thisnameistaken

[quote name='ARGH' post='237752' date='Jul 12 2008, 01:44 AM']I was,but an incident at tonights gigs really ,sort of ,flattened me out.[/quote] Was that the bikers or just being in Malton? Malton freaks me out a bit too - the missus' family is from up there so I end up there for lunch most Sundays. It's turning into a proper little BNP town these days.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='237762' date='Jul 12 2008, 02:00 AM']apart from oil being slightly harder to come by, but surely not enough to increase the price of petrol and diesel by about 30% in the last year or less?[/quote] But the price of oil impacts the price of everything else, due to increased costs of haulage. And of course there's the whole side-effect of biofuels becoming more popular as oil becomes more expensive, which pushes up food prices. The other day I heard the only growth area in the British economy at the moment is in frozen foods and freezers - everybody's looking for cheaper ways to eat.

[quote name='YouMa' post='237715' date='Jul 11 2008, 11:45 PM']surely disco had the best bass players technique wise,[/quote] When I was a tiny kid my favourite songs were stuff like Rhythm Stick and 'House of Fun', probably not a coincidence I ended up playing bass... Anyway, when I started listening to the old disco tunes (after Acid Jazz started putting out their first compilations) I crapped myself thinking there was a whole generation of awesome bassists. Turned out they were all either Verdine White or Bernard Edwards. Made me feel much better about it when I realised there was only really two of them.

It's funny, one of the three partners in my business is a sales guy, and it wasn't until recently that we realised just how good he is. Work hasn't slowed down at all yet - if anything we're busier than ever. This is doing web/IT stuff. I've been doing 50+ hour weeks for most of this year just to keep up. All your second hand basses are belong to me.

[quote name='tauzero' post='237446' date='Jul 11 2008, 04:51 PM']So if you were starving and could have a tenner for playing "Mustang Sally" or nothing at all for playing your own composition, I take it you'd be convincing yourself that anorexic was the look that suited you...[/quote] I'd go get a job, tbh. Anyway I'd rather not get into that particular argument again - I've already apologised for last night's outburst.

I still listen to the first two Ben Folds Five records pretty regularly. They wrote some great songs.

I promise not to post on forums any more when I've been out on the lash. Can't say fairer than that. Sorry.

[quote name='ARGH' post='236837' date='Jul 10 2008, 08:00 PM']To be honest Jase,I think Ive fallen out of love with playing.[/quote] Take your bass to bits, replace the pups, replace the bridge, spray it a new colour. Don't pick up any other basses until the work is complete. This should give you at least two weeks of bass-playing-free time, and when you pick it up again you'll find most of those old bad habits are a lot weaker than they used to be. [quote name='Astronomer' post='236879' date='Jul 10 2008, 09:03 PM']I've read through most of this, and there's a lot of issues. I think I can distill all of them down to this: 1. If you're a professional musician, why are you pharting around on the amateur scene?[/quote] Because when music is a "profession", by definition it means you'll play any old sh*te for the money. "Professional" musicians suck the soul out of music, and should be collectively bludgeoned to death by amateurs like myself who aren't willing (note: "able" is not an issue) to play weddings every weekend spewing out whatever sh*te the unwashed masses are eager to consume. I can't believe people can be smug about playing sh*te for a living. I may not make a living playing bass, but at least when I pick up a bass it's not to make money out of it. I still do it for the right reasons.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='236232' date='Jul 10 2008, 12:57 AM']I hate my behringer overdrive pedal for that, it really takes the high end and definition out of my bass and makes it really quiet. If i turn it off it sounds quiet and muddy, and if i turn it's on it's way too loud, so if i turn it down i don't get any decent gain out of it, it's crap.[/quote] Console yourself with the fact that it's a Behringer and at least it was cheap. Try an EHX Bass Micro Synth - £170 and the bypass is the worst I've ever heard.

It's inevitable that you'll lose [i]something[/i] even with true-bypass pedals. You've got more cable to travel down before you get to the amp, and if it's a long run (or a passive bass) you may well notice the difference. You might actually be better off with a pedal that has a good buffer rather than true bypass somewhere in your chain, just to help pump your signal along to the amp.

TBH if I wasn't such a tightwad I'd be running a 2x12 or a pair of 1x12s by now, but it's cheaper and less scary to lug an Ashdown 410 to the gig. Not so nice for my back though, and I am a proper scrawny weakling, so no doubt I'll cave and buy fancy cabs eventually.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='236065' date='Jul 9 2008, 08:57 PM']3. Anyone who calls any of the virtuoso players "unmusical" is severely missing the point. Is it because you're sick as the proverbial parrot that you can't do it yourself? I hear people say the same about Victor Wooten on here & he is unmistakably the most musical bass player I've ever heard.[/quote] When Victor Wooten's grooving he's really, really good, but it seems that within 60 seconds of him doing anything tasteful you can guarantee he'll launch into some bloody awful 200bpm double-thumbing attack, and frankly I think "unmusical" is actually a charitable description of that noise.

[quote name='mr.sibs' post='236093' date='Jul 9 2008, 09:43 PM']where did you get hold of the new shape microsynth?[/quote] +1

I've always sung harmony vox in all the bands I've done. Now that I think about it that's one of two things that all those bands had in common, the other being that they weren't successful... Hmm. Anyway... If you've ever played piano or drum set you'll be familiar with how "weird" it can feel to be playing two different patterns independently. Playing guitar and singing at the same time can be a pretty similar experience, especially the bass+vox to piano comparison, because you'll most likely be playing rhythmic accompaniment with your hands, and a melody with your voice. I agree with the posters above who've said that you need to have the bass part become somewhat automatic, because if you're singing at the same time the singing becomes more important. Everybody's going to notice if your vocal is lifeless because you're concentrating on your bass. If you've got a difficult bass part to play that is often in rhythmic counterpoint to the melody, try slowing it right down to get the notes in the right order. All the way down to 60bpm or lower if you have to, just to get used to the way it feels when you get it right. Once you've practised it super-slow for a while, that rhythm will begin to feel natural, and you can start to speed it up a bit. I remember practising [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-EeZRBStMNQ"]Love Cats[/url] quite a lot when I first started singing and playing at the same time. I think if you can manage to sing that one all the way through without tripping over yourself you shouldn't have much trouble with anything.

Level 42 aren't one of the '80s bands you're still allowed to like. Their fans looked like Swiss Toni, probably still do.

Er... No wait, I'll have one... Nope, sorry, nothing. A mate of mine had two flightcases with "Chick Corea" stencilled on them. That's about as close to t'stars as we get oop north.

Bradford Rios shut down? Ah that was a great place to play. Shame. Anyway yeah I am totally making assumptions about what you sound like based on the fact you have a 9-string bass, and yeah it's prejudicial and ignorant and all that, but it's based on the only context I have: What I've seen other people with bonus-stringed basses do with them. And other people are probably going to jump to the same conclusions, that's all I'm saying. Anyway I had intended to be asleep about an hour ago. Damn internets...

[quote name='ARGH' post='235274' date='Jul 8 2008, 09:10 PM']To be an 'Anorak',by having a 9 string...I dont get that though? What do you mean?[/quote] Well it is a bit nerdy isn't it? Partly it suggests that you had it built to order, which in itself is a bit nerdy, but it also suggests that you probably bought it with the intention of playing it alone. I mean why else would anyone want all the bonus strings? So to me I suppose it subconsciously says you like indulging in difficult technical exercises. Like a mathematician or an engineer. So that's probably where I get "nerdy" from. Basically whenever I see something like that I get scared that someone's going to pick it up and tap out plonky-buzzy horrible versions of piano music on it. I don't know whether anyone else gets the same feeling, but I imagine most people have never seen one before. I haven't in the flesh, actually. Anyway, now that you've mentioned that you're into stuff like Mastodon, I can imagine it's hard to find other people who dig that stuff. I think it's clever myself, but I can't really listen to it - I think I have simpler tastes. Don't think I know any players who are into that stuff here in York but that's not to say they don't exist. It doesn't sound like you're really ready to quit though. I think if nothing is coming along you should just retreat to your home studio and do your own thing for a while. At least you'll have stuff to show people when opportunities do come up.

That GAS is a bitch. To be honest I stole one of the "cool riffs" from [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SonUW_yEMWw"]Moloko[/url] because I accidentally reminded myself of it with the low gliss in the previous bit. After I recorded that clip I actually went chasing the tone from that tune just to see if the pulse synth could do it, and found it pretty quickly. Must get out of the habit of picking mute notes with the pulse synth on - would be more convincing without little hints like that giving it away as a guitar.

[quote name='ARGH' post='235147' date='Jul 8 2008, 06:01 PM']RE: "I wouldnt hire a guy that brought a 6 string to an audition".....I can respond in two ways,one being,If they downtune to say Low B..or they ask for AT LEAST a 5 string..Im gonna bring the 6,I dont just bring out an instrument to impress anyone.[/quote] K. I think you missed my point - being that [i]I[/i] wouldn't hire you. Me. [quote name='ARGH' post='235147' date='Jul 8 2008, 06:01 PM']Most times its as Ive said ,the Fender. If you have a problem with people with more than 4,its your problem...simple as..I cant help you,you have to change.[/quote] Au contraire. I'm not the one who can't get a gig. But anyway... [quote name='ARGH' post='235147' date='Jul 8 2008, 06:01 PM']I dont want to form a band,Ive been doing that,Ive been doing that forever...its part of the problem,I want the problem to go away,Im stopping playing,the problem is going away.....[/quote] Well, that's one solution, but seeing how angry you are about it I don't think it's the best solution. Is it that you don't want to form a band, or that you can't even find individual musicians who are into what you want to do? Or can't find musicians to play with at all? I'm not being funny - it took me a while to find people around here. [quote name='ARGH' post='235147' date='Jul 8 2008, 06:01 PM']Fitting in.....Maybe being an alchy,drug using twat,might get me somewhere,maybe being sh*t might help,maybe being always late to gigs/rehearsal,with a pissweak excuse will get me success,[/quote] Or maybe you just haven't found like-minded people yet. Or open-minded people. And maybe - and this is just an idea, please try not to be angry - maybe you come across as a bit of an anorak because you've got a 9-string guitar? Yeah in a forum full of other bass anoraks it's normal, but y'know, perspective. [quote name='ARGH' post='235147' date='Jul 8 2008, 06:01 PM']Leeds is sh*te,Bradford's sh*te,Wakey's sh*te,Dewsbury's sh*te...even the small out of the way places have NOTHING (Wetherby,Ponte,Fax).[/quote] I have a friend in Wakey who's currently busy with two originals gigs, another mate in Wakey who's probably doing all the others at the moment - both playing bass. None of these acts are part of any "scene", but they might not be your cup of tea exactly. One of them was looking for a bass player just a week or so ago actually, then they moved my mate on to bass from guitar because they couldn't find one. Just saying, there might be stuff going on quite close to you that you're not aware of. Do you go see a lot of local bands?

[quote name='3V17C' post='235025' date='Jul 8 2008, 03:26 PM']when you get to a certain age (30ish +) it can be much harder to find an originals band as most people by then are happy just doing covers and younger bands have to consider the image side of things to be taken seriously.[/quote] This is true and there's not much you can do about it really, unless you're lucky. Funnily enough both myself and a good friend of mine (both of us about to turn 34) are currently backing young talent - he's got this folk singer/songwriter girl, and I've got this soul/hip-hop singer girl. My gig's the nicer one, obviously, because a) It's not folk, and b ) I get to contribute to the writing, but his band actually sound pretty good too - for a folk band. And that's basically one way to get away with being an old fart in an originals band. Do the old "I'm the hired sideman" bit. Even if you're not.

Not going to make any friends here, but... I probably wouldn't hire a bassist who turned up with a 6-string. But what I mean is if you're turning up for a spot on someone else's gig, you need to be the person they want or you won't get the gig. If you don't ever seem to fit anyone's criteria then I suppose you can either change yourself to fit someone's idea of the ideal bass player, or stop responding to wanted ads and do your own thing. It sounds like you're a pretty creative guy, you understand music, you want to do originals - why not put some demos together of your own stuff and start advertising for bandmates yourself? When I moved to York I didn't really know any musicians around here, couldn't find any like-minded types anywhere so that's what I did. That little gig is slow-going to be honest - a nice bunch with talent but other commitments and very little free time - but I did at least meet more people through them who introduced me to more people and so on. Actually the (main) band I'm currently working with was set up on word of mouth recommendations for the most part, and it turned out the singer (who's our sort-of unofficial leader) lives literally around the corner from me. So you never know, you might have somebody right on your doorstep who you could be making music with.

Er... I plug my Thumb in, controls flat and strings not too old (but not too new!). That's about it. If I'm playing something a bit souly or older, I solo the front pup. I use 10"s at the moment to avoid lots of boomy low end, but starting to think I'd be better off with 12"s for when the effects get stomped on. Actually yeah I'm still tweaking the effects. It's harder to get some of those to sit well in a band mix.