Lowender

P/J configurations -- they never seem to be like either. Foderas. Owned one-- sold it. Nice and solid feeling but zero tone, even with 3 pu changes and a pre-amp change. They also look dorky. Yeah, white pickguards look cheap. Every Warwick I've ever played felt stiff to me. Sadowsky's. Good basses but I just can't justify the price. Most effects pedals -- they just compromise the original signal too much. Aquilla heads. They have 20 knobs that don't do anything. SWR heads. No way are they the wattage they claim. Light rosewood fingerboards. They just bug me. Rosewood should be a deep dark brown. 20, 22 or 24 frets. 21 is perfect. Thunderbirds. Good luck finding one that's balanced. Synthetic fingerboards are fine but synthetic necks feel like plastic. Headless -- of course. Fiesta Red -- It looks like the color of a toy to me. Maple finish -- except with Rics, in which icase it's my favorite Ric color. Go figure. Acoustic bass guitars. You can''t hear them from 2 feet away and once they're amped they sound like an electric, but not as good. Electric uprights -- neither fish nor fowl. Obvious splits in the body wood grain. Yuck. Lakelands -- for some reason I'm never drawn to play one. 18" speakers -- slow response and muddy. Vintage Modified -- any way you slice it, they're cheap basses. The CV however are outstanding. They're not in the same league. Boutique Ibanez's -- the SR is a great bass for $500. The Prestige is the same bass for $1500.00 Ultra fancy finishes. It looks like you're trying too hard. That's off the top of my head. I'm sure I can think of more . Give me time.

In general, in straight up comparisons, active tend to be preferable because they're hotter and have a wider frequency range. Passive (especially single coil) basses need to be amplified more in order to match the output. That in itself may make passive, single coils seem inferior, but once that adjustment is made, they have a tonal quality that actives basses can't match. In fact, basses with preamps can sound a little "false." I like active and passive and single coil and humbucker all for different reasons. But head to head, active HB will always seem more "present" -- to me at least.

I already own more than enough basses -- all of which I use. ( I don't believe in having something just to have it. ) But I was playing a MM SUB bass and at U.S $280 I simply could not NOT buy it! This isn't a "good bass for the money." I already own a MM, the Sterling (Not the Sterling line, the high priced Sterling model -- I know, it's confusing) and it seems to me the SUB is pretty much the same quality in regard to sound and playability. The neck is perfect -- a slightly beefier J shape with 21 frets. If anyone has been craving a MM but can't handle the price, pick one of these baby's up. They're ridiculous.

Quick summery -- MM's are loud, clear and clanky. They have a huge frequency range and are very "active" sounding. Great for slap. They have their own sound for sure. Bennard got a sound that was very [i]Un[/i]-MusicMan. That was in part his technique along with dead strings and the use of the foam mute. Not sure if you're referring to the Sterling bass or the Sterling series. (Very confusing and dumb on MM part to do that). The Sterling bass is like a Stingray with a J neck. The Sterling series is a cheaper product that seems as good as the American -- if you get a good one. The Big Al is supposed to be more versatile because it has dozens of sounds, but to my ears, it has dozens of versions of the same sound. I can EQ my MM to do the same thing.

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1375884883' post='2166922'] It's fairly well established what was going on... working class, white men saw disco as a threat as it was associated with afro-americans, latinos and the lgb community. Some of the backlash was quite violent: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Demolition_Night"]http://en.wikipedia....emolition_Night[/url] [/quote] That sounds like complete liberal media hogwash. (And I'm a liberal). If anything, disco was a very sanitized form of music -- the very opposite of hard core black R&B. The Disco audience were mostly working class whites.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1375904862' post='2167305'] This kind of illustrates the whole rock=authentic, pop=artificial conceit - no offence intended Lowender, it's a long established phenomenon! [/quote] I'm not defending it-- just commenting on the perception. As for Quincy Jones -- that was more a pro jazz arranger writing in a contemporary style. Not too many bar bands were playing that stuff. And Earth Wind and Fire's "Got to Get You Into My Life" wasn't really disco. (Listening to that today it actually sounds very much like a Vega show band). Now in RETROSPECT, there was some great musician ship in disco at its best. But on the surface, going from "Close To The Edge" to "Push, Push In The Bush" seems like a decline.

I didn't see it as any of those things. Rock was a music of rebellion but also an art form -- something to listen to. Disco was about partying -- something to dance to. Rock music was progressing as was the musicianship. Solos and wild experimentation were a growing part of it. Disco was about precise rhythm, repetition and simplicity. Rock lyrics spoke of angst, revolution and insight. Disco spoke of Love to Love Ya Baby and Boogie Oogie Oogie. When disco emerged, the clubs that hired rock bands switched to DJ's. So naturally, to the rock crowd, disco SUCKED.

I think the reason there's such animosity over relicing is that some guys THINK it's about being phony, whereas some guys may just like an antique look. Having said that, I can't see paying for it or having one that looks like thousands of others. It can be a fun project. And if that's what you like...hey, it's your guitar.

Nice.

Actually sounds like a Jazz with a pick to me -- maybe a bit of chorus, a lot of compression and a big 4 K boost. And it was recorded on a $500,000 console. Do that, and you'll get close.

Either the finest steel wool you can get or some bathtub cleanser powder.

Steve is an amazing musician who was absolutely on fire up until the Seventh Son album -- which I feel was Maiden's last great album. He also showed how having the bass mixed up front worked so beautifully. And what a sound! Ever since adding the third guitarist, he got buried in the mix and it seems like he isn't out to prove himself anymore and that fire was dwindled somewhat. He can still play though though , but it's usually on the old tunes where he shines. I thought his solo album would bring back some of that zeal but it was curiously tepid. I'm curious to hear how he's sounding live these days.

Time and time again I see people talking about great bass parts and time and time again I see articles written about the best bass songs and the coolest bass players etc, etc. And they almost all have have the same thing in common. They're mostly bass parts that are either [b]loud[/b] or [b]busy. [/b] I'm not saying every BC'er feels that way, but think about it... When was the last time anyone raved about a bass part that was low in the mix ? I Second That Emotion has a killer bass part but it's buried and no one considers that one of Jamerson's classic tracks. If it were louder, it would be. Meanwhile songs like London Calling, My City was Gone, Orion, Another One Bits The Dust, Money, Pigs, Seven Nation Army, Beat It, Go Your Own Way -- they're all revered for their bass parts and many of them are cool but they're hardly anything special -- they're just "up front" and that's what makes it cool.

I've played one. They're virtually inaudible two feet away unless plugged in which leads me to think, what's the point? They do have a somewhat "upright sound" but so does a Hofner .

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1375207118' post='2158219'] How about this one : [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pulwa9s7Q_4[/media] The feel of the bassline on this track really reminds me of Rutger Gunnarson with ABBA , who were so popular at the time this was recorded . [/quote] For some reason the bass on the chorus sounds a tad flat to me, but not in the rest of the song -- which might mean the chorus was re-recorded with that pedal point part. Or maybe I'm hearing things.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1375196168' post='2157982'] Great bass-line bad song is an oxymoron to me. I find myself often being in a minority of one when I say that Jamerson never works for me because the songs are mostly s*** (there are a few exceptions but very much the minority). To my mind, a great line is a great line precis[size=4]ely because of where it is not in spite of it. [/size] [/quote] I don't know if this statement is meant to be ironic or it's just plain ridiculous.

J P Ric MM Ibby That about covers it.

To the point -- I think using a signature instrument is as lame as being a member of a celebrities fan club or having Star Wars bedding. As for Fodera -- they're the most well made crappy sounding basses you'll ever play.

When Marcus Miller was having work done on his bass, he tried a Marcus Miller Model but quickly abandoned it for a standard J. Chris Squire admits his model doesn't sound like his bass. Geddy uses his own basses -- Fender just copied a 70's J and put his name on it. So...

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1375036842' post='2156026'] I'm not your bro, guy! [/quote] LOL, didn't say you were....guy.

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1375026682' post='2155905'] That's just what he's like! He was criticising someone else's question the other week! [/quote] I'm think you just don't understand what's being said bro. It's okay though.

[quote name='cybertect' timestamp='1375022655' post='2155846'] I think the question is further from learning to read a book and closer in spirit to storytellers learning stories or poems in oral traditions like the Norse sagas or Grek myths. It's a question of internalising the narrative well enough to be able to perform it to others, perhaps adding your own interpretations and changing it along the way. 'How do you learn to read a book' would better equate to learning to read music notation of some kind. Get good enough at it (if the words/notation are capable of describing the piece accurately) and you barely have to be familiar with the original before you can translate it from the written to the aural form. [/quote] What you're talking about is art. Interpretation. Bringing a style into it. That's different from notes and rhythms which are very specific. The OP asked how to memorize a song , not put a personal signature on it.

I really don't understand the question. It's like asking "how do you learn to read a book"? Do you spell out the words first? Pronounce the vowels? Memorize the shapes of the letters? It's music. You need to be able to hear the sounds and you need to know the chords you're playing, then emulate the part being played (along with the groove and feel) and be able to add your own creative input. It comes from doing it enough where it's second nature. If you can't do that, you're just a hobbyist diddling around with a few positions -- in which case, what's the difference? Just have a bit of fun.

[b]Are there any youtube clips that show the instrument being used in anger?[/b] It depends. Do radical departures from original versions make you angry? (I do like this bass tone here though some may think it harsh). [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqgCN5dvc_Q[/media]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1374953482' post='2155253'] [size=4]I'm really curious to find out more about the Squier Jazz Deluxes and see how they stack up to other instruments. I hope someone will bring one to the SE Bassbash next month so I can have a go on it.[/size] [/quote] They don't have a lot of tonal variety and don't even sound like a jazz. But it has a punchy midrange that digital recordings love.