lowdown

I found all this stuff below ... It looks like the Bass parts were played by English (Sheffield) Bassist Gary Unwin. (I believe Gary Unwin was also involved in quite a few Disco projects out in Germany during the 1970's). 1. Take the Heat Off Me (1976) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing vocals Marcia Barrett – backing vocals Frank Farian – male lead vocals in studio Instrumentalists: Gary Unwin – bass guitar Keith Forsey – drums Nick Woodland – guitar Thor Baldursson – keyboards, arrangements Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Johann Daansen – arrangements Notes: This was Boney M’s debut; the official band members (Bobby Farrell, Maizie Williams) rarely played in the studio. 2. Love for Sale (1977) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists / Arrangers: Gary Unwin – bass Keith Forsey – drums Nick Woodland – guitar Thor Baldursson – keyboards Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Notes: More orchestral elements were introduced; tracks like “Belfast” show layered studio instrumentation. 3. Nightflight to Venus (1978) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists: Gary Unwin – bass Keith Forsey – drums Nick Woodland – guitar Thor Baldursson – keyboards Michael Cretu – keyboards (session on some tracks) Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Additional session brass & strings – European session musicians Notes: Major hits include “Rivers of Babylon,” “Rasputin,” “Painter Man.” Studio arrangements were heavily layered. 4. Oceans of Fantasy (1979) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists: Gary Unwin – bass Keith Forsey – drums Nick Woodland – guitar Mats Björklund – guitar Michael Cretu – keyboards Thor Baldursson – keyboards Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Johann Daansen – arrangements Additional session brass & woodwinds (American/European session players) Notes: “Hooray! Hooray! It’s a Holi-Holiday,” “Gotta Go Home” — highly produced, mix of European and international session players. 5. Boonoonoonoos (1981) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists / Arrangers: Similar lineup as previous albums, but expanded session musicians for percussion, horns, and synthesizers. Michael Cretu – keyboards Thor Baldursson – keyboards, arrangements Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Notes: More experimental disco and Caribbean influences. 6. Ten Thousand Lightyears (1984) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists / Arrangers: Keyboard-heavy arrangements: Michael Cretu, Thor Baldursson Bass / drums: mostly session musicians (some overlap with earlier albums) Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Notes: Released after Boney M’s peak; heavily synthesized disco style. Summary Notes: Frank Farian: Producer and male voice on almost all studio recordings. Liz Mitchell & Marcia Barrett: Core female studio vocalists. Bobby Farrell & Maizie Williams: Mostly live performers, limited studio participation. Core British session musicians: Gary Unwin (bass), Keith Forsey (drums), Nick Woodland (guitar). Keyboard/arrangements: Thor Baldursson, Michael Cretu, Stefan Klinkhammer, Christian Kolonovits, Johann Daansen. Brass/strings/orchestral: A mix of European and some visiting American session players.

I must admit, myself and some of my muso friends, blanket bomb Facebook with this gem annually. All rather childish, really...

A rather nice 'Textural Ambient Reverb' freebie. No sign up or email required, just download and give it a go. https://www.dawesomemusic.com/hues/sol

I suppose it's that time of year again for the classics:

I'm a bit confused. Your link says, 'The Legendary Pink Dots - Madame Guillotine', but my link below is 'Madame Guillotine - Legendary Pink Dots'. I thought it was an attempt at a cover, then I noticed in the blurb on your link "Loosely based on Madame Guillotine" by The Legendary Pink Dots". Either way, it's quite absorbing and chilled because I nearly dozed off...(nothing to do with the track, it's just been an early start and a long day). Ignore me, stand down, and as you were.

'Sound Toys' are giving away six freebies between December 8th & 19th. 12 Days of Soundtoys - Soundtoys

Out of interest, have you signed up to the course(s), or just using the YouTube channel? I often pop into the YouTube channel for Jazz Piano tips. Like you say, some great resources.

Yep... Singing the rhythms, pitched, to yourself, is a good way to get the Basslines into your head (and under your fingers). But I would always trip myself up with non-pitched ghost notes. Then years ago, I started to listen to Bobby McFerrin who is great at ghosting notes.

For me, I think of rhythm and good note choice as one. As a Bass player, laying down the foundation of the chords and changes is as equally as important as rhythm. They go hand in hand as a Bassist. But then again, we are all different and approach it in different ways.

You were probably at Goldsmiths around the same time as my younger brother. My brother loved his time there with LC. A friend of my mine was also teaching Bass there at the time, John Deemer.

Another documentary up on YouTube. This one is from 'Rock History' and is an interview with 'Vick Flick' talking about his session days:

I watched the Nathan East interview earlier this week, along with the Freddie Washington video, and both very enjoyable. Scott Devine did a good job with both. Personally, I found them far more interesting than the three part series on Sky Arts in the other thread. I think I will give the Flea interview a watch as well. Thanks for the upload...👍

It's probably worth digging this up again. This thread could do with it...

Just been listening to the Santana album 'Marathon' with some very fine Bass playing from 'David Margen'. Aqua Marine from the album:

Are they the videos they co-starred in? The dodgy VHS videos with pea soup hi-hats and wah-wah guitars? No, I can't say I have (or want to).

Although Danny has his place in the YouTube World, and does it well, he's not for me. I just end up flicking and skimming through bits and pieces. I've just watched a Scott Devine video interviewing Nathan East and then another one with Freddie Washington. For my interests, much more entertaining and engaging.

The marvelous, free Reverb/Delay FX, 'Super Massive' by Valhalla, has just had an update (V5.0.0) Valhalla Super Massive - Valhalla DSP

This video turned up on YouTube yesterday. A good 45-minute watch... "Often Imitated, Never Duplicated: The Richard Tee Story".

I stumbled on an Album by Carol Kaye I've not heard before (featuring a whole load of top players). Well, I say stumbled, it came to my attention while watching a Scott Devine & Ian Martin Allison YouTube video discussing Carol Kaye and her career: Bass, Producer - Carol Kaye. Drums – Earl Palmer, John Guerin, Paul Humphrey. Double Bass - Ray Brown. Guitar – Joe Pass, Howard Roberts. Piano, Electric Piano – Joe Sample. Congas - Milt Holland. Saxophone/Flute – Tom Scott. Trombone – J.J. Johnson. Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Conte Condoli.

Bass Guitar by Bernard Reed, who also played Bass on 'This Will Be' by Natalie Cole from the same album. Great player!! Natalie Cole - This Will Be | Bass Transcription | Bernard Reed

He really is in the pocket on that album...Lovely rich tone as well.

Yep... 🤣

LAM16, a nice little freebie Preamp from 'Tone Empire'. LAM16 - Tone Empire

Presuming you haven't already tried this route, a quick AI search came up with the below. Not real-world examples, of course, but a starting point to investigate: Can NI Kontakt Player instruments be converted to work with Logic's ES24/Sampler? ChatGPT said: Short answer: mostly no, you cannot reliably convert a full instrument for Kontakt Player into the native Sampler (formerly EXS24) in Logic Pro with full functionality. Here’s a breakdown of why and what is possible: ✅ What is possible Export the raw samples from the Kontakt-library (if you have access to them). Once you have the WAV/AIFF files, you can import them into Sampler/EXS24 in Logic, map the zones, set up velocity layers etc. Logic even has an “Convert Audio → EXS Instrument” workflow. macprovideo.com+2Gearspace+2 You can create a simplified version of the instrument in Sampler using those samples — for example basic multisample mapping, basic key-range and velocity zones. 🚫 Why you can’t fully convert a Kontakt Player instrument Kontakt libraries often contain proprietary scripting (using KSP), advanced modulation, filters, effects chains, custom GUI elements. Sampler/EXS24 does not support those natively. So you lose a lot of the advanced behaviour. Many Kontakt instruments (especially “Player” versions) are locked/protected; you may not have access to the raw sample files or are prevented from repurposing them. There is no straightforward, general-purpose tool that reliably converts a full .nki/.nkm (Kontakt) instrument into a Sampler format with all features intact. For example, older tools like Translator existed for conversions, but they had limitations. Apple Support Community+1 The format differences: Kontakt’s architecture is far more advanced than Sampler/EXS24. Simply mapping samples doesn’t replicate logic, scripting, round-robin, advanced articulations etc. 🔍 My recommendation for your situation If you own the Kontakt library and access the samples, do the manual route: export or locate the sample files, import into Logic’s Sampler (or EXS24 if you’re using an older version) and recreate the mapping. If the instrument uses heavy scripting or you don’t have sample access, run it as Kontakt inside Logic (as a plugin) instead of trying to convert. Evaluate whether you need the full feature set of the Kontakt instrument — if you only need basic playback of the sampled sounds, conversion might be “good enough”. But if you need the advanced behaviour, stick with Kontakt. If you like, I can check for specific libraries (the exact Kontakt instrument you have) and see whether there are known conversions or cheat-workarounds for that library. Would that be helpful?