peteb

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1358803596' post='1945447'] I'm going to be auditioning for a blues band in a couple of weeks - I've always wanted to play some blues seriously and I'm pretty stoked about it to be honest, but... I've been told that (and I believe it) blues is all about the feel - you need to immerse yourself in plenty of blues music to get with the feel. So, does anyone have any recommendations about what to put on my Ipod to make up a 'classics blues' song list? Obviously I have some, but any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Oh, and any hints and tips about blues playing would be great too [/quote] [color=#222222]What type of blues? Trad Chicago blues, modern blues rock, funky type stuff??[/color] [color=#222222]I started playing in a blues band about three years or so ago having never really played blues before and I got there pretty quickly by listening to the Paul Rodgers’ Muddy Water Blues album as well as a lot of SRV & Walter Trout (in fact, if you really learn Muddy Water Blues back to front you will be well equipped to play most types of blues). I found it easier to listen to a lot of modern stuff as opposed to the old masters, mainly because it is easier to hear the bass player and the arrangements tend to be a bit tighter. [/color] [color=#222222]Good luck, there are lots of great gigs in the UK blues world if you put a bit of effort in and are prepared to travel…..[/color]

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1358779157' post='1944813'] I'm sure that there are Fenders out there that have issues---they are mass produced instruments, after all---but I honestly think that some people are imagining QC faults that, well, aren't, and are just parroting things they've read on the internet. I'm not sure that a neck pocket gap is necessarily a bad thing. It [b]may[/b] be, but you should judge a bass by picking it up and playing it, not looking at it and thinking "oh, neck pocket gap, must be crap". [/quote] Well if I see a neck pocket gap I think "well that is not going to do much for the sustain" and "if it is that badly built, what else is likely to be wrong with it"? I used to own a P bass with a serious neck pocket gap issue and I have seen plenty of other ones! The Fender I currently own has a perfect neck pocket, but the factory installed bridge was not put on straight (since replaced). I think that some people are in denial here - I have never seen a Musicman with similar issues (nor a Lakland or a Warwick, etc).....

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1358711354' post='1943897'] The majority of the world's iconic basslines were played on Fenders. Some of them probably had BBoT bridges, three-bolt neck joints and gappy neck pockets. [/quote] [color=#222222]Surely that’s the point - Fender make [b]the [/b]most iconic bass guitars, both in terms of sound and looks! Most bass guitar sounds are described in terms of either Precision or Jazz basses and there is something about them (looks, etc) that is just very cool![/color] [color=#222222][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"] [/size][/font][/color] [color=#222222]However, most devotees see their faults and outdated design features as being positive qualities (a bit like Harley riders in the motorcycle world). I would suggest that many builders do Fender better than the original (Lakland et al) and I can’t see why Fender can’t improve their QC and build quality to match their competitors. After all, Musicman seem to manage it ok…![/color] [color=#222222][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"] [/size][/font][/color] [color=#222222]Of course, none of this matters at all and people will obviously just play whatever they want to and the attraction of the Fender brand is a strong one. But this is a forum for discussing bass guitars and it is inevitable that people will talk about the pros and cons of the most iconic brand of bass guitar of all i.e. Fender…..[/color]

I would be tempted to keep looking for something a bit better quality than the Behringer.....

[color=#222222][quote name='urb' timestamp='1358244953' post='1935295'] I worked in the (once) large HMV in Oxford for two years and was the buyer for the 'specialities' section which had a huge jazz range alongside country, folk, world, soundtracks and other stuff - but then I had a chance to work for a music dotcom in 1999 and went for an interview and got the job. I told one of the (arrogant) regional manager's who would swan around the shop once a month (swaggering about like he was a frigging rock star) that I'd got a job on a music website and his immediate response, with a sneering laugh was; "what the internet? that's rubbish..." Well this seems to tallying exactly with the views of the MD as per the above article: [i]"The three greatest threats to HMV are, online retailers, downloadable music and supermarkets discounting loss leader product". [/i] [i]Suddenly I realised the MD had stopped the meeting and was visibly angry:[/i] [i][i]"I have never heard such rubbish", he said, "I accept that supermarkets are a thorn in our side but not for the serious music, games or film buyer and as for the other two, I don't ever see them being a real threat, downloadable music is just a fad and people will always want the atmosphere and experience of a music store rather than online shopping."[/i][/i] It is sad but their business model and their arrogance (like all old school record labels who had it good for so long) they got complacent and then failed to act quick enough when the tide turned against them - the music industry and music fans have changed forever now and while I love going to a good record shop but increasingly artists/bands are getting really good at selling merchandise directly to fans at gigs and that really is the way it's going. If you want to actually buy music (which I still do quite a lot actually) then there's no excuse - it's all there at your finger tips. [/quote][/color] [color=#222222]Yea, absolutely right![/color] [color=#222222]When I was a teenager I used to hang out with my mates at HMV in Bradford, pouring over the new rock imports to see what was new and buying what we could afford. A few years later (in the early eighties) I worked there briefly and couldn’t believe how much it had changed and how little the regional managers knew or cared about music. The wide choice of music available had all but gone and it its place was just a massive storeroom full of hundreds of Madonna & Dire Straits albums. Even at the height of their success, the writing was on the wall as real music enthusiasts couldn’t find what they wanted in the store and had to look elsewhere to track down what they wanted![/color] [color=#222222]It was a breath of fresh air when Amazon appeared – suddenly dozens of albums that I had been searching high and low for were available for £7. Before that HMV either didn’t stock them or would make out they were doing me a favour to order them in (with a wait of at least a couple of weeks) for up to £25 or so![/color] [color=#222222]The last straw was for me was when they started worrying that people would be put off buying Tupac or Foo Fighters albums if they were served by kids with tattoos! When I went for a job there they seemed to be worried that I that my image wasn’t cool enough to work there (early 20s, long hair & a leather jacket) – I pretty much had to point out at the interview that plenty of kids went in the shop to buy AC/DC, Foreigner or Def Leppard albums!![/color]

If you want something that everybody knows, then how about Jungle Boogie by EWF (maybe too 70s for you but well known due to Pulp Fiction) or failing that, 'Give It Away' or something by RHCP. You would probably get away with a lesser known funk song if it wasn't too long and would get punters dancing!

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1358281793' post='1936367'] Guy who auditioned first got the job cause "he just clicked with the rest of the band" [/quote] You can't really argue with that - no reflection on you, just that they found someone who connected with them straight from the off! No reflection on your playing, just wish em luck and who knows, they may call you at some point in the future if the new guy doesn't work out or moves on.....

As far as I understand, Musicman make mass production basses but I've never seen a Stingray with neck pocket issues!

Yes, but we've all seen Fenders with that neck pocket issue. I'm just amazed that they're attention to detail is so lax that they choose that particular bass to be the basis of their catalogue picture! I bought a s/h US Fender off someone from here, but even thru the neck pocket was good it was didn't sound right. I took it to Jon Shuker to sort out who eventually found that the factory installed bridge had been put on at an angle! Never heard of that of any other top manufacturer.....

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1357863720' post='1929899'] You'd better get on to Alex right away and tell he's doing it wrong. [/quote] Actually, it was something that Alex said on here about the success of the design of the old fashioned 810 fridge cab that led me to change to using two 410s! I've never played thru a BF rig, but unless Alex has found a way around the laws of physics and can make a 12 inch speaker move at the same rate as a 10 inch speaker, there is bound to be a phasing issue (see example of ripples in a pond above). Of course, it maybe that the advantages of the rig outweigh this issue for you, but it is still there.....

[quote name='simonc61' timestamp='1357726432' post='1927178'] Michael Corby, is vastly intelligent, and an enormously capable musical, [b]military [/b]and political strategist, and an astounding planner and architect of projects and occurrences.Upon his explanations, it dawned on me the vastness of his planning and designs, and profound thinking, from his early formative years, stretching all the way through his career. I began to take his recommendations seriously." [/quote] So that's where John Waite wemt wrong, losing his key military strategist all those years ago...!

There you go - what works for one player may not for another! I would love Rob to work with a bass player who has got a good idea about getting different bass sounds and produce an amp with more headroom and possibly different voicings! I'm sure that would be great..... PS. Good luck to the OP whatever you do and let us know how you get on - I for one would be very interested.....

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1357859846' post='1929826'] But Barefaced, Bergantino and Mesa Boogie do. So mixed speakers can work if you get the right ones. [/quote] Cabs with mixed speakers may sound alright, but you have to trade that off against the efficiency / phasing issues.....

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1357858920' post='1929802'] Someone else said something along the lines of "Picture soundwaves like water ripples. Drop a big stone & a small stone in the water at the same time & you get different sized ripples moving at different speeds & hitting off one another. Drop 2 the same size & all the ripples move together". Makes sense to me. [/quote] Good analogy....

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1357858055' post='1929786'] I can't really see why a live situation is particularly different to a Hifi one. It's all about reproducing music isn't it? Sure, there might be loads of differences in the listening environments, but is that really the reason for choosing speaker sizes? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't really understand it. [/quote] I never even considered it until I had a discussion with someone who did understand the science and I tried it for myself. Playing in a band situation, you are only a component of the overall sound. It is a lot more efficient to have (for example) eight ten inch speakers all moving together rather than a 410 and a cab with a 15 inch speaker moving at different speeds, which is bound to have small but noticable phasing issues.....

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1357856343' post='1929742'] If mixing speaker sizes is such a bad thing, how come almost all Hifi speakers/professional monitors are built with different size drivers? [/quote] I only say that I have found thru trial and error that using multiple same size speakers has compelling phasing / efficiency benefits in a live situation. I don't think that is such an important issue for hifi speakers or monitors.....

I played a protoype live a few times at a local blues festival last year and to be honest they are not for me! Maybe it will suit you better, but make sure that you give it a good try out first. I've met Rob and he is a nice guy who knows his stuff, but I think that he has to really think thru what bass players need from an amp. His guitar amps are [b]very, very [/b]good.....!

[quote name='kevindoudie' timestamp='1357845752' post='1929513'] SO after all this basically two 4 by 10 cabs are better than a 4 by 10 and one 15 cab?? [/quote] er.... yes!

[color=#222222]To be honest, I have a strange relationship with Fender basses and I don’t think that I am alone in that! [/color] [color=#222222]When I was younger I had a few Precisions, but I always found that I changed bridges, p/ups, etc to get them to be something like I wanted. Eventually I moved onto more modern designs and ended up playing Warwicks in rock bands quite happily for many years. Then, I got a gig playing in a really good blues band where the Warwick just looked plain wrong! Therefore I got a good quality Jazz clone (Mayones) that played and sounded great, after I had worked on it fora bit (new bridge & p/ups, etc of course)! :-) [/color] [color=#222222]Then I made the mistake of getting a s/h USA Jazz Bass as a spare. I have to confess that I chose it partly out of sentiment, as it was virtually identical to the bass in a music shop window that I always wanted as a kid when I first started playing (not many other brands can have that sort of appeal). However, I very quickly found out that there were significant issues with it – I couldn’t get a low enough action and there was something about it that just didn’t sound right.[/color] [color=#222222]However, the bandleader immediately wanted me to use it all the time, saying that it sounded better than the Mayones when it certainly didn't. Eventually I sorted the problems out; getting the frets dressed, changing the pickups, installing an active circuit and putting on a new bridge (it turned out that the main problem with it was that the original factory installed bridge had been fitted badly). It sounded ace, but obviously completely different from how it was when I first got it. The bandleader still thought it was somehow better than the Mayones (it isn’t).[/color] [color=#222222]I am pretty sure that the only reason that he was so keen on me using it all the time is because it had ‘Fender’ written on the headstock…..[/color]

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1357596210' post='1925228'] Dont listen to em mate. Find a bass [i]you [/i]like and forget names and image. I would say it's a status thing but that would just confuse everybody [/quote] In an ideal world you are, of course quite right, but…… [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1357666082' post='1926343'] I know what producers, engineers, MD's and bandleaders like to see, and it's not some strange shaped, pointy thing looking like a conservationists nightmare. [/quote] Unfortunately the above is true! Image is important, like it or not, and in many genres plenty of bandleaders, producers and especially punters think that an electric bass should look like and (to a lesser extent) sound like a Fender....!

Electro Music in Doncaster ([url="http://www.electromusic.co.uk/"]http://www.electromusic.co.uk/[/url]) used to be great - a bit hit and miss now but probably worth a visit......

I believe that it is a Euphonic Audio rig - probably a iamp800 & 2x12 cab Sounds great on the clip (and note that the cab is mic'd) but whenever I've plugged into an EA amp I have never got on with them!

At that price I don't really think that you can go wrong! Very well made cabs and good specs for the money....

I've got the 810 fridge and it is a good, efficient, well spec'd cab - great value for money! Never seen the smaller bass cabs thru....

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1357300563' post='1920534'] Spot on, all backline should only be at the volume of the drums, being played unamplified. [/quote] That is what I was always taught, that the onstage level should be dtermined by how loud the drums are [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1357300563' post='1920534'] The only downside to this is when you have a drummer who is incredibly loud, and can`t adjust their playing. [/quote] However, it should be noted that all good rock drummers, without exception, are pretty loud! If you don't believe me go on youtubbe and look up any top drummer (they are always doing clinics or tutorials - they can't help themselves). For example, Kenny Aronoff, a top session player and a trained orchestral percussionist, is brutally loud! [quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1357315845' post='1920919'] In all fairness, I don't mind what guitarists use as long as they're using whatever they have appropriatly and not trying to murder everyones ear drums.. [/quote] I agree with everything that you have said apart from your initial (possibly flippant) statement about half stacks! :-) The point is that the job of the sound engineer is to help the band sound good so that they can put on a performance for the benefit of the audience. This requires an element of compromise – no one wants to see even the greatest band if there is a terrible FOH sound – but if the band has a good onstage sound that they are happy with, a good sound engineer should be able to use that to get a great sound out front.....