thisnameistaken

I really like him, he's creative and enthusiastic, a lot like Flea actually - the sort of guy who could light up stages all over the world, inspire a million kids to take up bass guitar, and then get slated in forums decades later for not being technical enough.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1330164511' post='1553511']Mmm. Sounds like I need more than one then! Something digital / sampler that tracks perfectly just to add a small bit of thickness.... and something analogue to run into my envelope filter for gritty squelchy goodness!![/quote] For what it's worth I did have an OC-2 and a Micro POG on my board for a while. I've just got the OC-2 now. The Micro POG is an interesting sound but not terribly useful for bass players unless you get a lot of 'alone time' during your band's songs - the digitised voices sound quite brittle and glassy (yes the octave down has this characteristic too) and it gets swamped by guitars / keys / horns. The thing I found it was best at was for doubling the bass part 'on guitar' for that old-school reggae sound. We had just the one guitarist who was singing and playing rhythm so it was nice on some older-sounding tunes to add that higher octave doubling my part, and saved us the trouble of having a second guitarist. Ultimately though all those tunes dropped out of our set list so I got rid of the pedal. FWIW I also saw Billy Bragg's bassist using a POG to do the same trick a couple of years ago (they were providing music for a play and 'Pressure Drop' was a recurring theme). They also had a guy using one on mandolin to produce organ sounds, so I guess the POG is pretty handy for making up the instruments you're lacking in a reggae band, but I'm not sure where else you could use one.

Why would the guitars feed back when they turn the bass knob down? I guess because they're turning up the volume to compensate? They shouldn't need to add more volume if nothing is competing with them for those higher frequencies. It will be impossible to get any kind of clear sound on stage until they fix their EQ.

They should've given you the achievement award for learning the song from guitar tab and performing it competently. Why should they get all the acclaim just for writing and popularising songs? Give the cover bands their dues, that's what I say.

[quote name='Kirky' timestamp='1330116139' post='1553121']There's Jim Fleeting in Ripon - he's a member here as well. [url="http://www.guitarrepairman.co.uk/"]http://www.guitarrepairman.co.uk/[/url][/quote] Ripon's a long way on a bike though. And doesn't have a train station! I still can't get over Ripon not having a train station.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1330102546' post='1552864'] I've had Boss OC2 and 3 before, but I am lead to believe the newer ones like the Micro POG and the MXR Octave Deluxe track much better. [/quote] The tracking on the MXR won't be much/any better than the OC-2, they're based on the same tech. The Micro POG 'tracks' flawlessly because it's not actually tracking your note but digitally resampling the input signal to produce the octave voices - this makes it sound thin and weedy (as opposed to the beefy synthy sound from an analogue octave divider like the OC-2 or MXR). Digital harmonisers like the POGs/HOGs have their uses but they are totally different effects. If it's an analogue octave sound you want (like the OC-2) then you really just need to get used to their foibles and adjust your playing (and input signal) to compensate.

Last week, for the first time, I missed out on a gig I wanted to do because I can't read well enough. I had made a new year's resolution last year to learn to read music and made practically no progress, but I am determined now!

Yeah I'm just up the road on Bootham, think I'll give him a go next time I need some work doing.

I doubt many of us will have recordings of the last bass line we wrote. Mine was on a slower number that doesn't have a name yet, currently I play a walking part during the female singer's verses and then a dub style line during the MC's verses, but the arrangement needs a lot more work (which it will receive tomorrow).

I recently heard a recommendation for Dave Gregory, he's down by Clifton Green: http://davegregoryguitars.com/ I haven't used him myself though. I've never taken anything in to MOR or Red Cow.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1330035096' post='1551948'] Your use of the term "Amateurish" is entirely appropriate. Many players are amateurs. Why expect professional standards from them? [/quote] And if you do expect professional standards from them - start paying them.

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1330016474' post='1551518']Seen better on the X factor first round shows. Terrible performance and they should really be ashamed of themselves.[/quote] You should be ashamed for watching X Factor.

I only do originals, but certainly it's hard to get an audience out for new music these days and the promoters won't pay because they know it even better than the bands do. As for cover bands, I don't know the economics of that, I don't do it. I'm putting a new band together at the moment and I'm tired of the routine of having to be the first people at the venue because they said they wanted to soundcheck at 5pm but they don't turn up until 6:30pm, or the headline band are late, and they want you to bring 30 people in return for some warm Carling, and they want all the other bands to use your backline... So I think I'm going to concentrate on recording for now and see if I can't find an audience before we start gigging, rather than going gigging in search of an audience. I'm sure it can't be any harder doing it the other way around. I have other chances to go gigging so I won't miss it.

[quote name='Thurbs' timestamp='1329982393' post='1550651'] As for the bow argument, even if you only want to play jazz/blues/rock exclusively, I would recommend you still get stuck in with the bow. It really helps with intonation as it is much easier to sustain notes, allowing you to hear errors more clearly.... and talking about intonation... welcome to a new life long quest for perfection![/quote] You might also find you like the sound of the bow and want to work on it purely for your own enjoyment.

They sound a bit too clangy for me.

[quote name='Mog' timestamp='1329918723' post='1549682']Sound, without going too far off topic. 5 bassists I'd class as remarkable:[list=1] [*]Nathan East [*]Mike Dean [*]John Paul Jones [*]Tye Zamora [*]Dee Murray [/list] Theres plenty more I could mention.[/quote] I've heard of two of them. If it wasn't for adverts on bass forums / magazines I would only have heard of one of them. Pop music doesn't really need its bass players to be outstanding though does it? Or at least not that often. That said, I think Alex James has played some nice parts over the years.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1329911167' post='1549446'] I don't really see what everyone is bitching about. I guess that makes me wrong. [/quote] Basically it's that Blur are sh*t because Alex James will never be the new Victor Wooten. I can't imagine many teenage girls have had posters of Victor Wooten on their bedroom walls, so I doubt Alex James gives all that much of a sh*t really.

What you need is an Octavius Squeezer set to the factory preset 'No Dana, Only Zuul'.

I don't really think of my pedals in terms of 'need' and 'don't need'. I mean, if I didn't need some of them I wouldn't have them. My board is sort-of an instrument. I've got an OC-2 and an Octavius Squeezer which provide the basic sounds I need, then an M9 and a Bugcrusher which decorate those sounds (ring mod, phaser, pitch shift, delay, reverb, chorus, etc.). If you took one piece out it would take away a ton of sounds. It's like asking if you really need two pickups on a bass, or EQ. Sure you can get by with just a P pup wired straight to your output jack but there's nothing wrong with having more options.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1329893851' post='1549115'] But, overall, I liked the fact that instead of shiny polished people with costume changes, and dancers, there were 4 scruffy lads on stage making a racket. [/quote] +1. Not many bands make it to that age without becoming immensely boring. At least they haven't changed.

Their bass player is way better than Wooten already. I don't like their music but they are clearly very good at it.

Play them in E instead?

I think you should play instruments you enjoy playing. If that includes DB then that's all well and good, if not there's plenty of gigs to be done on bass guitar.