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Looks lovely - nice work! M

Well for my first gig of 2008 it was amazing - I played at this great (but quite posh/trendy/expensive) Moroccan bar called Momos with this Rai singer called Cheb Nacim - I've played with him before but this time most of the guys from my other Algerian rock/funk/Rai band were also playing. The music is a mix of Spanish, Latin, African and funk with a few rocky/dubby parts - great for the bass! I've been playing with the drummer for 3 years now and we just gel big time and it's so funky that it all just felt effortless. The place was rammed - it only holds about 100 maximum and as it's a basement club it got very hot and loud - but the groove was just on last night. Nacim the singer has an amazing voice and he's got great stage presence - so him plus a slamming rhythm section equaled a really funky gig. I was using my Thumb thru-neck plus my tiny but mighty (fine) Baby Blue and once again I got a really sweet, rounded sound - finger style was thick and full, slap was just bright enough - ace. And considering this was our first gig with this line up it was seriously good - even the manageress who sees loads of bands each week thought we stood out because we were so tight. Hopefully this all bodes well for lots of festival gigs over the summer - I'll keep you posted. Mike

I have this book and it's really good - extremely thorough and pretty merciless too - i.e. tough! I didn't get that far because I'm so busy but I have done some ear training over the years so mine aren't too bad when it comes to transcribing stuff and hearing what a chord is - i.e. major, minor, diminished, augmented - sharp 5th etc etc - but I'll add a +1 to learning a song - or jazz standards if you are further along the whole jazzy thing - and seeing shapes, sounds of each chord and seeing what it sounds like - the tension/resolution of it etc. I just dug out my Jamey Abersold 'Giant Steps' book - which has 6 really tough standards in played all 12 keys - obviously including Giant Steps - now that is some serious practice right there.... ear training is as simple as sitting down and learning your favourite tunes from a CD/MP3 whatever - that's how I've always done it. It works. M

Hey dudes I know I've posted some noodle-shizzle of late but I do love to groove and I was checking a video I made over a year ago with my 4 piece jam-band funk jazz combo Big Fan - we have a new sax player now (but the guy in the video is great too) - anyway this is a funky little number of moine called 'Push' - there's a bass solo a couple of minutes from the end: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owgpl0fFwY0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owgpl0fFwY0[/url] Let me know whatcha think M

Um - I know I've said this before but I'd really like to attend but I live in London and would really like to lift share if possible - I know Kiwi Steve is busy so if anyone else if driving from London and wants someone to split the cost of petrol etc then I'd be very happy and grateful to do this. I should have - with a bit of luck - the new Sei Single Cut by then so I'd be tempted to bring both that and my fretless - as well as my SWR Baby Baby Blue - which is great - can't really bring the Epifani unfortunately. So any London types let me know if you're able to lift share - if not - no worries. Mike

[quote name='jwbassman' post='125711' date='Jan 22 2008, 08:38 PM']Fantastic progress - looks stunning - does the single cut design mean the bass is much heavier than a standard shape?[/quote] Cheers fella - you'd be amazed at how light this bass actually is - I think it's going to be lighter than the fretless on my avatar <<< - because it's ash on the wings and maple on the thru-neck it's essentially made of very light woods - both great tone woods however. The stringers through the neck are Wenge which is hard as hell - as is the ebony finger board - but again they are both relatively light. As for the facings they are so light it's untrue - and even though they look incredible are one of the least important (sound-wise anyway) components... but hey they really are ridiculously lovely The overall feel of the bass - even minus strings - is a very compact instrument that will (hopefully) be very easy to play - and almost as importantly - wear for hours at a time. I have had some serious issues with the weight of my thru-neck Thumb bass of late - getting it to gigs and rehearsals on my back and then playing for two hours then getting home - has really made my back sore at times. Not good! I'm not the young pup I was once and I really want to avoid any injury - this bass will go a long way to helping me achieve that. I'll hopefully have some more progress to report soon - but hey - she'll be ready when she's ready. M

RAWK! Nice one man - as an 'old timer' these days (I'm 36 this year) it's kinda cool to see young bands playing with their instruments at a 'sensible' height - what I mean is none of this bass round your knees bollox that is patently bad for your wrists - and playing as it goes - just me being a bass dweeb I s'pose... Great band - hope it all keeps going well for y'all cheers Mike

Thanks fellas - it's been a long wait but when you see the results and it all starts to come together it's quite a rush - I'm just gonna chill now until she's finally ready - anyway I found one more pic on my phone that I didn't upload - the back in full: [attachment=5074:back_full.jpg] See y'all again soon... M

Ho Guys I finally have some new pics - she's looking awesomely awesome - hopefully be all done by the end of Feb - the pics just about do it justice - it's a killer in the flesh (wood) - and yes I know it's been ages but well worth the wait... [attachment=5024:body1.jpg] [attachment=5025:bottomup1.jpg] [attachment=5026:top2.jpg] [attachment=5027:back2.jpg] More pics here [url="http://www.munkio.com/music/music_seibass.html"]http://www.munkio.com/music/music_seibass.html[/url] Cheers Mike

Sounds great dude. M

Just felt like taping something this morning - sorry it's a bit noodly...these are the changes to Wayne Shorter's 'Witch Hunt'. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDGEmtVrPf8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDGEmtVrPf8[/url] I've just joined a new 7-piece jazz funk outfit - recording LP at the end of Feb - will keep you posted. Cheers Mike

One thing I'll add is that 'improvising' doesn't just have to be in jazz - I've improvised for years and years and while I second all of the advice above you can improvise in any style - it shouldn't just be about learning a 'code' that takes years and years to reach a decent level it's also about knowing your instrument well but more importantly communicating - and hearing what other musicians are doing - improvising with highly skilled musicians is one of the greatest joys of playing music. Anyway it's all just a matter of practice and experience - so I best let you get on with it! M

As a bass pal of mine once wisely said (hey Ari) - "you have to be up there to play here..." - which is to say if you practice stuff that challenges you then go and play slightly less challenging stuff then you should be much more solid, confident and on top of the music - the goal being to stop thinking about playing the bass and just play the music...and generally speaking if playing live or recording I'm very clean - and doing a lot of home recording of late has really helped me hear all the nasty bits up close and personal...and I regularly suck as well! On a few occasions I've played Donna Lee live - and more recently Giant Steps - on a gig these are crazy hard jazz tunes to try and pull off live but even if these are seat-of-your-pants scary and challenging tunes to try and play at temp and in front of a crowd - and getting through it - it's one of the only ways you will beak through that barrier of pulling stuff off in the practice room but not on the bandstand. I completely admit that getting my technique together has at times taken over from studying more musical elements - but I think it's a massive advantage to have technique and then be able to forget about what your fingers are doing ad just let your ears lead you in how best to react to the music you are playing. But that said using excessive technique for the sake of it generally sucks and serves no useful purpose - I honestly try my best to play what's required and if it feels right to throw in the odd technical thing then fine - if not - I leave it out. Cheers Mike

Not my usual bag - but as an old metal head - I dig it and fantastic visuals - hope you band is doing well, sounds tight as f*&@! Keep at it. Cheers Mike

Hey chaps and chapesses Here's a ton of great bass clinics from the US Bass Player Live event - loads of top bassists playing and telling how the hell they do the stuff they do - I've only watched the Andrew Gouche and Matt Garrison ones so far but they all seem very good: [url="http://live.bassplayer.com/"]http://live.bassplayer.com/[/url] Cheers Mike

[quote name='Jase' post='116716' date='Jan 9 2008, 01:12 AM']Thanks Mike, enjoyed Donna Lee I can't tell you how many times I've attempted that and had to give up ( as with anything involving Jaco) Cool interpretation! If you don't mind me asking...what sort of practice regime do you have with that type of track, do you study it in sections and put it all together? Just I'd love to be able to get through at least some of it. cheers Jase.[/quote] Hi Jase Thanks for the positive feedback - believe me I'm still working on this tune myself - I know it sounds OK but my inner perfectionist still soits on my shoulder going "Ooooh, you missed that phrase there didn't you...!" So the head isn't perfect by a long way here - but the ironic thing is now that I have finally recorded this (I've played it for years) I can actually play the thing better than I have ever been able to before. My story with this tune is that I worked on a transcribed version from a book I shan't name - but bits of it were very wrong - luckily I have two guitarist friends who are both monster players and they helped me get all the phrases right - then it was just a case of playing it again and again and again... however one thing I will say that has really helped me recently is going back into studying and practicing rhythm in my playing. I mentioned on another thread about this Indian rhythm system called Konakol - it's truly brilliant and maybe I'll post something on it soon. But basically I've just worked on this bloody tune for years and I'm finally getting somewhere with it - maybe I will break it down and get Alun and other jazz heads to help me - and us collectively - look at a jazz tune and how to approach all the different elements - from bass line, to chords and solo and melody. Hope that helps - thanks for listening. Mike PS Here's a little more jazz with my mate Tom Pilling on piano The ole Monk tune: Straight no Chaser [url="http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=81171"]http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=81171[/url]

Wow - really great job - well done - I'm also impressed that you took your time over this - the results really show the time and effort you put in - congrats. M

Matey - first off don't stress out too much - it'll only make you feel worse - my first thought is just try running some simple finger exercises - get your metronome out and just work through some basic finger coordination stuff like running one finger one fret - alternating notes through scales etc. Keep it steady and in time. This can be a good way just to re-familiarize yourself with the neck, then jam along to some music you love and that inspires you - take that good feeling from that tune and picture playing like that with your band - it's not foolproof but is one way of getting motivated and getting the reasons you play bass into some kind of perspective. Hope it helps - best I can suggest right now. M

Sorry to hear about your 'injury' Jono - while I'm sure others will provide decent advice on warming up and also avoiding this in future by really changing your technique - i.e. keeping your plucking-hand wrist straight - not bent/curled - when plucking and also keeping you fretting hand equally un-bent - bit like Mr Gary Willis here I'd also recommend actually taking a break from the bass once in a while. Earlier this year I suffered a bit from a sort of blister/callous thing on both hands due to excessive playing - while I still play every day it's good to take time away from the instrument to rest a bit. When you go back to it warm up into your playing - start slow and steady and try not to playing your most audacious bassline/chops before you've really loosened up. Anyway - sorry again to hear you are suffering - try and get a 'program' together to try and avoid hurting yourself again in the future.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='109408' date='Dec 26 2007, 10:31 AM']Are you sure? I'm not saying you are wrong and I concur that beer bottles on Jool's show have labels over them but I can't say that I've ever noticed all branding on that show or the beeb as being blacked out! I've got an old episode of Later... on HD (and some other Beeb music programmes) with an hour to kill, I think I'll check that theory out.[/quote] Hey dood - i don't think it's all branding all the time but I think it's more along the lines of stuff that might be a last minute thing which is more likely to be required to be covered up on a 'live' program - both JR and JH shows are pre-recorded - but seeing as the brands on other shows - I imagine it's a similar thing as they do on Big Brother etc when a house mate sings a song - the producers have to get clearance to broadcast it and get royalties sorted out etc - the Beeb would most likely have to go through some legal stuff to show a MacBook on a makeover show for example - the BBC is a public service broadcaster (in theory) so can't be seen to advertise stuff blatantly - if anyone has a clearer version of this practice then please post something - but I'm pretty sure about the principals involved here. I have a well connected friend who can probably clarify this. M

Hi AMJ Really short and sweet answer is - from my limited experience - for an interface for plugging you bass into the mac: Tascam US-122 is great - very simple USB analogue to digital interface - good for plugging in bass/guitar, mics and MIDI devices. However this unit won't really let you run a pair of decent studio monitors - which are well worth getting too when your budget allows (you can get something decent for less than £300) - so my solution was to get a Mackie Onyx Satellite Base Station. This has up to 8 instrument inputs - uses the same audio drivers as the Mackie Onyx desk (that would set you back £1500) but only costs £150 - I'd recommend both of these but I'm sure others will have equally good suggestions. Cheers Mike

Yes I know this is a bit of nightmare tune for us bass players - I really wanted to have a stab at recording this as it's something I've played for years - so this is just an attempt at laying it down. I double tracked the melody with one bass in the normal octave then another an octave higher - it's not perfect by a long way but I think it sounds OK. I then did the solo separately - again it's just what came out today! I could probably do better but I didn't want to obsess about the mistakes too much - anyway I'll shut up - I hope it's passable... Thanks for listening Mike Donna Lee (for my good pal Ian Carr) [url="http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=80221"]http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=80221[/url]

Cool, I thought it was Mr Z - re the taping over of logos on the Beeb - I think it's standard practice on any show, if you watch Jools' show all beer bottles are covered with sticky labels, I think it's the fact it's publicly funded and not allowed to advertise any brands - so the same applies to guitars and amps. This would still apply even if you are sponsored by a company - as far as I know Yamaha et al have no sway over the Beeb. M

[quote name='Mikey D' post='109297' date='Dec 25 2007, 06:28 PM']You might wanna ask Mr Gene Perez! [url="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=60340960"]<a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...iendID=60340960" target="_blank">http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...iendID=60340960[/url]</a> Probably played more house tracks as bassist than most others![/quote] +1 on Gene - check out Masters At Work's many great sessions/remixes - manny normally feature Mr P who is a monster groover but quite busy in his own way - great bass lines! String-wise I really love Elites 'Players' - they are nickel plated round wounds - you can get a great variety of tones from them from deep slap to great Jaco-style finger picking etc - you can order them (and loads of other brands) from www.stringbusters.com - they are about £7 cheaper than in the shops. Hope that helps M

Hi guys, Just a real simple and mellow 'interlude' type bass tune from me - I spent some time getting to grips with my new Onyx Satellite interface today - as well as my newly purchased iDrum software - bigger and better recordings on the way soon - I thought I'd share this little fretless ditty I knocked up today: 'Winter Solstice' [url="http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=80001"]http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=80001[/url] Let me know what you think - and happy Christmas to alll who've made the Recordings a really nice place to sto bbe - keep thhe tunes and recording tips coming. Cheers Mike