Dood

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1502355096' post='3350829'] Rich Tone Music have the LT for £725. I've shopped online with them a few times and have been happy with the service. I got mine elsewhere when the price went really low and managed to bag a 24 months interest free credit to boot!! [/quote]

Rich Tone Music have the LT for £725. I've shopped online with them a few times and have been happy with the service. I got mine when the price went really low and managed to bag a 24 months interest free credit to boot!!

In the absence of terminology, often finding a drum play through video can help. Thankfully on this occasion, Matt himself can demonstrate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whUy9s7jeqE

Ask Roqsolid to make you something! They're highly regarded here on BassChat!

Another recommendation for [url="http://www.custom-inearmonitors.co.uk/"]http://www.custom-inearmonitors.co.uk/[/url] - exemplary service. (EBS_F recommended them to me, thus I can recommend him too for his reliable recommendations having taken his recommendation... lol)

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1502280876' post='3350427'] [/quote] I guess it was inevitable given that so much effort went in to modelling all the different parts of his original and much loved Pearce pre-amp, but nevertheless I am very pleased it has happened!

[quote name='2elliot' timestamp='1501869822' post='3347972'] Billy Sheehan is currently using the Helix LT on tour... blimey. That's some endorsement. [/quote] [quote name='dood' timestamp='1502280585' post='3350422'] Youwhaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt? [/quote] http://youtu.be/ZlJWB1rqQfo

[quote name='2elliot' timestamp='1501869822' post='3347972'] Billy Sheehan is currently using the Helix LT on tour... blimey. That's some endorsement. [/quote] Youwhaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1502141540' post='3349622'] Does anyone know if there is any difference between the BF Big Baby II and the FR800 other than the fact the FR800 has an amp built in, and if that's all it is, can you get a Big Baby II upgraded to an FR800? I ask because I'm about to change my rig and get a Helix. I was wondering whether or not to keep my amp (Tech Soundsystems Black Cat) and get a Big Baby II or sell the amp as well and go for an FR800. It's all about equipment sharing gigs where I might be expected to bring my own amp but not cab(s) and portability... [/quote] Tonally, the cabinets I understand have little difference, but I think the construction has to make way for the amplifier. I don't think they can be upgraded, but of course it'd be easy to get the information direct from BF who reply to mails quickly. For me anyway! In terms of having a 'system in a box', i'd go for the FR800 every time - budget limitations mean that I have a BB2 though. I have a Helix and would love a pair of FR's, it'd be such a great set up.

[quote name='SisterAbdullahX' timestamp='1502119387' post='3349413'] Ah!! [/quote] It's full name is FRFRWAMAPGTLOEMT. Full Range, Flat Response, well as much as possible given the limitations of even modern technology.

I'll be checking this out later! - Strangely your link comes up with an empty playlist, but I went to your profile first and clicked on the playlist with the songs listed instead here: [url="https://soundcloud.com/frannie01/sets/paul-gilbert-live-igf-2005"]https://soundcloud.com/frannie01/sets/paul-gilbert-live-igf-2005[/url] Riley is a killer drummer, I'm looking forward to hearing your performance!

[quote name='SisterAbdullahX' timestamp='1502083417' post='3349115'] Go on then, I'll be the first to ask, what does FRFR stand for? [/quote] Full Range Flat Response

Top notch fella! We arranged a meet up and hung out for a bit when Ben bought my iMac. Superb comms, effortless transaction and good cuppla hours talking music!

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1502047621' post='3348990'] I played 6 string guitar in bands form c1969 to c1985. The bass player couldn't make a gig so I stood in on bass guitar. I loved it so much that I immediately changed to bass and never played guitar on stage again. So, to me it's a great advantage [b]being able to read a guitar player's fingers at a jam or when depping[/b]. I also know loads of chords and various shapes in all the positions right up the neck. It helps me a lot. I can also think like a guitarist when playing bass lines so I think that helps me to play [u][i]with[/i][/u] the guitarist in a creative way. Or something like that. Frank. Frank. [/quote] I've surprised quite a few people when I've done Deps; they have asked on the spot if I knew a particular song and my answer was no, but I can read the guitarist's hand anyway! It's a great skill to have

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1502044101' post='3348951'] But as with any gear, it should be used as an addition to your technique, never a substitute! Si [/quote] Haters gonna hate whatever, so I say: "Be proud and say that it's part of your technique." I choose to use this tool and I don't give a crap if people don't think I'm a great bassist. They're probably right anyway, but I'm enjoying myself.

Just another tool we can use. As I often say: if I thought that playing bass with a kitchen utensil would create the sound I want, then I would.

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1502034099' post='3348866'] Your thoughts are well placed, especially if you've been playing and you haven't had to use theory yet. With a good teacher, something of a rarity, the concepts become easier to understand. As I said it's all about the context as well. [b]It's worthwhile learning the theory in something you already know[/b], then branching out to a song you've always wanted to learn. I was fortunate enough to study this stuff at Uni and college where I had some amazing teachers, especially my lecturer at college. He really lit the fire of understanding and wanting to be "clever" in music in me, and since then I've gone ahead and taught myself an awful amount, building from my basic knowledge through books and songs. [/quote] I meant to quote this point too. Again, totally agree. In our formative years learning how to speak, it wasn't from a book, it wasn't from a formal lesson, we picked up language from those around us and manipulated those familiar phrases to get what we needed. Learning a song and extracting the theory from it I suppose works the same way. A while ago, one of my students called me up after a drive home from work one day and told me about a song that came on the radio. He asked if the track's main riff used the Minor Pentatonic scale. I wasn't familiar with the song myself but yes, indeed it did. He was able to identify that in a relatively early lesson because we had 'reverse engineered' a song, extracted, then learned all about said scale in and out of that context. oh and yes, I also like that you have mentioned that learning doesn't stop just because you have learned something. That's what I really love - you can learn something new from everyone, even if they have never picked up the instrument before. Indeed, they can be the most interesting to teach!

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1502034099' post='3348866'] Your thoughts are well placed, especially if you've been playing and you haven't had to use theory yet. With a good teacher, something of a rarity, the concepts become easier to understand. As I said it's all about the context as well. It's worthwhile learning the theory in something you already know, then branching out to a song you've always wanted to learn. I was fortunate enough to study this stuff at Uni and college where I had some amazing teachers, especially my lecturer at college. He really lit the fire of understanding and wanting to be "clever" in music in me, and since then I've gone ahead and taught myself an awful amount, building from my basic knowledge through books and songs. I wasn't intending on giving such a reply earlier, I got lost in the theory haha! You're spot on. Theory needs more time and it's better face to face than on an internet message board! Learning theory is a very dynamic process, some days it's frustrating and pointless, other days it clicks and the concepts are clear and easy to understand. All help and advice is useful to someone though. Even if that's not clear to them right away! I'm lucky enough that all my students private and college ones have all bought in time my style of teaching and my approach to music. I tend to look at things from a bigger picture view, more like a band leader or producer would. Sometimes the perfect note is the root player low and straight rock semi-quavers to drive it along! [/quote] Yup, agreed and adding context in to the mix just makes things even more exciting, even if it does quadruple the word count here

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1502030684' post='3348838'] I agree with the above.[b] However a beginner has to start somewhere[/b]. Often this is the problem...i.e. they are swamped in an ocean of information and don't know where to start. That's why in an earlier post I recommended to the OP (assuming he was interested) the site www.studybass.com. IMO it is one of the best out there because the lessons start simple and each one builds on what went before. Granted, a good teacher would be a better option, but in the absence of one, it is the next best option. [/quote] Totally agree. My point focussed on how to explain that 'somewhere' with absolute clarity and for my students to understand and recall that information. The link you mention seems to do a great job of getting down to the nuts and bolts first. To expand, TTSTTTS is useless if you haven't actually explained what T or S actually is and why. "Major Minor Minor..." etc is pointless if you haven't explained that each is a chord and actually, how the chord was made in the first place and why we're even doing it lol. I also think that it's very important to have a clear and methodical, progressive plan of learning, so I also agree with your point regarding being swamped with information (and misinformation) causing frustration and not knowing where to start. Totally, it's not easy. Granted, when I started playing I spent hours upon hours working stuff out by ear, grafting tracks ad travelling many miles to get to see or work with great musicians. Today, there is that and so much more at the touch of a button. Certainly teachers within my area must have gon up ten-fold since I was a kid too.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1502025567' post='3348799'] Really wish I was playing a 27" scale baritone guitar sometimes too as the 25" scale is a bit cramped for my fingers. Is there a Musicman Silhouette in my future...? [/quote] I've got an Ibanez with a 26.5" scale. It's designed for being tuned a tone down as standard, but I leave it up in 'E'. It's only a small difference but it's easier for my massive hands to get round with the extra inch on the scale length. This gives a bit more room between the frets!

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1502028303' post='3348813'] Oh! a bit more response than I was expecting! It's as if we are on the opposite sides of a chasm of understanding. I doubt very much that anyone here, if they've been playing a couple of years, doesn't know about scales and chord tones, or about which chords go together and form the structure of most of the songs we play (and by implication the circle of fifths). Even transposition is something you won't really avoid, even if all you do is the bassists version of using a capo... move your hand and play the same pattern. Whilst there are a few people who may play everything by a combination of a decent ear and trial and error and proudly proclaim it as the only way I suspect most of us are hungry for any bit of theory that would help our playing. The trouble is that when someone just says 'learn your scales' it's a meaningless phrase. I'm sure all of us can play a pattern of eight notes and probably know major minor and blues scales (avoiding the mixolydian word here) but if that is all there is to it how does that help? This is where the conversation usually breaks down with frustration on both sides. Most of us can play a major scale, up and down, starting on whichever root note we choose. If we can't we could learn to do so in a few minutes. Surely there is more to it than that? Even calling the notes out as you do it, well I can see that would be useful in learning the fretboard but is that really all there is to it? And how does that help in a practical sense? Honestly I'm not trying to be contentious, I know the ignorance is mine , I just don't get it and can't understand why the people who do get it can't explain what I have to gain. That's why I'm interested in what the OP gets by making the journey. [/quote] I wish I wrote that instead, as it's kinda what I was getting at. I LOVE the OP and that it's a great feeling when something slots together and sounds ace - and it didn't need lots of explaining to make it work and derive a huge amount of pleasure from it. That in itself is awesome and should be rattled out over and over as the sense of achievement will never be lost. I do agree though that the teaching of theory is often a mess and far from progressive leaving students, musicians confused and unfulfilled. Great teachers are hard to come by and unfortunately, I really don't think the odd paragraph on an internet forum trying to explain what an experienced player thinks is a relatively simple concept is the answer for someone seeing this stuff for the first times.

[quote] {snip} Now you can transpose songs easily as well. If anybody has theory questions I'm always happy to help! [/quote] I understand what you are trying to say in a limited space, but a beginner will look at your paragraph and shrug. [i]You[/i] know what it means,[i] I[/i] know what it means, but there's so much information missing there, it will put students off. Thus I have to say that no, someone seeing this information for the first time won't even know what 'transposing songs' actually means, or indeed what the diatonic chords are and how to create or identify them. That said, hopefully this post will highlight the importance of getting great teaching, whatever the source, be it online, private teacher, videos, books etc etc

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1502017924' post='3348748'] On a more serious note, I originally trained as a guitarist and taught both for many years. I've always advocated making the effort to get some idea what your fellow musicians are doing. [/quote] Yup I very much agree and maybe despair a little at the disparity between the way that guitarists and bassist learn their instrument of choice, given that they 'are' one of the same. So, as one very small example, when I teach, bassists know what chords and keys are all about and guitarists can handle walking the neck. It will help your skills as an individual musician, but also working in a group too. Oh, and learn to drum too. Really, not just feel when a fill or groove is coming up, but why. *disclaimer: I know that everyone has very busy lives and it's not always possible to find the time to learn etc etc etc

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1501947279' post='3348424'] Fair enough, Dood, but an obvious question for you - how many pub gigs a year do you (personally) go out and find & negotiate? I do this a lot, but I'm always happy to learn. [/quote] Amongst other stuff I 'do', I play in a busy function band too and we do play pub/small venue gigs along side large venue and private bookings. Each of us as band members are expected to go and seek, negotiate and book gigs. To be honest, negotiation has never been a problem, as a self-employed pro musician it's kinda necessary all the time, the same as a plumber or electrician seeks work.