's the Dunning-Kruger effect at large.

I'd agree that Bach must have been at least one of the most musically talented musicians ever, but as to improvising fugues, that's actually an ability that he shared with thousands of others - not me, btw, but I do know a guy who, already as an organ student, could do it and make it all the way through the stretto at the end - the very place where most of us students would stumble and fail. That said, Bach was huge - almost otherworldly. Though I do not really know how much of that was talent and how much was hard work, I do feel that only a combination of both can lead to this enormous quality over such a long career.

In that case: NO! In other cases: YES! It really started when I heard "Dear Father" (IMS originally a non-album single B-side) on the radio and later rejected their first album because there was too much singing (!) on it, but it exploded when I listened to "Roundabout" in a record shop. This was before the album came out. THAT BASS PART! That sound! Those arrangements! That song altogether! Later that year I bough "Fragile" without even listening to it first (a rare occurrence). After all it had "Roundabout". Yes taught me there was good music outside classical music, and they changed me forever.

Jaco was a great player in every meaning of the word, and also released some stinky poo. Gentle Giant were a great band who also released some stinky poo. Zappa was a great musician who also released some stinky poo. Etc. etc. I think you get my drift. I believe the story that Jaco changed the bass world, and at any rate he turned me towards jazzrock and jazz. Thanks, Jaco!

Your OP does not mention whether you've already visited a site called basschat.co.uk where there actually is a forum section for gear, in which a forum called "Bass Guitars" contains dozens or even hundreds of treads were all the info on the 4H is readily available. Other than that, it's reported to sound closer to a StingRay, and the H pup is indeed positioned in the StingRay spot. Somehow, the back of my mind seems to tell me the 4H does not have the 4-band EQ, but I'm sure someone will correct me if that is wrong.

Calling Discreet! Calling Discreet! Can Discreet come to the backdoor please?

The Kronos would easily drive even a 600 Ohm version, (like they have for the DTX 880) and if your other units have similar headphone outputs (most oftenly with 6 mm jacks), then the 250 Ohm one would be best as to impedance matching. However, extensive tests I read about all Beyerdynamic models in this range (770, 880 and 990 in all of their impedance guises) indicated that the story doesn't end there, and the different impedance versions have different types of sound they thrive most with - sometimes making an impedance mismatch a reasonable option. These tests are on the web, but I couldn't find my link right now. Personally, and broadly speaking, I'd only go for a low impedance one if a battery operated unit like a mobile phone has to drive it. Normally, headphones like that would already come with small jack plugs as standard - normally 3.5 mm, but once I had one with a 2.5 mm jack plug. I'll update if I find the link.

Great song, innit. I love it too - still now, 42 years later. It's one of those poppy pop songs that are actually well-crafted, but sadly it's one of only two songs that I know by this band that I do like. Its original Dutch version, called "Dinge-dong" seems slightly better to me in a musical sense, but the pronunciation of its Dutch lyrics is more than slightly cringeworthy to me. I guess Brits cringe at the English lyrics version. My own nadir-of-musical-career must be the large amount of Shadows songs that I had to play in a band - right until we stopped our guitarist. BTW, co-incidentally, The Shadows became runners-up to Teach-In in the 1975 Eurovision Contest. Whodathought!

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1509762039' post='3401519'] the youth today have no sense of history, they know nothing about the past. They think Beiber invented music. [/quote] No, Biber invented the one-man submarine. Get your historical facts straight, man! Obligatory disclaimer: No Biber invented any submarine to my knowledge. The "Biber" submarine got its name after the german word for "beaver". I guess It's a reasonable name for a narrow tube shaped object with space inside for only one man.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1507910942' post='3388779'] I love my windows phone (I know I am in a minority of one) but if you like apps it's almost useless. Basic stuff is good but for anything else the iPad comes out. [/quote] You obviously need to get [i][b]in[/b][/i] more and read BassChat, as several of us have spoken very highly of (their) Windows phones. But you're right of course. Microsoft either never believed in their own system, or made a grave mistake somewhere on the line, as almost every conceivable app comes either for IOS (music related apps!) only or for IOS and Android only. Gareth, as said by the others: IOS for music apps; there's no way around it. On IOS, the Korg iKaossilator loop synth app does have an XY-pad like a Kaoss, and IMHO is great. The Moog Animoog is a great synth and IIRC it too spawns an XY-pad. Many other great synths exist, like the Odyssei (sic!) and every other Korg app as well as the Sunrizer and others. As to effect pedals and amp modelling, I've used AmpKit+. They had these special offers all the time so you could buy bundles of pedals and amps cheaply. Dunno if a Kaoss Pad effects app is available for IOS.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1507244557' post='3384282'] If that's fat, I'm in trouble. [/quote] You [b]are[/b] in trouble, but not because of [b]that[/b], cos [b]that[/b] is Robbie Fripp and it's me who's fat and 61.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1507236325' post='3384211'] We have a rule in our band, more of a law actually. No hats and no waistcoats. Nothing screams "Late middle aged rocker" more than those two items. And yes I am 65, and bald. [/quote] True dat. (61 and bald... and fat)

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1505966011' post='3375513'] He has headstocks. He has all the best headstocks. Personally I think it's a great design. It's great. Great. [/quote] I believe you! Edit to add that he's making headstocks great again.

Nice intro to the instruments (which is what the site really is about), and I learnt new stuff right away. Thanks for posting!

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1505286087' post='3370680'] How do your balls rest sideways? [/quote] Wot? Are you saying it's NOT the double-U in the Average White Band?

Best bass line ever? Hard to choose, as I think there's a place for all three types (braid, fluorocarbon and monofilament). Aw, c'mon! Somebody had to!

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1504910219' post='3368326'] Ford Taunus in the vid? [/quote] Yup! In this case probably the 20M RS coupé. Did some of them make it to the UK?