EliasMooseblaster

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1418920532' post='2634891'] I look forward to it, but I'm already pretty certain about what I'll think! It saddens me that children don't have access to high-quality systems and that most music is apparently consumed alone while staring at a screen. [/quote] Never mind the production quality, even: do you have any idea how hard it is to find a performance of Debussy's [i]Clair de Lune [/i]on Youtoob that doesn't sound rushed?

One last bump, folks - [b]donations close on Saturday![/b] http://youtu.be/5aqoDHt2cWc?list=UUPZPdhy3hI_2NiG5RoEIjIQ

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1417722444' post='2623516'] You [b]cannot[/b] just walk in here and say that... ...you have to write a protest song about it... [/quote] "What do we want?" "MORE COWBELL!" "When do we want it?" "IDEALLY ON THE 2 AND 4."

In more general terms, most of the arguments I've heard seem to boil down to a Windows PC offering cheaper, replaceable and generally more reliable hardware, but unfortunately you have to use Windows; and Mac having a much more stable OS, but expensive, exclusive and dubious hardware. It's easy to see why a lot of people seem to prefer Mac for most creative things: the software is much less frustrating, you just have to hope that nothing mechanical starts to fail outside the warranty. My geek badge obliges me to point out that you can probably get the best of both worlds by running a well-supported flavour of Linux on a PC - but to keep it relevant to this thread, the available DAWs, whilst impressive for free, open-source software, aren't yet on a par with the Reapers, Logics, etc of this world. With a certain amount of work, you can probably add extra packages to build up similar functionality, but I haven't quite got that far, and most people will want something that works straight out of the box!

I will steer clear of anything political by not discussing the lyrics, but given a recent spate of mass-angry-posting on Twitter, the 3/4 of Cherry White that was available on the night decided to cobble together a hasty demo of one of the songs intended for our next EP. See what you reckon: [media]http://youtu.be/mRfloxslL4Y[/media]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1417648775' post='2622772'] [size=4][font=Arial]I have had a few guys from the forum come back at me and say[i],"Don't you miss the creative element?"[/i] For me, I was in some original bands, however It was never my material. [b]I don't write songs.[/b] I don't have that ability.[/font][/size] [/quote] Maybe this is going to be the dividing line here! If you were never much of a songwriter anyway, then I suppose you'll always be playing somebody else's material, so does it make much difference whether it was written by Goffin & King, or by your bandmate? I'm in quite an interesting position at the moment, as I have been through two different phases: supplementing my meagre living with paid covers gigs, and having a "standard" day job. Throughout both I have kept the originals band going. I should probably also add that I had the luxury of a day job that was quite interesting. However, as somebody who was contributing songs to the band, and being given free rein over the basslines I played on other members' songs, I had a lot of space to be creative. Similarly I normally had a lot of freedom with the covers gigs - unless we were playing a song with a well-known bass part, I could just go along with chord sheets and busk something appropriate. I just never felt the same level of freedom or expression in what I was playing. I came to the conclusion that having a (relatively interesting) day job and working on originals on the side was more satisfying than playing covers for a living. However, I am also aware that Cherry White makes music with a certain amount of commercial potential. I always want to be proud of the music we make, and I'll be the first to cough politely if I think a new idea sounds too contrived or too obvious, but I think it's the kind of music that could reach quite a wide audience if we can get it out there. If we were playing some kind of obscure, uber-technical prog-metal then we'd have a lot of creative freedom, but I'd also have to accept that it was "just a hobby," and probably going to remain that way. So maybe it's not strictly one or t'other: yes, the creative freedom I get from original music is, for me, much more satisfying than playing covers. But maybe it's the possibility of one day making a bit of $$$$ (well, ££££ in my case!) which helps to keep the creative aspect appealing. *[sub]I'm going to use "standard" to mean a regular, 9-5 type of job. I know we joke about it on here, but I don't like to proliferate the idea that being a musician isn't a "proper" job.[/sub]

[quote name='Badass' timestamp='1417519266' post='2621183'] Guys what album do you recommend to a newcomer to Ozric Tenticles? [/quote] The first time I went looking, I was lucky enough to find Pungent Effulgent and Strangeitude as a 2-CD set. It was certainly cheap enough all of...12(?) years ago and I found them both fairly accessible.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1417513372' post='2621054'] Would you be happy , if he took the stage when you were playing. [/quote] [quote name='cybertect' timestamp='1417519684' post='2621193'] Hell, yeah! [/quote] +1. But then The Who are probably my favourite band, so I'd be in a state of delirious fanboy-ism if Daltrey were just in the same room while I was playing.

[quote name='stuckinthepod' timestamp='1417434246' post='2620213'] The [i]Not that anyone at Glastonbury really cares about the music, if they did they wouldn't all buy their tickets before the line-up is announced. This part. Not the LR part [/i] [/quote] Thanks for clarifying, it's an easy mistake to make. Easy, like Sunday morning, one might even say...

Last week I had a dilemma: should I go to see the amazing Joanne Shaw Taylor at the O2 in Shepherd's Bush, or take a chance on my friend's recommendation of Bigelf at the Garage in Islington? I'm glad I went with Bigelf - it must have been one of the first gigs in a long time where I've stopped and thought, "you know what? The mix is actually really good here." Really effin' loud, but amazing clarity in a mix that at some points was having to cope with drums, bass, guitar, vocals and two keyboards. In contrast I'd seen JST at Shep's Bush the year before, and been frustrated by the booming bass frequencies - the sound was muddy to the point of being distracting, which was a shame because I could tell the band were giving a great performance. As BRX said earlier, part of the problem is alleviated by going to see smaller bands at smaller venues that cope better with the sound (plus you feel better for supporting smaller artists), but unfortunately this silver bullet doesn't work if you've got a lazy engineer at the desk. We've played a lot of places where they just assume that drummers are just metronomes (kick and snare emphasised, rest of kit barely audible) and bassists just exist to chug root-note quavers (won't be needing those mids, then...) under the guitarist who has no imagination beyond playing a wall of chords with a different effect pedal for the middle-8...anyone who's heard Cherry White live will know that all these assumptions are incorrect. I have a friend who does A/V tech for conferences and came to see us at the old Water Rats - "the sound was weird: lots of booming bass and lots of top, but there just seemed to be nothing in the middle." In the Water Rats - not exactly an arena-size venue... (And thus concludes my rant.)

I've never had an experience as bad as some of the ones described above, I'm glad to say. Just a couple of occasions where I've picked up a bass and wondered how they ever expected to sell it... My Epi EB-3, I probably wouldn't have bought were it not for the convoluted circumstances that led me to it. I'd been down to Anderton's with a friend and tried one seeing as I was down there. Loved it, but didn't have the cash at the time. A few months later I went to a shop more local to me and asked to try the one in there - they plugged me into a tiny Marshall practice amp which, frankly, couldn't cope with that great big mudbucker. Fortunately I knew how it sounded from the one I tried in Anderton's, and since it felt OK to play I bought it. To be fair to the shop, they were quite happy for me to haggle on the price. That said...other Epi basses, at a larger chain I won't name: got one or two off the wall when I was shopping around for a new amp, and the setup was terrible! Mind you, the other basses I tried were fine (I blame them partly for my Gibson T-bird GAS) and the customer service was excellent throughout, so I'd never hold it against them.

Very good news indeed! Nice when these problems sort themselves out, isn't it?

An update from Cherry White HQ... [url="http://youtu.be/IUF6ITZmMB4"]http://youtu.be/IUF6ITZmMB4[/url]

Another thought: you know how we always end up having conversations on here about tone, and the usual conclusion is "see how it sounds in a band setting"? I do wonder how often guitarists have that kind of conversation, or whether they draw any distinction between "sounds good in my room" and "sounds good with the rest of the band." This is especially important in a two-guitar setup, where they'll be fighting for similar space in the mix. Maybe your lead guitarist should try cutting his low frequencies, and rhythm guy can try and find a slightly warmer tone that can sit just above your bass but not get in lead guy's way. Obviously I'm just making the vaguest suggestions with no idea of your various tone preferences, but a little judicious EQing might clear up the overall sound so that it doesn't "feel" quite as loud. And, as Lord Sausage suggests: [quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1416823590' post='2613824'] Try getting your drum not to play as loud and all come down a bit. Maybe he's right. More often than not, in my opinion, bands are too loud! [/quote] ...find the volume knob on your drummer!

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1416736235' post='2612942'] i would personally give them a sharp dig in the ribs with your antlers - that headline font is dreadful tsk tsk [/quote] It's pretty horrific, isn't it? I just keep telling myself, at least it's not Comic Sans...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1416566021' post='2611453'] Try setting fire to a famous public building or [b]assassinating a high-ranking member of the government[/b]. Good luck! [/quote] Oh trust me, old chap - I've got a list! Cheers!

If the congregation would please turn to their copy of this month's BGM, we will be singing the hymn on page 8: [attachment=176840:BGM2.JPG] I shall be keeping this in a locked box in case it turns out to be the pinnacle of my bass-playing notoriety.

Very sorry to hear you've had such a hard time with them - particularly since I've stuck quite loyally to Laney in the 15 years I've been playing and found them to be generally reliable amps (I know the sound isn't to everyone's taste, but I like them). But then I guess I've never had to deal with the customer service end of things - glad to hear you got a good resolution from the shop, and I hope Laney get their act together with your RB9!

Latest: just popped a brand new battery in and had the same results. I can't help but think the rusty battery connector might have something to do with it...but she's still under warranty so I'll let the good folks at Wunjo take a look!

[quote name='pnefc42' timestamp='1415650874' post='2602438'] Buy one? [/quote] Don't be ridiculous, that would be FAR too sensible! [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1415654168' post='2602482'] First rule of the active bass club, keep at least one battery in front of yourself, I have 3 pp3s in my gig bag at any one time, never needed to use one in an emergency but they are there, strings and battery once a year around my own birthday to help remember these days [/quote] Now there's an idea...though the family are going to be very confused when I tell them I just want a 9V battery for christmas... [quote name='The Badderer' timestamp='1415666209' post='2602613'] if you have a push/pull volume control like my german made warwick, then if you have pulled out the volume knob you have put it into passive mode. this completely bypasses the EQ section and the only thing that effects the sound is the blend between the neck and bridge pickups. please note this is in a German $$ corvette. And if your battery is flat, it will switch into passive mode (on mine i have to pull out the volume to put it into passive mode even if the battery is flat) [/quote] No such luxury for me - mine's a Rockbass (made in China?) so no active/passive switch. I did just give the knob a tug to check (oo-er), but I think it's time to bite the bullet and go and buy a battery!

Just wondering whether anyone else has dealt with this problem, before I run my fretless back to the shop for servicing: I bought a Warwick/Rockbass Corvette a few months ago. It's the first active bass I've ever owned: master volume, blend, +/- bass and +/- treble. Everything seemed to working fine, though admittedly I wasn't experimenting with the onboard EQ very much...I noticed the other day that the treble control seems to have stopped having any effect, and on closer inspection, the bass control seems to have lost any finesse and can now only do "flat", "no lows" or "ridiculous bass boost." I popped the battery out and a tester suggests there's still a reasonable amount of juice in it (but on the other hand, I don't have a fresh 9V to test it against). Is it worth running it back to Denmark St for a wiring check-up, or am I in danger of looking very silly when they pop a fresh battery in, and everything works again?

How are we all doing on this bright and cheerful Monday morning?

Much appreciated, Clarky; ta most kindly!

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1415115696' post='2596859'] However, when soloed it does not sound good to my ears; context is everything. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPl-ToM9WiQ[/media] [/quote] To each their own, I guess - I've spent years trying to imitate that tone. One Gibson and a slightly dirty valve amp later and I think I'm finally getting close!

This seemed an appropriate time to paraphrase famous Irish Lunaediesophobe Bob Geldof, as I'm also running an appeal to take the hard-earned cash from your pockets. My appeal, however, follows an entirely more selfish bent: Cherry White intend to make a new record at the beginning of next year, but we need some money to do so, and have decided to try and raise the funds via Indiegogo. See the video below to have the whole thing explained to you by some mumbling, floppy-haired plonker: [media]http://youtu.be/bLBe3xs94-A[/media] The campaign page itself is up at [url="http://igg.me/at/CherryWhiteEP/x"]http://igg.me/at/CherryWhiteEP/x[/url], where you can donate some money if you so choose. Every brass farthing will be greatly appreciated. And if you're similarly strapped for cash, please do us a favour and share this with your friends. Many thanks! E M-B, esq.