BigBeefChief

[quote name='The Funk' post='451783' date='Apr 1 2009, 05:51 PM']Something happened with Steve Lawson? I remember him posting for a while at one point. I remember the Janek Gwizdala incident. That was a real shame. You might not like him as a composer or even as a person but he's a good bass player and one of the few Brits making a name for himself in the jazz session scene in America. He could have been a great resource.[/quote] Are we talking about the toothache thing? Can't even remeber it now, but I think I was involved. Wasn't he going on about how much he hated writing about music, whilst writing on a bass forum, whilst writing articles for BGM? The trouble with these "stars" is that they're a bit highly strung.

[quote name='Buzz' post='451555' date='Apr 1 2009, 02:55 PM']If Jeff Berlin does appear on here, I hope it won't be a repeat of the last incident where a professional came on here.[/quote] What happened?

Was looking for some cheap secondhand flatwounds to play around with. Si dropped me a PM and offered me a set for free! What a legend. Arrived double quick as well. Top man.

[quote name='OldGit' post='451450' date='Apr 1 2009, 01:20 PM']What's an lp?[/quote] Half of 2p?

I look forward to asking him a question.

Mark King put me off playing bass for years.

How about you give one to BGM to review? They claim to struggle to get gear to review!

I think the reason we bitch about the magazine is born of frustration. BGM could be great, and I sincerly hope it fullfills its potential. At the moment, its a long way wide of the mark, but its good to hear that the contributers are open minded. I'd love to see the mag develop a "character". At the moment, it all seems a bit vanilla. If it was abit more ballsy, contained a few more words, a few ideas stolen from other publications (the rare/vintage gear reviews are great in BP), it could be a good little mag.

[quote name='ARGH' post='450692' date='Mar 31 2009, 05:28 PM']It can only go two ways Jase.....[/quote] Can't we all.

[quote name='Jase' post='450685' date='Mar 31 2009, 05:14 PM']Look at it like this...there's a new editor....give it a chance, see how it develops.[/quote] Weren't they promising improvements 6 months ago though? A revised reviewing system? The new reviewing system is incredibly...erm..."thorough".

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='450633' date='Mar 31 2009, 04:11 PM']Telling people at a dinner party you play a Warwick is like telling them you’ve got the ebola virus and you’re about to sneeze. [On Vigier] I think the problem is that it’s French. It’s a surrendermonkey. I’m sorry, but having a Shuker in the house and not playing it is a bit like having Keira Knightley in your bed and sleeping on the couch. If you’ve got even half a scrotum it’s not going to happen. [On the Line 6 Lowdown LD400 Pro combo] It sounds like Barry White eating wasps. That new Flea bass really! It’s like a lion in orange dungarees. Kind of fierce, but ridiculous all at the same time. [On the Enfield 4 string bass] Think of it as Angelina Jolie. You’ve heard she’s mad and eats nothing but wallpaper paste. But you would, wouldn’t you? The Iceni Zoot Deluxe is like a quail’s egg dipped in celery salt and served in Julia Roberts’ belly button.[/quote] That's more like it. I actually finished reading your post, which is more than can be said for the majority of BGM reviews.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='450598' date='Mar 31 2009, 03:27 PM']whos going to be the first to say obbm?[/quote] I always get obbm confused with odb.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='450545' date='Mar 31 2009, 02:42 PM']But you already know the answer, Beefy. In a market with a single massively dominant brand, you can't afford to risk offending that brand. In a magazine with a dominant advertiser, you can't afford to risk offending that advertiser. So if you're always nice about Fender and Warwick, but routinely rude about - say - Aria and Peavey, how long before (justified) accusations of bias are being hurled at you? So you end up giving everyone the same easy ride. In the days when I used to read [i]Bike! / Which Bike? / What Bike? / That Bike? / No - the Other Bike[/i] I saw much the same pattern, especially with regard to KawaSuziYamaHonda. Not that those four are a cartel selling virtually identical products, of course. It's easier with cars. There are lots of major manufacturers, in many different economies, all genuinely competing with each other. If a Clarkson says something rude about Vauxhalls, that doesn't mean that General Motors immediately pull all their adverts and stop offering new models for road tests - they need Clarkson more than he needs them.[/quote] Yeah, I know you're right. I just sometimes think there's [i]playing it safe [/i]and then there's [i]playing it BGM safe[/i]. At least the style of writing could be slightly more interesting? If I hear the phrase "passable Marcus Miller/Jaco impression" one more time, I'm heading up the bell tower with the sniper rifle. Read the reviews in the majority of guitar magazines and they're so much more interesting and entertaining - even if the review outcome is the same.

How about BGM reduces the font size and writes more words? That would be an improvement. It currently feels like it's written the night before it goes to press.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='449956' date='Mar 30 2009, 09:29 PM']BBC, you complain about a lack of opinion. I'm pretty sure you, and everyone else would complain if they were biased towards certain things... say warwicks for example?[/quote] As opposed to being biased towards everything? As it stands, they seem so scared of upsetting the manufactures, that their reviews have very little value. Stuart Clayton once claimed on here that it's because most gear these days was fit for purpose. What a load of crap! If thats the case, then the bar has to be raised! "Fit for purpose" is clearly now the norm - review accordingly! I'm sure that even the contributers of BGM know its crap.

What do you get if you cross a musician with someone who doesn't care how he/she looks? Jeff Berlin. And no one wants that.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='449842' date='Mar 30 2009, 08:02 PM']It's all very well for highly critical readers to sit in their Habitat sofas with their plasma screen TVs and be uber critical about something they have no background knowledge on. However I understand that the mag changed ownership recently and, given the current economic situation, there's bound to be some cutbacks one way or another if they're planning to turn the business around and make some money out of it.[/quote] So are you more forgiving of the crap they show on ITV because they're feeling the pinch at the moment? As a reader, I won't make exceptions because of a sob story behind the scenes. I can only judge the mag on his contents. Lets face it, the latest edition that I've read (with the Enfield bass on the front) was absolutely dreadful. As the OP said, it was mostly a glorified brochure. If the editor of the mag can genuinely tell me that he could not produce a better Bass magazine, then he's either a liar on incompetent. I know some contributers are members here, but if you publish something in the public domain, you set yourself up to be critiqued - so I don't feel so bad about being honest about it. Here are some of the problems: Full of spelling mistakes and gramatical errors A terrible reviewing system Truly boring journalism A lack on opinion Sycophantic interviews A clear agenda to promote rubbish music schools Formulaic journalism rubbish rubbish rubbish I occassionaly buy a few guitar mags, and they are all a word apart (in a good way) from BGM. Even the rubbish guitar mag for "Nu-Metal"a and Slip-Nut fans. Having said that, I still buy BGM. Its better reading boring, formaulaic articles about bass, than reading nothing at all. Just.

[quote name='AM1' post='449679' date='Mar 30 2009, 05:26 PM']I just found a sweatband in with some old gym gear and tried it and no more rubbing. Long live the sweatband![/quote] If you include a suitably provocative photo, you might get a few quid for that on ebay. It's how I got rid of my girlfriends bike saddle.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='449755' date='Mar 30 2009, 06:38 PM']Thankfully of course fashion is not indicative of quality, sound or playability.[/quote] True, and as I say, I'm sure they're great instruments in a lot of ways. Just always struck me as the type of instrument that's used in the studio, but put to one side when a video camera enters the room! They really go against the grain of fashion currently. Vintage styled instruments seem much more popular.

I don't doubt they're great instruments, but I'm not sure they've been"fashionable" for many, many years! Mark King is hardly the epitome of cool!

I find a paddling pool full of baby oil helps.

Would love to see them, but it just wouldn't be the same without Lowell George I think. Now that man is a legend. Underated as well I reckon. Might see if I can get tickets for a London date though.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='449528' date='Mar 30 2009, 03:04 PM'] ...sorry...![/quote] In terms of taste, those things are the logical next step from playing a Warwick.

[quote name='YouMa' post='448221' date='Mar 28 2009, 06:32 PM']kids are just empty vessels[/quote] Pervert.

I hate joke music. "Quirky" for the sake of it. Like those fat rough birds I see on the tube each morning with green-hair, weird tights and peirced faces.