molan

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1001634' date='Oct 26 2010, 07:01 PM']I know this is a little crude, but how much do people like VW earn? I mean they are big in bass player circles and even then it's a small proportion of bass players who will want to hear a bass soloist.[/quote] Having spent most of the weekend in the company of a lot of very well respected bass players and luthiers I got the over-riding impression that none of them really had any kind of 'serious' money. Obviously they are not going to be strolling around with dollar signs on their backs but there was a consistent theme of people doing it simply because they loved it. Bootsy was a great case in point, didn't get paid much at all for a vast swathe of his work with James Brown & Parliament/Funkadelic. He said he never expected to be paid by JB at all and he thought at the time that he should have been paying him just to be in the same room I guess Daryl Jones may have been the only high roller in the building given his Rolling Stones work but even then all the stories from the Stones camp seem to be that Mick n Keef take the vast majority of the cash. Contrary to a lot of people's opinions over here the big name US luthiers are a long way from rolling around in cash as well. I wasn't exactly 'interviewing' them but I did ask a few how well the business paid and they looked at me like I was a complete loon most of the time. One of the biggest names told me that his company had never made a profit in its entire existence - he took a 'basic' wage to keep his family ticking over but he loved his work so much that he could never envisage doing anything else for a living.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1001610' date='Oct 26 2010, 06:48 PM']However, Stanley Clarke did get a free Alembic Stanley Clarke bass as as gift after buying Alembic basses for 30 years![/quote] Shame he didn't use it when I saw him last week - left it on the side of the stage with the LED's glowing but didn't go near it once According to last month's Bass Player - On Vic's new album he plays mostly his Fodera Yin Yang & tenor basses, but also used: His original Monarch and NYC 5 string fretted plus an NYC fretless, A spellbinder Piccolo (a present from Stanley C), an old Italian 5/8 size upright, the Compito fretless5, a Ribbecke Gafling acoustic, Taylor fretless ABG & some 'tiny' bass made by Marleaux

The other interesting thing about the one he was tring was that it was fitted with Seymour Duncan dual coil pickups (with great looking wooden covers). In the past VW has always specified EMG's in a PJ configuration as fitted to his original Monarch (although he now has the Mike Pope pre-amp I think). It'll be interesting to see if he goes for different pickups if he goes ahead with a new build. Sorry I couldn't simply add this to the post above - too complicated to edit on my BlackBerry (sitting at LAX on my way home and flight is delayed!).

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1000722' date='Oct 26 2010, 01:17 AM']Ah come on Vic is Fodera's main marketing tool, he surely gets whatever he wants from them gratis.[/quote] Nope he has to pay. I realise this is going to sound like a bit of smart alec thing to say but I was actually chatting to him yesterday at BPL on the Fodera stand where he was trying out a new custom Monarch. it's made of different woods to any of his and has a narrower neck than a the most usual one specified by Monarch owners (based on a '64 Jazz profile). I asked him what he thought and he said it was just an amazing bass and he really liked it - so much so that it was going to cost him a lot of money because he was going to order one to a similar spec. No reason to say that if it wasn't true and the Fodera guys later confirmed he would be coming in soon to go over the details He wasn't able to take the one that was at the show as it was heading to the UK fiarly soon . . . I'm sure he doesn't pay 'retail' of course. In fact I was talking to another builder at the show who has quite a few 'name' bassists using his instruments and he maintained that every single one of them had to pay for them. As far as I know Victor W has about 3-4 Monarchs and an NYC bass. His original Monarch is a very early Fodera made in the first year they started building around '83. The one he is most usually seen with is a 'Yin Yang' with a natural/ebony top and a maple board but he also has one with a rosewood board and one in ebony/ white holly. I've never seen him with an NYC but he does have one apparently.

[quote name='JustaBass' post='999970' date='Oct 25 2010, 12:21 PM']Is this the bit...... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUbdafGyB90"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUbdafGyB90[/url] Where are you man.... [/quote] That's it! I'm in there somewhere, lol. Divinity Roxx got on my nerves a little when she was rapping, I heard her twice and it seemed she used pretty much the same patterns and words each time and was really repetitive - mostly seemed to consist of rhyming 'funky' with 'chunky'. Just shows how great Bootsy is at this sort of stuff as he changed things around and came across as completely spontaneous and was, at times, really funny as well

[quote name='grahamd' post='999222' date='Oct 24 2010, 06:56 PM']Wow, sounds amazing! Heard Doug Johns was playing a set too[/quote] I didn't see him but there was a lot going on so easy to miss people! Much quieter day today all round with a lot less people. However it seemed like a lot more 'players' were just strolling around and chatting to people. Vic Wooten was all over the place, Daryl Jones, Hadrien Feraud, Bunny Brunel, Steve Bailey etc. etc. Bootsy was back for an interview and was really entertaining and humble about his achievements. Talked a lot about just loving to play the bass and to be in a band feeding off other musicians. In fact this was a real theme of the event - quite a few people talking about either their favourite drummers or just the whole vibe of getting up and playing in a band for a living. After his session Bootsy wandered around, signing autographs & gettting his pic taken with anyone and everyone. Seemed in a great mood and just happy to chat with people. Alphonso Johnson was also interviewed and shared some fascinating stuff about his life and career in music. Again, such a humble guy and really happy to talk about anything. He also played for a while on a funky Washburn semi-acoustic, wish he'd played more really. I watched Wooten trying out a new Fodera Monarch for about 15-20 minutes. He was just sitting there putting it through his paces and was amazing to watch. He played some of his usual trick stuff but also just held a nice groove for a while. All this from a distance of about 3-4 feet away. Missed Alex Al when I went out to get some cash to fund purchases which was a shame. Anyway, all over now & heading home tomorrow

MXR M82 envelope filter was high on my list until today - when I bought one for the princely sum of about £65 brand new at a bass event in the USA. Wasn't planning to spend any money at all but spotted Bootsy on the MXR stand & then remembered the M82 - asked the guy behind the counter if he'd sell one & he said $100 cash only

Just woken up & time to report back from last night's gig First up was Juan Alderete's Big Sir - other than knowing JA was in the Mars Volta I really didn't know much about him. He was a late stand-in for Andrew Gouche who couldn't make it for some reason. I have to say that I really liked them and JA's fretless P bass sounded amazing. Kind of electronica stuff with some really hypnotic bass lines and a very ethereal female singer. Unsurprisingly it was a very 'bass-friendly' mix and the sound all round was excellent. He went down 'ok' with the crowd but they weren't raving. Mind you, he was on pretty early and there seemed to be a big VIP room upstairs so I'm sure a lot of people were just ligging at the bar. Whilst standing & watching I looked up at one point and I had Victor Wooten standing about 2 foot away on one side and Daryl Jones right next to me on the other! In fact I noticed DJ seemed to be down in the main area for most of the evening watching the music. Divinity Roxx was all over the place as well & dashing down the front to take photos etc. like an excited fan. I realise she's one of the younger people there but she's played on some pretty big stages with Beyonce and it was cool to see her just being one of the audience. Next up was the Alphonso Johnson quartet with the amazing Ndugu Chancler on drums. He went through a series of 'standards' swapping from upright to Modulus electric to Chapman Stick and back again etc. Very jazzy set with the highlight being Weather Report's Black Market. Very unassuming guy who didn't seem to want to be in the limelight at all. Whilst waiting for the wonderful Bootsy Collins to come on someone tapped me on the shoulder to get past - it was Verdine White, swiftly followed by Ready Freddie Washington! God knows how many top bass men were in the room or at the VIP bar. . . Victor Wooten introduced Bootsy and made a great speech about his past with James Brown and his contribution to funk as a whole. Bootzilla came on wearing what looked like a snakeskin full length coat dyed pale crimson with a mtching huge hat He was really quite humble and, in that amazing voice of his that just sounds so funky, he kept saying he really wasn't worthy of an award and that there were so many great players out there. Then the core band for the 'funk set' kicked off behind him, Wooten on bass (he can funk with the best of them!), Frankie 'Kash' Waddy on drums and DeWayne 'Blackbird' McKnight on guitar. Bootsy was great as a front man and soon had the place going crazy and singing along with classic P-Funk tunes. Divinity Roxx joined him for some rapping vocals and Verdine White appeared as well for a while. Bootsy got right down in the audience and leaped around like a man possessed and must have grabbed hold or sang along with just about every one of the people standing down the front (including me - I got one line of "we want the funk, gotta have that funk", lol). Slowly the stage behind him filled with a ludicrous array of 'funk' bass players - the 'star jam' session was loosely split into funk & jazz, not a lot of rockers to be seen From memory the line up went - Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Verdine White, Nate Watts, Sekou Bunch, Ready Freddie Washington, Anthony Wellington, Brian Berg, Steve Bailey (who was kinda MD for the jam section), I think I've missed a couple but it was all a bit of a blur to be honest! The big shame was that Bootsy didn't actually play bass. He said he would only play his 'star' bass and didn't have it with him (must have pleased Warwick who had a major presence at the show & the gig and definitely had one of their Bootsy Signature basses with them!). He has a clinic this afternoon so maybe he'll play a little then Then we were treated to the Alphonso Johnson 'jazz' jam band with Ndugu taking over from Kash on drums, Alphonso appeared from the back of the room playing wirelessly & strolled throught he crowd - up on stage were: Jonathan Herrera, John B Williams, Matt Garrison, Adrien Feraud, Alex Al, Daryl Johnson, Bunny Brunel, Reggie Hamilton & Steve Bailey holding it all together. Again I've probably missed someone here This second set was a lot more organised (apparently the first set had some kind of loose organisation but Bootsy took everyone off on a tangent, lol). Some really fine playing from this team with Hadrien Feraud really standing out for me. I spotted a few 'faces' from the first set right down the front near me watching the jazz guys with Verdine White in particular giving it large for each of them. So, that's it for now, off to day 2 in a minute. . .

Just got back to my hotel after a day at BPL and thought I'd report back Had a great time with lots of amazing bass playing going on and some fun / informative clinics. I managed to catch: Victor Wooten clinic - very inspiring speaker, really enjoyed hearing some of his views on 'music vs theory' Steve Bailey, Reggie Hamilton & Victor Wooten jam - Bailey & Wooten playing off each other was pretty damn impressive! Billy Sheehan clinic - I always find him to be a really engaging speaker, just has fun with the audience and simply bursts with enthusiasm about playing bass (he unveiled his new Yamaha Signature as well) Daryl Jones Ampeg demo - showing off the new B15 (which looks very cool indeed) Nate Watts clinic - well, what can you say about NW. Just such a genuine guy, full of stories about playing with Stevie & the Jacksons etc. Happily took requests for any song he's ever played on & demonstrated it. Managed to get an entire room full of guys singing the horn parts to I Wish whilst he played along Steve Bailey, John B Williams & Divinity Roxx jam - great to see John B & Divinity R on the same stage playing hip hop funk stuff with Steve B filling in chords behind them Bootsy autograph signing - I couldn't resist, got my pic taken with him and I have a stupid grin from ear to ear, lol (luckily I can't upload the pics!) Bass builder's forum - Joey Lauricella, Mike Tobias, Jimmy Coppolo & Jens Ritter discussing their theories and design goals for bass All this plus a stack of great basses & amps kicking around. Plus I managed to miss Mike Inez, Matt Garrison & Daryl jones clinics as well due to clashing times. Different kinda vibe to the UK Bass Day - really helped by a way quieter volume from every single demo booth. You could genuinely hear people playing & there was less obvious 'showing off' going on (although a few younger guys couldn't help slapping like crazy). Good venue with lots of seperate rooms & soundstages. Couldn't really tell how many people were there becuase of this but felt similar to UK. Off to the gig soon featuring Juan Alderete, Alphonso Johnson Quartet & Bootsy's all star band - followed by some sort of monster bass jam with a guest list that is just insane. . . Will post more tomorrow

[quote name='Rich' post='996619' date='Oct 22 2010, 07:35 AM']When are you likely to get another chance to see him? How often does Billy play in Oxfordshire? G'wan, you know it makes sense...[/quote] He'd better bloody play Stratus if I go, lol

Got a ticket to see Stan the Man tonight at a smallish Jazz 'supper club' in San Diego. It's a 'first come, first served' seating arrangement & I wasn't desperately early so was amazed to be shown to a seat right down the front & bang in the middle! There was literally one person between me & Stanley - and she was tiny as well It was very much a 'jazz' set and he played entirely on double bass all evening. The trusty Alembic was on its stand with red LED's aglow but he didn't reach for it once. It was one of those places with two sets per night so it's possible he was planning on using it for some variety in the 2nd set. I have to say that he was simply astonishing to watch from such close range. The audience were near silent (apart from applause) and I could literally hear the sound of bass acoustically as well as through the, uniformly excellent, PA. It wasn't just the amazing technique that impressed me but he had such a wonderful tone and feel to his playing. The range of sounds he extracted from the bass simply through plucking technique was seriously impressive as well - he was slapping away with all the speed and dexterity I'm used to hearing from him on electric bass. At times it even sounded like his Alembic (I'm sure the reverrse is actaully true and his Alembic sometimes sounds like a DB, lol). Of course the rest of the band were stupidly good as well, Hiromi on piano was not only a fabulous player but also great fun - you could really see she was having a great time. However the drummer was simply breath-taking, a guy called Chris Coleman who I'd never heard of before - having now looked him up it seems he's all over YouTube so obviously a bit better known than I thought! The rest of the band were really feeding off him all night, you could see them bursting out laughing at times at stuff he was doing and, on more than one occasion, they were all turning round just to watch him play The only niggle for me was that I would ahve loved to see SC strap on the Alembic for just one of his old 'hits', anything really would have done but it wasn't to be. So - the big decision now is whether to go and see Billy Cobham tomorrow night at a simialr venue in LA or not. I may be jazzed out already. . . EDIT - Just found htis vid which gives an idea of Stanley on DB, it's not from tonight's gig but very similar: Not sure what the sound quality is like as I'm viewing on iPhone, lol.

Gutted that I missed this Mind you, I have managed to secure a ticket to see Stanley Clarke tonight at a small jazz club instead

Generally need to allow 20% on top of the [i]declared [/i]unit price AND the shipping cost. I always think the VAT on shipping to be a bit of a rip-off really!

I've done loads of international deals and there's almost always a bit of fluctuation on the exchange rates. If I'm the buyer I'll usually try to chuck in a little extra to cover short term fluctuations. I've never asked for additional payments if there's a hit on the rate short term as I just take it as one of the issues with international trading (sometimes it can work in your favour too!). The only exception to this is if someone really doesn't understand that their bank might charge them to convert currency. I did have one deal where a buyer's bank charged him close to £30 to convert Euros to £UK and he initially thought I should swallow that cost - at the time he was getting a massive bargain because the Euro was so strong vs the £. I suggested that it was his place to sort the conversion to my currency and he sent me the additional amount (I'd already shipped the bass so he didn't have to do this but he agreed it was his 'problem' and not mine).

I think there's been an increase in the number of overseas basses for sale which has definitely increased the high end quality. There's even been a few USA owned items here. There's been a few seriously nice things cropping up recently - good news as far as I'm concerned

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='993992' date='Oct 19 2010, 07:38 PM']Have you bought this mate??? im a little unsure on the looks...........hmmm for me i guess its because its so heavily associated with Mr Wooten that people may expect you to have his ability (and be disappointed in my case) etc i'd rather have an understated bass and people be surprised at how well i play [/quote] I haven't bought one - just kinda like the looks. Mind you, I do know of one for sale. . . I'm not sure it would ever leave the house if i did buy one though so no worries about people thinking I can even contemplate playing a VW bass line, lol. I spend a lot of time playing at home just for fun so wouldn't be too concerned about having something that never left the house

[quote name='Doddy' post='993991' date='Oct 19 2010, 07:38 PM']Twice as long?? It's great craftsmanship,but it's only the top that will really take longer than normal surely?[/quote] Sorry - my bad explanation. It takes twice as long to complete & fit the top, headstock and inlays compared to a 'regular' top (as opposed to the entire build process).

[quote name='budget bassist' post='993974' date='Oct 19 2010, 07:30 PM']Pretty nice, and I imagine it would take some serious craftmanship to get those tops to match together perfectly like that[/quote] Yep - takes twice as long to build apparently! I've not actually seen one in the flesh but I hear the craftsmanship is awesome

Looks like I was right about the polarised views

Ok - so I'm a big Fodera fan so my opinion is going to show some bias but I keep looking at the 'classic' black / white (ebony / holly) Yin Yang basses & thinking how cool they look. I tested them out on my wife - who is usually ultra-critical of 'flashy' wood tops like flamed maple etc. and even she remarked that it was the nicest bass she'd seen. So I have a feeling this design is going to 'polarise' opinion somewhat so I thought I'd throw the question out to see what everyone else thinks. . .

[quote name='Chris2112' post='992814' date='Oct 18 2010, 08:47 PM']EDIT: Molan, got any pictures of the 80's Monarch?[/quote] These aren't the best pics but give you an idea of the '80's vibe it has

As someone who chops and changes basses all the time it's difficult to pin myself down to one but, as of today, I could happily live with my '86 Fodera Monarch. It's not as pretty or as beutifully made as the latest ones but it sounds great and has a lot of really usable tonal options - active/passive P pickup at the neck and J at the bridge etc. It also has a few dings and knocks for 20+ years of playing so it's not one I'd be concerned about using at everyday pub gigs.

[quote name='HannahFOXX' post='986382' date='Oct 12 2010, 10:51 PM']Hi all - Yes it's me the slapper. Spot on with the comment Goblin, it did become a bit of a slap feast at times. Unfortunately for me as it was my first bass day. I had two tracks pre recorded into Logic to play along to. One track a two hand tapping shuffle type of thing the other a bit of a Funk/Soul number. When I ran them though my little PA you could not hear anything including my bass so had to knock it on the head. In the end all I had available to me was the Mark Bass rig on the stand, I'm an SWR user so it wasn't the best for my bass or my sound. Tried running it through my Miller preamp but the Mark Bass took away the warmth. Tried playing 'Let's Work' (Prince) and 'Power' (Miller) but it just didn't cut through all the other stuff. Tried some percussive slap and it cut through. By the time you came along I was a bit random with what I was playing which is strange for me as I like to keep the "1 in the pocket". What I wanted from the day was to meet other bass players and have a chat and jam. I have suggested to Jon that maybe we should borrow a JamHub for next year (with headphones) so at least you could check out the basses without most of the interference, and we could have a decent jam. If I was to visit with a view to trying out a bass, knowing what the days are like, I would probably take my Korg Pandora along and some in ears headphones. Well I've joined the basschat community now so it would be great to meet up next year. Hannah. PS! Stevie Williams is a great player and have you heard of a guy called Doug Johns? If yo haven't already check out 'God, Fear, Money' by Me'Shell [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDbRKB7oLEQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDbRKB7oLEQ[/url] she knows how to lay down a solid groove.[/quote] Hey Hannah, I was on the stand next to you & thought you played some really interesting stuff early in the day - when i could actually hear what was going on! Some very nice stuff using midi at one point?