molan

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?

I forgot to say that one thing I have to thank Victor Bailey for was talking about Bernard Edwards & playing a short run from Good Times. After the show was over I had to drive to Brum to drop a bass off & then still had a 1.5 hour drive home. Given that it was now gone 11:00 Pm & I'd set out at 7:30 I was a little knackered. I remembered Victor's words & called up my Chic's greatest hits (mostly 12" versions too) - blasted them all the way home at very lod volume and kept myself smiling all the way home

[quote name='goblin' post='984544' date='Oct 11 2010, 04:10 PM']Ah was it you who I was speaking to before I had to shoot off, Molan? As soon as I walked off I'd forgotten the username of who I was speaking to - happens a lot [/quote] Depends - what were you saying, lol. Of the three on the stand I was the one with very basic square glasses and not as tall as yorks5stringer.

I can't believe how many people were there yesterday that I didn't meet (or recognise)! We definitely need to have an assigned time for a BassChat meet & greet - maybe at the bar, lol. I was also 'working' for most of the day with Phil on the BassGear stand so didn't get a huge amount of time to wander around. I did think there was a slightly strange feel to the GB area. Couldn't quite put my finger on it but it felt a bit cliquey and I spotted quite a few people walk over and then away again without getting close to any of Bernie's lovely basses. We were next to the Shuker stand and Jon seemed to be running it as a demo facility with a few fine musicians - Dood, I can't believe that was you and I didn't put two and two together when you were playing! I did catch some of Anna's midi stuff very early on, really interesting stuff. It didn't seem as much of a slap fest as I expected but I did notice the usual phenomena of hardly anyone playing something that they'd ever use in a band environment. Everyone seemed desperate to show off their technical chops. There was a point early one when Anna and Jon's other demo player were duetting (either with some midi drums or a drum track) and it was so refreshing to hear people playing what I would describe as 'music' I only got to see Victor Baily and thought he had some really interesting things to say about this sort of thing. Loved the 'money frets' tale, lol. Loved his 'tone' on a few things when he was just noodling around too, maybe more so than when he was demonstrating the Weather Report / Jaco stuff. Shame to see how his illness is taking its toll on him though. Some form of muscular dystrophy I think

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='983912' date='Oct 10 2010, 10:58 PM']you mean this one?? [attachment=61020:luke___fodera_nyc.JPG] Now that was a great bass!! i agree with luke, it was the bass of the day for me.........[/quote] This is the bass that won the mini shoot-out round at my place with a couple of friends one day vs a Sadowsky NYC Will Lee & a Celinder J Update. It really is very nice to play & has a great sizzle & snap to it

I'm here - Mancunian way totally closed and traffic backing up already!

Was this from Indigo2? If so, then I've been listening to music from this today as well

Forgot to say - i'm driving up from Oxfordshire if anyone needs a lift. i'm getting there pretty early because I need to help Phil with set-up so that may not suit people not working on the day (public tickets don't get access until 12:00 & I'll be there about 10:30!). Could easily give someone a lift back though if that helps. I'll probably be leaving early evening, would like to see Billy S though - so maybe after that

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='981054' date='Oct 7 2010, 11:07 PM']Do mention your avatar name when coming up to the Bass Gear stand ...I always like clocking fellow BC'ers. I'm being helped out on the stand by the very kind Yorks5stringer and Molan. See you there! Phil[/quote] Yep - I'm definitely coming up early in the morning Have managed to arrange to collect a couple of cabs for myself on the way up & drop off a bass for Phil & pick up two in exchange on the way home - some good organising there, let's hope I don't screw it up!

How about a little Junior Walker Sound is a bit muffled but I rather like the bass man in this clip & there's even a little solo at around 3.30. . .