thisnameistaken

[quote name='Doddy' post='791050' date='Mar 30 2010, 08:26 PM']I play up the neck quite a lot so being able to keep the same technique over the entire range of the instrument is important.[/quote] Can't you do that on any bass? I can understand having a preference for thru-necks or bolt necks or set necks or whatever, since that actually affects how you have to play the bass because it determines what's under your thumb at the end of the neck, but the presence or lack of the upper bout of the bass wouldn't make a difference would it?

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='791001' date='Mar 30 2010, 07:49 PM']more fool you.. there's great playing after that scat stuff.. [/quote] Each to their own, I'm not going to sit through elevator jazz just because the bass player is good.

[quote name='Doddy' post='791023' date='Mar 30 2010, 07:59 PM']First of all,I'm not saying that you can't play properly on any instrument. I'm saying that on a singlecut instrument you cannot put your thumb over the top of the neck when playing in the upper range like many people do.It's one of the things I like about them.[/quote] I just think it's a weird thing to like about them, because it doesn't seem to be of any benefit. I've seen bassists hook their thumbs over on lower notes but not (as far as I can remember) up the dusty end. Certainly not *only* up the dusty end. And most bass players only spend a tiny fraction of their time that far up the neck anyway.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='791028' date='Mar 30 2010, 08:09 PM']Ah, big dick, eh? [/quote] I'm more into girls really, sorry.

[quote name='Conan' post='791013' date='Mar 30 2010, 07:54 PM']I think the marine mammal you are thinking of is a sperm whale.... [/quote] Don't make me come over there to teach you which marine mammal comparison is most appropriate!

You can play properly on any instrument, there's "no need" for bad technique on any decent bass. Sorry I can't see any physical benefit of it. The bass gets heavier because there's more wood, so if anything it's bad for you.

[quote name='Duarte' post='790884' date='Mar 30 2010, 06:12 PM']thisnameistaken...can you honestly say that Mr Sargent in this video looks 'stupid'?[/quote] I stopped watching when he started doing that scat vocal thing that ALL bassists simply HAVE to do when they solo these days. And yes he did look stupid but that was more the stupid vocal than the stupid bass. [quote name='Duarte' post='790894' date='Mar 30 2010, 06:20 PM']For the most part, and I know I am right, the only people who dislike the Bongo are closed minded bass players. Non guitarists/bassists who don't a preconception of what a bass should look like (Fender Precision anyone? YAWN) always say something along the lines of "That is the prettiest/coolest thing I have ever seen". FACT.[/quote] I'm going to assume that you're right, because it would be pointless arguing with something you're already so convinced of regardless of how wrong you are. So now all we need to do is find a country where nobody's seen a bass guitar before. But let's be fair an electric anything would probably impress them.

I thought that's what you meant. Do many people have an issue with hooking their thumb over in the higher positions who don't also do it in the lower positions? It just seems a bit of a nonsense. I mean, most basses have the neck joint in the way once you get up the neck anyway, so it only really helps you out (if at all, which I doubt) between frets 12 and 16 or so.

Diana Rigg once compiled a book of severe theatrical reviews, it's called "No Turn Unstoned", well worth a read if you've got a negative review getting you down. There are some legendary talents who get absolutely torn apart in the reviews in that book.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='790811' date='Mar 30 2010, 05:12 PM']Perhaps I'm getting old (at 40), but I keep bumping into a lot of threads around these here parts concerning image. From threads about how cool/ugly Bongos are ...[/quote] FWIW I'm 35 so I'm closer to your age than I am to all the other people in my band. I'm not bothered about cars either (I've got a big penis so I've never felt like I need a BMW) but I won't buy a bass that I think is ugly. It could be a Fender or a Warwick or a Hofner or a Ric or... whatever, so long as I like how it looks. Similarly I wouldn't buy a coat just because it was warm - if I thought it made me look like a tit I would go look at some other warm coats. It's pretty straightforward logic really.

[quote name='Doddy' post='790875' date='Mar 30 2010, 06:04 PM']they really facilitate good technique in the upper register[/quote] What does that mean?

I usually like Warwicks but I think that thing looks like a f***ing dugong. And so do all other single-cutaway bass bodies. It works on guitars because they're smaller. On a bass the body ends up being five feet long and it looks like they couldn't be bothered to finish it.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='790777' date='Mar 30 2010, 04:37 PM']Well luckily looks aren't everything - Fortunately I'm judged on my playing/sight reading ability as opposed to my looks. *PHEW* [/quote] Lucky you, most of us have to look the part - to within certain tolerances - too. I think looks are an important aspect of something you intend to wear while a room full of people stare at you.

Does that mean those of us with Red Onion loopers can now sell them for squillions of your earth dollars?

I'm gigging my Thumb a fair bit now and I'm terrified I'll drop it one day, so I want some strap locks. It's just got strap buttons at the moment, I suppose that's what came with them at the time. Any suggestions for reliable, not annoying, preferably minimally-invasive in terms of installation, straplocks, in black?

There are basses that sound and play just as good for the same or less money and don't look nearly as stupid.

Nice one Bilbo! That's a lot of playing for a debut. I'm still thumping away at home, intending to take it out in the street if summer ever arrives, otherwise my first gig on DB will be August bank holiday weekend at a local festival so plenty of time to get in shape.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='790373' date='Mar 30 2010, 10:49 AM']I would say go for the 760FL set 43-104 - they should feel close enough to the standard and are more regularly available.[/quote] They're the ones I'm using, a good set IMO, they feel substantial without being too heavy.

La Bella flatwounds IIRC. I've got a set on my Jazz, they sound the business.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='789346' date='Mar 29 2010, 01:22 PM']Do you only play in tribute bands? That or a 'Fundamentalist' cover band. The problem there is how does one deal with a song that goes to a fade. Come up with your own ending? Copy the ending from the live album? Hire Dave Lee Travis to talk annoyingly over the last chorus?[/quote] We ran into this issue when we began an ebullient, under-rehearsed encore of Sweet and Dandy and half the band asphyxiated before we figured out how to end it...

Casper the Friendly Bass?

[quote name='Conan' post='789110' date='Mar 29 2010, 08:17 AM']Good example. But I can't help wondering how much is simply down to the [b]difference [/b]between the tones, rather than one being "better" [i]per se[/i] than the other? Also, it would depend on the style of music and how the other musicians play too. In a very busy mix I guess that the middly "growl" of the Warwick would cut through better than the slightly scooped J? But as you can add or subtract so much at the mixing stage I'm not sure how much the original tone matters as long as its been played accurately! [/quote] Perhaps, but isn't it easier to just have a good bass sound at the start and not have to do all that processing? [quote name='Conan' post='789110' date='Mar 29 2010, 08:17 AM']Thumbs have an amazing tone, but I'm not sure they are perfect for everything. A J is almost the bass world's "jack of all trades" - a "jazz of all trades" as it were!! [/quote] I didn't suggest it was perfect for everything. The nice thing about the Thumb this weekend was that it was audible in the mix without having to be forward, it just found its little niche in there and purred away, plenty of clarity to the notes, plenty of punch on the attack. Honestly I didn't think it would suit the tunes which is why I used the Jazz first but the engineer was 100% right it sounded badass. So maybe they actually are perfect for stuff we wouldn't expect them to be perfect for.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='789186' date='Mar 29 2010, 09:50 AM']Well, some people like their pedals to be so transparent that you can't tell they're on [/quote] Yeah tbh if I bought a pedal that didn't affect my "fundamental tone" I'd take it back. More often than not when I switch a pedal on I don't want to hear my bass, I want to hear something else. I do have some effects in an LS-2 loop just in case, but I have an OC-2 in the other side of the loop and more often than not I'll have that on rather than use a clean blend.

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='788804' date='Mar 28 2010, 07:58 PM']thisnameistaken - you seem to know these pedals well. which ones are the best (in terms of user/gig friendliness)?[/quote] Not sure I understood your question. You mean filters? Asking a bassist what's the best filter is like asking a guitarist what's the best overdrive. You'll probably get half a dozen different answers from each player. TBH I think for the money the Q-Tron is a brilliant funk filter. I don't really do any funk stuff though so I swapped it out for some different filters that offered more variety. I like the sound and versatility of filters based on the Meatball circuit and my Meatwad reacts very well to my playing (I prefer it to any other filter I've played but to be honest it's quite similar in behaviour to the Q-Tron), I also like the uniqueness of the filter in the Bass Micro Synth and I think it does a brilliant job of faking synth sounds. I also like the tonnes of options I've got on the filter in my Octavius Squeezer and it sounds great with the the other effects in that box. And as I said I like the Bassballs when applied to a layered sound where it can really chew it up and spit it out. I also like the sound of the Moog filter but I haven't owned one. And like everybody else I'd love an original Mu-Tron III, although in truth I'd rarely find a use for it. There aren't that many filters I've played that I really hated, to be honest. I don't get on with the DOD FX25s, mostly because the envelope seems very abrupt and difficult to play to me. And I didn't like the MXR Bass Auto Q because I found the secondary LFO-based effect useless and the envelope filter section didn't have much in the way of options. But in terms of sound I didn't majorly dislike either of them. If you were asking about octavers: OC-2. Everybody loves the sound of the OC-2. There, that one has a simple answer!

Usually I'll get a melody idea in my head and record it just humming or whatever, eventually when I have a spare evening / day I'll flick through the pile of recorded ideas I've collected and have a bash at expanding on my favourite one. Bass parts tend to come quite late to be honest. Usually I don't have a bass part until the vocal is complete.