project_c

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1366741419' post='2056728'] I guess it depends on what you want to sound like, if you learn a ton of licks you'll sound like you know a ton of licks. If you learn to improvise properly so that you can play your ideas then it will sound less lick orientated. The difficulty is that to really absorb the idiom you need to know a lot of phrases and generic sounds, so in some ways you might need to pass through the 'lick' stage on your way to coming out the other end sounding like you have valid ideas and are able to execute them. [/quote] Thanks, from what I've learnt I think the internalised knowledge of conventions, common phrases and licks is fundamental to improvisation with both walking and soloing. My concern is mainly with walking at the moment - I can come up with walking basslines without too much trouble but I'm bored with my own lines and feel like there's a lack of vocabulary which limits me. This is why I wondered if there's a '10 most common II-V-I lines' that seasoned players have internalised over the years. Something to expand my vocabulary.

I need a bit of input from you guys about practising II-V-I's. I want to start practising everything in all 12 keys, and am wondering how you go about doing this in the context of a II-V-I excercise. Do you improvise all the way through, or do you learn specific lines, and practise them over all 12 keys to get them into your brain / muscle memory etc? (If you've been playing for 30 years, you will probably improvise, but think back to a time when you still needed to study this stuff). I read somewhere on a jazz blog that a good way to expand one's vocabulary is to learn specific lines relating to specific changes, and then run them over all keys until you've memorised them. The blog suggested learning about 10 different ways to approach a set of changes, and then practising them over all 12 keys. Is there such a thing as a '10 most common basslines' over a II-V-I? I know the answer is in the music, I listen to a lot of jazz standards, but the variety of tunes, and interpretations of tunes is bewildering, and from a jazz outsider's point of view, it's difficult to know what tunes, and what basslines within those tunes, one should prioritise and study..

Now that I have the Trace Elliot bug, I think I'll get myself a nice pair of these badboys: Believe it or not, those are actually for sale on ebay right now. Should scare the ladies away in no time with a pair of those.

So I ended up getting the Commando 12 from a very nice guy over in Upminster, I picked it up today. Apart from a small scuff on the front grille it's in brilliant condition, and sounds every bit as good as I thought it would. Tone is a weird thing and everyone has their own idea about what's good and what's not, but for some reason this thing just nails it for me. I got it for what I think is a really good price. It's actually quite a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be, so I'm glad I went for the 12 instead of the 15. It's a pretty big combo, have a look at the photo of it sitting next to my Bassman TV15 for comparison - it's almost the same size. I'll see how I get on with it over the next few weeks, if I'm still loving it, I might have to consider putting the Bassman TV up for sale, something I never thought I would do... (Sorry about the crap phone pics). [attachment=131169:Trace Elliot Commando 12.JPG] [attachment=131170:Trace Elliot Commando 12a.JPG]

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1363555411' post='2014124'] The tone will be fine, trust me I know this coz I had the power trannies replaced in mine after my mate dropped it heavily and knocked all the heat sinks off the originals... [/quote] Hope so. I decided not to buy the 1x15 on Ebay, there's already a Bassman TV15 eating up space in my living room so I'm going to go for the 1x12 instead in about 3 days time, as long as the price doesn't get too out of hand I'll buy it.

[quote name='Shylock' timestamp='1363297338' post='2011349'] All in all the my Commando 15 was good value but limited tonnally. I suggest you probably played an earlier version. Did it have carpet on it? [/quote] It did have carpet on it - I've actually spoken to the guy who owned that one and he said he had the speaker replaced a while ago, and he may have had the transistors replaced too, so it's vaguely possible that what I heard was not anything like the actual tone of these things. Difficult to say without hearing them side by side. [quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1363392839' post='2012374'] There's three on eBay at the moment.. MK 1 100w 1 x 15 [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trace-Elliot-Commando-1001-15-Combo-Bass-Amplifier-/261182772121?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item3ccfb4d399"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3ccfb4d399[/url] MK 1 100w 1 x 12 [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trace-Elliot-Bass-Combo-/300874098873?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item460d7e68b9"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item460d7e68b9[/url] MK 2 65w 1x10 [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/trace-elliot-bass-guitar-amp-65w-/221201426626?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item3380a1e8c2"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3380a1e8c2[/url] [/quote] Thanks! Didn't spot the 1x10, but I have my eye on the other 2 already! Looks like the 1x10 is all the way up north, and collect only, so it's going to have to be either the 15 or the 12. I came across one of the Commando heads for sale as well - unfortunately it was in Canada, otherwise I would have been all over it.. It is possible that the tone of these things isn't as good as the slightly modded one I played through, but I think for around the £50 - £80 mark it's certainly worth a shot.

Thanks again guys - looking into a few of these now, one is way too expensive, another is knackered, another is owned by a terrifying lunatic, and the fourth looks ok! I should be able get hold of one pretty soon, I'll report back with my findings.

Thanks for the info, Merton, much appreciated. One has come up for £160 but I also think that's way too much - I saw a couple go for around £70 on ebay recently, which is silly. I'm not fussy about the potential lack of power on gigs - the combo just needs to be heard against some percussion, and based on the one I played through it's plenty loud enough for that. The tone is crazy good, I couldn't believe my ears when I first plugged in.

Thanks Matt, that helps a lot! There was talk of a US made version, which was supposedly 'highly sought after', (according to the Gumtree ad advertising it for £250! ) but maybe they got it wrong. The one I played through had a carpet finish, which it seems would have been one of the older ones. Whilst they may all sound great, do you think there are any significant tonal differences between those and the newer models?

I have a question about the Commando 15 series of combos. I'm experiencing a crazy amount of GAS for one at the moment, having played through one of the real old ones a couple of weeks ago. It sounded awesome. The problem is that there seems to be about 3 or 4 different versions of this combo, and some of them are apparently nowhere near as good as the others. I don't want to buy the wrong one. So does anyone know how I can tell the difference between the following: - series 1 (mark 1) - series 2 (mark 2) - UK made version - USA made version - 100W version - 150W version I know the newer ones have a big green '15' printed on them (is that series 2? 3? or 4?) but apart from that I know nothing. Which ones were the real deal? And which ones sounded bad? Any input is greatly appreciated.. The one I played through looked just like this. (not my photo):