thisnameistaken

[quote name='jakesbass' post='521460' date='Jun 23 2009, 09:41 AM']1. Those who's goal it is to make music for reasons of entertainment of others and have fun and give a good time and have a good time. 2. Those who are interested in playing music for the sake of music itself, for art and for (IMO laudable) high achievement technically or otherwise. As far as I'm concerned both endeavours are legitimate.[/quote] You're right of course, any activity can be worth doing purely for its own sake. I was thinking more in terms of what's useful for ensemble performance. I was thinking about how jazz players probably need good technical skills because they're required to solo a lot more often than most bassists, but then again not as often as other jazz musicians. So do jazz bassists have to practice soloing at home in order to keep those skills in shape? I can imagine horn players or guitarists can stay on top of it just from gigging, but bass players must have to put more effort in, no? That effort requirement for fewer opportunities to use those skills would wind me up. [quote name='chris_b' post='521582' date='Jun 23 2009, 11:45 AM']The London session guys like Herbie Flowers, The Funk Brothers (Detroit), the Wrecking Crew (LA) and a lot of the NY session guys came to "pop" music via jazz of one sort or another. So the "pop" soundtrack of the last 60 years is actually being played by guys utilising a minimum of their technical ability. But, what their background did give them was the ability to read and play a chart perfectly in 3 takes and make it sound easy![/quote] I guess that's where the extra ability comes in handy. If it requires very little effort for you to play the instrument you can concentrate on the chart or whatever. Yeah I can imagine having that kind of headroom is useful for studio musicians. I suppose it's difficult to determine though where the need for technical ability on the bass stops and the need for quick consumption and processing of music starts. For "proper musicians" - people who've been educated - I can imagine the physical skills and the knowledge come hand in hand, but I imagine most bass players are like me, they picked up a guitar and learned to knock a tune out of it, and a limited knowledge of what they're actually doing only trickled in as a by-product. That's why I was suggesting that it's probably more valuable to study music rather than the bass, because effective bass players need to understand the music really well but rarely need much in the way of physical skills on the instrument. I think I wasted my life.

Right... I've been playing bass for 20 years now, with a pause of about 6 years where I wasn't in a band but I still regularly picked up the bass for jollies. And I've come to the conclusion that practicing playing bass beyond the first year or two is probably a waste of time. Yes I know there are some fringe forms of music that require virtuoso bassists but they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Let's ignore them, because nobody buys their records anyway. I was thinking about this earlier and I came to the conclusion that - as a bassist - the first thing you need to know is why James Jamerson played like he did, and once you figure that out there's really not much else worth learning. At that point you should divert your attention to learning about how music works full-time, or learning to sing or write songs or something with more mainstream value like that. I am playing devil's advocate somewhat here, but go on:

I noticed this weekend that my same rig with my same bass with the same strings on it somehow sounded incoherent and rubbish at rehearsal on Sunday despite sounding great the week before in the same room. Turned out the guitarist had tried a different sound. It's much like the way our drummer's ride cymbal always seems to drown out all vocals effortlessly. Solution: Slap guitar player, tell drummer he needs a new ride cymbal. Bass expenditure: Zero.

Customs suck. I sent a 6-string Warwick to myself from the USA a few years back, packed it well so it would be safe, told no fairy stories on the paperwork etc. When it arrived in the UK the package had been opened and re-sealed and I thought well, fair enough. Took the bass out to find lots of small dings in the body all over the place.

The things bass players will do for a little attention.

The advice that you should buy a Mac for Garageband seems a bit iffy. I've never used Garageband beyond using it to record live takes at rehearsals, but Macs are expensive boxes to be buying for one fairly limited piece of software. Someone else above mentioned how much more entry-level kit you could buy instead of a Mac (monitors, interface, etc.) and to me that looks like a more sensible idea. I have nothing against Macs but they are expensive, and given that there are DAWs which work on both Windows and MAC OS and you only have to buy one license, I don't see why we're discussing which [i]computer[/i] to buy at all.

I got an M-Audio breakout box and a copy of Pro Tools M-Powered for about £150, runs on either PC or Mac so I can use it at home on my PC, or stick it in a rucksack, walk to my singer's house and plug it into her Mac.

[quote name='Oscar South' post='519659' date='Jun 20 2009, 10:22 PM']Everyones entitled to their opinion, but a little elaboration would make it a lot more interresting.[/quote] It's just a matter of taste I suppose. I don't like listening to prog rock either, or metal, or classic rock or whatever. I just wouldn't listen to it, given a choice. I'm not going to listen to music I don't like because the bass player's good. [quote name='BassBus' post='519707' date='Jun 20 2009, 11:40 PM']I think it's a shame when people can't hear the quality of some music.[/quote] I'm not saying his music isn't well done. I might be able to see the craftsmanship involved in a bespoke suit, but I'd still be happier with jeans and a T-shirt. Less pretentious.

I think he's a remarkable fretless player but his music is way too elevator for me.

Probably selling my Jazz. It was an awful bass, but I did probably 300+ gigs on it, which it just couldn't cope with. I should've retired it instead of selling it - it would be nice to have it just as a reminder of what a lot of gigs can do to a bass. And I regret not getting up earlier on the morning of the sale at the music store where, the day before, an assistant had advised me to buy the L2000 tomorrow when it would be half price. I know I'm no good at mornings, I should've just bought it there and then, it was cheap already.

The [url="http://www.frostwave.com/spacebeam/"]Frostwave Spacebeam[/url] seems like a smarter idea, but of course it's a fair bit bigger, more expensive, and he's not making pedals at the moment.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='518227' date='Jun 19 2009, 11:36 AM']Also, FWIW, I think they sound great on a Jazz, too.. [/quote] I've got them on my Jazz and they're working out just great. Tone off: Ska. Tone on: Soul. Great stuff.

This should be interesting. I don't usually go for solo bass records but it'll be nice to hear what he can do without a mile-high rack of Eventide gear and enough processing power to fly a fighter jet.

I wouldn't pack it in just yet. I spent a full year trying to find good people to put together an originals band (and the singer I ended up with lives literally around the corner from me, typical), and it's taken us another 9 months to find a suitable drummer for that gig. And as soon as all that got going, I got an offer to join another band which I'm really enjoying. It sounds like you haven't been idle for very long at all really. I'd keep looking if I were you, something good will turn up at some point. Or start putting a band together yourself.

Do you currently not like the sound you're getting from your dirt pedals? If it sounds good then leave it alone.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='516342' date='Jun 17 2009, 12:40 PM']Part of their T&Cs is that it must be wrapped in cardboard - without it you aren't covered for damage.[/quote] Oh yeah. I did try to find cardboard, maybe that's why... As it was I wasn't too concerned about the case, it was a bit torn up to begin with. I just wanted more cushioning for the bass and to have something holding the latches shut.

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='516180' date='Jun 17 2009, 10:11 AM']I always enclose the case in cardboard (not easy) as technically if u dont, the case is 'the packaging' and u cant claim for damged packaging, only if the contents itself ie the bass is also damaged[/quote] I couldn't find cardboard big enough to cover a bass case so I wrapped it in several layers of bubble wrap. I don't know how well that survived the trip but it looked pretty safe when they collected it.

As far as I could tell the only difference with their cheaper options was the longer delivery time. They still offer the same insurance prices on their "economy" service, so why would they be more likely to damage stuff using that service? It wouldn't make sense. FTR I shipped my Stingray to Spain using that service last week, it apparently arrived safe and sound today.

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='515496' date='Jun 16 2009, 05:21 PM']Isn't it a Pedulla???[/quote] Looks like one to me.

I can imagine it being a bit impractical for stage use.