thisnameistaken

I can imagine why some people get pissed off. It's mostly old people with very fixed ideas about things, like old people do, and they have plenty of other old people to reinforce their beliefs. I don't want to upset the smarter old people around here so I should point out I'm using 'old people' as a polite way to avoid saying 'thick people'. There are a handful of really great contributors who I think draw people in initially, but then they mostly bugger off again when they find out it's mostly thick people harping on about the same old bollocks for eternity. I can't comment on off-topic because I've been banned from there for years. Can't say I miss it much, it was like reading the Daily Mail.

I sing harmony and usually end up doing the web stuff, and I contribute to the writing either with arrangement ideas or sometimes writing parts for other people, I usually do all/most of the recording but not the mixing, I try to get involved in everything really except playing everybody else's instruments.

It's too hot on stage for hats. No matter how bald I get I won't wear one.

What happened to the Streamer?

[quote name='philparker' timestamp='1365841082' post='2045056'] I use a clip-on mini tuner on the bridge, which works fine. [/quote] Same here. I've also used gStrings on my phone which works well too, in a quiet room.

I've got three 8Gb memory sticks in there, but there are still CDs in the glove box. Can't remember all of them but they include: The Skints - Part & Parcel Squirrel Nut Zippers - Perennial Favourites Bill Evans Trio - Live At The Village Vanguard Voodoo Glow Skulls - Baile De Los Locos De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead Everything Everything - Man Alive Ben Folds Five - The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1365793843' post='2044731'] This lot were popular around the time that Jamiroquai came out . Is it really twenty years ago ? Flippin 'eck ! Anyway , if you were too young to be around at the time , student types were listening to this lot : [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGv3Wswe0U0[/media] [/quote] Same bass player in that Push clip above - Ernie McKone. Very much underrated.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1365793843' post='2044731'] This lot were popular around the time that Jamiroquai came out [/quote] Yeah we were all listening to Brand New Heavies and Galliano when Jamiroquai arrived, although to be fair their first album was very good. Also 'New Jersey Kings' was James Taylor Quartet. That album was better than any JTQ album I bet they regretted putting it out under a pseudonym. :-) Brand New Heavies' Heavy Rhyme Experience was a really good record, seems mostly forgotten but well worth a listen.

[quote name='thunderbird13' timestamp='1365755735' post='2043841'] Thanks thats really useful I'll try that technique and see if I can control the volume - do you play throough a compressor when doing this ? [/quote] No I don't have a compressor in my signal path these days. I use a contact mic rather than a piezo so anything that sounds good acoustically sounds pretty much the same amplified. Basically instead of plucking towards your body and stopping against the next string you're plucking more in a direction that's away from the bass, so you're still plucking with the side of your finger sort-of but it gives you the opportunity to slap back afterwards.

I think if you genuinely love a style of music you can play it authentically. If you wouldn't normally listen to it then you probably won't do it justice. I grew up listening to my mum's old big band records, so that kind of swing is pretty natural for me. I was born in 1974 and the first pop music that I remember is the 2Tone artists and bands like The Clash, The Blockheads, The Piranhas and Pigbag, so some funk, and more reggae bass lines and swing feels. Then when 'my music' arrived it was about 1990 and there was acid jazz, and that's when I started playing bass so I'm happy with funk and disco stuff. And also old-school sample-based hip-hop which gave me a pretty broad grounding in anything you can dance to. I've played in funk bands, punk bands, baggy-indie bands and punk/reggae bands and I've never felt out of place. I would feel a bit awkward playing straight-ahead rock or blues or smooth jazz, but pretty much anything else I can dig and I'm sure I could make a decent fist of it, at worst.

They are just such beautiful objects. Even cheap ones. I think most bass guitarists struggle not to be tempted by them. I am constantly drooling over antique double basses I can't afford and have no realistic need for. I've played bass guitar for over 20 years and never spent more than £700 on one, and would really struggle to convince myself to do so, but if I had five grand to throw away I would buy an attractive old double bass in a heartbeat. It makes no sense. It's love!

I mostly play just with a single singer/guitarist (although that's a bunch of different people depending on the gig) so I slap whenever I think a tune needs extra rhythm, the sort of tune where people might be dancing. It's also useful for picking up a stronger beat during a tune to drive it along a bit and make things rowdier. So sometimes I'll slap all the way through, sometimes I'll slap from the second verse, sometimes in the final chorus, wherever I think a bit of testosterone would improve matters, basically. Remember though you're not soloing, you really need to provide a good backbeat and not deviate too much especially during the vocals. Keep it simple and steady. As for volume considerations, I'm usually picking the bass pretty hard anyway so there's not much in it. If I start slapping the guitarist will get louder too so it's not a big deal. I also use a sort of half-way technique where I'll pluck a string fairly normally with my fingers still pointing at the bridge, but I'll move my hand further away as I pluck so I can slap back down before the next note. It's a similar effect to the slapping style with your fingers perpendicular to the strings but you get more control over the volume and because you don't have to change your technique at all you can switch in slap playing for little embellishments here and there without any effort.

Usually it's a vocal melody idea, sometimes it's a bass or guitar melody or a beat, any little idea that seems worth a bit of effort to flesh out I'll work on it, but I always start with music and then add lyrics. Usually I'll work on guitar rather than bass, very occasionally keys if I feel like I'm going through the motions on guitar. Often though when I get around to picking up a bass the chords will change because arpeggiating the chords suggests a more interesting idea. I work hardest on the lyrics though. I don't often write lyrics these days but when I do I spend much longer on those than the music. IMHO the music is important to pique a listener's interest and the musical hooks will keep them interested to the end, but the lyrics are what make a pop song worth a lifetime of listening, long after the music has lost its novelty.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1365595125' post='2041492'] They encourage endless repetition which is one of the big turn-offs for me as a listener. They irritate me as they are often just 'filler' and don't really offer much in the way of added value.. [/quote] And the fact that you're usually a minute in by the time they've tracked their backing loops and by that point you're bored already. I find people with loopers to be insufferably tedious.

[quote name='goblin' timestamp='1363895191' post='2019144'] I've had TWO double basses, my 1x15, head and hard cased Warwick in the back of a Polo...so yeah you should be alright! [/quote] I've seen two 3/4 basses a small head and a 1x10" cab in a small Peugeot (306? Maybe) - when I bought my first bass that's how it arrived at my house.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1365080825' post='2034972'] Which side of the river are these? [attachment=131797:Nerd Bass players.jpg] [/quote] Haha! I think the day when you commission a custom bass is the day your best friend should punch you in the face. Like your art is so unique it requires a bespoke instrument. Your art as a bass player - no other instrument screams 'accompaniment' like the bass guitar, nobody needs a bespoke bass built to their own specification unless they have a disability and require a uniquely accessible instrument.

Well some basses are louder than others; my main bass isn't as loud as my busking bass; but yeah if you use techniques to give the string plenty of welly and you've got the action high enough any bass should be able to keep up with a thug on a dreadnought acoustic.

Steve I can imagine what you do is pretty terrible for your hands (Steve is a well known street-trading craftsman here in York) and I really can't imagine what you could do to guard against the vibration damage. Have you had any medical advice about it?

My upright is loud enough to pay with two or three acoustic guitars, cajon, etc. It's the only practical acoustic string bass solution really, although those Mexican 'guitarron' things look promising. Unfortunately they also look stupid.

Do they still typically give you a dead spot somewhere between D and E on the G like most traditionally built basses?

I'm usually singing harmony so I'm usually at the front doing a lot of singing from the second verse onwards. I see my job as making the singer look good so I don't try to steal any attention, just support the front man, although if it's a quiet crowd I consider it my responsibility to hype up the people on my side of the stage. I'm not ugly or fat so I don't mind drawing some attention where necessary. Actually I avoid getting fat because I end up on stage a lot.

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1364927603' post='2032848'] I did my perfect gig a while back, no hour drive home after, it was so close I even ran home during the break to say goodnight to the kids. First gig I've actually drunk at for a long time. [/quote] I live in the middle of York so I've got a couple off venues within walking distance if I don't have to bring a cab. The pedal board gets heavy after a while though. :/

I have to say I find the vocal really distracting on a lot of their stuff. I like him on MY KZ UR BF but, for example, he annoys me on Qwerty Finger (which I otherwise really like). In general I approve of what they do but I can see how the vocal puts a lot of people off. There's no denying they're a talented bunch though, and it's refreshing to hear a band trying to force some deliberately-clever music on people.

Depending on your amp, with the -1 octave up and the direct signal off, you might find there's a drop in level - it's because much of the grunt of the OC-2 is really low down and without a big amp you won't get the full effect. I usually run a little boost before mine, partly to deal with the perceived loss in volume but also because often when I turn on the OC-2 I want it to be a bit louder and more forward in the mix. Also while at first it seems to make the same sound regardless of the tone of your bass, you will find that if you feed it more treble you will get some slightly higher frequencies back from the octave sound, which will give it more character. The down side is that it tracks better if you give it a signal with very little treble content to it. Experiment!