P-T-P

As much as I can see where people who think that a metronome can be quite clinical are coming from, I think perhaps, as others have said, it's a case of the metronome not being used correctly that's the problem. The clicks are a reference point. Playing along with a metronome should be about how you fill and/or not fill the spaces between the clicks and how you learn to control where you place your notes in relationship to the beat. It also encourages you to open your ears to and pay attention to another sound source while playing. By gaining control of your internal clock and increasing your ability to hear outside what you are playing, when the time comes to be playing with other musicians, you're going to be better prepared to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of your fellow musician's time-keeping so that the overall output is that little more coherent or that the "locked-in" sensation is reached that much quicker. I have a drummer friend who is a slave to the metronome. He can do amazing things in all sorts of weird time signatures... when playing solo. Put him in a band and he is completely void of feel and speeds up, slows down comepletely randomly because he hasn't go that crutch he's so used to. He is a great example of metronome taken too far. I sat down with him and a metronome clicking 1/4 notes and said, "Can you hear it swinging?" and he looked at me like I had 10 heads. I was talking in conceptual terms of course, but it illustrates the point of using a metronome as a springboard. On the flip side, the guitarist in my band has played for 30 odd years and never rehearsed with a metronome. He will tell you that he listens to the drummer for his time cues. This is a lie. He is in his own little world and doesn't listen to anyone until he notices that something is seriously odd about what's being played and then goes around the houses and finally realises it's him! Unless he is being hit over the head with the beat, he wouldn't have a clue it was there. He also plays way ahead of the beat and just can't adjust from that place at all. He is a nightmare to record. I think if you dismiss the metronome completely you are just making it harder to get to the final goal of a coherent performance. I think if you get four musicians who regularly use the metronome as a guide and then another four who subscribe to the "I have my own sense of time" school of thought and ask each group to put together a performance of the same song, all other things being equal, time and again the metronomophiles will get there quicker. If you asked a guitarist, bassist, singer and pianist to learn a tune they are all familiar with but have never actually worked out, independently of each other and with no score, chord charts, cd etc. for reference - i.e. to work it out by ear - what are the chances that, when you put the four of them together, they'll all start off playing in the same key? We wouldn't dream of being that casual with the melodic quality of the notes we play, why are people content to allow the rhythmic quality to be left entirely to chance?

For me the single biggest difference to my playing has only come about in the last couple of years (of the 20 or so since I started out). Playing in covers bands has improved my ear training so much. It was the one thing that no amount of studying ever improved. As a result, I can now make my bass say what I want it to say, what the song needs to have said by the bass etc. with much more consistency and confidence. Rather than working out a part and reciting it, I now feel I'm much more connected to the songs, my bandmates and our audience on a much more profound level. In a funny way, it's made me want to get back into some original stuff, not as an antedote to covers, but because playing covers has made me much more capable of having something interesting to say.

No mention of budgets so it's a bit hard to be specific, but I reckon second hand is gonna be the way to go. Get the best you can afford at as keen a price you can (should be easy at the moment 'cause loads of selling and not a lot of buying), that way if you hate the whole concept you can sell it on without losing the chunk of cash you would lose if you were to buy a new bass. You'll always be able to sell a Fender V string, though I have to sa that personally I've never got on with them because there's not enough taper in the neck and the strings are too close together. Best transition from 4 to 5 bass is, I think, any of the Lakland 5's out there. Look hard enough and you'll find a 55-01 for somewhere between £350 and £450 and they are a cracking bass which will sell on relatively easily if you don't take to it. Also can't really go wrong with a Yamaha TRB5 pr indeed some of their other 5s. I seem to recall the G5 being a particularly nice bass that often crops up on eBay for £250 or less. I haven't played one, but I've heard good things about the Ibanez BTB basses and I think I'm right in saying that the neck on OldGit's Shuker P5 was actual modelled on the neck of a BTB5 (though I could have got that entirely wrong, there was curious infusing occuring in the "teapot" my cup was replenished from during my visit).

"Adam pretended he could play and used words like 'gig' and talked about things like 'action' on the bass and we thought 'this is a guy who can play!' He was a liar. He actually couldn't play a note. Dave was just playing away on the acoustic and people just kept on coming up and saying 'there's something wrong' and we couldn't figure out what it was until suddenly we thought — It's Adam! Adam can't play. He had his own distinctive style from the start — at first it was called BLUFF, but then it began to work." - Bono on Mr. Clayton "Actually '78 was a really exciting time for U2. We had just discovered F sharp minor. So we had the fourth chord " - Bono

Using a 121P, won't likely ever use anything else. Must admit, I DI into the PA, but only so we can keep stage volumes down for the benefit of overall FOH sound quality. The combo doesn't need the help, there is masses of volume to spare.

Shaun bought my ODB-3, a pleasure to do business with.

Mike bought my Micro QTron, very easy transaction.

They've been sued for or accused of plagarism many times but as I understand it, only once succesfully. After BOSS got uppity, they made one minor change to the casing design and that was that. Apparently the gubbins inside was very different from the BOSS pedals. Behringer have been given a bit of a rough ride IMHO.

I'm using a BBE Opto Stomp which I bought on eBay from these people [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BBE-Opto-Stomp-stomp-box-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ320186986079QQihZ011QQcategoryZ22669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BBE-Opto-Stomp-stomp...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] It's a very nice set and forget compressor which does everything I want a compressor to do and nothing I don't - it just smooths everything out nicely. If you want something that can add some tonal colouration, worth looking out for the Tech 21 compressor that's now been discontinued (forget what it was called).

I bought 5 of these. Was a bit worried they'd be fakes or seconds but all 5 appear to be the genuine article, new and in good working order. The postage price is a bit of a rip off and the seller didn't use Royal Mail next day (though they arrived within a couple of days), but when it was all added up a total bargain.

I'm with the nay-sayers on this one. Get out of the deal somehow if you still can because I'd put good money on it that it is not a Fender jazz bass. There's no binding on the neck at all and, unless there's a custom shop job I'm not aware of, the block inlays are always accompanied by white or black binding around the edge of the fingerboard. The control knobs are not typical Fender ones and I don't think Fender have or ever had a "Made in China" line, at least not with a Fender logo on them (some of the Squiers were made there I think). May just be a trick of the light, but the distance between the 17th and 18th frets looks wider than the one between the 16th and 17th frets. I'd make an excuse, apologise profusely and maybe offer to cover the eBay fees, but I wouldn't send £260 for it. You could get a genuine Fender, Mexican at least maybe even MIJ, second hand for that kinda money, either from someone here or even on eBay.

How about the Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat? I used to back a Sheryl Crow tribute and bought one of these for when Shezza took the bass reins 'cause it looked the part (Crow uses a Guild M85). It was actually a really lovely bass that I totally wish I still had. Light as a feather, great tone and easy playing plus it looks fantastic.

I can totally relate to the "feeling fake" thing. Have had a number of vintage RI basses and as amazing as they were I always felt something missing. One had been refinished in a gorgeous gold, but because the refin wasn't an exact match for either of the two Fender golds, it bothered me no end. On the placebo front, I run the PA for the band and our guitarist always, without fail, barks a request for some (pretentious) alteration to the tone on his vocal mic - "bit more upper mids" kinda thing. Unless there is something clearly wrong, I usually just pretend to twiddle a control and wait for him to say, "Yeah that's better." Works every time, even though about a year ago I told him that's what I do most of the time lol

At what point do you stop being a hobbyist and start being a semi-pro? Our house insurance is due up in a month or two and this seems very attractive but I gig and get paid for it once or twice a week?

I would have to say it's this kind of situation that makes me get militant. Clearly the problem was the guitarists new amps, but the bass player gets blamed and worse, feels the need to go spend hard earned wad on something he didn't need. Dunno how many gigs you've done as a band but if it's more than a couple you should have just pointed out that your bass wasn't an issue at those gigs and that they should perhpas consider the possibility that it's the Marshall's that are the problem. Anyway, who's up for us bass players going on strike every time a guitarist is the cause of a problem in a live situation? We could have a number to call and we'll just collectively down-tools in the middle of our Saturday night gigs at stadiums, constitutional clubs and pub back rooms.

Fender Mark Hoppus P-Basses are a JB body with a single P-Bass pup (SD 1/4 lb) and a P-Bass neck and Badass bridge. Were made in a variety of bright colours (shell pink, surf green etc.) Fender Mike Dirnt P-Bass. '51 style P-body and scratchplate, tele type headstock, Badass bridge. Either of the above are probably gonna be easy enough to pick-up on e-Bay for around the £300 mark. Ibanez Destroyer - enormous explorer type body with a P pick-up (think some, or maybe all had a J in the bridge too). A difficult SH find but won't cost the earth either. I think Epiphone made a non-reverse Thunderbird that had a PJ configuration. I forget what the necks were like, but maybe a Westone Thunder? BC Rich probably made something that would be up your street too if you're looking for something a bit different. Lakland made this [url="http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/equipment/bass/equip-entwistlegear-endorsements.html#lakland"]http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/equipment/ba...ts.html#lakland[/url] shame it never reached production..'