thisnameistaken

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='220610' date='Jun 17 2008, 02:32 PM']... To paraphrase Ellis Marsalis, if you play for money or applause, that's all you will ever get. [quote name='stingrayfan' post='220614' date='Jun 17 2008, 02:34 PM'] Doesn't sap my creativity at all. I play great basslines to audiences that love the songs and get paid for it.[/quote] [/quote]

I like one of the tunes on their Myspace site. Reminds me a bit of [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JSmZFBP3Nok"]Dag[/url].

I think you can learn stuff from other peoples' tunes, but you can learn much more by creating your own. I also think creativity is in some respects a skill that can and will get rusty if you don't use it regularly.

Mostly Asian Dub Foundation... [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jywa9oK3ytU"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jywa9oK3ytU[/url] ... and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs ... [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiJoHKa8Fg"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiJoHKa8Fg[/url] ... and the sadly overlooked live-band-backed rappers The Goats: [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wv5sR9GDVx4"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wv5sR9GDVx4[/url]

Looks like a Whammy pedal in the video. Logic says it's probably a Whammy pedal. Have you tried a Whammy pedal? Applying Occam's Razor, I'm going to go with "It's a Whammy pedal".

Start recording yourself practicing. If you're not using both hands to mute strings you'll probably find that some stuff you play comes with noisy overtones! Actually one song that's terribly over-studied at the moment does a really good job of teaching you good muting habits: Hysteria by Muse. Slow it down if you need to, just for the sake of getting through it, and you'll find playing it cleanly is actually pretty complicated in terms of muting, and techniques like the one you're talking about come in very handy.

If the pickguard isn't a must-have (and why would it be...) the G&L L2000 would be worth trying. Especially if there's a very particular sound you're trying to achieve because it's got so many tonal options onboard. And it's another Leo Fender design with a P-type neck. Maybe an old Gibson Ripper or Grabber might do the trick if you definitely DO need a pickguard.

[quote name='molan' post='218596' date='Jun 13 2008, 10:08 PM']Here's an example of Barnes' playing from a more recent gig. If the slapping gets too much just wait until Nile joins in on super funky guitar about half way through [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yxTNIi2g14&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yxTNIi2g14...feature=related[/url][/quote] That doesn't sound at all like Chic. It doesn't work without Bernard.

[quote name='truegeminis' post='218152' date='Jun 13 2008, 10:41 AM']I've ordered the Pickle Pie 'B'. Just wondering how long did it take for the pedal to arrive from time of shipping?[/quote] I ordered mine on the 28th of May, sent an email to Matt earlier this week and he said it would be another 7-10 days, so it looks like 3-4 weeks at the moment. He told me he was really busy before I ordered so I was expecting that sort of delay anyway.

Have you changed your rig at all? My OC-2 seems to do very little with the two-octaves-down knob but I'm putting it through a very average 4x10 so I don't expect to hear much of it.

These are all great fun to play. Couple of repeats here but worth repeating: Specials - Monkey Man (more reliant on the bass than Toots & The Maytals' original) Specials - Ghost Town Specials - Too Much, Too Young Specials - Nite Klub Madness - House of Fun Fishbone - Lying Ass Bitch Fishbone - Ma and Pa Fishbone - Unyielding Condition Sublime - Doin' Time (ska George Gershwin!) Operation Ivy - Bombshell Rancid - Time Bomb

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='217084' date='Jun 11 2008, 06:15 PM']I may well be going hugely off the point here, but I find Steve Lawson's thoughts on originality particularly interesting: [url="http://www.stevelawson.net/wordpress/2008/04/thoughts_and_qu/"]http://www.stevelawson.net/wordpress/2008/...houghts_and_qu/[/url][/quote] I lost interest when he quoted Bono (someone else who should've been either exiled or executed decades ago) but he does have something of a point, albeit a non-point. Genres are fine, so long as somebody brings something of quality to it. But he's not talking about cover bands.

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='216879' date='Jun 11 2008, 02:16 PM']People like familiar songs though! I like singing along to songs I've heard before, even if I wouldn't listen to them at home.[/quote] I don't think there's anything wrong with playing familiar tunes as-such, but I think a good public performance should challenge the audience in some way too. The odd old song or cover for light relief would no doubt be welcome, but at least send them home feeling like they've heard or experienced something new. [quote name='queenofthedepths' post='216879' date='Jun 11 2008, 02:16 PM']Anyway, I'd rather see a good cover band than a derivative originals band with little to offer artistically.[/quote] I've never gone out to see a cover band and I can't imagine I ever would. And I would honestly rather see a band made up of kids who can barely play beating the living crap out of their guitars with real vitality and belief, than see a bunch of famous, ageing rockers in a stadium with a squillion-dollar light show knocking out the hits they had in the '60s or '70s. For me, the former is going to be more entertaining. I think there's more humanity in it. I suppose it depends what you want from your music and your musicians.

That's an extremely cool-looking bass. Any idea what they go for?

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='216379' date='Jun 10 2008, 07:25 PM']I completly understand your views on this sort of music but as we are sooooo far aprt it seems its pointless trying to convince each other who's right IMO. We are both coming from different directions, that why i said i wouldnt take notice of your arguments but im sure your not bothered and dont agree with mine (or even believe me that i do like most things i play)[/quote] I'm still listening to you. We don't have to conclude anything - philosophers have argued this stuff into oblivion and got nowhere. It seems we are coming from very different positions. I assume that all musicians I meet got involved in music because they were inspired by some other musician. I find it difficult to grasp that Take That might've actually influenced a real musician somewhere. And I find it horrifying, frankly. [quote name='dave_bass5' post='216379' date='Jun 10 2008, 07:25 PM']I hope i didnt come across too rude.[/quote] Not at all. To be honest it was the sniping "self-righteous" remarks earlier in the thread that made me decide that I might as well play the devil's advocate for pomposity if I was going to be slated for it anyway. Regardless, I really do mean most of what I'm saying, although I would settle for a lesser punishment than death for Take That if it avoided a lengthy legal battle which might involve their records being played.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='216369' date='Jun 10 2008, 07:01 PM']Now you see, your not being objective by assuming only 11 year old girls like that sort of thing so that puts your views in to perspective to me. I'll not argue them but ill not take any notice of them either.[/quote] I lost patience with objectivity when manufactured teen bands came into the discussion. I will not position myself as a Take That apologist even for the purposes of objectivity, they suck in the worst possible way and they should all be put to death. It seems you're content to say nothing for fear of upsetting a few people. I like to think of myself as a musician, and so if I don't loudly and proudly object to mediocre dross like Take That then nobody will. [quote name='queenofthedepths' post='216374' date='Jun 10 2008, 07:10 PM']Isn't that a bit rude? You're going to ignore his argument without even telling him where he went wrong?![/quote] He's told me exactly what his issue with my argument is, so that's fine.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='216313' date='Jun 10 2008, 05:10 PM']so your saying the Kim or mike dont like 'N sync's music then?[/quote] Neither of them are 11-year-old girls, so I'd say it's pretty unlikely. What's to like about their music? Either it's completely soulless by-the-numbers chart-fodder garbage or I've somehow missed all the critically-acclaimed work that you're referring to. [quote name='john_the_bass' post='216324' date='Jun 10 2008, 05:23 PM']I'd go and play for fecking Boyzone[/quote] I wouldn't.

I think your earlier respondents already covered everything else: [quote name='Jobiebass' post='216293' date='Jun 10 2008, 04:34 PM']an EQ pedal.. to me EQ is the Bass Mid Trebble. but I have that on my amp and bass so id guess that its just for mid song changes to eq?[/quote] Or for changing EQ between songs, maybe dependant on which pedals you've got enabled (perhaps more of a bassy tone when you switch on your octave effect, or more treble with your fuzz to get a raspier sound, etc.). I don't have one on my board but I can imagine they come in handy if you use more than one bass sound in your set.

[quote name='tauzero' post='216276' date='Jun 10 2008, 04:04 PM']If originals musicians had the sort of artistic integrity that you are defining, I'd have been subjected to far less sh*t music over the years and 90% of local bands would cease to be.[/quote] So that would be a bad thing? Sod it, I've set myself up as the villain of this thread, I might as well play it with as much moustache-twirling as I can muster. When someone brought up Take That and Boyzone earlier, all I could think about was how much they shouldn't be allowed to exist. So one of this bloke's favourite bassists toured with them - that does not make them acceptable! And as for Paul Turner, I can only assume he'll play anything if the money's right. To me that says nothing positive about his artistic integrity. Would you expect someone like Kim Deal or Mike Watt to turn up touring with 'N Sync? Not likely, because they aren't pathetic sell-out chumps.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='215862' date='Jun 10 2008, 12:30 AM']Purely out of interest thisnameistaken, do you consider yourself to have artistic integrity? If so why? Do you accept the art/craft point?[/quote] I do accept your art/craft point. I understand that some people here have invested thousands of hours in their instrumental skills and they may well have a very keen interest in performing, but playing Lady In Red for money or going on tour with Take That are not artistic endeavours, they are purely commercial. As for my own integrity: I'm no Orwell, but I haven't played in a cover band, or in any band I didn't believe had any musical merit. I do other creative things outside of music (more often than music, these days) which I am even more precious about, and I think that's maybe why I'm more argumentative than most in this thread. I also have a belief - not especially well-researched to be honest but it is long-held! - that very little decent art is produced by happy, contented people. And I think that any band which has considerable commercial success should pack it in once they're loaded, because the rest of their output is almost guaranteed to be garbage. Maybe that makes me seem elitist, but I'm really not. I mean I sure as hell wouldn't play Mustang Sally for anyone, but that's just having standards.

[quote name='crez5150' post='215828' date='Jun 9 2008, 11:20 PM']Sorry but I completely disagree with that. What your saying is that as a Pro Bassist he has no integrity...... As an artist you cannot judge his integrity as you have nothing to judge apart from his work on Tours as an MD. Thats absurd.[/quote] Well, if you believe that the musical output of Take That and Boyzone have artistic merit, we are unlikely to ever reach a concensus. The fact that Paul Turner is now playing for Jamiroquai is of no consequence whatsoever, regardless of what a good gig that probably was 15 years ago.