musophilr

If I had a budget for buying records the loss of record shops would affect me very badly. Once upon a time when I had more money than I knew what to do with I would visit several every week and come out with armfuls from each one. These days I struggle to find money for basics and while I would be saddened to learn of the loss of more record shops, that would be the only effect it had on me. Went into HMV last December. Whatever they'd got, I'd either already got it, or didn't want it. Didn't see a single thing that stirred up the desire for posession. I know it's impossible to stock everything, and some of my tastes must be classed as "niche market" but I really didn't come away thinking that I must return to that shop soon.

[i]Breathless[/i] (Corrs) - audition for a party band on Wednesday. I'm still reading the part for Wonderful Land (got a book with proper dots in ) , and busking for other stuff like [i]Gimme All Your Lovin.[/i]

I guess the other consideration is if the pick is too hard, it'll wear the strings and they're a lot more expensive than picks! Soft brass may still be the best option.

James taylor has great taste in bass players ...

It may seem like an odd thing to raise amongst you bass players, but as a guitarist i've been using the same Dunlop stainless pick for years with no apparent signs of wear. Picks to me are more capital equipment than consumables!

I don't like playing bass with a pick, but I do so because I dislike broken fingernails even more. I like fingerpicking at a guitar (sometimes) and use a plectrum when I'm not fingerpicking so that my nails are preserved for when I really need them. On guitar, my favourite plectrums are Dunlop stainless 0.55mm, but sometimes I use TeckPick brass ones for a slighty mellower sound. I've been using a TeckPick brass pick for bass, but noticed today its point isn't so pointy anymore and the straight bit is getting ground to somewhat of a knife edge. The strings (Picato flatwounds) don't appear to have suffered (yet). I don't mind the sound, but would switch to a different material if anyone could suggest a likewise rigid improvement which still feels slim & flat like the TeckPick.

You can't expect retailers to compete on price or stock diversity with internet sellers. I live out in the sticks and go to big towns as infrequently as possible, hence I'm quite used to ordering consumables online. For major capital spend, I'm quite happy to take a trip to the shop, and I've had excellent service from Jack White's in Ipswich: they couldn't quite match an internet price but they got close.

Picato

Congratulations, Sir, and good luck.

[quote name='grimbeaver' timestamp='1327960111' post='1519647'] an Orange AD200 Mkiii should compliment it well. [/quote] I'm sure it will be very polite and deferential and say nice things to it

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1327930814' post='1518917'] still you have us in suspenders [/quote] Go on, you love it!

[quote name='Jack Cahalane' timestamp='1327790348' post='1516956'] From a guitarist: "I can't play songs x, y and z because I don't know chords and I can't be arsed learning." I thought he was joking. [/quote] Wasn't BB King was it?

Pages are being added to this thread faster than I can read them. Don't you lot have gigs to go to?

Blimey how many strings do you [i]need[/i]? Even with 6 you're covering all of the useful bass register plus going up into treble territory. If you want more why not get a guitar?

Radio 3. The Early Music Show. Highlight of my week.

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1327708563' post='1515864'] Oddly, the new Runrig sound (mid/late 80s) reminded me of old Big Coutry. The circle would appear to be squared. [/quote] I liked Runrig a lot esp. Donnie Munro's singing. Then I heard [i]Everything You See[/i] in which they replaced him with someone who's been to the Bob Dylan school of vocal.

Can I put 2p worth in please? Hearing the pitch often isn't a problem but knowing how to notate the rhythm is. I end up putting the music into Sibelius and if it doesn't play back right then I've written it wrong, and have to nobble what I've written until it plays back right.

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1327668003' post='1515032'] Hmmm, doesn't happen to be Andy Powell's Wishbone Ash, does it? [/quote] I was beginning to think that! BTW Martin Turner did get a bright crunchy sound out of his T-bird. Try digging out some old pix of their backline and see if you can get what he was using?

[quote name='Austin7' timestamp='1327623036' post='1514538'] I can't say that I know why so many musicians want to be quantifiable, although it does appear to be somewhat of a trend. Personally, I refuse to bow to the bitch goddess of quantification. [/quote] Isn't it [i]zeitgeist[/i]? We need "bits of paper" for everything these days. While there are some that don't give a stuff about grades so long as you can play there are others with whom you won't get a look-in unless you can flash the "relevant" qualification.

I feel convinced by the MUs arguments for having Partnership Agreements. Even in a covers band you need to protect your instrument and backline against alleged band debt. Has anyone been faced with band members who won't go along with it? What did you do? EDIT: I once asked someone I agreed to set up a duo with to sign one. The answer was a flat refusal with a "Youre saying you don't trust me" attitude. We never played together again.

Bass players aren't alone in this. Guitarists are measured by the size of their widdle, not by the musicality of their playing. Perhaps this is because the size or speed of widdle is easier to quantify than "musicality". I guess drummers do it too: I remember the title of a spiel in Melody Maker in which Ringo explained "why I don't want to play like Buddy Rich". Given that Ringo contributed what was just right to the Beatles without needing Buddy's technique, it was probably fair comment.

Jeff Berlin Jack Bruce Lee Sklar Bert Ruiter Doug Ferguson in no particular order

[quote name='deepbass5' timestamp='1327516847' post='1512792'] Can't add much more. [size=4]But my own observation when [b]trying[/b] to play his lines, was how many open strings he used, this enabled him to play his trademark boiling, bubbling bass phrases at speed. So it seemed to me he brought all his upright bass techniques into play. As I have approached the bass avoiding open notes as much as possible I found this really difficult. So my suggestion is to explore how much his upright bass playing defined his Motown contribution[/size] [/quote] Excellent observation, Sir. I always wondered how he did it.

hear this, ignore my "categorisation", and decide for yourselves what to call it [url="http://soundcloud.com/phil-aka-pip/"]http://soundcloud.com/phil-aka-pip/[/url] ... ... and if it's negatively charged, pleez don't tell anyone else!

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1327451233' post='1511651'] The space in between frets on the bass guitar does mean that beginners learning scales will be subject to an unnatural amount of stretching in the hand, but initially this should be compensated by choosing to learn finger-per-fret patterns higher up the neck, say on the 8th fret of your E string © to avoid wrist pain and then to creep down the neck as the hand begins to adapt. I find that position playing from both bass and guitar are easily transferrable as concepts, but the approach to touch with each instrument should be compensated for with good technique. I would argue there are more subtleties dynamically to be had from playing electric guitar than bass, depending on what music you're playing. But bass and guitar's close relation to each other means that the underlying concepts of position playing remain very similar, until you run up against the major 3rd interval that gets thrown up with the G and the B on guitar. [/quote] Thank you, that's helpful.