EliasMooseblaster

Reminds me a lot of my very first bass, an old Squier Bronco...to the point that it makes me wonder what the difference is between the two? Has there been some cheeky re-badging going on, or has my memory of the Bronco faded with time?

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1488894146' post='3252704'] It's not [i]all [/i]the fault of the engineer of course... Bass frequencies are by far the most difficult to get under control - and this is greatly compounded by the characteristics of the room/venue itself. And also the characteristics of the instruments: 'clacky', trebly pick-playing will always cut through better than a more 'fuggy' finger style. And where you happen to be standing - or sitting - within all of that. Sometimes there's only so much you can do. Sometimes it comes down to a compromise in clarity between the kick or the bass. And sometimes, yeah, it [i]is[/i] the fault of the engineer [/quote] Further to this, are we guilty of cramming rock/funk/electronic bands into spaces that were designed to help carry "acoustic" sound (i.e., without powered amplification)? Not sure why, but this thread reminded me of one of the early chapters of David Byrne's [i]How Music Works, [/i]where he talks about how styles of music evolved in tandem with the environment in which they were played. So religious/choral music puts a lot of emphasis on harmony and melody but is rhythmically quite sparse, because percussive sounds in a big, echo-y church quickly lose their definition. Conversely, a lot of traditional African music was played outdoors and so puts a lot of emphasis on busy drumming that can be heard in a crowd. To that end, was I wrong to get annoyed with the awful, booming bass resonances at the Shepherd's Bush Empire when I saw Joanne Shaw Taylor and King King a few years ago? The SBE looks very much like it was originally a large theatre, and it doesn't look like it's had a lot of acoustic treatment since it was repurposed. Should I blame the building or the engineer? Conversely I've generally found the Royal Festival Hall copes more or less as well with electric music as it does with orchestral...though of course that leaves a bad sound engineer with nothing to hide behind. (See Exhibit B: Brian Wilson's [i]Lucky Old Sun[/i], in which the PA was audibly clipping throughout the first half.)

[quote name='Fabrocker' timestamp='1482254470' post='3198952'] So... here we go. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogtYxis5Yrg[/media] My bass-solo recorded on Status Matrix. What do you think? Greetings! [/quote] Beautiful stuff, really atmospheric!

Just a quick bump for this evening's shenanigans...

Back then, it was about as simple as it could really get - my amp was a Laney HCM120B. No effects, not even a pedal tuner at the time, and I was alternating between a Brandoni Precision copy, and an Aria Pro II AVB-40. Still got the Precision; sold the Aria about five or six years ago so I could afford my Epi EB-3 but it was a good reliable little bit of kit. After its head packed up, the Laney found a second lease of life as a 1x15 cab, but I've superseded that with a nice 2x12 now. (Anyone want a Laney combo as a repair project? I think the output transistors need replacing but it's not a bad SS amp for anyone that can get it working again!)

http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com This one went on general release today. As the thread title suggests, it's not an homage to Ms Knowles' former band; however it is our new single, and is notable for its male-female vocal duet.

I'd be interested to see what the MU say about this one, as I had a different-but-comparable dust-up over recorded material a couple of years ago. The key thing I quickly learnt from that exchange was a distinction between a song and a recording. Legally, it turns out they're slightly different entities. The songs, obviously, are yours. He cannot claim ownership of those - though by the sound of it, he's not trying to. However, because he made the [i]recording[/i] himself, he might be able to claim to own that. On the other hand, he almost certainly shouldn't be able to sell that recording, because it contains songs to which he does not have any rights. He would only be allowed to sell it if he'd reached an agreement with the people who owned the songs (i.e., your band) in which conditions of use, royalties, etc had been hashed out to everyone's satisfaction.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1487785626' post='3242916'] This. I can't think of many proggers back in the day who used Fenders bar John Paul Jones and occasionally Geezer. [/quote] [quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1487790622' post='3242988'] Roger Waters. Greg Lake. [/quote] Not that it's really worth raking over these coals, but I've just remembered that most of the really early Floyd footage (UFO club and [i]Piper[/i]... era) shows Waters playing a Rick...and of course, for all the dabbling with Ricks and Wals, Geddy's choice of signature bass was a Fender Jazz.

Probably should have put this one up with a lot more notice, shouldn't I? CHERRY WHITE are making their début in Northampton this coming Thursday, with a free entry gig at the King Billy Rock Bar. We'll be on around 9.30, in between sets from Cambridge's Bouquet of Dead Crows, and the more local Stevie Jones & The Wildfires: [attachment=239023:northamptonMar2nd.png] There is a Facebook doohicky at https://www.facebook.com/events/1398372546873970/ . Kicking off at 8pm and not costing you a penny.

One month away today, ergo bump.

I own, and still regularly perform with, an Epiphone EB-3: that is, one of the long-scale SG style basses, which are notorious on bass forums around the world for this trait. And rightly so: one of the easier solutions, of trying a strap with more grip, just means that the guitar still tips its head downwards, and just takes your shirt with it. I have, however, realised that my playing style has inadvertently fixed the problem for me. I play with my fingers almost exclusively (mostly because I just can't keep hold of picks) and tend to rest my thumb on the end of the neck. As a result, the weight of my right arm tends to sit across the body. This is remarkably effective at counteracting the amount of weight your fretting hand then has to support!

Expensive option, but might be worth it for the look on their faces: "Oh, sorry guys, did you say a [i]Fender[/i]? Well, this is awkward...only I've just gone and bought a Ritter..."

[quote name='Tee' timestamp='1487665151' post='3241535'] I think there is a lot they could do with regards to heritage basses. Decent reissues of the T bird, also in non reverse, with nickel hardware, two part bridge etc. Release an EB-3/SG bass with varitone switch. Maybe an SG with the 60s body but with 70s pick up positioning, also as an EB-0. The previous design EB bass (2012?) could have been released in a one pickup config, like the G&L L1000. Perhaps some new colours, sparkling burgundy? Reissue the Les Paul signature bass. [/quote] All of these, and maybe some of the long-scale SG models? I know the 30" model is more iconic, but reissuing something like the SB-400 or the SG-Z might open up a market with a lot of modern players who won't plump for anything shorter than 34". Nowadays it seems the only long-scale SG type you can get hold of is the Epiphone copy (which I still like, admittedly). Incidentally, I don't know whether anyone else has popped their head round the "Thunderbirds!" thread nearby, but it seems it's fallen to Epiphone to try and recreate the original '60s-style T-bird pickups, rather than Gibson themselves.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487592870' post='3240947'] Interesting point with number 2. A certain Mr Steve Harris famously uses flatwounds and has them changed before every gig / session. I guess for him then it's about the feel of flats rather than the sound? Also probably helps that he no doubt gets them for free. [/quote] Given the amount of processing and treble added to his tone between the guitar and amp, I've often wondered whether Mr Harris has missed a trick and not realised he could probably get his tone using rounds and backing off his tone control...

I guess if you knew absolutely nothing about electric guitars...I did know a chap who received a very cheap Argos electric guitar starter set as a gift. There was no badge on the headstock so he just assumed it was a Fender Stratocaster. (I'm beginning to wonder if this is the same bloke...)

1. Anyone else familiar with Birdeatsbaby? Their most recent album has been gathering a fair bit of attention lately, and deservedly so. I first met them when we organised a gig together; hardly knew anything about them but two years later I've got their last two albums on regular rotation. This one's a bit of a favourite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TafWo76nHt0 2. One of my more ridiculous gig stories is also my journey from London to Louvain-la-Neuve to see Hooverphonic in concert before Geike Arnaert quite the band. I know we have at least a couple of Belgians on this forum who will be familiar with their oeuvre.

[quote name='therealting' timestamp='1487256384' post='3238422'] Why not both? Most of us have bought instruments because they look cool for one reason or another, and most of us have decided not to buy otherwise fantastic instruments because they didn't like the way they looked. What's wrong with getting a bass because you like the way it looks? Is getting a newer bass that has been reliced to look old any less honest than buying an older bass that has been refinished to look new? [/quote] I could understand it one way 'round; less so the other. That is to say, I could understand turning down an instrument which sounded good and was a delight to play because you couldn't get on with the appearance. Conversely, investing in an instrument for its looks, even if you knew it sounded terrible, seems like a daft use of money to me. And I speak as someone who is really very shallow when it comes to the appearance of guitars and basses!

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1487182402' post='3237865'] Not quite DIY then though... [/quote] Yeah, the only truly "DIY" bit on my old kit was finishing the wood. (Until I upgraded the guts a few years later, anyway)

[quote name='Donnyboy' timestamp='1487158030' post='3237573'] It's a no from me.. I was expecting to be impressed but they just don't do it for me. I didn't like the feel or tension tbh. I've got a set of black nylons in a drawer that I might try for a laugh. [/quote] Sadly I've got a ladder in mine...

[quote name='Rikki_Sixx' timestamp='1487155911' post='3237535'] I'd love to try a DIY kit (or just buy a ton of parts) sometime. I'm not too concerned about the woodworking aspect of it as most of the work is done (to varying degrees of QC!), but it's the electronics I'd be concerned about. I haven't used a soldering iron since high school, and I've forgotten what little I ever learned about circuitry! [/quote] [quote name='prowla' timestamp='1487163328' post='3237655'] The electrics in a plain P-bass are simple. [/quote] Better still, on the Brandoni P-bass kits, they come pre-wired with the pickup taped to the scratchplate!

Just a quick bump as this one's coming up this weekend!

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487081469' post='3236837'] 'Is anybody getting bored of reliced instruments?', you can't ignore the fact that Fender have been doing the Roadworn stuff for pushing 10 years now? (think they started in either 2007 or 2008). [/quote] [quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1487081805' post='3236841'] They've been doing relics for 22 years. [/quote] So through the second-hand market, I might be able to get my hands on a genuinely road-worn Road-Worn!

[quote name='DangerDan' timestamp='1486722721' post='3234059'] The only problem with checking FOH sound during soundcheck is that an empty room doesn't sound the same as one full of punters. There comes a point where you just have to trust the soundguy. [/quote] It is for this reason that I have started chalking markers on the floor to dictate where punters must stand. Strange resonance from one corner of the room? Two or three large people in there, please. Smaller people? Near the front, but please don't stand in the line of the guitarist's speaker lest you limit his projection to the back of the room. Punters are obviously not allowed to move from their designated spots during a song. If anybody wants to go the bar or needs the loo, they'll have to wait, otherwise I throw down my bass and scream at the offending punters for denigrating the music by interfering with our finely-honed live sound, and could they not have waited [i]just ten more minutes[/i] for our introspective musical contemplation upon the majesty of Andromeda to finish? Clearly not. Hurry up and we'll start again once you're back from the gents' and standing in your chalk circle. [i]Da capo, [/i]lads, [i]da capo.[/i] And a-one, two, three...

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1486722547' post='3234057'] ever heard a german girl trying to say "squirrel" ? [/quote] See also a French person trying to say "smooth." (They get their own back by challenging us to pronounce "grenouille" correctly...)

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1486592876' post='3233181'] You need arms like an orangutan to play a Thunderbird! [/quote] This is a very good point - don't know how tall your friend is, but there is something about the way long-scale Gibson-style basses sit that puts the 12th fret a lot further out than it would be on a Fender. Consequently, first-position playing either requires you to hang the bass really low on the strap, or be blessed with long arms!