SteveK

Come on guys, I think we're in danger of taking ourselves a little too seriously here. The last time I heard anyone refer to B# or E# was when I was studying I couldn't give a toss if a musician refers to B# as C or E# as F - That has nothing at all to do with his ability to play music. Having said that - I will always (and have, many times on these forums) advocate the learning of, at least some basic, theory.

Worked with them many, many times in the mid to late 80s. They were the only major band from the 60s with the totally original lineup, or at least, that's how they were often billed. Got to know them pretty well - a lovely bunch of guys - real gents. If memory serves they did Silence a capella.

[quote name='silddx' post='958490' date='Sep 16 2010, 04:22 PM']After you've had a quick run through the tricky bits you always get wrong on the night, packed up your gear, loaded it in your car or got it on the bus, unloaded it and set it up at the venue after waiting nearly three hours for the sound guy to arrive because you turned up at the time the venue told you soundcheck would be. Then tearing down so the other three bands can soundcheck. Setting it up again except you've got half the room you had before because two of the bands need to leave their keyboards on the stage. Not hearing yourself properly in the monitor mix and being blinded by one of the spots on the low pub ceiling which you can't get out of the way of because of those f***ing keyboards. Playing your gig knowing those eight friends who promised to turn up have not done so AGAIN. Finding stinking stale beer all over the arm of your expensive stage jacket as you realise the support band's guitarist knocked his pint over while you are coiling your cables. Having to get your gear off stage straight away instead of being able to enjoy a pint (which you had to pay for because the band don't get free drinks) and people telling you your tone is immense and you are the next Alain Caron. Hauling your gear to the bus stop for the long journey home where you have half an hour to enjoy a glass of wine while taking the strain off your back and feet and reflecting on the few parts of the evening's performance you CAN remember, before going to bed and setting the alarm for 6 hours' time to get up for your day job. Be honest, do you REALLY get a massive enough buzz playing in front of people for an hour to make all this worth it? What do you REALLY get from it? Do you think you have a choice? Music chose YOU remember, you have to do it anyway don't you?[/quote] In all my years of playing every conceivable type of gig, I've never experienced [i]one[/i] such as you describe, except maybe in the odd nightmare.

[b]Glen Matlock? Master class?[/b] I assume it will be purely anecdotal.

"Time to prepare for auditions" I've not done too many auditions (last one about 25 years ago) but I seem to remember a couple of days notice was the norm. It's kind of ,"How long's a piece of string?" - There's no real answer. If it's a band that you know and like, and you're desperate to join, then, you'll spend every available minute [i]familiarising yourself with/learning[/i] their songs. Depends on the band of course, but if they have any sense they wouldn't expect you to know the songs by heart, they would be more interested in feels, timing, general vibe etc.

[quote name='bh2' post='954639' date='Sep 13 2010, 12:48 PM']I assume they just get a desk mix and broadcast that.[/quote] I very much doubt that. I'm not too knowledgeable about this side of things, but from what I gather (years of overhearing techy guys discussing this kind of thing) "splitters" are used. So the telly sound guy can sit in his highly equipped sound truck creating an independent broadcast mix.

[quote name='ezbass' post='952062' date='Sep 10 2010, 05:41 PM']Unfortunately it's more a case of who you know rather than what you can do[/quote] That old cliche! Let me just rephrase that for you: [i]Fortunately, it's a case of what you can do more than who you know.[/i] Friends in the business [i]can[/i] help, for sure, you can network all you like, but... It doesn't matter who you know... if you can't deliver - you won't get the gig!

[quote name='umph' post='952097' date='Sep 10 2010, 06:05 PM']i think he gets a great groove going on, you wouldn't hear half of the ghost notes if it was a bit lower in the mix and it wouldn't sound as busy[/quote] Yep, I'm sure even the great Rocco Prestia would be accused (by some here) of overplaying, if heard in isolation. What is there and what you [b]think[/b] is there is often very different...particularly when it comes to bass.

Don't see anything wrong with that. Just too high in the mix, that's all.

[quote]Have you ever seen Nathan East's fingers close up?[/quote] Yep, held them in my hand only a few weeks back...can't say I noticed anything unusual about his fingers. But I was rather preoccupied with the fact that he had his leg in plaster

The phrases, [i]Natural selection[/i] & [i]Survival of the fittest[/i] can be applied to the world of music. The fact is, if a musician/band makes a decision to incorporate improvisation into their show, and they do it badly ie. the audience "don't get it", the audience are bored, the band are just w***ing off...then they will fail: dwindling audience numbers, no rebooking, end of band. If however, the band do it well - punters tapping their feet, moving their bodies, standing ovations, increasing audience numbers, band rebooked time and time again - then the band will go on to bigger and better things. [quote]But you only get to hear the good stuff. What about all the sh*t that was played we never hear, and the audiences not getting value for their money.[/quote] Of course you get bands that do it badly, but as I say above: They will/did fail... That's why you never hear them.

Well, without it we wouldn't have this iconic (?) bit of [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J249iACsmKY"]film[/url]. Used to amuse me hearing punk rock described as [i]exciting and dangerous[/i]...oh yeah? well, you obviously had never seen The Oo! It's The Who, It's what they did. It all added to their legendary status.

[quote name='silddx' post='948783' date='Sep 7 2010, 08:50 PM']Is there a point? Unless you play jazz I can't see one. The occasional inspired extra note here and there, sure, but studying improvisation on a bass!?! It seems ridiculous. Learn to cook instead, it's much more useful and pleasing for other people. It sounds like a recipe for cheating your audience to me. Only musicians will feel any "magic" happening, and that magic will be VERY rare. The audience won't get it anyway, and why not compose something beautiful in the first place. For me, improvisation on a bass is for jazz and pompous tits who convince themselves it's entertaining. I wish they would realise NO-ONE GIVES A sh*t.[/quote] I understand the post is intended to be provocative. So on that understanding... I've got to say... Unfortunately, I can't say what I really think . But... I couldn't disagree more. In the 60s & 70s improvisation was commonplace and often made for some "magic" shows... and the audience certainly "got it". There are probably still bands out there doing it. Because [i]you[/i] don't "get it" doesn't mean others don't. My current band (only been 25 years ) are fairly well known outside the UK and have a reputation for a good live show - due partly to the fact there is a good deal of improvisation - no 2 nights are the same. The keyboard player, guitarist, drummer are totally on top of their instruments - If I stuck to the parts played in rehearsals it just wouldn't work. Mostly the other guys lead the way, but then sometimes Ill play a groove that will take us somewhere else. You can't really meddle with the main part of the song... but there is certainly a time and a place, and should be encouraged IMO

Unfortunately, my main gigging bass is permanently on the road, so the only times I get to see/play it is at gigs. So, when, on the odd occasions that we need to rehearse, I use my 73 or 74 (can't remember which year) Precision. It's a bitch to play...but gotta love the sound.

[quote]Touring is boring. That's it, end of story.[/quote] Ever thought that, maybe, you're in the wrong business? ...or, the wrong band?

Surely, the word musician is a general term to describe someone who creates or performs music - regardless of instrument. Bass player, guitarist, pianist etc is a more specific term to describe a particular type of musician. So, I am both: A musician who plays bass guitar.

Just occasionally, visiting BC is a rather depressing experience!

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='899084' date='Jul 19 2010, 04:07 PM']Could be bad news... the early ones have a nasty habit of going very wrong. Unplug the 10-way conblock, stick a meter across the red & white wires, & measure the pickup resistance. According to the Factory Specs, it should be around 11.2KΩ. If it's off the scale or significantly less than this, then it's gone Open- or Short-circuit respectively. Then it's transplant time I'm afraid, as these p/ups are epoxy-potted & can't be rewound. If it's OK, then the 'black box' circuit has gone & no-one really knows what's in it under all that epoxy (I'm pretty sure it's a dual op-amp configured as a unity-gain buffer, but I'd hesitate to put money on it). Aria USA can supply replacement p/ups & circuitry, but only for the "re-issue", which appears to be a variation of the Series-2 circuit with the low-battery LED. This won't fit a Series-1, unless you're prepared to drill a hole in it. The alternative is to get a replacement pickup from Aaron Armstrong (Kent's son), or possibly Wizard Pickups, and do away with the circuitry altogether. It's quite an easy mod to do whilst still keeping the 6-way pre-select switch - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5094&hl="]my Frankenfretless[/url] is all-passive & doesn't suffer from lack of output or undue noise. Pete.[/quote] Thanks Pete, It's probably the result of it languishing in the extreme temperatures of a loft for 20, or so, years.

I've got a '78 or '79 SB1000 in mint condition... ...apart from the fact that the electrics need looking at (no output). Guess I should get it fixed. Anyone know a place that could do the job? Bearing in mind that it could possibly be the sealed unit (pre-amp?) at fault.

[quote name='Luc' post='896655' date='Jul 16 2010, 03:59 PM']bad news for Mike Former members of Toto are reforming for a brief tour this summer in Europe to honor their brother Mike Porcaro who is living with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). The line-up will include David Paich, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro, Simon Phillips, Joseph Williams and special guest, Nathan East. [/quote] They are [i]currently[/i] on the road. Did a couple of shows with them in Austria last week, and have one with them next week in Norway. Luke looks pretty healthy, and is playing well - as usual. I understand that all the profits from the tour will go to Mike.

Oh, [b]GROOVE![/b] I thought it said,[b] GROVEL![/b] Sorry, can't help then... While I'm here... Hoffmann, It looks pretty good. Well done. I'll take a closer look later.

I have an old dictaphone. I can hum/sing any ideas that come into my head into it, along with a few verbal notes. For me, it's better to let my head do the thinking ( ).[b] Mostly[/b], I find an instrument at the initial[i] seed of an idea[/i] stage a hindrance. From there on it'll be bass or guitar.

[quote name='silddx' post='871632' date='Jun 19 2010, 12:08 PM']I really enjoyed your interview with the guy from Manfred Man in Guitar & Bass.[/quote] That'll be Michael Rogers. IMO Guitar & Bass have really scraped the barrel with that interview. Apparently, on stage, he is completely overshadowed by the bass player of the band (whose name escapes me) and far more worthy of an interview. And, if you're reading this Mickeyboro, I'm available a week next Tuesday.

I should start by saying that I am a big fan of AH, and have been since the 70s. And didn't want to post anything negative about him. But, the Hastings gig was a disappointment - for a number of reasons: Firstly there were only about 150 people in 1000 capacity theatre. The sound was very poor. First time I've seen Jimmy Johnson...couldn't tell what the hell he was playing - just a rumble! Kit didn't sound very nice. Alan was way undermixed. The only way I can describe the show was: 10 minutes of watching paint dry followed by 3 minutes of absolute brilliance, followed by 10 minutes of watching paint dry followed by 3 minutes of brilliance etc Too many drum solos for my liking (Not really a fan of Gary Husband... if only he would groove a bit) Believe me I really wanted to enjoy the show, but in spite of that...he is still [i]one the best/my favourite[/i] players around.

Seeing him (them) tonight in Hastings.