EliasMooseblaster

Consider also, the embarrassment one must face when booking a gig through a promoter, who tells you he's put up a link to advance tickets online. So you tell your audience, and encourage them to get in early to avoid disappointment...only to have one of your friends get in touch to say, "Erm...don't know if you've noticed, but there's actually a £1.50 booking fee on top of the ticket price. So it's actually cheaper if I take my chances and pay on the door..."

Does anybody know which year they started putting the plastic PCBs inside their guitars instead of regular pots and caps? Only, I've never looked inside the control cavity of my T-bird. Never needed to, I'm glad to say, but it is a 2011 model.

[quote name='wdejong' timestamp='1434990897' post='2804487'] I intend to swap guitars when we play that one song in drop D. No idea if/how it's going to work, as it will be the first gig I'm doing it. Is there anyone who down-tunes their guitars live on stage, mid-performance? [/quote] The best of both worlds is probably the [b]Korg Pitchblack Plus [/b](or possibly "Pitchback+" if Korg's marketing dept are reading this) - it serves as both a pedal tuner (which makes re-tuning between songs easier) and an A/B switch (if you think it would be easier just to have a second guitar to hand in a different tuning).

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1434978742' post='2804332'] Our guitarist uses a 12 string for a couple of songs, so we play them 3rd and 4th in the set so his guitar gets changed just twice. I use the opportunity to engage with the audience, and captivate them with my witty banter.... [/quote] Likewise, I have my 8-string on stage with increasing frequency. When we're drawing up setlists I demand that the songs requiring the 8 are adjacent, just so I don't have to keep switching back and forth throughout the set!

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1434005122' post='2795765'] After trying several, some long and some medium - I went for the Ibanez Studio. A really nice bass, medium scale, active and lots of tone. The only problem I have found, when I have been to see bands using an 8 string, is the eq seems to be set up for a 4 and there is just not quite enough mids and top, to clearly pick out the octave strings. Shame [/quote] <shameless self-plug> I don't know how he did it in the end - I know he seemed quite apprehensive when I pulled the thing out of its case - but the engineer who recorded and mixed this track managed to capture the sound of my Hagstrom quite well just running it through an old Ampeg combo (possibly with some DI signal as well): [url="https://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/track/7-days"]https://cherrywhite....om/track/7-days[/url] </shameless self-plug>

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1434016995' post='2795906'] Leave the alcohol til after the sessions are finished. I once read that a well known producer (I've forgotten who) used to have a sign on the studio wall that read "Boring people make boring records, and there is nothing more boring than someone who's drunk" And as someone who used to run a small demo studio, there is nothing worse than watching people waste time and money sitting around drinking when they should be working! Well, except bands who clearly haven't worked on the songs enough, arrangements etc (which I'm sure you have) [/quote] I'm glad to say I've never been in such a situation myself, but I do remember one recording engineer telling me a horror story about a band sent to him from Galway (if memory serves) by a reasonably large label, who had decided that these four young lads were [i]the[/i] canine male reproductive organs, and threw a large amount of money at sending them to his studio for five or six days to record two or three songs. Being treated like rock stars had obviously gone to their heads: they arrived late (of course) and within a couple of hours were huffing so much Columbian marching powder they quite literally couldn't play. Anyone who's ever tried to have a conversation with people who are coked off their heads will know what a colossal pain in the arse they can be to even talk to, let alone to organise into something requiring so much skill and coordination as playing in a group. Three or four days into the session, a label rep dropped in to see how things were coming along, and listen to the work-in-progress. The band had just about finished the drum parts. It was quite obvious that they'd be lucky to even have one song completed. As he realised he'd basically sunk a huge amount of the label's money into a complete turkey, the rep's hair allegedly turned whiter than the band's nostrils. Doesn't even answer your question, I realise, but I thought it would make for an entertaining story. Good luck with the session, and all the best to your missus and the new arrival!

I wonder whether you have the same problem I do: I can hear the melody I want to sing in my head, but I have trouble translating that to what my vocal cords do. Without monitors, it's almost as if the melody in my brain is "louder" than the signal from my ears, however with a suitably loud monitor the sound of my voice is much more prominent, so I can focus more on what I'm actually singing...if that makes sense? I, too, spent most of my life being told not to sing. Many people still tell me not too - though thankfully the ones who don't are not musicians.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1433864626' post='2794669'] Some interesting thoughts on the role of BBC Radio here: [url="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/jun/09/radio-1-apple-attack-nick-grimshaw-zane-lowe-spotify"]http://www.theguardi...ne-lowe-spotify[/url] [/quote] Very interesting - the fridge analogy is a particularly good one, I feel. And that's not a sentence I thought I'd be typing today...

Yep, count me in![list] [*][b]Have you tried Elixir strings before?[/b] [*]Yes, not sure which exact set as they came already fitted when I bought the bass they were on. [*][b]What other brands are you familiar with?[/b] [*]Rotosound (RS66 'Swing Bass' are my usual choice of RW string), D'Addario, Ernie Ball, Martin, Dean Markley [*][b]What bass(es) will you try the new strings on?[/b] [*]Depending on how many sets they'd be prepared to send me: Gibson Thunderbird, Schecter Model T, Epiphone EB-3, Precision kit bass (w/ Fender '62 RI pickup), a 'Frankenbass' (Tonerider J-bass pickup), and possibly a Warwick-Rockbass Corvette Fretless [*][b]What sort of environment will you be playing them in (e.g studio, gigging, practicing)[/b] [*]Gigging and rehearsals, probably a few jam nights as well [*][b]Why do you think you'll be a good candidate to test the strings?[/b] [*]I play with a rather distinctive "lead bass" style which lends itself to a bright, prominent tone, and which also tends to wear out conventional roundwound strings rather quickly! (Have a gander at http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/album/staring-at-the-sun by way of example.) You could say I'm very familiar with the loss of "freshness" and clarity with uncoated strings, so I expect to be able to hear a significant difference. [*][b]Links to any blogs/reviews you may have already posted (not essential but interesting)[/b] [*]https://thecrowfrombelow.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/gear-review-4-hagstrm-hb-8/ [*]https://thecrowfrombelow.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/gear-review-gibson-thunderbird/ [*]https://thecrowfrombelow.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/gear-review-2-schecter-model-t/ [*]https://thecrowfrombelow.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/gear-review-1-ibanez-bass-tube-screamer/ [*][b][s]Your bank account details and online banking log in for ped[/s][/b] [*]Hang on a minute... [/list]

...aaaand in case you enjoyed that first single, the rest of the EP is released today! The whole thing is up at [url="http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/album/staring-at-the-sun"]http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/album/staring-at-the-sun[/url] and I'd love to know what you all think of it. Cheers!

Fantastic! We'll be on hiatus for June as our singer's away, but from July onwards I'll be looking to get us busy again - PM on its way!

Hi folks - very sorry, but it looks like I shall have to pull out of this one. I've had a job interview sprung on me for the day after, which is going to require me to fly out on the evening of the 14th. I'll be sure to try and get along to whichever bash occurs next within reach of London transport - hope y'all have a good one!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1433509815' post='2791704'] Jaco is barely a Jazz player at all. He does make a contribution to Jazz on one level but is nowhere near hardcore and it would be wrong to call him a pioneer in Jazz. Fusion, yes absolutely. Funk maybe. 'Electric bass' definitely. In Jazz terms, however, he is certainly not a pioneer in any real sense. You would need to look at double bass players for that. The received wisdom says guys like John Kirby (first band leading bassist), Walter Page/Wellman Braud (started 'walking' with Ellington), Slam Stewart (early bowing solos), Jimmy Blanton (first 'soloist' in a mainstream band), Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, \\\\\\\red Callender, Charles Mingus, Paul Chambers then guys like Gary Peacock, Scott LaFaro, Charlile Haden (Free Jazz). Jazz bass without Jaco wouldn't look much different whilst pop without Jamerson would be unrecognisable. [/quote] Does Jazz have a pioneering electric bassist? My obvious suggestion would be Monk Montgomery, but then I really can't think of very many bass guitarists who play 'true' Jazz! (i.e., as opposed to some flavour of Jazz-influenced Fusion/Funk)

Good stuff, I enjoyed those! Really nice groove on 'What Kind of Woman...' (Are Black & Blue looking to start gigging in the next few months? I'm really keen to bring Cherry White up to Manchester so it'd be really useful to know some bands in a similar vein to our own. Don't suppose I can interest you in collaborating on a show some time?)

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1433341541' post='2790268'] What a fantastic song though. Never got the hang of 8-strings. I had a Shergold double 4/8 (search around basschat enough, you'll see it a few times) and found it difficult to play. The set up was EeAaDdGg, octave strings in the lower (physically speaking) position. [/quote] I've often wondered if this arrangement makes more sense if you play fingerstyle. I think the logic behind the other setup (eE aA dD gG) was that if you played with a pick, you'd strike the octave strings first on the downstroke - so if you played with your fingers, you'd strike the bass strings first. On the other hand, it's probably easier to fret the octave strings if you can see them on top of the bass strings!

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1433318929' post='2789953'] Hmm! How are they strung? Is it Ee Aa Dd Gg?? [/quote] Typically, yes - well, actually eE aA dD gG if I were to be pedantic, as they're normally strung with the octave string towards the bass side! (I think Rickenbacker made some with the stringing reversed.) Not to say that you can't experiment with the tunings: I'm led to believe Chris Squire experimented with octaves on the E and A sets, and open fifths on the D and G.

They're a bit of a rarity, certainly. I wrote a long, rambling review of my Hagstrom eight-string recently: https://thecrowfrombelow.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/gear-review-4-hagstrm-hb-8/ - first, and possibly only, eight-string I've seen in the flesh!

Cheers, fellers - glad you enjoyed it!

[quote name='BruceBass3901' timestamp='1433241548' post='2789201'] Are there going to be any physical copies? Or just digital download? [/quote] I don't think we're going to do physical copies of the single, but we should be ordering the first batch of CD copies of the whole EP very soon! I might post a link to order when those arrive. [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1433242009' post='2789206'] I like that. Nice dynamics - very Zepplinesque. Well shot video too. Great stuff [/quote] Cheers, glad you like it! (Perhaps one day, when I'm feeling brave, I might give away a few of the secrets about the shoestring budget on which we shot it...)

Ta very kindly - glad you enjoyed it! The full EP is due out next week.

"Selling as I've finally got round to buying a proper scratching post for my pet leopard."

[i]Drifter[/i] by Cherry White [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp7UAvkMf64[/media] This is the first single to be released from [i]Staring at the Sun[/i], an EP that we crowdfunded at the end of last year, with the help of a few BCers, among others. It's currently available on Bandcamp: [url="http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/"]http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/[/url] Still waiting for iTunes, [s]Amazon[/s], etc links to go live, but I'll pop those in here when I get them. Hope you enjoy it! [b]Update: Some delay with iTunes for reasons we can't quite fathom, but it's come through on Amazon![/b] [b]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drifter/dp/B00YIWJLEM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433155665&sr=8-1&keywords=cherry+white+drifter[/b]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1432635299' post='2783358'] There is another issue at stake here, something that is hard to talk about without offending people; I am talking about respect for the music. Now I understand that I am on seriously dodgy ground here but, some years ago, a drummer friend and I decided we needed to start a Jazz venture locally so we could bring some decent quality Jazz to the area. We found a sympathetic landlord etc and set up our little thing here www.jazzeast.vpweb.co.uk The reason I am posting this in this thread was to explain [i]why[/i] we did it. There were/are a massive number of acts/bands/artists in our area who were listed as or presenting themselves as 'Jazz' at a time when 'Jazz' has little or no media presence. We were aware that. locally, there were a growing number of these 'Jazz' acts/bands/artists and venues putting on 'Jazz' acts/bands/artists that had no idea what 'Jazz' was and was not and certainly struggled to actually [i]play[/i] it. I am not splitting hairs over semantics here; the stuff that was being presented was both poorly produced, poorly presented and VERY poorly played (try a Jazz sextet that used a drum machine that just went tsss, ut tu tssssss, ut tu tsssssss, ut tu tssssssss all night? Duos that comprise a singer and guitarist wearing a suit and using a 'Jazz' guitar whilst playing pop songs - it was even bad pop, never mind bad 'Jazz' - all first position chords, no concept of solo 'Jazz' guitar playing - just painful to watch). Now, we could have lived with that as there are always s*** bands etc but the problem was that these s*** so called 'Jazz' bands were the ONLY 'Jazz' bands available for audiences to hear and the absence of any credible alternatives meant that anyone who wanted to see/hear 'Jazz' for the first time was being presented with some pretty grim stuff and would have most likley been put off it for life (one musician friend reported saw audience members actually [i]laughing[/i] at the material being presented). One of my biggest gripes is people who sing songs from the Great American Songbook and call it 'Jazz'. They may be great songs that might even be sung quite well but that doesn't make them Jazz, just songs that are/may be associated with 'Jazz' artists like Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald etc. Some even use backing tapes, FFS. How can it be 'Jazz' with backing tapes and machines? I am not just being precious about my favourite genre and being all pretentious; the stuff I am discussing is just not 'Jazz' in any way shape or form. I guess what I am saying is that, if anyone is going to put live music on, as a performer or as a venue, they should have sufficient respect for the music [i]and for the audience[/i] to ensure that what is presented has some degree of merit. Our view was that poorly presented 'Jazz', and this stuff was [i]poor[/i], was actually doling more [i]harm[/i] to the music than not having it available at all. We did something about it and are having some success but it's hard work fighting these bizarre Frankenjazzers!! I know I am coming over as a Jazz nazi/snob but this stuff was grim, really grim (and they are still out there, s***ing on the music). [/quote] I think you have a very important point, and a noble ambition. As Mykesbass's blog post suggested a few weeks ago, I often see evidence of a similar risk with Blues as a genre. The risk manifests itself differently, of course - I've also been infuriated by the number of cynical sheisters who think they can pass off anything with a slight swing to it as "Jazz" (maybe Duke's classic should be updated to "It Is A Necessary But Not Sufficient Condition For It To Have That Swing") - but I'm sure we've all seen the "blues band" who are clearly just a vehicle for a guitarist to musically masturbate over. I am somewhat relieved to say that at least in London, for every unimaginative cutout "blues" band, I've seen a couple who put some thought into their set and did more than just flog a dead horse over a 12 bars turnaround. In any case, I fully sympathise!

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1432757852' post='2784748'] Yeah, it's gone very cliched and formula now . Individuality gone out the window . [/quote] I don't know a great deal about the subject, but I get the impression that the minute a band does something different, which deviates from the formula, they suddenly get labelled as a complete different sub-type of metal, and an entire subgenre springs up based around the one thing they've done differently...