louisthebass

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1325772744' post='1487419'] It would be better if he could leave the L42 way behind..but no one can blame him for still milking that cash cow. It is all old hat now a time warp in a REALLY CHUMMY way ..but his playing is still great in both styles. The other guys could help by moving on as well..... I'd go and see him..but not in a L42 gig. IMO [/quote] It'll never happen - I just don't see MK ever being somebody's "sideman". He's tried doing something different before (late 90's - didn't work) and he obviously feels at home leading that band in whatever guise it happens to take, and playing those songs. Fair play to him as I'd rather see L42 than a lot of what is being churned out at the moment, but maybe that's my fault for being an old git and living in the past...

[quote name='AndyBob09' timestamp='1325858933' post='1488885'] Cheers for your kind words Louis. I can send you the tranny for that Jaco line. Took me about 2 weeks to get it to that level. It's still not perfect there but it's much tighter now. And aye, I mean, for playing with cover bands or just general bands, I never learn note for note lines. There's no point BUT I'm in my 4th year at uni studying music and have an important 40 minute performance recital in May. I'd like some things to be note for note for that, for example, that Jaco line. [/quote] No worries mate, I'd love to have copy if you can pass it on. If it's going to be your recital piece, just keeping plugging away at it - you'll eventually get to a point where you can play it without thinking about it. It's only when you think (or worry) about it when it all goes a bit "pear shaped" (I had that at a gig a month ago when I managed to forget the bass part to "I Wish"....). D'oh!!

Hi AndyBob, I'm probably in the same boat as you - I tend to learn a fairly good approximation of what I'm hearing, and go with that when I have to learn something for the bands I play in. It usually does the trick as no-one ever says "the bass part you played on such & such wasn't right / c**p" etc.. IMO sometimes it's just a case of playing[b] your [/b]interpretation of it, which there's nothing wrong in whatsoever. I think you'll find that 99% of the time, the rest of the band aren't playing exactly the same thing note for note anyway. It's a different ball gane if you're doing a dot reading gig as it is a case of having to play the music, and the arrangement "as is". If it is a case that you really want to play the line exactly as it is on the written page, then it's definitely a case of running through it as many times as you think you need to until it sinks in. Last thing: props to you for that video - one of my all time favourite Jaco bass parts and you've done a much better job with it than I'll ever do. Cheers, louisthebass

I think Ed Friedland summed up (very well) the usage of slap on gigs. The only band I can think of where it's a crucial part of their sound is Level 42, but that would be (IMO) the exception to the rule. As a "display technique" a la the London Bass Show last year, it went way overboard. I would rather have heard 99,000 interpretations of "Donna Lee".

I had a delivery from DPD today.... It wasn't your bass though In all seriousness, knowing courier firms (as I do) it'll probably link out of the hub tonight & arrive at your local depot early hours of tomorrow morning. If you know what the parcel number is, it might be worth giving the local depot a quick bell after 8am to see if it's going out for delivery? Hope you get it tomorrow, then we can all have a looksee what you've bought

[quote name='GregHughes' timestamp='1325756987' post='1487030'] Thanks Louis, I'll get that ordered I think its not a bad price on Amazon. [/quote] Hi Greg, As a thought, it might be a good idea to get it directly from Stuart's website [url="http://www.basslinepublishing.com"]www.basslinepublishing.com[/url] £14.99 + p&p.

[quote name='GregHughes' timestamp='1325715316' post='1486661'] Thanks. I think I need to do some more reading and get my head around the differences between the scales which will then help me understand them better. [/quote] If you want a good book that concentrates on scales (covers arpeggios as well & has examples of each being used in a "real life" musical situation), get The Bass Players Guide to Scales & Modes by Stuart Clayton. I've got this book & I'm still working my way through it - very good book indeed.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1325708248' post='1486517'] Start with the major scale and the chords that make it up and everything else will come from that. Learn the language of intervals (the distances between notes) as these are the backbone of most theory. once you get the principles, a lot of it is transferrable to other scales and chords. [/quote] Bilbo's pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one - once you get into learning your scales, you'll see that Dorian, Mixolydian, Pentatonic & Blues are the main scales used in Funk.

I doubt I could keep it to 5, here's mine: On Vinyl/ CD: 1) Jaco Pastorius - My all time favourite bass player, made me realise that you could do a lot more than play roots! 2) Bruce Foxton - The main reason why I picked up bass in the first place. 3) Donald "Duck" Dunn - Booker T & the MG's are my all time favourite R&B / Soul rhythm section. 4) Pino Palladino - Great taste in bass playing from this fella. 5) James Jamerson - Flawless bass playing on the Motown label. Personal: 1) Garth Thomas - My first bass teacher, who used to teach from Andre's Music Shop in Croydon. Only had three lessons, but he pointed me in the right direction. 2) Tony Muschamp - Used to be head of The Bass Institute in Acton, did a 10 week part time course, learned a lot in that time. Good bloke too. 3) Mike Tracy - Head of Jazz Studies at the University of Louisville School of Music in Kentucky (and the only non bass player in this list). Spent 90 mins every morning for a week in 2003 in his theory class at a Jamey Aebersold Jazz School in Richmond, Surrey, very inspirational teacher, gave us enough theory to work on for a lifetime. 4) Paul Geary - To this point, the best bass teacher I've ever had, gave me a lot of inspiration to play the instrument better than I had been.

Over the years I've been to see L42, my favourite bass sound has to be the Jaydee / Trace Elliott combination (really comes to life on the 1984 Rockpalast DVD).

I would say the 5 string bass (strung B-G) started to become a regular sight with bands in the late 1980's. The first 5 string bass I remember reading about was the Wal 5 in 1986 in "Guitarist" magazine reviewed by Wal user Robbie Burns. First time I saw one "up close & personal" were the Peavey TL5's being used by Tim Landers & Joe Hubbard at the 2nd Bass Centre Weekend in 1987 (or was it 1988?), Chucho Merchan was using a Warwick Thumb 5 in his spot at the same event.

Started using a 5 string in 1996 and have never really looked back - I don't actually own a 4 string now (although that may change this year, all being well). As others have said, the main thing to do is to spend all your practice time with the 5 - learn your scales and arpeggios incorporating those notes from low B to low Eb (if you decide to go with a bass tuned E-C, learn all those scales and arpeggios incorporating the high C to high F#/Gb). You also need to decide on whether you prefer a narrow or wide string spacing, so try out as many instruments in your budget range and see what you feel comfy with. The other thing is take it out on gigs and keep on using it, once you've learned what's under your fingers. I'm one of the many that have (initially) taken a 5 (strung B-G) out on a gig and plucked the low B instead of a low E....

Hi all, Thought I'd post this as it's a lesser known L42 track that showcases MK's fingerstyle playing (if memory serves it's in Drop 'D' tuning: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3mH7z84dkM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3mH7z84dkM[/url] The only time he slaps is on the bridge of the song - it's a bit of a shame that his fingerstyle playing is often overlooked in favour of his slap technique...

[quote name='TonyBones' timestamp='1325366510' post='1482651'] Man in the corner shop The Jam, cos it made me want to play Bass. Still makes me feel the same way i did when i heard it for the first time [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPdFQc1w5Ys[/media] [/quote] Good call, plus anything on Tamla Motown or Stax for me.

MK's been one of my favourite bass players since I first started playing. He's done a lot for the instrument in this country, in terms of being one of the most high profile UK bassists in the last 30 years.

Looking at your description, it might just be a simple case of looking at using either a moveable anchor or floating thumb technique. I use a 5 all the time, and in my case I use a moveable anchor, whereby when I'm playing the B string, my thumb is resting on the pickup and I move it up & down the strings as appropriate & keep the side of my thumb muting the strings that aren't being played. Your fretting hand muting will also help in the respect of keeping any extraneous open strings under control.

Might be worth your while checking out some of the Jamey Aebersold Playalongs from Jazzwise. Great CD & book packages that cover a lot of ground where "the standards" are concerned. Another avenue for learning walking bass lines would be the first two Ed Friedland books "Building Walking Bass Lines" & "Expanding Walking Bass Lines".

Another Epifani lover here . I've got two Epifani UL110's (along with a Yamaha BBT500 head) that I use as my gigging rig. I'll get around to putting some pics up at some point.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1324328000' post='1473142'] Mine tend to tuck under towards my palm. [/quote] +1 here

[quote name='Wobler' timestamp='1324145066' post='1471296'] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vms_6_TSQuc&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/media] this is an example of someone pushing the boundaries......lol [/quote] Have only watched about 75 seconds of this, and can honestly say I've never got to the point of cussing & blinding if my practicing hasn't gone to my expectations. My attitude is "okay, it's not happening - time to call it a day for today, let's see how tomorrow goes" (this is rare). Improvement doesn't happen overnight - it takes place over weeks & months if your practice is planned & efficient.

To the OP: Just to add to all the positive responses to your initial post, if you've got the hunger and drive to be a full time musician then go for it. It is possible to go to school / uni, get a qualification & come out of it the other side still doing what you want to do. A case in point is a pro bass player who a couple of us on here have had lessons with - he got qualifications from Berklee in Boston & B.I.T, in Los Angeles in the late 80's / early 90's. Wish you all the best, & keep us all updated

I'll be attending again on the Saturday with my wife - enjoyed last years show very much in the limited time we had there in 2011. Good to see that the noise situation is being looked at - I would have thought it would have made more sense for some "soundproofed" areas to have been made available for those who wanted to try instruments at a loud level through amps.

[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1323639930' post='1465385'] I can certainly appreciate the expense in moving to moulded plugs verses standard. But standard plugs cannot compensate for the exact shape of your ear canal and may not give you a total seal and thereby the necessary protection. That has been my experience. Moulded are the only way to go if your serious about protecting your hearing. [/quote] Hi Leroy, I see where you're coming from and I agree that moulded plugs do seem to be the way to go. A guy who was the drummer in the last band I played in had a really bad case of Tinnitus, and he ended up giving up playing his drums (& leaving the band) because it was so bad. The good news was that he ended up getting a set of moulded plugs and it changed his life in the respect of playing his drums again. He'll obviously never lose his Tinnitus but he's well chuffed that he can play his drums again in a band. As soon as I've got the readies, I'll be looking at doing the same. Cheers, Louis

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1323717299' post='1466227'] I understand where you are coming form Chloe. but at this stage of my learning the bass, Now i am no longer a beginer. I dont actually find it a chore practising Triads or chord tones etc. Now that i can see where they are coming from, and now I am more able to see how they fit into the make up of many tunes, I find them more interesting to learn. Certainly more so than when i first started and tried to learn scales by boring repetition. The only thing i have any bother with is learning the fretboard, which i should know off by heart after 2 years. Anyone have any suggestions ? [/quote] Hi Daz, This may help - I've been using this quite a lot: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0sS0hhfezQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0sS0hhfezQ[/url] Cheers, louisthebass

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1323674208' post='1465566'] And that Niti video just confirms hows bad tapping sounds! I guess he is a great teacher (an established reputation) but he is also selling a product and is not going to 'not' sell videos of techniques that are useless, he is going to fill a perceived market need. [/quote] Totally agree with you on the two handed tapping thing for the most part....The only player I've heard who uses the technique well (IMO) in a band setting is Roscoe Beck when he was part of Robben Ford & The Blue Line, but that was more to do with the fact that the band was a trio and Beck was using it mostly when Ford would be soloing. It's not really a technique that I personally would really like to spend a lot of time working on (like yourself Bilbo, I'm more interested in the music side of it and improving as a musician than anything else), I posted the YT vid as the OP was interested in getting a start on it, but I think we both agree that it's the OP's call if he wants to continue with investigating it as part of his learning process.