skankdelvar

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1439213791' post='2840894'] Audiences of any kind would be nice.... [/quote] That's why I'm getting onto the 'acoustic / singer-songwriter /folk' circuit. Audiences full of bespectacled, elfin-like women with 'issues' and who cry themselves to sleep at night. As I always say to them, 'I may not be Mr Right but I'll f*** you until he turns up'.

Who are we to cavil if the DJs are fulfilling a need? It's not as if actors say 'Musicians lack the skills I possess; I do not accept the argument they should be on stage.' The point being, it's not us who gets to decide what's popular and what isn't. It's the punters, God love them. And even though I'm an old Bob, well, frankly I'm getting so bored with lumpen rock combos churning out recycled riffs I'd quite welcome a change. So I might go to one of these DJ gigs. Doubtless the chickies are more pleasing to the eye than the customary 'band' audiences of chin-stroking, blokey dotards in belly-bulging Marshall T-shirts.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1439209654' post='2840822'] Modern drum kits were frowned upon; indeed, some still profess, to this day, that a 'medium' tom is a heresy. [/quote] It has certainly been the case that the medium tom has in latter years met with the disapproval of church conservatives. That said, His Holiness Pope Francis expressed a more radical opinion in his Papal Encyclical in June this year, professing himself open to persuasion not only about the medium tom but also in respect of the paper and comb. By contrast, the clique surrounding the Emeritus Pope Benedict continue to view such matters with the gravest suspicion. I await the Vatican Council with interest; the debate on 'Stylophones in The Liturgy' will be a litmus test for the church's position over the next decade. [i]Rev Rupert 'Beefy' Bingham[/i] [i]The Rectory[/i] [i]Much Matchingham[/i]

Reading this thread I feel as if I've time-travelled back two decades. On the upside, being back in 1995 means I know which horse will win the Northern Aggregates Selling Stakes at Catterick. A splurge on Euro Express at 7/1 is a cert.

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1439050553' post='2839670'] 18watt.com was the forum, but I'll not mention details (and they may now be erased anyway) to prevent BC from having legal trouble. The founder, Ted Weber, was by all accounts a wonderful guy, but the son not so much. [/quote] Ah ha! I had a poke around and found some stuff alluding to this. All very odd. And it seems they get a bit upset if you suggest their [s]cheapies[/s] entry level speakers are made in China rather than the Yew Ess of Eh. Which they are. Clearly. They say. Going now.

Best tambourine song ever. Worst tambourine playing ever. How ironic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Vz-z4PEkk

^^^ Blimey - I hadn't heard that stuff about Weber! Sounds like a [i]spicy[/i] story - I'll go have a rummage and see what I can find

@ OP: £225 seems a pretty fair price for a nice Rivera Fender. As for replacement speakers, the world's your oyster. Weber units are well respected and they're much easier to get hold of over here compared a few years ago. The Eminences nearly always get a good write up. I stuck a Copperhead in an SF Princeton and it sounded lush - even spread of tone and bastard loud if it needs to be.

A nice J45 But upwards of a £k even for s/h is a bit strong so I'll probably have to wait around for a s/h J35. I don't like the scratchplate and it's not as middly but beggars can't be choosers...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1438951749' post='2838935'] Beatles albums ordered today = 3 Stones albums ordered today = 0 [/quote] That's OK. On Sept 15 I shall be buying Mr Richard's new solo album and re-purchasing its two predecessors, my vinyl copies being sufficiently worn as to be able to read a newspaper through them. Thus is cosmic balance restored. Anyway, I was just watching the vid for the single and noticed Keef's gnarled fingers and knuckles; the arthritis is getting worse. My dad's hands looked like that and he was in horrible pain most of the time. Maybe falling out of a palm tree helps assuage the symptoms.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1438876027' post='2838335'] The biggest barrier to basses playing solos 'as well as anyone' is that most of a bass guitarist's career is spent NOT soloing. S/he, therefore, spends proportionately less time developing the phrasing etc of which you type than, say, a saxophoinist or guitar player. There are players who, for reasons known only to themselves, have spent an unusual amount of their time focussing on the art of soloing and who, consequently, are more adept at it. These specialists are generally more worthy of our attention because they are better practiced and do it better. [/quote] Imagine how these adepts might have flourished had they taken up the piano rather than spending decades wrangling a sound out of a less usable instrument. The sheer waste of talent brings tears to my eyes. Face it, we only believe in bass solos because we're poor old numpty bass players who think we're being oppressed by the system; rather like tiny, cherubic orphans believe in fairies who will spirit them away from their humdrum lives in the castle laundry. So whenever some 'expert' favours us with a solo bass piece we get all excited because it's like someone saying 'Yes, Cinderella, you [i]shall[/i] go to the ball'. Then reality strikes home and its back to burping out root notes in some ghastly pub covers band and [i]being told what to do[/i]. It would make you weep if it didn't make you laugh.

The fact is that bass can be (and is) played as a solo instrument. Some hold the opinion it 'should' not be played as a solo instrument. Neither position is mutually exclusive. But what's more important? The solo itself (its phrasing, the notes, the range, its function and the musical effect on the audience) or the instrument upon which the solo is played. Of course a bass can be used to play a solo. So can a tympani, a triangle and a theremin. The point is whether one makes the solo a vehicle for the instrument or the instrument a vehicle for the solo. Let us agree that the performance of a solo demands certain characteristics from an instrument. The ideal instrument for performing a solo might be one which covers the range from a piccolo to a double bass; the shape of the instrument would be such as to offer easy access to [i]all[/i] notes without cramped positioning or hunching. This 'ideal' instrument might have the capacity to provide a separate chordal foundation over which a solo might be constructed. The player might be afforded the ability - if desired - to draw notes out as one does upon a string or woodwind instrument. One might add the proviso that said instrument ideally be capable of being played both electrically amplified and unamplified and therefore be independent of power sources but that's a bit of a stretch. Taking all this into account, the design, appearance and function of such an instrument would emphatically not resemble an electric bass guitar. And what of range? It is a fact that the most popular instruments for soloing can - if required - operate within the upper range of the female human voice and are designed with this in mind. Generally speaking, the conventional bass cannot do this, which is why bass solos are vanishingly few in either popular or classical music when compared to solos performed on violins, pianos, saxes, guitars, clarinets flutes etc., ad inf. Yes: solos can be performed on the electric bass and some are even quite good. Stepping forward for a brief, complementary musical passage or fill can be quite lovely. But in my experience there is no bass solo which can withstand reasoned comparison to a solo delivered on a violin or even a cello. The fact is that many hobbyist electric bass players cannot play another instrument. They are therefore forced by their 'limitations' to play their solos on a bass. Sheer common sense must tell them a different instrument would be better suited to the task but the option is closed to them. Consequently they are compelled by circumstance to the erroneous declaration that the bass is 'as good' as anything else for soloing. They are wrong and we may hope they secretly know it; but their investment of time and money combined with issues of self image leads many to an unhealthy defensiveness and unsustainable denial. As a result, bass solos are mostly about showing what can be done on a bass rather than providing an apposite musical idea which complements the musical piece in its totality. The bass solo is about the bass rather than about the solo. Hence one might as well be playing the solo on a plank with a ball peen hammer, simply because a plank can be played as a solo instrument.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1438807075' post='2837646'] It's a shame NY isn't on the boat with them.. [/quote] But he might be On The Beach. Badum-tish!

In any event, it's just quicker and easier if the singer gets his gob very close to the mic and goes 'Fbdum-fbdum-fbdum-fbdum'.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1438800504' post='2837541'] Ahem. [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]It is obvious to me that there will [/size][/font][/color][u]never[/u][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3] be any sort of agreement in the "basses are not suitable instruments for solos / yes they are / no they aren't / yes they are / etc" argument, so can we steer clear of the whole suitability chestnut? Otherwise I can see it getting personal and/or ending in tears. I think there's plenty of room for debate on this subject without that specific facet.[/size][/font][/color] [/quote] With genuine respect,isn't the 'suitability' or otherwise of the bass guitar for soloing pretty crucial to any debate of bass solos? The fact that all the action's going on [i]way down there[/i] is the principle reason why basses are less frequently solo'd than - say - piano or guitar. Thing is, there's very little precedent in the classical music world for bass solos or concertos simply because (until the advent of amplification in concert halls) the double bass hasn't been loud enough to carry over the rest of the orchestra in a live context. No cut through, see, and asking the orchestra to turn down just doesn't work. The bass doesn't have a history of being a lead instrument because throughout most of its - er - history the bass wasn't a [i]suitable[/i] instrument. Anyway, let's not worry. People can find lots of ways to get snarky about bass solos without ever mentioning the matter of range. I mean, we haven't even got on to the 'showing off' thing yet.

Interesting follow-up discussion [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/267188-original-bands-wanted-to-audition-for-new-tv-series/"]here[/url]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1438799677' post='2837528'] I take it you're here all week? [/quote] Try the veal. No, really, it's excellent.

It gets worse (depending on one's perspective, of course). From the Thunder Valley FAQs: [quote][i]Can our fans come to the auditions?[/i] Yes - absolutely - we actually encourage fans and [b]would ask bands auditioning to bring at least 50 fans[/b] to be part of the audience. We do this to create the audience and atmosphere for the shows and is an essential part of the success of Thunder Valley Rocks [i]Is there a charge for fans to enter?[/i] Yes [b]a small charge of £5 per person[/b] which helps cover the cost of setting up the programme[/quote] So the basic proposition is "We'd like you to ensure we get £250 from your fans and in return we'll film you on the proviso that we may ask you to sign further contracts which [i]may[/i] place us in a position to own a slice of everything you do in perpetuity. Bargaintastic, eh?" Anyway I never liked Toyah Wilcox. What did Bob Fripp ever see in her? It's a mystery. [color=#ffffff].[/color]

There used to be a legend round here about the Headless Bassman. On dark nights people would see him going round with a Steinberger then - poof! - he'd disappear into a pub.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1438792733' post='2837432'] I had an 11-hour double operation for an umbilical hernia and a major gastric procedure and was back playing my Fender bass - standing up - within [i]four days[/i]. [/quote] At the time I remember you posting about that and me thinking 'Man of steel!' Made me proud to be acquainted with you. I wish you could have a chat with the milquetoast loser in my virtual band and put him straight. I'll PM you his email address. Send him something punchy, OK?

[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1438789441' post='2837360'] because of this I was going to start a virtual pub band with some mates. [/quote] To be fair, one of my bands has recently become a virtual band. The bass player's gone AWOL because his wife threw him out and asked for a divorce. He's failed to turn up for a band practice several times and apparently spends most of his time crying in his car (where he sleeps). I've sent him a text telling him to man the f**k up or he's out. Lightweight.

Why do people buy old paintings when they could buy a perfectly good printed copy of the Mona Lisa and it would cost less money than the original. And be bigger too. In fact, why does anybody attribute different values to different things? Because they can. As for the relative [i]utility[/i] of old vs new, there's usually not much in it, afaics.

Do bassists want to hear solo bass? Quite evidently, some do. But more to the point, do punters want to hear solo bass? For elucidation we may turn to the classical canon of [i]published concertos[/i] which include one or more solo performances by a single designated instrument*: Piano: 432,223 Violin: 350,151 Clarinet: 69,443 Horn: 44,876 Flute: 38,367 Guitar: 37,008 Double Bass: 22 Self-evidently there is no money in bass solos, the reason being that the instrument (in either upright or guitar form) is by reason of its range considered by most legitimate composers to be utterly unsuited to the communication of emotion or meaning[sup]+[/sup]. [size=2]*Source: Great Concertos of the World: H. Gryttpype Thynne (1997) Random House (excludes concertos with solo performances by two or more instruments).[/size] [size=1]+ The nature of any discussion neither can nor should be circumscribed by the prohibition of certain perfectly reasonable and factually based arguments on the grounds that some participants may get all upset and take it personally. Will we next be told not to discuss scale length? Or flats vs wounds? Or fretless vs fretted? Is this now a bass forum where we can't discuss the suitability of the bass's range for the purposes of soloing? Man alive! Let's all grow a pair ffs.[/size]

I'm with the OP on this. Doubtless some may see the other side of the argument and bleat on about 'commitments' and 'family matters' and 'giving her some space'. Bollocks to that. Unless a rellie's about to drop off the twig or the singer's just found out her house is burning down they should show up on time and give their all. Mind you, lots of people do this, not just laydee singers. Possibly because these bastards want to 'be in a band' but they don't actually want to be in a band.

@OP: Ramparte [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Ramparte-Amp-/141736544302?"]opening at £150[/url] on fleabay