shizznit

The MCPS license is really important to me as I write a lot of music in the dance industry. With every release about 4 or 5 official remixes of my song is released by other producers at the same time. But, I recently had a dispute with a DJ in Japan that remixed and released a song that I jointly own with the producer onto a compilation album for digital download without our consent. He was pocketing the sales and airplay royalties. It has taken a few months to resolve, but it has been settled without having to use lawyers, the label are now channeling the royalties to the copyright owners and the DJ in question has apologised for causing the fuss. We're happy, even though sales haven't been great anyway! MCPS helped us all the way and it didn't cost us a penny in legal fees. The MCPS as a body are very good at protecting you both as a songwriter and performer and they give very good advice when you need it. Anyone that wants to make a few quid in this very legally complicated industry needs to be registered with MCPS. PRS doesn't give you much legal protection. PRS pays you the money...MCPS makes sure that you get what should rightly come to you by law. Also, it helps to stop folks illegally selling or broadcasting your live performances. Even if you don't own the copyright to a piece of music but have performed on it you still have some legal protection too. I encourage anyone who wants to earn a few quid releasing their own music to sign up the MCPS. Once someone has a copy of your music and whatever their intentions are for it is beyond your control. If you don't have any legal protection over it you could lose money that should rightly be yours.

The relic market is making me giggle lately. I admit, I thought it was pretty cool when the trend started a few years ago, but the novelty has really worn off for me and now you are seeing folks taking cheap low quality guitars, applying a sander to the finish, hitting it a few times with a hammer, leaving the hardware outside in the rain for a couple of days, put it all back together and then attempt to sell it for twice the price of what it should be worth in mint condition. Really??

Cosmic Shopping Trolley

This is another classic 'subjective' BC thread! No-one is right or wrong here. I personally like a full and thumpy Hofner Violin bass tone, a bright and scooped Ken Smith tone and everything else in between. I listen to music ranging from folk to dub step. Its all good. Every type of bass tone serves a purpose. You don't have to like it...you don't even have to listen to it, but goodness sake don't get upset about it!

Whichever name you decide to go for, make sure its really silly. Its the law for funk bands!

[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' timestamp='1365579101' post='2041197'] Shizznit - what cable do you use from your amp to A/D converter? Jack to XLR? [/quote] I use a high quality XLR to XLR going into my Focusrite Saffire Pro 40. Its better practice to record with a balanced DI signal from your amp as you get less interference through the cable and the lower impedance gives you a better signal to your A/D convertor. I also use an AudioFire 2 portable A/D convertor when I am out and about with my Mac Book Pro. Its about the size of a cigarette packet...its awesome! Being that small, it only has two stereo line in channels that use jack inputs and no XLR input. XLR to jack works just as well with a high quality lead. You can use your effects send or line out channel using a jack to jack cable from your amp, but you might find yourself cranking the channel input gain on your A/D convertor to boost the signal which may become noisy by the time you get to your recording app. You can still get a result, but life is so much easier using a DI signal.

I always DI from my amp direct to my A/D convertor. I set the amps gain just below clipping, turn off the inbuilt compressor, set the EQ flat and turn off any pre-shape filters, make sure the A/D convertor input signal is not clipping and go for a test take. I then listen back and make sure the recording level is not clipping. Once I am happy that I have the optimum gain levels on the amp, A/D convertor and software I go for it. Very simple. No matter if I am using Logic or GarageBand I always use this method. Mic'ing is ok if you have a good quality mic and understanding neighbours, but you might find the speaker a bit too hissy. Bass cabs can be swines for that. I choose the cleaner route...partly because I prefer it, but mostly because I live in a flat! My neighbours get upset when I record an electronic drum kit for goodness sake! But, if you can mic up your amp try running both a DI track and a mic'd track simultaneously. It's nice to have the option of choosing which track sounds better and is easier to work with at the mix down. The amp sims in GarageBand and Logic are ok for quick and basic results, I will always choose to record via a good quality amp over the sims. I have tried my best to make them work for me for occasions when I am in a rush and not faff around with a real amp, but I have never got on with them. Even for demos and songwriting sketching I am quite fussy about my bass tone, so I do put in a bit more effort than I should even for basic stuff. It's a curse at times!

I agree with most of what has been posted about what phrasing is in a musical sense. One guy I have enjoyed listening to lately that has great phrasing is Janek Gwizdala. http://youtu.be/ae2CTHdQZMg

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1365512845' post='2040507'] Sometimes you have to rely on the PA company that is provided or recommended. If you've driven 400 miles to do a gig, and people have paid 10 or 15 quid for a ticket, you're hardly going to get back in the van and drive home. You just have to get on with it. [/quote] Spot on. Your job is on the stage. What happens off it is out of your control and trust that everyone else involved do their job to the best of their abilities. Do as much as you can to make other people's jobs easier and more pleasant whilst doing yours. Beyond that, put in a good performance and the make sure the punters have enjoyed their evening. Any moans and groans can be reserved for the trip back home.

The post EQ on my EBS amps sound pretty good through a quality FOH, plus the speaker sim feature is handy. But, I always leave the final decision to go post or pre to the engineer. It's that old chestnut of the engineers only wanting to hear a low rumble in the mix and call it a bass guitar. I don't take that view. Sometimes its the technology on hand and the bass player themselves making life difficult. Venue acoustics aside, the simple fact is that a mixing desk and a set of FOH cabs is not a bass amp and will never sound as good as standing a few feet away from your rig on stage. 10-15yrs ago I didn't really care if my DI was sent to FOH pre or post EQ because it would have ended up sounding pretty crap anyway, but improvements in speaker technology and developments in digital mixers and power amps...even acoustic dampening has helped to give a more transparent footprint of what's is happening on stage. I am finding that experienced engineers are switching to post EQ DI feeds more so these days. But, I think that I get away with it because I run my amps EQ's quite flat which does make it easier to EQ and mix from the desk. If you like your EQ with huge sweeps and cuts across the spectrum you might find that the engineer will go pre EQ as your signal will drive the gain path on the mixer crazy and is very difficult to work with. It's a fine balancing act between what you want to hear on stage and what you want the punters to hear. Don't be afraid to work with the engineer and get them to listen to your onstage tone. Any engineer that takes their job seriously will spend the time to do that (if they do have the time available) and think of a solution to accurately represent you through the FOH as best they can.

I own VW Golf, but I blag my folks Ford Focus when the misus needs the Golf...both are brilliant for taking a large load. I can fit an EBS Proline 212 and 210 cab, EBS TD650 head, two basses in hard cases, two large sports bags full of leads and stuff, pedal board and stands. All inside with room to spare and I can still carry a passenger. Pretty impressive.

I play with three fingers, but not in the same way that Steve Harris does it...that galloping triplet style. I try to keep the rhythm consistent for fast playing or doing crescendo. I developed a weird triplet ghost note technique a few years back for funky rhythms which sounds pretty cool too.

Phil Kubicki and Ned Steinberger really pushed technology and innovation in the 80's and 90's. I'm gutted to hear about Phil's passing. One of the gems in the industry no longer with us. Very sad. RIP.

I had 3 Eggles in the late 90's. A Berlin Pro, LA Pro and LA Standard. I used those before I could afford a PRS and the build quality, tone and comfort was on par with the PRS guitars I bought. Looking back, I should have probably stuck with the Eggles as I felt I spent more money on the PRS's without much gain. Lovely guitars and the 2nd hand market for them these days is surprisingly good value for money. Patrick Eggle made a couple of bad business decisions during the peak of their success which soon led to a stop in production. It was nice to see the brand back in business a few years ago, but I still feel a bit gutted that they are only focussing on acoustic instruments now.

The bass is being assembled. Jon has to install the brass nut, finish off the hardware, complete the final electronics testing and set up the instrument to my liking. Almost done! New pics of the bass will be with me very soon and I will post them as soon as I get the email. Jon tells me he picked up a nasty injury a couple of months ago involving the planer. Ouch! It's back on the mend, but he was restricted to lighter less physical jobs until recently. He's a lucky man. That machine can easily remove a digit or two in a blink on an eye. Even though the bass will be completed pretty soon I probably won't take delivery until June/July. I will be in and out of the country over the next couple of months combined with a house move whilst I am away. I would prefer to take delivery in person whilst all this chaos happens and drive up to Sheffield to visit Jon and pick up the bass instead it being shipped during the house move. Bit of a bummer as I would like to have the bass the day after its completed, but I have been patient since I ordered the bass. An extra couple of months is not going to kill me!

Thinking about going back to wireless for an upcoming band project, but not sure what to go for. I stopped using them a while back because I spent a lot of money switching from system to system and not ending up with a result that I was happy with. Everything I used sounded squishy and compressed. I know of a few guitarists that switched to the Line 6 Relay system and swear by it, but I don't know of any bass players that use it. Does anyone use that system? Does it work for bass as well as it does for guitar or should I just stick to being hard wired?

This is the stage that has always put me off about doing a home build myself. I wouldn't have a clue how to do a finish!

My guitar player suffers from cramp a lot and he makes sure that he drinks plenty of fluids that contains high sodium and potassium an hour or two before a performance. I think he drinks a combination of Lucozade and that bright blue drink that Coke does (I forget the name). It seems to really help since he began drinking that stuff over a year ago. But, he did consult a doctor first to make sure it was just muscle cramp or perhaps CTS. Eating a banana or drinking a hydration beverage doesn't fix CTS and you can do further damage if you don't treat it medically before the injury becomes permanent.

I have only ever played in one covers band in my 18yrs of bass playing and thats the one I currently play for. Never interested me up until 4yrs ago. But, I love the music that we play and the musicians I work with play to a high standard and its a pleasure to go out there and earn a few quid as a bonus. The shocking thing for me is that I actually earn more money playing in a covers band than I did when I was a signed artist struggling to buy a can of baked beans after I got back home from a tour. I still write and publish my own music, but I mostly work in the dance industry these days whereby my releases are played by a DJ and I am not required to play live much. So, playing for a covers band fills that gap quite nicely. At 34, I'm still a young guy and there is no reason why I can't pursue a career with a live band again with their own songs, but I am at that age whereby record labels are not interested in greying, balding, fat musicians with a sensible hair cut and a bad back, wearing clothes bought from H&M that pay a mortgage and has family responsibilities. Its a young mans game for new artists...always has been, always will be. Playing for a covers band is a lot of fun and I have complete control over what I do and how far I want to take it without having management pushing all the wrong buttons and taking my hard earned money.

I have done a few styles...here's my musical journey in order... Grunge (as a guitar player) Acid Jazz Indie Metal Hip-Hop Dub Step Folk Funk, Soul and Gospel (on current projects) There are lots of other styles I would like to cover like Latin Jazz, Reggae, Punk and maybe even Metal again, but I am very happy where I am musically at the moment.

I like using P's...nothing else sounds like them, but I don't enjoy playing them standing up. The body feels cumbersome to me and I am not a fan of the necks. I am always on the hunt for an old P with a J neck. I have come across a couple in recent years, but nothing that has flick my switch yet.

Agents are much like promoters and to a certain extent...managers too. There are good ones out there and bad ones too. Ditch this one, move on until you find an agent that you like working with and doesn't ruin your chances playing at key venues.