lowdown

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='422280' date='Mar 1 2009, 11:28 AM']after all the best bassline of all time was played with a pick [/quote] Would this be a Carol Kaye track..? Garry

I am all fingers and thumbs when it comes to Bass playing. Garry

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='421172' date='Feb 27 2009, 05:49 PM']I used to play it a major 10 interval sliding up and down, that sounded pretty cool to everyone.[/quote] This is the most used way, and very effective. Garry

This piece is doing the rounds at the moment - I've no idea if it's by the real Tony Levin or not, but it's a perceptive and funny piece of writing whoever wrote it. Enjoy! Beyond the Bass Clef: The Life and Art of Bass Playing by Tony Levin In the beginning there was a bass. It was a Fender, probably a Precision, but it could have been a Jazz - nobody knows. Anyway, it was very old ... definitely pre-C.B.S. And God looked down upon it and saw that it was good. He saw that it was very good in fact, and couldn't be improved on at all (though men would later try.) And so He let it be and He created a man to play the bass. And lo the man looked upon the bass, which was a beautiful 'sunburst' red, and he loved it. He played upon the open E string and the note rang through the earth and reverberated throughout the firmaments (thus reverb came to be.) And it was good. And God heard that it was good and He smiled at his handiwork. Then in the course of time, the man came to slap upon the bass. And lo it was funky. And God heard this funkiness and He said, "Go man, go." And it was good. And more time passed, and, having little else to do, the man came to practice upon the bass. And lo, the man came to have upon him a great set of chops. And he did play faster and faster until the notes rippled like a breeze through the heavens. And God heard this sound which sounded something like the wind, which He had created earlier. It also sounded something like the movement of furniture, which He hadn't even created yet, and He was not so pleased. And He spoke to the man, saying "Don't do that!" Now the man heard the voice of God, but he was so excited about his new ability that he slapped upon the bass a blizzard of funky notes. And the heavens shook with the sound, and the Angels ran about in confusion. (Some of the Angels started to dance, but that's another story.) And God heard this - how could He miss it - and lo He became Bugged. And He spoke to the man, and He said, "Listen man, if I wanted Jimi Hendrix I would have created the guitar. Stick to the bass parts." And the man heard the voice of God, and he knew not to mess with it. But now he had upon him a passion for playing fast and high. The man took the frets off of the bass which God had created. And the man did slide his fingers upon the fretless fingerboard and play melodies high upon the neck. And, in his excitement, the man did forget the commandment of the Lord, and he played a frenzy of high melodies and blindingly fast licks. And the heavens rocked with the assault and the earth shook, rattled and rolled. Now God's wrath was great. And His voice was thunder as He spoke to the man. And He said, "O.K. for you, pal. You have not heeded My word. Lo, I shall create a soprano saxophone and it shall play higher than you can even think of." "And from out of the chaos I shall bring forth the drums. And they shall play so many notes thine head shall ache, and I shall make you to always stand next to the drummer." "You think you're loud? I shall create a stack of Marshall guitar amps to make thine ears bleed. And I shall send down upon the earth other instruments, and lo, they shall all be able to play higher and faster than the bass." "And for all the days of man, your curse shall be this; that all the other musicians shall look to you, the bass player, for the low notes. And if you play too high or fast all the other musicians shall say "Wow" but really they shall hate it. And they shall tell you you're ready for your solo career, and find other bass players for their bands. And for all your days if you want to play your fancy licks you shall have to sneak them in like a thief in the night." "And if you finally do get to play a solo, everyone shall leave the bandstand and go to the bar for a drink." And it was so. Garry

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='417634' date='Feb 23 2009, 05:46 PM']IIRC, he actually disliked it, and specifically asked GP to stick to a P in future...![/quote] Well there seems to be different stories floating around about that. Here is GP's version.. [thats what i was refering to] Its the 3rd video on the right down. [url="http://guypratt.ricardopadua.com/"]http://guypratt.ricardopadua.com/[/url] Garry

[quote name='51m0n' post='417610' date='Feb 23 2009, 05:23 PM']Yeah I was thinking about the notation (or lack of) the other day, and to be fair its not a true requirement of a midi sequencer or a DAW. But I agree its a very nice to have. As far as video gos, then I think you are doing stuff outsidce of anything I've ever done, which is why I never thought of that - again I'd even go so far as to say not really a true requirement of a DAW. If those are the only really issues you have with it then I think its even more amazing for the money, since I find myself often thinking something is great that may only really work for me. Given the complexity of a lot of DAW/Sequencing software I tend to feel that I never really learnt all that any of it can do, too busy using just what I needed to get a track together![/quote] I see where you are comming from, But there is a huge market for score and video support. I am involved with a partner supplying music for Corporate vids and other. And we are sent Avi and quick time movies, which are brief specific to video timings..so a must. Then you have the Games business, adverts, trailors, Idents and the list is endless. All this is now possible because of Low buget high quality home studios. Even the top guys have this kind of set up. All the top DAWS have these two features implemented, They are throwing everthing they can in now, for that extra share of the market. Cubase 5 even has in its notation window, a command where you draw in articulations and its Orchestral player will play back the articulations - neat.! That will save you ages, instead of doing that by track layering. [Thats where the score editor page is a must, no matter how good your lugs are, You still need a visual on the score for editing] Reaper is great for Putting Demo's together, or to be honest fully fledged albums. There is no problem with that side of things. I just wonder how far the guy running Reaper can go, He has not got the backing the Other majors have, so he is always playing catchup. But as we have all said... [b]A great DAW [/b]if you wanna just put Music tracks together. Garry

Another +1 for Reaper [ sigh...again] Great way to get into DAWS.. If you wanna get serious though. No Notation view, And no video import. But if you dont need them, a must for the Money, or lack of it.. Garry

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='417220' date='Feb 23 2009, 10:28 AM']Mr. Pratt loses a point or two for playing a Jazz on a Floyd tour. What was he thinking of? [/quote] Money.... [ not the song ] Dave Gilmour loved the sound of that Jazz Bass. Back OT... Lee Sklar Garry

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='415615' date='Feb 20 2009, 05:45 PM']So do all my favourite double-cuts. [/quote] That was the problem - not all mine did, So it was time to get a Bass made that did. As it happens mine is only a Jazz Bass style with the top cut filled in. Same neck profile as the Marcus Miller 5 . [quote]Some people will continue to play them, but they'll always be a small proportion of the bass market.[/quote] For that reason i suppose i had better sell mine then.. Garry

I know you all hate SC's.. But my one just sounds great, plays great, Sits great, Balances great... I must admit i was a bit anti before i tried one. Fits in My Volvo estate as well. [attachment=20631:RIM_1.jpg] Garry

[quote name='bassman2790' post='415537' date='Feb 20 2009, 04:35 PM']I'm currently using Cool Edit Pro which only uses DirectX plugins. Is there an easy to use equivalent that uses VST's[/quote] Try a google for a DirectX to VST wrapper... Then you can still use your Cool Edit. Garry

Go down the route as above.... And spend a little on a decent audio card.. Something like this, which is good value for money. [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/1142-m-audio-audiophile-2496.html"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/1142...phile-2496.html[/url] Garry

Looks like someone has beat me to this one.. Anthony Jackson on Bass. On the other hand it could have been that Carole bint. Garry

[quote name='bubinga5' post='414803' date='Feb 19 2009, 10:00 PM']He He,, there like estate cars to me, they just dont look right..[/quote] Funny thing, i am the other way with this.. If they sound right... And sit right, i am happy. Garry

If you need any free FX plugs. These are top notch. Also a free mini drum sampler as well. Enjoy! [url="http://www.meldaproduction.com/freevstplugins/"]http://www.meldaproduction.com/freevstplugins/[/url] Garry

[quote name='chris_b' post='413265' date='Feb 18 2009, 04:35 PM']Life's A Bowl Of F****g Cherries in 5/4.[/quote] Whoosh........ One for us oldies... Garry

[quote name='Buzz' post='413312' date='Feb 18 2009, 04:52 PM']On the mention of Lemmy's boils, anyone know why he's never bothered to get them fixed?[/quote] The Doctors were not sure what was his head or what was his boils. Garry

[quote name='Monz' post='412254' date='Feb 17 2009, 05:29 PM']Just had this one dropped on me How many bloody chord changes? Does anyone have a transcribed or tabbed version of this to speed the learning curve up please Apparently this is the version we are doing [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wftbahypdAA"]Youtube link[/url] Thanks in advance[/quote] Great song... Just do a google, plenty of chord changes around. I thought i would follow your link and have a listen. Then left 'you tube' in a flood of tears.. Read one of the posts. [b]JacintMate (1 week ago) | I really love this song it takes me back many years ago when my special friend had to leave me and he said when ever you need me just listen to this song and call my name andI'll be there ... years later we became husband and wife and now tragically I am his widow , I will always love this song and call out his name where ever I go . [/b] Garry

[quote name='cytania' post='410890' date='Feb 16 2009, 11:24 AM']I have myself played the same one G note thoughout 99% of a song and no one noticed (not very swinging but it wasn't that kind of song).[/quote] NICE... I tend to listen a few times to get the overall structure, Then work out the finer points. Usually on headphones so i can really hear my Bass better against the original. Other times i think .FCUK it, i have played it before at some point, I will just busk it at the gig. And thats usually what the other guys have thought and done. Better still if it is gig with charts, i will just sight read it. Garru

Cheddatom. I use VST system link with Nuendo 3 [ same as SX3 really ] on one PC. And Vstack on another PC. Zero problems, infact it works like a dream. I have the older 10/10 rack version in each one. I did have problems in the beginning, But someone pointed me to Vstack, and new digital cables. There are a number of things that can go wrong, So you might wanna have a sniffty through this. It might help. [url="http://knowledgebase.steinberg.net/89_1.html"]http://knowledgebase.steinberg.net/89_1.html[/url] Garry

Not sure if this is any use to anyone... Just a bit of fun really... But some good advice in there. Oh and Nathan East.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='410895' date='Feb 16 2009, 11:29 AM']on the Boogie Nights stage show I've just done. Rich.[/quote] Hey Rich... Blimmey is that show still going..? I used to dep on that first time round years ago, When Rick Taylor was MD. Garry

[quote name='pete.young' post='410505' date='Feb 15 2009, 09:58 PM']often because our singer's voice range isn't quite there for Aretha and we end up dropping a semitone or two.[/quote] Getting a new singer might solve your problems. I feel some of those old soul tunes just dont work in other keys. [ on Bass ] I've just got so used to 'THAT' sound over the years, it just sounds odd, Unless you are going to do a complete revamp of that tune. Garry

[quote name='tedgilley' post='409833' date='Feb 15 2009, 12:38 AM']To me, his playing is guitar playing, for the most part. Really good guitar playingh.[/quote] I have been told Tesco's do a nice line in replacment nine volt ears, A cracking variety of colours as well. Garry

[quote name='Soulfinger' post='409868' date='Feb 15 2009, 07:24 AM']As far as I´m concerned, nothing to date has been an improvement on the almighty Precision.[/quote] A Bass gtr with no dead spots? A Bass gtr that does not need shims? Garry